PhD in Characterization of Fast Elongating Short Commutating Arcs in MVDC Circuit Breakers

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

The Department of Electric Energy  (IEL) at NTNU has a vacancy for a full-time 100% position as a Ph.D. candidate within the field of fast elongating arcs in hybrid medium voltage DC circuit breakers.

The use of fossil fuels and the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere must be minimized as fast as possible to reach a climate-neutral society by 2050. A vital prerequisite of the de-carbonization is the rapid growth of renewables. In 2050 more than 60 % of electrical power is expected to come from wind and solar, both significantly more remote located than traditional thermal power generation. To achieve this, efficient grid-integration of renewables across Europe and globally requires the development of high-power transmission systems and components, and more specifically Medium Voltage DC (MVDC) and High Voltage DC (HVDC) switchgear. In existing grids MVAC and HVAC switchgear are filled with the insulation gas SF6, the world's most potent GHG with a global warming potential (GWP) of 24 300. SF6 emissions due to leakages during gas handling or defective sealings/compartments represent a significant part of the grid owners' total GHG emissions. The MISSION (Emission-free HV and MV Transmission Switchgear for AC and DC) project will contribute to enabling emission-free energy transmission and switchgear technology transition for a resilient and sustainable future electric grid. MISSION project will develop and demonstrate SF6-free products as key levers for climate-neutral power transmission filling critical gaps in future hybrid AC/DC grids

The work of this project will be associated with the project MISSION, which is an EU Horizon project involving NTNU, SINTEF, and several national and international industry partners. The prospective candidate will be part of a project team that works in close collaboration with SINTEF and other project partners. The PhD Candidate will be employed at NTNU, and the workplace will be in Trondheim, in connection with this research project.

The main supervisor will be Professor Kaveh Niayesh (NTNU) and the co-supervisor will be Dr. Nina Støa-Aanensen (SINTEF Energy Research).

Your immediate leader is the Head of Department.

Duties of the position

• Design a relevant test object and extend the available test circuitry to experimentally investigate short arcs relevant to MVDC circuit breakers.
• Experimental characterization and modeling of fast elongating short arcs used to commutate the current from mechanical switches to parallel branches in MVDC circuit breakers.
• Disseminate scientific findings via conference presentations and journal publications.
• Complete academic training consisting of coursework corresponding to a minimum of 30 ECTS.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a master's degree within Electric Power Engineering, Physics, or Electrical Engineering.
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at the master's level.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program .
• Good written and oral English language skills. Applicants from non-English speaking countries outside EU/EEA/Switzerland must provide preliminary documentation of English language proficiency, in terms of an approved test. The following tests can be used: TOEFL, IELTS, and Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE). Minimum scores are:
  • TOEFL: 600 (paper-based test), 92 (Internet-based test)
  • IELTS: 6.5, with no section lower than 5.5 (only Academic IELTS test accepted)
  • CAE/CPE: grade B or A

Further assessment of both written and oral English language skills, and the ability to communicate fluently, will be conducted in the continued selection process and during any interviews for the shortlisted applicants.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Ph.D. candidate, research assistant, and specialist candidate  and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (Ph.D.) and Philosodophiae Doctor (Ph.D.) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as Ph.D., post doctor, and research assistant 

Preferred selection criteria

• Work and/or research experience in high voltage engineering.
• Experience with running and building lab setups could be beneficial.

Personal characteristics

• Inquisitive, self-motivated, and self-driven with a strong ability to work both independently, and in cooperation with others when required.  
• Communicates information with clarity and ease, both orally and in writing. 
• Structured, targeted and solution-oriented. 
• Creativity and innovation in research. 
• Scientific mindset.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is three years, with the possibility of a fourth year.

The option of 4-year employment would imply 1 year of duties as a teaching assistant for the department and may be offered to a candidate with clear motivation and ability for such work if the department sees the need. This will be clarified during and after any interview.

Appointment to a Ph.D. position requires that you are admitted to the Ph.D. programme in Electrical Power Engineering  within three months of employment and that you participate in an organized Ph.D. programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants , and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution at campus Trondheim daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include:

• CV and certificates
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• A draft research proposal (2-3 pages) for the PhD study, where the candidate presents her/his own ideas for the Ph.D. work and how they can be applied, based on the project description given in this advertisement. This proposal will be neither final nor binding for the project.
• Applicants from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to send a diploma supplement or a similar document, which describes in detail the study programme and grading system.
• English language proficiency documentation
• Name and contact information of three references.
• Relevant publications or research work.

Incomplete applications will not be assessed.

If all, or parts, of your education, have been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. A description of the documentation required can be found here . If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality.  

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation . You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Kaveh Niayesh , e-mail: [email protected] , and/or Dr. Nina Sasaki Støa-Aanensen , e-mail: Nina.Stø[email protected] . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR consultant Sven Robert Storø , e-mail: [email protected]

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 19.02.2024

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Electric Energy

The Department of Electric Energy is one of the seven departments at the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. Our department is Norway’s leading in the field, and our vision is to be at the centre of the digital, green shift. We have excellent collaboration with business and industry as well as other universities and research organizations internationally. This gives us outstanding opportunities for interdisciplinary research with high relevance for the society, addressing industrial needs and global challenges.

Deadline 19th February 2024
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Elektrobygget O. S. Bragstads plass 2E, E-blokk 3. etasje, 7034 Trondheim