Materials science and technology are our passion. With our cutting-edge research, Empa's around 1,100 employees make essential contributions to the well-being of society for a future worth living. Empa is a research institution of the ETH Domain.
Empa's Laboratory of Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles is a pioneer in physics-based modeling at multiple scales. We bridge the virtual to the real world by multi-parameter sensing and creating digital twins of heat-sensitive biological systems (food, humans) that can live together with their real-world counterparts.
This project aims to identify better how perishable biological products, such as vaccines, react inside cold chain unit operations and to pinpoint why some products decay faster. For that purpose, we develop digital twins of the cargo, based on measured air temperature and humidity data in cold chains by commercial sensors, and deploy them in end-to-end virtual supply chains. This project also aims to optimize other thermal processes using digital twins, such as thermally-steered drug delivery processes for applications in oncology.
Your tasks
Your tasks (the priorities will be flexibly decided depending on the concrete opportunities at hand after starting):
- Develop multiphysics models of selected heat-sensitive biological products and thermal processes. This includes hygrothermal transport in the ensemble of packed products during cooling, convective exchange with the environment, biochemical quality attribute evolution within the products, and thermally-driven damage (chilling-freezing injury).
- Use these models to build physics-based digital twins of products that age in-silico with the real product, for example, in a vaccine supply chain.
- Process measured sensor data of commercial cold chains, analyze data for variability, and reformat data in databases.
- Use the simulation-based approach to (1) better understand and steer refrigeration processes or packaging design by optimizing for product quality loss and waste, and (2) connect the improved quality preservation from digital twins, so extra shelf life, to economical advantages.
- Integrate these digital twins into other platforms, such as mobile applications.
- Extend the digital twin work to optimize thermally-steered drug delivery processes for humans and link to associated clinical trials in oncology.
Your profile
- Completed Master`s degree in mechanical engineering
- Proven experience in continuum modeling (finite element modeling, computational fluid dynamics), and proven experience with COMSOL Multiphysics.
- Knowledge of heat and mass transport processes in heat-sensitive materials and process optimization.
- Experience in hygrothermal measurements is advantageous (temperature, infrared, anemometry).
- Excellent communication skills and fluency in English (both written and oral) are mandatory. Knowledge of German is considered advantageous.
- You have a flair for communicating with industrial and other partners.
Our offer
A project duration of 3 years is envisaged to carry out the above research tasks in the form of a PhD thesis. The project is supported by Empa under the supervision of Prof. Thijs Defraeye (academic supervisor). It involves a joint affiliation with ETH Zürich, where you will be affiliated with the Department of Environmental Sciences (D-USYS). The candidate will perform the research at Empa in St. Gallen. The starting date is upon mutual Agreement. This project is performed in close collaboration with industrial and other partners.
We live a culture of inclusion and respect. We welcome all people who are interested in innovative, sustainable and meaningful activities - that's what counts.
Sarah
Stüdli,
Bereichspersonalleiterin / HR Partner