The North Sea is one of the world's busiest maritime regions, witnessing a continual surge in utilization for both navigation and renewable energy ventures. With the rising demand for renewable energy, more wind parks are being planned and developed in this domain, creating a complex challenge: how to integrate these new functions while maintaining nautical safety. Balancing the urge to expand renewable energy initiatives while ensuring nautical safety remains a key concern. Addressing this challenge necessitates innovative approaches, utilizing new technologies, and interdisciplinary collaborations.
In response to these challenges, a collaboration has been forged between Rijkswaterstaat, Coastguard, and TU Delft through a data-sharing and support agreement. This alliance signifies a concerted effort to explore, analyze, and address the complex interplay between the utilization of the North Sea for renewable energy endeavors and the imperative to maintain and enhance nautical safety standards. Under this collaborative agreement, the Sea and Shipping AI research program has been initiated. Co-financed by the Rijkswaterstaat, the overarching goal is to harness the potential of advanced data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence techniques to enhance sea and shipping performance. This initiative aims to investigate, innovate, and develop strategies that augment the performance and operational efficiency of sea and shipping activities within the North Sea while simultaneously ensuring the highest standards of safety and sustainability.
The initiative encompasses two research roles: a PhD position focusing on strategic and operational aspects of sea infrastructure and a Postdoctoral position dedicated to creating a novel working environment. This includes setting up skill beds for testing and refining new methodologies to address challenges in maritime management. Together, these roles support the program's broader goal of improving North Sea infrastructure through research and application.
Job descriptionAs a PhD candidate within the Sea and Shipping AI research program, this position involves a comprehensive exploration of both the strategic and operational dimensions of maritime infrastructure within the dynamic North Sea environment. Incorporating advanced AI models and extensive data resources, the research addresses critical challenges to enhance sea and shipping performance across multiple levels.
From a strategic perspective, the focus includes infrastructure state monitoring, resilience, space requirements, and investments, with particular attention to understanding and quantifying the impact of new wind parks on collision risks. The research is aimed at helping Rijkswaterstaat gain better insights into how collision and allision risks evolve as new wind parks are planned and constructed. These risks are studied not only as a function of infrastructure presence but also with respect to environmental conditions and traffic intensity patterns. This includes elements such as analyzing wind and wave climates and employing hydrodynamic modeling to predict the drift paths of incapacitated vessels.
On the operational side, the role emphasizes real-time monitoring, traffic flow optimization, and anomaly detection. These techniques are intended to assist the Coastguard in enhancing traffic management and emergency response capabilities. This includes improving early warning capabilities and automating issue prioritization, thereby enabling more effective and timely interventions. Specific applications may include the development of advanced AI-driven risk prediction tools, automated warning systems, and methodologies for responding to collision risks and other disruptions.
Through these investigations, the position contributes to the creation of innovative frameworks that integrate strategic asset management with operational efficiency to support the evolving needs of North Sea infrastructure.
Job requirementsWe are looking for excellent candidates who are passionate about maritime applications and have a proven interdisciplinary track record. This position requires extensive expertise in artificial intelligence and working with big datasets. In particular, we look for candidates with:
- An MSc degree in Civil Engineering, Maritime Engineering, Transport and Infrastructure, or any other related field
- Advanced skills in applying AI models and big data analytics to diverse data sources
- Extensive expertise in scripting with Python
- Affinity with maritime applications, nautical traffic, and safety issues, including the ability to couple hydrometeo aspects to ship response and behavior, and translate this information to nautical safety impacts
- Strong problem-solving abilities for complex issues in sea infrastructure state and use
- Affinity with agent-based and discrete-event simulation is a plus
- Ability to work in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment both with scientific partners and stakeholders from industry
Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. More specifically, TOEFL or IELTS English proficiency tests are required for all applicants except those whose MSc program was taught in English. The minimum requirement of a TOEFL score is 100 and IELTS is 7.0. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.
TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)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 of Civil Engineering and GeosciencesThe Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences (CEG) is committed to outstanding international research and education in the field of civil engineering, applied earth sciences, traffic and transport, water technology, and delta technology. Our research feeds into our educational programmes and covers societal challenges such as climate change, energy transition, resource availability, urbanisation and clean water. Our research projects are conducted in close cooperation with a wide range of research institutions. CEG is convinced of the importance of open science and supports its scientists in integrating open science in their research practice. The Faculty of CEG comprises 28 research groups in the following seven departments: Materials Mechanics Management & Design, Engineering Structures, Geoscience and Engineering, Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Transport & Planning, Hydraulic Engineering and Water Management.
19 February 2025
- MSc thesis abstract
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