Postdoctoral position in Computational Mechanics at the University of Sydney

A research position at postdoctoral level is currently available in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney. The position is full-time fixed term for 2.5 years; further extension may be possible depending on the performance and availability of funding. The appointee will be working in a project funded by the Australian Research Council on the study of quasi-brittle fracture. Briefly, the project aims at understanding fracture and fragmentation processes in quasi-brittle materials, which is critical to the prediction of natural catastrophes and structural failures. Towards this aim, the development of constitutive models and computational algorithms for the analysis of quasi-brittle fracture across the scales is necessary. The formulation of constitutive models at continuum scale will be supported by meso-mechanical analysis to quantify the nonlocal effects due to microcrack interactions. The Material Point Method will be employed for the numerical analyses of quasi-brittle fracture at both macro and meso scales.

This project is an integrated activity of the newly established Particles and Grains Lab within the School of Civil Engineering. To succeed, the appointee will have a strong back ground in Computational Mechanics along with experiences in nonlinear numerical analysis, and computer programming. Experiences in constitutive modelling, large strain finite elements and parallel programming/computing using MPI are a plus.

Further enquiries about the project and the application (cover letter & CV) can be directed to Dr Giang Nguyen at giang.nguyen [at] sydney.edu.au.



Selection Criteria

Essential

• PhD or equivalent in a relevant field (e.g., Mechanical/Civil Engineering, Applied Physics/Mathematics, Computer Science).

• Strong background in Computational Mechanics.

• Experience in nonlinear numerical analysis.

• Experience in computer programming.

• Proven research ability.

• Ability to work independently and co-operatively with others.

• Evidence for proficiency at oral and written communication.

Desirable

• Experience in developing constitutive models.

• Experience with large strain finite elements.

• Experience in parallel programming/computing using MPI.