PhD in Trade-off and Tipping Dynamics in Urban Transitions École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland

EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne) is advertising a PhD position in Trade-off and tipping dynamics in urban transitions within the Laboratory for Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems (HERUS) at the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The project sits at the intersection of urban sustainability transitions, agent-based modelling, urban systems, energy transitions, and food systems. The successful candidate will extend an existing interdisciplinary model developed for the Lausanne energy transition and use it to study how transformations in different urban sectors interact. Key questions include when transitions reinforce each other, when trade-offs emerge, and how tipping dynamics develop. A special emphasis is placed on provisioning systems—the infrastructures, technologies, institutions, markets, and practices that shape sustainability transitions.

The PhD is embedded in the ongoing Tipping Transition project and offers the chance to collaborate with another PhD researcher working on the energy transition model. The position is supervised by Prof. Claudia R. Binder and involves close work with the HERUS research team. The role also includes publishing in peer-reviewed journals, presenting at conferences, contributing to teaching, and supporting student supervision at EPFL (20%).

Eligibility highlights include an excellent MSc degree in Computer Science, Energy Science, Social Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Sustainability Science, Geography, or a closely related interdisciplinary field. Candidates should have a strong interest in sustainability transitions and/or urban tipping dynamics, solid computational modelling and programming skills, and especially experience with Python and agent-based modelling. Knowledge of Scala or Julia is an asset. Strong analytical ability, independence, motivation for academic research, and excellent English are expected; French and/or German are beneficial.

The contract is for up to four years at a 100% activity rate. The application deadline is 12/11/2026, and the contract start date is 02/01/2027. Applicants must prepare a motivation letter, detailed CV, contact information, three references, and Bachelor/Master transcripts. Short-listed candidates will also be asked to apply to the EPFL Doctoral Program EDCE as part of the separate PhD qualification process.

For questions about the position and project scope, contact Prof. Claudia R. Binder ([email protected]) or Dr. Maria Anna Hecher ([email protected]). More information on HERUS is available via the group website.