PhD fellowship in the field of computational fluid and solid mechanics

About the candidate The successful candidate preferably has strong programming skills and experience with the modeling and simulations of fluid or solid mechanics or ice sheet flow and deformation (for example by use of finite element/volume methods, discrete element methods or kinetic methods). The fellowship will focus on the damage evolution and formation of fractures in ice sheets. The successful applicant will be part of the research center PRECISE (PREdicting Changes in Ice Sheets on Earth) (https://nbi.ku.dk/english/research/pice/precise/). We are looking for a talented, highly motivated and creative student interested in working in a strong interdisciplinary environment. Excellent English skills, both written and oral are required. About the project The Greenland ice sheet is currently the largest contributor to present-day global sea level rise, with mass loss mainly driven by surface melting. Surface meltwater can drain to the base of the ice sheet and enhance ice flow velocities on seasonal timescales, but the long-term response of ice flow and outlet glacier dynamics to increased surface melting in a warming climate is not well known. The focus of the PhD project will be to study fracture and damage formation of ice sheets and how it induces structural weaknesses that can facilitate fast flow and precondition ice shelves for disintegration, and potentially causing irreversible grounding line retreats. The project will be to develop and implement continuum formulations of stress-based poro-damage dynamics and hydrofracturing, using new e.g. phase field methods. Models will be validate against date obtained from inverse modelling of continent-wide surface velocity and fracture fields derived from satellite imagery. You will work in an international team that also includes researchers and early career scientists from the section for the Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth at the Niels Bohr Institute, the Complex Physics group at the Niels Bohr Institute, the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) and the Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK. Visits with these collaborators are expected. Our group and research - and what do we offer? The successful applicant will join the BioComplexity section. The section provides a highly interdisciplinary environment, which offers fantastic scientific and social interactions with a large group of talented researchers. Further information on the Niels Bohr Institute is found at https://nbi.ku.dk/english/ and information about the BioComplexity section can be found here https://nbi.ku.dk/english/research/biocomplexity/ Principal supervisor is Professor Joachim Mathiesen, Niels Bohr Institute. Email: mathies@nbi.ku.dk. The PhD programme Depending of your level of education, you can undertake the PhD programme as either: Option A: A three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), if you already have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree. Option B: An up to five year full-time study programme within the framework of the integrated MSc and PhD programme (the 3+5 scheme), if you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree – but you have an education equivalent to a Danish bachelors´s degree. Application and Assessment Procedure Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below. Please include: Motivated letter of application (max. one page) Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position Original diplomas for Bachelor of Science or Master of Science and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted. Publication list (if possible) Reference letters (if available) Application deadline: The deadline for applications is 1 April 2026, 23:59 GMT +2. We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.