Are you passionate about water security and climate resilience? Join us in addressing the pressing challenges faced by Qatar's water distribution network through the innovative SMART-Distribution project.Project Overview: The SMART-Distribution project aims understand microbial dynamics of water quality within Qatar's water distribution network. This gap hampers accurate assessments of the resilience of Qatar’s water infrastructure against emerging climate risks, hindering the design of robust and resilient systems for reliable water security.Key Challenges:Water Security: Qatar’s water security is increasingly threatened by climate change due to limited freshwater sources and reliance on alternatives like seawater desalination, which are vulnerable to events such as algal blooms, causing shutdowns.Potable Water Supply: Efforts to enhance the climate resilience of potable water supplies have focused on emergency storage solutions, increasing reservoir capacities from 24 hours to 7 days.Non-Potable Water: By implementing dedicated treated sewage effluent (TSE) distribution networks, we aim to reduce the demand for potable water in non-potable applications, thus increasing its availability.Research Focus: This PhD project proposes an agile, risk-based monitoring system to enhance water security through real-time monitoring of water distribution networks. Key areas of focus include:Water Quality Test Bed (WSTB) Development (WP2): Work with pilot scale to full-scale water distribution networks by applying advanced technologies like online flow cytometry and commercially available sensors (ORP, pH, conductivity, UV-VIS, Turbidity).Controlled Environment and Real-World Testing (WP3 & WP4): Assess spatial and temporal water quality variations in controlled environments and real-world conditions at Qatar Foundation’s Education City Campus, leveraging it as a Living Lab.Collaboration and Innovation: This project is a collaborative effort involving HBKU, affiliated research centers (QEERI), original equipment manufacturers (BNovate), and end-user Kahramaa. It ensures a cyclic innovation approach to generate market-led solutions addressing end-user needsOffer: ca, 12,000 QAR (3,000 USD) monthly stipend + benefits. Housing available on-campus.