PhD student Position in Automatic Control

Application deadline 2010-06-17

Reference number 2010/133

At the Department of Signals and Systems, we conduct world leading research in biomedical engineering, antennas and signal processing, automatic control, automation and mechatronics, and communication systems. Our research deals to a large extent with the modeling and development of efficient systems for extracting and processing information. The systems are often affected by signals from the environment which we cannot change and signals that we produce ourselves to control the systems. Systems which our researchers focus on include hearing aids, robots, power chains, plants, vehicles, mobile phones as well as biological systems.


There is an increasing use of mathematical modeling, simulation and optimization in modern product development. In our research, which is in close connection with industrial partners, we use modern tools on new problems, and develop the tools further so that better products can be developed faster and more reliably.
Job description

ABB has developed an innovative torque sensor that can be applied on an existing axle. Currently it is not used in any large series production but it has the potential to become very useful in the driveline of automotive vehicles. Examples of applications are optimized control for gear shifts to reduce wear, oscillations, and fuel consumption, but also for engine diagnosis and combustion analysis. In this project, financed by Energimyndigheten, the potential use of the sensor when placing it on the input shaft of the gearbox is to be assessed.

The work will cover modelling of the nonlinear sensor dynamics and the driveline dynamics, signal processing, observer design and state prediction. Experimental design and analysis, as well as evaluation of implemented methods in vehicle, will be carried out in cooperation with Volvo Powertrain, Volvo Technology and ABB Force Measurement.

You will be part of an international research environment at the department for up to five years while you expand your knowledge in the field and write your doctoral thesis. As a PhD student you will spend about 80 percent of your time on the project and graduate courses, and about 20 percent on undergraduate teaching.

Required qualifications

The applicant should at the time he or she begins hold a MSc degree with a strong background in control and related subjects. Experience of optimization, programming and mathematical modeling of mechanical systems will be appreciated. Applicants should have good analytical skills and good ability to work independently towards the research goals. Fluent written and spoken English is necessary and fluent Swedish is an advantage.

Application procedure

The application shall be written in English and include the following items:

• An application of a maximum of one A4 page containing your specific qualifications for the position
• Attested copies of education certificates, including grade reports and other documents
• Curriculum Vitae
• Letters of recommendation and name of reference persons (optional)
  

The application shall be sent electronically as pdf or zipped documents. Please use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form.

If any material is not available electronically or cannot be transferred to pdf format, the material can be sent as a hard copy to Registrar. The applicants name and the reference number (2010/133) must be written on the first page of the application.

Address:

Registrar
Chalmers University of Technology
SE-412 96 Göteborg
Sweden

Further information

Ass. Professor Torsten Wik, Email:tw@chalmers.se, telephone +46 31 772 5146
Professor Claes Breitholtz: claesbr@chalmers.se, telephone +46 31 772 3718

Union representatives

* SACO: Jan Lindér
* ST: Marie Wenander
* SEKO: Johan Persson

All reachable via Chalmers exchange: +46 31 772 10 00

Ph.D. Studentship at the Automatic Control Laboratory, KTH

Latest date for submission of application: 2010-06-15

KTH is the largest technical university in Sweden. Education and research cover a broad spectrum within natural sciences and engineering, as well as architecture, industrial engineering and management, urban planning, work science and environmental engineering. There are circa 13,300 full-year undergraduate students, 1,500 postgraduate students and 3,900 employees.

The School of Electrical Engineering conducts research and education in the fields of electrical engineering, systems engineering, information and communications theory, space and fusion plasma physics, and electrical power engineering. 300 people work in this creative and dynamic environment, out of which half are Ph.D. students, many from other countries. Our research projects are carried out in close collaboration with industry partners as well as with research colleagues from Sweden and other countries. The school is responsible for educating civil engineers in electrical engineering and five masters programs which are in great demand and which have a close connection to our main fields.

The Automatic Control Lab at KTH conducts research in networked control systems, control of communication systems, systems biology and system identification. We perform fundamental research and engage in industrial projects with partners such as ABB, Scania, GM, Ericsson, and Honeywell. Much of the research is conducted within the Linnaeus Centre ACCESS, Sweden’s largest research effort in networked systems, and in EU-projects in collaboration with top universities in Europe and USA. We have a large international academic network and collaborate regularly with UC Berkeley, Caltech, ETH, and Stanford among others.

We are looking for Ph.D. students within the area of Identification of Complex, Structured and Networked Systems:

It is increasingly common that engineering systems are built from components that are interconnected in complex networks. Examples are found in the vehicle and IT industry, in energy and material distribution, and in industrial process control. This project concerns development of systematic modeling techniques for large-scale complex networks. You will for example work with system identification and/or model reduction of complex networked systems. The models are to be used for control, fault detection, or system design. We are also partner in the new EU project AUTOPROFIT (Advanced Autonomous Model-Based Operation of Industrial Process Systems) where the objective is to develop methodologies which decrease the modeling cost and provide efficient model maintenance in process control applications. The project has Eindhoven University, Delft Technical University, RWTH Aachen, and KTH as academic partners, and Boliden (Sweden), ABB (Sweden) and SASOL (South Africa) as industrial partners. Here we will develop a system identification framework for model predictive control.
We are looking for students with a solid interest in mathematical modeling, control theory, and optimization.


Qualifications of Candidates

We seek highly motivated individuals holding an MSc degree in electrical engineering, engineering physics, computer science or similar. The candidates should have excellent grades and very good skills in oral and written communication. They should be ready to contribute to a scientific research area of major importance for Swedish industry and society in general. The positions include up to twenty percent teaching at undergraduate level.
To address its varied work, KTH aims to employ a diversity of talent and thus welcomes applicants who will add to the variety of the University, especially as concerns its gender structure.

Employment

The PhD positions are intended for you who will pursue your own doctoral studies. The position will include about 80% research and 20% teaching assistance. The salary is based on the existing employment agreement for PhD position at the School of Electrical Engineering.

Application
The application, with curriculum vitae, final grades, and a short description of future professional objectives should be either electronically submitted to 0142@ee.kth.se in one single pdf-file or a hardcopy should be sent to

KTH School of Electrical Engineering
Attn: Liselott Sandahl
Osquldas väg 10100 44
STOCKHOLM SWEDEN

Quote the following reference number: E-2010-0142

Contact
For more information about the position, please contact:
Professor Håkan Hjalmarsson: hjalmars@ee.kth.se
Professor Bo Wahlberg: bo@ee.kth.se

More information about the Automatic Control Laboratory can be found at
http://www.ee.kth.se/control