Are you passionate about creating digital tools that help cities manage water resources sustainably? We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher to join an international research initiative focused on developing innovative City Information Models (CIM) to support urban water management and planning nature-based solutions.
InformationThis position is part of Green4Grey, a Water4All European project that brings together universities and municipalities to enhance urban water circularity by advancing sustainable, efficient, and safe management of non-conventional water resources, reducing reliance on traditional water supplies, and integrating decentralized Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) with centralized urban systems.
However, cities currently lack comprehensive digital tools to effectively plan and implement NBS. Existing models don't integrate spatial data or social considerations, nor do they enable decision-making across different scales. Professionals face knowledge gaps about NBS performance and struggle to justify their adoption over conventional infrastructure due to insufficient evidence and high implementation complexity.
Within this project, TU/e addresses these barriers by developing a modular, spatially explicit City Information Model (CIM) that integrates data management, computational operations, and interactive visualization for optimal NBS integration. As a postdoctoral researcher, you will use web-GIS technology and generative AI to develop a parametric CIM that helps cities assess, plan, and implement NBS to enhance water quality and quantity while contributing to circular economy principles. The CIM will enable urban stakeholders to explore water availability, evaluate NBS options, and scale interventions from individual buildings to entire neighborhoods.
As a postdoctoral researcher, you will:
- Develop a CIM Data Module managing connections to local and global data sources (rainfall, water use, sensor data, materials, costs).
- Develop a CIM Operations Module to integrate nature-based solutions. As part of this module, develop an ontology of selected green infrastructure types including their attributes, interrelationships, and performance criteria, and instantiate this ontology as a knowledge graph in selected project use cases.
- Develop a CIM Interactive Visualization Module providing parametric 2D/3D interfaces using open-source technologies like Cesium. Allow users to place and visualize NbS elements (green roofs, rain gardens, bioswales) on specific sites and buildings. Integrate generative AI components that enable natural language user input to the CIM, allowing users to issue commands via text or speech (e.g., "Place a green roof on this building and add a rain garden to its south side").
- Develop scalability assessment tools that enable users to replicate NbS measures across larger urban areas and simulate their collective impact on water quality and quantity.
- Organize and facilitate participatory workshops with local stakeholders to test the CIM prototypes, gather feedback, and refine functionality to ensure practical usability and integration into real-world decision-making processes.
- Produce project deliverables including CIM prototypes, technical documentation, and academic publications.
- Contribute to project management, including planning, monitoring, ethics and data management, and reporting to funding bodies.
You will be working with the Information Systems in the Built Environment (ISBE) within the Department of the Built Environment. The group carries out research and education in the field of information systems for design, engineering, construction and management of the built environment.
Sustainability, in its broadest definition, is the cornerstone of research and education in the Department of Built Environment. We take the lead in (re)shaping the built environment to be future-proof, safe, healthy, inclusive and respectful of planetary boundaries. We house the entire spectrum of technology, engineering, design, and human behavior disciplines in the built environment, with world-class experimental facilities at all scales. This allows us to address societal challenges from a uniquely integrated perspective.