Doctoral position in robotic spraying for biocementation

**Doctoral position in robotic spraying for biocementation** ============================================================ #### **100%, Zurich, fixed-term** The Chair for Digital Building Technologies invites applications for a PhD position on robotic spraying as an additive manufacturing process for biocementation. The research brings together two closely coupled lines of work: the development of an additive robotic fabrication system based on material deposition and microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP), with a focus on applying MICP to the fabrication of architectural elements. This PhD is part of the SNSF-funded project “DFabuLis: Digital Fabrication Using Living Systems”, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Dimitrios Terzis, Senior Scientist in the Laloui group at EPFL. **Project background** ---------------------- Conventional cement-based construction binds aggregates through an energy-intensive process. Bio-binders offer a different fabrication logic. In biocementation, certain bacteria precipitate calcium carbonate between particles, allowing binding to form under ambient conditions. This project treats the bio-binder as a fabrication parameter. Through robotic deposition of bacterial and cementation solutions, mineral binding can be spatially controlled across a ed structure, producing architectural elements with locally differentiated density, strength, porosity, and surface properties within a single component. The research will investigate how robotic deposition of biocement can be translated into architectural production strategies, from material placement and component geometry to surface formation and assembly. In collaboration with the Soil Mechanics Laboratory at EPFL, the project connects robotic fabrication with the characterisation and formulation of bio-binders. The resulting strategies will be explored in architectural-scale demonstrators. **Job description** ------------------- * You will develop a robotic fabrication process for biocementation, including adapting existing deposition hardware, and the computational workflow linking design intent to material placement * You will use it to produce architectural components, investigating through making how graded biocementation can inform structure, surface, and assembly You will assess the environmental foot* of the process and use it to guide fabrication and design choices * You will conduct research in close collaboration with project partners at ETH and EPFL and, where applicable, industry partners. * You will work closely with the Soil Mechanics Laboratory at EPFL, whose characterisation of the material will inform the development of the process * You will write scientific articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals, present at international conferences, and contribute to teaching through the supervision of semester and master's projects **Profile** ----------- * A Master's degree in architecture or a closely related discipline, with