OPTEC - K.U.Leuven Center of Excellence: Optimization in Engineering

The candidate aims at a PhD in engineering on the topic: embedded optimization algorithms for nonlinear model predictive control of fast mechatronic and aerospace systems.

The PhD research focuses on the development of efficient optimization algorithms for nonlinear MPC that are also suited to run on embedded hardware. These algorithms need to be tailored to applications with high sampling rates (in the kHz range) and shall be applied to two real-world benchmark problems: a fast pick-and-place robot and an experimental kite carousel (see http://www.kuleuven.be/optec/research/projects/kitepower); both in co-operation with PhD students from K.U.Leuven Mechanical Engineering Department. For both applications, NMPC promises to improve control performance significantly. The optimization algorithms will most likely be based on the well-established real-time iteration scheme and might make use of ideas from sequential convex programming or explicit MPC techniques.

The research is funded by the EMBOCON project (Embedded Optimization for Resource Constrained Platforms, see www.embocon.org), and is well integrated in OPTEC's research structure, in particular in Working Group 1 on Dynamic and Embedded Optimization. It naturally contributes to workpackages 5 (Embedded Optimization for Nonlinear Problems) and 8 (Benchmarking and Industrial Case Studies) of the EMBOCON project. The PhD project can build on the open-source software package ACADO Toolkit for automatic control and dynamic optimization (see www.acadotoolkit.org) and the open-source online QP solver qpOASES (see www.qpOASES.org), both developed OPTEC. Moreover, scientific exchange with the other EMBOCON partners (e.g. from ETH Zurich, Imperial College London or University of Heidelberg) is strongly encouraged.

Requirements and Competencies

-- Master degree in engineering, applied mathematics or applied physics
-- At least basic knowledge in numerical optimization
-- Good to very good programming skills (most preferably in C/C++)
-- Interest in working in an international team to make numerical algorithms work on embedded hardware
-- Good command of the English language in general and good English redaction skills for scientific reporting

The phd grant is for four years. The monthly remuneration is about 1730€ after taxes, social security included.

Division SCD of the K.U.Leuven Electrical Engineering department heads the interdisciplinary Optimization in Engineering Center. It has been founded in 2005 to shift the state-of-the-art in different engineering areas by developing new formulations and efficient algorithms for application-specific optimization problems and has secured funding until at least 2017. The K.U.Leuven, situated in Leuven near Brussels, is one of the oldest universities in Europe and was ranked 8th best European university in the 2007 Leiden ranking. Its rich history and patrimony provides an inspiring research environment, and this is combined with very high standard accommodation.

Leuven is a very agreeable city that is excellently geared to serve almost 30,000 students. The Electrical Engineering building is situated on its close periphery in a peaceful green park near an ancient Castle. For more information, visit http://www.esat.kuleuven.be/.