PhD Candidate in Fluid Mechanics and Wind-Assisted Propulsion

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At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the job

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

A position for a PhD candidate is available in the Thermo-Fluids research group within the Department of Energy and Process Engineering. The appointment has a duration of 3 years at the end of which the candidate is expected to defend a PhD thesis. An extra year is possible with the addition of teaching duties.  The position is financed by the Research Council of Norway project, reSail: Sailing with wind-assisted propulsion in realistic wind conditions.

The successful candidate will work in the state-of-the-art and well-equipped Fluid Mechanics Lab at NTNU’s main Gløshaugen campus in Trondheim, Norway.  Experiments will be conducted in the large wind tunnel equipped with an active grid. The project will focus on measurements of model ships with wind-assisted propulsion devices mounted to it determine their benefit and understand the governing fluid mechanics. These measurements will include both force measurements and flow fields acquired via particle image velocimetry (PIV). 

The successful candidate will join the Experimental Fluids Group that focusses on a range of topics involving turbulent flows. The particular colleagues working within this group are friendly and welcoming, and foster an enjoyable working environment while balancing the pursuit of scientific excellence with all the other experiences, activities and benefits life has to offer in Norway. Norway is frequently rated as one of the best and happiest places to live in the world.

The position will be supervised by Professor Jason Hearst (jason.hearst@ntnu.no), whom you may contact for further information.

Please read this entire posting before applying for this position. Incomplete applications may not be considered.

Your immediate leader is Head of Department Terese Løvås.

Duties of the position

• Perform experiments using particle image velocimetry and other flow diagnostic tools.
• Design and build scaled models based on reference designs.
• Participate in meetings with supervisors and colleagues.
• Write journal papers.
• Present scientific work at conferences.

Required selection criteria

• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented by September 1, 2025.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program PhD in Engineering (Doctoral Programme) 3 years - Trondheim - NTNU

• You must have a professionally relevant background in fluid mechanics.
• Programming skills in MATLAB, Python, or similar packages.
• Experience with fluid mechanics, demonstrated through courses, projects, activities, and/or theses.
• Scientific reports and papers are written in English, and thus strong command of the English language is required (demonstrated by works written in English, application correspondence and language, and/or certified English tests).

Note, candidates are also expected to meet the standard of excellence imbued by the present faculty, staff and students of the research group.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant 

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience conducting fluids experiments (e.g., hot-wire anemometry, particle image velocimetry, laser-Doppler anemometry, other scientific imaging).
• Experience building fluid mechanic test rigs.
• Experience with large-scale imaging.

Please note, a purely computational background without experimental or other hands-on experience is not sufficient exposure to fluid mechanics, particularly if only commercial software packages have been used.

Not sure you meet all the qualifications?  Let us decide! Research shows that under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply!

Personal characteristics

• Enthusiastic.
• Highly motivated.
• Works effectively in teams and individually.
• Able to operate in a goal-oriented manner.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

• world-class experimental laboratories.
• state-of-the-artexperimental measurement equipment.
• a strong group of researchers focused on fluid mechanics.
• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment.
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues.
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.
employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Engineering, PhD in Engineering (Doctoral Programme) 3 years - Trondheim - NTNU  within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

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The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include: 

• CV and certificates
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Name and contact information of three referees.
• A “research statement” briefly describing your Masters research or other previous research experience. This document should not exceed 1 page.
• A “qualifications document” explicitly listing each of the “position specific criteria” and “preferred selection criteria” with a brief description of how you meet each one. This document should not exceed 2 pages.
• If you have publications or other relevant research work

An application missing any of the above may be considered incomplete by the selection committee and the candidate may thus not be considered further.

If you are applying from outside Norway, please include a document detailing the grading/credit equivalencies to the Norwegian or ECTS systems.  If this is not available, then please include a document describing the grading system at your university and the requirements for degree completion.  This can be a PDF print-out from your university’s webpage or in some cases is included on your actual transcript.  If your transcript does not include an average grade for the last two years of your education, please calculate it and include it in your application.  Applications without this supporting material may not be considered.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality.

Department of Energy and Process Engineering has established EPT Women in Science. The group is focused on supporting female Research Assistants, PhD Candidates, Postdoctoral Fellows and permanent academic employees within the Department. This support aims to help develop the academic careers of female employees, and is also made visible to our student body, to encourage them to consider an academic path. As part of the EPT Women in Science initiative we continue to build on our international network, inviting prominent female academics within and beyond the field of Engineering to speak at our events.

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The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

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As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Jason Hearst, email: jason.hearst@ntnu.no . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Ingrid Wiggen, e-mail: ingrid.wiggen@ntnu.no.

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.