We all know how important reliable weather forecasts can be for our daily decisions when deciding what to wear, what to pack when travelling, when planning outdoors activities, etc. What you may not know is that ocean forecasts can be just as important for those working in close interaction with the ocean. Search and rescue operations, for instance, rely on precise predictions of drift trajectories based on the ocean currents, winds and waves; aquaculture industry can plan feeding routines based on the forecast of the local flow conditions; and who would not like localized forecasts of swimming temperatures during the summer vacation?

SINTEF

SINTEF is one of Europe's largest research organisations, with multidisciplinary expertise in the fields of technology, the natural sciences and the social sciences. SINTEF is an independent foundation and has conducted contract research and development projects for the private and public sectors since 1950. SINTEF has 2000 employees from 75 countries and annual revenues of three billion Norwegian kroner.

Vision: Technology for a better society.

SINTEF Digital conducts research and innovation in the areas of information and communication Technology, technology-oriented social Sciences and Health research. Our multidisciplinary knowledge base is used across all industries and helps our customers exploit and meet the opportunities created by today's omnipresent digital transformation.

The examples just discussed are some of the cases in the project “HAVVARSEL - Personalized ocean forecasts in a two-way data flow system”, supported by the Research Council of Norway. In principle, the ocean follows similar physical laws as the atmosphere, meaning that the ocean can be forecasted just like the weather. The main difficulty, however, is the lack of observations from the ocean, which makes it difficult to get the initial state for the forecast. The aim of the project is to develop a system with which actors within search and rescue, aquaculture, and tourism can upload and exchange oceanographic measurements for improved localized ocean forecasts.

Job description

The PhD fellowship will be hosted by SINTEF Digital, with workplace in Oslo at the Department of Mathematics & Cybernetics. The position is for 3 years with expected start between August 2020 and January 2021. The PhD fellow will be admitted to the PhD program at the Department of Mathematical Sciences, NTNU, and is expected to spend approximately 1 year in Trondheim.

The PhD candidate in the HAVVARSEL project will be conducting research on mathematical modeling and efficient algorithms for numerical methods and data assimilation. This interdisciplinary project will push the research front on localized ocean forecasts by implementing lightweight models suitable for ocean phenomena such as current fields, sea level, and temperature. These mathematical models are then used to generate ensembles of equiprobable realizations that are updated with user-provided data using nonlinear data assimilation methods for prediction and estimation of associated prediction uncertainties. This enables users to get local, personalized ocean forecasts from all available data sources.

Qualification requirements

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with a strong background in quantitative modeling and methodologies who has interests in multidisciplinary scientific work.

The main objective is to qualify for work in research positions. The qualification requirement is completion of a master’s degree or second degree (equivalent to 120 credits) with a strong academic background in statistics. Experience with high performance computing, data assimilation, numerical methods, GPU programming, AI methods, spatial statistics or other large-scale systems is helpful.

The applicant must satisfy the requirement for entering the PhD program at NTNU; please see http://www.ntnu.edu/ie/research/phd Admission to PhD education at NTNU requires an average grade of A or B within a scale of A to E for passing grades (A best) for the last two years of the MSc degree, and C or higher for the BSc degree.

We offer

PhD candidates are remunerated similarly to code 1017 for state employees, who are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 479 600 per annum before tax. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

General information

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background.

Questions about the position can be directed to Prof. Jo Eidsvik (jo.eidsvik@ntnu.no), or Håvard Heitlo Holm (havard.heitlo.holm@sintef.no).

About the application:

The application must include the following:

• A CV that includes information about education background and work experience
• Certified copies of relevant transcripts and diplomas. Candidates from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to send a Diploma Supplement or similar documentation that describes in detail the program of study, the grading system, and the rights to further studies associated with the degree obtained.
• A short research statement explaining the experience and the interest of the candidate for the research topic and describing the relevance of the candidate’s background to the research project (maximum 1 page)
• A copy of the master thesis. For those who are near to completion of their thesis: An extended abstract combined with a statement of how and when the applicant plans to complete the thesis.
• Any relevant publications. Joint work will only be considered provided that a short summary outlining the applicant's contributions is attached.
• Contact information for two references.
• Documentation of fluency in the English language for candidates who do not master a Scandinavian language

Apply for position

Questions regarding the position:

• Håvard Heitlo Holm (Researcher), +4791136826, havard.heitlo.holm@sintef.no

Homepage: www.sintef.com