PhD Research Fellow in Numerical Mathematics

This is Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

With about 17,500 students, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences is one of the largest higher education institutions in Norway. A broad range of academic programmes are offered at Bachelor, Master and PhD levels, spread out on five campuses Førde, Sogndal, Bergen, Stord og Haugesund.

Our ambition is to build stronger and more solid academic and research environments that will interact nationally and internationally. The aim is to become a recognized actor on the international higher education arena. Increased international cooperation and engagement in externally funded projects will work towards this goal.

The Faculty of Engineering and Science has approximately 370 employees and approximately 3,260 students. The faculty has a broad educational offer at both bachelor's and master's level in engineering and science, as well as PhD education in computer technology. The Mohns Center for Innovation and Regional Development researches innovation and offers master's education in innovation and entrepreneurship. The diving education offers a one-year vocational school education.

The main part of the faculty's activities are in Haugesund, Bergen, Sogndal and Førde, but we also offer decentralized education in Florø, Kristiansund and Stord.

The faculty's activities are internationally based and take place in close collaboration with regional companies, clusters, health trusts and the public sector, including other institutions in the university and college sector. This applies to research, development, innovation and not least education with student projects at all levels.

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, has a vacancy for PhD Research Fellow in Numerical Mathematics

The Department of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, has a vacancy for a research fellow (PhD positions) in numerical mathematics for two-phase flow for a period of 3 years with a possible extension to 4 years.

The PhD research fellow will be part of the PhD programme in Computer Science: Software Engineering, Sensor Networks and Engineering Computing (). The research programme in Computer Science currently includes 20 professors and associate professors, more than 30 PhD and post-doctoral fellows, and a large number of master’s students.

About the PhD project:

The PhD position is part of the project “Physics-Adapted Numerical Methods for Two-Phase Flow” (PANum) funded by the Research Council of Norway. The project is a joint collaboration between Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and Hasselt University in Belgium.

In PANum the goal is to formulate and implement mathematical methods that are not only robust, efficient and have a low numerical error, but that also guarantee that important physical properties are fulfilled in the numerical solution. Ultimately, PANum will lead to a computational algorithm that reliably simulates two-phase flow.

The PhD project will be part of developing and analyzing relevant numerical methods and implement them in an open-source framework that will be made openly available for others to use. This will be relevant for example for CO2 storage and design of fuel cells.

Research environment

The computer science research environment at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences has a strong focus on use-inspired and applied research, and on ICT as an enabling technology. The research environment has cooperation with many national and international research groups, and with national and regional industry partners. The research programme includes the research themes of software engineering, engineering computing, sensor networks and measurement technologies, grid computing and physics data analysis, machine learning, and interactive and collaborative systems. The prospective PhD candidates will work in close cooperation with our current PhD students within the PhD programme, and especially with those working on the PANum project.

The PANum project is situated in the Engineering Computing group at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, and in the computational mathematics group (CMAT) at Hasselt University. Both groups focus strongly on numerical analysis and mathematical modelling. The prospective PhD student will work in close collaboration with Carina Bringedal and Erlend Storvik from Engineering Computing, and with Jochen Schütz from CMAT.

PhD research fellows receive an annual work expense funding which can be used for conference participation, research visits, and equipment. The place of employment is Campus Bergen or Campus Førde.

Qualifications:

Applicants must hold a master's degree in computer science, simulation science, applied mathematics or in a closely related field with a strong emphasis on numerical methods. Candidates who have submitted a master’s thesis (but who have not yet been awarded a master’s degree) may also qualify for the position provided that the master`s degree is awarded within 4 weeks after the application deadline.

A solid background in both the following fields are required:
•Numerical analysis for ODEs or PDEs
•Scientific programming using Python, MATLAB, C++, Julia, or similar.

Furthermore, experience within:
•collaborative code development and usage of version control tools like git
•mixed finite element methods
•iterative numerical methods

will be considered an advantage when candidates are ranked. andidates already holding a PhD within this field are not eligible for this position.

In addition to the required educational and scientific background, the following criteria will be evaluated: competence and grades on completed course work, quality of the master's thesis (excellent grade, equivalent of grade B or better on the ECTS grading system), publications (if any), research and teaching experience, practical programming skills and experience.

The candidate is expected to spend 3-6 months abroad at an international academic institution during the PhD project.

The candidate must be diligent and display the ability to work independently, supplemented with regular guidance, and is expected to carry out high-quality research and to publish the results in international workshops, conferences, and journals. In addition, the candidate must have good skills in English, both written and orally.

The PhD research fellow must enrol in the PhD programme in Computer Science: Software Engineering, Sensor Networks and Engineering Computing at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, and must meet the formal admission requirements for admission into the PhD programme. The position is announced for a period of 3 years. Upon appointment or during the first six months of appointment, it will be possible to apply for an extension to 4 years, with 25% of the 4-year period to be designated to duties such as teaching, development and administrative tasks. The employment period may be reduced if the successful applicant has held previous employment as a research fellow.

The PhD candidate will be assigned two academic supervisors at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. An application for enrolment should first be submitted after an appointment is made and the supervisors will help with this procedure. The candidate must be enrolled as a PhD student within 3 months from the start of the employment.

Application procedure:

Applications will be evaluated by an expert panel of three members.

Applicants are asked to submit their application and CV online. Please use the link “Apply for this job” (“Søk stillingen”).

The following documentation should be uploaded as an attachment to the online application:

The following documentation should be uploaded as an attachment to the online application:
•A brief cover letter including a description of research interests and motivation for working within the current project. The cover letter should include a detailed justification of your qualifications in relation to the listed requirements.
•CV (summarizing education, positions and a complete list of academic publications)
•Master thesis
•Transcripts and diplomas of bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If you have not yet completed your master’s degree, please submit a statement from your institution confirming the expected date of award of your master’s degree.
•Relevant certificates
•Names and contact details of 2 references. One of these should be the main supervisor of the master’s thesis.

If the documents submitted are not in a Scandinavian language or in English, the applicants must submit certified translations of these. The transcripts must specify the topics, the course works, and the grades at the bachelor`s and master`s degree levels. It is required that the applicant encloses a recognition document showing that their degree is equivalent to a Norwegian bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or PhD. You can read more about applying for recognition of foreign higher education here.

The Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir) offers an automatic recognition document for certain degrees from selected countries. If the applicant’s degree is covered by the automatic recognition, it will be sufficient to attach this document. Read more about automatic recognition here.

As the HK-dir application process may take some time it is recommended to apply to HK-dir as soon as possible. If you have not received a recognition document from HK- dir within the application deadline, please enclose documentation from HK-dir showing that they have received your application.

Applicants should note that the evaluation will be based on the documentation submitted electronically via Jobbnorge within the submission deadline. The applicants are responsible for ensuring that all the documentation is submitted before the closing date. It is of utmost importance that all publications to be considered in the evaluation are uploaded as an attachment with the application, since these are sent electronically to the expert panel. Applications cannot be sent by e-mail or to individuals at HVL.

Salary:

Good occupational pension, insurance and loan schemes from The Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
Exciting academic environment with the possibility of competence enhancement and development
Opportunities for training within the working hours

The Research Fellow position is compensated according to position code 1017 Research Fellow.

There is a compulsory 2 % deduction to the pension fund (see for more information). The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at any time.

General information:

The appointment will be made in accordance with the regulations for State employees Law in Norway ("Lov om statens ansatte)". Organizational changes and changes in the duties and responsibilities associated with the position must be expected.

State employment shall reflect the multiplicity of the population at large to the highest possible degree. Western Norway University of Applied Sciences Bergen has therefore adopted a personnel policy objective to ensure that we achieve a balanced age and gender composition and the recruitment of persons of various ethnic backgrounds.

Information about the applicant may be made public even though the applicant has requested not to be named in the list of applicants. The applicant will be notified if his/her request is not respected.

Short-listed applicants will be called in for an interview.

Employed on condition that you are granted a work and residence permit (must be considered individually).

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences is subjected to The Export Control Regulation. The regulation will be applied in the processing of the applications.