PhD position in Experimental Biomechanics for an Industrial Project

One position for a PhD Student in Experimental Biomechanics including image analysis
and modeling for 3 years, fully employed; from April 1, 2021 at the Institute of Biomechanics
in Graz, Austria.

Acceptance conditions:
M.S. in Biomechanical Engineering, Experimental Physics, Mechanical or
Civil Engineering or related field and experience, with the desire to pursue a PhD degree.

Requested qualifications:
Knowledge in the area of solid mechanics, and interest in biomechanics,
and experimental laboratory work; desire to work in a multidisciplinary, collaborative team
environment, and in cooperation with a company in the USA; fluent English is required.

The PhD Student will be integrated into a collaborative team to perform mechanical testing of
biological soft (gastric) tissues and related analysis. The project aims to improve patient safety
during digestive tract disease treatment by enhancing new and promising minimally-invasive
procedures. To enhance patient-specificity, the project will include extensive mechanical testing
at a wide range of loading rates and applied strains to identify a relationship between loading
rate, peak stress development, and stress relaxation profiles. The microstructural organization
during loading using multiphoton microscopy will be evaluated. Parameter estimations in
constitutive models of viscoelasticity will be performed using multiple models for individual
samples. The finalized material model will then be validated by simulating the test conditions in
a finite element model.

Classification:
B 1 according to the collective agreement for university employees; the monthly
minimum charge for this use is currently € 2.929,00 gross (14 times a year).