EmpaAcronym | EMPA | Homepage | http://www.empa.ch/ | Country | Switzerland | ZIP, City | | Address | | Phone | | Type | Academy | Current organization | Empa | Child organizations | | Memberships | |
Open OpportunitiesIn collaboration with the Earth Commission, the University of Toronto School of the Environment is excited to announce opportunities two Post-doctoral Fellows (PDFs) or Research Scientists to join the core research team focussed on assessing “Safe and Just Earth System Boundaries” for Novel Entities (ESBs).
The following are the areas that will be addressed by the PDFs, with exact subject areas to be divided by the two PDFs based on expertise and interest of each candidate:
• Scan of methods that could be used to determine ESBs for a subset of novel entities. The methods that could be used include material flow analysis, life cycle assessment and other types of impact assessment methods.
• Undertake “horizon scanning” of the literature to document present and future novel entities that are or could transgress either a Safe or Just ESB. This scan will add the broad context to the case studies of specific novel entities.
• Undertake case studies of several specific novel entities to develop Safe (biophysically-based) and Just (according to interspecies, intra-societal and intergenerational equity) ESBs.
• Consider transformation pathways that moves society from our current situation to within safe and just ESBs. This analysis could consider novel entities in broad categories and could also focus in on the case studies undertaken for the ESB evaluation.
- Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
- Post-Doc Position
| Optimal inspection and maintenance planning of road infrastructure is a challenging process, since decision-making needs to be made on the basis of uncertain observations of various origin. These uncertainties are linked to some level of uncertainty relating to varying environmental and loading conditions, modelling errors, inefficiency of the measuring system and so on. Although this issue spans over several disciplines, including social sciences, it is also quite commonly met within an engineering framework. The goal of this project is to build an optimal inspection/maintenance framework for different bridge materials and typologies, maximizing their service life and minimizing environmental im-pact, and address the challenges of infrastructure management. Thus, the student will work on some of the following objectives depending on their interest:
• Review established and state-of-the-art non-destructive-testing and rehabilitation methods and derive indications on which methods work better for which different bridge typologies/materials
• Utilize existing finite element models (in SoFiSTiK) of various bridge types to simulate various short-and long-term effects.
• Explore decision processes frameworks for modeling decision making in situations with partly random or decision-dependent outcomes.
Suggested Courses: Depending on interest: Method of Finite Elements (or similar) and/or Non Destructive Evaluation & Rehabilitation of Existing Structures
Suggested Competencies: Basic knowledge on MATLAB or Python
Possible to select as: obligatorishce Projektarbeit, praktische Projektarbeit, forschungsbezogene Projektarbeit
Limitation of offerings: 2 students (group work is possible) - Structural Engineering
- ETH Zurich (ETHZ), Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Prosumer communities leverage and share locally generated energy. In response to the Swiss Energy Strategy 2050 and potential gas supply vulnerabilities, transitioning from singular, gas/oil-reliant energy systems to multi-energy networks is imperative. Unlike conventional individual systems where devices are often oversized and underutilized due to being designed for demand peaks, a prosumer community can optimize device use, reducing both energy costs, investment overheads and ecological impact. Therefore, when properly designed and operated, prosumer communities mitigate the inefficiencies typical of traditional setups. However, achieving optimal design is challenging due to complex interactions among stakeholders. The economic and ecological aspects of prosumer communities need to be thoroughly investigated taking into account different scenarios, energy demands and building types. This project aims to investigate various case studies for prosumer communities in the Swiss scenario and explore the technological solutions that mostly benefit from energy sharing. - Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
- Semester Project
| We are looking for a motivated Master Thesis student to join the Nanomaterials Spectroscopy and Imaging Group at Empa, located in the vibrant city of Zurich, Switzerland. Investigate carrier dynamics of cutting-edge optoelectronic materials, including thin films and 2D materials. Simulate Time Resolved Photoluminescence (TRPL) response. Fit experimental results and extract crucial optoelectronic parameters like diffusion coefficient, carrier concentration, and carrier lifetime.
Gain hands-on experience in a dynamic research environment. Collaborate with leading experts in the field. Work on cutting-edge projects with real-world applications.
- Numerical Analysis, Optics and Opto-electronic Physics, Programming Techniques
- Master Thesis
| Factors driving uptake of renewable energy systems in Swiss households - Mathematics, Statistics
- Course Project, Internship, Lab Practice, Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Roundwood is sorted by quality and species in the forestry (and in sawmills). Based on the dataset with images of roundwood (from partner sawmill³) containing quality and species labels, a classification model has been developed for predicting the species and the quality of a stem based on the image of its cross-section. The detailed description of the model architecture and the results can be found in the paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957417423036217. The task of the project is to
develop an iOS or Android App that based on the model results.
- Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
- Bachelor Thesis, Lab Practice, Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Structural color is a fascinating method employed in nature to achieve vibrant hues. Examples abound, from Iridescent opals to the delicate hues of butterfly wings, and the shimmering scales of beetles1 (Figure 1 a-c). Unlike conventional pigments, structurally colored materials boost resilience against photobleaching and can be easily designed to circumvent environmental and chemical hazards. This characteristic renders them an attractive sustainable alternative for various photonic applications.2,3 Renowned for their ultralow thermal conductivity and open pore structure, Aerogels find widespread use scenarios in thermal insulation, catalysis, environmental remediation, and optics.4 Among these applications, currently, thermal insulation stands out prominently, and an aerogel with intrinsic structural color holds the promise for sustainable and smart coloring endeavors. - Composite Materials, Control Engineering
- Master Thesis
| Switzerland is committed to transitioning to a renewable energy system. The Swiss government has set a target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This will require a significant increase in the use of renewable energy sources. The Swiss power grid is also vulnerable to imbalances be-tween supply and demand. Demand flexibility can help to mitigate this risk and ensure the reliable operation of the power grid. Demand flexibility is the ability to shift or reduce energy use in response to changes in sup-ply or price. This is becoming increasingly important as the power grid transitions to renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, which are intermittent and less predictable. Demand flexibility can help to balance the grid and reduce the need for expensive and polluting backup power plants. Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) and customer segmentation modeling are powerful tools that can be used to develop demand flexibility programs. NILM can be used to identify high-energy-consuming appliances and to track their energy usage over time. Customer segmentation modeling can be used to identify different groups of customers based on their energy consumption patterns. This information can then be used to develop targeted demand flexibility programs that are more likely to be effective for each group of customers. - Building not elsewhere classified, Building Science and Techniques, Neural Networks, Genetic Alogrithms and Fuzzy Logic, Signal Processing, Simulation and Modelling
- Master Thesis
| Wound infections present a significant challenge in healthcare, and traditional treatments involving antibiotics can lead to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Probiotics (i.e. the "good bacteria") have been studied widely for their potential antimicrobial effects and use in wound treatment as an alternative to antibi-otics. They have been reported to enhance wound healing, produce antimicrobial substances, disrupt biofilm, and restore the microbial balance in wounds. In this project, we aim to combine the benefits of probiotics and hydrogels to form a so-called "living hydrogel": i.e. a hydrogel with organisms inside. The living hydrogel can not only fulfill the function of a normal wound patch but also deliver the therapeutic factors secreted by the encapsulated probiotics to fight against pathogen infection and also promote wound healing. - Biomedical Engineering, Complementary/alternative Medicine, Interdisciplinary Engineering, Macromolecular Chemistry, Materials Engineering
- Internship, Master Thesis
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