MSCA-IF: Joint application at the University of Granada. Department of Mechanics of Structures and Hydraulic Engineering Centre/Institute.

Professor Agustín Millares Valenzuela, from the Department of Mechanics of Structures and Hydraulic Engineering Centre/Institute at the University of Granada, welcomes postdoctoral candidates interested in applying for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (MSCA-IF) in 2020 at this University. Please note that applicants must comply with the Mobility Rule (more information: http://sl.ugr.es/0aNV).

Brief description of the institution:

The University of Granada (UGR), founded in 1531, is one of the largest and most important universities in Spain. The UGR has been awarded with the "Human Resources Excellence in Research (HRS4R)", which reflects the UGR’s commitment to continuously improve its human resource policies in line with the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The UGR is also a leading institution in research, located in the top 5/10 of Spanish universities by a variety of ranking criteria, such as national R&D projects, fellowships awarded, publications, or international funding.

UGR is one of the few Spanish Universities listed in the Shanghai Top 500 ranking (http://sl.ugr.es/0aw0). The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) places the UGR in 268th position in the world and as the 4th highest ranked University in Spain, reaffirming its position as an institution at the forefront of national and international research. From the perspective of specialist areas in the ARWU rankings, the UGR is outstanding in Documentation (ranked in the 36th in the world) or Food science technology (ranked 37th in the world), Mathematics and Computer Science (ranked among the top 76-100 in the world).

The UGR has 4 researchers at the top of the Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) list in the Computer Science area. With regard to broader subject fields, the UGR is ranked in 45th position in the universities worldwide in the discipline of Engineering. It is also well recognized for its web presence (http://sl.ugr.es/0a6i) taking 36th place in the top 200 Universities in Europe. Internationally, we bet decidedly by our participation in the calls of the Framework Programme of the European Union. For the duration of the last two Framework Programmes, the UGR has obtained a total of 66 projects, with total funding of 18.02 million euros, and for H2020, 80 projects with total funding around 20.6 million euros.

Brief description of the Centre/Research Group

The Environmental Fluid Dynamics Research Group is experienced for more than 20 years in the research of watershed modelling, water resources management, river dynamics, coastal processes and atmospheric interaction with basins, oceanic and coastal environments, focusing on risk analysis, uncertainty and reliability. The Group enjoys an international position in terms of coordination of research contracts (more than 90), coordination and participation in projects supported by national and international authorities (more than 40), publications in indexed journals (more than 100), participation in international congresses (more than 180 presentations). The Group staff is made of 7 teachers (3 full professors and 4 assistant professors), 10 researchers (post-doc and PhD candidates) and several students participating in Erasmus, Erasmus+ and other exchange programs. The work methodologies includes 1) the development of numerical models of hydrological, hydraulic and coastal processes, 2) laboratory tests and 3) measurements of variables in basins, rivers and coastal areas. The developed patents include the WiM-Med model (Watershed Integrated Management in Mediterranean Environments), a physically-based, distributed hydrological model and HEMMINGS model (Hillslope Erosion Modeling Including Gullying Assessment). The research Group counts with 15 years of erosion and sediment monitoring and modelling works within projects such as AQUACLEW: Advancing QUAlity of CLimate (European Commission), CCAMICEM: Morphological and Systemic Response Of Ephemeral Channels to Climate Change (Ministerio de Industria, Economía y Competitividad) or NOVIWAM: Novel Integrated water management system for southern European regions (European Commission. Seventh Framework Programme).

Project description

Research line: Stochastic quantification of soil loss and downstream sedimentary processes in semi-arid mountain basins. Modeling global change scenarios and adaptation strategies.

Project description: Erosion and sediment transport processes are serious environmental problems that causes damages on several services such as loss of water quality and availability, harms on agricultural and forest productivity and significant effects on terrestrial ecosystems. The analysis and forecast of their impacts downstream and their vulnerability under future climate scenarios is key to develop effective adaptation strategies.

Tasks involved and related topics: Identification of dominant erosive processes and their relationship with the forcing agents. Detailed analysis of erosion processes using drones, terrestrial LIDAR and satellite images. Stochastic generation of climate scenarios and evaluation of erosion processes through numerical hydrological model. Proposal and assessment of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies for soil loss protection services.

Research background excerpt:

• A. Millares, M. Díez-Minguito, A. Moñino, 2019. Evaluating gullying effects on modeling erosive responses at basin scale. Environmental Modelling & Software, 111, 61-71.
• A. Millares, A. Moñino, 2018. Sediment yield and transport process assessment from reservoir monitoring in a semi‐arid mountainous river. Hydrological Processes, 32, 19.
• A. Millares, M.J. Polo, A. Moñino, J. Herrero, M.A. Losada. 2013. Bedload dynamics and associated snowmelt influence in mountainous and semi-arid alluvial rivers. Geomorphology, 206, 330-342.
• A. Millares, Z. Gulliver, M.J., Polo, 2012. Scale effects on the estimation of erosion thresholds through a distributed and physically-based hydrological model, Geomorphology, 153–154, 115-126.

Research Area

Environmental Sciences and Chemistry (ENV-CHE) and Information Science and Engineering (ENG).

For a correct evaluation of your candidature, please send the documents below to Professor Agustín Millares Valenzuela (mivalag@ugr.es):

• CV
• Letter of recommendation (optional)