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Last updated: 26 January 2025

NEW : 5 PhD and postdoc vacancies for 2025

Clearly mention in all your communication the number of the vacancy you are applying for !

Where ?

All vacancies are available in the "Mechanics of Materials and Structures" research group (UGent-MMS) at Ghent University.
Ghent University is a large university in Belgium, counting about 45,000 students. Ghent University consistently ranks among the best 100 universities in the world. In 2023, it was ranked, globally, 84th by the Academic Ranking of World Universities or Shanghai ranking (https://www.shanghairanking.com/institution/ghent-university). More information about the UGent rankings can be found here.

The research group UGent-MMS counts 3 professors and about 30 researchers. More information can be found in the slideshow of the research group. The offices and laboratories of this group are situated in the south of Ghent (Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 46, 9052 Zwijnaarde).

Duration ?

All vacancies are full-time job positions. For the duration, see below.

Job description ?

Vacancy 1: PhD (4 years) on experimental testing of composites for hydrogen tanks

[Net salary (after taxes) starting from 2400 EUR/month]

Belgium has been taking a leading position in the transition towards a hydrogen economy thanks to many companies and research institutes active in hydrogen technologies. In addition, Belgium has currently the second largest hydrogen pipeline network in the world and has a strategic position in Western Europe as an import and transit hub for renewable H2 molecules.

In the context of these global and local evolutions, Ghent University (UGent) focuses on an important link in the future hydrogen economy, being the storage of hydrogen in pressurized composite tanks, both in the vehicle itself as in refueling stations. Indeed, the success of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles depends both on the development of safe storage options in the vehicle, as well as a supporting refueling infrastructure.

UGent-MMS is partner in a large new research project with several leading companies in the automotive industry. This research project aims at developing composite solutions for future hydrogen storage tanks. This PhD vacancy is focused on the experimental characterization of composites for hydrogen tanks. This includes measurement of physical and mechanical properties, instrumentation and data acquisition on full tanks and assessment of solutions for Structural Health Monitoring. The research will be done in close collaboration with the involved industrial partners.

The PhD researcher will also closely work together with the other doctoral and postdoctoral colleagues that work on composite hydrogen tanks, to form a strong and complementary team for this highly challenging research topic.

Only candidates with a Master degree should apply. The candidate should have a strong interest in experimental mechanics of composite materials, and should be enthusiastic to work in a collaborative project between industry and academia.

Vacancy 2: Postdoc (3 years) on experimental testing of composites for hydrogen tanks

[Net salary (after taxes) starting from 2700 EUR/month]

UGent-MMS is partner in a large new research project with several leading companies in the automotive industry. This research project aims at developing composite solutions for future hydrogen storage tanks. This postdoc vacancy is focused on the experimental characterization of composites for hydrogen tanks. This includes measurement of physical and mechanical properties, instrumentation and data acquisition on full tanks and assessment of solutions for Structural Health Monitoring. The research will be done in close collaboration with the involved industrial partners.

The postdoc researcher will also closely work together with the other doctoral and postdoctoral colleagues that work on composite hydrogen tanks, to form a strong and complementary team for this highly challenging research topic.

Only candidates with a PhD degree should apply. The candidate should have a strong interest in experimental mechanics of composite materials, and should be enthusiastic to work in a collaborative project between industry and academia.

Vacancy 3: PhD (4 years) on micromechanical testing and interface characterization of composites

[Net salary (after taxes) starting from 2400 EUR/month]

We are looking for a PhD student for a research project on microscale mechanical characterization of fiber reinforced polymer composites using in-situ microscopic techniques. Much more fundamental insights and measurements at the micro-scale are necessary to enable fully predictive multi-scale modelling and faster adaptation of composites. Therefore, we have developed advanced micromechanical test methods for fibre reinforced polymer composites based on in-situ optical and electron microscopy during loading. This includes micro-scale Digital Image Correlation (DIC) which gives full-field strain information at the sub-micron scale, force measurement and correlation of the damage mechanisms at micro- and macro-scale. This also generates accurate input data for multi-scale models for composites. This PhD will further develop and enhance these micromechanical tests and optimize the microscopic measurement techniques for different types of composites.

Further micromechanical tests will be done to characterize the fibre/matrix interface in composites. Fibre debonding will be monitored in real-time and different loading conditions to the interface will be applied.

This PhD requires an experimentalist to do the micromechanical characterization of the composites. Experience with experimental testing of materials and microscopy is required. Knowledge of composites and/or instrumentation techniques such as Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is an advantage.

Vacancy 4: PhD (4 years) on structural health monitoring of composite hydrogen tanks using guided elastic waves

[Net salary (after taxes) starting from 2400 EUR/month]

UGent-MMS is partner in a large research project with several leading companies in the automotive industry. This research project aims at developing composite solutions for future hydrogen storage tanks. This PhD vacancy is focused on the use of guided elastic waves for the structural health monitoring of hydrogen tanks under different operational conditions. This involves instrumentation, signal acquisition and -processing, feature extraction and learning algorithms to assess the structural condition of hydrogen storage tanks. Further, a probabilistic framework will be developed to predict the remaining useful lifetime of hydrogen tanks from the guided wave signals.

Only candidates with a Master degree should apply. The PhD researcher should have a strong interest in experimental testing, data processing and machine learning.

Vacancy 5: PhD/postdoc (4 years) on experimental and numerical study of textile-based armor for blast and fragment protection

[Net salary (after taxes) starting from 2400 EUR/month]

Ballistic protection concerns apparel, vests, armors, helmets and structural reinforcement for vehicles as well. Woven, knitted or nonwoven fabrics, laminates, and composites are an interesting option for ballistic protection because of their light weight compared to metallic materials and the shear endless possible combinations based on a variation of fiber nature, fiber type, fiber density, yarn composition, yarn density, manufacturing techniques (weaving, knitting, Unidirectional lay-up, 2D or 3D), number of layers, combination of different types of layers and the use of coatings and matrix resins.

In order to optimally design armored protection to resist blast and fragmentation damage, realistic experimental testing and precise modelling and simulation tools are required. Therefore, the proposed project aims at developping optimised Explosion-proof textile-based armor to be used in both personal and vehicle protection using a novel experimental technique for combined fragment impact and blast loading, which is closer to the actual threat than the existing ballistic impact test standards. Once reliable test data have been gathered, a finite element based model will be developed to predict the blast and fragment protection by the textile-based armor. The test data will be used as input for the simulations, as well as for validation of the predictions. The project is a collaboration between Sioen, a leading textile manufacturer in Belgium, the Royal Military Academy and Ghent University. The PhD/postdoc candidate will work at the Royal Military Academy and get support from Sioen and Ghent University. The funding foresees in a 4-year fellowship.

Only candidates with a Master or PhD degree should apply. The candidate should have a strong interest in experimental and computational mechanics of materials, and should be enthusiastic to work in a collaborative project between industry, defense and academia.

Contact person ?

The responsible person at Ghent University is Prof. Wim VAN PAEPEGEM. He has 20 years of experience in mechanics of composites and finite element simulations. More information on the achievements of the research group can be found on http://www.composites.ugent.be/.

Who do we look for ?

you are interested in research and have obtained a Master and/or PhD degree,
you are interested to interact and collaborate closely with the industrial partners during the research period,
you have an education in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computational Mechanics, or similar,
you are familiar with mechanics of materials and experimental or computational techniques (depending on the specific vacancy requirement mentioned above),
mastering the Dutch language is not a prerequisite, but a good knowledge of English writing and speaking is absolutely required.

What do we offer ?

you will be working in a dynamic environment. Our group has expanded quite fast the last few years and currently, 16 postdoc's and 15 PhD students are working in our group. Besides, 18 PhD students have successfully obtained their PhD degree in the last five years,
we have extensive experimental and numerical facilities. You will have access to several Linux workstations and a high performance computing cluster to run finite element simulations on 2000+ cores,
we have good contacts with the regional composite and additive manufacturing industry and regional universities, so you will come into contact with industrial applications of composites and related research in other universities,
you will get the chance to attend international conferences (e.g. ECCM, ICCM,...) and to present papers on these conferences. For those who are interested, an international exchange with another university is possible. As publications are increasingly important (also for your career afterwards), you are encouraged to publish your results not only on international conferences, but also in peer-reviewed international journals,
you will have a personal laptop and a private workspace. All PhD students and staff have their office in the same wing of the building. The laboratories are separate in another wing of the same building,
if you are just graduated (junior PhD student), your net income is about 2450 EUR per month. That is the amount of money that is deposited on your bank account every month (after taxes). If you have a dependent wife/husband and/or children, the salary is raised. Also seniority can be taken into account if you can show former relevant experience. The salary for postdoctoral researchers starts at 2750 EUR net income per month (after taxes).
the cost for the PhD study itself is very limited. Our education system is very different from for example the system in the United Kingdom. When you start your PhD study, you pay a once-only tuition fee of ca. 1000 EUR, and the rest of your study is free of charge,
the university offers compensations for public transport (train) and bicycle. The work location can be reached easily by public transport (train and tram/bus),
a hospitalization insurance policy can be concluded,
there are a lot of sport accommodations and other benefits (reductions on computer purchase, internet connection, fitness,...) for university personnel,
there are specific organizations for the international student community in Gent. There are ISAG (International Students Association Ghent) and ESN (European Students Network). They are quite active in organizing all sorts of events (Student Unions and Societies for international students).
Ghent University has 6 regional platforms, which give support, guidance and advice to international students from different continents (see UGent regional platforms). For example, for Chinese students, there is the East-Asia platform and for Indian students, the South-Asia platform.

How to apply ?

you write a detailed Curriculum Vitae in Dutch or English, containing:
- your personal details (name, address, date of birth, nationality,...)
- your education, subject of master thesis and degrees
- transcripts of records of Bachelor and Master degree
- your work experience (previous jobs)
- additional skills (finite element software, programming languages, communication skills, ...)
- mastered languages (Dutch, English, French)
- references (previous projects in the domain, published papers,...)
you send the C.V. by post or e-mail to the following person:
Prof. Wim VAN PAEPEGEM
Ghent University
Mechanics of Materials and Structures
Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 46
9052 Zwijnaarde
Belgium
Tel.: +32-(0)9-331.04.32
Fax: +32-(0)9-264.58.33
E-mail: Wim.VanPaepegem@UGent.be

Additional information ?

you can freely download our research brochure. This PDF-document contains a lot of pictures and impressions of our research activities. You can find it on the webpage http://www.composites.ugent.be/slideshow/Slideshow.pdf
you can contact Prof. Wim VAN PAEPEGEM for any additional information, either by phone or e-mail or a personal appointment.