Research Assistant - Coastal Seawater Dilution & Modeling

National University of Singapore; Singapore; On-site; SGD 45,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the National University of Singapore invites applications for a Research Assistant in Geotechnical Engineering. The project investigates active dilution of seawater in sand-filled reclaimed land, leveraging pumping systems and rainfall replenishment to create underground freshwater reservoirs while protecting coastal lands.

Responsibilities include constructing a 1-g physical model, installing sensors, running tests, and developing

Qualifications

• Education background in civil/geotechnical/hydrogeology or related field.
• Experience with physical lab testing, soil mechanics, or hydrogeology experiments preferred.
• Familiarity with numerical simulation software (COMSOL/SEAWAT/MODFLOW) or coding (Python, MATLAB) is an advantage.
• Strong English communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Construct and manage a 1-g physical model box simulating Singapore's reclaimed land stratigraphy.
• Install sensors and conduct extraction/replenishment tests; monitor data.
• Develop analytical drawdown trajectory models and coupled groundwater flow/solute transport models.
• Perform field-scale numerical simulations to evaluate dilution efficiency and influencing factors.
• Prepare progress reports and contribute to journals and conferences.

Skills

Physical testing

Soil mechanics

Hydrogeology experiments

Python

MATLAB

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Hydrogeology, Environmental Engineering, or closely related field

Tools

COMSOL

SEAWAT

MODFLOW

Job description

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the National University of Singapore invites applications for a Research Assistant in Geotechnical Engineering. The project investigates active dilution of seawater in sand-filled reclaimed land, leveraging pumping systems and rainfall replenishment to create underground freshwater reservoirs while protecting coastal lands.

Responsibilities include constructing a 1-g physical model, installing sensors, running tests, and developing