Khalifa University

Khalifa University is home to the UAE’s leading research centers as interdisciplinary research units focused on long-term strategic priorities addressing regional and global challenges in a systematic and targeted manner via engagement of world-class researchers and facilities. These research centers are at the heart of KU’s global leadership in use-inspired research.

Homepage: https://www.ku.ac.ae/

I am looking for outstanding candidates to join my research group at Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, for PhD positions starting in January 2027. Applications are welcome from candidates worldwide. I am particularly interested in intellectually curious and highly motivated students with strong research potential. Prior experience in all of the methods listed below is not required.

Research directions
Projects can be co-designed with the student and developed around two broad research directions:

1) Seismology / Tomography
New constraints on the lithosphere and upper mantle of the Arabian Plate and/or polar regions using new and/or integrated datasets (teleseismic imaging, lithospheric structure, and tectono-magmatic interpretation).

2) Computational Geodynamics (Thermal Lattice Boltzmann)
High-resolution numerical simulations addressing magma-ocean and early-Earth dynamics, planetary geodynamics, and tectonic processes. There is substantial scope for original ideas and for developing new projects from the ground up together with the student.

Who am I looking for
Curious, highly motivated people with an independent mindset. You do not need to arrive fully trained, but you should enjoy reasoning, troubleshooting, working with data/models, and writing clearly. Backgrounds in Physics, Geology, Geophysics, Applied Mathematics (or related fields) are all welcome.

Funding and support
Khalifa University offers very generous, tax-free and tier-based PhD scholarships that include full tuition coverage, a monthly stipend, and additional benefits (e.g., accommodation and medical insurance, yearly flight tickets to home country). https://www.ku.ac.ae/scholarships-postgraduate#international-students

About Abu Dhabi
Beyond the PhD itself, living in Abu Dhabi means being in a cosmopolitan coastal city with world-class culture and architecture (for example, institutions such as Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, and the Zayed National Museum). The city offers sunshine and blue skies almost all year round, and in your free time there is a rare entertainment ecosystem, including Ferrari World, Warner Bros World and SeaWorld, with Disney World coming soon. Overall, the quality of life is exceptionally high.

Applications are submitted through the KU admissions portal at https://pgapply.ku.ac.ae/portal/pg_landing

For general requirements (e.g., IELTS/TOEFL) and required documents (research statement and reference letters), please follow the official KU guidance.

If you are interested, feel free to email me at simone.pilia@ku.ac.ae with a short CV and a brief paragraph about your interests/skills.