Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital Twin for Ocean Industries

With the uncertain prospects of climate change, improving the understanding of related geophysical, chemical, and biological implications for ocean spaces and ecosystems is essential. Simultaneously, to attain the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), in particular SGD11, SDG13, and SDG14, ocean industries are increasingly engaged in activities such as renewable energy generation and sustainable aquaculture and fisheries. Furthermore, climate-change related impacts of oceans to coastal zones, such as coastal erosion and flooding, need to be better understood and monitoring systems developed to support mitigation measures.

Various ocean sensors, platforms, and communication systems have been developed, and are being further improved, to facilitate understanding ocean and ecosystem processes and the impacts that ocean industries have on these. To advance monitoring and decision-support, a large-scale project under the Transforming Climate Action program (https://www.ofi.ca/programs/transform-climate-action) is currently underway. This project aims to develop a framework and models for a Digital Twin for Ocean Industries, for optimal deployment to support strategic and operations decisions for selected ocean industries, such as aquaculture.

Position

Our Industrial Engineering Department is seeking a Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF) in Digital Twin technologies for Ocean Sensor Systems to play a pivotal role in research implementation, coordination, and management of a project focusing on these topics. The postdoc will join a dynamic, dedicated group working with Prof. Ronald Pelot, Prof. Floris Goerlandt and Prof. Hamid Afshari in the Maritime Risk and Safety (MARS) Research Group at Dalhousie University, in further collaboration with professors from Dalhousie's Faculties of Engineering, Computer Science, and Science.

The PDF will perform cutting-edge research to develop advanced Decision Support Systems (DSS) to support sustainable human uses of ocean spaces. This will require new conceptual and technical research, advancing the state of the art in Digital Twin Engineering by applying operations research, systems engineering and simulation to offshore technologies, including those which help mitigate climate change such as offshore wind farms. Applying and advancing techniques such as Deep Learning (ANN), Reinforcement Learning (RL), and Deep Reinforcement Learning (ANN+RL) would be beneficial. Based on ocean sensor networks' inputs, the developed DSSs will support the monitoring, prediction, environmental impacts and technical engineering management of ocean industry designs and operations (ex. offshore wind, aquaculture, tidal energy, etc.).

The successful candidate will work closely with the project team to: (i) plan the research and refine research questions in a coherent framework; (ii) collect, integrate, and manage data, models and knowledge to answer the research questions; (iii) develop frameworks, modeling approaches, and the technical implementation thereof through coding and programming work; (iv) support and provide scientific and technical advice to graduate students working in the project; (v) write journal articles, conference articles, and book chapters to disseminate the research findings; (vi) support the development of specific models for the selected case studies; and (vii) perform project management tasks such as coordinating stakeholder engagement activities, preparing reports, and disseminating the results to diverse audiences.

The PDF will be employed by Dalhousie University (www.dal.ca) and must be physically based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The PDF will have opportunities to develop his or her own research agenda associated with the Transforming Climate Action program, and have the opportunity for extending his or her professional network through various relevant research and stakeholder networks. Participation in academic career development programs offered by Dalhousie University is encouraged. Renumeration will be in line with competences and experience, with a starting salary of $65,000 (CAD) annually, with additional benefits including pension and health and dental insurance be available according to Dalhousie University's benefits package for grant-based employees.

Funding

The position is available from September 1, 2024, through August 31, 2026 (24 months), with a 6-month probation period. This position is funded by the Transforming Climate Action program, through a grant by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.

The ideal candidate will be someone who:

Given the wide range of qualifications, prospective applicants with strengths in only a subset of the above knowledge domains, but with a strong willingness to learn and widen their understanding of relevant concepts, frameworks, and methods to successfully implement the project, are encouraged to apply.

Applicants should submit a cover letter, a detailed curriculum vitae including a list of publications, two to three representative publications, and the names of three referees by email to Prof. Ronald Pelot (ronald.pelot@dal.ca) with "TCA-1.3 PDF" as the subject line. Your cover letter should highlight what particular aspects of the advertised position spark your interest, give a description of your research interests, and include a self-assessment of your main strengths and areas for improvement, addressing both your academic knowledge, and your technical and project management skills. Applications will be considered from March 18, 2024, until the position is filled. Please address any inquiries to Prof. Pelot.

Dalhousie University commits to achieving inclusive excellence through continually championing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. The university encourages applications from Indigenous persons (especially Mi'kmaq), persons of Black/African descent (especially African Nova Scotians), and members of other racialized groups, persons with disabilities, women, and persons identifying as members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and all candidates who would contribute to the diversity of our community. For more information, please visit www.dal.ca/hiringfordiversity.

If you require any support for the purpose of accommodation, such as technical aids or alternative arrangements, please let us know of these needs and how we can be of assistance. Dalhousie University is committed to ensuring all candidates have full, fair, and equitable participation in the hiring process. Our complete Accommodation Policy can be viewed here.