Vahid Hosseini

This postdoctoral fellowship at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology is part of the Centre for Research-based Innovation SFI FAST – Future Aluminium Structures , a major national initiative focused on enabling the large-scale use of post-consumer scrap aluminium in high-value structural and safety-critical products. The successful candidate will join the welding and structural integrity research activities of the centre and work in close collaboration with NTNU, SINTEF, and industrial partners across the aluminium value chain. The project centers on process–performance relationships in welding recycled aluminium alloys . The work combines welding process development, in-situ monitoring, microstructural characterization, and mechanical performance evaluation to build experimentally grounded links between process conditions and resulting material behaviour. The aim is to support reliable fabrication routes for recycled aluminium structures using sustainable, data-driven welding methods. Research tasks include developing optimal arc and solid-state welding characteristics, creating monitoring and control approaches to detect and mitigate defects during welding, and evaluating the microstructure and mechanical performance of fabricated components. A major part of the position is to establish process–performance correlations using experimental data and data-assisted analysis, contributing to process optimisation and reliability assessment. The fellow will also help connect the FAST work packages on welding process development and fatigue performance enhancement, and will participate in dissemination through meetings, workshops, and journal publications. The position is embedded in a large interdisciplinary environment built around aluminium materials, manufacturing technologies, circular economy, and digital support tools. FAST also aims to develop the FAST Virtual Lab, combining experimental data, physics-based models, and data-driven methods to support design and manufacturing decisions. The postdoctoral fellow will therefore work in a setting that links laboratory experimentation, industrial relevance, and collaborative research within a national centre of excellence. The position reports to Professor Vahid Hosseini and Associate Professor Nima Razavi.

This PhD position is part of SFI FAST (Future Aluminium Structures) , a national research centre led by NTNU with close collaboration from SINTEF and industrial partners across the aluminium value chain. The project sits in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and focuses on welding and joining research for recycled aluminium, with the candidate embedded in a broader environment that combines academic research, industrial collaboration, and long-term innovation in aluminium manufacturing. The research addresses a key challenge for circular aluminium production: how impurities from recycled aluminium affect weldability, microstructure, and performance. The project will examine how these impurity levels influence weld defects and service behaviour in aluminium alloys, including cracking, pore formation, heat-affected zone softening, and corrosion-related degradation. The successful candidate will investigate these effects through advanced arc welding and friction stir welding processes, develop new methodologies where conventional techniques are not sufficient, and improve welding procedures based on metallurgical characteristics and process-performance relationships. The work is closely connected to SFI FAST’s broader mission to build the scientific and technological foundation for large-scale use of post-consumer scrap aluminium in high-value structural and safety-critical products. Within this centre, the PhD candidate will contribute to a research agenda that integrates materials science, manufacturing processes, and performance evaluation. The project also connects to the development of the FAST Virtual Lab, which combines experimental data, physics-based models, and data-driven approaches to support aluminium design and manufacturing decisions. In the day-to-day research, the candidate will work on thermodynamic modelling of solidification and precipitation, development of weldability tests, and advanced characterisation of welded samples using techniques such as laser confocal microscopy, in-situ mechanical testing, SEM, FIB, and EBSD. The role includes publishing high-level research, presenting at conferences, and working closely with industrial and academic partners. The candidate will also take part in the joint PhD environment at FAST and contribute to mentoring and supervising MSc students. The position is supervised by Professor Vahid Hosseini and forms part of NTNU’s international research environment in Trondheim. The centre will educate multiple PhD and postdoctoral researchers, and this appointment is among the first to start in FAST.