The Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics at Umeå University is offering a postdoctoral scholarship within the project “Cut finite element methods on domains with fractures”. The scholarship is tax-free and amounts to 336 000 SEK/year for two years, starting in September 2023 or by agreement. The last day to apply is 30 April 2023.

Project description:
Numerical simulations of groundwater flow, storage of energy and CO2, or spreading of contaminants in the ground are challenging since the physics of such problems is highly affected by flows through all the small channels and fractures in the ground. This project aims to develop new effective technologies for conducting such simulations in a correct manner. These technologies build upon the cut finite element method (CutFEM), a state-of-the-art discretization technique very successfully developed at Umeå University.

Materials in nature are typically heterogenous with material parameters and geometric features that can vary immensely on various scales, which makes standard methods computationally unfeasible. Instead, multiscale methods are used where coarse-scale solutions are coupled to local fine-scale solutions. A fundamental requirement for a multiscale method to work is that the coarse-scale solution gives a sufficiently good approximation of the solution, which is problematic in domains with fractures. For this reason, we in this project will develop robust methods to generate solutions that accurately approximate the overall physics in domains with fractures and on course scales.

The appointed postdoc will have the opportunity to conduct research in collaboration with the computational mathematics group at Umeå University and collaborate with internationally recognized researchers in the finite element community.

Umeå offers excellent working and living conditions. The city is young and located right next to a large river. It is surrounded by forests and lakes and lies close by the sea. In the vicinity there are plenty of opportunities for both indoor and outdoor activities.

For further information and instructions on how to apply, see:

https://www.umu.se/en/work-with-us/postdoctoral-scholarships/6-599-23/