PhD, Postdoc Positions: University of Washington 2399 views

Two PhD and one postdoc position at the University of Washington

Applications are invited for 02 graduate research assistantships at the Ph.D. level (Fall 2018) and a postdoc fellowship (Jan., 2018) as a part of the National Science Foundation funded “PREEVENTS- Integrated modeling of hydro-geomorphic hazards: Floods, landslides and sediment” project, Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Project Details:

1. The overarching objective of this project is to improve our ability to forecast flood and landslide risks by integrating recently developed geomorphic modeling components (LandLab) into a mountain to coastline flood modeling framework (DHVSM & DELFT3D).
2. The work specifically targets the challenges associated with incorporating sediment sources and fluxes into flood prediction and the multi-hazards associated with the co-occurrence of landsliding with flood events.
3. The integrated modeling framework will be tested in two flood-prone coastal river systems in the PNW that experience high sediment loading from hillslope and channel processes.

Research Area: Civil and Environmental Engineering: fluvial geomorphology and hillslope geology, hydrological, geomorphological and hydrodynamic modeling, hydrometeorological and climate science, and data and remote sensing analysis.

Position details:

Three (03) specific positions available:

1. A Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) postdoc will be responsible for developing Delft3D hydrodynamic models of the Skagit River and Delta as well as select reaches in the White and Carbon Rivers. Demonstrated expertise in DELFT3D or 3D gridded hydrodynamic model application development and skills in MATLAB and PYTHON are desired. Candidates with PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences and related fields are encouraged.
2. A PhD level graduate student in CEE will work on Landlab model development and integration with the DHSVM distributed hydrology model (years 1, 2, 3, 4). Another 3-year PhD student in CEE (years, 2,3,4) will integrate the hydrodynamics model with the DHSVM-Landlab model and perform coupled simulations.
3. The CEE postdoc and PhD students will also work closely with a postdoc in Earth and Space Sciences (ESS), who will focus on investigating the upland geomorphic response and the role of glacier retreat.

Application Procedure:

1. Candidates interested in the CEE postdoc position and the PhD position on numerical model integration should email both Dr. Alex Horner-Devine (arhd@uw.edu) and Dr. Nirnimesh Kumar (nirni@uw.edu).
2. Candidates interested in Landlab model development and integration should contact both Dr. Erkan Istanbulluoglu (erkani@uw.edu) and Dr. Christina Bandaragoda (cband@uw.edu). Please provide a complete CV with your email.