Research Associate

**_Campus Belval, 11, Porte des Sciences, L - 4366 Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg_**
**_ _**
**The Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)**

**is recruiting a**

**Research Associate (postdoc)**

**in urban modelling, spatial data analytics and machine learning (f/m)**
- **Ref: 22-41**
- ** Full-time/40 hours per week, 100% based at LISER**
- ** Fixed-term contract : 1 year**
- ** Start date: January 2023 (or soon thereafter)**

**LISER **is looking for a highly motivated _Research Associate_ in urban modelling and spatial data analytics. This position is part of the**_ Sustainable Residential Densification (SusDens)_** project funded by the Luxembourg _National Research Fund _(FNR) and led by Dr. Hichem Omrani.

The Research Associate will play a key role in developing high-quality research in land use/cover change dynamics and urban sustainability at LISER, in collaboration with an international academic project partner (University of Liège).

The project aims to **(i) **identify significant driving factors explaining residential densification over time, in different urban settings;** (ii)** simulate potential residential densification, at the city scale, through vector-based cellular automata; **(iii) **study the manifold positive and negative effects of residential densification on the economy (land values), the environment (i.e., urban heat island), and the society (i.e., perception of the well-being of citizens).

**Your role**

Your tasks will be the following:

- contribute to and/or lead on the production of research outputs primarily in the topic of residential densification and its socio-economic and environmental impacts;
- handle a large amount of data, and conduct statistical analysis;
- review and critique relevant literature on the topic;
- contribute to the development of a tool on the simulation of residential densification;
- potentially help develop a virtual reality laboratory to assess citizens’ perception with regard to residential densification;
- write or contribute to scientific publications and reports;
- disseminate research findings, including public engagement outside academia;
- make presentations at conferences or exhibit work in other appropriate events;
- help shape the current and future research programme in LISER in the field of urban modelling research, by identifying opportunities for new research;
- contribute to the preparation and writing of grant proposals.

**Your profile**
- **Ph.D. in urban modelling, computer science**, or a related field (with **quantitative focus**);
- ** Strong quantitative, statistical/programming skills **and knowledge of relevant programming environments (e.g. Python);
- Experience in land-use change modelling, simulation models and/or machine learning is required;
- Experience and a strong interest in interdisciplinary research;
- The ability to build an international scientific network, develop collaboration with stakeholders from and beyond academia, and collaborate closely with co-workers is considered an important asset;
- ** Fluency in English** (speaking and writing).

**LISER particularly encourages female researchers to apply.**

**We offer**
- A dynamic and international research environment with good working conditions and stimulating work environment;
- Resources for the participation in international meetings and conferences;
- Internationally competitive remuneration.

**About LISER**

LISER is a publicly funded research institute located in Luxembourg and dedicated to applied empirical research in economic, social and spatial sciences. The Institute hosts three departments (Living Conditions, Labour Market, and Urban Development and Mobility) as well as a Data Management Unit that coordinates the collection of a wide range of survey data on households and individuals. Beyond its established departments, the Institute invests in several interdisciplinary research fields.

The Institute is located on the Belval campus in the south of Luxembourg, which hosts the University of Luxembourg and a substantial part of the country’s publicly funded research facilities, i.e. LISER, the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) cross-national data centre, the Luxembourg Institutes of Health (LIH) and of Science and Technology (LIST). The University has outstanding high-performance computing facilities available for use by associated researchers in the Luxembourg Institutes. Information for foreign researchers interested in Luxembourg research is accessible via the national EURAXESS platform.

**About Luxembourg**

Luxembourg with its > 600,000 inhabitants is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and provides a stimulating mixture of modern culture and tradition. Contemporary urbanity of its capital lies in close vicinity to a rich nature. In addition to excellent health, education (public, private and high level international schools) and recreational services, the community affords a rich variety of cultural activities