Università di Milano Bicocca - Call for applications to PhD positions

The deadline to apply for PhD positions at Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca (UNIMIB) is next 24th April !!

In particular, I draw you attention on these two projects:

"Physics-based Deep Learning approaches for interpretable characterization of alpine mass movement activity"
Alpine environments are affected by different types of mass movements that exhibit different styles of activity, rapidly changing due to global warming and threatening lives and infrastructures. Managing the related risks requires capabilities to rapidly detect and characterize the activity of mass movements over wide areas. During the last decade, deep learning (DL) techniques have been increasingly applied to the detection, classification and segmentation of mass movements, mainly for rapid mapping purposes. However, few DL applications to the characterization of mass movement activity have been proposed, usually lacking strong geomorphological and process-based constraints and thus difficult to interpret.

This PhD project will integrate geomorphologically-constrained libraries of remote sensing data (InSAR, optical, thermal) and deterministic modelling results to train DL models able to provide an interpretable automated assessment of mass movement activities over wide portions of the Alps.

We seek a candidate with an engineering geological background and programming skills, motivated to work in a multi-disciplinary team to take advantage of remote sensing, deterministic modeling and AI to develop novel approaches to the assessment of mass movement activity in a risk mitigation perspective. The research will be carried out in collaboration with researchers of the CNR-IMATI (Genova, Itay) and the SLF (Davos, Switzerland), where the PhD student will spend at least six months.

Supervisor:  Prof. Federico Agliardi (UNIMIB; federico.agliardi@unimib.it)

Co-supervisor:  Dr. Alessandro Mondini (CNR-IMATI; alessandro.mondini@ge.imati.cnr.it)

"The mechanics of rockslide creep: experimental and numerical modeling of hydro-mechanical interactions in basal shear zones"
Large rockslides evolve through progressive rock failure and strain localization in basal shear zones, with a time-dependent macroscale behavior ("slope creep") anticipating catastrophic collapse. However, forecasting approaches often rely on empirical creep descriptions not accounting for the microscale processes driving failure. In particular, the hydro-mechanical interactions taking place in evolving basal shear zones, and their response to hydrological forcing, especially under climate change, remain elusive.
This PhD project will investigate how mineral composition, evolving texture and permeability influence the magnitude, timing, and dependence of rockslide shear zone response to stress and pore pressure changes. Innovative laboratory experiments on natural materials will be combined with advanced numerical techniques (PFEM, MPM) to model large deformations and derive physically based relationships accounting for the spectrum of rockslide creep. Results will be upscaled to alpine case studies monitored via ground-based and remote sensing techniques.
We seek a candidate with an engineering geology background, eager to work in a multidisciplinary team combining geological, geotechnical, and computational expertise to enhance our understanding of large landslide behavior for risk reduction. The research involves collaboration with Sapienza University of Rome (Rock Mechanics and Earthquake Physics Lab) and BOKU University (Vienna), where a research stay is planned.

Supervisor:  Prof. Federico Agliardi (UNIMIB; federico.agliardi@unimib.it)
Co-supervisor:  Prof. Matteo Oryem Ciantia (UNIMIB; matteo.ciantia@unimib.it)

Useful links: call for application

Feel free to contact us!