PhD Student / PhD Studentess for Mining Brines

Your Tasks

The project -Reactive Transport Modeling (Hydraulic Chemical) at the Pore Scale and Upscaling to Reservoir Scale- develops advanced pore-scale reactive transport modeling capabilities. This initiative involves 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 induce dynamic changes in pore geometry, transport properties, and reactive surface area under geothermal conditions.

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

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

Expected Outcomes

• Implement a Lattice Boltzmann (LB) solver for modeling processes at the 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, and derive 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- (Multidisciplinary Integration and Networking for Increased Sustainability and Multi-Resources Valorization of Geothermal BRINES). You will be recognized as a -SERI-funded MSCA DN Grantee-. As part of the MSCA DN, you will visit the Instituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Vesuviano (INGV) in Naples, Italy; the Geological and Mining Bureau (BRGM) in Orléans, France; the GFZ Helmholtz-Zentrum für Geoforschung in Potsdam, Germany; and Collaboration Betters the World (CBTW) in Germany for approximately 2 months each. You will collaborate 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 is based on an interdisciplinary, innovative, and dynamic collaboration. You will benefit from systematic training on the job, along with personal development opportunities and a robust vocational training culture. If you wish to optimally balance work and family life or other personal interests, we provide modern employment conditions and on-site infrastructure to support you.

MiningBrines: An international network of 32 academic and industrial partners across multiple disciplines offers an innovative doctoral training program to address Europe’s strategic need for sustainable access to critical raw materials, energy gases, and renewable energies. You will experience interdisciplinary training 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 may apply online using the form below.

• Submit your CV.
• Include a letter of application.
• Provide a 1-page critical summary of an article of your choice.
• Name two contact persons (former teachers or supervisors who can provide a support letter).
• Attach your academic credentials.

Application Deadline: April 30th, 5 PM CET. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.

Expected Starting Date: October 1, 2026.

Please refrain from inquiring about the status of the selection process. We will inform you as soon as there is an update.

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