PhD Student / PhD Studentess

Your Tasks

The project Reactive Transport Modeling (Hydraulic Chemical) at the Pore Scale and Upscaling to Reservoir Scale aims to develop advanced pore-scale reactive transport modeling capabilities. This will be achieved by extending an in-house lattice Boltzmann based transport solver to explicitly resolve microstructural evolution in reservoir rocks driven by mineral dissolution and precipitation. These simulations will quantify how coupled flow, transport, and chemistry processes lead to dynamic changes in pore geometry, transport properties, and reactive surface area under geothermal conditions.

Building on these high-resolution models, the project will establish robust upscaling strategies to transfer pore-scale process understanding to geothermal reservoir scale reactive transport formulations, while preserving key mechanistic controls.

To enhance computational performance and multiphysics couplings, the work will integrate AI/ML methods (e.g., neural networks, neural operators) to accelerate both pore-scale simulations and associated upscaling workflows, facilitating realistic simulations, efficient parameter exploration, and reduced-order model generation.

Expected Outcomes

• Implement Lattice Boltzmann (LB) solver for modeling processes at pore scale in 2D/3D realistic multimineral pore structures (synthetic and tomography-driven).
• Develop surrogate models to accelerate simulation of chemistry and couple with LB.
• Quantify the impact of reactions and microstructural evolution on permeability and transport properties relevant to resource extraction, deriving mechanistic correlations for upscaling.
• Integrate AI/ML-assisted sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification to evaluate prediction reliability and account for input data variability.

You will be enrolled at the University of Bern and will receive your PhD title from the University of Bern. This position is part of the Marie Sklodowska Curie Action (MSCA) Doctoral Network (DN) - MiningBrines - which focuses on Multidisciplinary Integration and Networking for Increased Sustainability and Multi-Resources Valorization of Geothermal Brines. As a SERI-funded MSCA DN Grantee, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with leading institutions, visiting the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Vesuviano (INGV) in Naples, Italy, the Geological and Mining Bureau (BRGM) in Orléans, France, and the GFZ Helmholtz-Zentrum für Geoforschung in Potsdam, Germany, for approximately two months each. You will work closely with other MiningBrines research projects and participate in network training and workshops.

Your Profile

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline.
• Strong motivation for interdisciplinary research.
• Excellent command of spoken and written English (mandatory).

Desirable Skills

• Programming skills (e.g., Python or C). Familiarity with machine learning techniques is a plus.
• Background in porous media flows or CFD. Experience with the lattice Boltzmann method would be beneficial.
• Geochemical modeling and reactive transport fundamentals.

We Offer

PSI: Our institution fosters interdisciplinary, innovative, and dynamic collaboration. You will benefit from systematic on-the-job training and personal development opportunities along with a supportive work environment that accommodates work-life balance.

MiningBrines: Join an international network of 32 academic and industrial partners dedicated to addressing Europe's strategic need for sustainable access to critical raw materials, energy gases, and renewable energies. Enjoy an interdisciplinary training program in geosciences, biogeochemistry, artificial intelligence, and socio-economic analysis. The position is funded for 36 months with a competitive salary, allowances, and additional funding for technical training and conference participation.

Interested candidates are invited to apply online using the form below.

Application Deadline:

April 30th, 5 PM CET. Please note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered.

Expected Starting Date:

October 1, 2026.

For further information, please contact Dr. Nikolaos Prasianakis at nikolaos.prasianakis@psi.ch.

Paul Scherrer Institute, Human Resources Management, Serdal Varol, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland.