Doctoral Student in Structural Dynamics and Metamaterials for Hybrid Steel–Timber Buildings 100 %

The ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences is the largest university of applied sciences in German-speaking Switzerland, with around 15,000 students, more than 11,000 continuing education participants and over 3,700 employees.

We are committed to building diverse teams in order to promote equality and inclusion. We offer a flexible working environment that can be adapted to your individual circumstances.

Shape the future of sustainable structures by combining advanced simulation with cutting-edge experiments and contributing directly to safer, more comfortable and resource-efficient construction.

Your tasks

Review the literature on vibrations in hybrid steel–timber structures and on conventional mitigation solutions

Select representative hybrid subsystems (floor segments, beam–slab interfaces, joints)

Develop numerical models in COMSOL (frequency domain) and Abaqus (time domain) to identify vibration hot spots in the 1–100 Hz range

Benchmark conventional damping solutions (viscoelastic layers, tuned mass dampers) numerically and experimentally

Prepare and run tests on reduced-scale specimens with laser Doppler vibrometry, shakers and the multi-axial shaking table at ETH Zurich

Publish in peer-reviewed journals, present at conferences and write your doctoral thesis

Your profile

Master's degree in civil, structural or mechanical engineering, or a related field, meeting the admission requirements of the ETH Zurich doctoral programme

Solid background in structural dynamics and finite element modelling; experience with COMSOL and/or Abaqus is an advantage

Interest in experimental work and hands-on laboratory testing

Knowledge of steel or timber construction is welcome

Programming skills (e.g. Python or MATLAB)

Fluent English; German is an advantage

Curious, structured and able to work in an interdisciplinary team across institutions

Start

01.02.2027 or by agreement