PhD in Geotechnical Engineering

Within the FNR-CORE supported project OPTMONITOR (Optimal Monitoring and Coupled Modeling for Climate-Driven Landslide Risk Detection) at the University of Luxembourg (Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine, Department of Engineering), a doctoral research project is defined and a PhD student position is open in the COMPSOIL (Computational Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering) research group./nMain objectives and focus:/nOptimize monitoring strategies for predicting climate-driven slope risks/nShift from expert-driven, semi-random sensor placement to model-based Optimal Experimental Design/nImprove parameter identification, reduce uncertainty, and enable cost-effective risk management/nIntegrate advanced coupled modeling with soft computing techniques/nUse metamodeling for global sensitivity analysis and apply probabilistic methods (e.g. Monte Carlo, Latin Hypercube sampling) to quantify uncertainty/nDevelop an OED-based workflow including Spatial GSA and statistical methods; use two well-monitored landslides as benchmarks; enhance monitoring accuracy and validate numerical models using field data/nLocation: Kirchberg Campus, University of Luxembourg/nThe Doctoral researcher will be supervised by Prof. Lavasan and enrolled to the Doctoral School in Sciences and Engineering (DSSE). The candidate will join COMPSOIL and benefit from the University’s high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure and opportunities to present work at research seminars and thematic events.