PhD – Acoustic metamaterials for sound transmission cancellation

Organisation
LE MANS

Location
Institut d’Acoustique – Graduate School Avenue Olivier Messiaen 72085 LEMANS CEDEX 9

Contract Type
PhD Student contract / Thesis offer 36 months

Salary
3 040 € per month gross salary+ Family allowance depending on status

Closing Date
19 March 2024

More info

LAUM, UMR 6613 CNRS, is a leading laboratory in Acoustics located in Le Mans,
France. The laboratory is offering a PhD position in the field of metamaterials for
sound transmission cancellation.

Expected starting date: July 1st 2024
Application Deadline: April 1st 2024

Project:
This doctoral project is part of a larger, multidisciplinary and international project
METAVISION: “METAmaterials for VIbration and Sound reductION” (no. 101072415)
funded under the Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks within the
Horizon Europe Programme of the European Commission.
METAVISION aims to reconcile two conflicting trends. On the one hand, people
become increasingly aware of the negative health impact of excessive noise and
vibration exposure. On the other hand, every kilogram of mass removed from the
logistics chain has a direct economic and ecological benefit. Current noise and
vibration solutions still require too much mass or volume to be practically feasible,
particularly for lower frequencies. There is thus a strong need for low mass, compact
material solutions with excellent noise and vibration characteristics, for which recently
emerged so-called metamaterials have shown immense potential. METAVISION
aims to develop novel design and analysis methods in view of broadening the
performance and applicability of metamaterials, revolutionize the manufacturing of
metamaterials towards large-scale and versatile solutions and advance academically
proven metamaterial concepts towards industrially relevant applications.
METAVISION gathers universities (KU Leuven, Université du Mans, Universidade de
Coimbra), research institutes (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Swiss
Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology EMPA) and small- and
large-scale industry (Siemens Industry Software NV, Materialise NV, MetAcoustic,
Phononic Vibes srl, Airbus, Swiss Federal Railways, Mota-Engil Engenharia e
Construção S.A.) from manufacturing , construction, transportation, machine design
and noise and vibration solution sectors with the relevant expertise to create the
coordinated research environment needed to bring metamaterials from academic
concepts to large-scale manufacturable and industrially applicable noise and
vibration solutions, paving the way towards a quieter and greener Europe.
Your tasks
As doctoral candidate within this project you will work on the design, manufacturing,
and experimental validation of acoustic metamaterials for sound transmission
cancellation. To do this :
• You investigate different design strategies
• You investigate potential optimization strategies
• You design and measure prototypes to validate the models
• You identify the ideal solution for specific problems.

Laboratoire d’Acoustique de l’Université du Mans – CNRS
LAUM – UMR 6613
Institut d’Acoustique – Graduate School
Avenue Olivier Messiaen 72085 LEMANS CEDEX 9
http://laum.univ-lemans.fr

Profile :
If you recognize yourself in the story below, then you have the profile that fits the
project and the research group:
• I have a master degree in acoustic, physics, mechanical engineering or
mathematics, obtained no longer than four years ago and performed above
average in comparison to my peers.
• I am proficient in written and spoken English.
• I have not had residence or main activities in France for more than 12 months
in the last 3 years.
• During my courses or prior professional activities, I have gathered some
experience with at least one of the following: principles of acoustics, numerical
modeling techniques, or experimental methods in acoustics. I have a profound
interest for these topics.
• As a researcher I perform research in a structured and scientifically sound
manner. I read technical papers, understand the nuances between different
theories and implement and improve methodologies myself.
• In frequent reporting, varying between weekly to monthly, I show the results
that I have obtained and I give a well-founded interpretation of those results. I
iterate on my work and my approach based on the feedback of my supervisors
which steer the direction of my research.
• It is important for me to work as an active team member and I am eager to
share my results to in-spire and being inspired by my colleagues.
• During my PhD, I want to grow towards following up the project that I am
involved in and representing the research group on project meetings and
conferences. I see these events as an occasion to disseminate my work to an
audience of international experts and research colleagues, and to learn about
the larger context of my research and the research project.
Offer:
We offer a fully funded 3-year PhD position at LAUM, UMR 6613 CNRS. Perfect
absorption of acoustic waves has been the focus of numerous studies this last
decade. Several design strategies have been proposed to achieve perfect absorption
either focusing on the subwavelength or on the broadband aspects. In this PhD, you
will focus on transmission cancellation, that is the total annihilation of the acoustic
wave energy. Various strategies, involving non-reciprocal features, will be
investigated and combined.
For further information about the position please contact Vincent
Pagneux (Vincent.Pagneux@univ-lemans.fr), Vicente Romero-García

(virogar1@upvnet.upv.es), or Jean-Philippe Groby (Jean-Philippe.Groby@univ-
lemans.fr)

Laboratoire d’Acoustique de l’Université du Mans – CNRS
LAUM – UMR 6613
Institut d’Acoustique – Graduate School
Avenue Olivier Messiaen 72085 LEMANS CEDEX 9
http://laum.univ-lemans.fr

We look forward to receiving your online application including a letter of motivation,
CV, diplomas with transcripts and contact details of two referees.
Application must be made online via the CNRS recruitment portal
(https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/Doctorant/UMR6613-SANCHA-033/Default.aspx?
lang=EN)

Posted on 1st March 2024 in Job Opportunities in Acoustics, Early Careers Group