05 Postdoc Positions at Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands

This project will be executed together with company Exergy within the EKKO Circular Plastics project. The PD researcher will develop and validate an AI-enhanced, solvent-based recycling process for complex plastic waste streams such as multilayer packaging and e-waste, while Exergy will develop the digital-twin and machine-learning tools that make the process adaptive and scalable. The research effort will be directed towards the selective recovery in high yield of high-value polymers (e.g., PET, PS, PC, ABS) at high purity, while minimizing solvent consumption and energy demand. The research activities will include understanding of performance profile of recycled polymers by means of various chemical, structural, rheological and mechanical characterization techniques.

The PD research will be carried out under the supervision of Prof. Željko Tomović in the Polymer Performance Materials group in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at the TU/e, which is also the part of the interdisciplinary Institute for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), in which all polymer-related research groups at the TU/e participate.

This research project is part of GroenvermogenNL (https://groenvermogennl.org/en/), a comprehensive innovation programme established and funded by the Dutch government to accelerate the introduction of green hydrogen. You will investigate the thermodynamics of hydrogen and its mixtures that occur when hydrogen is stored in underground depleted gas fields. During withdrawal, the pure hydrogen may be contaminated with natural gas and water vapor. When cycling (injecting and producing) hydrogen mixtures, pressure and temperature differences occur in the reservoir and at the wellbore that could induce phase changes, e.g., the formation of liquid water. Therefore, the thermodynamic behavior (Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium) of these hydrogen mixtures should be quantified. This is done in an existing Pulse Expansion Wave Tube, that has the capability to measure water droplet formation under extreme conditions (rapid pressure and temperature decrease). The research encompasses multiple aspects such as

• Literature study on relevant gas mixtures, including hydrogen, natural gas, higher hydrocarbons, and water fractions, and including equations of state (EOS),
• Prepare desired gas mixtures using an existing Gas Mixture Preparation Device,
• Design and perform Pulse Expansion Wave experiments to quantify the thermodynamics properties of hydrogen and its mixtures (e.g. with natural gas),
• Evaluate, report, and publish your results in (inter)national literature and at consortium and stakeholder meetings.

The future 6G vision published by IMT-2030 6G framework puts a special emphasis on network resilience.  While reliability guarantees consistent network performance, on the other hand, resiliency refers to the  network’s ability to recover from disruptions and failures. Network resiliency will ensure that networks not only withstand known failures, attacks, overburdening and shocks, but should also have the capabilities to overcome the unexpected failures and can recover and evolve to ensure a sustained network operation. Network resiliency is expected to be an important KPI for 6G networks due to the ever-increasing dependence of the critical services and infrastructures such as energy, education, healthcare and emergency services on mobile and wireless networks.

At the advanced networking Lab of the Electrical Engineering Department of TU/e, we are working at the cutting edge of technological research and innovation to push the boundaries of reliability and resiliency of mobile and wireless networks through participation in several European and Dutch national projects. Our key research areas include ultra-reliable low latency communications, resource allocation, digital twins, distributed massive MIMO and flexible compute continuum for 6G RAN open architectures. The Advanced Networking Lab is a member of the Center for Wireless Technology Eindhoven (CWTe) which is part of the Department of Electrical Engineering. Researchers from the groups Electromagnetic, Integrated Circuits, Signal Processing Systems, Optical Communication, and Electronic Systems, work together to address research questions across these research areas from the wireless channel through various layers of the communication stack (www.tue.nl/cwte). The laboratory facilities include fully opensource OpenRAN-compliant 5G/6G testbed with commercial radio units (RUs) and software-defined radios, a fully shielded metal room in which the most sensitive electronics can be measured, a 28 m2 anechoic chamber (500MHz-40GHz), system integration lab where chips can be linked to other components, and a 16-channel distributed MIMO testbed (sub-6 GHz).

This position is part of Green4Grey, a Water4All European project that brings together universities and municipalities to enhance urban water circularity by advancing sustainable, efficient, and safe management of non-conventional water resources, reducing reliance on traditional water supplies, and integrating decentralized Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) with centralized urban systems.

However, cities currently lack comprehensive digital tools to effectively plan and implement NBS. Existing models don’t integrate spatial data or social considerations, nor do they enable decision-making across different scales. Professionals face knowledge gaps about NBS performance and struggle to justify their adoption over conventional infrastructure due to insufficient evidence and high implementation complexity.

Within this project, TU/e addresses these barriers by developing a modular, spatially explicit City Information Model (CIM) that integrates data management, computational operations, and interactive visualization for optimal NBS integration. As a postdoctoral researcher, you will use web-GIS technology and generative AI to develop a parametric CIM that helps cities assess, plan, and implement NBS to enhance water quality and quantity while contributing to circular economy principles. The CIM will enable urban stakeholders to explore water availability, evaluate NBS options, and scale interventions from individual buildings to entire neighborhoods.