PhD in AI for Sustainable Soil Reconstitution – UCLouvain

Key details

• Host institution: Université catholique de Louvain
• Location: Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
• Application deadline: August 15, 2026

Funding

Horizon Europe

How to apply

• Apply by email to [email protected] (subject line and attachments per the official instructions).
• Full vacancy text and updates: Euraxess listing.

About the position

This PhD position is part of the EU-funded iRIS project (Intelligent Research Infrastructure Sustainability) under HORIZON EUROPE INFRA-2025-01-TECH-01. The project aims to reduce the environmental and climate footprint of European Research Infrastructures (RIs) by using machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to introduce sustainable solutions across the entire RI life cycle—from design and construction to operation and reuse.

The position is embedded in Work Package 4 (WP4), which focuses on optimising the reuse of construction waste, particularly excavated materials, by transforming them into functional soils. This will reduce the environmental footprint of future RIs. The project will use data collected at CERN’s OpenSkyLab (openskylab.web.cern.ch).

Key Responsibilities

• Define the scientific foundation and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for soil reconstitution, considering local sourcing of amendments, regional plant selection, and seasonal adaptation.
• Collect a robust dataset at the OpenSkyLab to train and validate a functional soil-plant model.
• Develop an AI-based predictive surrogate model to assess critical soil-plant features, including water and nutrient retention capacity, carbon sequestration potential, biomass productivity, biodiversity enhancement, and microclimate effects.
• Conduct a comprehensive literature review on the application of soil-plant models in soil reconstitution programmes.
• Develop a methodology for designing an AI-based soil-plant model tailored to evaluate soil functions and ecosystem services in reconstituted soils.
• Design, implement, and test an AI-driven surrogate soil-plant model to optimise the soil reconstitution process.
• Contribute to drafting and editing reports for iRIS deliverables related to WP4.
• Participate in workshops and conferences organised within the iRIS project, specifically those linked to WP4.
• Support outreach activities for WP4, including dissemination of project results and engagement with stakeholders.
• Present research findings at seminars and meetings organised by the hosting laboratory (Earth & Life Institute).

Location

Earth and Life Institute, Environmental Science, Croix du Sud 2, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Université catholique de Louvain.