PhD/Postdoc in fluid mechanics of supercooled droplets and ice crystals

Climate change is a socio-economic challenge, and climate simulations are the only scientific tool to predict our planet's future climate. Clouds are crucial for weather and climate predictions, rain formation, and the water cycle. According to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), cloud modelling is one of the least understood domains in climate sciences and is “listed as one of the most urgent problems requiring scientific attention”. Clouds are considered the largest source of uncertainty in climate predictions because it is complicated to accurately model the small-scale process (microphysics) inside clouds occurring in a range from meters to nanometers in a global climate model where the resolution is of the order of Kilometers.

Project description
The Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences at Chalmers University of Technology is currently offering a doctoral or postdoctoral position focused on investigating ice formation in the atmosphere, particularly starting from supercooled liquid droplets.

Despite temperatures below 0 Celsius, the spontaneous freezing of liquid droplets is a complex phenomenon, and they often remain in a unique thermodynamic state known as supercooling. The formation of ice from supercooled droplets is reliant on the presence of specific aerosol solid particles, referred to as ice nuclei. However, these ice nuclei are rare, and observations indicate that the concentration of ice exceeds the concentration of ice nuclei by several orders of magnitude. This discrepancy leads to the intriguing phenomenon known as ice multiplication, where the source of the additional ice remains unclear.

The research methodology for this position involves utilizing fully-resolved Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) coupled with phase change. The project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the MIXCLOUDS project, with the following objectives:
-Develop advanced numerical methodologies for efficient ice solidification.
-Explore and uncover new physics related to ice nucleation mechanisms, starting from supercooled droplets.

This interdisciplinary project encourages collaboration with experts in statistics and atmospheric physics. The successful candidate will contribute to advancing our understanding of ice formation in the atmosphere.

About the division
The position will be open at the division of Fluid Dynamics. The research at the Division covers turbulent flow (both compressible and incompressible), multiphase flows, aero-acoustics and turbomachines. Our tools include both computations and experiments. The research covers a wide range of topics. In some research projects the smallest turbulent scales are studied whereas in others the function of a complete gas turbine is analyzed and modelled. The Division of Fluid Dynamics is part of Chalmers Sustainable Transport Initiative, Chalmers eScience Initiative and Chalmers Energy Initiative.

Major responsibilities
The hired person will be central to the development of the project, and also responsible for the implementation, validation and data analysis of the numerical tools.

You are expected to learn to develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing. Your research activities will contribute to enhanced knowledge in the scientific field, in particular by presenting your results in scientific journals and at international conferences.

The PhD position also includes teaching courses within Chalmers' undergraduate level corresponding to up to 20 percent of the working hours.

Read more about doctoral studies at Chalmers here.

Qualifications
MSc (for the phd position) or PhD (for the postdoctoral position( in Mechanical Eng., Naval/Maritime Eng., Meteorology, Atmospheric Physics, Chemical Eng., Physics, Math. Eng., Aeronautics or any corresponding MSc.

Please specify in the personal letter if you intend to apply for the PhD or for the Postdoctoral position.

The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in English. If Swedish is not your native language, Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

Contract terms
The PhD position is a full-time temporary employment limited to a maximum of 4,5 years, while the postdoc position is a full-time temporary employment limited to a maximum of 2 years (+1 year of extension depending of performances).

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 reference number 20240038 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, reference 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: 2024-02-29



For questions, please contact:
Associate Professor Gaetano Sardina, Fluid Dynamics,
sardina@chalmers.se, +46737176687

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