Job description

This PhD will be headquartered at the Neuronic Engineering research group at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. The multidisciplinary research at the Neuronic Engineering unit at KTH School of Technology and Health is aimed at the biomechanics of head and neck injuries. As part of the Marie Curie training experience, the candidate will spend 6 months at AGV, Italy.

Analysis and reconstruction of motorcycle and snow sports accidents:

This PhD project is part of a Marie-Curie International Training Network, HEADS (Head protection: a European training network for Advanced Designs in Safety), with UC Dublin, KTH Stockholm and KU Leuven as academic partners, and Charles Owen, Lazer Sport and AGV as industrial partners.

The scientific goal of HEADS is to improve the understanding of head impact injury and to design new helmet standard test methods that recognize the influence of rotational kinematics. This will lead to improved helmets and a reduction in the severity of injuries and the numbers of fatalities. This objective will be achieved through a combination of computational simulations of real-life accidents, experimental and computational investigation of injury thresholds, and design of new helmet certification tests.

Case data for motorcycle collisions and snow sports accidents will be analysed by a multidisciplinary team of engineers, and neurosurgeons. Data for accident reconstructions will be obtained from Karolinska Hospital, Sweden, FIS (International Ski Federation), and European databases for motorcycle accidents. The accident records and video footage, when available, will be used for accident reconstructions with finite element models of the human head and body. Data on accident circumstances available in accident records will be used as input, which should result in estimates of realistic ranges of magnitudes of head response variables. Relations between mechanical head response data and the documented head injuries will be investigated. Head impact response will be recorded in terms of peak head loading, linear and rotational acceleration, velocity and pulse duration and will be related directly to injury severity. These reconstructions will identify key parameters in motorcycle and snow sports accidents and will contribute towards the development of new helmet test standards and helmets.

Offer:

The doctoral student is offered a 4 year highly specialized doctoral training, making the candidate an expert in head impact biomechanics and helmet design technologies as well as being aware of commercializable market opportunities. The doctoral candidate will work in world-class facilities with highly qualified experts, and will benefit from the training scheme developed based on the expertise of academic and industrial partners. This project will reach a new level of understanding of head injury and how head injury should be prevented, with directly applicable results to European industry. It will develop a well-networked group of young engineers and scientists into world-class researchers and innovators with numerous career paths open to them, who will advance technology for the benefit of society and maintain Europe as a global leader in industrial development.

Qualifications

KTH Royal Institute of Technology is seeking a highly motivated recently graduated Master (Of Science) in Engineering. Candidates are willing to change the world (and to travel to research partners).

Preferably, the person should have a Master in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Engineering Physics or equivalent, preferably with a biomechanics background. Knowledge of continuum mechanics and/or FE modeling is desirable but not required.

Great importance will be placed on the applicants’ ability of working independently, communicating in English and working in group with other researchers.

A requirement for EU funding, which is a prerequisite for the position, is that the candidate must not have resided in Italy for more than 12 months during the last three years (Marie Curie’s Mobility Requirements).

Trade union representatives

You’ll find contact information to trade union representatives at KTH:s web page.

Application

Log into KTH’s recruitment system in order to apply to this position. You are the main responsible to ensure that your application is complete according to the ad. Your complete application must be received at KTH no later 1 April 2015.

Applicants are required to submit:

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. An official transcript/academic record
3. A short presentation of why the applicant wishes to pursue doctoral studies

Others

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