PhD student position in Electrical Engineering with specialization in Automatic Control - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

PhD student position in the subject Electrical Engineering with specialization in Automatic Control at the Ångström Laboratory, Department of Engineering Sciences, Division of Signals and Systems.

Background: Control systems are ubiquitous in modern societies, supporting critical infrastructures such as power systems, transportation networks, and water distribution networks. Cybersecurity has become an increasingly important aspect of control systems in recent years, driven by the pervasive use of information technologies, as well as by the steadily increasing number of newly discovered vulnerabilities and of reported cyber-attacks, which in turn may result in significant financial and societal costs.

Reports on cyber-attacks, such as Stuxnet, have shown their devastating consequences on digitally controlled systems supporting modern societies. It is therefore of the utmost importance for control systems to be able to early detect and mitigate malicious cyber-attacks, which aim at having a significant impact on the system while remaining undetected. Unfortunately, existing techniques in control engineering such as fault detection and robust control consider impact and detectability separately, and thus fail to accurately tackle malicious cyber-attacks. New more effective methods need therefore to be developed.

This position will have a focus on developing novel security metrics that jointly consider the impact and detectability of attacks, taking inspiration from approaches related to optimal fault detection and optimal robust control. The developed metrics shall support the analysis and design of anomaly detection and control algorithms for improved security and resilience.

The position is at the Signals and Systems Division of the Department of Engineering Sciences. The Signals and Systems Division has a well-established line of research in the research area with multiple on-going projects. Please see http://www.signal.uu.se/Research/Security.html for further information.

Duties/Project description: In this position you will perform research on automatic control. The application area will be focused on digital control systems operated over communication networks that may be subject to cyber-attacks. As a member of a cross-disciplinary team, you will contribute to providing solutions for enhancing the security and resilience of control systems.

Your main responsibility will be to pursue your own doctoral studies. The employment is time limited following the regulations for Ph.D. employment in the Higher Education Ordinance. The position is limited to 5 years with 80% PhD studies and 20% department service, which also includes teaching.

Admission requirements: A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if he or she:

• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

Requirements: We are seeking candidates with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, or equivalent, with basic skills in signals and systems and automatic control. Skills in cyber-security, fault detection or robust control is desirable, but not a must. The successful applicant is expected to have a strong collaborative spirit and good communication skills in oral and written English.

Application:  Please use the link below. The application must include the following:

• CV, including your relevant academic, professional, and other experience and knowledge.
• Copy of the degree certificate(s) and transcripts of grades from your previously attended university-level institutions, with translations in English whenever the document is not written in Swedish or English
• Cover letter describing yourself, your research interests and your experience relevant to this position (maximum 2 pages)  
• Publications or technical reports (if applicable): Up to two documents, no longer than eight pages each. You can also submit a report you have written in connection with your education. For longer documents such as, e.g., a Master thesis, please provide a summary (abstract) and a web link to the full text.
• Contact information for at least two referees.

Rules governing Ph.D. candidates are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance Chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala university's rules and guidelines http://regler.uu.se/search/?hits=30&languageId=1&search-language_en=English

Uppsala University strives to be an inclusive workplace that promotes equal opportunities and attracts qualified candidates who can contribute to the University’s excellence and diversity. We welcome applications from all sections of the community and from people of all backgrounds.

Salary: According to local agreement for PhD students and teaching assistants.
 
Starting date:  2019-03-01 or according to agreement.

Type of position: Full time position.

For further information about the position please contact Associate Senior Lecturer André Teixeira, e-mail: andre.teixeira@angstrom.uu.se, phone +46-18- 471 7003 or Professor Anders Ahlén, e-mail: anders.ahlen@angstrom.uu.se, phone +46-18-471 3076.

Please submit your application by 31 February 2019, UFV-PA 2018/4659.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.