Προκήρυξη:

POSITION 1: AERO UC3M PhD Position Open on Stochastic Optimal Control

Research task

The task will be related to stochastic optimal control applied to trajectory optimization in aerospace engineering.

Arising applications of optimal control in aerospace engineering are vast. e.g., commercial aircraft trajectory planning, UAV mission planning, and space mission planning. The focus will be on commercial aircraft trajectory planning under uncertain meteorological phenomena, e.g., thunderstorms, windshear, etc. The PhD will continue to investigate a research line linked to SESAR H2020 European Project TBO-Met - https://tbomet-h2020.com/- and Spanish National Science Project Opt-Met - https://optmet.wordpress.com/-

Candidate skills and Requirements

The ideal candidate will have:

• A university degree (Master’s level or equivalent) mathematical sciences, atmospheric sciences, or aerospace /aviation engineering
• Skills on control, optimization and algorithmic programming (python preferred)
• Solid skills in both written and spoken English.
• Great dose of imagination, problem solving skills, passion, and eagerness to learn.
• A strong academic record and international experience.

Outstanding students with only a partial match to this list are encouraged to apply. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

To Apply

Email directly to Assistant Prof. Sanjurjo (msanjurj@ing.uc3m.es) and Assistant Prof. Soler (masolera@ing.uc3m.es) with: 1) a CV; 2) a motivation letter indicating your interest in the topic.  Moreover, recommendation letters (or the name and contact info of recommendation person) are welcomed (though not mandatory).

POSITION 2: AERO UC3M PhD Position Open on Data Science and Aviation

Research topic

The PhD topic will be related to data science techniques applied to air traffic management

Arising data science applications in air traffic management are vast. e.g., commercial aircraft trajectory planning, aircraft/engines maintenance, air traffic configuration sector design. The focus will be on the analysis of different adverse weather phenomena and the minimization of its impact in terms of safety, capacity, cost, and environment. In any case the topic is in certain way open.

Requirements and conditions

The ideal candidate will have:

• A university degree (Master’s level or equivalent) mathematical sciences, data science/big data, or transportation/aviation engineering
• Skills on optimization, statistics, and algorithmic programming (python preferred).
• Skills of data science, e.g. knowledge discovery in databases (artificial intelligence, machine learning).
• Solid skills in both written and spoken English.
• Great dose of imagination, problem solving skills, passion, and eagerness to learn.
• A strong academic record and international experience.

To Apply

Email directly to Javier García Heras (gcarrete@ing.uc3m.es) and Manuel Soler (masolera@ing.uc3m.es)with: 1) a CV; 2) a motivation letter indicating your interest in the topic.  Moreover, recommendation letters (or the name and contact info of recommendation person) are welcomed (though not mandatory).

POSITION 3: AERO UC3M PhD Position Open on Orbit Determination

Research task

The task will be related to orbit determination applied to maneuver detection in the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) observation correlation process.

The research task will involve the analysis of heuristic and statistical methodologies to tackle the problem of spacecraft post-maneuver detection. Human activities in space have caused the growth of a large population of space debris, which pose a major threat to human space infrastructures. The increasing relevance of terrestrial applications provided by these space assets has made Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST), a major priority to many countries, which are developing and deploying their own SST systems. Recently, the interest in the automatic detection of manoeuvres has increased due to the growth of the size of the catalogues of objects in orbit to maintain.

Candidate skills and Requirements

The ideal candidate will have:

• A university degree (Master’s level or equivalent) mathematical sciences, or aerospace /space engineering
• Skills on statistics, optimization and algorithmic programming
• Solid skills in both written and spoken English.
• Great dose of imagination, problem solving skills, passion, and eagerness to learn.
• A strong academic record and international experience.

Outstanding students with only a partial match to this list are encouraged to apply. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

To Apply

Email directly to Assistant Prof. Sanjurjo-Rivo (msanjurj@ing.uc3m.es) and Assistant Prof. Soler (masolera@ing.uc3m.es) with: 1) a CV; 2) a motivation letter indicating your interest in the topic.  Moreover, recommendation letters (or the name and contact info of recommendation person) are welcomed (though not mandatory).

Benefits and conditions

The successful candidate will be enrolled in the Department of Bioengineering and Aerospace Engineering (Area of Aerospace Engineering) of the University Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M). In particular, she/he will work within ASAP (dynamics and control of aerospace systems) research group - https://aero.uc3m.es/DynamicsAndControlAerospaceSystems.html-.

The conditions are as follows:

• Salary and duration of the appointment are those determined by UC3M for PhD students (typically 14k to 18k € gross per year and 3-4 years).
• Additional co-funding requested within ESA’s Networking/Partnering Initiative (NPI)

in collaboration with GMV S.A.

• Possible salary complements for the participation in both European and National research projects.
• Additional elements: laptop computer; and Health Insurance Covered by the Spanish health system.
• International secondments in prestigious universities and research centers will be granted. Our PhD students have visited in the past, e.g., ETH Zürich, ENAC, ESA, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
• Opportunity to travel to international conferences (Europe and oversees) and present research activities. Publication in top quality journals.
• Become part of a young, dynamic, highly qualified, collaborative team.
• Flexible working environment and schedule.
• The possibility to develop a unique career outside of mainstream: academia, research centers, international environment, private companies and start-ups.
• An agile working methodology; ASAP recently implemented JIRA/Scrum and all the research is done on a collaborative wiki/Confluence.

Deadline

Call for applications will remain open until an adequate candidate is found. Expected start will be in September. Ideally, we would like to do the selection process no later than May.