Faculty of Technology, Art and Design

Oslo Metropolitan University is Norway's third largest university with almost 22,000 students and over 2,500 employees. We have campuses in central Oslo and at Romerike. OsloMet educates students and conducts research that contributes to the sustainability of the Norwegian welfare state and the metropolitan region.

The Faculty of Technology, Art and Design (TKD) offers higher education and research and development (R&D) activities within technical subjects, arts and design. The Faculty has approximately 4.000 students and 400 staff members and is situated at Pilestredet Campus in downtown Oslo and at Kjeller Campus in Viken.

The Faculty of Technology, Art and Design, Department of Civil Engineering and Energy Technology of Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet) is looking for a motivated PhD candidate with a master’s degree in civil engineering or building physics, or material science or physics (or close to obtaining such a degree). The vacant PhD research fellowship position has a duration of 3 years.

The Department has about 700 students and 40 staff members. For more information about the Department, visit our website 

The PhD position is located at OsloMet’s Department of Civil Engineering and Energy Technology in central Oslo. The candidate will be enrolled in the new PhD Programme of OsloMet. The applicants must qualify for admission to the actual PhD Programme.


Project description
The PhD position is within the research area “Hygrothermal modelling for the assessment of climate change impact on historic buildings and structures” and is linked to the recently funded Horizon 2020 project, entitled “HYPERION - Development of a Decision Support System for Improved Resilience & Sustainable Reconstruction of historic areas to cope with Climate Change & Extreme Events based on Novel Sensors and Modelling Tools”. The PhD project is part of the Work Package 4 “Characterization of the Building Materials and Identification of the Deterioration Patterns”.
Recent studies highlight the potential impact of Climate Change (CC) on historic areas hosting Cultural Heritage (CH) sites and monuments, which in turn yield significant adverse impacts on economies, politics and societies. The deterioration of CH sites is one of the biggest challenges in conservation; aspects such as building technologies/materials, structural responses, preventive measures and restoration strategies, resilience and adaptation methodologies must be considered. Currently there is no specific process towards understanding and quantifying CC effects on historic areas; combined with the limited strategies on CC-related issues, it becomes difficult to assess quantitatively and qualitatively the impact of various climatic and other parameters on the CH sites. HYPERION project aims to leverage existing tools and services, e.g. climate/extreme events models and their impacts, decay models of building materials etc. novel technologies to deliver an integrated resilience assessment platform, addressing multi-hazard risk understanding, sustainable reconstruction of historic areas etc.


In particular, the PhD project ‘Hygrothermal modelling for the assessment of climate change impact on historic buildings and structures’, as part of HYPERION project, will generate new scientific knowledge in the area of Heat Air and Moisture (HAM) modelling of historic areas and, thereby, will improve the prediction and mitigation of risks at CHs related to HAM loads. The aim is to establish d-HAM models of properties of building materials and to identify potentials for innovative measuring and sensing techniques of HAM states in the existing structures. For finding time-dependent relations between the HAM properties and loads, high-resolution spatial and time series of past climate data from climate models will be used to quantify the magnitude and occurrence of historic HAM loads that have led to the observed deterioration and damages of the building materials.
The PhD project will also develop procedures to upgrade building simulations with d-HAM properties of building materials and in particular of those found in CH sites. For the purpose of verification, the results of upgraded HAM simulations will be compared with the current HAM states at the CH assets. The results of upgraded HAM simulations will reveal the areas at CHs where the future HAM loads will speed up or amplify the deterioration processes of the building materials.

Main duties of the position

• conduct research in the fields of the project and publish the relevant results in scientific conference proceedings and academic journals. Indicatively,
o review existing relevant literature on: HAM modelling, heat and moisture transport and storage properties of typical building materials such as wood, stone, masonry etc., deterioration patterns and damage indicators of building materials, climate change impact on buildings and structures etc.
o simulate numerically the hygrothermal performance of building elements under dynamic loading conditions
o develop analytical solutions to determine the correlation between dose and response and predict the deterioration patterns
o study the impact of various climate change risk scenarios on historic buildings and cultural heritage sites
• carry out theoretical development, numerical simulations and possible field work
• deliver oral and written presentation of research results
• contribute in teaching and supervision of student theses at the department
• some administrative tasks should also be expected

The following qualifications are required:

• master’s degree or equivalent, which corresponds to 300 ECTS e.g. 5-years diploma, in Civil Engineering / Building Physics / Material Science / Physics
• background in the hygrothermal analysis of buildings, materials and structures
• ability to use HAM simulation programs, such as WUFI or Delphin or similar
• programming skills in MATLAB, Python, or similar will be an advantage
• experience in publishing academic works in conferences and journals is an advantage
• fluency in both written and spoken English

We are looking for applicants who:

• are proficient at performing goal-oriented work
• are highly motivated for the research work described above
• have good skills to deliver oral and written presentation of research results
• are able to work independently and in a team
• have a scientific mindset and structured and organized approach in problem solving
• have excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams
• are able to form and convey ideas in a simple and understandable manner
• are comfortable with teaching and supervision in front of public

The PhD position presupposes admission to a PhD program approved by the Department of Civil Engineering and Energy Technology. The PhD study plan for the PhD fellowship period is required to be completed, approved by the supervisor and acknowledged by the PhD host institution within 3 months after commencement of the position.
It is important for OsloMet to reflect the population of our region, and all qualified candidates are welcome to apply. We make active efforts to further develop as an inclusive workplace and to adapt the workplace if required.

We can offer you

• an exciting job opportunity at Norway’s third largest and most urban university
• a dynamic and motivating professional working environment with challenging tasks in an area of substantial development
• opportunities for professional development by participating in the Department’s research groups
• beneficial pension arrangements with the Norwegian State Pension Fund
• good employee welfare arrangements and free Norwegian classes to employees and their partners
• relocation support, cultural courses and on boarding services
• working location in downtown Oslo with multiple cultural offers
OsloMet’s International Career Site gives information on living and working in Oslo.

Application and expert evaluation

The applications must be written in English. An internal committee will assess applicants. You must upload the following documents together with your application by the final date for applications:
• Application letter, CV and copies of diplomas/certificates and transcripts. The certificates/diplomas must include ECTS grades. Foreign diplomas must be translated into English by the degree-conferring institution.
• Your master’s degree thesis/second degree thesis/diploma thesis (and any other scholarly work that you wish the expert committee to take into consideration).
• A list of your publications, if relevant.
• Full text of maximum 3 publications you wish to be considered.
• Names and contact details of at least 2 references.
• Non-Scandinavian candidates must document their English skills. The following tests can be used as such documentation: TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE). Minimum scores are:
o TOEFL: 600 (paper-based test) 92 (Internet-based test)
o IELTS: 6,5 with no section lower than 5.5 (only Academic IELTS test accepted)
o CAE/CPE: Grade B or A
However, in extraordinary circumstances, formal documentation of language skills can be suspended. In such cases the candidate's language skills will be assessed in a personal interview. If you are in the process of taking the test and the results will come after the deadline, please contact us and let us know.

Please apply electronically to this position by clicking on the button «login and apply». All the documents must be in either English or a Scandinavian language. Any translations must be government authorized.

You must upload all these documents. Original documents and valid passport must be presented if you are invited for an interview. The personal interview will be conducted in English. OsloMet performs document control in order to give you as a candidate a proper evaluation and ensure fair competition. Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered. The application must state your reasons for applying to the position and what makes you particularly qualified to carry out this PhD work.


Contact information

For further information about the fellowship, the project and the position, feel free to contact:
Head of Department Vitalis Pavlovas, +47 67 23 86 29, e-mail: vitali@oslomet.no
Associate Professor Dimitrios Kraniotis, +47 45 10 06 50, e-mail: dimkra@oslomet.no
For information about processing of applications or if you have any problem uploading documents, please contact HR advisor Gerd S. Hansen, e-mail: gerdsh@oslomet.no


Remuneration

The salary for the position is set in accordance with the Norwegian State Salary Scale, position code 1017, salary NOK 449 400 – 472 300 per year. By law 2% of the salary is deducted as to the Norwegian State Pension Fund. The position adheres to the Norwegian Government’s policy that the national labour force should to the greatest possible extent reflect the diversity of the population. Therefore, we encourage qualified candidates with immigrant background or reduced functional ability to apply for this position.

OsloMet is an IA (Inclusive Workplace) enterprise and operates in compliance with the Norwegian IA agreement. According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) your name may be published on the public applicant list even if you have requested non-disclosure. You will in this case be contacted before your name is published.


Deadline for applications: 04.04.2019
Ref.: 19/ 02618

OsloMet has implemented the Charter & Code and been certified by the EU Commission with HR Excellence in Research (HRS4R) and is part of the EU network for mobility of Researchers Euraxess.

Type of employment Stipendiat
Contract type Full time
First day of employment Etter avtale
Salary NOK 449 400 – 472 300 per year
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100%
City Oslo
County Oslo
Country Norway
Reference number 19/02618
Contact
  • Vitalis Pavlovas, Head of Department, +47 67 23 87 53
  • Dimitrios Kraniotis, Associate Professor, +47 45 10 06 50
Published 14.Mar.2019
Last application date 04.Apr.2019 11:59 PM CEST

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