PhD student position in Automatic Control: Energy efficient engine control

At the Department of Signals and Systems, we conduct internationally renowned research in biomedical engineering, antenna systems, signal processing, image analysis, automatic control, automation, mechatronics, and communication systems. We offer a dynamic and international research environment with about 150 employees from more than 20 countries, and with extensive national and international research collaborations with academia, industry and society.
The department provides more than 70 courses, of which most are included in the Master’s Programs ”Biomedical Engineering”, ”Systems, Control and Mechatronics”, and ”Communication Engineering”.

Read more at www.chalmers.se/en/departments/s2


Information about the project

The position is with the Automatic Control group in the division of Automatic Control, Automation and Mechatronics. Aiming for sustainable solutions, the group is involved in many research projects on energy savings using automatic control methods. In general the projects are carried out in collaboration with other research groups, institutes and industry.

As a result of increased environmental concerns, the demands on fuel economy and emissions are continuously increasing in road transportation. The implication is that vehicle powertrains are getting more and more complex, when the combustion engine is extended with additional subsystems for e.g. exhaust after treatment, waste heat recovery, or hybrid electric propulsion. This in turn has consequences for the development of the control systems, which tend to become unmanageable when the powertrain systems are evolving with time. A new control system design methodology is needed to address this challenge. The research task in this project is to develop such a methodology, which speeds up development time, provides the flexibility to handle product variations, reduces calibration efforts, and provides opportunities to further increase energy efficiency. Of particular interest is modularity, use of look-ahead information, and predictive and optimal control.

The Automatic Control group at the department has well established research in the area of automotive powertrain control. The project builds on existing cooperation between our research groups at Chalmers and AB Volvo and Volvo Cars, which both have identified the strategic importance of this research area. The project will engage both PhD students and post-docs. This position is a full time employment at Chalmers, but you will be working in close cooperation with a group of researchers and technical experts at both Chalmers and the companies. Significant part of the time will be spent at Volvo Technology on Chalmers campus. 

Major responsibilities
Your major responsibility as PhD student is to pursue your own doctoral studies. The major part (at least 80%) will be spent on graduate studies out of which 75% is research and approximately 25% graduate courses. You are expected to develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing. The position also includes teaching on undergraduate and MSc level, or performing other department duties corresponding to a maximum of 20 percent of working hours.

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years. If needed, Chalmers will assist in finding an apartment for the first year. There are no tuition fees for PhD studies at Chalmers.

Qualifications
To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master's level degree (at the date of employment) corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in a relevant field, including at least one course in basic control. The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in English. Skills in Swedish are meriting but not required.

Strong background in control, physics, electrical or mechanical engineering and mathematics is also meriting.

Chalmers continuously strives to be an attractive employer. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.



Application deadline: 2015-05-30

For questions, please contact:
Professor Bo Egardt, Automatic Control
E-mail: bo.egardt@chalmers.se 
Phone: +46 (0)31 772 3721

Assistant professor Nikolce Murgovski, Mechatronics
E-mail: nikolce.murgovski@chalmers.se,
Phone: +46 (0)31 772 4800


*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. ***