PhD candidate in Energy & Environment Engineering

The University of Luxembourg is an international research university with a distinctly multilingual and interdisciplinary character. The University was founded in 2003 and counts more than 6,700 students and more than 2,000 employees from around the world. The University’s faculties and interdisciplinary centres focus on research in the areas of Computer Science and ICT Security, Materials Science, European and International Law, Finance and Financial Innovation, Education, Contemporary and Digital History. In addition, the University focuses on cross-disciplinary research in the areas of Data Modelling and Simulation as well as Health and System Biomedicine. Times Higher Education ranks the University of Luxembourg #3 worldwide for its “international outlook,” #20 in the Young University Ranking 2021 and among the top 250 universities worldwide.

The Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) contributes multidisciplinary expertise in the fields of Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, Life Sciences and Medicine. Through its dual mission of teaching and research, the FSTM seeks to generate and disseminate knowledge and train new generations of responsible citizens, in order to better understand, explain and advance society and environment we live in.

A PhD position in Engineering is available at the Chair for Energy Mix (Prof. Dr. Jean-Régis HADJI-MINAGLOU), Department of Engineering. The successful candidate will be hired in the frame of the ADAPT project “Promoting adaptation to climate change, disaster risk prevention, and resilience, considering ecosystem-based approaches” funded by the Interreg Greater Region (Principal Investigator: Prof. Sabine Hoffmann, TU Kaiserslautern, Germany).

The building sector must evolve as soon as possible to address the climate change, whose heat waves cause the increase of the number of deaths in the population.

Uni.lu provides a reduced-scale laboratory prototype, which is capable to cover any building-relevant types of energy, namely thermal (space heating, space cooling and domestic hot water) and electrical energy. The setup encompasses thermal and electrical energy storing and generating devices such as a heat pump, thermal energy storage tanks, photovoltaic & solar thermal panels, and a battery storage.

The goals of the specific related PhD research topic entitled: “Smart Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies upon Heat Stress “, are listed below:

• A monitoring system must be further developed and installed to record relevant environmental data like temperature, humidity, airflow, etc., in the rooms and to send them in real time to a central server platform. A particular focus is set to the development of different data transmission strategies to allow for a larger roll-out of the monitoring system
• A user-friendly standardized questionnaire must be elaborated to fill in personal data as well as parameters related to the specific room in which the monitoring system will be placed. A questionnaire must be developed that requests thermal sensation, thermal comfort, and other health related votes from the participating persons
• Smart individual and statistical analyses by processing, compiling, and correlating the objective measurement data with the subjective human perceptions must generate warning alarms and suggest countermeasures to the users during critical environmental conditions, when previously defined limits are exceeded
• Innovative teaching methods must be developed, aimed at different target groups (students or professional trainees), by networking the climate laboratories of the project partners
• Any kind of scenarios based on different and multiple optimisation criteria (room temperature & humidity control, energy savings, operational costs reduction, etc.) must be validated on the test rig in the lab and improved using online predictive control strategies

• Diploma or Master’s degree in Energy & Environment Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Medical Engineering or related disciplines
• Writing a doctoral thesis in engineering science based on this research project
• Assisting in Bachelor/Master projects and courses
• Curiosity, a genuine passion for scientific research
• Openness to interdisciplinary research and commitment to teamwork
• Interdisciplinarity is requested with research domains in building science, physiology and psychology
• Commitment and capacity to critical thinking and good research ethics
• Advanced competence in laboratory and analytical work is necessary
• Fluent written and verbal communication skills in English is mandatory. Good level of either German or French

Applications should include:

• Motivation letter indicating the research area of interest
• Curriculum Vitae (including your contact address, work experience, publications)
• Copy of the MSc diploma
• Reference letter from last employer or Master thesis Professor
• Transcript of all courses and results from the highest university-level courses taken

We ensure a full consideration for applications received by 30 June 2024. Please apply ONLINE formally through the HR system. Applications by email will not be considered.

The University of Luxembourg embraces inclusion and diversity as key values. We are fully committed to removing any discriminatory barrier related to gender, and not only, in recruitment and career progression of our staff.

General information:

• Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract 36 Month (extendable up to 48 if required)
• Work Hours: Full Time 40.0 Hours per Week
• Employee and student status
• Location: Kirchberg
• A strong doctoral program with training in scientific and transferable skills, participation in schools, conferences and workshops
• Job Reference: UOL06510

The yearly gross salary for every PhD at the UL is EUR 40952 (full time)

• Multilingual and international character. Modern institution with a personal atmosphere. Staff coming from 90 countries. Member of the “University of the Greater Region” (UniGR).
• A modern and dynamic university. High-quality equipment. Close ties to the business world and to the Luxembourg labour market. A unique urban site with excellent infrastructure.
• A partner for society and industry. Cooperation with European institutions, innovative companies, the Financial Centre and with numerous non-academic partners such as ministries, local governments, associations, NGOs …