E-2340 PHD STUDENT IN DATA DRIVEN APPROACHES FOR REAL TIME…

The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) is a Research and Technology Organization (RTO) active in the fields of materials, environment and IT. By transforming scientific knowledge into technologies, smart data and tools, LIST empowers citizens in their choices, public authorities in their decisions and businesses in their strategies.

https://www.list.lu/

The Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN) department, made up of 200 life science, environmental science and information technology researchers and engineers, provides the interdisciplinary knowledge, expertise and technologies to lead solutions including the major environmental challenges facing society, such as climate change mitigation, ecosystem resilience, sustainable energy systems, efficient use of renewable resources, and environmental pollution prevention and control.

As a PhD student, you will join the recently established Intelligent and Clean Energy Systems (ICES) research unit and will in particular be involved in its hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation laboratory. The ICES research unit aims to develop ground-breaking market-oriented solutions in the ways in which energy is generated, distributed and consumed, meeting the challenge of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions, ensuring energy security, planning feasible business models and socially outreach advances.

Essential to the ICES unit is the smart grid vision, namely, an electricity network in which information flows freely between consumers and suppliers, and demand adapts in real-time in response to the continuously changing supply from intermittent renewable sources. The ICES unit however extends this vision toward a wider energy portfolio, integrating other energy infrastructures together to electricity, and providing further abstraction and intelligence levels in the conception of solutions for both planning and operating the energy systems of the future. Moreover, in addition to generate impacting solutions addressing society and market needs, this research unit will conduct fundamental research aiming ground-breaking disclosers to remove barriers and introduce revolutionary concepts for planning, developing and operating the Intelligent Clean Energy Systems of the future.   

The unprecedented energy transition driven by the need to achieve carbon neutrality is changing the energy industry landscape, especially with the large-scale penetration of renewable energy and distributed energy resources (e.g., electric vehicles, battery storage) at local distribution level. There is a pressing need to make decisions in situ and moving to real-time (RT) according to the instantaneous operating conditions of the distributed girds. Operational planning will evolve towards optimal control of complex systems in RT, which cannot be addressed by existing approaches. The challenge is twofold:

For this PhD studentship, you will work in the frame of LEAP project (funded by National Research Fund of Luxembourg), which proposes an intelligent data-driven solution for optimizing and coordinating energy assets in future distributed grids at multiple spatiotemporal scales, i.e., new forms of Artificial Intelligence (AI) based operation and analysis tools that can leverage the RT big datasets associate with these systems. LEAP will integrate into National Wide Digital Twin (NWDT) project at LIST and provide a set of cloud-edge based tools for enabling optimizing and coordinating the operation of distribution grids with DERs in RT under generic operating conditions.

Furthermore, you will address the research question: What autonomous tools based on AI, utilizing the power of big energy datasets, should be developed to effectively enable the RT operation of future distribution grids with DERs? Accordingly, the main objective is to identify an intelligent data-centric solution for optimizing and coordinating energy assets in future distribution grids at multiple spatiotemporal scales. The researcher will work closely with other researchers and industry partner in the project.

You hold a master’s degree in Computer Science, particularly Artificial Intelligence or Electrical Engineering.

Additionally, you have:

• Good programming skills (Python, Tensorflow, Pytorch or JAX),
• Experience in developing projects with deep reinforcement learning, which will be considered as an asset,
• An easy ability to work and thrive in a collaborative environment, alongside with an excellent team mentality.

On top of that, you also have a great command in English (both written and spoken).

An organization with a passion for impact and strong RDI partnerships in Luxembourg and Europe that works on responsible and independent research projects;

Sustainable by design, empowering our belief that we play an essential role in paving the way to a green society;

Innovative infrastructures and exceptional labs occupying more than 5,000 square metres, including innovations such as our Viswall, high-scale incubators and top of the range 3D/4D printings that are part of our toolkit for excelling in all we do;

Multicultural and international work environment with more than 45 nationalities represented in our workforce; 

Diverse and inclusive work environment empowering our people to fulfil their personal and professional ambitions;

Gender-friendly environment with multiple actions to attract, develop and retain women in science;

32 days’ paid annual leave, 11 public holidays, flexible working hours, 13-month salary, statutory health insurance and access to lunch vouchers;

Personalized learning programme to foster our staff’s soft and technical skills;

An environment encouraging curiosity, innovation and entrepreneurship in all areas.

https://www.list.lu/en/jobs/

Your application must include:

• A motivation letter oriented towards the position and detailing your experience;
• A scientific CV with contact details;
• List of publications (and patents, if applicable);
• Contact details of 2 references.



• LIST is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to hiring and retaining diverse personnel. We value all applicants and will consider all competent candidates for employment without regard to national origin, race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, religion, age or disability;
• Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled;
• An assessment committee will review the applications and select candidates based on guidelines that aim to ensure equal opportunities; 
• The main criteria for selection will be the correspondence of the existing skills and expertise of the applicant with the requirements mentioned above.

To be considered for this position it is crucial that you have knowledge of the following languages

English Read C1 Write C1 Speak C1

Master

0 or more years.