Phd Candidate In Learning-Based Health-Aware Operation And Maintenance Planning For Improved Safety

About the position

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

This PhD position is funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Network „PROSAFE“, which aims to train a cohort of 12 doctoral students based at universities and companies throughout Europe in the domain of application of machine learning/AI and process systems engineering to advance foundations of process safety. The candidate will be part of a multinational team and will be given opportunities to participate in professional and personal development training and undertake research within multidisciplinary fields of AI/ML and PSE for safe and efficient process operations.

The objective of this PhD project is to develop a framework for learning-based integrated optimization of long-term operation and maintenance decisions for complex chemical processes where process faults can have very large consequences. Possible examples to consider include green hydrogen production or liquid natural gas handling. In this project, knowledge-based models, such as mass and energy balances, and data-driven online learning of uncertain and unmodeled degradation phenomena by using tools such as Neural networks, will be combined to always ensure safe and economical operation. To make integrated plant operation and maintenance decisions in an optimal way, we will use state estimation techniques to find parameter values of the first principle models, and advanced data-science techniques to determine the current equipment state and build a long-term prognostic model for planning operation and maintenance. A key aspect of this work will be to take into account uncertainty in the model and operating conditions, and to include this systematically in the decision framework.

Your supervisor will be Johannes Jäschke ([email protected])

Duties of the position

• Develop a framework for integrated optimization of long-term operation and maintenance decisions.
• Include an algorithm for learning the current equipment condition as well as learning a model for predicting future degradation.
• Validation of methodology by simulation of case studies (e.g. a LNG facility).
• Prototype software implementation of algorithms for learning-based health-aware operation and maintenance planning
• Participate in the planned mobility program of the doctoral network.
  • 2-3 months at Imperial College (London, United Kingdom).
  • 2-3 months in a partner company (Kairos, Denmark)
• Supervise master students and assist in teaching activities according to the department needs.
• Take part in the mandatory Ph.D. research education program, conduct independent research, publish the result in recognized scientific journals, and present them at international conferences.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in one of the following:
  • Process Systems Engineering
  • Process control,
  • Reliability engineering with knowledge about (chemical) process systems.
• Good scientific programming skills (Julia, Python, etc).
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at the master's level.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program
• Solid oral and written English skills
• 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.

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

Preferred selection criteria

• Knowledge in nonlinear optimization approaches
• Knowledge in statistical learning/machine learning, estimation techniques
• Experience with general process modelling and control
• Experience with methods from RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Safety, Maintenance)
• It is beneficial if the applicant has previous experience in industry.

Personal characteristics

• Curious, friendly and self-motivated
• Goal oriented and structured, used to finish tasks ahead of time.
• Independent and reliable
• Willing to contribute to a nice research group atmosphere.

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 3 years. 

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Chemical Engineering  within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD 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 daily.

Mobility requirement

The applicant must not have resided or carried out her/his main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Norway for more than 12 months in the past 3 years and be willing to spend several months at selected partner institutions.

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
• Cover letter
• 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.
• Name and contact information of three referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work

If all, or parts, of your education has 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. 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.

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 Johannes Jäschke, e-mail: [email protected] . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR-Consultant Unni M. Myhre, 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: 02.02.2024

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 Chemical Engineering 

We take chemistry from laboratory scale to industrial production. This demands a wide range of knowledge, from molecular processes and nanotechnology to building and operation of large processing plants. We educate graduates for some of Norway's most important industries. The Department of Chemical Engineering is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Natural Sciences.  

Deadline 2nd February 2024
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Høgskoleringen 1, 7491 Trondheim