18 Postdoctoral Fellowship at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Netherlands

The selective control of import and export across membrane-spanning pores is vital for our cells. Typically, the specificity, speed, and directionality of transport are tightly woven into the ordered structure of the pore which is characterized by a limited conformational flexibility. Remarkably, nature also offers a fascinating and unexpected alternative strategy: by lining membrane pores with intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) to guard the gap. The best example is the nuclear pore complex (NPC), responsible for all molecular transport in and out of the cell nucleus. These pores exhibit an intriguing selectivity where most proteins are blocked from transport, while particular transport receptor (TR) proteins, can pass to traverse their cargo. A mechanistic understanding of this puzzling selectivity has remained lacking.

The aim of this proposal is to resolve the fundamentals of this IDP-mediated selective barrier function. In our biophysics lab we study in vitro reconstitutions of the NPC in simple mimics that are made using DNA origami and microfabrication. We study single-molecule transport and measure the NPC nanoscale structure using TEM, AFM, FRET, DIB, MINFLUX, etc. We study purified yeast NPCs as well as design the amino-acid sequence of the IDPs and TRs de novo from the bottom up and study these in biomimetic solid-state nanopores. The approach can be expected to uncover the vital mechanism of selective IDP-mediated transport and thus answer one of the central questions in molecular cell biology. We collaborate with experts in cell biology and MDsimulations. 

In this project we will use the excellent microfabrication facilities of the Kavli Nanolab to develop the central integrated microfluidics circuitry for laboratory evolution of synthetic cells. We will develop a lab-on-a-chip platform that integrates OLA production of liposomes, trap arrays, local light/heating modules, and selection and sorting routines. Guided by machine learning, we will perform directed evolution experiments where we optimize the synthetic genome that encodes for a biological function such as shape manipulation. Next to all this, the candidate will also do research on entropic segregation of synthetic genomes by testing long labelled DNA molecules in nanofabricated cavities. The project is part of the BaSyC and EVOLF consortia. We search an applicant with experience in microfluidics and a vision for conceptual novel research.

We aim to develop single-molecule peptide sequencing using biological nanopores. The research project will focus on developing schemes for controlled peptide translocation through nanopores by use of electro-osmotic (EOF) flow that is generated by DNA origami. We will study this EOF and EOF-driven peptide translocation. Beyond COMSOL finite-element numerical simulations, the focus is on experimental characterization of various analytes in various modified nanopores by ion current measurements, augmented by AFM, TEM and DIB measurements. Ideally, the applicant has experience with nanopores.

The candidate will work in the HorizonEurope Project WARRANT with 13 partners,  pursuing innovative research to meet the following objectives: (1) The functional analysis and reliability assessment of waterborne digital systems, addressing the growing adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Remote & Autonomous shipping, and the increasing cybersecurity threat landscape; (2) The experimentation and validation of the WARRANT methods and platforms in Living Labs with representative stakeholders concerned with waterborne digital systems dependability innovations, and safe, secure and resilient operations of digitalized ships, (3) the scientific dissemination and communication, and industry engagement.

The candidate will work in the department of Maritime and Transport Engineering (MTT) of Mechanical Engineering Faculty and will be a senior researcher in the SAFE-NET group (https://www.safe-net.team/). He/she will enjoy interacting with the MTT Young Professionals (https://mtt-colloquium.github.io/index.html) and the researchers of the Transport Engineering & Logistics Section, and joining social activities.

Emerging automation technologies are increasingly mediating social encounters and challenging established understandings of recognitional justice. Examples range from how users come to recognize AI-generated avatars as genuine companions, to how the labor of data annotators in AI supply chains is (or is not) duly acknowledged through digital interfaces.

In recent decades, recognitive processes have garnered growing attention in social and political philosophy, sparking renewed interest in G.W.F. Hegel’s work and its ethical dimensions. During the same period, the philosophy of technology has matured into a distinct field, with a particular focus on how concrete technological artifacts mediate human-world relations. These two strands of thought are increasingly being bridged in contemporary studies that explore recognition in the context of technological mediation, especially through AI. Yet, the question remains open as to whether—and how—mutual recognition between humans can be effectively mediated by automated technologies.

This postdoctoral position is dedicated to exploring the role of design in enabling technology-mediated recognition as a condition for human freedom. The research will contribute to an ongoing effort to reinterpret Hegel’s reflections on recognition, focusing on the idea that form-giving labor can materialize, in technical objects, the relative freedom of a given social relation, and ultimately serves as a ground for human emancipation.

The successful candidate is expected to further develop this articulation of design, recognition, and freedom by contributing original perspectives informed by their own background. Relevant areas of expertise may include Hegel’s philosophies of right and aesthetics, Marxian political economy, critical theory, existentialism, postphenomenology, or other approaches. Candidates are also expected to empirically connect their investigations to contemporary cases regarding the development of artificial intelligence and related technologies, and to contribute to scholarly debates in the field of design.

The postdoctoral researcher will be part of the Design, Organisation and Strategy (DOS) Department at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering. The postdoc will be supervised by Dr. Fernando Secomandi, with co-supervision by Paul Cobben (VU Amsterdam). In addition, the postdoc will play a leading role in the executive management of the upcoming ‘Justice by Design’ lab, dedicated to bridging the fields of design and law, building networks among students, researchers, and other societal actors, as well as collaborating on research proposals and grant applications.

This project focuses on applications of GNNs to financial domains, particularly in analyzing financial transaction networks to uncover illicit activities such as money laundering and financial fraud. We will explore new ways of integrating GNNs and Large Language Models (LLMs) to construct machine learning solutions capable of exploiting graph-structured data with rich sets of node and edge features. Additionally, this project will address challenges related to scalability, efficiency, privacy, and resilience against adversarial attacks.

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is seeking applications for a postdoctoral researcher in the area of Scalable Graph Learning, within the Department of Software Technology in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science.

Our lab studies how interacting charges and spins move through materials at the micro-to-nano-scale. To this end, the lab has developed a technique for imaging spin waves – microscopic waves in magnetic materials – based on magnetic sensing with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) spins in diamond. Such waves play a central role in the thermodynamics of magnets and could enable information technology with new functionalities due to their microscale wavelengths at microwave frequencies, strong interactions, and low intrinsic dissipation.

This post-doctoral position makes fundamental advances in infrastructure planning and scheduling under uncertainty.  These advances will be applied to modelling of supply chain scenarios for offshore wind farm installation.

Researchers at TU Delft have developed design approaches that account for many different perspectives in major infrastructure projects including offshore wind farms.  These perspectives include manufacturing of parts, storage and transport capacity limitations, port congestion and strong dependence on weather conditions.  You will further develop and push towards application such approaches, to support the development of supply chain scenarios for wind farm installation.  You will lead optimisation of planning schemes for several practical cases, including importantly for the mitigation of disruptions.

The successful applicant will join the STAR Lab at the Faculty of Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, working with Sequential Decision Making group in the same faculty, and be connected to researchers in the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences.

This research is part of the project ‘Efficient From Fabrication to Installation of Large Offshore Assembled Turbines’ funded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).  As part of the project, you will work with industrial partners including Boskalis.  Familiarity with the Dutch working environment, and collaboration with Dutch companies, is therefore important.

Delft University of Technology is hiring a postdoctoral researcher on the topic of “Stock-constrained design of circular timber structures”. You will be part of an international team of researchers that work towards more circular, resource-efficient and locally-sourced timber structures. The position is part of the WoodStock project, a European project that investigates climate-smart and zero-waste construction methods using underutilised wood sources like post-consumer wood, hardwood, damaged and low-quality wood.

Timber construction in countries like the Netherlands depends almost entirely on wood import. Yet, considerable amounts of wood become available through public greenspace maintenance and the deconstruction of existing buildings. This could facilitate local timber production. However, the timber design and construction industry is generally not equipped to deal with the large variety and unpredictable availbility of these underutilised material streams. With this position you will address that critical need by investigating a stock-constrained computational design workflow that links existing stock characteristics to the design or redesign of resource-efficient and zero-waste timber structures.

As a postdoctoral researcher in our team, you will contribute to the ongoing WoodStock project. WoodStock is a European project that investigates climate-smart and circular wood construction methods, with a particular focus on underutilised wood sources like post-consumer wood, hardwood, damaged and low-quality wood. Through six living labs, the project co-creates product and building solutions, policies, and business models together with relevant industry and societal actors. TU Delft coordinates one of the living labs at The Green Village. Your main task will be to develop a computational workflow that enables the design of load-bearing structures from stocks of reclaimed or locally sourced wood components. The workflow will include the characterisation of the wood components, the stock-constrained design of new structures from the stock library, and the digitally informed (re-)fabrication and (re-)assembly of the components. You will demonstrate and validate the workflow through a 1:1 prototype in a realistic environment.

Informatie over geothermische energie gaat vaak gepaard met onzekerheid waardoor er niet optimaal informatie wordt uitgewisseld tussen betrokken stakeholders. Dit kan leiden tot onnodige vertragingen en onbegrip. Een vertrouwd en interactief vraag-en-antwoordproces over geothermische energie kan dit verbeteren. Dit onderzoek draagt bij aan beter geïnformeerde stakeholders die gefundeerde meningen kunnen vormen over geothermie, en aan een betekenisvoller evaluatieproces van geo-energieprojecten.

Wij zijn op zoek naar een zelfstandig onderzoeker die inzichten verzamelt over informatiebehoefte- en voorziening over geothermische projecten bij diverse (technische- niet-technische) stakeholders. Het onderzoek maakt deel uit van het CrossScale project (gefinancierd door DeepNL NWO). De postdoc wordt geplaatst binnen de sectie Organisation and Governance van de afdeling Multi-Actor Systemen aan de faculteit Techniek, Bestuur en Management. De begeleiders zijn dr. Gerdien de Vries en dr. Aad Correljée.

Numerous surface cleaning technologies are used during the manufacturing and operation of structures such as aircraft. Despite being very efficient, the current cleaning agents are mainly chemicals having a significant environmental impact. The TU Delft and partner Airbus are determined to make the difference and move towards more environmentally friendly and economically viable solutions. In this project the ultimate goal is to find a sustainable alternative based on biotechnology, i.e. enzymatic cleaning. This requires search for and/or design of enzymes or enzyme mixtures able to clean different contaminants. The strategy requires knowledge on enzymes and use of chemical, electrochemical and optical surface characterization techniques in a transdisciplinary approach. The team you will join consists of world leading academics in the fields of surface science and engineering (group S.J. Garcia) and protein engineering (groups U. Hanefeld and F. Hollmann) at the TU Delft closely collaborating with surface and material experts at Airbus Central Research and Technology. The research will be performed entirely at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and Faculty of Applied Sciences at the TU Delft with access to all available equipment, i.e. the limit is just your ideas and drive. We look for candidates with an academic and application-driven mindset. This is a unique opportunity for top talented self-driven but team player doctors to shine in an unexplored application area.   

Integrating new powertrain solutions into sustainable aircraft designs comes with significant technological challenges: thermal management is one such challenge, particularly when hydrogen- or fuel-cell driven powertrains are considered. Innovative solutions for transporting vast amounts of waste heat, e.g., from the fuel-cell stacks, to the ambient flow will rely on a firm understanding of the heat transfer physics involved. The external skin of the aircraft offers potential to develop aerodynamically efficient heat exchange innovations. To do so, fundamental research will focus on boundary layer turbulence over non-adiabatic walls, under high Reynolds number conditions.

This project aims to investigate the turbulence dynamics of flow adjacent to heated surfaces. Investigating how the boundary layer flow physics change due to non-adiabatic (heated) wall conditions, and how aerodynamic performance can be influenced by non-uniform distributions of surface temperature and roughness, forms the central facet of this project. You will conduct high-fidelity experiments with flow and temperature measurement techniques, and you will focus on the receptivity of boundary layer flows to spatial modifications of the wall-temperature and roughness. How these alterations can be used to enhance the aerothermodynamic performance (e.g., reducing drag in grazing flow or enhancing heat transfer) is also part of your scope. Your R&D work has a direct impact on the integral performance of surface heat exchangers, given that the heat transfer to the external grazing flow often poses a limiting factor in thermal management systems.

(18) Postdoctoral Fellowship Position

Postdoc Fellowship Position summary/title: Postdoc on Quantum Computational Fluid Dynamics

Deadline : 14 September 2025.

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