Ports are key players in the global trade and the Maritime Safety is one of the key areas identified by EU Commission, where further work is needed to strengthen the competitiveness of the sector while enhancing its environmental performance. Many activities usually carried out in these areas also imply high risks for human beings. The consequences of accidents in port areas may be not only economic losses but also human losses. Among geophysical, meteorological and climatological events, the wind is one of the most destructive natural phenomena and the prime cause of accidents occurred in coastal and port areas. The goal of this research project is to develop an innovative and multidisciplinary downscaling approach to improve the knowledge of local wind conditions for the safety management of port infrastructures and reduce economic losses associated with port disruption due to extreme wind events. Simulations of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) will be carried out with different numerical methods at various spatiotemporal scales on high-resolution grids including ships, cranes, port infrastructures as well as other environmental features. Simulated data will be validated with experimental database from anemometers, LiDAR and reduced-scale tests of wind tunnels and wind simulators. Future scenarios of wind risk will be evaluated based on the most recent climate projections available after IPCC AR6.

The candidate should have knowledge of Computational Fluid Dynamics, numerical modeling, data analysis and statistics. Programming skills in Matlab/Python /C++ and knowledge of signal processing could also be beneficial. Team working attitude and excellent knowledge of spoken and written English are highly desirable.

The PhD candidate will carry out the research study at IUSS of Pavia, in the CARISMA group, in close collaboration with the Giovanni Solari Wind Engineering and Structural Dynamics (WinDyn) research group of the Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Genoa (UniGe). The student co-supervised from IUSS and UniGe will benefit from the extensive experience of the two groups in climatology, wind measurement and modeling; wind effects on infrastructures and environment; impact assessment of extreme natural events; risk management of natural and anthropogenic hazards; formulation and proposal of new economic and political models of sustainable development.