PhD opportunity in Computational Seismology at the Swiss Seismological Service, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Forwarded PhD opportunity from Luis Dalguer, ETH Zurich:

The Computational Seismology Group of the Swiss Seismological Service, ETH Zurich, invite applications for a PhD student position to work on the seismological aspects of the ASCETE project "Advanced Simulation of Coupled Earthquake and Tsunami Events" recently funded by the Volkswagen Stiftung. ASCETE is a project jointly with the Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences of LMU München, Dept. of Numerical Methods in Geosciences of Universität Hamburg and the Institute for Parallel and Distributed Systems of Universität Stuttgart. The main objective of this project is to study the interaction between the undersea earthquake source rupture process, ocean bottom displacements, and the corresponding sea level disturbance to further evaluate the subsequent potential tsunami generation. The problem will be tackled through purely numerical modeling using the Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) finite element methods. The successful candidate will work on high-performance computational simulations of earthquake ruptures dynamic, developing and implementing constitutive friction laws of rate and state in the DG-method, to investigate the role of friction laws on geometrical complex faults in subduction zones and their effects on the ground motion and ocean bottom displacements. The students will work in close collaboration with scientists of the institute mentioned above and will need to spend some time in one or more institutions of the ASCETE partners.

The position is available from October 2011 or soon after and is funded for three years, the anticipated time needed for obtaining a Ph.D. degree at ETH Zurich.

Applicants should have a M.Sc. or Diploma in geosciences, physics, applied mechanics, engineering or a related field. Strong analytical skills, experience in numerical models for wave propagation, programming and visualization (MATLAB, FORTRAN, UNIX shells), fluency in English and readiness to work in an international and multidisciplinary team are essential for the position. Knowledge of Discontinuous Galerkin finite element methods would be advantageous.

Applicants should submit, by e-mail, an application letter, curriculum vitae, degree certificate, short statement of research interests, names and addresses of three references to Dr. Luis A. Dalguer (e-mail: dalguer@sed.ethz.ch ). Only complete applications will be considered. The selection process starts now and will continue until the position is filled. Preference will be given to disabled applicants with equal qualifications. For more information, please contact Dr. Luis A. Dalguer (dalguer@sed.ethz.ch).