PhD scholarship in Resilient Renovations: Balancing Immediate and Long-term Climate Impacts in Building Energy Efficiency – DTU Construct

This PhD project aims to develop site-specific strategies for climate adaptation and energy reduction in building renovations. The core objective is to create adaptive, energy-efficient renovation utilizing simulation-based techniques to predict energy use under future climate scenarios and evolving building uses. The project will also analyze these adaptation strategies from a cost and life-cycle perspective to ensure their long-term sustainability and economic viability. You will build knowledge on adaptive strategies to mitigate climate risks for the built environment, enhancing their resilience against climate change impacts. This involves evaluating the risks of climate change, understanding their interrelations with building performance, and exploring innovative renovation techniques that promote energy efficiency and sustainability.

Objectives

• Develop Site-specific Strategies: Formulate climate adaptation and energy reduction strategies for different building sites, considering local climate risks and building characteristics.
• Simulation-based Techniques: Apply advanced simulation models to forecast building energy use under various future climate conditions and anticipated changes in building usage.
• Cost and Life-cycle Analysis: Conduct comprehensive cost-benefit and life-cycle analyses of adaptation and energy reduction solutions to evaluate their economic and environmental impacts over time.
• Assess Climate Risks: Conduct comprehensive climate risk assessments specific to building environments, focusing on hazards, exposure, and vulnerability.
• Evaluate Adaptation Strategies: Identify and evaluate adaptive strategies to enhance the resilience of buildings to climate impacts.
• Energy Efficiency: Explore and implement energy-efficient renovation techniques to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings.
• Develop Models and Tools: Create predictive models and digital tools for assessing climate risks and simulating building performance under various climate scenarios.
• Policy and Practice Integration: Provide actionable insights and recommendations for policymakers and industry stakeholders to incorporate adaptive strategies into building practices.

Methodology
The PhD project utilizes building performance simulations and multi-objective optimization to develop site-specific climate adaptation and energy reduction strategies for building renovations. Comprehensive climate risk assessments and energy use evaluations are conducted using high-resolution climate data and building-specific information. Advanced simulations predict energy use under future climate scenarios and changing building uses, incorporating factors like temperature, precipitation, and extreme weather events.

Validated simulation models, refined through empirical data, are used to test adaptation and energy reduction strategies. Multi-objective optimization techniques identify solutions that balance energy efficiency, comfort, and livability. Cost-benefit and life-cycle analyses assess various materials and techniques' economic and environmental impacts, providing insights into their sustainability and cost-effectiveness.

Interdisciplinary collaboration with experts in climate science, engineering, architecture, and economics ensures a holistic approach. Ethical standards and sustainability are prioritized, considering the proposed strategies' social, economic, and environmental impacts. This methodology aims to develop practical, flexible, adaptable solutions for enhancing building resilience and energy efficiency.

Responsibilities and qualifications
Your tasks will include researching novel methods for representing and maintaining building data to enable multiple urgent agendas in the building industry, specifically to create safer, less costly, and more sustainable buildings. You will focus on the following areas:

• Develop Site-specific Strategies and apply Simulation Techniques
• Conduct detailed assessments of climate risks and energy use for selected buildings and sites.
• Identify and develop adaptive strategies tailored to specific site conditions and building characteristics.
• Propose energy reduction techniques that enhance efficiency, resilience, comfort, and livability. Develop and use advanced simulation models with high-performance computing to predict building energy use under various future climate scenarios.
• Incorporate anticipated changes in building usage into simulations to ensure robust, adaptable solutions.
• Validate simulation models through empirical data and case studies.

Cost and Life-cycle Analysis

• Perform cost-benefit analyses of proposed adaptation and energy reduction strategies.
• Evaluate the life-cycle impacts of different materials and techniques, considering their immediate and long-term climate effects.
• Provide recommendations based on economic and environmental viability.

Your general responsibilities are: 

• Plan and manage research activities, ensuring timely completion of tasks.
• Report progress regularly to supervisors.
• Co-author scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals.

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree.

Approval and Enrolment 
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education . 

Assessment
The assessment of the applications will be made by Associate Professor Rongling Li and Associate Professor Kristoffer Negendahl at DTU Construct. 

We offer  an opportunity to develop expertise in various domains, such as advanced building physics simulation techniques, machine learning approaches, statistical modeling, optimization, high-performance computing, and Building Information Modelling.

DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms 
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. 

The period of employment is 3 years. Expected starting date: 1 November 2024 or a mutual agreement soon after. The position is a full-time position. 

You can read more about career paths at DTU here .

Further information 
Further information may be obtained from Prof. Rongling Li  ([email protected] ). 

You can read more about DTU Construct at https://construct.dtu.dk .

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark . Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar ” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU. 

Application procedure 
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 17 September 2024 (23:59 Danish time) . Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file . The file must include:

• A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
• Contact information of two referees
• Curriculum vitae 
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale

You may apply prior to ob­tai­ning your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it. 

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, disability, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

DTU Civil and Mechanical Engineering (DTU Construct) develops and utilises science and technical knowledge for the benefit of society and the sustainable development. We undertake research, education, innovation, and scientific advice of the highest quality within building design and processes, building construction and safety, building energy and services, solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, materials technology, manufacturing engineering, engineering design and thermal energy systems.

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.