Are you interested in critical infrastructure systems and multi-hazard risk modelling? Do you want to contribute to the development of state-of-the-art large-scale infrastructure risk assessments? Please apply at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Location: AMSTERDAM
FTE: 0.8 – 1
JOB DESCRIPTION
Overview of the research project
Critical infrastructure (CI), such as electricity and transportation systems, are the backbone of our society. When natural hazards strike, the importance of these systems becomes apparent: a disruption of a single CI service can quickly result in a knock-on effect on households, companies, and other CI systems, thereby causing wide-spread impacts on society. For this postdoc position, you will work on research leading to state-of-the-art assessments of the societal impacts of critical infrastructure failure due to both single natural hazards and multi-hazard events (i.e., compound and cascading events).
The position entails: (i) understanding the vulnerabilities of infrastructure networks to single and multi-hazard events, (ii) explicitly modelling the impacts of climate extremes to critical infrastructure, (iii) improving the computational capacity of our risk frameworks (e.g. asset, network and society) and (iv) developing this within a multi-hazard setting.
Methods include network modelling and geospatial analysis to explicitly couple physical natural hazard events to infrastructure networks and economic activity. You are expected to make scientific advancements in improving our modelling capabilities of critical infrastructure risk assessments.
This research is part of the Horizon Europe Multi-hazard Infrastructure Risk Assessment for Climate Adaptation (MIRACA) project. The work will be carried out at IVM. You will work in close collaboration with the MIRACA consortium partners. Our institute and the MIRACA consortium value diversity, we therefore especially encourage applications from women and other groups traditionally under-represented in the discipline.
Your duties
- develop new state-of-the-art methods for large-scale critical infrastructure risk assessments
- contributing to several on-going research projects, in particular the MIRACA project
- contributing to the supervision of PhD candidates
REQUIREMENTS
- have a PhD degree in civil or structural engineering, geospatial analysis, computational sciences, climate sciences or similar (preferably with demonstrable affinity with critical infrastructure systems and/or climate risk assessments)
- proven skills in programming in Python (and preferably affinity with version control and git)
- strong quantitative methodological skills
- experience with High Performance Computing (or interest in learning) is desirable
- the position involves collaboration and communication in a larger team of researchers and stakeholders from other disciplines involved in international research projects
WHAT ARE WE OFFERING?
A challenging position in a socially involved organization. On full-time basis the remuneration amounts to a minimum gross monthly salary of €2,960 (scale 10) and a maximum €4,670 (scale 10), depending on your education and experience. The job profile: is based on the university job ranking system and is vacant for at least 0.8 FTE.
The initial employment contract will affect a period of 2 years (24 months).
Additionally, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam offers excellent fringe benefits and various schemes and regulations to promote a good work/life balance, such as:
- a maximum of 41 days of annual leave based on full-time employment
- 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
- solid pension scheme (ABP)
- contribution to commuting expenses
ABOUT VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT AMSTERDAM
The ambition of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is clear: to contribute to a better world through outstanding education and ground-breaking research. We strive to be a university where personal development and commitment to society play a leading role. A university where people from different disciplines and backgrounds collaborate to achieve innovations and to generate new knowledge. Our teaching and research encompass the entire spectrum of academic endeavor – from the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences through to the life sciences and the medical sciences.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is home to more than 31,000 students. We employ over 5,000 individuals. The VU campus is easily accessible and located in the heart of Amsterdam’s Zuidas district, a truly inspiring environment for teaching and research.
Diversity
We are an inclusive university community. Diversity is one of our most important values. We believe that engaging in international activities and welcoming students and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds enhances the quality of our education and research. We are always looking for people who can enrich our world with their own unique perspectives and experiences.
The Faculty of Science
Working at the Faculty of Science means working together with students, PhD candidates and scientists who are focused on their discipline, yet also have a broad view of the world. We are proud of the collegial working environment within the faculty, which is characterised by an ambitious and pragmatic attitude with commitment to the bigger picture. At the Faculty of Science, scientists and students work on fundamental and complex social issues for a sustainable and healthy future. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, from genetics to pharmaceuticals and from molecules to the moon: our teaching and research cover the full breadth of the natural sciences. Scientific teaching and research is highly experimental, technical, computational and interdisciplinary in nature. This is why we collaborate extensively with leading research institutes and industry. The faculty has over 11,000 students studying across 40 educational programmes and employs over 1,600 staff spread over 10 scientific departments, making us the largest science faculty in the Netherlands.
About the institute
Established in 1971, IVM is a leading environmental research institute that is internationally recognised for its high quality research output in a range of environmental disciplines, as well as for its interdisciplinary work. The mission of the institute is to contribute to sustainable development and care for the environment through scientific research and teaching. IVM aims to do excellent problem-oriented research that is useful to a wide range of stakeholders in the Netherlands and internationally. A unique strength of our research is to understand sustainability problems in their social and economic context. IVM’s research community works within four departments: Environmental Economics; Environmental Policy Analysis; Environmental Geography; and Water and Climate Risk. Since 2001 IVM has been part of the Faculty of Science at VU Amsterdam (legal name Stichting VU).
About the department
The department of Water and Climate Risk is a dynamic group of 45 international researchers, faculty members and PhD students within the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM). Explicit attention is given to the interaction between the hydrological and climate systems, and how these interactions lead to risk to society, the economy, and the environment. The focus is on water and climate extremes such as floods and droughts, to estimate impacts from these extremes on various economic sectors, and to examine which strategies can be developed to reduce impacts and risk. This requires the mapping of climate and water-related hazards, as well as the exposure of people and assets and their vulnerability, and estimating associated costs to reduce risk. Risk management and risk transfer strategies are evaluated in the context of both developed and developing countries. Model simulations, data processing, data assimilation and the integration of economic instruments, such as insurance, are key scientific strengths of the department.
APPLICATION
Are you interested in this position? Please apply via the application button and upload your curriculum vitae and cover letter describing your abilities and motivation by 4 August 2023.
Submitting a diploma and a reference check are part of the application process.
Applications received by e-mail will not be processed.
Vacancy questions
If you have any questions regarding this vacancy, you may contact:
Name: Dr Elco Koks
Position: Assistant Professor
E-mail: elco.koks@vu.nl
Website: www.vu.nl/ivm
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