About this role
This is NTNU NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim. At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world. You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here. Video: https://youtu.be/Xt-yHCN5QS0 About the position This PhD project is connected to FME NorthWind ( https://www.northwindresearch.no/ ), a Norwegian national research centre led by SINTEF Energy Research. FME NorthWind advances research and innovation for the sustainable development of wind energy, with particular emphasis on balancing technological deployment with environmental and societal sustainability. The position is linked to Work Package 5: Sustainable Wind Development, which develops tools and knowledge for reducing environmental and community-related conflicts and supporting robust decision-making under uncertainty. The successful applicant will work at NTNU in Trondheim. The Department of Mathematical Sciences, NTNU, will host the PhD position. The topic of the PhD fellowship is at the interface of numerical mathematics, fluid mechanics, and ecology. A successful candidate will be offered a three-year position, which could potentially be extended with teaching duties. Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, in and outside academia. Your immediate leader will be the Head of Department. About the project This PhD position is part of the WP5 Sustainable wind development and related to bird collision risks which is one of the main environmental impacts of onshore and offshore wind turbines on birds. In an offshore setting, many seabird populations are in sharp decline due to climate change and anthropogenic marine activities. There exists yet little knowledge on the extent of collision mortality internationally, due to the difficulty in recording such collision events offshore. Also, existing collision risk models are simplistic in nature and heavily rely on accurate knowledge of avoidance in birds. The PhD will develop an aerodynamic bird collision avoidance model, combining computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of the flow around wind turbines with the aerodynamic characteristics of flying birds to predict collision risk. This model will be fed by existing empirical data on bird flight behavioural responses to wind turbines from various bird radar studies. This model will allow simulation of birds flying within the turbulent airspace of a wind farm, and prediction of the probability of collision at wind turbines. This will be integrated into a Digital Twin (DT) framework to realize augmented reality to inform stakeholders of future environmental impacts of the planned wind farms. We offer the opportunity to work in a very inspiring and motivating multidisciplinary research group to achieve the goal which is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree. Duties of the position Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate. Conducting high-quality research within the scope of the project. Contributing to research publications in leading international journals and conferences. Participating in international activities such as conferences, workshops and possible research stays abroad. Disseminating research results to both scientific and broader audiences. The candidate must engage in FME NorthWind activities as required. Implementing and testing algorithms in high-performing open-source scientific software. Required selection criteria You must have a professionally relevant background in Applied/Numerical Mathematics, Physics and/or Ecology with a solid education in numerical methods for solving partial differential equations. Master students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position and no later than 2026-09-01. You must have a proven ability to apply such models in applied ecological settings. You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master's degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale . If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education. You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's Doctoral Programme ( https://www.ntnu.no/studier/phma ). Applicants must have significant programming experience ideally in C, C++, R and/or Python. You must have good written and oral communication skills in English. PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”. The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions for general criteria for the position. Preferred selection criteria It is an advantage if you have experience with one or more of the following topics: Experience in ornithology and/or movement ecology. Numerical methods for differential equations It is also an advantage if you have experience with publication-oriented research work and collaboration in international research environments. Knowledge of Norwegian or another Scandinavian language is beneficial but not required. Personal characteristics To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to: are highly motivated and curious about the above-mentioned research theme. can work independently and in a structured manner. have strong analytical skills and the ability to engage deeply