This project is part of the H2020 Equallife project (that starts in January 2020), which will develop and test combined exposure data using a novel approach to multi-modal exposures and their impact on children's mental health and development. A combination of birth-cohort data with new sources of data, will provide insight into aspects of physical and social exposures hitherto untapped. It will do this at different scale levels and timeframes, while accounting for the distribution of exposures in social groups based on gender, ethnicity, social vulnerability.



A part of Equallife is the quantification of exposure to noise during the life of children. As the project makes use of existing data of children that have been monitored over years, the quantification of noise exposure needs to be done in the past, for which we lack data to do detailed noise calculations.

The aim of this project to develop a method for computing noise indicators for noise outdoors as well as indoors, for scenarios where too little data is at hand for making high detailed predictions.

The contents of this project are:

- Collecting measurement data, and generating new data regarding noise exposure outdoors and indoors.

- Development of a prediction method based on machine learning techniques for targeted noise indicators, which will in contrast to the traditional noise indicators have more temporal information. Results will be compared to exposures obtained via more classical modelling approaches.

- Exploring and utilizing sensor networks of smart city initiatives to obtain indicators and to connect to the above modelling approach.



The research in Equallife is a collaborative effort. The research in this PhD project will be characterized by a strong collaboration with Ghent University (prof. Botteldooren and prof. van Renterghem).


The Building Acoustics research group is a lively group currently consisting of 15 researchers (https://maartenhornikx.net/researchers), all working on a research topic of acoustics in the built environment. The group has a focus on developing computational acoustics methods for the built environment.

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with:

• a background in in psychoacoustics;
• an interest in auralization technology;
• strong communication skills;
• an attitude to participate successfully in a multidisciplinary team

We offer:

• A full-time appointment for a period of 4 years, with an intermediate evaluation after nine months;
• A gross salary of €2,325 per month in the first year increasing up to € 2,972 per month in the fourth year;
• Support for your personal development and career planning including courses, summer schools, conference visits, etc.;
• A research position in an internationally renowned research group;
• A broad package of fringe benefits (e.g. excellent technical infrastructure, saving schemes, excellent sports facilities, and child daycare).