PhD student ‘Developing novel methodologies based on gamma cameras for creating a nuclear visual digital twin’

Background

The Digital Future Lab (DFL) is a research center of Hasselt University and a core lab of Flanders Make. DFL brings together researchers with expertise in computer science. This research will be embedded within the Visual Computing research unit of the Faculty of Engineering Technology at DFL. The activities of the Visual Computing group focus on geometrical digital twin reconstruction and visualization, large-area tracking and mapping, light fields, extended reality (XR) technologies, sim-to-real, synthetic data generation, and advanced computer vision and machine learning techniques. In addition, the group works on industrial applications such as automated visual product inspection and quality assessment.

The Nuclear Technology (NuTec) research group involves dedicated experience and know-how on radiological mapping and characterisation via a whole range of radiological detection methods ranging from laborotory based instruments (e.g. High Purity Germanium detector), mobile probes (scintillator and semiconductor detectors) towards gamma cameras (e.g. timepix3 detector). NuTeC is a part of the overarching mutidisciplinairy research institute CMK (Centre of Environmental Sciences) at Hasselt University that speciallises on tackling environmental issues. NuTeC itself speciallises in protection of workers and the public in addressing radiological environmental contamination and industrial safety in nuclear installations or applications. NuTeC provides dedicated characterisation, dosimetric and radiation protection research for nuclear applications (supporting new built, operational safety but also safe decommissioning of installation) but also for protection of workers and patients in radiological healthcare applications (e.g. radiotherapy).

Through various research projects (e.g. the ARCHER Energy Transition funds project) and via dedicated PhD research, NuTeC has developed expertise for development and automation of software tools for advanced gamma spectrometric analysis of complex radiological environments. A dedicated research focus of NuTeC targets the radiological mapping of different geometries of sources, contaminated surfaces and characterizing of hot spots via mobile probes and more recently also with gamma cameras.

In the scope of a joint UHasselt-financed research project, DFL and NuTec wish to recruit a full-time PhD student.

Job content

The PhD project focuses on developing core methodology required to construct a multispectral nuclear digital twin of an unknown radiological environment using gamma camera’s / pixelated detectors (a.o. specifically timepix3 detector developed in CERN). The doctoral research will investigate how visual and radiological sensing and characterization can be combined into a unified digital representation, exploring how nuclear detectors, via gamma cameras and regular nuclear detectors, can strengthen conventional SLAM-based tracking to improve localization under complex, radiation-rich conditions. Furthermore, the PhD will explore how this enriched representation can be delivered effectively to human operators, with an emphasis on immersive visualization and AR/VR-supported inspection and training workflows. An important component of the PhD research involves studying how users interact with the digital twin, and how multimodal interface design can maximize situational awareness during safety-critical decision-making. The outcome of this project will be a working radiological analysis software protocol capable of generating a three-dimensional multispectral model augmented with nuclear measurement data and deployed in a form suitable for remote inspection and AR/VR-supported training. The PhD project is realized in collaboration with suppliers of nuclear measurements probes strongly focusing on the needs of the nuclear sector. By delivering the enabling technologies for autonomous and safe digitalization of nuclear environments, this PhD will open the door to a new class of tools for nuclear operations. It will lay the foundation for future research on adaptive AR/VR-based training, intelligent multimodal operator support, large-scale mapping of nuclear zones and simulation-supportedautonomous detection of previously unknown nuclear sources.

As doctoral researcher, you will be encouraged to valorise your contribution to the state-of-the-art through scientific publications in journals and conference proceedings with high impact factor and in topic-related conferences with international reach. Moreover, as member of the Digital Future Lab (DFL), and Nuclear Technology (NuTec) you will support the teaching activities of the education program on Engineering Technology of the Faculty of Engineering Technology of Hasselt University. During the PhD options for short term international research collaboration and mobility for the reasisation of dedicated research steps can be considered.

Profile

• Master of Engineering Technology, Master of Civil Engineering, Master of (Applied) Sciences; Specifically, a master related to nuclear technology or computer sciences would be an important added value. (or equivalent)
• You are collegial and you can work well in a team
• You have a strong scientific research interest.
• You have a background in computer science, visual computing and computer vision or at least a strong interest.
• You have a background in nuclear technology, radiation physics and nuclear detectors or at least a strong interest.
• Dual profiles, with experience in both computer engineering and nuclear technology, are an added value.
• You can implement radiological characterisation protocols and simulate the impact of radiation with matter via monte carlo (MC) simulations or have a strong research interest in these domains.
• You can conduct research using advanced computational methods, including non-linear optimization techniques, projective geometry, as well as multi-view geometry, enabling you to develop and analyse methods for camera calibration, sensor registration, pose estimation, and 3D reconstruction.
• You have a proactive and independent working attitude.
• You can report clearly, both orally and in writing.
  You have analytical and critical thinking skills.
• You have a good knowledge of both written and spoken English.

Offer

You will be appointed and paid as PhD student.

You will receive a doctoral fellowship for a period of 2 x 2 years (with intermediate evaluation after 2 years): you will receive a fellowship for 2 years, after which, with a positive evaluation, an extension of 2 years is possible. The planned start date is September 1, 2026 (or to be determined by mutual agreement).

Selection procedure

You can only apply online up to and including 31 May 2026.

The selection procedure consists of a preselection based on application file and an interview.

Further information

Prof. dr. Nick MICHIELS, +32-11-268417, nick.michiels@uhasselt.be
Prof. dr. Wouter SCHROEYERS, +32-11-292157, wouter.schroeyers@uhasselt.be

For questions about the selection procedure, please email jobs@uhasselt.be.

Job details

Title
PhD student ‘Developing novel methodologies based on gamma cameras for creating a nuclear visual digital twin’

Employer
Hasselt University

Location
Martelarenlaan 42 Hasselt, Belgium

Application deadline
2026-05-31 23:59 (Europe/Brussels)

Job type
PhD

Field
Nuclear Engineering, Image Processing, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Geoinformatics (GIS), Civil Engineering, Nuclear Physics, Computer Engineering, Geometry and Topology