PhD Fellow in Distributed Acoustic Sensing for Arctic Railway Infrastructure Monitoring

The position A PhD position is available at the Department of Electrical Engineering (IET), Faculty of Engineering Sciences and Technology , UiT The Arctic University of Norway. The position is within the field of distributed fibre-optic sensing for railway infrastructure monitoring, with particular emphasis on the use of Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) for monitoring railway infrastructure and natural hazards along the Ofoten Line. The position is for a period of four years . The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % each year and will consist of teaching and other duties. The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position. The workplace is at UiT in Narvik. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer. The position’s field of research The position is associated with a new research initiative at UiT on intelligent monitoring and resilience of railway and transport infrastructure in Arctic environments that aims to address how distributed sensing, fibre-optic monitoring, environmental observations, drone- and satellite-based data, operational infrastructure datasets, and/or machine learning can be used to support real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, geohazard detection, and safer railway operations. The initiative is a collaboration between the Department of Electrical Engineering, the Department of Computer Science and Computational Engineering, and the Department of Geosciences. Research infrastructure is provided via existing data, sensor networks, and established field sites along the Ofoten Line and new initiatives associated with the Arctic Test Arena project. Railway infrastructure in Arctic and Nordic regions is increasingly exposed to harsh weather, heavy traffic loads, climate-related hazards, and growing operational demands. Current railway monitoring systems still rely largely on manual inspections and periodic measurements. This makes it challenging to detect early signs of infrastructure degradation, vibration-related damage, geohazards, snow avalanches, rockfalls, landslides, track irregularities, wheel defects, bearing faults, and people and animals on the track. The PhD project will investigate how existing fibre-optic cable infrastructure along the Ofoten line railway, one of Norway’s most strategically important and climate-exposed railways, can be used as a distributed sensor network for continuous infrastructure monitoring. Standard optical fibres will be used as dense arrays of vibration sensors, making it possible to measure dynamic strain and acoustic disturbances along many kilometres of fibre with down to metre-scale spatial resolution – a technique coined Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS). The long-term ambition is to enable high-resolution, real-time warning and decision support for railway operations and maintenance. The successful candidate will work on developing, testing, modelling, and validating methods for DAS-based monitoring of railway infrastructure and surrounding terrain. The work can include physics-based modelling of e.g., various events and wave propagation through different media, signal processing, large-scale data analysis, algorithm development and potentially also field work. The applicants must present a description outlining the academic basis of the PhD project. The project description shall not exceed 2 pages, including reference lists/figures/tables if relevant. It must include a description of the topic, research question(s) and a reasoning of the choices. It should also indicate the methodologies to be used. The final project description will be developed in cooperation with the supervisor. Qualifications This position requires a master’s degree or equivalent in applied mathematics, signal processing, physics, geophysics, civil engineering (electrical, geotechnical, structural, environmental, transportation, construction, computer etc.), data/computer science or similar. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply. Applicants must document good English skills and be able to work in an international environment. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma. The candidate should have expertise in data analysis and be able to implement data analysis tools in a suitable programming language. It is also advantageous with knowledge and/or capabilities in one or more of the following topics: - Signal processing - Physical/geophysical modelling - Computer science - Geohazards - Waves and fields - Material science In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, and any other scientific work. Evaluation of the candidate is not only based on the candidates track record in education, but other experiences that can be relevant for the PhD work. This includes teaching, practical experience with e.g., railway infrastructure and/or other relevant work or activities. The project description will also be considered. In addition, professional experience and other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme will be taken into consideration. We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for candidates who: - Have good communication and interaction with colleagues and students - Can contribute to a positive and productive working environment - Are able to work both independently and in groups on defined research topics - Have good work ethics As many people as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not a