PhD position in Computational earthquake rupture mechanics

At the Professorship of Solid Mechanics (SMEC) in the Institute for Building Materials at ETH Zurich, we aim to understand how materials deform, degrade, break, and ultimately fail. Our research is driven by curiosity about the physical mechanisms that underlie failure and by the ambition to translate this understanding into more reliable and resilient materials and structures. By combining numerical modeling, laboratory experiments, and theoretical analyses, we seek to link microscopic processes with the macroscopic behavior of both engineering and natural systems and develop predictive tools for mechanical failure.

We are seeking a motivated, innovative PhD student with a background in computational mechanics to work on a project in computational earthquake rupture mechanics. The project will combine numerical method development and theoretical analysis to investigate how heterogeneous stress states and nonlinear near‑fault processes influence earthquake rupture propagation, arrest, and earthquake‑size statistics.

• You will conduct a computational and theoretical investigation of dynamic earthquake rupture, with a focus on rupture propagation, rupture arrest, and energy dissipation in heterogeneous fault systems.
• The work will connect fracture‑mechanics theory with large‑scale numerical simulations of earthquake rupture.
• You will develop, improve, and use high‑performance simulation tools for dynamic rupture, including GPU‑oriented numerical methods.
• You will verify and validate the numerical methods against benchmark problems and established theoretical results.
• Building on these tools, you will investigate how heterogeneous stress states and nonlinear dissipative processes, such as off‑fault plasticity, influence rupture arrest and earthquake‑size statistics.
• The position provides a stimulating environment for scientific growth and collaboration.

• You hold an MSc degree in mechanics, physics, engineering, earth science, material science, computational science, or a related discipline.
• You have a background in computational mechanics, solid mechanics, applied physics, scientific computing, or a related field.
• You have experience implementing scientific code and validating it against analytical solutions, numerical benchmarks, or well‑documented reference results.
• You have prior programming experience in Python and have used version control. Experience with high‑performance computing, GPU programming, C/C++, or numerical methods for wave propagation, fracture, or solid mechanics is an advantage.
• You are curious, self‑motivated, and enjoy developing numerical methods to answer mechanics questions.
• You are fluent in English, both oral and written.
• You enjoy working in a team, possess the necessary social skills and communication abilities, and contribute proactively to a positive group atmosphere.