Postdoctoral fellow

Job description

About Ghen University

Ghent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15.000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities. With its 11 faculties and more than 85 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes grounded in research

Your job

You will perform cutting-edge scientific research in the context of the ERC Starting Grant “FLOWSCOPY: Unravelling unsteady fluid flows in porous media with 3D X-ray micro-velocimetry”. One of the main goals of this project is to develop X-ray based methods to measure fluid flow in the pores of porous materials such as rocks and sediments, with relevance to e.g. subsurface hydrogen storage and clean-up of groundwater pollution. To do this, we will develop methods to image micrometer-scale tracer particles in 3D while they flow through the pores.

Your task will be to develop new algorithms to reconstruct dynamic computed tomography images (4D micro-CT) of fluid flow in porous materials, based on iterative tomographic inversion. The goal is to break through the current limitations of micro-CT with respect to measuring dynamics, notably the strict trade-off between its resolutions in time and space. You will be responsible to set up the software environment (including HPC aspects) and to develop and validate the algorithms.

You will collaborate closely with a PhD student on the computational side of the project, and 3 other researchers running experiments and simulations (in addition to the supervisor).

Job profile

• You hold a doctoral degree or a diploma or certificate recognized as equivalent by law or in application of the guidelines of the European Union or a bilateral agreement.
• In exceptional circumstances and based on detailed scientific justification, researchers who do not hold such a degree may also be considered, provided they have demonstrated exceptional scientific merit.
• Exceptonal scientific merit is defined as having excelled in scientific research and publications at a level at least equivalent to a doctoral degree.
• The grant can only be awarded within the framework of international scientific mobility. This is the case if:
  • the researcher has resided abroad for at least 24 months out of the 3 years prior to the start date of the postdoctoral fellowship and has not worked or studied in Belgium during that period. However, short-term stays in Belgium are allowed during 24 months, such as holidays, participation in conferences or a short stay to prepare for the period as a postdoctoral researcher
  • the researcher is funded by the Marie- Sklodovska-Curie Action (MSCA) and thus meets the associated mobility conditions.
  • Only for postdoctoral researchers in international mobility
  • You are a skilled programmer (Python, C++,…) with at least a basic knowledge of parallel scientific computing (e.g. MPI, CUDA).
  • You have experience with algorithmic development and numerical methods, preferably for solving inverse problems such as tomographic reconstruction or 3D particle velocimetry.
  • You preferably have affinity with research software development in a collaborative team environment.
  • You have an excellent academic track record and an excellent command of the English language.
  • You are a team player with excellent scientific and interpersonal communication skills.

Our offer

• We offer a full time positions as a postdoctoral fellow, with a minimum period of 20 months.
• In deviation the above, an EEA national, who has previously received a postdoctoral grant in the 12 months prior to an MSCA grant, can exceed the maximum term of 36 months under this MSCA grant provided that the entire term does not exceed 48 months.
• Your contract will start on 1^st May at the earliest.
• The grant amount is equal to the net salary of a doctoral assistant (AAP 5) with the same level of education and seniority and based on the same family situation as the doctoral assistant. The supervisor may deviate from this and assign a higher level based on acquired experience, professional career and demonstrated competences. The grant amount will not be revised in the current year except in case of indexation. Click here for more information about our salary scales
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits (in Dutch).

How to apply

Apply online via Google Forms: https://forms.gle/fS6z3vRy5jJDa7zR7
Application deadline: February 22nd, 2024.
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More information or issues with the submission form:
Prof. Tom Bultreys | tom.bultreys@ugent.be | www.pprogress.ugent.be | https://www.ugent.be/we/ugct