PhD in Materials Science

KU Leuven Mecha(tro)nic System Dynamics (LMSD - http://www.mech.kuleuven.be/lmsd) and the Research Center for Operations Management (https://feb.kuleuven.be/research/decision-sciences-and-information-management/om) of KU Leuven are seeking a full-time PhD researcher for a project on developing Future engineering design paradigms./nThis PhD project is part of the ‘PACCAR Chair: Future Engineering Design’ bringing together expertise from the fields of mechanical engineering, economics and materials science to find the complex balance between performance, cost, comfort and sustainability in mechanical product development./nA central aspect of this research will be the investigation and development of innovative mechanical design paradigms made possible by the integration of complete lifecycle data for mechanical components and systems. By factoring in information on design, production, operation and maintenance, the project aims to move beyond the conventional ‘build to last’ design philosophy./nThe research will be jointly supervised by members of the Faculties of Engineering Science, Engineering Technology and the Faculty of Economics and Business. For this, the researcher will be embedded in both engineering and economics research teams. The researcher is expected to divide his time equally between both teams.