Doctoral Students in Automatic Control

Description of workplace

Automatic Control is an exciting and broad subject, covering both advanced mathematics and
hands-on engineering. Historically, it has been instrumental in many areas, from the early
development of telecommunications to the space race. Today, driven by the need to engineer
ever larger systems, Automatic Control is more relevant than ever.
The department of Automatic control has a stimulating and international environment with
PhD students, postdocs, and teachers coming from all corners of the world. Research and
teaching are conducted in an open and progressive atmosphere with collaborations both
within academia and with industry, nationally as well as internationally. A PhD degree from
the Department of Automatic control gives you the perfect base for an exciting career, be it in
academia or industry.

Lund University and the Department of Automatic Control welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard equality and diversity as astrength and an asset. For more information on research and PhD studies in Automatic Control, please look at our videos:
Research | Department of Automatic Control (lth.se)

Project and subject description

We are hiring two doctoral students for two different projects:
1) “Synthesizing Second-Life Batteries: A Heterogeneous Control Approach” funded by the Swedish government COMPEL - COMPetence for the ELectrification of the transport system.
Background: Batteries are central to supporting the renewable energy transition. However, there is a significant environmental and financial cost associated with the production of new batteries. The potential of repurposing retired batteries from various applications, such as electric vehicles, for use in areas like grid support, presents a unique and sustainable avenue to reduce these impacts and accelerate the use of batteries. This project aims to explore the feasibility of assembling used batteries, no longer fit for their original purpose, to create 'new' batteries that can provide robust grid support. The basic idea is to connect many smaller, retired batteries to create a larger, heterogeneous battery. By exploiting advanced control theoretic techniques developed for interconnected heterogeneous systems, methods will be developed to quantify the capabilities and capacities of this hybrid battery, optimizing them for the new application domain. 

2) "Scalable Optimization for Learning in Control" funded by ELLIIT, a strategic research area for IT and mobile communication.
Background: Large-scale engineering applications put new demands on control theory, as most existing methods for analysis, design and verification do not scale well with increasing complexity. Furthermore, new powerful algorithms for machine learning are increasingly being used for control engineering purposes, further adding to the complexity of analysis and verification. To counteract this, there is a strong demand for scalable algorithms and corresponding information interfaces. Important applications areas are networks for energy, transportation and communications. The purpose of the proposed project is to address the complexity challenges by developing and exploiting new algorithms suitable for distributed implementation.

Work duties

The PhD position consists of three main aspects:
- research project, including trips to conferences, seminars etc.,
- postgraduate courses, locally and internationally given (90 ECTS credits), and
- teaching (no more than 20%), including lab supervision and exam responsibilities.
This part may also include departmental services, such as working with equality and
diversity, arranging events etc.

Admission requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study
programmes if the applicant:
- has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or
- has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at
least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
- has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or
abroad.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for third cycle studies in Automatic
control if the applicant has:
- knowledge corresponding to course FRT010 Automatic Control, Basic Course and a second cycle specialisation of relevance to the subject, or
- an MSc in engineering or corresponding qualification

Additional requirements
- Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
- Good language analytical ability.
- Curiosity about research and teaching in general, and motivation for the particular
research project.
- Creativity with good ability for cooperation and networking.

Assessment criteria

Selection for third-cycle studies is based on the student’s potential to profit from such studies. The assessment of potential is made primarily on the basis of academic results from the first and second cycle. Special attention is paid to the following:
1. Knowledge and skills relevant to the thesis project and the subject of study.
2. An assessment of ability to work independently and to formulate and tackle research
problems.
3. Written and oral communication skills.
4. Other experience relevant to the third-cycle studies, e.g. professional experience.

Other assessment criteria:
Strong foundations in advanced control methods and mathematical modelling and strong foundations in mathematical optimization theory are meriting.

We offer

Lund University is a public authority which means that employees get particular benefits, generous annual leave and an advantageous occupational pension scheme. Read more on the University website about being a Lund University employee Work at Lund University.

Terms of employment

Only those admitted to third cycle studies may be appointed to a doctoral studentship. Third cycle studies at LTH consist of full-time studies for 4 years. A doctoral studentship is a fixed-term employment of a maximum of 5 years (including 20% departmental duties). Doctoral studentships are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), chapter 5, 1-7 §§.
We intend to offer employment to 2 PhD students. A doctoral student will receive a competitive monthly salary of 34 300 SEK with yearly raise.

Those applicants who will be called for interview, might be asked to perform a small test to demonstrate basic competence.

Instructions on how to apply

Applications shall be written in English and include a cover letter stating the reasons why you are interested in the position and in what way the research project corresponds to your interests and educational background. The application must also contain a CV, degree certificate or equivalent, and other documents you wish to be considered (grade transcripts, contact information for your references, letters of recommendation, etc.).

Welcome to apply!