Your research will be constructively driven by the ambitious goals of the Horizon Europe project ModConFlex, which is concerned with the modelling and control of flexible structures in fluid environments. The enormous challenges in this scientifically and technologically demanding field will require, and thus promote, substantial mathematical and theoretical developments at the interface of mathematics, physics and engineering, pointing far beyond the already ambitious scope of the project itself. Your research will thus ideally prepare you for a future career in any one of these fields.

The central aim of your doctoral research in applied mathematics is to combine the benefits of two mathematically sophisticated approaches to the modelling of structure-fluid systems: On the one hand, the functional analytic approach that is hitherto well-understood in one dimension and, on the other hand, the differential geometric approach that is well-adapted to higher dimensions and sophisticated geometries of the flexible structure. One of many prototypical questions would be to study the existence of solutions for differential geometric formulations in higher dimensions by functional analytic semi-group methods. There will of course be a great amount of academic freedom to contribute and develop your own ideas, which explicitly includes some measure of blue-sky research into the application of your findings in a wider context.

As members of the doctoral research training programme of ModConFlex, which brings together a large academia-industry consortium of 17 institutions across Europe and Israel through the Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions programme, you and your network of fellow doctoral students will receive outstanding training. As part of this training, you will complete three research stays between two and three months at partnering institutions, which will greatly extend your knowledge and make you see the bearing of your research. All these measures combined will significantly boost your career.

Your excellently equipped research position will be within the Mathematical Systems Theory group, headed by Prof. Dr. H. J. Zwart, in the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. Your joint PhD advisors will be both H. J. Zwart (Functional Analysis) and F. P. Schuller (Differential Geometry).

• You have a strong background and interest in functional analysis and/or differential geometry;
• You have, or will shortly acquire, a first class MSc degree in mathematics or physics and have C1 proficiency in English;
• You have not resided, worked, or studied in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the recruitment date (EU Horizon mobility rule).

• As a PhD student at UT, you will be appointed to a full-time position for four years, with a qualifier in the first year, within a very stimulating and exciting scientific environment;
• The University offers a dynamic ecosystem with enthusiastic colleagues;
• Your salary and associated conditions are in accordance with the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (CAO-NU);
• You will receive a gross monthly salary ranging from € 2.541,- (first year) to € 3.247,- (fourth year);
• There are excellent benefits including a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%, and a solid pension scheme;
• A minimum of 232 leave hours in case of full-time employment based on a formal workweek of 38 hours. A full-time employment in practice means 40 hours a week, therefore resulting in 96 extra leave hours on an annual basis.
• A family-friendly institution that offers parental leave (both paid and unpaid);
• You will have a training programme as part of the Twente Graduate School where you and your supervisors will determine a plan for a suitable education and supervision;