PhD within intelligent Energy Data Management...

The PhD student will join a high-profile group of researchers working on parallel and distributed data processing, the Chalmers' Distributed Computing and Systems (DCS) group. The position offers an opportunity to work within a national Competence Centre with close collaboration with industry (cf. Major responsibilities). The research focuses on designing, analyzing, and applying cutting-edge methods for key problems in parallel, distributed, and streaming data processing and analysis, with applications on interdisciplinary problems. The software systems that support collaboration and data analytics operate under stringent constraints for response times, throughput, scalability, and availability. By focusing on scalable, parallel, and distributed stream processing, we target the design, implementation, and testing of data handling frameworks that can support future smart energy grids.

Information about the department and the research group
The Department of Computer Science and Engineering is a joint department at the Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, with activities on two campuses in the city of Gothenburg. The department has around 270 employees from over 30 countries. Our research has a wide span, from theoretical foundations to applied systems development. We provide high-quality education at Bachelor's, Master's, and graduate levels, offering over 120 courses each year. We also have extensive national and international collaborations with academia, industry, and society.

The Distributed Computing and Systems (DCS) research group has been acknowledged as one of the internationally leading research groups in practical multi-core synchronization and programming as well as stream data processing, and big data applications (with several international awards, open-source systems, and results incorporated in common environments such as Java, C++, Delphi, Intel, Nvidia), with strong expertise also in multidisciplinary research that spills to areas that include energy, production, transportation, and cyber-security. The group has an extensive network of academic and industrial collaborators, and it has been supported for more than 25 years by the major EU and Swedish research funding organizations.

Major responsibilities
The research will focus on distributed/streaming big data handling and processing and decision-making processes for intelligent energy management. The core of the research will be centered on 2 interconnected pillars for making energy management more “intelligent”, namely (1) sensing and sharing of data, and (2) processing of data to extract value and insights. The goal is to shape the data processing infrastructure that can serve existing and future smart grid infrastructures, e.g., advanced metering infrastructures, with a focus on energy balancing and storage in the context of multi-actor systems including households, SMEs, and charging stations for electrified transportation in public transport.

The PhD student will be supervised by Vincenzo Gulisano, Romaric Duvignau, and Marina Papatriantafilou and join the TANDEM project (financed within the framework of the Swedish Electricity Storage and Balancing Centre) in close collaboration with Göteborg Energi (local grid company and energy provider). The project focuses on advancing state-of-the-art through:
• Smart stream data preparation to automate the selection of important data for further analysis and scalable data validation and monitoring,
• Data analysis for storage and charging units in transportation (digital twin for control),
• Models to increase electrification and spread of renewables (e.g., tariffs to lower peak loads),
• Techniques for better prognosis at multiple levels in the system hierarchy, from meters to electrical vehicles and 3rd-party apps.

As a PhD student, you are expected to develop your scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing. 

Qualifications
To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a solid background in Computer Science and Engineering or in a related discipline, corresponding to a master's level degree of at least 240 higher education credits by the starting date (a master degree in Electrical Engineering with strong data/ML experience is also a possible fit for the position). You have genuine interest and curiosity in the subject matter, you are highly motivated, self-propelled, energetic, independent and with a well-developed analytical problem-solving ability. As a person, you are empathetic, loyal and have high ethical standards. Your communication skills in English (literal as well as oral) are of a high quality. If Swedish is not your native language, Chalmers offers Swedish courses. Both Swedish and English are used in undergraduate courses.

The ideal candidates for the positions have a strong background in distributed/parallel/stream computing and systems, including both algorithmic aspects and programming. Scientific excellence and successful synergies are very important. Further experience with interdisciplinary projects or background in cyber-physical systems, data analysis is helpful.

Contract terms
Full-time temporary employment. PhD student positions are limited to five years and normally include 20% departmental work, mostly teaching duties.

Read more about the application procedure here

Application deadline: 15th September, 2022

For questions, please contact:
Vincenzo Gulisano, vincenzo.gulisano@chalmers.se, +46317726147
Romaric Duvignau, duvignau@chalmers.se, +46317726976
Marina Papatriantafilou, ptrianta@chalmers.se, +46317725413

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