PhD Position Resilient Strategic Planning for Transport Network Development

Advanced methods for long-term strategic planning of multimodal transport

Job description
The position is related to the Horizon Europe funded project called SCUDO that identifies and classifies scenarios of disruptive changes, assess their impact on different socio-economic groups, improves the monitoring of disruptions and the quantification of uncertainties, and develops methods for designing & managing transport systems. This will increase the resilience and safety of transport systems. Additionally, SCUDO aims to establish a Pan European Platform that integrates digital solutions and data in order to support a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of different types of disruptions to different geographical areas and user groups.

Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands, is its most populated city, situated within the polycentric regions of North Holland and the Randstad. The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area has a population of about 2.5 million inhabitants and covers an area of 2,500.3 km², divided into more than 30 municipalities. The region boasts a robust rail system for inter-regional and international connections, alongside a dense network of roads, including a heavily used motorway system. Despite Amsterdam's international fame as a cycling city, the region heavily relies on the motorized transport of goods and people (both private and public transport) to sustain its economic vitality and position as one of the most active and dynamic regions in the EU. Notably, the region is home to the 4th busiest airport in Europe, which virtually connects the area with the entire world. However, Amsterdam's location below average sea level makes it particularly vulnerable to weather events that can disrupt this key EU region, moreover, growing energy consumption due to the increasing electrification of the country is leading to grid congestion and potential power outages. With the increasing likelihood of such events due to climate change, the risks for the region are significant. We aim to consider disruption scenarios related to (1) Extreme Weather Conditions/Climate Change, (2) Energy Disruptions, and (3) Supply-chain disruptions related to roads and waterways.

In this PhD, we focus on proactive and preventive mid to long-term measures and policies, particularly in designing transport networks and land use densification, to enhance the region's resilience to extreme events. The methods developed in this project, utilizing data and forecasting, will enable the deployment of optimization techniques to guide investment decisions in both road and public transport networks (network arcs) and land use development (network nodes). These methods aim to maximize recovery and overall resilience, including safety, in the face of extreme climate events that need to be predicted through stress test models. Designing an extended transport network for increasing population needs to consider these contingencies to assure the safety of citizens and protect the infrastructure. From an operational perspective, during these events, proactive and reactive recourse actions are vital to restore essential passenger and freight transport to a level that allows the region to function, laying the groundwork for a quicker recovery.

The methodological tools that will be used to conduct the above research objectives include: operations research (robust and stochastic optimization) combined with AI methods, behavioral models (choice-based optimization), and simulation.

The Department of Transport & Planning (T&P) of Delft University of Technology is coordinating this project. T&P is composed of 12 research labs addressing various transport challenges. The researcher will be associated with the SUM Lab (SUM Lab (tudelft.nl)) and the hEAT Lab (hEAT lab (tudelft.nl)).

Job requirements

• A Master's degree in a relevant field, i.e. Operations research, Transportation, Mathematics, Applied mathematics or Computer science.
• Solid knowledge of data science and combinatorial optimization (mathematical modelling, algorithms, heuristics, metaheuristics).
• Strong programming skills
• Ability to work both in a project team, but also independently and take leadership and responsibility for research tasks
• Willingness and ability to communicate with other scientific partners, companies, and cities.
• Willingness to contribute to a stimulating research environment and interactions with project partners and stakeholders
• A passion for scientific research in close cooperation with practice
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and oral

If your mother language is not English and you do not hold a degree from an institution in which English is the language of instruction, you must submit proof of English proficiency from either TOEFL (minimum total score of 100) or IELTS (minimum total score of 7.0). Proof of English language proficiency certificates older than two years are not accepted.     

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)
Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences
The Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences (CEG) is committed to outstanding international research and education in the field of civil engineering, applied earth sciences, traffic and transport, water technology, and delta technology. Our research feeds into our educational programmes and covers societal challenges such as climate change, energy transition, resource availability, urbanisation and clean water. Our research projects are conducted in close cooperation with a wide range of research institutions. CEG is convinced of the importance of open science and supports its scientists in integrating open science in their research practice. The Faculty of CEG comprises 28 research groups in the following seven departments: Materials Mechanics Management & Design, Engineering Structures, Geoscience and Engineering, Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Transport & Planning, Hydraulic Engineering and Water Management.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences.

Conditions of employment
Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2872 per month in the first year to € 3670 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information on their website to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands.

Additional information
If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Dr. Shadi Sharif Azadeh, email: s.sharifazadeh@tudelft.nl, stating the vacancy title and code in the email title.

Application procedure
Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 10 March 2025 via the application button and upload the following documents:

• CV
• Motivational letter

You can address your application to Dr. Shadi Sharif Azadeh.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

Please note:

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• For the final candidates, a knowledge security check will be part of the application procedure. For more information on this check, please consult Chapter 8 of the National Knowledge Security Guidelines. We carry out this check on the basis of legitimate interest.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.

36 - 40 hours per week

Mekelweg 5