PhD Position in Climate Modeling and Extreme Rainfall over East Africa – KU Leuven KU Leuven in Belgium

The KU Leuven, in collaboration with Ghent University and Delft University of Technology, is offering a fully funded PhD position as part of the ANVIL project, focusing on 'Anthropogenic influences on East African high impact rainfall.' The research aims to understand and model convective clouds and rainfall over Equatorial East Africa, considering the effects of climate change, urbanization, and aerosols. The project utilizes high-resolution regional climate modeling with ICON‑CLM, including ≈2.2 km convection-permitting simulations, and involves analysis of extreme rainfall, floods, landslides, and heat stress in response to multiple climate forcings.

The successful candidate will run and analyze high-resolution simulations of East African convective systems, assess the interacting effects of climate change and urbanization on extreme rainfall, and collaborate with other PhD candidates and international scientists. The position is supervised by Prof. Nicole Van Lipzig (KU Leuven), Prof. Kwinten Van Weverberg (Ghent University), and Prof. Remko Uijlenhoet (TU Delft). The candidate will also contribute approximately 10% of their time to educational activities and benefit from access to ICON-CLM courses, summer schools, conferences, and CLM-Community events.

Applicants must have a Master’s degree in Earth/Environmental Science, Climatology, Geography, Engineering, Meteorology, Physics, Mathematics, or a related field by 1 October 2026. Experience in computational programming, strong English communication skills, and a collaborative mindset are required. The position offers a generous remuneration of about €2,400 net per month, plus social security, transport, and family adjustments, within the stimulating research environment of the Arenberg Doctoral School (ADS) at KU Leuven.

The application deadline is 22 April 2026, with first-round interviews scheduled for 5 May 2026. For more information and to apply, visit the KU Leuven job portal or contact Prof. Nicole Van Lipzig at [email protected].