PhD Position on Climate Resilience of Interdependent Infrastructure Systems

PhD Position on Climate Resilience of Interdependent Infrastructure Systems

Challenge: Climate extremes impact critical infrastructure.

Change: Improved quantification of infrastructure climate resilience.

Impact: Climate resilience strategies developed with infrastructure.

Job description

The department of Engineering Systems and Services (ESS) offers a 4-year PhD position on developing participatory climate resilience models for interdependent infrastructure systems, with a focus on the Netherlands.

Modern societies rely on critical infrastructure to function, yet these systems are increasingly challenged by climate change, aging assets, and growing societal demands. In the Netherlands, infrastructure networks have become more complex and interdependent, creating both opportunities and risks. Recent climate events have exposed vulnerabilities across infrastructure sectors, highlighting the urgent need for resilience. Addressing these risks requires more than technical solutions; it demands integrated, forward-looking strategies that consider interdependencies, resource constraints, and other societal transitions. Without coordinated governance and resilient planning, the risks of systemic failures, and their social and economic consequences, will continue to grow.

The aim of this PhD is to develop a multi-level climate risk assessment framework for interdependent infrastructure systems to help infrastructure partners understand systemic vulnerabilities in their networks. You will integrate climate hazard data with spatial infrastructure models to simulate asset failures and cascading impacts under current and future climate conditions. Moreover, you will develop new methods and models to assess the impacts of infrastructure failures to people, services, and the economy. These participatory models will be co-developed with infrastructure operators, taking the practical realities and challenges of the operators into consideration, and will inform joint resilience planning strategies for the next few decades. The project focuses on two regional case studies in the Netherlands: the Greater Amsterdam Metropolitan Area and the Rhine-Alpine Rail Corridor. Still, the research is expected to have policy implications for adaptation and resilience planning across the Netherlands and beyond.

We seek a candidate who is keen to learn and utilise different methods and data, for instance geospatial modelling techniques, infrastructure network models and climate hazard and socioeconomic data. Moreover, we seek someone who is interested in working interdisciplinary, through collaborations with researchers from environmental and organisation sciences, as well as working in a transdisciplinary fashion, by working closely with infrastructure professionals.

This PhD position is part of the recently funded ‘Transformative Adaptation Strategies for Interdependent Critical Infrastructure (TASICI)’ project, which aims to develop and implement innovative analytical models and intra- as well as inter-organisational frameworks that support coordinated, cross-sectoral responses to climate adaptation. TASICI is a collaboration between various Dutch universities (VU Amsterdam, TU Delft, Haagse Hogeschool) and infrastructure operators (Schiphol, Rijkswaterstaat, Port of Rotterdam, ProRail, Vervoersregio Amsterdam). The successful candidate is expected to work closely with both research and infrastructure partners, including opportunities to spend time at the offices of infrastructure operators.

Job requirements

The potential PhD candidate is expected to have:

• A Master’s degree (or nearly finished) in Engineering, Sustainability, Disaster Risk, Economics, Statistics/Mathematics, Data Science, or a related field (essential).
• Experience working with large datasets, analytical/quantitative models and (geospatial) programming (e.g. preferably Python) (essential).
• Strong motivation to do scientific research into the impacts of climate change (essential).
• Strong interest in working in a multidisciplinary research environment, and collaboratively with infrastructure operators to bridge research and practical realities, and vice versa (essential).
• Excellent study results and ability to communicate professionally in Dutch (desirable).
• A demonstratable interest in, or knowledge of, integrating technical concepts within quantitative (spatial) modelling frameworks (desirable).

TU Delft

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Technology, Policy and Management

The Faculty of TPM provides an important contribution to solving complex technical-social issues, such as energy transition, mobility, digitalisation, water management and (cyber) security. TPM does this with its excellent education and research at the intersection of technology, society and policy. We combine insights from both engineering and social sciences as well as the humanities. TPM develops robust models and designs, is internationally oriented and has an extensive network of knowledge institutions, companies, social organisations and governments.

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1.5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2901 per month in the first year to € 3707 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

Additional information

You will be supervised by Dr. Jasper Verschuur (TU Delft), Dr. Elco Koks (VU Amsterdam) and Prof. Dr. Wijnand Veeneman (TU Delft). For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Jasper Verschuur (j.verschuur@tudelft.nl).