Postdoctoral Research Fellows in viscous flow coupled with elastic deformation

About the position

One or two Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in viscous flow coupled with elastic deformations for flow control with hairs and soft robotics is/are available at the Mechanics Division, Department of Mathematics at the University of Oslo. 

Starting date as soon as possible, latest by August 15, 2026.

The appointment is a fulltime position and is for a period of three years (10% of which is devoted to other career promoting work, usually in the form of teaching activities). 

No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Oslo.

Project description

One or two three-year Postdoctoral Research Fellowship is available at the Department of Mathematics in the research group of Prof. Andreas Carlson at the University of Oslo (UiO). 

The positions are part of two projects funded by the Research Council of Norway for the development of a soft hairy surfaces for droplet flow control and vibration-based soft robot. The project has an ambitious aim to demonstrate how physical principles from a new understanding of the coupling between viscous flow and elastic deformation of solids to inspire new technological developments. 

The project will provide a fundamental understanding of the physical processes at play when droplets interact with soft hairy surfaces and when actively driving a soft sheet near a wall. Essential to the projects is developing a new understanding of the fluid-structure interactions, that is to say, the coupling between hair’s/sheet’s elastic deformations and the fluid flow. The project aims to develop a contactless soft robot relying on these operating principles (guided by our physical understanding of the processes) and using hairy surfaces for flow control. The projects requires detailed measurements of the dynamic soft elastic interface and the fluid flow, as well as theoretical and numerical developments. 

The project provides oportunities to collaborate with both national and international collaborators, as well as exploring sustainability aspects of the technology. This is the right position if you are highly motivated about fundamental science and excited about questions related to fluid-structure interactions (elastohydrodynamics) and interfacial fluid mechanics in the context of soft robotics. The Postdoctoral Research Fellowship will join an international and interdisciplinary research group lead by Prof. Andreas Carlson, which hosts other projects including an ERC Consolidator Grant. 

The main purpose of a postdoctoral fellowship is to provide the candidates with enhanced skills to pursue a scientific top position within or beyond academia. To promote a strategic career path, all postdoctoral research fellows are required to submit a professional development plan no later than one month after commencement of the postdoctoral period.

What skills are important in this role?

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

Qualification requirements:

• Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in mechanics, physics, applied mathematics or similar. Doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Only applicants with an approved doctoral thesis and public defense are eligible for appointment. 
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English.
• A strong track record in fundamental research in fluid mechanics, soft matter physics or (soft) robotics or within elastic materials. 
• Experience within fluid mechanics, elastohydrodynamics and/or complex materials will also be considered beneficial.
• A strong experimental background in developing and performing experiments in soft matter physics, elastohydrodynamics, robotics, solid mechanics and/or a strong background in theoretical developments and numerical simulations coupling fluid-solid/fluid-interface-solid dynamics.

All candidates and projects will have to undergo a check versus national export, sanctions and security regulations. Candidates may be excluded based on these checks. Primary checkpoints are the Export Control regulation, the Sanctions regulation, and the national security regulation.

What are we looking for in you?

Personal skills:

• Self-driven and highly motivated about fundamental science
• Good communication and collaboration skills
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Want to contribute to good social environment at the workplace
• Pro-active, result oriented and high performance capabilities

Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal skills.

We can offer you

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development
• Committed colleagues in a good working environment
• Good welfare schemes.
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.  
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities
• Postdoctoral development programmes.
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes
• Salary in position as Postdoctoral Fellow, position code 1352 in salary range NOK 595 000 - 690 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund

We need different perspectives in our work

UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.

We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues, could you be the next one?

We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.

If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps (Norwegian), we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).

The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports. More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here. 

We hope you will apply for the position with us.

How to apply

The application must include:

• Cover letter (max 1 page, statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest)
• CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
• Copies of educational certificates, academic transcript of records
• A complete list of publications and up to 5 academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for this job".

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.

If an applicant has applied for and been granted funding for a fulltime research stay abroad while being employed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the employment will be prolonged with the equivalent time as the research stay, but for no longer than of twelve months ( thus extending the employment to a maximum of four years)

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we can't, you will hear from us.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results a.o.