PhD student in Human Body Model for Bicyclist Shoulder Injury Prediction

Project description
The research will be conducted in the division of Vehicle Safety at Chalmers. The research at the Division of Vehicle Safety investigates why and how often accidents and incidents occur, driver/rider reactions in different traffic situations, and how injuries occur. The Injury Prevention (IP) group is responsible for investigating the injury mechanisms at the microscopic level as well as the dynamic response of the whole human body to externally applied mechanical loads. In 2009, the IP research group initiated research activities in the field of Human Body Modelling (HBM) in close collaboration with the industry and SAFER - The Vehicle and Traffic Safety Center at Chalmers.

Both collaborations inside Chalmers research groups and with different stakeholders are important for the success of this project. Therefore, the PhD-student will work close to researchers at IP and within the SAFER network, participating in meetings at different locations near Göteborg. About ten PhD students are currently perusing their studies at Vehicle Safety.

The project aims to further develop a human body model (SAFER HBM) to a tool for development of protection systems, test methods and recommendations for infrastructure modifications that makes cycling safer. A specific project goal is to further develop and validate the shoulder of the human body model SAFER HBM. For the development of a representative model of the bones and soft tissues of the shoulder, images from computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging will be used. Further, preparatory development of injury criteria and associated risk functions for the updated body parts should be developed. In parallel, physical crash tests and CAE simulations will be carried out with industrial partners to generate data replicating the relevant injury mechanisms when loading the shoulder. Evaluation of these tests and simulations will add to the component validation done on the shoulder and upper arm specifically.

Major responsibilities
The PhD student will be part of a international group of researchers that are developing and validating Human Body Models for industrial applications. You will be responsible for improving the biomechanical properties of the tools that not only predict kinematics and risk of injury, but should also reflect the diverse biomechanical properties of our population in terms of height, weight, age, sex, muscle activity and tissue properties. The tools are to be validated and verified using available data and subsequently applied to studies such as accident reconstruction. The sucsessful candidate will be challenged to keep pace with advances in biomechanics, material modelling, and computational mechanics.

The student will be registered in the Machine and Vehicle Systems Research School. M2 PhD students are expected to teach in Chalmers Bachelor and Master's programs approximately 10% of their work time and expected to finalize the PhD in 4.5 years.

Qualifications
Mandatory Educational Qualifications
- MSc in engineering
- Numerical techniques
- Mechanical engineering
- Proficiency in oral English and good communication skills.

Meritorious Educational Qualifications
- Biomechanics
- Anatomy and medicine
- Proficient in oral and written Swedish

Meritorious Experience
- Experience of crash simulations with LS-DYNA. Work experience within the automotive industry with experimental testing.
- Interest in cycling

You need to be motivated, self-propelled, and comfortable working and communicating in project teams.

Chalmers continuously strives to be an attractive employer. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers. To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in a relevant field.
The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in English. If Swedish is not your native language, Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

Contract terms
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

We offer
Chalmers offers a cultivating and inspiring working environment in the coastal city of Gothenburg. 
Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.

Chalmers aims to actively improve our gender balance. We work broadly with equality projects, for example the GENIE Initiative on gender equality for excellence. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20230198 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically and be attached as PDF-files, as below. Maximum size for each file is 40 MB. Please note that the system does not support Zip files.

CV: (Please name the document: CV, Family name, Ref. number)
• CV
• Other, for example previous employments or leadership qualifications and positions of trust.
• Two references that we can contact.

Personal letter: (Please name the document as: Personal letter, Family name, Ref. number)
1-3 pages where you:
• Introduce yourself
• Describe your previous experience of relevance for the position (e.g. education, thesis work and, if applicable, any other research activities)
• Describe your future goals and future research focus

Other documents:
• Copies of bachelor and/or master’s thesis.
• Attested copies and transcripts of completed education, grades and other certificates, e.g. TOEFL test results.

Please use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form. 

Application deadline: April 15, 2023



For questions, please contact:
Mats Svensson
Full professor, Vehicle Safety
mats.svensson@chalmers.se

Johan Davidsson
Associate Professor, Vehicle Safety
johan.davidsson@chalmers.se

Johan Iraeus
Researcher, Vehicle Safety
johan.iraeus@chalmers.se

*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. ***