Post-doctoral position: 2D/3D full-field measurement based identification for extreme scales

The Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) invites applications for a Postdoctoral fellow in Mechanical Engineering at the Composite and Heterogeneous Material Analysis and Simulation Laboratory (COHMAS, http://cohmas.kaust.edu.sa).

We seek highly motivated candidates who will be involved in a challenging project on full-field measurement based local identification of material properties, with applications to composite materials. The main objective will be to improve the robustness and confidence in image correlation (2D/3D) for recovering heterogeneity of material properties in large parts of industrial complexity and in very refined low scale microstructures.

The candidate will be in charge of DIC operations and XRay tomography in the Lab and should be expert and autonomous in these domains.

Qualifications
Depending of the project, the successful candidate must hold a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Material Science or other relevant discipline and must have several years' experience and a strong background in one or more of the following fields: experimental solid mechanics, fracture and damage mechanics, polymeric materials, X-Ray tomography and large data manipulation, Digital Image Correlation, Inverse problems, optics, SEM/TEM. For any position, an in-depth knowledge of theoretical mechanics is a firm requirement.

A high level of self-motivation, professional competence and a good command of oral and written English, PC skills, the ability to work in a team, as well as alone and good organizational skills are essential.

Other duties
The Postdoctoral fellow will be actively engaged in student mentoring (directed research, Masters thesis students). He / She will also be in charge of developing further the facilities of the laboratory in term of in-situ aging and characterization for polymeric materials. The candidate will also be required to deliver regular reports related to the associated grant.

Appointment
1 year, renewable up to three years by mutual agreement.The candidate is expected to join the team as soon as a successful interview has been completed. Position is available to start immediately.

Benefits
In addition to a competitive salary (no tax is paid in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), the successful candidate will enjoy a generous benefit package including medical/dental insurance, on-campus free housing, K-12 schools, paid airfare (at start and end of contract) and outstanding recreational facilities.

Application Requirements
Application requirements are as below:
1. Detailed CV including list of publications, awards, with potential start date
2. Short statement of previous work, and a description of their research project (no more than one A4 page).
3. Three professional references.
4. Slides from a recent presentation in a conference or seminar.
5. Pdf of a recent publication considered by the candidate as being representative of his research work.

Interested applicants should send their complete application packets to:

Dr. Gilles Lubineau (gilles.lubineau@kaust.edu.sa)
PLEASE USE as subject for your email: Post Doc Application - COHMAS 2013

About KAUST and the COHMAS laboratory

The Composite and Heterogeneous Material Analysis and Simulation Laboratory (COHMAS) is located at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and forms part of the Physical Science and Engineering Division.

COHMAS develops and validates techniques to achieve the better design of composite materials based structures. Our general research activities cover:

• Multiscale damage modeling in composites: micromechanics, mesoscale damage mechanics for structural application, molecular mechanics, homogeneization

• Computational strategies for multimodel problems: gluing techniques between models at different scales

• Inverse problems for the identification of material parameters based on full-fields measurements and computed tomography

• Mechanics of multiscale reinforced composites: nanoreinforced materials, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers

• Aging and degradation of composite structures submitted to severe environmental conditions

Every project we undertake seeks to develop an integrated approach to material analysis including advanced experimental characterization, advanced modeling and simulation.