At the Professorship of Solid Mechanics (SMEC) in the Institute for Building Materials at ETH Zurich, research focuses on understanding how materials deform, degrade, break, and ultimately fail. The team combines numerical modeling, laboratory experiments, and theoretical analyses to link microscopic processes with macroscopic behavior in engineering and natural systems, aiming to develop predictive tools for mechanical failure. The group is highly interdisciplinary and international, working across a broad range of topics related to failure mechanics.
This position is for a motivated, innovative PhD student with a background in computational mechanics to work on a project in computational earthquake rupture mechanics, investigating how heterogeneous stress states and nonlinear near-fault processes influence earthquake rupture propagation, arrest, and earthquake-size statistics.
Tasks
- Conduct computational and theoretical investigation of dynamic earthquake rupture, focusing on rupture propagation, rupture arrest, and energy dissipation in heterogeneous fault systems.
- Connect fracture-mechanics theory with large-scale numerical simulations of earthquake rupture.
- Develop, improve, and use high-performance simulation tools for dynamic rupture, including GPU-oriented numerical methods.
- Verify and validate numerical methods against benchmark problems and established theoretical results.
- Investigate how heterogeneous stress states and nonlinear dissipative processes, such as off-fault plasticity, influence rupture arrest and earthquake-size statistics.
Requirements
- You hold an MSc degree in mechanics, physics, engineering, earth science, material science, computational science, or a related discipline.
- You have a background in computational mechanics, solid mechanics, applied physics, scientific computing, or a related field.
- You have experience implementing scientific code and validating it against analytical solutions, numerical benchmarks, or well-documented reference results.
- You have prior programming experience in Python and have used version control.
- Experience with high-performance computing, GPU programming, C/C++, or numerical methods for wave propagation, fracture, or solid mechanics is an advantage.
- You are curious, self-motivated, and enjoy developing numerical methods to answer mechanics questions.
- You are fluent in English, both oral and written.
- You enjoy working in a team, possess the necessary social skills and communication abilities, and contribute proactively to a positive group atmosphere.
Benefits
- You will join a dynamic, international, and supportive research group that values curiosity, rigor, and collaboration.
- Become part of ETH Zurich, which supports professional development and actively contributes to positive change in society.
- ETH Zurich is committed to a sustainable and climate-neutral university.
- Numerous benefits are offered, such as public transport season tickets and car sharing, a wide range of sports offered by the ASVZ, childcare, and attractive pension benefits.
- ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture, promotes equality of opportunity, values diversity, and nurtures a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all staff and students are respected.
- Sustainability is a core value, with consistent efforts towards a climate-neutral future.
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Über uns
Das Team
The research group is highly interdisciplinary and international, bringing together researchers with backgrounds in materials science, mechanics, and applied physics. The team values curiosity, rigor, collaboration, and a positive group atmosphere.