Two-year postdoctoral position is open in the Constructal AI project at Yildiz Technical University in Türkiye. Applications are due by 15 January 2027.
Position: Postdoctoral Researcher, Constructal AI
Research area: artificial intelligence in heat transfer and fluid dynamics, guided by the constructal law
Host: Yildiz Technical University, Türkiye
Supervisor: Umit Gunes, Ph.D.
Duration: 2 years
Support: 1,100 USD per month (net) and accommodation support
Application deadline: 15 January 2027
Contact: ugunes@yildiz.edu.tr
What is Constructal AI?
Constructal AI is a research program that brings artificial intelligence to the constructal law, the physics principle of design and evolution in nature.
The constructal law states that a finite-size flow system survives in time only if its configuration evolves to give easier access to the currents that flow through it. River basins, lungs, trees, cooling networks and transport systems all show this tendency. The law was formulated by Adrian Bejan; the founding paper on tree-shaped conducting paths for cooling a heat-generating volume appeared in the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 40(4), 1997.
The project works along two lines:
AI for flow design. Machine learning methods are used to predict, explore and generate flow architectures in heat transfer and fluid dynamics, with the constructal law as the physical guide.
AI for the constructal literature. The project analyses the body of constructal research (about 1,600 documents indexed in Scopus under the term “constructal”) to map where the law has been applied and to find new application areas. Data center cooling is the flagship engineering case.
The position
The postdoctoral researcher will develop and apply AI methods to heat transfer and fluid dynamics problems within the Constructal AI project.
Possible directions, to be agreed with the successful candidate:
Data-driven and physics-informed models for convective and conductive heat transfer
Generative and optimization methods for flow architectures such as tree-shaped networks, heat sinks and cooling channels
Cooling of high heat-flux systems, with data centers as the main application
Language-model tools for analyzing the constructal literature and identifying new application areas
The researcher is expected to publish in international journals, present at conferences, and contribute to the project’s shared data and code.
What we offer
The position runs for two years and includes a net payment of 1,100 USD per month, plus accommodation support.
Stipend: 1,100 USD per month, net.
Accommodation: accommodation support in Istanbul.
Research network: the supervisor coordinates the Constructal Law Conference series and works with constructal law researchers worldwide, including Adrian Bejan at Duke University.
Publishing experience: work alongside distinguished journals.
Who should apply
We are looking for a researcher with a doctorate and a record of work at the meeting point of thermal-fluid sciences and machine learning.
A Ph.D. in mechanical, naval, aerospace, or chemical engineering, physics, applied mathematics, computer science, or a related field, completed or with a confirmed defense date before the start of the position.
Research experience in heat transfer, fluid dynamics, or thermodynamics, in machine learning, or ideally both.
Programming skills in Python and experience with machine learning frameworks.
Publications in peer-reviewed international journals.
Good written and spoken English
Familiarity with the constructal law, CFD tools, physics-informed neural networks, or language models is an advantage, not a requirement.
Required documents
Please send the following, in English:
Curriculum vitae (CV)
Scopus Author ID
Research statement
How to apply
Send your application by e-mail to ugunes@yildiz.edu.tr by 15 January 2027.
Attach your CV and research statement as PDF files, and write your Scopus Author ID in the e-mail.
Use the subject line “Postdoc Application: Constructal AI”.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an online interview.
Informal questions about the project are welcome at the same address before you apply.
About the supervisor
Umit Gunes, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at Yildiz Technical University and a Visiting Professor at Duke University, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science.
He completed his Ph.D. at Yildiz Technical University in 2019 with the dissertation “Performance and Size in Moving Systems: Constructal Law”, supervised by Bahri Sahin and Adrian Bejan. He was a visiting scholar at Duke University from January 2017 to April 2018 and a postdoctoral researcher there with Adrian Bejan from August 2021 to August 2022.
His research covers constructal law, design in nature, thermodynamics, energy systems, data science, and artificial intelligence. Current roles:
Editor, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer (Elsevier), since June 2025
Guest Editor, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, and Guest Editor, BioSystems
Coordinator of the Constructal Law Conference series
Coordinator of the platform “Umit Gunes on the Constructal Law” (constructallaw.com)
Advisor to the Rector, Yildiz Technical University
Selected publications:
Bejan A, Gunes U, Almahmoud H. Locomotion: rhythm makes power and speed. Scientific Reports 13, 14018, 2023. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-41023-6
Gunes U. Constructal law in energy transport and utilization. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 156, 107591, 2024. doi:10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2024.107591
Bejan A, Gunes U, Sahin B. The evolution of air and maritime transport. Applied Physics Reviews 6(2), 021319, 2019. doi:10.1063/1.5099626
Bejan A, Gunes U, Charles JD, Sahin B. The fastest animals and vehicles are neither the biggest nor the fastest over lifetime. Scientific Reports 8, 12925, 2018. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-30303-1
Full profile: YTU academic page · ORCID · Google Scholar
About the host
The position is hosted at Yildiz Technical University (YTU), a public university in Istanbul, Türkiye.
Contact
Umit Gunes, Ph.D. · ugunes@yildiz.edu.tr