The Control Systems Group at the Electrical Engineering Department in 
Eindhoven University of Technology has a vacancy for a Ph. D. position 
regarding the project “Advanced Autonomous Model-Based Operation of 
Industrial Process Systems (AUTOPROFIT)”.


Project description:

The AUTOPROFIT is an international project funded by the European Union via 
the Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development 
(FP7) involving 4 academic partners (Delft University of Technology (The 
Netherlands), Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands), RWTH 
Aachen (Germany) and KTH Stockholm (Sweden)) and 3 industrial partners (ABB 
(Sweden), Boliden (Sweden) and SASOL (South Africa)). The aim of this 
research is to decrease the cost of industrial implementation and to 
increase the life-time performance of model based operation support systems 
such as Model Predictive Control (MPC), Real Time Optimization (RTO) by 
decreasing the modeling cost and by automating just-in-time maintenance 
based on economic criteria.

  
Position Description:

The main objective of this particular Ph. D position is to develop robustly 
performing techniques for automated tuning of model based control systems 
during start-up or in the case of observed performance degradation. The 
relevant research areas involve the determination of the relationship 
between frequency or time dependent model inaccuracy, closed loop 
performance and tuning of real-time model based control applications such 
as MPC, dynamic RTO and soft sensors 

Group Description:

The research mission of the Control Systems Group is to master complexity 
present in mechatronics, power systems, automotive systems and industrial 
processes. The group focuses on fundamental research in model reduction, 
spatial temporal systems, Lyapunov methods for real-time control and 
distributed systems. Furthermore, many industrial projects are being 
carried out in the area of automotive, process control, wireless sensor 
networks and power systems. The group actively participates in the Dutch 
Institute of Systems and Control (DISC). For more detailed information on 
the activities of the group please check http://w3.ele.tue.nl/en/cs/.

Interested candidates with a background in systems and control, (applied) 
physics, mathematics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, 
chemical engineering or a related field are encouraged to send their  CV + 
application letter to Leyla Ozkan at [log in to unmask] or to Ton Backx at 
[log in to unmask]