A group of TU Delft researchers have received a grant from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme.
Professor Kees Vuik’s Numerical Analysis team has received a four-year, €250,000 grant from Horizon 2020 to enable them to further their research in the field of computational science and engineering.
Horizon 2020 is part of the European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation and is worth more than 80 billion euros over the next seven years (2014 to 2020). Professor Vuik’s team has received the grant to further their research into MSFF-DYN-FRAC-PR: Multi-Scale Fluid Flow in DYNamically FRACtured Porous Reservoir.
The research grant will be provided under the Excellent Science pillar of the Horizon 2020 as part of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions. Between 2014 and 2020 six programmes will be funded as part of this pillar, totalling 162 million euros. According to the European Commission, Horizon 2020 website, the Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions are aimed at supporting the career development and training of researchers – from PhD candidates to highly experienced researchers. Within this pillar the research is aimed at Innovative Training Networks and, more specifically, at the European Industrial Doctorate.
During the four-year grant period, the PhD candidate will work towards developing mathematical models aimed at minimising the environmental impact of accessing freely available reservoirs of oil and gas, often referred to as fracking or fractioning. The research project is being conducted in collaboration with Schlumberger, “the world’s leading supplier of technology, integrated project management and information solutions for organisations working in the oil and gas industry worldwide,” according to their website. The PhD candidate selected to manage the research will split their time between TU Delft and two
Schlumberger offices; one in Abingdon in the United Kingdom and a second in Boston in the United States of America.
With the research set to begin in January 2015, Professor Vuik is currently identifying a PhD student to conduct the research. Qualified candidates will need to have a strong background in scientific computing, be an applied physicist or applied mathematician and be available to travel to and spend two years as part of the Reservoir Simulation department at the Schlumberger offices in Abingdon and Boston. “I believe that modelling is the way forward in resource extraction,” said Professor Vuik. “I don’t think that our research will be the only method developed but it will certainly contribute to the future of resource extraction.”
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