Project Partner: Arup

Academic Supervisor: Dr Raul Fuentes

 In partnership with ARUP and the UCL Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, the UCL Centre for Urban Sustainability and Resilience invites applications for a four year (one year MRes and three year EngD) studentship to work on an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK funded project.

Studentship Description:

Underground infrastructure demand is growing worldwide as a response to the growth of urban settlements and climate change. As demand increases, so does the complexity of these projects due to increasingly crowded underground spaces and the multiple challenges this poses. Major infrastructure projects present a unique opportunity to ‘learn’ in-situ about these challenges. The evidence is that they have traditionally shaped the way the industry evolves; examples are the Jubilee Line Extension (JLE) and Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) in the UK, and others internationally such as the Northern Airport Link in Brisbane, Australia, the MRT Hong Kong extension, Transbay Transit Centre, San Francisco, etc.

Crossrail is another example of such a project. With a budget in excess of £16bn, it is the biggest current infrastructure project in Europe. It involves the construction of 8 new underground stations plus more than 21km of tunnels. The EngD will focus on providing the necessary evidence to support future underground infrastructure that is more resilient and sustainable world-wide through back-analysis for projects such as High Speed 2 and Crossrail 2 in the UK and the California High Speed Link beyond.

Student Background:

Applicants should ideally  have a 1st or 2.1 (honours) at undergraduate level and a master’s degree .  Candidates should have a good knowledge of geotechnics and soil mechanics  and possess good communication and presentation skills.

Training can be provided to those wanting to progress towards Chartership status whilst conducting the research.

Closing Date: The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 31^st May 2013.   Interviews will be held in June 2013.  Please upload a covering letter and CV indicating how you meet the criteria and demonstrating your passion for the research area.  Applicants must meet the EPSRC eligibility criteria http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/Pages/eligibility.aspx

Fees: Fully paid

Stipend: £15,726 pa (tax-free) plus a top-up amount of £2,500 pa subject to the signing of a contract with the industrial partner.

Start Date: 23^rd September 2013 for 4-years full time (no part time option available

For informal discussion about the post please email Dr Fuentes (r.fuentes(@ucl.ac.uk) or Dr Yeow (hoe-chian.yeow@arup.com).

 Project Partner: HR Wallingford

 INDUSTRIAL SUPERVISORS

Dr Giovanni Cuomo (g.cuomo@hrwallingford.com)

Dr Stephen Richardson (s.richardson@hrwallingford.com)

ACADEMIC SUPERVISORS

Professor Ian Eames (i.eames@ucl.ac.uk)

Dr Tiziana Rossetto (t.rossetto@ucl.ac.uk)

 In partnership with HR Wallingford and the UCL Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, the UCL Centre for Urban Sustainability and Resilience invites applications for a four year (one year MRes and three year EngD) studentship to work on an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK funded project.

Project Background:

The focus of this EngD study is on developing original research on estimating the forces acting on buildings (within an urban environment) due to the impact and runup of a tsunami. This is an extremely complex problem which involves combining together results from numerical models with extensive database of experimental results. The scientific gap and challenge to be able to accurately estimate the distribution of force over the surface of a building, the total force on the building and how this is influenced by the properties of the incident flow. The current project looks to develop computational tools to be able to assess the force on idealised models of buildings, and to develop techniques that will enable this information to be incorporated into large-scale computational models that can assess the potential for building damage.

Studentship Description:

 The work will be computational and involve using in-house or shareware codes to assess the forces on buildings individually and in groups. The computational results will be compared against analytical models and unique experimental data from the UCL and HR Wallingford fluids laboratories.

The purpose will be to develop guidance on how tsunami flow on and around buildings can be modelled in order to provide input to tsunami coastal risk assessments. The student will be part of the multi-disciplinary research group EPICentre (www.epicentreonline.com) and form part of a larger team looking at tsunami risk estimation.

The student will also be expected to engage with HR Wallingford, and spend some time on its premises undertaking research activity related to the project.  There may be a chance that the student will be able to participate in some experimental work at both UCL and Wallingford.

Student Background:

 Applicants should have a good honours degree (1^st or 2:1 minimum) in mathematics, mechanical engineering, physical or environmental science, computer science or civil engineering. This is a computational project and experience of programming C++, data handling and visualisation, a high level of numeracy, and good understanding of fluid mechanics. You should be able to demonstrate excellent organisational and communication skills, have the interpersonal skills to work as part of a professional team, while also possessing the self-motivation and enthusiasm to work alone.

How to Apply

Closing Date: The closing date for applications is 5pm on Monday 10th June 2013.

Interviews will be held in late June/early July 2013. Please upload a covering letter and CV indicating how you meet the criteria and demonstrating your passion for the research area.

 Fees: Fully paid

 Stipend: £15,726 pa (tax-free)

 Applications are invited from UK and EU members, residing in UK. Applicants must meet the EPSRC eligibility criteria http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/Pages/default.aspx

 Start Date: 23^rd September 2013 for 4-years full time (no part time option available).