Join the HOBEL!
HOBEL welcomes outstanding researchers who are motivated to advance the science of healthier, more resilient, and lower-carbon indoor environments.
We are particularly interested in candidates whose background and interests align with one or more of our research pillars:
- Pollutants, Exposure & Health
- Ventilation, Sensing & Control
- Building Performance: IEQ, Health & Environment
Our work combines laboratory experiments, field studies, environmental monitoring, data analysis, modeling, and simulation. We therefore look for candidates who are curious, rigorous, collaborative, and comfortable working across disciplines.
Current opportunities
Funded openings are advertised through official EPFL channels when available. Excellent candidates whose research interests strongly align with HOBEL are also welcome to contact us, particularly when applying for competitive fellowships or external funding.
PhD applicants
Excellent prospective PhD students are welcome to contact HOBEL when they have a strong research fit with the lab.
Competitive candidates typically have:
- a Master’s degree, or near completion, in civil, environmental, mechanical, architectural engineering, building science, environmental science, or a related field
- strong interest in indoor air quality, ventilation, human exposure, IEQ, building performance, or related topics
- aptitude for experiments, field campaigns, data analysis, modeling, or simulation
- strong written and oral communication skills in English
- programming and data-handling skills, for example in Python, R, MATLAB, or similar tools
- evidence of independence, curiosity, persistence, and teamwork.
Prospective PhD students should note that admission to a doctoral program at EPFL is required. Candidates interested in working with HOBEL typically apply through the Doctoral Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering after discussion with Prof. Dusan Licina.
Postdoctoral researchers and fellowship applicants
Postdoctoral openings are advertised on this page when available. HOBEL is also open to supporting exceptional fellowship applicants whose proposed research strongly aligns with the lab’s mission.
Strong postdoctoral candidates typically demonstrate:
- a PhD, or imminent completion, in a relevant field
- expertise in one or more areas such as indoor air quality, ventilation, exposure science, IEQ, building physics, HVAC systems, environmental monitoring, or building performance
- experience with experimental research, field measurements, modeling, or large datasets
- a strong publication record
- excellent communication, teamwork, and project-management skills
- ability to work independently and contribute to collaborative research projects
- Experience with programming, statistical analysis, building simulation, sensing systems, IoT infrastructure, or large-scale field data is highly valued.
Research visits and exchanges
HOBEL may host visiting researchers, PhD students, and scholars when there is a clear research fit, suitable supervision capacity, and alignment with ongoing projects.
Potential visitors should contact us only with a concrete research idea, proposed timeline, funding status, and explanation of how the visit would connect to HOBEL’s research. For the list of current opportunities, please visit the “Research Visit/Exchange” tab.
What HOBEL offers
HOBEL provides a collaborative, international, and interdisciplinary research environment at EPFL Fribourg’s Bluefactory site. As of mid-2027, EPFL Fribourg will also benefit from EPFL Fribourg’s future Smart Living Lab building. Team members have access to HOBEL’s experimental facilities, environmental chambers, advanced IAQ instrumentation, field monitoring systems, and EPFL’s broader research infrastructure in Fribourg and Lausanne.
HOBEL members benefit from opportunities to:
- contribute to high-impact research on indoor air quality, exposure, ventilation, and healthy buildings
- work with academic, public-sector, and industry partners in Switzerland and internationally
- participate in conferences, workshops, and professional networks
- develop skills in experimental design, field work, data analysis, modeling, scientific writing, and project leadership
- contribute to teaching and student supervision, depending on role and interest
How to apply or inquire
If you are interested in joining HOBEL, please contact Prof. Dusan Licina by email only if your inquiry is specific and well aligned with the lab’s research.
Please include:
- the type of opportunity you are seeking: PhD position, postdoctoral position, research visit, or fellowship support
- a short explanation of your research interests and why they fit HOBEL
- CV
- transcript, for PhD applicants
- publication list, for PhD/postdoctoral applicants if applicable
- names of references, when relevant
- funding status and proposed timeline, for research visitors and fellowship applicants
Due to the high number of inquiries, HOBEL may not be able to respond to generic requests or applications that do not show a clear fit with the lab’s research.
HOBEL encourages applications from talented candidates of all backgrounds and is committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful, and collaborative research environment.
If you are interested completing your semester projects or Master thesis with HOBEL, please send your request to Prof. Dusan Licina indicating your background, grades and specific interests. Some of the potential topics are listed below (non-exhaustive list):
- Indoor air quality and thermal comfort assessment in office, residential and/or educational building
- Nexus between indoor environmental quality parameters and building energy consumption
- Surveys of the occupant satisfaction and sick building syndrome symptoms in commercial or educational buildings
- Activity-based HVAC control for enhanced indoor air quality and thermal comfort
- Maximizing the performance of natural ventilation with the knowledge of outdoor air pollution
- Emission rates of particles and gaseous chemicals by university students in gyms or classrooms
- Assessment of air quality and thermal comfort on SBB trains
- Building and testing a low-cost thermal manikin
- Developing and testing a human coughing and sneezing machine
- Human inhalation exposure to carbon dioxide and particulate matter in built environment
- Calibrating a building simulation model based on actual data
About Smart Living Lab
The smart living lab provides a stimulating, collaborative and pleasant work environment for researchers. The smart living lab is an inter-disciplinary, interinstitutional research group that combines multiple lines of a cutting-edge research related to sustainable buildings and well-being of occupants. Smart living lab concentrates its research on four core areas such as energy systems, construction techniques, interactions and design processes, well-being and behaviors.
The smart living lab manages the competencies of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL Friborg), the University of Applied Sciences Freiburg (HEIA-FR) and the University of Freiburg (UNIFR) and in the field of sustainable building technologies, but also the law, the economic and social sciences together.
About EPFL
Working for the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) means being part of a prestigious school that consistently ranks among the top 20 universities worldwide. As a public university dedicated to improving the world around us, we have three missions: training, research and technology transfer. We boast one of the most dynamic university campuses in Europe and employ more than 6,000 people. Our employees perform high-value-added work in teaching and research and in the school’s administrative and technical services. Between our main campus in Lausanne and our satellite campuses in Geneva, Neuchâtel, Fribourg and Sion, our workforce is composed of more than one hundred different professions.
At EPFL, we foster a culture of respect and inclusion in the workplace. We promote a healthy work-life balance through flexible working hours and on-campus daycare and sports facilities. Our employees also benefit from belonging to a diverse community of 16,000 people – including over 10,000 students and 3,500 researchers – from 120 different countries.