PhD Student: “Experimental Geomechanics for Induced Seismicity and Control”

Context:

ENSTA is an institution of higher education and research under the authority of the Ministry of Armed Forces. The school's mission is to train civil and military engineers, including armament engineers and engineers in armament studies and techniques, as well as highly qualified managers and PhDs for the public and private sectors, particularly in the fields of defense and security, transport, energy, maritime activities, digital, and cutting-edge technologies.

ENSTA supports the transformation of major national strategic sectors through its research, innovation, and training programs, thereby responding to national sovereignty challenges. It has 3 Training and Research Units (UFR) organized around 9 research laboratories (UER) that conduct applied research in close relation with industry.

ENSTA is a founding member of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris). Within the framework of IP Paris, the school participates in the activities of interdisciplinary centers, notably the Interdisciplinary Center for Defense and Security Studies (CIEDS, supported by the Ministry of Armed Forces and the Defense Innovation Agency (AID)). It initiated the creation of the Interdisciplinary Center for Seas & Oceans, inaugurated in January 2025. Researchers from the school also collaborate within the framework of studies led by the Hi-Paris centers, a laureate in 2024 IA Cluster, E4C, or E4H, among others.

ENSTA is the result of the merger on January 1, 2025, of ENSTA Paris and ENSTA Bretagne. Its headquarters are located in Palaiseau (91), on the Paris-Saclay campus, and it has another campus in Brest. It is implementing a new unified engineering program across both campuses (Paris-Saclay and Brest) starting in the academic year 2026/2027.

Joining the school means becoming part of an institution committed to parity and professional equality, diversity, and support for its employees with disabilities, from recruitment and throughout their careers. To ensure well-being at work, the school pursues an active policy regarding working conditions, based notably on a healthy balance between personal and professional life.

Subject: “Experimental Geomechanics for Induced Seismicity and Control”

The position is part of the ERC-CdG project “Preventing human-induced seismicity to fight climate change” (INJECT), funded by the European Research Council (ERC). The research will be conducted at ENSTA, Institut Polytechnique de Paris. The position offers the opportunity to work on a stimulating and high-impact research topic. The knowledge, innovation, and skills developed within this position will offer excellent career development prospects in both industry and academia.

Climate change poses an imminent threat to our civilization. The most prominent new technologies for combating climate change rely on the renewable and sustainable energy resources of the Earth's subsurface and underground storage. However, all these technologies depend on the injection of fluids into the Earth's crust, which can cause significant earthquakes. INJECT will address this problem by leveraging a groundbreaking new scientific method that will prevent human-induced seismicity and maximize energy production and storage from renewable and sustainable natural resources.

INJECT's interdisciplinary methodology relies on a clever scientific program that places control theory and mathematics at the heart of this new challenge. Based on cutting-edge theoretical developments, robust controllers and observers will be designed to optimally adjust fluid injection rates, prevent induced seismic events over vast regions, and optimize energy production and storage. INJECT's innovative theoretical methods will be tested in depth using high-fidelity numerical models that will account for poro-elastic dynamics, Coulomb friction, multiphysics, and reduced-order modeling. The experimental plan will rely on demonstrators and hybrid laboratory-computer tests to validate the theory. For more information: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101087771 ----- class="Default" style="text-align:justify;">Main Missions / Activities:

The research theme focuses on developing an innovative apparatus designed to reproduce and control induced seismicity in a laboratory setting.

As a PhD researcher, you will play a central role in the design and construction of innovative demonstrators tailored to the INJECT methodology. This opportunity encompasses the entire development chain, from conceptualizing ideas to assembling and rigorously testing advanced laboratory prototypes for geomechanical experiments. You will integrate mechanical design, materials engineering, sensor and controller implementation, data analysis, and numerical modeling. The ultimate goal is to reproduce and control seismic instabilities caused by fluid injections in a controlled laboratory environment, paving the way for real-world applications.

Additional Missions / Activities:

· Contribute to any service activity based on approved priorities.

· Contribute to the Quality initiative, notably through drafting and updating procedures, and by providing and monitoring indicators.

· Contribute to the School's CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative within the scope of its missions and activities.

Desired Assignment Duration: 3-year fixed-term contract

Planned Start Date: as soon as possible

Work Location:

ENSTA Paris-Saclay Campus, 828 boulevard des Maréchaux 91762 Palaiseau – Cedex

The site is accessible by car (parking for staff) but also by public transport.

Full-time position (25 annual vacation days, 18 annual RTT days)

Benefits:

• Transportation (employer's flat-rate contribution up to 75%)
• Sustainable mobility package (up to €300/year)
• Possibility of remote work (after manager's approval and submission of a request)
• Employer subsidy for the administrative restaurant and/or the establishment's cafeteria
• Social action committee, offering events and activities for staff, a gym on subscription, a leisure center for staff's children from 6 years old with preferential rates (Paris-Saclay campus)
• Health insurance (establishment's contribution of 50%)

Workstation Ergonomics and Inclusive Recruitment:

All our positions are open to candidates with disabilities.

ENSTA is committed to recruitment that promotes equality, diversity, and inclusion. All applications without any distinction (age, disability, gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation...) have their place in our recruitment process.

Complete application: curriculum vitae, cover letter, and contact details of 2 reference professors.

Selected candidates must possess strong scientific skills and be highly motivated. Proficiency in spoken and written English is mandatory.

Candidates will conduct research, develop experimental apparatus and tools, and write scientific articles in close collaboration with the project PI, Prof. Ioannis Stefanou, and the members of the INJECT group.

Knowledge:

· Experience in experimental testing and design (e.g., in geotechnical/geophysical/geomechanics) or a relevant final degree in this field.

· Interest in numerical modeling, mechanical design, and electronics.

· Organizational skills and rigor.

· Use of industrial design software.

· Skills in Python.

· Laboratory experience and teamwork spirit.

. Knowledge in physics/mathematics/mechanics