UiT The Arctic University of Norway

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is a multi-campus comprehensive university at the international forefront. Our vision is to be a driving force for developing the High North. The Northern Sami notion eallju, which means eagerness to work, sets the tone for this motive power at UiT. Along with students, staff and the wider community, we aim to utilise our location in Northern Norway and Sápmi, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio and interdisciplinary advantage to shape the future.

Our social mission is to provide research-based education of high quality, perform artistic development and carry out research of the highest international quality standards in the entire range from basic to applied. We will convey knowledge about disciplines and contribute to innovation. Our social mission unites UiT across various studies, research fields and large geographical distances. This demands good cooperation with trade and industry and civil society as well as with international partners. We will strengthen knowledge-based and sustainable development at a regional, national and international level.

Academic freedom and scientific and ethical principles form the basis for all UiT’s activities. Participation, co-determination, transparency and good processes will provide the decision-making basis we need to make wise and far-sighted priorities. Our students and staff will have the opportunity to develop their abilities and potential. Founded on academic integrity, we will be courageous, committed and generous in close contact with disciplines, people and contemporary developments.

We will demonstrate adaptability and seek good and purposeful utilisation of resources, so we are ready to meet the expectations and opportunities of the future. We will strengthen the quality and impact of our disciplines and core tasks through the following three strategic priority areas.

Faculty of Science and Technology

The position

A Postdoctoral Research Fellow position is available at the Renewable Energy Group of the Department of Physics and Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway. This position is funded through an academic research agreement between UiT and Equinor.

The position is a fixed term position for a duration of two years with perspectives for funding over a longer period. Appointment to the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow is mainly intended to provide qualification for work in top academic positions. It is a prerequisite that the applicant can carry out the project over the full course of the employment period. No person may hold more than one fixed term position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

The Postdoctoral research fellow will work on multi-scaling weather modelling and wind resource assessment. The primary objective of the research project is to develop methodological background and programming implementation of coupling between a turbulence-resolving modeling system PALM and weather prediction models WRF and HIRLAM.

The Department of Physics and Technology consists of six research groups: Complex Systems Modelling, Earth Observation, Renewable Energy, Machine Learning, Space Physics, and Ultrasound, Microwaves and Optics. The department provides education at Bachelor, Master, and PhD levels; and hosts 35 permanent academic staff, and a technical/administrative staff of 15 persons. The position is attached to the Renewable Energy group, but intensive collaboration with other research groups at the department as well as with the Norwegian Meteorological Institute will be necessary.

The position's field of research

Wind energy production becomes increasingly important for sustainable development, decarbonization, and ultimately for achieving better environmental and life quality. Its importance is reflected in the United Nations sustainable development goals SDG-7 (Energy), SDG-11 (Sustainable cities), SDG-13 (Climate actions), and others. Today, we have a good understanding of the availability and variability of renewable energy resources on large (regional) scales. Wind energy is still fragmentary understood on small spatial and time scales. Such understanding is however strongly required for economically successful and environmentally responsible development of wind energy projects.

The successful candidate will contribute to multi-scale wind modeling effort run in the Renewable Energy Group. We primarily work with WRF and PALM modeling systems but want to develop research efforts in the direction of model coupling and integrated modeling system technologies.

 The candidate is expected to implement a multi-scale wind modeling system and to: 

• achieve a better understating of local-scale variability of the renewable energy resources
• demonstrate a novel integrated technology for local-scale resource assessment
• provide recommendations for Equinor renewable energy projects

The proposed research will include the following main tasks:

• Revision and further development of multi-scale model coupling methodology related to the PALM model system
• Improvements in current implementation of the PALM model system coupling
• Setup and run high resolution simulations with PALM on the Norwegian e-infrastructure for Research and Education for wind park locations in Norway
• Attribution of the observed local-scale variability of the renewable resources to physical processes using PALM simulations

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact:

Professor Igor Ezau: 

• phone: +47 47 39 96 90
• email: igor.ezau@uit.no

or Professor Yngve Birkelund:

• phone: +47 77 66 02 46/+47 99 377 377
• email: yngve.birkelund@uit.no

Qualifications

The position requires a recognized PhD degree within atmospheric physics and/or modeling. Candidates majoring in other research areas will be considered only if they document relevant computer modeling skills.

The candidate must document his/her PhD degree, minimum 3 relevant peer-review publications in internationally recognized scientific journals and experience with computer modeling.

Fluency in English is required and working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language is desirable. Nordic applicants can document their capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.

A good knowledge and experience in one or more of the following fields is an advantage:

• Experience with WRF, HIRLAM, and/or PALM modeling systems
• Numerical modeling or computational fluid dynamics
• Familiarity with high performance parallel computing and LINUX
• Atmospheric physics, numerical weather prediction

The candidate must submit one page statement describing his/her experience with computer modeling. If the candidate is familiar with meteorological model coupling and multi-scale modeling, his/her research ideas for the position are also welcome. The final project description will be developed in cooperation with the supervisor.

In the assessment the main emphasis will be attached to the submitted works and the statement for the qualifying work. The assessment for the position will also emphasize the candidate's experience with atmospheric/fluid dynamics modeling, supercomputers, and atmospheric/wind physics.

During the assessment emphasis will be put on the candidate’s motivation, potential for research, and personal suitability for the position. 

We are looking for candidates who:

• can work efficiently in an international environment
• Have good collaboration skills
• Have good communication and interaction with colleagues and students
• Wants to contribute to a good working environment

At UiT we put emphasis on the quality, relevance and significance of the research work and not on where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).

Inclusion and diversity

UiT The Arctic University i Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity is a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics. 

We offer

• Involvement in an interesting research project 
• Good career opportunities 
• A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund

Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.

More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here.

Application

Your application must include:

• One page cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests
• One page research statement describing your modeling experience
• PDF copies of your three peer-review publications for assessment
• CV with the list of publications (max 5 pages)
• Diplomas and transcripts (all degrees)
• Documentation of your PhD degree
• Documentation of English proficiency
• Contact information to 3 references

Qualification with a PhD is required before commencement in the position. If you’re at the final stages of your PhD, you may still apply if you have submitted your PhD thesis for doctoral degree evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis with your application. You must have dissertated before the start-up date of the position.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.

Assessment

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position.

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position. A trial lecture may also be held.

General information

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants. 

The remuneration for Postdoctoral research fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1352. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.

The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. 

Apply for position