PhD student position in SIMT: analysis of causation mechanisms for crashes

We are looking for a creative PhD student who wants to address a timely and concrete issue in transportation and leverage a collaborative environment to increase our understanding of traffic safety. The rise of micro-mobility poses unprecedented challenges to transport safety. Although we have information about the number of crashes involving micro-mobility users, we lack data that helps us explaining why these crashes happen. Naturalistic data including video footage and sensor data are a unique source to understand how road users, vehicles and road infrastructure contribute to the occurrence of crashes. As a PhD student in this project, you will work with naturalistic riding data and other sources of crash data (e.g., crash databases and insurance databases) to determine factors contributing to crashes and near crashes and to identify black spots in the current road infrastructure. 

Information about the research project and the division
Today, micro-mobility is on the rise, posing new challenges for a safe transport system. As e-scooters have proliferated, so have e-scooterists' visits to the emergency care. Today, data about e-scooter safety are scarce but alarming. While several studies describe significant injurious outcomes from e-scooter crashes, we still lack an understanding of the crash-causation mechanisms -and we are even further from developing effective countermeasures against e-scooter crashes. In the Vehicle Safety division, we apply human factors and engineering to better understand the safety problem and find solutions. Specifically, within the group for Crash Analysis and Prevention (CAP), we aim to identify how the road users, the vehicles and the road infrastructure contribute to the occurrence of a crash and which countermeasures we can recommend for decreasing the number and the severity of crashes. This PhD will focus on e-scooters safety. 

Major responsibilities
Your research will focus on using data from e-scooters to improve traffic safety. Part of the work will include supporting the instrumentation of e-scooters or other micro-mobility vehicles for collecting naturalistic data. The main analysis work will focus on the identification of the contributing factors to crashes involving e-scooter riders. This analysis will be leverage methodologies derived from human factors (e.g., methodologies to identify human errors while riding) and statistical methods (e.g., odd ratios). Other responsibilities, as a PhD student at Chalmers, include supporting teaching in BSc and MSc courses and taking more than a year of own courses (both transferable skills courses, such as ethics, writing, and project management, and research-topic-specific courses).

Because this project involves several stakeholders, communication and collaboration are also key aspects for the project. We expect, therefore, that this PhD student will support and develop our collaborations within Chalmers and the SAFER network.

Qualifications
To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in engineering or computer science, at the time of starting the position. It is a requirement to have experience in programming (e.g., Python and Matlab). Project work and work experience in the following domains is meritorious: a) qualitative or/and quantitative analysis of data collected in naturalistic setting (or analysis of crash data) , b) instrumentation of vehicles, c) experience in the collection of field data, d), and d) quantitative investigation of driver/human behaviors; e) experience with statistical analyses.

As the work will be conducted in a highly multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment, cultural awareness and good collaboration and communication skills are important. It is equally important that you are quality conscious and a problem solver. As a PhD student you also must be responsible, creative, and curious. We are looking for a team-player that supports a healthy job environment where honesty, trust, respect, and transparency are among our core values.

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 4.5-5 years, depending on the amount of teaching and departmental work you do during your doctoral project.

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.

Learn more and apply on Chalmers website: https://www.chalmers.se/sv/om-chalmers/Arbeta-pa-Chalmers/lediga-tjanster/Sidor/default.aspx?rmpage=job&rmjob=10943&rmlang=SE

Application deadline: October 29, 2022


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



Chalmers University of Technology conducts research and education in engineering sciences, architecture, technology-related mathematical sciences, natural and nautical sciences, working in close collaboration with industry and society. The strategy for scientific excellence focuses on our six Areas of Advance; Energy, Health Engineering, Information and Communication Technology, Materials Science, Production and Transport. The aim is to make an active contribution to a sustainable future using the basic sciences as a foundation and innovation and entrepreneurship as the central driving forces. Chalmers has around 11,000 students and 3,000 employees. New knowledge and improved technology have characterised Chalmers since its foundation in 1829, completely in accordance with the will of William Chalmers and his motto: Avancez!