PRR Project

Summary

Context and rationale for the hiring need | Most CERIS research is based on experimental activities conducted both in laboratory and in situ. In several Civil Engineering areas, including Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics, experimental testing is crucial for the development of fundamental and applied ground-breaking research. Several faculty members of the research groups of Hydraulics (RG1) and of Water Resources and Environment (RG2) of CERIS will retire in the next 4 years. These members have been very active in the development of experimental activities in the CERIS Laboratory of Hydraulics and Water Resources and Environment (LHWRE). The proposed hiring position aims at compensating these short-term retirements, which will result in an important loss of CERIS actual competencies on fluvial and coastal hydraulics and, consequently, in a steep decay on CERIS activities, achievements and productivity in this scientific area. Without this recruitment, the existing imaging, laser-based or acoustic-based state-of-the-art instrumentation (e.g., particle image velocimeter, PIV; particle tracking velocimetry, PTV; Laser Doppler Velocimetry, LDV; acoustic doppler velocimeters, ADV; or ultrasonic velocity profilers, UDP), mostly acquired with public competitive funding, will not be fully explored. This instrumentation offers a high potential for conducting novel experimental activities in emerging and relevant topics aligned with the European Green Deal and the UN SDG, such as microplastics and emerging contaminants in freshwater; hydromorphological hazards (floods, landslides, storm surges, tsunami); nature-based solutions for water bodies in urban/peri-urban contexts; river and estuarine habitat diversity. Position importance for CERIS | Hiring a researcher for the position in Advanced Experimental Research on Environmental Hydraulics, fully focused on the development of experimental research and especially trained for using advanced instrumentation (e.g. PIV, LDV, ADV, etc), is essential for continuing to develop groundbreaking research and providing excellent training conditions at the post-graduation level in CERIS in Hydraulics and Water Resources field. The aim of this hiring is three-fold: (i) to consolidate CERIS competencies for experimental activities in Environmental Hydraulics (i.e. fluvial and coastal systems), which otherwise would be lost; (ii) to incorporate an experienced researcher able to train and capacitate CERIS researchers in the use of the available advanced instrumentation and equipment; (iii) to conduct pioneer research in emerging research fields for which physical data is crucial (e.g. using machine learning techniques to assist the design or to automatically detect anomalies in hydraulic structures). Accomplishing these goals will contribute to CERIS continuing to develop leading-edge research in the field of Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics. Researcher functions | The hired researcher will have several assigned tasks: (i) assisting the LHWRE director in the daily management of the experimental laboratory activities; (ii) maintaining and developing new competencies in using advanced instrumentation in the LHWRE; (iii) extending the use of this instrumentation by actively collaborating in other researchers projects in different areas of Hydraulics; (iv) conducting his own research on new areas through the development of research and consultancy project and the supervision of postgraduate students; (v) participating in preparation of project applications in the areas of Hydraulics and Environmental Fluid Mechanics; (vi) participating in teaching activities. Scientific profile | The candidate for this position should have: (i) a strong background in civil or environmental engineering; (ii) a large experience in the development of experimental research on environmental hydraulics applied to water quality, water resources and aquatic ecosystems, demonstrated through his own MSc and PhD theses, the participation in and leadership of R&D projects, the supervision of students and the publication of relevant articles; (iii) a demonstrated experience on the use of PIV, LDV, ADV, PTV and high speed video cameras; (iv) and a scientific project that promotes the experimental research activities in the LHWRE. Hiring process | CERIS will launch an international competition for hiring the most talented researcher for this position, that will be largely advertised through national and European EU platforms and web portals (e.g. Euraxess). Specific requirements will be established in the announcement, such as the development of a scientific project focused on experimental research, the demonstration of previous experience on developing experimental activities with advanced instrumentation (R&D projects and publications), the demonstration of experience in leading teams (coordination of R&D projects and MSc/PhD supervision) and the minimum recognition of the scientific community through a minimum h-index=8.