PhD in Mathematics

The KU Leuven Mecha(tro)nic System Dynamics (LMSD) and the Group of Mechanics of Materials at TU Eindhoven are searching for a research engineer to join their team to work in a challenging research project within a Global PhD Parnerships of KU Leuvan and TU Eindhoven./nThis PhD project is part of the ‘Global PhD Partnership between KU Leuven and Eindhoven University of Technology’. It focuses on the innovative application of elastic metamaterials for transient and low-frequency vibration mitigation—with a specific focus on their application in the next generation of high-tech systems in the semiconductor industry. The PhD researcher will conduct research across both institutions, spending two years at KU Leuven and two years at TU Eindhoven./nThe researcher will explore and quantify the potential of elastic metamaterials to achieve transient wave attenuation, with a particular focus on low-frequency vibration mitigation. Advanced simulation frameworks will be developed, combining wave & finite element based methods, multi-scale homogenization, and nonlinear modelling to efficiently investigate and evaluate a wide range of metamaterial concepts. Building on these tools, the researcher will devise structural optimization strategies to tailor the metamaterial architecture for targeted dynamic performance. The most promising designs will then be validated experimentally, first in a controlled academic prototype and subsequently on a lithography scanner stage demonstrator in collaboration with ASML./nThe PhD is supervised by prof. Elke Deckers (kuleuven.be/wieiswie/nl/person/00059933) from the KU Leuven LMSD division. The research is hosted by the Mecha(tro)nic System Dynamics (LMSD), which currently counts >100 researchers and is part of the department of mechanical engineering of KU Leuven./nThe PhD will be co-supervised by prof. Varvara Kouznetsova (https://www.tue.nl/en/research/researchers/varvara-kouznetsova) from the Mechanics of Materials group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e).