The Engineering and Technology Institute (ENTEG) of the Faculty of Science and Engineering offers 1 position of PhD researcher for 4 years (1.0 FTE) within the research group of Optimization and Decision Systems Research Group (ODS), for the most talented and motivated national and international students, starting between February and August 2021. The position is funded by NWO-project "Shared connectivity in Mobility and Logistics Enable Sustainability (SMiLES)".
The PhD researcher will work in the faculty on the following topic.

Topic of research: Shared energy storage for mobility
Electric buses are driving in the city of Groningen, and plans are to extend this network beyond the city. Public transport companies are open to sharing this network with other users, for example, for charging their vehicles or for connecting solar panels. All types of use may create demand or supply peaks in the network. We develop methods for managing the cooperation in such shared electricity network, aligning the interests of various stakeholders. This process is extra complex for various reasons. For example, the driving range of a bus depends on the outside temperature. Also, the charging amount of a bus needs not only suffice to reach the next charging, but the bus also needs to be able to leave the next charging station on time with sufficient charging. All parties in the sharing network act as independent agents with decentralized decision making, yet the network as a whole must also function well.

Successful candidates will have completed a master’s degree (or equivalent) in mathematics or engineering or another field of science relevant for the position. They have good command of English, are enthusiastic and have the ability to work in an interdisciplinary team with both scientific partners and practitioners. They are highly motivated to work in systems and control theory, optimization, operational research, or game theory, possess a familiarity with computing software (MATLAB or similar), possess excellent communication skills and an affinity for writing scientific papers and delivering presentations but also to work with practitioner partners in the field. They have a feeling for aligning the interests of various stakeholders within the project. They also have an interest in doing fundamental research.

Fixed-term contract: 12 months.

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

• a salary depending on qualifications and working experience with a minimum of € 2,395 gross per month up to a maximum of € 3,061 (salary scale P)
• a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income
• an 8.3% year-end bonus
• a position for a period of 4 years at full time; a PhD training programme is part of the agreement and the successful candidate will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Science and Engineering.

The successful candidate will first be offered a temporary position of one year with the option of renewal for another three years. Prolongation of the contract is contingent on sufficient progress in the first year to indicate that a successful completion of the PhD thesis within the next three years is to be expected.

Faculty of Science and Engineering

The University of Groningen has an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative institution of higher education, offering high-quality teaching and research. Balanced study and career paths in a wide variety of disciplines encourage the approximately 33,500 students and 6,000 employees to develop their own individual talents. The University of Groningen is proud to be among the global elite with a classification in the top 100 of the Shanghai ARWU, the THE World University Rankings, the U.S. News ‘Best Global Universities Ranking’, and the NTU Ranking. It marks the 24th place in the global ranking of Best Places to Work in Academia, scoring 3rd best in Europe and 5th non-US university. Joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen is truly an international place of knowledge.

ENTEG (ENgineering and TEchnology Institute Groningen) is a research institute within the Faculty of Science and Engineering. The mission of the institute is to perform excellent technology driven scientific research and teaching in product and production sectors. ENTEG currently houses 20 scientific staff members and 4 part-time honorary professors. Scientific staff is embedded in 8 research units. Each research unit has between 1 and 3 scientific staff members, is headed by a full professor (chair) and some units have additional honorary scientific staff members. The institute wants to be an attractive partner for industry in collaborative (inter)national research programmes, and a high-level training ground for master and PhD students to provide them with an excellent background in engineering science.