PhD thesis: Multifunctional Assessment of Porous Pavements with Reservoir Structures: In Situ and Modeling of Extreme Environmental Externalities ENGEES in France

ENGEES is advertising a funded PhD position in France on the multifunctional assessment of porous pavements with reservoir structures, combining field monitoring, laboratory column experiments, and numerical modelling to better understand hydrological performance and contaminant fate in urban road infrastructure.

The project addresses an important environmental challenge: urbanization increases soil sealing, stormwater runoff, and vulnerability to extreme events such as floods and heat waves. Porous and reservoir-structured pavements are presented as a promising solution because they can provide both mechanical support for traffic and hydraulic storage before infiltration into underlying soils. The thesis will investigate how these systems regulate water, heat, and pollution fluxes, and how their performance evolves over time under ageing, clogging, and extreme climatic conditions.

Research topics include the transport and retention of conventional road pollutants and emerging contaminants, including suspended solids, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, de-icing salts, microplastics, tire wear particles, 6PPD-related compounds, and PFAS. The doctoral work will examine geochemical, biological, and physicochemical mechanisms governing contaminant migration through pavement layers and into the soil. A major objective is to develop and validate a multi-contaminant reactive transport model coupling hydrological functioning with pollutant interactions in porous materials. Software such as HYDRUS 1D and PHREEQC may be used.

The thesis is hosted jointly by ICube lab (UMR 7357), Mecaflu team, and Cerema in the team focused on water transfers and interactions in built environments. The experimental component includes monitoring two road sections in Strasbourg (porous media versus impervious media leading to reservoir structure) and laboratory column tests at Cerema’s Nancy platform. The project is therefore well suited to candidates interested in fieldwork, modelling, and environmental processes in engineered urban systems.

Eligibility highlights: a Master’s degree or engineering degree in Environmental Science / Water Science (or equivalent), experience in environmental studies, programming and numerical modelling skills, ability to work independently and in a team, and good English and/or French.

Funding: the position is a temporary, full-time PhD and is funded through the EU LIFE Programme.

Deadline: 9 October 2026 at 23:59 (Europe/Rome). Start date: 10 December 2026.

Application: send a CV, cover letter, master thesis or recent project thesis, and transcripts from Master 1 and Master 2 to the listed email contact.