Post-doc (M/F): Predicting and controlling fibre motion in crowded environments

Job Description

Missions

The transport of small elongated particles, such as microplastic fibres or parasites, often takes place in complex flows populated by obstacles, including granular media in porous soils or the elastic network of mucus. The ability to sort or filter fibres according to their size or mechanical properties using structured media is crucial for a wide range of applications, including diagnostics, biological analysis, and environmental pollution control. Accurately predicting and controlling the trajectories of elongated elastic structures in obstacle-laden flows is therefore essential both for understanding the physics of biological and environmental systems and for designing efficient separation techniques.
Our recent collaborative studies reveal that fibre–obstacle interactions in flowing systems provide a powerful mechanism for sorting elongated objects by size and mechanical properties using pillar arrays. Building on this advance, further research will uncover the fundamental physics of fibre transport in crowded environments while driving the optimisation of this emerging separation strategy.

Activity

The postdoctoral researcher will use numerical simulations and theoretical modelling to investigate the transport and separation of elongated fibres in complex, obstacle-laden flows. Working in close collaboration with both theoreticians and experimentalists, the successful candidate will explore key strategies for optimising fibre separation, including: (i) the influence of medium geometry; (ii) the use of time-dependent flows to control fibre trajectories; and (iii) the impact of matrix deformations in bio-inspired poroelastic environments.
Depending on her/his interests and expertise, the postdoctoral researcher will also have the opportunity to contribute to the development of AI- and data-driven approaches for inferring near-field fibre–obstacle interactions. These interactions play a critical role in predicting fibre transport in porous media, yet remain difficult to model or access experimentally.

Your Profil

Skills

Candidates should hold a PhD degree and have experience in at least one of these areas: fluid mechanics, continuum mechanics, fluid/structure interaction or soft matter. A taste for numerical modelling, programming and theoretical analysis is a plus.

Your Work Environment

The postdoctoral researcher will divide her/his time between LadHyX, a joint CNRS–École Polytechnique laboratory near Paris, and ABEL, a joint CNRS–Imperial College London laboratory located in the heart of central London. Both laboratories offer a dynamic, interdisciplinary research environment and have internationally recognised expertise in fluid mechanics, soft matter physics, and fluid–structure interactions. The successful candidate will join the ANR-funded project FiberCrowd, led by B. Delmotte (LadHyX/ABEL) in collaboration with A. Lindner and O. du Roure (PMMH, CNRS/ESPCI), and E. Jambon-Puillet (LadHyX). Two PhD students, based at LadHyX and PMMH, will work on complementary aspects of the project, fostering strong scientific synergy and a stimulating collaborative atmosphere between the Paris and London teams.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

Monthly gross salary: €3,080–€4,291, depending on experience, plus mission expenses during the stay in London.

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

The research professions