PhD Candidate - High-Density Urban Systems Resilience in Zürich

100%, Singapore, temporary

ETH Zurich is one of the leading universities of the world with a strong focus on science and engineering. In 2010 it established the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC) in collaboration with the National Research Foundation (NRF) to do interdisciplinary research on pressing problems. In collaboration with the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), SEC is undertaking a research programme on "Future Resilient Systems", The FRS addresses the challenges with critical infrastructure systems that provide essential services to modern societies, which is of particular importance to innovation-driven economies like Singapore and Switzerland. Within this framework we are announcing the following job opening.

The PhD Candidate will develop the methodology for and implement the computer simulation tools to quantify the disaster resilience of high-density urban systems. This work will build on the findings of the FRS programme to date, the ETH Re-CoDeS framework and the resilience models currently in use by the Singapore and Swiss agencies. The urban system simulation and planning tools will be based on a distributed computing architecture. The candidate will be based in the cluster Resilience of High-Density Urban Systems and collaborate with other researchers in the FRS programme, SEC and CREATE. The PhD Candidate will be employed at the Singapore-ETH Centre and local working regulations will apply. The PhD Candidate will be enrolled in doctoral studies at ETH Zurich, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (D-BAUG). The primary academic and research advisor will be Professor Bozidar Stojadinovic (ETH). Professor Edmond Lo (NTU) will be the academic and research co-advisor. The earliest starting date is September 1st, 2020. The workplace is Singapore.

The successful applicant must hold a MSc or equivalent University level diploma in civil, environmental, geomatic, mechanical or electrical engineering, industrial & operational research, geoscience, computer science or a related field, and be at the beginning of her/his research career. She or he must be interested in developing novel solutions to increase disaster resilience of urban systems. Desired qualifications include experience with:

• Design, normal operation and disaster consequence assessment of civil infrastructure and urban systems
• Hazard and risk analysis, and uncertainty quantification
• Computer modeling of such systems
• Data analytics
• Machine learning
• General programming, analytical and quantitative skills

A solid knowledge of written and spoken English is mandatory, as the academic work will be done in this language. We expect good interpersonal skills, the ability to thrive in a diverse, multidisciplinary environment, collaborate with researchers and practitioners, and present work in progress meetings at international conferences. 

The Singapore-ETH Centre provides a multicultural and interdisciplinary environment to researchers working on diverse themes focussed on sustainable and liveable cities, resilient urban systems, and patient-centric healthcare. The centre is home to a community of over 100 doctoral, postdoctoral and professorial researchers working in three main programmes: Future Cities Laboratory, Future Resilient Systems, and Future Health Technologies.