Postdoc position in biological fluid dynamics: How do copepods react to a flow?

RESEARCHER PROFILE: Postdoc / R2: PhD holders 
RESEARCH FIELD(S)1: Mechanical Engineering, Natural Sciences
MAIN SUB RESEARCH FIELD OR DISCIPLINES1: Mechanical Engineering, Natural Sciences

JOB /OFFER DESCRIPTION
Context. Copepods are millimetric crustaceans that live in all seas and oceans. Copepods are blind, yet they can detect prey, predators and mates using highly developed hydrodynamic and chemical sensing. How do copepods exploit this sensing information? How do they extract a meaningful signal from turbulence noise? How do they react to this information? Today, we do not know.

Objectives. The project aims to link the flow information sensed by copepods to their motor behaviour. For this purpose, we will track copepods in different flows. The experiments will be performed in simple model flows (shear flow, Taylor-Green vortices), as well as in a turbulent flow (von Karman flow). The challenge is to infer, from 3D tracking data, a behavioural relationship between the local flow sensed by the animal and its action. This behaviour will be compared to what is expected from a copepod model trying to catch prey or escape a predator. 

Environment. The ‘Institut de recherche sur les phénomènes hors équilibre’ (IRPHE) is located in Marseille, France. IRPHE is one of the leading French laboratories in fluid mechanics, with a strong interdisciplinary history. The candidates will join the international research group of Christophe Eloy as postdoctoral scholars. They will contribute to one aspect of the ERC-funded project C0PEP0D.

More info at: Website: www.irphe.fr./~eloy

TYPE OF CONTRACT: TEMPORARY / JOB STATUS: FULL TIME / HOURS PER WEEK: 35
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 01/09/2024 00:00
ENVISAGED STARTING DATE: 01/01/2025)
ENVISAGED DURATION: 12 months
JOB FUNDED THROUGH AN EU RESEARCH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME: ERC AdG

WORK LOCATION(S): 
Institut de Recherche sur les Phénomènes Hors Equilibre (IRPHE), 49 rue Joliot-Curie, 13013 Marseille

WHAT WE OFFER: 
Gross annual salary between 28,000€ and 45,000€, depending on experience

Additional information: The Euraxess Center of Aix-Marseille Université informs foreign visiting professors, researchers, postdoc and PhD candidates about the administrative steps to be undertaken prior to arrival at AMU and the various practical formalities to be completed once in France: visas and entry requirements, insurance, help finding accommodation, support in opening a bank account, etc. More information on AMU EURAXESS Portal 

QUALIFICATIONS, REQUIRED RESEARCH FIELDS, REQUIRED EDUCATION LEVEL, PROFESSIONAL SKILLS, OTHER RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS
Candidates should hold a PhD in fluid dynamics, applied mathematics, soft matter, or biophysics, and have an outstanding track record. Candidates with a taste for interdisciplinary research will receive particular attention.

REQUESTED DOCUMENTS OF APPLICATION, ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, SELECTION PROCESS
Candidates are invited to contact Christophe Eloy by email before September 1, 2024 for a starting date in January 2025. They should provide (1) a detailed CV with a publication list, (2) contact information of at least 2 academic references, and (3) a 2-page research statement describing past activities and research interests.

HOW TO APPLY: christophe.eloy@univ-amu.fr