Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) has a vacancy in the “Intelligent Systems” research group for a talented

PhD student,

on the subject of Agent Systems, Agent-based Markets, and Smart Energy Grids.

Job description

Energy systems are currently in a revolutionary transition, due to the increasing inclusion of sustainable energy sources. Whereas in the past, energy supply was determined by demand, in the future, demand will need to follow supply. Changing prices is a means to this end, via markets in which bids for demand and/or supply determine the market price for a specific period of time. Such markets, however, have their drawbacks. An important drawback is that current centralised markets are not designed to deal with local electricity network failures, which may disrupt the energy system substantially. This influences the stability and predictability of both the energy system itself and the going market prices for energy. Therefore, there is a need for decentralised, stabilising, and scalable approaches to balance energy supply and demand and to deal with electricity network failures.

The aims of the project are to develop fundamental and applicable techniques and solutions in the areas of multi-agent systems, agent-based markets, and adaptive agent clustering for future sustainable energy systems. Clusters are designed to coordinate local load balancing for varying periods of time among consumers and producers, possibly for substantially longer periods than considered in markets or possibly based on a changing network structure. Clusters are dynamic and can adapt to changing situations, e.g., by (re)negotiating dynamic tariffs with their members and others to elicit beneficial prosumption patterns. The project deals with designing and combining novel market and clustering techniques, focusing on improving reliability or power quality for electricity networks in which network failures occur more frequently and have to be taken care of. The project goes especially along with the Indian network situation.

The project is in cooperation with TU Delft and IIT (Indian Institutes of Technology) at Kanpur and Dehli. The project consists of fundamental research with an eye on applications and is carried out together with the partners.
Requirements:

PhD candidates are required to have a master degree in computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematics, or in comparable areas. Candidates that are expected to finish their M.Sc. thesis in the near future can also apply. Candidates should have a clear interest in fundamental research, should be creative and solid in their research, should have (potential) interest in multi-agent systems and in the application area of electricity networks, and should be able to cooperate with experts from different disciplines.

It is essential that you have good academic writing and presentation skills. Candidates are expected to have an excellent command of English.

Terms and conditions:

The terms of employment are in accordance with the Dutch Collective Labour Agreement for Research Centres ("CAO-onderzoeksinstellingen"). The gross monthly salary, for a PhD student on a full time basis, is €2,121 during the first year and increases to €2,718 over the four year period. Employees are also entitled to a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.33%. CWI offers attractive working conditions, including flexible scheduling and help with housing for expat employees.

Please visit our website for more information about our terms of employment:

www.cwi.nl/terms-of-employment

Application & Information:

Applications can be sent before 16 March 2015 to apply@cwi.nl. All applications should include a motivation letter, a detailed CV, and a list of grades and courses.

For residents outside the EER-area, a Toefl English language test might be required.

For more information about the vacancies, please contact

Prof.dr. ir. Han La Poutré

Tel. +31 (0)20 592 4082

Email: han.la.poutre@cwi.nl

For more information about CWI, please visit www.cwi.nl or watch our video  “A Fundamental Difference” about working at CWI.

About Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica

Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) is the Dutch national research institute for mathematics and computer science and linked to the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The mission of CWI is to conduct pioneering research in mathematics and computer science, generating new knowledge in these fields and conveying it to trade, industry, and society at large.

CWI is located at Science Park Amsterdam. It is an internationally oriented institute, with 150 scientists from approximately 25 countries. The facilities are first-rate and include excellent IT support, career planning, training, and courses.

Research group

For more information about the “Intelligent Systems” research group, please visit: https://www.cwi.nl/research-groups/Intelligent-Systems.