Dear all
I would like to point out the two following PhD openings at the University of Geneva. The second one is especially relevant to this forum. It involves work with Palabos, work with new compressible, transonic flow models, modeling of geophysical processes, and GPU and high-performance computing.
Funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation is available for two PhD students to begin in the spring or fall 2022 for a project targeted at the physical and numerical characterization of key size-selective tephra-sedimentation processes (namely particle aggregation and settling-driven gravitational instabilities at the base of volcanic plumes and clouds) and of their relation to plume dynamics. These processes can strongly affect sedimentation of fine ash but are still far from being fully understood, constrained and numerically described. One sub-project aims at the physical characterization of particle aggregation and settling-driven gravitational instabilities through field observations and scaled laboratory experiments making use of state-of-the-art instrumentations (e.g. combined used of planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) and particle image velocimetry (PIV), drones, weather balloons, holography). The other sub-project aims at developing a new 3D Lattice-Boltzmann plume model that is able to capture complex flow features including subsonic and transonic compressibility, gas-particle and particle-particle interactions and turbulence at multiple scales in order to better constrain the conditions that favor particle aggregation and settling-driven gravitational instabilities. A physical parameterization will also be developed for both size-selective tephra-sedimentation processes to be implemented within Volcanic Ash Transport and Dispersal Models and improve both real-time forecasting and long-term hazard assessments.
Both sub-projects will be based at the University of Geneva, will be supervised by Prof. Costanza Bonadonna of the Physical Volcanology and Geological Risk Group (UNIGE), Prof. Jonas Latt of the Scientific and Parallel Computing Group (UNIGE) and Dr. Paul Jarvis (UNIGE and GNS Science, New Zealand) and will involve the active collaboration with the Arizona State University (Prof. A. Clarke), the University of Bristol (Dr. J. Phillips), the University of Plymouth and the Centre for Disaster Resilience of the ITC/University of Twente (Dr. I. Manzella), the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (Prof. E. Bodenschatz and Dr. G. Bagheri), the University of Aarhus (Dr. J. Merrison), the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (Dr. S. Scollo and Dr. F. Brogi), the University of Lausanne (Prof. L. Baumgartner) and the Disaster Prevention Research Institute at Kyoto University (Prof. M. Iguchi).
Applicants must hold, or will obtain prior to starting the project, a diploma/master degree, or an equivalent level of education, in Geology, Physics, Geophysics, Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Computer Sciences or an equivalent subject (with a taste for natural phenomena). A background in laboratory experiments and/or numerical methods and programming is advantageous. The students will be integrated in a dynamic research group and only highly motivated candidates will be considered for these positions.
Application deadline is December 31, 2021 . Interested applicants please email a CV, a list of 2 referees, and a description of motivation and experience relevant to the project (maximum 1 page), including a preference for either field/lab experiments or numerical methods, to Costanza Bonadonna: Costanza.Bonadonna@unige.ch. Information about the Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences and of the Computer Science Department of the University of Geneva can be found at: https://www.unige.ch/sciences/terre/en/research/ and https://www.unige.ch/dinfo/. For more information, please email Costanza.Bonadonna@unige.ch, Jonas.Latt@unige.ch and Paul.Jarvis@unige.ch