PhD student position in electromobility

This PhD position will expose you to one of the most challenging and exciting problems in learning-based, stochastic optimization in electromobility. You will be given the unique opportunity to blend data-driven and model-based optimization and collaborate with a mixed academic and industrial research team leading the development of cutting-edge optimization techniques. It entails state-of-the-art research in multiple disciplines, including Applied Mathematics, Optimal Control and Software Engineering. It merges machine learning from data and mathematical models from physical principles to design stochastically optimal and computationally efficient solutions.

Project description
In this project we will be developing intelligent planning algorithms that will replace currently available navigators in production electric vehicles. The algorithms shall constantly learn and make predictions on the electricity and overstay cost at charging stations, charger's occupancy and availability of electric power. The goal is to ease the transition towards a sustainable transport, by designing optimal policies that reduce travel time, cost and energy consumption for the individual electric vehicle user, while avoiding queues at charging stations and underutilization of other stations.

Advanced optimization techniques shall be developed and implemented in a prototype vehicle, to prove their feasibility and take initial steps in technology development.

This project is in partnership with Volvo Cars and CEVT, and will operate closely with multiple institutes, electricity providers and chargers' operators in Sweden. You will get an office at Chalmers University and will work for at least 3 months at both CEVT and Volvo Cars. An exchange visit will be planned to a Swedish and/or an international university. As a PhD student you will be given opportunities for many inspiring conversations, plenty of autonomous work and some travel.
This project is coordinated by the Swedish Electromobility Centre and you will be enrolled in the centre's PhD network. You will enjoy the opportunity to follow the centre's activities and targeted courses on electromobility.

The starting date is tentatively May 2023.

Information about the division and the department
The PhD position is at the Mechatronics group, division of Systems and Control, department of Electrical Engineering, Chalmers University. Here, a team of PhD students, post-docs and senior researchers are working on modeling and numerical optimization of problems in the areas of robotics, electromobility and autonomous driving. We offer advanced PhD courses where we extend the fundamentals in optimal control, machine learning, probability theory and similar. The research and learning environment is international and English is the working language. If Swedish is not your native language and you are interested in learning it, Chalmers offers Swedish courses that are free for PhD students. Although the knowledge of Swedish is not mandatory for teaching and research, many PhD students decide to follow these courses.

Major responsibilities
Your research will include fundamental theoretical studies, numerical optimization, simulations and experiments to develop world-leading engineering solutions. You are expected to publish papers of high quality, visit and present at international conferences and collaborate with teammates. The position is regarded as a full-time employment with a competitive monthly salary and full social benefits. It is limited to maximum 5 years and includes teaching at the undergraduate and MSc level, up to 20% of full time. There are no tuition fees for PhD studies at Chalmers.


Qualifications
To qualify as a PhD student, you must have, or expect to receive soon, a master's level degree in Applied Mathematics, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or similar. Solid mathematical background is required and excellent grades are expected in most of the subjects.

Contract terms
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

We offer
Chalmers offers a cultivating and inspiring working environment in the coastal city of Gothenburg. 
Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.

Chalmers aims to actively improve our gender balance. We work broadly with equality projects, for example the GENIE Initiative on gender equality for excellence. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20220730 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically and be attached as PDF-files, as below. Maximum size for each file is 40 MB. Please note that the system does not support Zip files.

CV: (Please name the document: CV, Family name, Ref. number)
• CV
• Other, for example previous employments or leadership qualifications and positions of trust.
• Two references that we can contact.

Personal letter: (Please name the document as: Personal letter, Family name, Ref. number)
1-3 pages where you:
• Introduce yourself
• Describe your previous experience of relevance for the position (e.g. education, thesis work and, if applicable, any other research activities)
• Describe your future goals and future research focus

Other documents:
• Copies of bachelor and/or master’s thesis.
• Attested copies and transcripts of completed education, grades and other certificates, e.g. TOEFL test results.

Please use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form. 

Application deadline: 12-02-2023

For questions, please contact:
Associate Prof. Nikolce Murgovski
E-mail: nikolce.murgovski@chalmers.se
Phone: +46317724800

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