Contract type : Fixed-term contract
Level of qualifications required : PhD or equivalent
Fonction : Post-Doctoral Research Visit
Created in 2008, the Inria Saclay Center is located at the heart of the Paris-Saclay scientific and technological excellence cluster, which alone accounts for 15% of French research. Serving the development of the Université Paris-Saclay and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, the Inria Saclay center employs 80 people in research support services and 500 scientists of 54 nationalities.
Benefiting from continuous growth, the center now has a total of 42 project-teams and two in the process of being created, including 21 jointly with the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 16 with the Université Paris-Saclay, as well as 7 Inria EPs, including one in collaboration with Onera and one with the Pôle Universitaire Centre Val de Loire. These research teams are spread over more than ten sites.
Supervised by:
The work will be conducted in the Platon team, a joint research group between Ecole Polytechnique and CNRS, hosted by the Center for Applied Mathematics (CMAP) of École Polytechnique. The Platon project-team focuses on developing innovative methods and algorithms for uncertainty management in numerical models, including advanced calibration strategies from data (observations, measurements, other model predictions) and uncertainty reduction.
General details:
Project description and objectives
Predicting the dynamic behavior of mechanical and civil engineering structures is a central concern throughout their design and operational life, whether to ensure structural integrity under vibration and dynamic loading, or to anticipate fatigue and durability issues. Numerical models, and finite element (FE) models in particular, have become the primary tool for addressing these challenges, offering a flexible and cost-effective means of simulating structural response before physical testing.
Yet for these models to make accurate predictions, their parameters must reflect the real structure and the real environment, not just the nominal values assumed during design. Model calibration, also referred to as model updating, meets this need by adjusting uncertain or poorly known model parameters so that the numerical response matches measured data. In structural vibration, this is typically done using modal parameters (natural frequencies, mode shapes, damping ratios) or frequency response functions obtained from experimental campaigns.
This process is essential to improve the predictive capability of the model. Bayesian approaches are classical techniques to perform this calibration process. They rely on the assumption that the discrepancy between the numerical solver and the experimental data are explained by the experimental noise.
However, the models are built upon simplifying assumptions such as geometry, material properties, boundary conditions, joint behavior, etc. This leads inevitably to discrepancies between numerical predictions and experimental observations, which must be accounted for during the calibration process. In this context, Bayesian approaches can be used to explicitely account for uncertainties arising from measurement noise, model-form error, and parameter variability. The results obtained with such approaches provide more robust and physically meaningful estimates of the calibrated parameters along with quantified confidence in the model predictions. Recent works in the team have focused on the development of such frameworks for academic test cases [1,2].
Additionally, the quality of the calibration depends on the choice of the quantities used to perform it [3]. If these quantities are not sufficiently sensitive to the parameters being calibrated, the identification process becomes ill-posed, leading to poorly constrained or unreliable parameter estimates.
The objective of the postdoc is to develop a Bayesian calibration framework to account for model error in the context of structural dynamics. The following objectives have been identified:
The person recruited will have to numerically implement, test and compare the different identified approaches developed during the postdoc.
Biblio
[1] Kahol, O., Congedo, P.M., Le Maitre, O. and Goy, E.D., 2025. {Efficient treatment of the model error in the calibration of computer codes: the Complete Maximum a Posteriori method.} International Journal for Uncertainty Quantification, 15(5).
[2] Kahol, O., Le Maître, O., Marco Congedo, P. and Denimal Goy, E., 2026. {Surrogate-based strategies for accelerated Bayesian calibration of computer codes with Complete Maximum a Posteriori estimation of model error.} Journal of Mechanical Design, 148(9), p.091706.
[3] Delette, N., Goy, E.D., Pfister, J.L., El Amri, R. and Mevel, L., 2025, May. {Model updating of rotating wind turbines using operational modal analysis and Floquet mode decomposition}. In IOMAC 2025-11th International Operational Modal Analysis Conference (pp. 1-7).
Candidates must hold a PhD in mechanical engineering, applied mathematics or a related discipline with background in at least one of these fields: structural dynamics, model calibration, uncertainty quantification or related fields. In particular, candidates must be proficient scientific computing.
Applicants should submit a detailed academic CV with history of scientific production, evaluation documents of their PhD if available and a cover letter detailing the knowledge, skills and experience you think make you the right candidate for the job.
For further details, please contact E. Denimal Goy (enora.denimal-goy [at] inria.fr).
2788€ gross/month
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Defence Security :
This position is likely to be situated in a restricted area (ZRR), as defined in Decree No. 2011-1425 relating to the protection of national scientific and technical potential (PPST).Authorisation to enter an area is granted by the director of the unit, following a favourable Ministerial decision, as defined in the decree of 3 July 2012 relating to the PPST. An unfavourable Ministerial decision in respect of a position situated in a ZRR would result in the cancellation of the appointment.
Recruitment Policy :
As part of its diversity policy, all Inria positions are accessible to people with disabilities.
Inria, the French national institute for research in digital science and technology, supports the French government in national research and innovation strategies in the digital field, acting as Digital Programs Agency. Inria leads over 300 research and innovation projects with its 3,500 scientists, engineers, and support staff, in partnership with universities and the digital ecosystem (businesses, entrepreneurs, and public stakeholders). Together, we explore strategic fields such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum computing, cloud technologies, digital transformation in healthcare, digital twins, and digital technologies for defence. We develop practical solutions such as software, tech startups, partnerships with national companies, and cutting-edge training programmes. Our goal is to drive scientific, technological, and industrial excellence to ensure France’s digital sovereignty.
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