Project description
The Heat is On project  (https://ispt.eu/projects/the-heat-is-on/) is concerned with heat that is needed for energy intensive processes like separation ad drying processes commonly used in the industries like agrofood, paper and specialty chemicals. In these industries 40-80 % of CO2 emissions are related to such energy intensive units. Therefore, this project aims to reduce fossil fuel consumption and increase energy efficiency by designing efficient separation and drying processes, applying commercially available energy saving techniques and smart process optimization and control through digital twins. The Heat Is On project has been developed with industrial partners, SMEs, research institutes and universities, and is coordinated by the Institute for Sustainable Process Technology (ISPT).

Position description
This PhD position focuses on the development and application of data enriched hybrid/surrogate model suitable for online implementation of model based operation support technologies such as model predictive control, real time optimization and scheduling, process monitoring (soft sensing). This will be achieved by combining physics based models with the state of the art data driven modeling or machine learning approaches. In this project, PhD student will extend the state of the art in development and adaptability of hybrid models, validate and evaluate the performance of these models on the case studies provided by the industrial partners. It is expected that the PhD student will collaborate with other researchers within the project and will interact with a number of Dutch SME's, industrial partners in agrofood, paper and specialty chemicals.

Tasks:

• Study the existing literature in hybrid modeling and identifying potential hybrid modeling approaches for the case studies considered.
• Study the informativeness of the available historical process data
• Extending the state of the art in hybrid modeling approaches while taking into account the end use.
• Application of developed hybrid models in one or two model based operation support technologies mentioned above.
• Dissemination of research results to industrial partners via workshops , presentations.
• Dissemination of research results to international peer-reviews journals and conferences
• Teaching assistantship and supervision of Master, internship and bachelor end project students
• Writing a dissertation and defending it.

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, and system identification. Furthermore, many industrial projects are being carried out in the area of automotive, process control, wireless sensor networks, 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://tue.nl/cs/.

• Masters Degree in Systems & Control, Electrical, Mechanical or Chemical Engineering or in any related fields from top universities,
• Having a solid background in modeling , control and applied math.
• Having an affinity or willingness to gain knowledge of process systems
• Proficiency in a programming language  and experience in process modelling platforms (e.g. gPROMS, Mobatech, Modelica) is desirable
• Excellent written and oral communication skills

• A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university with the possibility to present your work at international conferences.
• Interesting cooperation with the high-tech and process industry in- and outside the Netherlands.
• A full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months.
• To develop your teaching skills, you will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks.
• To support you during your PhD and to prepare you for the rest of your career, you will make a Training and Supervision plan and you will have free access to a personal development program for PhD students (PROOF program).
• A gross monthly salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities.
• Additionally, an annual holiday allowance of 8% of the yearly salary, plus a year-end allowance of 8.3% of the annual salary.
• Should you come from abroad and comply with certain conditions, you can make use of the so-called '30% facility', which permits you not to pay tax on 30% of your salary.
• A broad package of fringe benefits, including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, and savings schemes.
• Family-friendly initiatives are in place, such as an international spouse program, and excellent on-campus children day care and sports facilities.