Doctoral studentship in Building Technology with specialization in Structural Health Monitoring of timber structures

Welcome to Linnaeus University! Here you'll meet 2 200 staff members and 40 000 students, all united in following the vision to set knowledge in motion for a sustainable societal development. With us, research and education are conducted with an eye towards the future. Our proximity to the business world, both locally and globally, gives us a wide reach and the ability to create change that makes an impact. All that's needed is a place where ideas have the space to meet and grow. That's what we've created – and you are invited.

Change starts here!

The Faculty of Technology has a wide range of activities spanning nine different departments through which Linnaeus University provides education and conducts research. The courses in technology cover everything from short courses of a few weeks or months to five-year Master of Science in Engineering courses. The research responds to society's needs in several broad fields - both in the short and long term - with basic research and applied research in collaboration with stakeholders.

The department of Building Technology has extensive collaboration with business partners in research and education. The department works together with the neighboring departments for a creative environment with challenging educations and outstanding research. Research in building technology includes wood building technology, steel, concrete, and composite construction technology, building physics, historical structures, structural health monitoring, life cycle analysis and building materials. The department currently offers two bachelor’s programs and a two-year master’s program, the latter in Sustainable Structural Engineering, and is currently developing a Master of Science in Engineering program in Civil Engineering.

Subject area for the position: Building Technology
Location until further notice: Växjö. Since Linnaeus University is located in both Växjö and Kalmar, travel between the two may be required.
Term and hours: The doctoral studentship is limited in time in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance (Chapter 5, Section 7). The studentship is full-time.

The employment as a doctoral student is limited according to chapter 5, section 7 of the Higher Education Ordinance. The total employment period may not be longer than the equivalent full-time postgraduate studies of four years.

The Higher Education Ordinance states that those who are employed as PhD students must primarily engage in their own education. However, an employee may to limited extent work with education and administration. Such work may, before the doctoral degree has been completed, not cover more than 20% of full-time work.

Starting date: Access by agreement.

Job description
The position will be a part of the research profile Competitive Timber Structures at the Department of Building Technology. In close cooperation with industry, the eight-year project aims to contribute to the green transition of the construction sector. The PhD project will be conducted within the Structural Health Monitoring and Assessment of Timber Structures work group, which analyses the performance of entire buildings, as well as building elements at laboratory scale.

The PhD project will focus on analysing long-term data from monitoring projects and predicting of the status of buildings or elements. Ongoing monitoring projects are done on buildings with different usage (office, residential) and typologies (CLT, timber-frame, post-beam systems, hybrid systems), utilizing data from vibrations, moisture, and temperature, as well as from the surrounding climate.

The research aims to contribute to assessing the safety of timber-based building systems, identifying sources for potential failure, and providing tools for assessment for the owner, the builder, and the structural designers. Using ongoing monitoring projects as case-studies, the goal is to derive generalizations that benefit the building sector profits broadly. Of particular interest are automated evaluation models, integration into digital twins, or in combination with BIM-models.

As a part of the training, the PhD student will take courses of at least 60 credits as agreed with the supervisors. Attendance of national and international courses and conferences is supported, as well as exchanges with other partners outside the project.

Eligibility
General entry requirements:
A person meets the general entry requirements for third-cycle studies if they

• have been awarded a degree at the second cycle level; or
• have at least 240 credits of passed courses, of which at least 60 credits are at the second cycle level; or
• have acquired essentially equivalent knowledge in some other way, in or outside Sweden.

Specific entry requirements:
A person fulfils the specific entry requirements if they:

• have a minimum of 90 higher education credits in the subject Civil Engineering/Building Technology or in subjects related to the doctoral level studies, or equivalent knowledge acquired in some other manner either in Sweden or abroad;
• have good communication skills and can express yourself both orally and in writing in English; and
• are judged to have the ability needed to assimilate the education.

Other requirements
In-depth knowledge in the following areas:

• Structural engineering, CAD/BIM
• Computational mechanics, including the Finite Element Method and structural dynamics

Desirable qualifications
In-depth knowledge in the following areas:

• Wood mechanics and timber engineering
• Statistics, programming, data analysis and data visualization

Experience of:

• Experimental/laboratory investigations,
• Teaching on different levels and communication of research results.
• Work as a practicing structural or civil engineer.

We are looking for you with interest in wood construction and timber engineering, and who wants to develop your ability both by taking personal responsibility and by utilizing results and insights that have been developed in the state-of-the-art and ongoing projects in the research environment.

Assessment criteria
The selection to third cycle studies is based on the assessed ability to pursue the studies. The assessment focuses mainly on study results from first cycle and second cycle studies. The following is considered:

• Knowledge and skills relevant to the thesis work and the subject, see Work description, Other requirements and Desirable qualifications These can be shown via attached documents.
• Assessed ability to work independently and ability to formulate and approach scientific problems. The assessment may be based on the degree project and a discussion about this at a possible interview.
• Level of written and oral communication
• Other merits relevant to the third cycle studies, e.g. professional experience.

Consideration will also be given to good collaboration skills, forward-thinking spirit, independence, and personal suitability, as well as how the applicant, through his or her experience and competence, is judged to have the ability needed to cope with the doctoral program.

Welcome with your application no later than June 9, 2024.

Contact
Head of department: Prof. Thomas Bader, thomas.bader@lnu.se, 0470-76 75 79
Main supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Michael Dorn, michael.dorn@lnu.se, 0470-70 81 56
HR-partner: Linda Wincent, linda.wincent@lnu.se, 0480-49 76 75

Would you like to know more about the Department of Building Technology? Learn more at https://lnu.se/byggteknik.

Linnaeus University has the ambition to utilize the qualities that an even gender distribution and diversity brings to the organization.

Please apply by clicking on the "Apply" button at the bottom of the ad. Applicants are requested to the application resolving CV, cover letter , a copy of a relevant essay , grades and certificates and other relevant documents. The applicant also requested to submit with their application a proposed research plan within the current area of research. All documents must be attached to digital in the application. The application and other documents shall be marked with the reference number. All documents cited must be received by the University no later than 23.59 (Local time in Sweden) on the closing day.