Project description
Which characteristics of floods control flooding, and at what thresholds does the response change?
The core of the PhD research is to design, produce and analyze a structured set of transient simulations on three rivers. The aim is to identify the interactions between flood characteristics, response thresholds and the mechanisms that mitigate or amplify flooding.
Why this project? The experimental design will vary the peak, volume, duration, shape of the hydrographs and the synchronization of inflows. It will enable us to examine their combined effects and gradually expand the simulation series to focus on the most sensitive configurations.

The PhD project involves designing the experiment, organizing the calculation series and carrying out quality control, followed by a joint analysis of the results across space and time. The simulations will be refined to focus on the most sensitive configurations. The research aims to explain the interactions and response thresholds, and then to establish in which contexts these mechanisms are found across different rivers.
Start date
Fall 2027 or winter 2028
Study program
PhD in Water Science, Eau Terre Environnement Research Centre, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)
Research supervision
Étienne Foulon, INRS Professor
Funding
Institutional support planned for four years. INRS offers financial aid to all its students. For more information.
Required qualifications
- An interest in hydrology, hydraulics and numerical simulation. Knowledge of statistics and data analysis will help in interpreting results.
- HEC-RAS and ArcGIS-QGIS will be used. Programming skills, particularly in Python or R, are an asset for automating and processing results.
How to apply
Please use the form below to submit your application, including the following documents in PDF format:
- CV in Canadian format
- Cover letter clearly explaining how your expertise aligns with the project’s needs, as well as your proposed career path.
- All your university transcripts
- Contact information for two referees or letters of recommendation