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PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 1
PhD POSTITIONS AVAILABLE AT
KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
DURING 2014/15
FOR CHINESE SCHOLARSHIP COUNCIL (CSC)
APPLICANTS
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 2
Table of contents
Acoustics ........................................................................................................................................... 7
Analytical chemistry .......................................................................................................................... 9
Antennas, Communication, Design, Limits ..................................................................................... 11
Antennas, Communication, Design, Limits ..................................................................................... 13
Antennas, Communication, Design, Limits ..................................................................................... 15
Astroparticle physics ....................................................................................................................... 17
Biomaterials .................................................................................................................................... 19
Biomedical Engineering, Electronic Engineering ............................................................................. 21
Biomedical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Mobile Healthcare ............................................. 22
Biomedical Engineering, Electronic Systems, Information and Communication Technology ......... 24
Biotechnology ................................................................................................................................. 25
Biotechnology ................................................................................................................................. 27
Boiling Heat Transfer ....................................................................................................................... 29
Chemical Ecology ............................................................................................................................ 30
Chemical Ecology ............................................................................................................................ 32
Chemical Engineering ...................................................................................................................... 34
Chemical Engineering ...................................................................................................................... 36
Chemical Engineering ...................................................................................................................... 37
Chemical Engineering ...................................................................................................................... 38
Chemical Engineering ...................................................................................................................... 40
Chemical Nanotechnology .............................................................................................................. 42
Chemical Physics ............................................................................................................................. 43
Chemistry ........................................................................................................................................ 45
Chemistry ........................................................................................................................................ 47
Chemistry ........................................................................................................................................ 49
Chemistry ........................................................................................................................................ 51
Chemistry ........................................................................................................................................ 53
Chemistry ........................................................................................................................................ 55
Chemistry ........................................................................................................................................ 56
Chemistry ........................................................................................................................................ 57
Chemistry and Biology .................................................................................................................... 58
Chemistry and Biology .................................................................................................................... 59
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 3
Chemistry and Biology .................................................................................................................... 61
Chemistry and Biology .................................................................................................................... 62
Chemistry and Biology .................................................................................................................... 64
Chemistry, catalysis, solar fuels ....................................................................................................... 66
Chemistry, solar fuels ...................................................................................................................... 67
Chemistry, sustainable energy, solar energy ................................................................................... 68
Communication Theory ................................................................................................................... 69
Communication Theory ................................................................................................................... 70
Communication Theory ................................................................................................................... 71
Communication Theory ................................................................................................................... 72
Communication Theory ................................................................................................................... 73
Computational biochemistry ........................................................................................................... 74
Computational Materialdesign ....................................................................................................... 75
Computational Materialdesign ....................................................................................................... 77
Computational Materialdesign ....................................................................................................... 79
Computational Materialdesign ....................................................................................................... 81
Computational modelling of traffic system ..................................................................................... 83
Computational Photochemistry ...................................................................................................... 85
Computer Science ........................................................................................................................... 86
Computer Science ........................................................................................................................... 88
Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology ............................................... 90
Condensed matter theory ............................................................................................................... 91
Cyber‐physical system (CPS) ............................................................................................................ 92
Dam safety and Hydraulics .............................................................................................................. 94
Density functional theory ............................................................................................................... 96
Electrical Engineering ...................................................................................................................... 98
Electrical Engineering .................................................................................................................... 100
Electrical Engineering .................................................................................................................... 102
Electrical Enginnering .................................................................................................................... 104
Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering ......... 106
Electromagnetic Engineering ........................................................................................................ 108
Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering .............................................. 109
Electromagnetic Engineering ........................................................................................................ 111
Electronic Systems, Information and Communication Technology ............................................... 113
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 4
Emission control technologies ...................................................................................................... 115
Energy Research ............................................................................................................................ 117
Energy Research ............................................................................................................................ 120
Energy Technology / Advanced Energy conversion Technology .................................................... 121
Energy Technology / Advanced Fuel cell technology .................................................................... 123
Energy Technology / Heat pump technology ................................................................................ 125
Engineering education .................................................................................................................. 126
Hydraulic Engineering ................................................................................................................... 127
Evolutionary genetics and genomics ............................................................................................. 129
Evolutionary genetics and genomics ............................................................................................. 131
Fibre and Polymer Technology ...................................................................................................... 133
Fluid Mechanics ............................................................................................................................ 134
Fluid Mechanics ............................................................................................................................ 136
Fusion Plasma Physics ................................................................................................................... 137
Fusion plasma physics ................................................................................................................... 139
Gaming and Participatory Simulation ........................................................................................... 141
Geoinformatics .............................................................................................................................. 143
High Voltage Engineering .............................................................................................................. 144
Dam safety and Hydraulics ............................................................................................................ 146
Hydromechanics & numerical modelling ...................................................................................... 148
Hydromechanics & numerical modelling ...................................................................................... 150
Information and communication Technolgy ................................................................................. 152
Information security, software engineering .................................................................................. 154
Machine Design ............................................................................................................................. 156
Machine Design ............................................................................................................................. 158
Machine Design, haptic devices .................................................................................................... 160
Magnetic nanoparticles for high frequency applications .............................................................. 162
Material physics ............................................................................................................................ 165
Material acoustics ......................................................................................................................... 167
Material Physics ............................................................................................................................ 169
Material physics‐inkjet printing functional materials. .................................................................. 171
Material physics ............................................................................................................................ 173
Material physics ............................................................................................................................ 175
Materials science .......................................................................................................................... 177
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 5
Materials Science .......................................................................................................................... 178
Materials Science .......................................................................................................................... 180
Materials Science .......................................................................................................................... 181
Materials Science .......................................................................................................................... 183
Materials science / Physical Metallurgy ........................................................................................ 185
Mechatronics ................................................................................................................................ 187
Micro and nanosystems ................................................................................................................ 189
Municipal organic Solid waste Management ................................................................................ 190
Municipal organic Solid waste Management ................................................................................ 192
Nanobiotechnology ....................................................................................................................... 194
Nanophotonics .............................................................................................................................. 196
Nanophotonics .............................................................................................................................. 198
Nanotechnology ............................................................................................................................ 200
Nanotechnology ............................................................................................................................ 202
Networked systems security (incl. privacy) ................................................................................... 204
Nuclear Power Safety .................................................................................................................... 206
Nuclear Power Safety .................................................................................................................... 207
Optical Networking ....................................................................................................................... 208
Optical Networking ....................................................................................................................... 210
Optics and Photonics .................................................................................................................... 212
Optimization and Systems Theory ................................................................................................ 214
Photonics, Optics, Optoelectronics ............................................................................................... 216
Physics ........................................................................................................................................... 218
Physics ........................................................................................................................................... 220
Physics ........................................................................................................................................... 222
Software Engineering .................................................................................................................... 223
Software engineering applied to Mechatronics ............................................................................ 225
Soil mechanics ............................................................................................................................... 227
Soil mechanics ............................................................................................................................... 229
Spectral CT .................................................................................................................................... 231
Steel and alloy production ............................................................................................................ 233
Sustainable development, environmental science and technology .............................................. 235
Technical Acoustics ........................................................................................................................ 237
Theoretical Chemistry ................................................................................................................... 239
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 6
Theoretical Materials Science ....................................................................................................... 240
Theoretical nuclear physics ........................................................................................................... 242
Thermal Energy Conversion and Emissions ................................................................................... 244
Traffic Controls and Intelligent Transportation Systems ............................................................... 246
Transport Science .......................................................................................................................... 248
Transport Science .......................................................................................................................... 250
Transport System Analysis ............................................................................................................. 252
Travel behavior and transport systems ......................................................................................... 254
Tribology and Chemistry ............................................................................................................... 256
Water Conserving Technologies .................................................................................................... 258
Wireless Networking ..................................................................................................................... 260
Wireless Sensor Networking ......................................................................................................... 262
Wood Chemistry ‐ Biorefinery ....................................................................................................... 264
Wood Chemistry ‐ Cellulose chemistry ......................................................................................... 265
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 7
Acoustics
Detailed subject area
Structure‐borne sound
Title of project
Field‐incidence sound transmission loss of an anisotropic panel at around the critical frequencies
Short description of project
The prediction of the sound transmission loss of an anisotropic panel has almost always a big
error at around the critical frequency. This error is due to the inappropriate calculation procedure.
For an anisotropic panel there are two or more incident waves reaching the coincidence at the
same frequency, with different incidence angles and trace wavelengths on wall. The co‐existence
of the vibrations caused by those waves changes the sound transmission properties and makes
none of the waves really reaches coincidence. The traditional calculation procedure cannot take
into account of this effect.
Influence of small disturbance on the transmission coefficient around the critical frequency area
is the key point of the project. The investigation will start from two incident waves and then
extended to more complicated situations. General theoretical approaches, based on calculus of
variations, will be used later to develop the principle to treat the problem. After that an
expression or an estimation of the “limiting value” of the panel impedance under field‐incidence
is expected to be obtained. With the help of this parameter, it will be possible to get satisfactory
estimation of the field‐incidence transmission loss of an anisotropic panel without change the
currently used procedure too much. A special summation technique of the transmission
coefficients will also be developed for more complicated structures when both sides of the panel
are not vibrating in phase.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Leping Feng
Name of supervisor (if other)
Leping Feng
Email address to contact person
fengl@kth.se
KTH School
SCI
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 8
KTH department
Department of Aeronautical and Vehicle Enginnering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 9
Analyticalchemistry
Detailed subject area
Miniaturized bioanalysis including microfluidics, separation science and mass spectrometry
Title of project
Micro scale analysis of bio‐related samples
Short description of project
Recently the use of miniaturized systems including microfluidics has been introduced for use in
bioanalysis. This is very well motivated since many biological samples are available only in
extremely small volumes. Using microfluidics, microliter or even nanoliter volumes of liquids can
be manipulated and analyzed. Furthermore, using micromanufacturing the geometric size and
shape of microchannels, microvessels and other utilities can be freely chosen. Thus, the system
can be adapted to suit direct analysis of a variety of samples originating from human material or
living organisms in the flora and fauna. The sample constituents can range from a few molecules
via single cells to whole organisms.
Downscaling of bioanalytical processes has several advantages. These include fast and efficient
mass transport and mass exchange due to the short distances involved. This in turn can
accelerate and improve biological and chemical reactions as well as analytical separations.
Otherwise lengthy procedures can be accomplished in minutes or even seconds in miniaturized
devices. The infinitesimal volume scale also decreases the problems associated with the use of
scarce, expensive or hazardous chemicals or solvents. This taken together offers possibilities for
development of novel systems, techniques and methods.
The proposed project includes developments of new strategies, principles and instrumentation
for separation and detection of biological molecules utilizing micro systems. Within these systems
several units with different functions could be included. Miniaturized sample preconcentration,
separation using chromatography or electromigration, and detection/identification by MS or
MSMS are examples of such operations.
With this in hand, different applications that have earlier not been possible to address will be
investigated. This can for example include analysis of biogenic or bioactive substances in very low
concentrations in complex matrices. The biomolecules of interest can be, but are not limited to,
proteins, peptides, amino acids and carbohydrates, while the sample source can be human,
animal, plant or environmental. Examples of situations where sensitive and/or selective analysis
are called upon are studies of proteins and peptides involved in outbreak of different diseases or
other processes in the body, and biomolecules involved in communication, defense or evolution
in different animals, organisms or plants. The influence of biogenic substances on environmental
systems could also be investigated in more detail using new routes if powerful techniques for this
would be available.
Project website if available
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 10
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Åsa Emmer
Name of supervisor (if other)
Åsa Emmer
Email address to contact person
aae@kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 11
Antennas,Communication,Design,Limits
Detailed subject area
As more and more devices get online, often wire‐less, we expect an increase in information flow.
We also demand faster download to hand‐held devices, and more availability. The set of world‐
wide available communication frequencies are unfortunately not harmonized between countries.
The demand on data‐transfer through the electromagnetic communication spectrum requires a
full usage of the available channels. Mobile broad‐band has a number of large challenges through
the entire engineering chain starting from the end‐user device. The present project is focused
around base‐stations and their antenna elements. The goal is to understand and design antenna
elements for MIMO, SDMA, wideband and multi‐band base‐station. A raising issue is also to
develop fundamental limitations on antennas. There is a large set of highly interesting and
challenging research problems in this area.
Title of project
Sophisticated base‐stations
Short description of project
Sophisticated base stations for wire‐less communication are one of the hot research areas in
antenna development. It is one of the fronts were it is expected that a large potential exist to
improve wireless communication. The idea of higher bit‐rates and more customers makes it
attractive to study antenna behavior in connection with communication situations. This includes
ideas like advanced beam forming, multiple bands, active feeding. The current project is first
about antenna design and array tiling. Knowledge of element choices, array grids and antenna
optimization/design is an advantage. We expect the student to build and measure the proposed
design. Studies on trade‐off of key antenna parameters are another interesting issue.
Project website if available
http://www.etk.ee.kth.se/personal/ljonsson/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Lars Jonsson
Name of supervisor (if other)
Lars Jonsson
Email address to contact person
lars.jonsson@ee.kth.se
KTH School
EES
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 12
KTH department
School of electrical engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 13
Antennas,Communication,Design,Limits
Detailed subject area
As more and more items get online, often wire‐less, we expect an increase in information flow.
We also demand faster download to hand‐held devices, and more availability. The set of world‐
wide available communication frequencies are unfortunately not harmonized between countries.
The demand on data‐transfer through the electromagnetic communication spectrum requires a
full usage of the available channels. Mobile broad‐band has a number of large challenges through
the entire engineering chain starting from the end‐user device. The present project is focused
around base‐stations and their antenna elements. The goal is to understand and design antenna
elements for MIMO, SDMA, wideband and multi‐band base‐station. A raising issue is also to
develop fundamental limitations on antennas. There is a large set of highly interesting and
challenging research problems in this area.
Title of project
Base‐station, efficiency over wide‐band
Short description of project
Space Division Multiple Access is a technique that has been developed over the last 10 years but
has not yet been applied commercially to its full potential. For the next generation base station
applications it is expected that it will play a significant role since it is a key factor in allocating
network resources in the same cell by subdividing the cell. Furthermore, it is desired to include
several of the commercially available bands communication bands in the same hardware. One of
the current challenges is the low frequency end of a wide‐band antenna, where efficiency is
expected to drop. This project will be focus on developing techniques for increasing the lower
end of the band efficiency. Building and measureing the proposed designs are essential.
Project website if available
http://www.etk.ee.kth.se/personal/ljonsson/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Lars Jonsson
Name of supervisor (if other)
Lars Jonsson
Email address to contact person
lars.jonsson@ee.kth.se
KTH School
EES
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 14
KTH department
Electromagnetic Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 15
Antennas,Communication,Design,Limits
Detailed subject area
As more and more items get online, often wire‐less, we expect an increase in information flow.
We also demand faster download to hand‐held devices, and more availability. The set of world‐
wide available communication frequencies are unfortunately not harmonized between countries.
The demand on data‐transfer through the electromagnetic communication spectrum requires a
full usage of the available channels. Mobile broad‐band has a number of large challenges through
the entire engineering chain starting from the end‐user device. The present project is focused
around base‐stations and their antenna elements. The goal is to understand and design antenna
elements for MIMO, SDMA, wideband and multi‐band base‐station. A raising issue is also to
develop fundamental limitations on antennas. There is a large set of highly interesting and
challenging research problems in this area.
Title of project
Automatic Antenna design
Short description of project
Antenna limitation and automatic antenna design is a new field in antenna design. The first
research work has recently appeared. This PhD‐project has as a purpose to apply and develop
techniques towards the goal of automatic, optimal, antenna design. It is a challenging project,
where new tools recently have appeared. This is an opportunity to be one of the first Electrical
engineers to define and test these methods. We expect to realize antennas and test how close
they are to an optimum, with respect to highly interesting design parameters. A mathematically
and/or physics skilled student is desired, apart from knowledge in electromagnetics.
Project website if available
http://www.etk.ee.kth.se/personal/ljonsson/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Lars Jonsson
Name of supervisor (if other)
Lars Jonsson
Email address to contact person
lars.jonsson@ee.kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 16
Electromagnetic Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 17
Astroparticlephysics
Detailed subject area
Astroparticle physics / astrophysics. Development of advanced X‐ray detection systems.
Title of project
X‐ray polarimetry for astrophysics
Short description of project
The astroparticle physics group within the Department of Physics at KTH conducts research on
some of the highest energy processes known in the Universe. We design and build instruments
which are flown on earth‐orbiting satellites and stratospheric balloons in order to observe cosmic
rays, X‐rays and gamma‐rays. Recent missions include studies of cosmic antiparticles with the
PAMELA experiment and studies of cosmic gamma‐rays and gamma‐ray bursts using the Fermi
gamma‐ray space telescope.
A relatively new focus for the group is the development of instruments which are able to
measure the polarisation of X‐rays emitted by astrophysical sources such as pulsars, black hole
systems and gamma‐ray bursts. While X‐ray astronomy is a well established field, polarimetry
studies are in their infancy and new instruments stand to open a brand new observational
window on the Universe.
This PhD position will be concerned with the development of X‐ray polarimeters for astrophysics
through the use of computer simulations and laboratory tests of prototype systems. Participation
in the existing PoGOLite project is also foreseen. PoGOLite is a balloon‐borne hard X‐ray
polarimeter which is flown to an altitude of 40 km with a 1 million cubic metre helium‐filled
balloon from the Esrange Space Centre in the North of Sweden.
Project website if available
www.particle.kth.se
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Mark Pearce
Name of supervisor (if other)
Mark Pearce
Email address to contact person
pearce@kth.se
KTH School
SCI
KTH department
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 18
Physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 19
Biomaterials
Detailed subject area
Polymer technology
Title of project
Design 3D scaffolds to adapt cell‐ material interactions
Short description of project
Current models in clinical regenerative medicine utilize simple uniform tissue constructs with
cells cultured onto biocompatible scaffolds. Investigations have already shown the importance of
cocultures with different cell types to induce desired effects such as normal cell differentiation
and proliferation. Consequently, as the development of regenerative therapies progresses,
investigators will need scaffolds that allow the design and fabrication of more complex tissues.
Future regenerative therapies will require the fabrication of complex three‐ dimensional
scaffolds containing several growth factors, multiple cell types, extracellular matrices and
combinations thereof i.e. systems that permit complex organization of these biological materials
into either homogeneous or heterogeneous layers.
We have demonstrated that, by using designed polymers, it is possible to vary and optimize the
interface between 3D polymer scaffolds and mesenchymal stem cells to create improved
conditions for tissue engineering. Our scaffolds are today evaluated further in an ongoing large‐
scale integrating project funded through the COOPERATION programme of FP7 of the European
Union (www.vascubone.eu). Hence there is a need to further improve and understand these
interactions and subsequently create personalized implants for tissue engineering.
The aim of this project is to find novel approaches to design and functionalize porous 3D scaffolds,
scaffolds that both attract specific cell populations and guide their growth and differentiation.
Polymer scaffolds will be fabricated by 3D printing and the cell‐ material interactions evaluated
in detail. The work will be based on a strong link between polymer design and biological
performance and the researcher will work closely with many members of a multidisciplinary
project team. We have today a close collaboration with for example Karolinska Institutet and
University of Bergen.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Anna Finne Wistrand
Name of supervisor (if other)
Anna Finne Wistrand
Email address to contact person
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 20
annaf@kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Fibre and Polymer Technology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 21
BiomedicalEngineering,ElectronicEngineering
Detailed subject area
A combination of Biomedical Engineering and Electronic Engineering, by leveraging the
advantages of both sides novel wearable bio‐devices, intelligent sensors, and low‐power
biomedical microsystems will be developed.
Title of project
Wearable Sensors Technologies & Systems for Personalized Health Monitoring
Short description of project
Wearable biomedical sensors and systems is a enabling technology of broad spectrum with
numerous different fields of application with a huge potential to support the development of
new services and products.
Several different sensorized garments can be develop like vests, t‐shirts, arm‐straps, sleeves
enabling applications for patient monitoring at the hospital and at home, tools for healthy
lifestyle and personal training, as well as novel e‐health monitoring tools assessing on therapy
compliance and therapy outcome.
The goal of this project is to investigate and develop a garment‐like wearable sensing system,
which seamlessly integrates electronic system and sensor into textile. The technologies and skills
involved include: electronic system, embedded system, wireless sensors, sensor technology, and
hybrid integration technology.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Asso. Prof. Fernando Seoane Prof. Lirong Zheng
Name of supervisor (if other)
Asso. Prof. Fernando Seoane Prof. Lirong Zheng
Email address to contact person
fsm@kth.se
KTH School
STH
KTH department
MSSS/STH ES/ICT
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 22
BiomedicalEngineering,ElectronicEngineering,Mobile
Healthcare
Detailed subject area
Technology and Health is an interdisciplinary area covering the technologies across the borders of
engineering and medicine in a broad sense. we are working on the recording of physiological
signals of various kinds, such as ECG, EEG, blood pressure, etc. From these signals medical,
clinically relevant information are extracted and in different forms are returned to the medical
staff and / or patient. The purpose may be to make a diagnosis, to monitor the course of a
disease or to predict the rate of new cases of a disease.
Title of project
Mobile healthcare (mHealth) for patients monitoring
Short description of project
Mobile healthcare (mHealth) is an expending area where body close/wearable devices are
developed towards intelligent M2M, cloud connected and with lower power consumption. We
intend to develop solutions for new sensor devices, new wearable sensor systems, new therapy
areas and integrate health monitoring into the Internet of Things. New technologies that we can
introduce in system solutions are integration of mobile communication capacity into our devices,
improvement of electrodes used to capture the diagnosis data from the body, increasing
recording time via improvement of batteries and reduction of power consumption in our devices,
development of algorithms and analysis for m‐healtchcare, p‐healthcare applications.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Kaj Lindecrantz Prof. Lirong Zheng
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Kaj Lindecrantz Prof. Lirong Zheng
Email address to contact person
kaj.lindecrantz@sth.kth.se
KTH School
STH
KTH department
MSSS/STH ES/ICT
Type of available position
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 23
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 24
BiomedicalEngineering,ElectronicSystems,Informationand
CommunicationTechnology
Detailed subject area
Biomedical circuits, devices and micro‐systems are multidisciplinary in nature, covering the
knowledge relating to the emerging field of microelectronics and nanotechnology in biological
and medical applications. Advanced medical devices and instruments are key elements and
irreplaceable in the future medical treatments and healthcare.
Title of project
Biomedical circuits, devices and micro‐systems
Short description of project
A desirable candidate is supposed to carry on innovative research works, including but not
limited to: Biosensor devices and interface Wearable or Implantable electronics Innovative
circuits and technologies for next generation medical applications Integration and interconnects
technologies for biosensors and micro‐systems. We also wish the candidate can drive new and
original research initiatives and define new projects in collaboration with universities, research
institutes and industrial partners.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Asso. Prof. Fernando Seoane Prof. Lirong Zheng
Name of supervisor (if other)
Asso. Prof. Fernando Seoane Prof. Lirong Zheng
Email address to contact person
fsm@kth.se
KTH School
STH
KTH department
MSSS/STH ES/ICT
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 25
Biotechnology
Detailed subject area
Biotechnology concerns the use of cells or parts of cells (such as enzymes) to create commodities
for society. The School of Biotechnology at KTH ‐ Royal Institute of Technology, has a world‐wide
reputation in biotechnological research, mainly concerning technology driven research in the life
science area. Detailed information about the research conducted at the school can be found at:
http://www.biotech.kth.se
Title of project
Affibody molecules for medical applications
Short description of project
Affibody molecules are folded and small (58 amino acids) affinity protein domains, which can be
generated to interact specifically with desired antigens with high affinity. During recent years we
have developed radiolabeled affibody molecules for cancer diagnostics where we, in
collaboration with other groups, have been able to design proteins that can be used to visualize
cancer tumors with excellent resolution and contrast. We aim to take this project to the next level,
where we will:
1. Develop novel affibody molecules to be used for diagnosis of other diseases, including for
example cardiovascular disease.
2. Conjugate affibody molecules with potent toxins to be used to treat disease, including cancer.
The student will work with engineering and design of proteins for such medical applications.
More specifically the student will learn phage‐display based selection from combinatorial
libraries, rational design of proteins, protein production and purification, protein analysis using a
number of state‐of‐the‐art techniques. In collaboration with other groups in Sweden and
internationally as well as small biotech companies, studies of the function of the designed
proteins in animals will be conducted.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Assoc. prof. Torbjorn Graslund
Name of supervisor (if other)
Assoc. prof. Torbjorn Graslund
Email address to contact person
torbjorn@kth.se
KTH School
BIO
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 26
KTH department
Dept. of Protein Technology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 27
Biotechnology
Detailed subject area
Theoretical Chemistry and Biology
Title of project
Modelling design of radioligands for use in positron emission tomography of the brain
Short description of project
Modelling design of radioligands for use in positron emission tomography of the brain
Medical imaging in the field of Alzheimers disease (AD) has rapidly developed during the past few
years. Various radioligands have been developed since the early 2000s and are used worldwide
today in the assessment of amyloid plaques in the living human brain. The clinical experiences
with amyloid imaging using such radioligands are that it detects AD pathogenesis early in the
course of disease and helps distinguishing AD from other types of dementia, e.g. Lewy body
dementia and frontotemporal dementia. Recent studies suggest though that cerebral amyloid
aggregates may not continue to accumulate during Alzheimers disease progress, thus senile‐
plaque‐selective probes such as Pitsburg compound (PIB) and Thiflavine T (ThT) may not be
suitable for further development as radiotracers for AD. As such, innovative diagnostic
approaches for AD have to rely on the visualization of early pre‐tangles of tau, which is a more
accurate way to assess disease progression of AD. To date, several compounds based on
quinoline, benzimidazole, benzothiazole, and similar molecular architectures have been proposed
as candidate probes for in vivo imaging of tau pathology, where 11C, 18F, and 125I were
introduced as radionuclides. In particular, theoretical modelling has suggested that astemizole
exhibits very high binding affinity to the pronase resistant domain of tau 386TDHGAE391, the
structure of which has been crystallized and inmuno‐isolated from AD‐PHFs preparations. Based
on these findings, we aim to explore and select innovative probes that serve as promising PET
ligands targeting tau protein. A few prototypes are shown below.We use here most modern
modelling technology of binding free energies to select and optimize binding strength and
position of the probes at the Tau protein. This is will be combined with modelling of EPR and
optical signal response of the probes (see below). The expected outcome is the verification of
new PET ligands with considerably improved perfomance for PET imaging compared to those
currently available and with large diagnostic and market value.
Project website if available
www.theochem.kth.se
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Hans Ågren
Name of supervisor (if other)
Hans Ågren
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 28
Email address to contact person
agren@theochem.kth.se
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Theoretical Chemistry and Biology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 29
BoilingHeatTransfer
Detailed subject area
Two‐phase flow and heat transfer
Title of project
Experimental and analytical study on high‐heat‐flux boiling and burnout
Short description of project
The project is concerned with understanding and prediction of the critical heat flux (CHF) in
boiling heat transfer, which is an important parameter in safety analysis of nuclear power plants.
The project will employ the MICBO facility (previously developed at KTH) to investigate micro‐
hydrodynamics of flow boiling at high heat flux near CHF, and perform modeling and simulation
of the boiling phenomenon in a liquid film over a heater surface. The simulation of bubble and
liquid film dynamics will help interpret the experimental findings and translate the data into more
generic results. The model‐based analysis is also useful to test how different factors affect liquid
film stability and occurrence of CHF. The ultimate goal of the research is to develop high‐fidelity
models and simulation codes which can predict the CHF under all operational conditions and
transients of nuclear reactors.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Weimin Ma
Name of supervisor (if other)
Weimin Ma
Email address to contact person
weimin@kth.se
KTH School
SCI
KTH department
Physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 30
ChemicalEcology
Detailed subject area
Chemical ecology is an active interdisciplinary subject concerned with ecological interactions
mediated by the chemicals that living organisms produce. These substances, known as
allelochemicals, play multiple roles in interspecific and intraspecific interactions of living
organisms. Therefore, the identification, biosynthesis, temporal occurrence and ecological
function determination are of main interests. State of the art chemical methods and equipments
such as gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography (LC), capillary electrophoresis (CE),
mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) are widely used to isolate,
identify and quantify the constituents produced by living organisms.
Title of project
Chemical resistant markers in coniferous trees
Short description of project
Forest products deliver half of the net national income in Sweden. However, the main tree
species, conifers, are often threatened by pest insects and pathogens such as root rot fungi and
bark beetles. As long lived tree species, conifers have various chemicals in their bark and
sapwood, which function as nutrition or play a vital role in tree defences against pest insects and
pathogens. It is theoretically important and practically valuable to isolate and identify these
substances.
Identifying and managing genetic variation in ways that increase tree resistance to multiple pests
would be an important way to reduce forest damage. In Sweden, great efforts have been made to
identify the genetic resistance of Norway spruce to rot root fungi. The susceptibilities of the
major Norway spruce genotypes to root rot fungi are largely clear. However, the resistances of
these genotypes to bark beetles are still unknown. Interdisciplinary researches combining
chemistry, molecular biology and insect ecology are needed to know if Norway spruce uses
similar defence pathway against root rot fungi and bark beetles and to find out the resistance
related chemical and molecular markers.
The PhD project will focus on the chemical aspects of resistance markers including analyses of
amino acids, sugars, phenolics and terpenoids by 2DGC‐MS, LC‐MS, CE and NMR. The successful
applicant will be involved in a network comprising analytical and organic chemists, entomologists,
forest ecologists and biochemists. The cutting edge techniques and the extensive cooperation in
the interdisciplinary researches will provide good opportunity for him/her to improve the
professional and cooperative skills. This project thus is highly suitable for PhD student.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Anna‐Karin Borg‐Karlson, Prof. Åsa Emmer
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 31
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Anna‐Karin Borg‐Karlson, Prof. Åsa Emmer, Dr. Tao Zhao
Email address to contact person
taozhao@kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 32
ChemicalEcology
Detailed subject area
Chemical ecology is an active interdisciplinary subject concerned with ecological interactions
mediated by the chemicals that living organisms produce. These substances, known as
allelochemicals, play multiple roles in interspecific and intraspecific interactions of living
organisms. Therefore, the identification, biosynthesis, temporal occurrence and ecological
function determination are of main interests. State of the art chemical methods and equipments
such as gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography (LC), capillary electrophoresis (CE),
mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) are widely used to isolate,
identify and quantify the constituents produced by living organisms.
Title of project
Chemical resistant markers in coniferous trees
Short description of project
Forest products deliver half of the net national income in Sweden. However, the main tree
species, conifers, are often threatened by pest insects and pathogens such as root rot fungi and
bark beetles. As long lived tree species, conifers have various chemicals in their bark and
sapwood, which function as nutrition or play a vital role in tree defences against pest insects and
pathogens. It is theoretically important and practically valuable to isolate and identify these
substances.
Identifying and managing genetic variation in ways that increase tree resistance to multiple pests
would be an important way to reduce forest damage. In Sweden, great efforts have been made to
identify the genetic resistance of Norway spruce to rot root fungi. The susceptibilities of the
major Norway spruce genotypes to root rot fungi are largely clear. However, the resistances of
these genotypes to bark beetles are still unknown. Interdisciplinary researches combining
chemistry, molecular biology and insect ecology are needed to know if Norway spruce uses
similar defence pathway against root rot fungi and bark beetles and to find out the resistance
related chemical and molecular markers.
The PhD project will focus on the chemical aspects of resistance markers including analyses of
amino acids, sugars, phenolics and terpenoids by 2DGC‐MS, LC‐MS, CE and NMR. The successful
applicant will be involved in a network comprising analytical and organic chemists, entomologists,
forest ecologists and biochemists. The cutting edge techniques and the extensive cooperation in
the interdisciplinary researches will provide good opportunity for him/her to improve the
professional and cooperative skills. This project thus is highly suitable for PhD student.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Anna‐Karin Borg‐Karlson, Prof. Åsa Emmer
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 33
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Anna‐Karin Borg‐Karlson, Prof. Åsa Emmer, Dr. Tao Zhao
Email address to contact person
taozhao@kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 34
ChemicalEngineering
Detailed subject area
Thermal conversion of biomass is one of the promising technologies for supplying renewable
energy. Almost all available studies of thermo‐conversion of biomass routinely focus on the
process and /or on macro and micro reactors. The studied scale is still quite large. It will be
attractive to understand the conversion micro‐mechanics at the molecular level in order to
develop new concepts and technologies, solutions and products derived from biomass as well as
for enhancing selectivity and, conversely, for reducing formation of undesirable products
Title of project
Micro‐reaction mechanisms: Investigation of high temperature steam gasification of biomass
using Density Functional Theory
Short description of project
In this project, the micro‐reaction mechanisms, at the molecular level, of lignocellulosic biomass
gasification, including pyrolysis and char reactions, will be investigated using ultra‐high
temperature steam. Analysis will be performed using density functional theory (DFT). Expected
results include an optimized super‐molecular structure of biomass, thermal decomposition
temperature (pyrolysis and gasification), kinetics of steam gasification of biomass, micro‐reaction
mechanisms of steam gasification
We are looking for one student with a university master degree in Chemical Engineering, Physics
Engineering, or Materials Engineering. . Knowledge of Gaussian commercial code is merit for this
position
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
weihong yang
Name of supervisor (if other)
weihong yang
Email address to contact person
weihong@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Material Science Engineering
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 35
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 36
ChemicalEngineering
Detailed subject area
Fixed bed gasification is one of typical gasification technologies, and it is used widely upto 10 MW
thermal. Large‐scale development and optimization of gasification process and reactor require
mathematical modeling, which is a powerful tool for process design, prediction of the gasifier
performance, and understanding of evaluation of pollutants analysis of the process transients.
Numerous models have been proposed for the fixed bed gasification.
Title of project
CFD for Fixed Bed biomass Gasification with ash chemistry
Short description of project
In this project, a 3‐D CFD‐Computational Fluidized Dynamic modelling includes kinetics and
transportation, and considering multiphase approach, with exchange terms for the momentum,
mass, and energy together with ash chemistry , will be further developed.
We are looking for a candidate, who has a mater degree in chemical engineering, or mechanical
engineering, or engineering physics. The successful candidate shall also have experience on CFD
(Fluent), and/or gasification of biomass and waste.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
weihong yang
Name of supervisor (if other)
weihong yang
Email address to contact person
weihong@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Material Science and Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 37
ChemicalEngineering
Detailed subject area
Separations and Transport Phenomena
Title of project
Crystallisation of pharmaceutical compounds
Short description of project
Crystallization is widely used for separation and purification of inorganic and organic materials,
and is of critical importance in the manufacturing of many pharmaceutical compounds. New
active pharmaceutical compounds in the development pipe line are becoming more and more
hydrophobic and less soluble. Usually the molecules have conformational flexibility and a
multitude of hydrophobic and hydrophilic functional groups. In general, this tends to make them
more difficult to crystallize, and sometimes they cannot be crystallized at all. Unfortunately, at a
fundamental level there is insufficient understanding of the effects of molecular flexibility and
the influence of a variety of different functional groups on the crystallization properties. This
project will investigate nucleation, crystal growth and crystal polymorphism of compounds having
molecular flexibility and functional group complexity. The work will aim to increase the
understanding for how temperature and choice of solvent can be used to control the outcome of
the crystallization, and to explain why certain compounds do not crystallize at all.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/transport_phenomena/research
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Åke C Rasmuson
Name of supervisor (if other)
Åke C Rasmuson
Email address to contact person
rasmuson@ket.kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Chemical Engineering and Technology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 38
ChemicalEngineering
Detailed subject area
Separations and transport phenomena
Title of project
Novel hydrometallurgical methods for rare earth metals
Short description of project
The group of rare earth metals includes scandium, yttrium and all 15 lanthanides, e.g. lanthanum,
cerium, neodymium and erbium. They are often found together in nature at low concentrations
in various minerals. Due to their chemical similarity they are difficult to separate from each other.
Rare earth metals provide unique spectroscopic and magnetic properties, and are needed for a
wide variety of products, such as catalysts, hybrid vehicles, rechargeable batteries, mobile
phones, plasma televisions, disk drives and catalytic converters. The industrial demand for rare
earth metals is increasing. The purpose of the project is to develop novel hydrometallurgical
processes for the separation and the purification of rare earth metals. The PhD project will be
performed within a recently started Swedish cooperation project between the Departments of
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Technology, KTH, and IVL, the Swedish Environmental
Research Institute. Three techniques will be investigated: precipitation, selective chromatography
and liquid membrane extraction. Each subproject will involve aspects of inorganic chemistry,
chemical engineering science and applied process development.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/transport_phenomena/research
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Åke C Rasmuson
Name of supervisor (if other)
Åke C Rasmuson
Email address to contact person
rasmuson@ket.kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Chemical Engineering and Technology
Type of available position
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 39
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 40
ChemicalEngineering
Detailed subject area
Separations and transport phenomena
Title of project
Crystallization of metal‐organic framework (MOF) materials
Short description of project
Metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) constitute a relatively new type of material, with an inherently
porous structure which makes these materials extremely useful in many applications, such as gas
adsorption, catalysis, separation and purification. The versatility of this class of materials, which
can be crystallized from a large number of combinations of organic ligands and metal‐containing
nodes, gives them the potential to surpass zeolites as the dominant porous solid material in the
global economy in the near future. However, there is currently insufficient understanding of the
mechanisms of self‐assembly, nucleation and growth of metal‐organic frameworks, and of the
influence of principal factors governing polymorph selection. This project will investigate
thermodynamic and kinetic aspects on crystallization of metal‐organic framework materials
exhibiting crystal polymorphism. Specifically, the process of crystallization of self‐assembled
MOFs will be investigated in the lab scale, employing solid‐state characterization techniques such
as single‐crystal and powder XRD, TGA, DSC, FTIR and hot‐stage microscopy. The aim is to
increase understanding for how experimental parameters affect the outcome of crystallization.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/transport_phenomena/research
Name of responsible professor/researcher
prof Åke C Rasmuson
Name of supervisor (if other)
dr Michael Svärd
Email address to contact person
rasmuson@ket.kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Chemical Engineering and Technology
Type of available position
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 41
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 42
ChemicalNanotechnology
Detailed subject area
Nanotechnology Organic chemistry Materials science Supramolecular chemistry Glycoscience
Nanomedicine
Title of project
Anti‐Pathogenic Glyconanomaterials
Short description of project
The glycosciences constitute a rapidly evolving field where the structure, synthesis and function
of complex carbohydrate structures are studied. Carbohydrate recognition plays a central role in
many biological processes, and a multitude of proteins are involved in carbohydrate‐mediated
processes associated with for example cell communication/proliferation and infections of
pathogenic bacteria and viruses.
This project involves the design, fabrication/synthesis and development of specific
glyconanomaterials for further application in medicine. In particular, anti‐bacterial and anti‐viral
materials will be developed, where glycans will be used as targeting entities for specific
pathogens. Other cell surface determinants may in addition be targeted. The developed
glyconanomaterials will subsequently be probed as anti‐pathogenic agents for theranostic
applications.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/orgkem/research/ramstrom
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Olof Ramstrom
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Olof Ramstrom
Email address to contact person
ramstrom@kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 43
ChemicalPhysics
Detailed subject area
Surface physics and surface chemistry. Molecular bonding to oxided and metals. Optical and
electronic properties of organic thin films.
Title of project
The surface science of the Grätzel cell
Short description of project
The principle of the dye sensitized nanostructured solar cell (DSSC) invented by Grätzel and co‐
workers is based on natural photo‐synthesis. A transparent electrode of doped tin oxide or
conducting glass is covered by nano structured TiO2 sensitized with a dye. Incoming light photo‐
excites the dye and an electron is injected in the conduction band of TiO2. The photo‐oxidized
dye is regenerated by an electrolyte, until now often containing redox couples, which couples to
a metal counter electrode.
The aim of the work is to develop, together with collaborators, a better understanding and
hopefully better dye‐sensitized nanostructured solar cells.
A set of questions can be identified:
1) How does the dye bind to the oxide surface and what is the relation between molecular
structure, bond geometry, optical properties and charge injection?
2) How much dye is adsorbed? What is the relation between surface concentration and optical
properties and charge injection? Which role does the preparation method play?
3) How is the dye influenced by light? Why is the life time so short?
4) How does the concentration of active components and additives in the electrolyte affect the
efficiency?
5) How does the electrolyte interact with the metal electrode? How does structure and
composition at the metal influence the surface chemistry, and desorption/release of I‐ into the
electrolyte?
We typically use single crystal substrates and ultra‐high vacuum (UHV) conditions. Our analysis
tools are scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X‐ray based
electron spectroscopy (at MAXLAB in Lund) as well theoretical tools.
We intend to bring these atomic level studies into liquid environment, to visualize the growth and
structure of the dye layer on TiO2 in the solution, to study the interaction between the metal
electrode and the electrolyte, on single crystal surfaces in liquid environment.
The graduate student will use STM and AFM and synchrotron radiation based spectroscopy in
UHV. The student will set‐up a combined AFM/STM for atomic resolution studies of single crystal
surfaces in liquids.
Project website if available
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 44
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof Mats Göthelid
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof Mats Göthelid
Email address to contact person
gothelid@kth.se
KTH School
ICT
KTH department
Materials and Nano Physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 45
Chemistry
Detailed subject area
Chemical Physics, Nano‐Photonics
Title of project
Plasmonic assisted light harvesting of molecules
Short description of project
How the light interacts with molecules on different surface is a fundamental important question
that also has profound implications on a variety of applications, such as the solar cell and the
nano photonic devices. Such an interaction is complicated by two extra factors that make it more
difficult to describe than for the free molecules. One is the surface‐ molecule interactions that
involve in chemical bonding, charge transfer, dipolar interaction etc. Another is the generation of
plasmon on metallic surfaces. The formal can be well treated by advanced first principles
methods, whereas the latter is still a largely unexplored field. In recent years, we have made
some progresses in understanding the basic features of plasmons. Special attentions have been
paid to investigate the interaction between the molecule and the plasmons. We have
demonstrated that the plasmons inside a nano‐ cavity can behave like a strong coherent
electromagnetic field and it can excite molecules to tune the color of emitting light, to generate
hot‐ luminescence and even upconversion. A general theoretical model based on density matrix
formula has been developed to describe these new findings. Our works have been published in
prestigious international journals, such as Nature, Nature Photonics, Physical Review Letters and
Angewandte Chemie. We have also proposed new experimental techniques with high spatial
resolutions to utilize local detection of molecules. In this project, we intend to provide more
generalized formulation that is capable of describing molecular fluorescence, eletro‐ luminance
the equal footings, and Raman scattering under plasmonic excitations on the equal footings. We
will improve the performance of our own computer programs to make it possible to calculate
very large systems. We will examine the possibility of enhancing light harvesting through
plasmonic excitations. With our wide international cooperation, this project will lead to excellent
training and outstanding new scientific results.
Project website if available
www.theochem.kth.se/people/luo
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Yi Luo
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Yi Luo
Email address to contact person
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 46
luo@kth.se
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Department of Biotechnology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 47
Chemistry
Detailed subject area
Catalysis
Water Splitting
Computational Chemistry
Transition metals
Title of project
Solar Fuels ‐ Mechanisms of Water Splitting Catalysts
Short description of project
Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen is one of the most efficient ways of storing energy. If
the reaction could be driven by sun light it would provide an energy source that could be used at
any time and place. In a joint effort with experimental groups at KTH and Dalian University of
Technology we are studying the reaction mechanisms of water oxidation catalysts. Understanding
of the reaction mechanisms allow for rational development of new and improved catalysts.
Recently we predicted how modifications of the ligands of a ruthenium system would increase
the stability, which was confirmed by experiments leading to one of the best systems available for
water oxidation. [PNAS, 2012, 109, 15578].
In hydrogen production we are studying biomimetic complexes that can catalyze the reversible
formation of H2 from protons and electrons. [J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2013, DOI: 10.1021/ja408376t]
Despite the recent success there is still much more development needed for these catalytic
systems to provide an economically viable alternative to fossil fuels. Fundamental understanding
of the reaction mechanisms is therefore crucial. We are using state of the art density functional
theory methods to understand the properties and reactivity of intermediates of the reactions.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Mårten Ahlquist
Name of supervisor (if other)
Mårten Ahlquist
Email address to contact person
mahlquist@theochem.kth.se
KTH School
BIO
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 48
KTH department
Theoretical Chemistry & Biology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 49
Chemistry
Detailed subject area
Chemical Physics/Physical Chemistry Molecular electronics
Title of project
Dynamics and Statistics of Electron Transport in Single Molecules
Short description of project
Physical properties and chemical activities of many molecular and biological systems are
controlled by electron transport processes. A good understanding of various electron transport
phenomena holds the key to the success of a variety of applications, such as biosensors, solar
energy, molecular and bioelectronics. The study of electron transport in single molecules is also
driven by the ever‐ growing demand for miniaturization of electronic components. Single
molecular electronic devices could be the ultimate solution for future information technology
since molecules are the smallest stable quantum species. Great progress have been achieved
over the past decade in making various functional devices with electron tunneling, rectification,
negative differential resistance (NDR), and switching behavior. However, the underlying
mechanisms of these processes are not always well understood due to lack of detailed
information about the molecular conformations and moleculemetal contacts in the molecular
junctions. Over the years, we have developed an effective computational method that allows to
systematically study the elastic and inelastic electron transport in single molecules. With accurate
description of inelastic electron tunneling spectra (IETS), we could unambiguously identify the
conformation of a single molecule inside a metal junction or on the metal surface. By exploring
the energy landscape of the molecules, we could reveal the underlying mechanism for chemical
reaction induced molecular switching behavior. With the help of molecular dynamics and Monte
Carlo simulations, the statistics of molecular conductance can be theoretically reproduced. Our
work has led to several publications in prestigious journals, such as Nature Communications,
PNAS, PRL, JACS and Nano Letters. In this project, we intend to improve our computational
methods and programs, to study the pressure and temperature induced changes of molecular
conductance, to simulate electrochemical gate‐ controlled molecular devices, and to model
molecular switching processes. With our wide international cooperation, this project will lead to
excellent training and outstanding new scientific results.
Project website if available
www.theochem.kth.se/people/luo
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Yi Luo
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Yi Luo
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 50
Email address to contact person
luo@kth.se
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Department of Theoretical Chemistry and Biology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 51
Chemistry
Detailed subject area
Organic chemistry Dynamic Chemistry Supramolecular chemistry Medicinal chemistry
Title of project
Dynamic Drug Discovery and Delivery
Short description of project
Dynamic chemistry based on reversible processes can be employed to generate complex
molecular systems of structural or functional diversity, amenable to adaptive change in response
to an applied constraint or selection pressure. Such processes are for example ubiquitous and
essential in biological systems, serving as inspiration sources for biomimetic design of synthetic
receptors and ligands. In chemistry, dynamics can be used to generate adaptive and responsive
systems, applicable to a wide variety of functions ‐ for example catalysis, molecular switches and
motors, responsive materials, dynamic recognition, and dynamic drug design.
The present project involves the development of new dynamic systems for specific applications in
drug design. This includes synthesis and characterization of discrete molecular entities,
generation of dynamic molecular systems, and mechanistic studies of reaction dynamics. The
products will subsequently be subjected to target‐oriented, target‐directed and/or target‐
accelerated synthesis/assembly, where pharmacologically important enzymes and receptors will
be targeted. Upon identification of lead structures, kinetically stable analogs will subsequently be
developed and evaluated.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/orgkem/research/ramstrom
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Olof Ramstrom
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Olof Ramstrom
Email address to contact person
ramstrom@kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Chemistry
Type of available position
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 52
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 53
Chemistry
Detailed subject area
Catalysis
Water Splitting
Computational Chemistry
Transition metals
Title of project
Solar Fuels ‐ Mechanisms of Water Splitting Catalysts
Short description of project
Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen is one of the most efficient ways of storing energy. If
the reaction could be driven by sun light it would provide an energy source that could be used at
any time and place. In a joint effort with experimental groups at KTH and Dalian University of
Technology we are studying the reaction mechanisms of water oxidation catalysts. Understanding
of the reaction mechanisms allow for rational development of new and improved catalysts.
Recently we predicted how modifications of the ligands of a ruthenium system would increase
the stability, which was confirmed by experiments leading to one of the best systems available for
water oxidation. [PNAS, 2012, 109, 15578].
In hydrogen production we are studying biomimetic complexes that can catalyze the reversible
formation of H2 from protons and electrons. [J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2013, DOI: 10.1021/ja408376t]
Despite the recent success there is still much more development needed for these catalytic
systems to provide an economically viable alternative to fossil fuels. Fundamental understanding
of the reaction mechanisms is therefore crucial. We are using state of the art density functional
theory methods to understand the properties and reactivity of intermediates of the reactions.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Mårten Ahlquist
Name of supervisor (if other)
Mårten Ahlquist
Email address to contact person
mahlquist@theochem.kth.se
KTH School
BIO
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 54
KTH department
Theoretical Chemistry & Biology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 55
Chemistry
Detailed subject area
Organic Chemistry
Title of project
Asymmetric Catalysis and Efficient Natural Product Synthesis for Sustainable Development.
Short description of project
A profound challenge for chemists is to meet the demands in our everyday life without
risking our environment and deplete our natural recourses. As a respond to this challenge,
the key concept in our research proposal is to develop novel, material, cost and time efficient
synthetic strategies to complex molecules and natural products. To obtain high efficiency we
develop synthetic strategies based on one‐pot multiple reactions and cascade/tandem
reactions. In these reactions formation of several carbon‐carbon/carbon‐heteroatom bonds
occur regio‐ and stereoselective in one continuous sequence without isolation of
intermediates, which means that highly complex organic frameworks can be rapidly
constructed from simple starting material. This strategy incorporates at least four of the
twelve principles of green chemistry and benefits from high efficiency, product diversity and
operational simplicity.
Project website if avaliable
‐
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Johan Franzén
Name of supervisor(if other)
‐
E‐mail address to contact person
jfranze@kth.se
KTH school
CHE
KTH department
Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 56
Chemistry
Detailed subject area
Organic chemistry asymmetric catalysis dynamic kinetic resolutions nucleophilic catalysis
Title of project
Development of non‐enzymatic dynamic kinetic resolutions of racemic alcohols and amines
Short description of project
Chiral compounds play an important role in the chemistry of life and chirality is found in e.g.
the amino acids of proteins and enzymes and in most of the natural products found in
nature. Due to the need for new chiral compounds for the preparation of pharmaceuticals,
agricultural chemicals, and materials for electronics and optics, the development of
synthetic methods of enantiomerically pure molecules is an important area of
contemporary synthetic organic chemistry. Organocatalyzed kinetic resolutions (KR) of
racemic substrates to afford enantiopure compounds in high enantioselectivity and good
yield have gained popularity within the synthetic community over the last two decades.
The goal of the project involves the design, synthesis and development new organic
catalysts for the kinetic resolution of racemic alcohols and amines via acylation. The long‐
term goal is to develop non‐enzymatic dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) of racemic alcohols
and amines by the combination of small organic nucleophilic catalysts together with
catalysts for racemization.
Project website if avaliable
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Name of supervisor(if other)
Associate Prof. Peter Dinér
E‐mail address to contact person
diner@kth.se
KTH school
CHE
KTH department
Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 57
Chemistry
Detailed subject area
Photoswitchable kinase inhibitors
Title of project
Development of photoswitchable kinase inhibitors as tools in biology
Short description of project
Protein kinases have a crucial role in most, if not all, signaling pathways and regulate diverse
cellular functions, such as cell‐cycle progression, apoptosis, metabolism, differentiation, cell
morphology and migration, and secretion of cellular proteins.
The aim of this project is to design kinase inhibitors that can be turned on and off by the
irradiation of light, and, thereby also turn on and off the signaling dependent on an
activated kinase. The designed inhibitors will be based on the principle that some molecules
can exists in two different isomers and the two isomers that can interconvert between each
other by the application of light at a specific wavelength. The two different isomers are
designed to have different binding affinity to the ATP binding site, i.e. one of isomers is an
efficient inhibitor and the other isomer is an inhibitor with weak binding. The long‐term goal
is to develop molecular tools for signal transduction research.
Project website if avaliable
http://www.kth.se/che/divisions/orgkem/research/diner/projects‐1.417465
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Name of supervisor(if other)
Associate Prof. Peter Dinér
E‐mail address to contact person
diner@kth.se
KTH school
CHE
KTH department
Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 58
ChemistryandBiology
Detailed subject area
Theoretical Chemistry and Biology
Title of project
Modeling of protein structures
Short description of project
The protein is one of the most important bio‐macromolecules in bio‐science. Protein structures
are essential in structure‐based drug design and biological studies. Despite the rapid increase of
experimentally determined protein structures, the vast majority of the known protein sequences
will, in the foreseeable future, lack experimental structures. In recent years, thanks to the
development of theoretical methods and computer science, prediction of protein structures
through theoretical modelling has become an increasingly important complementary tool to
experiment measurements. This project is to predict protein structures to be useful for structure‐
based drug design, through applying and developing various modeling approaches, such as
homology modeling, loop refinement, and atomistic molecular dynamics simulation techniques.
Project website if available
http://www.theochem.kth.se/people/tu/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Yaoquan Tu
Name of supervisor (if other)
Yaoquan Tu
Email address to contact person
tu@theochem.kth.se
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Theoretical Chemistry and Biology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 59
ChemistryandBiology
Detailed subject area
Glycoscience / Theoretical Chemistry and Biology
Title of project
Computer‐aided drug development for the control of diseases provoked by fish and plant
pathogens from the oomycete family
Short description of project
Although the oomycete family comprises some of the most devastating fish and plant microbial
pathogens and causes considerable economic loss in the aquaculture and agriculture industries
as well as environmental damage, there is still no option available for controlling these pathogens.
Carbohydrate synthases are vital for oomycete cell wall growth and represent potential targets
for anti‐oomycete drugs. Recently, the genes encoding some key carbohydrate synthases have
been isolated in several oomycete species in our laboratory. It has been demonstrated that these
enzymatic activities can be specifically inhibited by some specific drugs. However, these inhibitors
show a rather low effect and their molecular mechanisms are poorly understood.
In order to develop effective inhibitors to be used as anti‐oomycete drugs, there is a great need
for the key information on the mode of interaction of these inhibitors with the target enzymes at
the molecular level, which is very difficult to obtain from experiment to date. This motivates this
cross‐disciplinary project in which computer‐aided drug design methods and modern molecular
modeling approaches are closely coupled to experiment, with the aim to study how the enzymes
involved in the biosynthesis of the oomycete cell walls are inhibited by these specific drugs and to
design environmentally friendly and effective inhibitors for controlling the oomycete
microorganisms. The results of this project will provide most valuable information for the
development of effective anti‐oomycete drugs. The project will be carried out together with
experimental experts at the Department.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Vincent Bulone, Yaoquan Tu
Name of supervisor (if other)
Vincent Bulone, Yaoquan Tu
Email address to contact person
tu@theochem.kth.se
KTH School
BIO
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 60
KTH department
Glycoscience / Theoretical Chemistry and Biology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 61
ChemistryandBiology
Detailed subject area
Glycoscience / Theoretical Chemistry and Biology
Title of project
Modeling of plant cell walls for the exploration of new bio‐mimetic materials
Short description of project
Plant cell walls are a dynamic bio‐composite material mainly comprised of para‐crystalline
cellulose fibrils and cross‐linking agents. The understanding of the structure, self‐assembly, and
other properties of the plant cell walls is essential for exploring the cell walls for new bio‐mimetic
materials. Due to the complicated dynamic architecture of the plant cell walls and the inherent
structural complexity of the cellulose fibrils and cross‐linking agents, little is known about the
details of the plant cell walls. This project aims to identify and characterize the key factors
governing the structures of cellulose fibrils and cross‐linking agents, as well as their interactions,
through computer modeling, especially the molecular dynamic simulation techniques and coarse‐
grain modeling.
This project will be carried out in close collaboration with the experimentalists in the School of
Biotechnology at KTH.
Project website if available
http://www.theochem.kth.se/people/tu/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Yaoquan Tu
Name of supervisor (if other)
Yaoquan Tu
Email address to contact person
tu@theochem.kth.se
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Theoretical Chemistry and Biology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 62
ChemistryandBiology
Detailed subject area
Computational Chemistry and Biology
Title of project
In‐silico Design of Molecules for Fibril‐imaging in Brain
Short description of project
There are reports suggesting the role of fibrils in many of the aging associated diseases such as
Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease. For both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes of these
so called "conformational diseases", fibrils have become potential target bio‐structures and there
is increased demand to design molecular probes which can be used to locate and quantitatively
estimate the fibrils in brain. Many organic molecules such as Thioflavin‐T, Congo red and stilbyl
compounds have been identified to have affinity to bind to these fibrils. In addition some of
these molecules also show a substantial shift in the absorption spectra and increase in
fluorescence intensity which lead to the use of these molecules as potential "optical probes" for
fibrils. Even though, such molecular probes serve to identify fibrils in vitro, when it comes to
targeting the fibrils in brain, they fail due to their inability to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB).
A potential molecular probe for brain‐imaging application, should have binding affinity and fibril‐
specific optical properties and in addition should have increased lipophilicity to cross BBB. The
current proposal aims in designing molecules with these desirable properties to target fibrils in
brain. The interaction of probe molecules with fibrils will be studied using molecular docking,
binding free energy calculations, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations while the optical
properties of these probes in presence of fibril‐environment will be investigated using hybrid
QM/MM modeling techniques. It is worth mentioning here that we have long standing
experience in modeling the optical properties of molecular probes in presence of solvents,
proteins, membranes. In this proposal, we aim to study the mobility (or transport properties) of
the probe molecules across model BBB using MD or steered MD approaches. Structure‐property
relationships will be established to design novel molecular probes with increased binding‐affinity
and lipophilicity for brain‐imaging applications.
Project website if available
http://www.theochem.kth.se/people/murugan/project.html
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Hans Ågren
Name of supervisor (if other)
N. Arul Murugan
Email address to contact person
agren@theochem.kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 63
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Dvision of Theoretical Chemisty and Biology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 64
ChemistryandBiology
Detailed subject area
Computational Chemistry and Biology
Title of project
Aggregation and Color
Short description of project
Organic dye molecules are important components for the dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSC) which
are considered to be next generation energy reservoirs. However, for the real world applications
of DSSCs, much has to be done to increase their efficiency. Among the many limitations the
aggregation behavior of dye molecules controls the functioning and so the efficiency of the DSSC.
The electronic transport and optical properties of the dye molecules are dramatically influenced
by their aggregation process.
Many potential dye molecules such as merocyanine, cyanine, hemicyanine and coumarin dyes
considered for the applications in DSSC have tendency to aggregate and they form either
J‐ and H‐aggregates. Such aggregation leads to a blue or red shift in their absorption spectra.
An understanding into the microscopic mechanism of dye aggregation and strategies to control
such process in solution might be useful for designing dye‐sensitized solar cells with more
efficiency.
In this proposal, we aim to contribute to this subject and we will inspect both the structure and
optical properties of aggregates of these organic dye molecules. Aggregation of molecules is
usually a long time scale process, and so a large time scale molecular dynamics simulations (MD)
or steered MD will be employed to understand this process. Analysis will be carried out to
characterize the oligomer size distribution of aggregates and aggregates‐size dependence to
optical properties and to establish the molecular mechanism and driving for the oligomer
association process. In particular, the optical properties of aggregates in explicitly treated solvent
environment will be investigated using the recently developed TD‐DFT/MM approach.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Hans Ågren
Name of supervisor (if other)
N. Arul Murugan
Email address to contact person
agren@theochem.kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 65
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Dvision of Theoretical Chemisty and Biology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 66
Chemistry,catalysis,solarfuels
Detailed subject area
visible light driven water splitting in artificial photosystems, molecular catalysis, water oxidation
and hydrogen generation
Title of project
highly efficient molecular catalysts for water oxidation
Short description of project
In this project the student will create man‐made devices with molecular components, including
visible light driven water splitting to generate hydrogen. These include catalytic water oxidation
and hydrogen production with molecular catalysts inspired from natural Photosystem II and
Hydrogenases, interfacial studies of molecular components (such as dyes, catalysts etc) with
nano‐structured semiconductors (TiO2, NiO etc), assembly of molecular devices for total water
splitting and even CO2 reduction with visible light driven.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/che/divisions/orgkem/research/lichengsun?l=en_UK
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Name of supervisor (if other)
professor Licheng Sun
Email address to contact person
lichengs@kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Department of Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 67
Chemistry,solarfuels
Detailed subject area
molecular catalysis, transition metal complexes, organometallic chemistry, electrochemistry and
photochemistry
Title of project
Synthesis of highly efficient molecular catalysts for hydrogen generation
Short description of project
In this project the student will create man‐made devices with molecular components, including
visible light driven water splitting to generate hydrogen. These include catalytic water oxidation
and hydrogen production with molecular catalysts inspired from natural Photosystem II and
Hydrogenases, interfacial studies of molecular components (such as dyes, catalysts etc) with
nano‐structured semiconductors (TiO2, NiO etc), assembly of molecular devices for total water
splitting and even CO2 reduction with visible light driven.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/che/divisions/orgkem/research/lichengsun?l=en_UK
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Name of supervisor (if other)
professor Licheng Sun
Email address to contact person
lichengs@kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Department of Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 68
Chemistry,sustainableenergy,solarenergy
Detailed subject area
The research area covers the fields of solar energy conversion into electricity (solar cells) and
chemical energy (solar fuels), using chemical approach, for example, artificial photosynthesis.
Title of project
Development of new components for highly efficient dye sensitized or perovskite sensitized solar
cells
Short description of project
Design and synthesis of organic dyes and iodine‐free electrolytes for solar cells based on n‐type
nanostructured semiconductors such as TiO2 or p‐type nanostructured semiconductors such as
NiO. Both liquid solar cells and solid state solar cells, as well as solar cells based on perovskites
will be the main focus of this project.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/che/divisions/orgkem/research/lichengsun?l=en_UK
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Professor Licheng Sun
Name of supervisor (if other)
Professor Licheng Sun
Email address to contact person
lichengs@kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Department of Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 69
CommunicationTheory
Detailed subject area
Wireless Communications, Wireless Networks, Interference Management, Interference
Alignment, Network Coding, Relaying, Cooperative Communications
Title of project
Interference Management for Future Wireless Networks
Short description of project
We will investigate efficient interference management strategies for wireless networks. With
increasing user‐amount and data‐rate, future wireless networks are essentially characterized as
interference‐limited. However, the efficient approaches for combating interference are still
largely open. This project aims at developing theoretical limits and practical design principles for
interference limited wireless networks. More specifically, interference from multi‐cell or multi‐
terminals shall be considered. Efficient coding approaches, e.g., network coding, lattice codes
shall be used to mitigate or even exploit interference in both signal domain and finite field. To
efficiently limit interference and maintain transmission rates, cooperative relaying approaches
shall also be considered. As a promising technique, interference alignment (IA) shall also be
studied for various network settings. Especially, IA in low SNR regions will be studied.
Project website if available
http://www.ee.kth.se/~mingx/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Ming Xiao
Name of supervisor (if other)
Ming Xiao
Email address to contact person
mingx@kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Communication Theory
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 70
CommunicationTheory
Detailed subject area
Wireless Communications, Massive MIMO, 60GHz, Millimeter‐wave Communications.
Title of project
Key Techniques for Very‐Large Capacity Wireless Networks
Short description of project
We will investigate key technologies for future very large capacity wireless networks. With
increasing applications in e.g., video streaming, conferences and development of smart terminals,
the demands of wireless network capacity have becoming larger and larger. In future, it is
expected that very large capacity (multiple Gigabyte bytes per seconds) will be needed widely.
Thus, we shall study the advanced information and signal processing techniques for such
scenarios. Potential key techniques include Massive MIMO and Millimeter‐wave communications
(such as 60GHz). We shall study how to efficient design and apply these techniques in
heterogeneous scenarios. The fundamental limits and practical design principles will be found.
Project website if available
http://www.ee.kth.se/~mingx/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Ming Xiao
Name of supervisor (if other)
Ming Xiao
Email address to contact person
mingx@kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Communication Theory
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 71
CommunicationTheory
Detailed subject area
Channel Coding, Spatial‐coupling codes, Wireless Communications, Relaying, Belief Propagation
Decoding
Title of project
Design of Spatial‐coupling Coding for Wireless Networks
Short description of project
Spatial coupling (SC) is a relatively recent proposed coding scheme to achieve the capacity of BEC
channels with low complexity. For its excellent performance, it would be very valuable to study
how to use SC coding in the wireless networks. Typical scenarios include AWGN and fading
channels, multi‐hop or cooperative networks. We are also interested in multiple antenna (MIMO)
cases. Efficient encoding and decoding methods will be found with the optimized degree
distribution. We will also consider the distributed coding schemes for multi‐terminal
communications.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Ming Xiao
Name of supervisor (if other)
Ming Xiao
Email address to contact person
mingx@kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
communication Theory
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 72
CommunicationTheory
Detailed subject area
Communication theory is an electrical engineering disciplin. At KTH, the research and education
in the Communication Theory lab is pursued in the general area of digital communication with
focus on information and communication theory and with emphasis on wireless systems. This
includes areas like network information theory, Shannon source and channel coding, detection
theory, as well as networked control. The main applications are all kinds of wireless
communication systems in particular cellular communication systems or vehicular
communication systems. The staff at the Communication Theory lab is multicultural and the
working language is English. Within the ACCESS center the lab closely collaborates with other
research groups with neighboring competences.
Title of project
PhD Position in Communication Theory
Short description of project
PhD in Communication Theory dealing with wireless communications, vehicular communications,
networked control, physical layer security, information theory, or distributed statistical inference
Project website if available
www.kth.se/~oech
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Assoc. Prof. Tobias Oechtering
Name of supervisor (if other)
Assoc. Prof. Tobias Oechtering
Email address to contact person
oech@kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Communication Theory Lab
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 73
CommunicationTheory
Detailed subject area
Communication theory is an electrical engineering disciplin. At KTH, the research and education
in the Communication Theory lab is pursued in the general area of digital communication with
focus on information and communication theory and with emphasis on wireless systems. This
includes areas like network information theory, Shannon source and channel coding, detection
theory, as well as networked control. The main applications are all kinds of wireless
communication systems in particular cellular communication systems or vehicular
communication systems. The staff at the Communication Theory lab is multicultural and the
working language is English. Within the ACCESS center the lab closely collaborates with other
research groups with neighboring competences.
Title of project
Guest PhD student in Communication Theory
Short description of project
Communication Theory with focus in wireless communications, information theory, statistical
inference, or networked control
Project website if available
www.kth.se/~oech
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Tobias Oechtering
Name of supervisor (if other)
Tobias Oechtering
Email address to contact person
oech@kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Communication Theory
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 74
Computationalbiochemistry
Detailed subject area
Computational enzyme design using a variety of computational chemistry methods, ranging from
bioinformatics to molecular dynamics simulation and ab initio quantum chemistry.
Title of project
Computational Enzyme Design
Short description of project
The objective of the project is to continue the devolopment of a methodology for design of
enzyme catalysts for targeted reactions. The key concept behind our approach is to utilize the
catalytic machineries of natural enzymes, and to scan the Protein Data Bank to identify enzymes
that have as many of the functionalites in the right location as possible, and allow for
introduction of any missing group by mutations. In the following steps static and dynamic design
are used to identify mutations that promote substrate binding and transition state stabilization. A
combination of computational methods, ranging from structural bioinformatics to large scale
molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemical calculations is used throughout the
design process. We will focus on the design of catalysts for reactions that are rare in nature and
that are of synthetic and industrial importance, e.g. heterocyclic reactions and oxidation
reactions using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Tore Brinck
Name of supervisor (if other)
Tore Brinck
Email address to contact person
tore@kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 75
ComputationalMaterialdesign
Detailed subject area
Computational Materialdesign based on first principles quantum theory
Stainless steels form the largest family of maintenance free and safe engineering materials. The
main stainless groups are austenitic and ferritic steels. They cover more than 95% of the global
stainless steel production. Due to the increased nickel cost, during the last years new low‐nickel
austenitic steels have been developed. Duplex grades offer an even better alternative with a
unique combination of excellent mechanical properties and appropriate corrosion resistance.
Today the knowledge about the atomic structure and configuration of these steels as well the
actual role of the alloying elements in the phase stability, mechanical and chemical properties is
very restricted.
Title of project
Mechanical properties of austenitic and ferritic phases
Short description of project
Experimental information on the mechanical properties of austenitic and ferritic steels is
available for alloys close to the commercial compositions. However, under certain conditions (e.g.,
in duplex steels), extreme compositions might appear. The only way to gather information about
the thermo‐physical properties of such (metastable) phases is to carry out extensive parameter
free theoretical modeling. The present program will focus on the ab initio description of the
unusual ferrite and austenite compositions which are of primary importance for duplex steels.
Special emphasis will be placed on describing the role of Mn and nitrogen, which are the basic
austenite stabilizers in modern austenitic and duplex systems.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Professor Levente Vitos
Name of supervisor (if other)
Professor Levente Vitos
Email address to contact person
levente@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
MSE
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 76
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 77
ComputationalMaterialdesign
Detailed subject area
Computational Materialdesign based on first principles quantum theory
Stainless steels form the largest family of maintenance free and safe engineering materials. The
main stainless groups are austenitic and ferritic steels. They cover more than 95% of the global
stainless steel production. Due to the increased nickel cost, during the last years new low‐nickel
austenitic steels have been developed. Duplex grades offer an even better alternative with a
unique combination of excellent mechanical properties and appropriate corrosion resistance.
Today the knowledge about the atomic structure and configuration of these steels as well the
actual role of the alloying elements in the phase stability, mechanical and chemical properties is
very restricted.
Title of project
Austenite‐ferrite interfaces
Short description of project
Recently, we investigated the ferrite‐austenite phase equilibrium as a function of chemical
compositions. From a comparison between the theoretical phase diagram and the available
thermodynamic diagrams, we could identify the key atomic‐scale mechanisms responsible for the
stability field of duplex alloys. In that study, the high‐temperature paramagnetic state was
assumed and the role of interphase boundaries was neglected. Within the present PhD program,
the atomistic study will be extended to include magnetic effects at low temperature as well as
the effect of phase boundary.
The austenite and ferrite grain boundaries have important effect on the properties of duplex
steels. The interface energies affect the size and shape of the grains, which in turn have
significant effect on the mechanical properties. The experimental investigation of the interface
properties is very difficult. A more efficient and more accurate way to obtain an insight into the
physics of these atomic‐scale systems is to perform theoretical modeling based on first‐principles
quantum‐mechanics.
The present investigation is planned to be carried out in three steps. First, we will focus on the
fcc‐bcc interfaces for pure iron using the most sophisticated full‐potential methods. As Fe is the
most abundant element of duplex steels, Fe interfaces are good starting point for investigation
the real alloys. Here we will identify those systems which are thermodynamically the most likely
geometries. In the second step, using the results obtained for pure Fe, we will perform interface
stability investigation for duplex alloys using advanced alloy theories. This step inevitably will
involve additional chemistry‐driven geometry optimizations. To be able to describe such effects,
small adjustments in our theoretical tools will be necessary. In last step, the interface
concentration profiles will be investigated by means of Monte‐Carlo techniques. The obtained
knowledge about interface properties of duplex steels will be used in thermodynamic modeling.
Project website if available
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 78
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Professor Levente Vitos
Name of supervisor (if other)
Professor Levente Vitos
Email address to contact person
levente@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
MSE
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 79
ComputationalMaterialdesign
Detailed subject area
Computational Materialdesign based on first principles quantum theory
Stainless steels form the largest family of maintenance free and safe engineering materials. The
main stainless groups are austenitic and ferritic steels. They cover more than 95% of the global
stainless steel production. Due to the increased nickel cost, during the last years new low‐nickel
austenitic steels have been developed. Duplex grades offer an even better alternative with a
unique combination of excellent mechanical properties and appropriate corrosion resistance.
Today the knowledge about the atomic structure and configuration of these steels as well the
actual role of the alloying elements in the phase stability, mechanical and chemical properties is
very restricted.
Title of project
Stacking fault energy and plastic deformation mechanism
Short description of project
The properties of the stainless steels are related to their deformation behavior. The main factor
controlling the deformation is the stacking fault energy (SFE). The stacking faults are formed
during deformation and lead to formation of shear bands and where shear bands from several
glide systems intersect, nucleation of martensite or twinning is observed. However, the
deformation response is not easily predicted since it depends on the stacking fault energy.
Traditionally, it has been a great challenge to estimate the accurate values of the SFE using
experimental techniques. On the other hand, there are powerful theoretical tools based on
quantum mechanics that can be used to compute the SFE of complex alloys with high accuracy.
The present proposal focuses on assessing the composition and temperature dependence of the
SFE using ab initio methods, establishing the composition regimes where SFE will promote
various deformation mechanisms such as dislocation networks, twinning and martensite
formation. A correlation between the theoretically predicted SFE and the deformation response
will also be in the focus, through collaboration with experimentalists and industrial units.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Professor Levente Vitos
Name of supervisor (if other)
Professor Levente Vitos
Email address to contact person
levente@kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 80
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
MSE
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 81
ComputationalMaterialdesign
Detailed subject area
Computational Materialdesign based on first principles quantum theory
Galling often results when two metallic materials, or one metallic material and one ceramic
material slide against each other in dry or insufficiently lubricated contacts. The total cost in the
world for the tool maintenance in connection with galling problems related to steel forming can
go as high as several hundreds of MEUR per year. Because of this, economical sheet forming is
only possible by using environmentally aggressive lubricants. All efforts to treat the problem have,
so far, been experimental, and there is yet no general understanding of the atomistic mechanisms
behind galling. The goal of this project is to arrive at an understanding on the atomic level of the
initial stage of galling, i.e. the initial adhesion of the softer material to the harder and initial
friction.
Title of project
Parameter‐free modeling of hardness of tool materials
Short description of project
Experimental and theoretical studies indicate that the hardness of tool materials is one of the key
parameters for galling. The harder the tool material is the less prone to galling will be. Starting
from this platform, and using previously developed models, we will carry out extensive
theoretical modeling of hardness of tool materials with the main aim of finding optimal
compositions which would assure outstanding anti‐galling characteristics. The role of C and
vacancy on nitrogen sublattice, as well as the role of other transition metal impurities on metal
sublattice will be considered. Other candidate tool materials will also be considered.
There are experimental and theoretical indications that the vacancy concentration in transition‐
metals‐nitrides and carbides with rocksalt structure strongly influence their mechanical
properties. For instance, the shear modulus of TiNx decreases as the concentration of vacancy
increases, while the effect is the opposite for NbCx. It is generally accepted that these trends
have an electronic origin and therefore atomistic methods can be used to reveal the impact of
vacancy concentration on their mechanical properties. Within this PhD program, we will establish
the role of vacancies on the fundamental mechanical properties of several candidate tool
materials. This includes the ab initio determination of the elastic constants, dislocation
movement and hardness.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Professor Levente Vitos
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 82
Name of supervisor (if other)
Professor Levente Vitos
Email address to contact person
levente@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
MSE
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 83
Computationalmodellingoftrafficsystem
Detailed subject area
Traffic simulation is a collection of computational models of traffic objects and their behavior (e.g.
drivers, vehicles, signals, pedestrians and cyclists). In parallel to the increased power of modern
computers, it becomes an indispensable method and tool for analysis, planning and management
of transportation systems aiming to improve transport mobility, enhance driving safety and
alleviate traffic‐induced environmental impacts. Traffic simulation models are classified into three
levels: macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic, each of which has their special properties
concerning general performance in terms of modelling details, complexity, computing speed etc.
To profit from models of different levels, integrating them, for example mesoscopic and
microscopic models, into one common platform has become part of the research front and
attracted special attentions from both researchers and practitioners. Based on the integrated
platform, aggregate models can provide non‐stationary traffic demand and implement dynamic
traffic assignment on a large network, whereas microscopic models can be used to accurately
study issues related to individual vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, e.g. traffic safety. In addition
to simulating traffic, emission models have been integrated with traffic models to simulate traffic‐
induced environmental impacts.
Title of project
Traffic Simulation for Sustainable Transport Development
Short description of project
Cycling is a healthy and environmentally friendly form of transportation. The recent increase of
daily cyclists in Sweden has however shown to lead to cycle congestion and safety problems
especially in many places in Swedish cities such as Stockholm. Cyclist safety is an important part
of traffic safety but little knowledge has been obtained for the relation between cyclist accidents
and their behavior in real traffic.
The objective of the research is to develop mathematical or computational models to describe
cyclist behavior at conflict zones where they meet vehicles. The model may take into account of
not only cyclists’ own characteristics such as physical agility (related to age, sex, sight etc.), risk
tolerance and reaction time but also road layout and traffic conditions. Meanwhile, the
interaction between cyclists and vehicle drivers e.g. giveway behavior of drivers will be included
to make the model more realistic. In addition to modeling tasks, it is intended to implement the
model in a microscopic traffic simulation environment, which can be later used as an evaluation
tool for traffic safety under different conditions and scenarios.
Modeling interactive behavior of cyclists at conflict zones directly contributes to the safety
analysis at various types of intersections or crossings, where vehicle‐cycle collisions may often
happen and lead to cyclist injuries and death. This may also help traffic planners and other
relevant analysts (e.g. insurance company) to predict the potential risks at different types of
traffic facilities where vehicle‐cycle conflicts are directly involved. Moreover, the model and
simulation tool developed in the project will be useful to evaluate the impacts of new traffic
facilities and new vehicle‐based technologies that might impact traffic safety directly such as
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 84
intelligent speed adaption (ISA), pedestrian detection systems, vehicle‐vehicle (V2V) and vehicle‐
infrastructure (V2I) communication etc.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Xiaoliang Ma
Name of supervisor (if other)
Xiaoliang Ma and Haris Koutsopoulos
Email address to contact person
liang@kth.se
KTH School
ABE
KTH department
Dept. of Transportation Sciences
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 85
ComputationalPhotochemistry
Detailed subject area
Quantum chemical analysis of processes related to the absorption of photons and subsequent
electron transfer in solar cells and related devices
Title of project
Quantum Chemical Analysis of Solar Energy Conversion
Short description of project
Quantum chemical analyses of processes related to the absorption of photons and electron
transfer in Dye‐sensitized solar cells. Design of dyes, semiconductor materials and electrolytes
based quantum chemical calculations. Other techniques to generate electrical energy from solar
radiation may be considered as well. The project will be conducted close collaboration with the
very successful experimental group of Licheng Sun.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Tore Brinck
Name of supervisor (if other)
Tore Brinck
Email address to contact person
tore@kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 86
ComputerScience
Detailed subject area
Software Engineering
Title of project
A general theory of software engineering
Short description of project
Software engineering needs a general theory, i.e., a theory that applies across the field and
unifies existing empirical and theoretical work. General theories are common in other domains,
such as physics. While many software engineering theories exist, no general theory of software
engineering is commonly accepted. This project takes the emerging consensus on the need for a
general theory in software engineering as a starting point. This was expressed at the Second
SEMAT General Theory of Software Engineering (GTSE 2013) workshop
(http://semat.org/?page_id=632), where several high‐profile authors such as Philippe Kruchten,
Don Batory and Dewayne Perry, contributed. Work on a general theory of software engineering is
also carried out in the SEMAT initiative (http://semat.org), headed by software engineering
pioneer Ivar Jacobson.
The purpose of this project is the development of a general theory of software engineering. The
project will be carried out jointly with the SEMAT initiative, and is expected to involve significant
international collaboration, e.g. with authors and program committee members of the GTSE
workshop (http://semat.org/?page_id=634). Influences include existing theoretical embryos,
such as the Essence (http://semat.org/wp‐content/uploads/2012/02/2012‐11‐01.pdf), the
COCOMO (http://csse.usc.edu/csse/research/COCOMOII/cocomo_main.html) and other sources.
Please follow the links provided above to learn more about the project background. This article,
recently published in IEEE Software, is also of interest: http://semat.org/wp‐
content/uploads/2012/02/IEEESoftware_SepOct_2012.pdf
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Pontus Johnson
Name of supervisor (if other)
Pontus Johnson
Email address to contact person
pontus@ics.kth.se
KTH School
EES
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 87
KTH department
Industrial information systems
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 88
ComputerScience
Detailed subject area
Software System Architecture
Title of project
Automated, model‐based analysis of multiple system properties
Short description of project
In the development of software systems, non‐functional properties, such as system availability,
interoperability, modifiability, and security are of outmost importance. Although functionally
acceptable, a system that does not fulfill the non‐functional requirements will be of little use. In
order to develop high‐quality systems, methods for prediction and assessment of system
properties are therefore very important.
The goal of this project is to develop a method and software tool that can perform automated,
model‐based analysis of multiple system properties. The tool is intended for system developers in
order to analyze the qualities of their current and potential future systems, given an architectural
specification of them. In the project, disciplinary research on the prediction of non‐functional
qualities such as availability, security and scalability, will be combined in a multi‐quality
architecture analysis framework. The method will be implemented in a software tool for
modeling and analysis.
Usage of the method and tool will be demonstrated in the electric power transmission and
distribution sector, where new information and control systems are currently being designed to
support future Smart Grids.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/ees/omskolan/organisation/avdelningar/ics/research/sa/p/the‐multi‐
attribute‐prediction‐map‐class‐diagram‐1.387306
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Pontus Johnson
Name of supervisor (if other)
Pontus Johnson
Email address to contact person
pontus@ics.kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Industrial information and control systems
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 89
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 90
ComputerScience,SoftwareEngineering,Information
Technology
Detailed subject area
System Architecture, Software Architecture, Enterprise Architecture, Modeling, Modularity,
Modifiability
Title of project
System Architecture Modularity
Short description of project
This project focuses on modeling system architectures. With the help of these models coupling
metrics will be analyzed and the architecture modularity will be visualized. Design Structure
Matrices (DSMs) have been used successfully for measuring coupling and visualizing modularity
within a software component. In this project the aim is to employ DSMs for measuring coupling
and visualizing modularity between software components. Basically, it means going from one
software application with many source files to a system‐wide software architecture containing
many applications.
This project is a collaboration project between assistant professor Robert Lagerström at KTH,
professor Carliss Baldwin, and associate professor Alan MacCormack at Harvard Business School.
It also includes collaboration with Swedish and American companies.
Project website if available
www.ics.kth.se
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Robert Lagerström
Name of supervisor (if other)
Robert Lagerström
Email address to contact person
robertl@ics.kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Industrial Information and Control Systems (ICS) ‐ EH
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 91
Condensedmattertheory
Detailed subject area
Computer simulation, extreme conditions, phase transitions, melting, molecular dynamics,
interaction metal‐hydrogen, materials properties, elasticity, geophysical applications, shockwave
physics, ab initio and semiempirical calculations
Title of project
Physics of graphene under extreme conditions
Phase diagram of H2O
Iron alloys under conditions of the Earth inner core
Short description of project
All projects heavily rely on molecular dynamics simulations of relevant materials from first
principles.
Large scale atomistic MD is applied as a useful tool. A number of questions that are under debate
now will be addressed and critical information will be obtained.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Anatoly B. Belonoshko
Name of supervisor (if other)
Anatoly B. Belonoshko
Email address to contact person
anatoly@kth.se
KTH School
SCI
KTH department
Theoretical Physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 92
Cyber‐physical system (CPS)
Detailed subject area
For advanced embedded control systems in machinery, there is currently a strong push towards
features like context‐awareness and dynamic self‐adaptation for the reasons of autonomy,
improved dependability and quality‐of‐service (QoS) assurance, intelligent diagnosis and
maintenance. To support such features, a systematic and multidisciplinary approach to the
system development, ranging from the formalizations of requirements, functional and extra‐
functional concerns, to the design and realization of control algorithms, and to the quality
management through various methods and tools, is of critical importance. The related research
areas include: Model‐Based Development (MBD) Control of Hybrid‐Systems Dynamic
Reconfiguration Formal Methods for Software Engineering.
Title of project
Methods and tools for system engineering of autonomous embedded systems
Short description of project
The primary focus of this research project is on the run‐time monitoring, diagnosis, and control of
behaviors and configurations of embedded control systems. The research will be based on among
others the results of European projects including DySCAS (Dynamically Self‐ Configuring
Automotive Systems), ATESST (Advancing Traffic Efficiency and Safety through Software
Technology), MAENAD (Model‐ based Analysis&Engineering of Novel Architectures for
Dependable Electric Vehicles).
The project will be carried in close relation to other research projects of the Embedded Control
Systems Group (ITM, KTH), which maintains a strong multidisciplinary profile (systems, control,
software, electronics,
mechatronics). The group has been very successful and is expanding in the following areas:
• Architectures for autonomous embedded systems (automotive collaboration will provide useful
case
studies).
• Tool integration for advanced engineering of embedded systems (collaboration with several
industrial domains).
• Systematic verification of embedded systems (collaboration with transportation domains).
A suitable profile for candidates will be a computer science, software engineering or electronics
design automation background. It is preferred that the candidates have good knowledge or skills
in the following areas: automata theory, control engineering, optimization technology, software
programming.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/itm/inst/mmk/avdelningar/mda/research‐1.18173
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Martin Törngren
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 93
Name of supervisor (if other)
Associate Prof. DeJiu Chen and Assistant Prof. Lei Feng
Email address to contact person
chen@md.kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Machine Design
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 94
DamsafetyandHydraulics
Detailed subject area
The area dam safety and hydraulics covers, in this cases, numerical modelling of dam stability
involving knowledge of both hydraulics and soil mechanics. A good knowledge of computer
modelling (finite element or finite difference) is also an advantage.
Title of project
Instability of upstream slope of embankment dams due to rapid drawdown
Short description of project
Introduction
For design and upgrade of embankment dams, slope stability is usually checked for the
downstream slope under design load conditions. The stability of the upstream slope is in many
cases disregarded. However, certain critical conditions do exist even for the upstream slope, such
during rapid drawdown of water stage in case of incidents or emergency. Embankments may
become saturated by seepage during a prolonged high reservoir stage. During the rapid
drawdown, the stabilizing effect of the water on the upstream face is lost, the pore‐water
pressure within the embankment remains high. As a result, the stability of the upstream face of
the dam is much affected. Stability analysis during rapid drawdown is an important consideration
in the design of embankment dams.
Modeling methods
The dissipation of pore‐water pressure in the embankment during rapid drawdown is largely
influenced by the permeability and the storage characteristic of the embankment materials.
Instead of doing a stability analysis of the embankment with an assumed piezometric line after
the rapid drawdown, a rigorous approach is to model the dissipation of pore‐water pressure in
the embankment.
There are several ways for computing the slope stability following rapid reservoir drawdown. (a).
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1970 procedure. The method may be unrealistically conservative
for soils that dilate during shear, and may lead to uneconomical designs. (b). The method
developed by Lowe and Karafiath (1960) and modified by Wright and Duncan (1987) and by
Duncan, Wright, and Wong (1990). The objectives of the modifications were to simplify the
method, and to account more accurately for shear strength in zones where drained strength is
lower than undrained strength. The method is more rational than the Corps of Engineers 1970
procedure, and is often recommended. (c). Multiple time step progressive stability analysis and
(d). finite element method (FEM).
Need of research
The current state of art for limit equilibrium analysis of slope stability problems lacks a
satisfactory procedure for stability evaluation under general, rapid (undrained) loading conditions.
Some procedures are available for the analysis of rapid drawdown, but these suffer from several
shortcomings and, furthermore, are not applicable to other types of rapid loading. There should
be approaches that overcome these limitations. For example, it should integrate four following
components: establishment of soil behaviour on the basis of laboratory testing, estimation of
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 95
steady‐state conditions in the slope using a boundary value analysis, estimation of distribution of
undrained strength in the slope using undrained stress paths and identification of the critical slip
surface followed by calculation of its factor of safety. There should be possible to develop
methods that avoid the problems associated with estimating pore pressures in undrained
materials for the after‐drawdown condition by using undrained strength and correctly reflects the
strength of materials that tend to dilate during shear. By using drained strength values where
these are smaller than undrained strength, the method avoids reliance on strength due to
negative pore pressures, which cannot be mobilized if drainage occurs.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
James Yang, Anders Wörman
Name of supervisor (if other)
James Yang, Anders Wörman
Email address to contact person
jamesya@kth.se
KTH School
ABE
KTH department
Hydraulic Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 96
Densityfunctionaltheory
Detailed subject area
Application of the density functional theory in heterogeneous fluids
Title of project
Development of the weighted correlation approach and the application in studies of liquid states
Short description of project
Within the framework of the density functional theory (DFT), a weighted correlation approach
(WCA) was developed in order to obtain the density distributions of an inhomogeneous fluid. It
resulted in a formally exact expression, by means of the concept of a weighted pair correlation
function, used to evaluate the change of the single‐particle direct correlation function of the
system relative to that of a reference state. When combining this approach with the fundamental
measure theory (FMT) for practical study of the structural and thermodynamic properties of a
charged hard‐sphere fluid subjected to a spatially varying, external potential, it was found that
the resulted FMT/WCA approach is superior to the typical DFT approaches and even it has an
advantage over the anisotropic, hyper‐netted chain approaches.
In this project, we wish to consummate and then apply the newly developed FMT/WCA approach
in the studies of liquid states, to explore e.g. the effect of the heterogeneous surface charge
distribution of the colloidal particles on the structural and thermodynamic properties of an
electric double layer. The applicability of the FMT/WCA approach into e.g. a non‐restrictive
primitive model, an extreme case where zero surface charge may be involved, or systems that are
not too dilute when the ionic diameter goes to zero, will also be investigated and analyzed.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Assoc. Prof. Longcheng Liu
Name of supervisor (if other)
Assoc. Prof. Longcheng Liu
Email address to contact person
lliu@ket.kth.se
KTH School
CHE
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 97
KTH department
KET
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 98
ElectricalEngineering
Detailed subject area
Energy storage, Smart grid, Distributed Generation, Engineering Physics.
Title of project
Adaptation and suitability of different energy storage media for distributed generation in a smart
electricity grid
Short description of project
Introduction to smart grid and energy storage:
With the threat of global warming and diminished resources, the effective use of energy (on all
levels of society) and low impact on the environment from the energy production are critical
points. Thus, to increase the effectiveness of our energy production and utilization, the idea of
the “smart electricity grid” is internationally recognized and investigated. The key concepts of the
smart grid are based around distributed generation (DG) of power (e.g. wind and solar power),
information and communications technology (ICT) and storage of energy produced but not
instantly demanded by the grid.
The increase of small scale “prosumer” (producer‐consumer) power production increases also
the demand for simpler, more robust and efficient small scale energy storage media from, and to,
which produced surplus energy can be exchanged. This storage media and the necessary
peripheral systems connected (e.g. converters, ICT equipment, filters etc.) will differ from existing
large scale storage concepts if efficiency is to be kept at an optimum. In addition, different
sources of small scale DG will need different energy storage plans (i.e. storage media including
necessary peripheral systems) for efficient energy use and the suitability will vary between
different geographical areas and power produced.
Project description:
Aspects of different types of energy storage approaches have been studied in the past in view of
traditional large scale energy production. In this proposed project we will study the suitability of
different small scale storage media connected to different types of DG and prosumer energy
production located in a smart grid.
Comparison of the underlying physical principles of the different energy storage media in relation
to, e.g., power and energy quality, financial lifetime cost per unit energy stored and delivered,
lifetime environmental impact, charge/discharge depth and time, energy conversion efficiency
etc. will be the basis for the study.
The work will be based on the analytical calculations of the different phenomena (e.g. energy
stored, material degradation, energy conversion factor etc.) compared to numerical simulations
and experiments performed with scaled devices built and tested. Examples of energy storage
plans that can be investigated are mechanical (e.g. flywheels, compressed air systems etc.),
thermal (i.e. heat storage in different forms), electrochemical (e.g. batteries, fuel cells etc.) and
direct (e.g. capacitors, superconducting magnets etc.). It is important to stress that these are
investigated in relation to their purpose and surroundings (small scale prosumer energy
production in a smart grid). The most promising energy storage plans will be investigated in
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 99
depth. The goal is for an energy storage plan to be found that optimizes the energy storage and
conversion over its lifetime when analyzed in a small scale prosumer energy production. That is,
to identify the most suitable storage plan for a given DG and situation. Where applicable, data
from other similar studies will be incorporated (e.g. material degradation of time, financial
lifetime cost etc.).
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Rajeev Thottappillil
Name of supervisor (if other)
Daniel Månsson
Email address to contact person
manssond@kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Electromagnetic engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 100
ElectricalEngineering
Detailed subject area
Electromagnetic interference (EMI), electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), electromagnetic theory,
wave propagation
Title of project
Investigation of high‐frequency electromagnetic interference caused by railway electrification
systems and power lines
Short description of project
One source of electromagnetic interference (EMI) caused by electrified railways is the arcing that
occurs between the pantograph and the catenary wire, especially during winter at high latitudes
when the catenary wire can be covered with ice. Arcing between pantograph and catenary wire
can also be present in high‐speed trains due to bouncing of catenary on pantograph causing
imperfect contacts. The arc launches wide‐band electromagnetic waves that both radiate away
from and propagate along the railway structure. Similar situations occur in electric power lines,
where EMI can be triggered by flash‐overs in the insulators. Electromagnetic disturbances caused
by pantograph arcing may interfere with the communication equipment on the train as well as
with other facilities near the tracks. Potential EMI from pantograph arcing is a concern when
railways in Europe are moving to introduce advanced ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management
System) which will eventually introduce wireless signalling and control for railways and also when
high‐speed railways are passing nearby airports and other sensitive facilities.
For high frequency EMI, the short wavelengths make railway systems and power lines very large,
electrically. This poses new challenges when solving the wave propagation problem, since all‐
round numerical electromagnetic softwares cannot be used. Hence, there is need of research for
developing adapted methods to solve these large scale electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)
problems. Another application is high frequency communication, where guided waves along the
structure are excited by coupling to suitably placed antennas.
The research work involves developing models for the arcing and the wave propagation, including
analysis and simulations of large scale wire‐systems. Methodically, the work involves
electromagnetic theory, applied mathematics, numerical methods and experiments.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Martin Norgren
Name of supervisor (if other)
Martin Norgren
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 101
Email address to contact person
martin.norgren@ee.kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Electromagnetic Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 102
ElectricalEngineering
Detailed subject area
Methods: Inference, Information theory, Probability theory, Bayesian, Signal‐processing.
Application: Electric power systems, High‐voltage measurement, Electric power components.
Title of project
Inverse‐probability methods for Inference Problems in Electric Power Engineering
Short description of project
Electric Power is a broad subject: it has many "inference problems", either in use now or likely to
come into wide use in future systems ("Smart Grids"). A few examples are: estimation of
component values (such as capacitance for condition assessment) estimation of parameters for a
sinusoidal signal in noise (for protective relays and phasor‐measurement units, or for mode‐
detection of oscillations) "state‐estimation" of nodes' complex voltages based on incomplete or
faulty information and estimation of multiple conductors' potentials or currents based on remote
measurements of electric or magnetic fields.
The inference problems are typically treated by a cascade of standard electrical‐engineering
"blocks", such as an filters, downsampling, windowing, FFT, etc. In some cases, "learning
machines" such as artificial neural networks have been used, trained on measured or simulated
data for which the desired outcomes are known this is often done as another block, surrounded
by conventional filters etc. A different approach is the application of inverse probability (or
Bayesian) methods to encapsulate as probability densities the existing estimates and
assumptions about the system and noise, then to work with this information and the measured
data to find the most probable value for the desired signal‐ or component‐parameter. This
principle has been followed very successfully in some other contexts such as radar and NMR data.
An approach is expounded in the book E. T. Jaynes, "Probability Theory: The Logic of Science",
Cambridge University Press, 2003 (an old but quite similar version is available online at
http://omega.albany.edu:8008/JaynesBook.html ). By this method, prior knowledge can be
included in the assessment, and no preprocessing of the data is used: the inference problem is
set up systematically based on the sought quantities and any other knowledge about the physical
situation.
The proposed project will investigate the advantage of this approach. In some cases, such as with
poor prior knowledge and demands on high speed, there might be little or no advantage
compared to existing methods. It is expected, however, that there exist cases ‐‐ of importance in
power systems ‐‐ where the Probability approach has strong advantages due to organising prior
knowledge, using all the data without rather arbitrary choices of preprocessing filters, handling
cases where several parameters are poorly known, and giving estimates of error and sensitivity.
The work plan is to identify a set of real applications (such as in the first paragraph, above), then
to study the present approaches to these, and thereby select a subset where the proposed
method is likely to have the greatest advantage. For these, the inference problem will be
formulated and implemented in the way suggested by Jaynes (and others), and the result will be
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 103
compared to the result given by existing methods. This will be done using test‐data, and
comparing not just the final value[s] but also the robustness, speed, and ease of use.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Nathaniel Taylor
Name of supervisor (if other)
Nathaniel Taylor and Rajeev Thottappillil
Email address to contact person
nathaniel.taylor@ee.kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
ETK
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 104
ElectricalEnginnering
Detailed subject area
Reliable and sustainable sources of energy will remain an essential ingredient for human
development. Since carbon‐based energies have an enormous impact on our climate, alternative
energy sources must be found. Controlled thermonuclear fusion is one of the very few options to
provide us with a long‐term, environmentally friendly and inherently safe (e.g. no chain reaction
is possible) contribution to solve the energy problem we are facing. Fusion is at the forefront of
research, needing highly educated investigators, while at the same time providing top trained
individuals for novel, state‐of‐the‐art areas, such as plasma physics and technology that support a
multi‐billion industry.
The ITER project opens a new stage for research in the field of magnetic fusion. The fusion
education programme, with well‐developed human resources, will be a cornerstone for ensuring
the success and excellence of the international fusion research programme. As the ITER project
implies that EU and non‐EU scientists and engineers will work together, it is essential to promote
common education, world‐wide interpersonal contacts, and a corporate spirit. The ultimate
objective of this international Partnership is to provide a sustainable, integrated and coordinated
education at doctoral level in the framework of a worldwide network of excellence in nuclear
fusion science & engineering physics.
Fusion education is a field that lends itself by excellence for international collaboration, as it can
build on the very well developed collaboration between the KTH and ITER member states
including China in the capacity of the major player in fusion research. The project addresses the
crucial impact of the edge localized modes on the perfomance of ITER and a follow up in a
commerical fusion reactor. Issues pertinent to the perfomance of plasma edge will be
investigated by means of numerical codes and analytical models.
Title of project
Electric Fields and Plasma Rotation in Tokamaks
Short description of project
The start of the ITER project, in the framework of a partnership between the European Union,
Japan, China, South Korea, Russia, the USA and India, opens a new stage for research in the field
of magnetic fusion. This project will mobilize the scientific fusion community in a powerful and
durable way around the construction and scientific exploitation of ITER, its scientific and
technological preparation and the ensuing step of a DEMO electricity generating reactor.
In order to ensure the availability of competent staff to construct and operate ITER and DEMO, it
is of paramount importance to keep improving and to further develop the education and training
approach in the area of fusion science and engineering. Chinese scientists should have the best
education and training possible, learn to work in an international environment and gain
familiarity with other cultures. This can only be accomplished by having the best young scientists
to study and work in Europe.
The project addresses the crucial impact of the edge localized modes on the perfomance of ITER
and a follow up in a commerical fusion reactor. Issues pertinent to the perfomance of plasma
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 105
edge will be investigated by means of numerical codes and analytical models.
Project website if available
www.iter.org
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Tendler Michael
Name of supervisor (if other)
Tendler Michael
Email address to contact person
mtendler@kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Fusion Research
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 106
ElectricalEngineering,ElectronicEngineering,Computer
Science,ComputerEngineering
Title of project
Machine to machine wireless communications
Detailed subject area
Wireless networks, low‐power design, communications signal processing
Short description of project
With Internet of Things (IoT), smart things become active participants in business and social
processes. We expect that by 2025 Internet nodes may reside in everyday things — food
packages, furniture, paper documents, and more. The first direct consequence of the
proliferation of IoT is that large numbers of devices will produce huge quantities of sporadic
data and significantly higher capacity of cellular networks will be needed – not in terms of
megabits transported, but the number of machines sustained. In wide‐area applications,
low‐cost and massive machine to machine (M2M) communications provided by cellular
networks will be one main driver for the success of future IoT development. This project will
analyze existing bottlenecks and design communications algorithms and protocols for M2M
communications and build a fundamental framework for supporting ubiquitous IoT.
‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐
Applicants must hold or be about to receive a master degree in electrical engineering,
computer science, computer engineering, information and communication technologies, or
a related area. Candidates are expected to have a convincing background on any aspect of
wireless communications, wireless networks, or wireless signal processing. Background in
one or more of the following is a plus: embedded system, energy harvesting, or low‐power
circuit design.
Application
‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐
1. Cover letter: One‐ page summary of your application.
2. Curriculum vitae: A document of all your relevant academic, professional, and other
achievements, experience, and knowledge.
3. Transcripts and degrees: Official documents from your institutions, with certified
translations in English (unless provided so by the issuing institution).
4. Recommendation letters: Please include detailed contact information for at least three
references.
5. Representative publications/technical reports: Up to three (3) documents, up to twelve
(12) pages each. For longer documents (e.g., theses), please provide an abstract and a web
link to the full text.
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 107
Project website if avaliable
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Name of supervisor(if other)
Jens Zander
E‐mail address to contact person
jenz@kth.se
KTH school
ICT
KTH department
CoS
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 108
ElectromagneticEngineering
Detailed subject area
Nonreciprocal electromagnetic wave, Faraday rotation, Magneto‐optical photonic crystals,
Plasmonics.
Title of project
Giant enhancement of nonreciprocal electromagnetic properties by plasmonics
Short description of project
Nonreciprocal optical devices have been widely used in many photonic systems such as isolators
and circulators in optical fiber communication system. However, as the magneto‐optical effect is
very weak, it needs a large size to achieve sufficiently strong nonreciprocal phenomena, e.g.
Faraday rotation. How to enhance this magneto‐optical effect is an important subject for
theoretical research and practical applications. Recently, the extensive research in plasmonics
provides abundant routes to enhance light‐matter interaction by nanostructures that could
localize light. It is of particular interest to combine plasmonics with magneto‐optical photonic
crystals to get a giant enhancement of Faraday rotation, as it makes use of both the localization
of light and the resonance in Fabry‐Pérot cavity. This project aims to both theoretical
development of nonreciprocal plasmonics as well as the methods to realize such nonreciprocal
devices. To fulfill this goal, we are looking for a PhD student with good knowledge in
electromagnetic theory and interest in doing experiments.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Sailing He
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Sailing He & Dr. S. Zhang
Email address to contact person
sailing@kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Electromagnetic Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 109
ElectricalEngineering,ComputerScience,ComputerEngineering
Title of project
Machine to machine wireless communications
Detailed subject area
Wireless networks, low‐power design, communications signal processing
Short description of project
With Internet of Things (IoT), smart things become active participants in business and social
processes. We expect that by 2025 Internet nodes may reside in everyday things — food
packages, furniture, paper documents, and more. The first direct consequence of the
proliferation of IoT is that large numbers of devices will produce huge quantities of sporadic
data and significantly higher capacity of cellular networks will be needed – not in terms of
megabits transported, but the number of machines sustained. In wide‐area applications,
low‐cost and massive machine to machine (M2M) communications provided by cellular
networks will be one main driver for the success of future IoT development. This project will
analyze existing bottlenecks and design communications algorithms and protocols for M2M
communications and build a fundamental framework for supporting ubiquitous IoT.
‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐
Applicants must hold or be about to receive a master degree in electrical engineering,
computer science, computer engineering, information and communication technologies, or
a related area. Candidates are expected to have a convincing background on any aspect of
wireless communications, wireless networks, or wireless signal processing. Background in
one or more of the following is a plus: embedded system, energy harvesting, or low‐power
circuit design.
Application
‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐
1. Cover letter: One‐ page summary of your application.
2. Curriculum vitae: A document of all your relevant academic, professional, and other
achievements, experience, and knowledge.
3. Transcripts and degrees: Official documents from your institutions, with certified
translations in English (unless provided so by the issuing institution).
4. Recommendation letters: Please include detailed contact information for at least three
references.
5. Representative publications/technical reports: Up to three (3) documents, up to twelve
(12) pages each. For longer documents (e.g., theses), please provide an abstract and a web
link to the full text.
Project website if avaliable
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Jens Zander
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 110
Name of supervisor(if other)
Jens Zander
E‐mail address to contact person
jenz@kth.se
KTH school
ICT
KTH department
CoS
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 111
ElectromagneticEngineering
Detailed subject area
Microwave and mmwave antenna design, wireless channel analysis.
Title of project
Microwave‐mm wave cellular antenna systems for next generation communications
Short description of project
Recently, mm wave communication has become quite a promising candidate for next
generation communication systems, which has enabled gigabit‐per‐second data rates in both
indoor and fixed outdoor systems. A huge amount of the mm wave spectrum is (potentially)
available around the globe such as 23GHz, LMDS, 38 GHz, E‐band and so on. Some initial
works have demonstrated the possibility to apply mm wave to mobile cellular systems, and
recent hardware advances make mass market deployments feasible. An important
bottleneck for implementing mm wave techniques in a mobile communication system is the
practical coverage and capacity estimation and improvement in urban areas with different
building density. The penetration can be good, but there is no diffraction around corners.
Thus, shadowing is a more serious problem at mm‐wave frequencies. Furthermore, the
materials of buildings, the shadowing of user body and the different kind of weathers will
also significantly affect the coverage and capacity properties of mm wave communications.
Some other issues (like ad‐hoc distribution, user positioning, MIMO implement and so on)
are not practically and systematically investigated either. Another bottleneck to achieve the
promised benefits provided by mm wave systems is the practical hardware aspects (such as
antenna array design, beamforming method, mechanical fabrication tolerances and
transitions/connectors). Furthermore, in practice, the mm wave antenna system will be used
together with the microwave cellular system. The incorporation between these two systems
also needs to be optimized.
This project aims at the channel analysis and antenna design for microwave‐mm wave
cellular antenna systems.
Project website if avaliable
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Sailing He
Name of supervisor(if other)
Prof. Sailing He & Dr. S. Zhang
E‐mail address to contact person
sailing@kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 112
KTH school
EES
KTH department
Electromagnetic Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 113
ElectronicSystems,InformationandCommunicationTechnology
Detailed subject area
Complex electronic systems are now everywhere (e.g. cars, cellphones, medical devices). There
will be a continuing need to design and build such systems (electric cars, bio‐instrumentation,
sensor networks, and information and communication systems) in an energy efficient way that
can be scaled up in application space and scaled down in device size.
Devices must be integrated together to perform useful functions. Circuits that effectively utilize
the devices in all application areas from information technology, bio‐instrumentation, to sensors
require advances in both digital and analog designs and an insightful understanding of the
application environment. The interaction between devices and circuits is a fruitful area of
research.
Title of project
Electronic Systems and Integration
Short description of project
We welcome Ph.D candidates in this program to carry out innovative research in electronic
system design, including integrated circuit design and embedded system design. We also wish the
candidates can explore advanced integration technologies, for example, the hybrid integration
technology, and apply these circuits and systems into various innovative application scenarios, for
example, Biomedical sensors, devices and micro‐systems Logistics Smart packaging RFID Wireless
sensor network healthcare/environmental monitoring. A desirable candidate should also take the
responsibility of driving new and original research initiatives and defining new projects in
collaboration with universities, research institutes and industrial partners.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Hannu Tenhunen
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Hannu Tenhunen
Email address to contact person
hannu@kth.se
KTH School
ICT
KTH department
ES/ICT
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 114
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 115
Emissioncontroltechnologies
Detailed subject area
Analysis of energy conversion processes and environmental impacts for biomass fuels used for
power and heat production
Title of project
Analysis of energy conversion processes and environmental impacts for biomass fuels used for
power and heat production
Short description of project
Theoretical study will performed for the chemical processes involved in major thermal energy
conversion processes especially applied for renewable fuels (e.g. biomass and ). The study will
focus on the formation characteristics of important pollutants and corresponding mechanisms.
The theoretic study will used to analysis industrial energy generation systems to understand the
specific pollutant generation, migration/retention and distribution in the energy conversion
system. The system analysis intends to predict the behavior of the specific pollutant and propose
effective control approaches. The theoretical study will closely be combined with industrial
applications through case studies.
The project will enhance student’s capability on:
• Technical details of thermal energy conversion processes and systems,
• Emission chemistry and control principle for specific pollutants in thermal energy production,
• Analysis and characterization of emissions from thermal energy system, and
• Major environmental issues associated with the thermal energy production,
Student has basic knowledge on chemical engineering thermal engineering and environmental
engineering will be helpful.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Dr. Jinying Yan
Name of supervisor (if other)
Assoc. Prof. Longcheng Liu
Email address to contact person
lliu@ket.kth.se
KTH School
CHE
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 116
KTH department
KET
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 117
EnergyResearch
Detailed subject area
The continuous growth of Earth’s population demands a continuous increase in the energy
production. While the traditional energy sources based on fossil fuels or nuclear fission are a
threat for the environment and for the public health, the renewable sources, such as those based
on solar irradiation, wind and biomass, still do not give a significant contribution to the global
energy problem, despite great investments and technology improvements.
Nuclear fusion is considered one of the best candidates to contribute to the solution of global
energy problem http://world‐nuclear.org/info/inf66.html. Energy production in nuclear fusion is
based on the same process that creates the energy on the sun, the fusion of hydrogen nuclei to
produce helium nuclei and energy. Some of the advantages of fusion are a virtually infinite fuel
supply and no radioactive waste production
http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2010/nucfusionbasics.html. More information about
fusion researches can be found on the International Energy Agency website: http://www.iea.org/.
Several fusion experiments are active world‐wide, including Europe http://www.efda.org/. The
largest device is JET, located at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, Oxfordshire, UK,
http://www.jet.efda.org/. The international community, including China, is presently building a
new experiment called ITER in Cadarache (France) that should prove the feasibility of energy
production via nuclear fusion http://www.iter.org/. If the project succeeds, an alternative to fossil
fuels and nuclear fission will have been found, and part of the global energy problem will be
solved.
The capabilities of future fusion reactors could be strongly limited by a particular kind of
instability that produces a sudden expulsion of energy towards the machine wall, reducing the
stored energy and damaging the wall material http://www.jet.efda.org/focus‐on/edge‐localised‐
modes/. One of the most successful techniques to mitigate this instability consists in the
generation of external magnetic perturbations. The physical mechanisms that regulate the
plasma‐magnetic perturbation interaction are not yet fully understood and the project aim to an
experimental study of the magnetic perturbation effect on the plasma in the EXTRAP T2R device
(http://www.kth.se/ees/omskolan/organisation/avdelningar/fpp/research/experiment?l=en_UK)
and the pressure profiles in the JET experiments. The work will involve international
collaborations with several research groups in Europe.
Title of project
Experimental study of external magnetic perturbations in fusion plasmas.
Short description of project
The capabilities of future fusion reactors could be strongly limited by edge localized modes
(ELMs), a particular kind of instability localized near the edge of the plasma, in the so called
pedestal region, where the steep pressure profiles are located http://www.jet.efda.org/focus‐
on/edge‐localised‐modes/.. This instability produces a sudden expulsion of energy towards the
wall, reducing the stored energy but especially damaging the material that surrounds the plasma
http://www.jet.efda.org/focus‐on/plasma‐wall‐interaction/. One of the most successful
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 118
techniques to mitigate this instability consists in the generation of external magnetic
perturbations resonant in the pedestal region (RMPs). The RMPs, by creating magnetic chaos in
the pedestal, reduce the pressure profile below the instability threshold, suppressing or
mitigating ELMs. The physical mechanisms that regulate the plasma‐RMP interaction and all the
effects produced by the RMPs are not yet fully understood.
This PhD project aims at studying the RMP effect on the plasma. This will be done following two
lines of research.
(1) Basic physics studies are conducted on EXTRAP T2R reversed‐field pinch, located in Fusion
Plasma physics Division at the School of Electrical Engineering of KTH (Stockholm, Sweden), .
EXTRAP T2R is equipped with a set of active and sensor coils and advanced control algorithm for
the generation of external magnetic perturbations. This advanced tool gives a unique opportunity
to conduct extremely clean experiments not possible in the presented‐day tokamaks aimed at
the understanding of the underlying physics that regulates the RMP interaction with the plasma.
(2) Studies of the pedestal properties on JET tokamak (Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, UK,). The
student will actively participate in the analysis of JET experimental data, mainly focusing on the
electron temperature and density profiles from the JET High Resolution Thomson Scattering
(HRTS). The activity will be focused on the pedestal behaviour in various experimental conditions
and in the characterization of the pedestal role in the total stored energy. The student is expected
to actively participate in the JET experimental campaigns and to have strong collaborations with
the JET research groups.
External links to laboratories and universities involved in the project:
EXTRAP T2R http://www.kth.se/ees/omskolan/organisation/avdelningar/fpp?l=en_UK
School of Electrical Engineering: http://www.kth.se/ees?l=en_UK
Royal Institute of technology (KTH): http://www.kth.se/?l=en_UK
Culham Centre for Fusion Energy: http://www.ccfe.ac.uk/
JET: http://www.jet.efda.org/
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Lorenzo Frassinetti / Per Brunsell
Name of supervisor (if other)
Lorenzo Frassinetti
Email address to contact person
lorenzo.frassinetti@ee.kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Department of Fusion Plasma Physics
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 119
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 120
EnergyResearch
Detailed subject area
The project concerns the development of magnetically confined fusion as a sustainable energy
source. This research area has high priority throughout the industrialised world, who have joined
forces to construct the ITER device a collaboration between Europe, China, USA, Russia, South
Korea, Japan and India. ITER is predicted to provide a proof of principle for fusion by producing
more energy than it consumes, thus enabling a commercial exploitation of fusion energy.
Title of project
Theory and modelling of fast ions and waves in fusion reactors
Short description of project
The research within theoretical fusion plasma physics has grown out of the Nobel laureate
Hannes Alfvén's wide research field within plasma physics and electro physics. As such the
project is focussed on two areas where Alfvén made major contributions waves in plasmas and
the dynamics fast particles. The project is well integrated in the European Fusion Programme,
with regular visits to the JET device in the Oxford, England, and strong European collaborations
on integrated fusion modelling aimed at modelling ITER and DEMO plasmas.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/ees/omskolan/organisation/avdelningar/fpp/research/theory/theoretical‐
research‐projects‐1.34958
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Torbjörn Hellsten
Name of supervisor (if other)
Thomas Johnson
Email address to contact person
johnso@kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Fusion plasma physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 121
EnergyTechnology/AdvancedEnergyconversionTechnology
Detailed subject area
Energy conversion technologies are some of the key issues for this century. Fuel cells (FC) are one
of the most promising technologies within the field. We have recently developed a radical new
energy conversion technology for a wide range of energy conversions based on a single
component device (SCD) and electrolyte‐free FC (EFFC) highlighted by Nature Nanotechnology
(2011). The SCD represents a new type of energy conversion technology. In this new technology,
chemical energy can be continuously converted to electricity as in a FC, but the proton activation
process involved is similar to the photo activation for photovoltaic processes in a solar cell based
on p‐n junctions. It demonstrates a revolutionary way to construct a more efficient and simple FC
and energy conversion device.
Title of project
Advanced fuel cell –solar thermal energy and micro‐gas turbine polygeneration
Short description of project
This proposed project will carry out extensive engineering efforts in parallel with fundamental
studies in order to forward to practical applications the use of hybrid energy systems, e.g. joining
FC (also electrolyser), solar thermal energy and micro‐turbine for polygeneration. The proposed
research goes substantially beyond the state of the art and opens a new promising field and
makes way for new applications. The effort will significantly push the frontier of FC/solar cell and
energy R&D in Sweden and Europe.
i) to construct scaled up devices for physical and electrochemical studies and evaluations
ii) to improve the scientific understanding and device principles and functions based on both
theoretical and experimental verifications
iii) to design with theoretical and engineering efforts for studying and installation of FC and solar
cell hybrid units and micro‐turbine, biomass fuel processor and FC (solar cell) with emphasis on
various interfaces between different components
iv) to realize a technical demonstration of a hybrid unit: FC/solar thermal energy and micro‐
turbine in the 1 kW to 10 kW power range.
Potential candidates for this PhD project should have a master degree within the field of
materials engineering, chemistry or physics. Having a research background on fuel cell or solar
cell is a merit. You are most welcome with your application!
Project website if available
www.nanocofc.com
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Torsten Fransson and Docent. Bin Zhu
Name of supervisor (if other)
Docent. Bin Zhu, Doc. Anders Malmquist, Ass. Prof. Björn Laumert and Dr. Ying Ma
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 122
Email address to contact person
binzhu@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Department of Energy Technology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 123
EnergyTechnology/AdvancedFuelcelltechnology
Detailed subject area
Sustainable energy systems require new technologies. Fuel cells (FCs) are vital in this respect, e.g.
by providing efficient and low‐pollution energy conversion and by opening up for a future
hydrogen economy. However, commercialisation of fuel cells has been delayed due to technology
complex and high costs. Recently, a novel energy conversion technology ‐ Electrolyte free fuel cell
(EFFC) was invented and demonstrated using the multifunctional nanocomposite materials in our
group. EFFC device shows many superior properties compared with the conventional three‐
component FC devices on fabrication simplicity, materials compatibility and electrochemical
performance, etc.
Title of project
Multi‐functional nanocomposites for advanced single component fuel cell
Short description of project
This project focuses on development of functional nanocomposite materials for the novel
electrolyte free fuel cell technology. This project is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary
research encompassing nanotechnology, materials synthesis, materials characterization, device
fabrication and fuel cell performance test. The following aspects of work will be conducted to
fulfill the goal of developing electrolyte free fuel cell technology:
1. Synthesis and characterization of various nanocomposite materials (semiconducting metal
oxides plus ionic conductor, e.g. SDC‐LiNiZn) that possessing desired morphology and mixed
ionic/electronic properties.
2. Fabrication, test and performance optimization of the single component fuel cell (SCFC)
produced by the novel functional nanocomposite materials.
3. Electrochemical characterization of materials and resulted fuel cell devices.
4. Thin film device fabrication based on nanocomposite with optimized composition and and
morphology.
Potential candidates for this PhD project should have a master degree within the field of
materials engineering, chemistry or physics. You are most welcome with your application!
Project website if available
www.nanocofc.com
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Torsten Fransson and Docent. Bin Zhu
Name of supervisor (if other)
Docent. Bin Zhu and Dr. Ying Ma
Email address to contact person
binzhu@kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 124
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Department of Energy Technology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 125
EnergyTechnology/Heatpumptechnology
Detailed subject area
Heat pumps for the Chinese market
Title of project
Heat pumps for the Chinese market
Short description of project
Heat pumps will be a natural and important component of the future energy systems, as a
large share of the electricity will be produced by renewable energy. In Sweden heat pumps
are already used on a large scale for heating: About every second house in Sweden is
heated by heat pumps and more than one million units are installed in the country.
In China, conditions are different, both concerning the energy source of electricity
production and concerning the climatic, geological, economic, cultural and institutional
boundary conditions. These factors will influence the design of heat pumps for the Chinese
market.
The aim of the project is to develop technical solutions for heat pumps suitable for
introduction on the Chinese market.
Project website if avaliable
www.energy.kth.se
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Björn Palm
Name of supervisor(if other)
E‐mail address to contact person
bpalm@energy.kth.se
KTH school
ITM
KTH department
Energy Technology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 126
Engineeringeducation
Detailed subject area
Global competence
Title of project
Global competence in engineering education and in engineering practice
Short description of project
The aim of this visit is twofold. Firstly it aims to help the ECE School initiate grounded research in
the area of 'global competence', and secondly it will constitute another step in the developing C‐
campus cooperation between KTH and Tsinghua University.
Research projects will focus both on de facto needs and practices in globalised settings, eg,
multinational engineering companies, and on how to most fruitfully design engineering
education so that it includes the skills and knowledge required of tomorrow's successful
engineers.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Associate professor Björn Kjellgren
Name of supervisor (if other)
Professor Anette Kolmos
Email address to contact person
bjoern@kth.se
KTH School
CSC
KTH department
ECE, Department of Learning (ECE was not an option in the list above!)
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Post Doc. (6‐12 months)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 127
HydraulicEngineering
Detailed subject area
Groundwater renewal and extraction limits for water consumption
Title of project
Geohydraulics / Environmental hydraulics
Short description of project
According to Tóth (1962, 1963) the periodic undulations in water table, reflecting landscape
topography, produce a pattern of local, intermediate, and regional flow cells in a drainage
basin. The hydraulics and chemistry of groundwater in each cell are closely related. Three‐
dimensional analysis of regional groundwater hydraulics is the key to understanding the
flow patterns in the large drainage bains. The approach of closed‐form solutions to large‐
scale groundwater flow problem based on knowledge of landscape tropography and
subsurface heterogeneity proposed by Worman et al. (2006, 2007) and Marklund and
Worman (2011) is an effective method, which has been sucessfully applied in Sweden. The
Ordos Basin, the second largest sedimentary basin in China, is abundant in fossil fuel and
mineral resources. Unfortunately, the economic development of the Ordos Basin is
restricted by limited water resources due to its arid to semiarid climate. Applying this
closed‐form solution to the Ordos Basin can contribute to resolving key questions regading
the groundwater renewal. In addition, based on the resluts of numerical modelling of
groundwater hydraulics, we will also explore the general characteristics of the distribution
of groundwater age in the basin.
This project can provide guidance on the exploration of groundwater in large drainage
basins and advance in knowledge on the pattern of groundwater flow in large drainage
basins, thus lead to a sustainable development of the use of groundwater resources.
The project is based on an established collaboration between KTH and the associate
professor Xiao‐Wei Jiang at China University of Geoscience. There is at least one student
candidate, Jun‐Zhi Wang, preparing for an exchange study period.
References
Marklund, L., Wörman, A. 2011. “The Use of Spectral Analysis for Exact Solutions to
Topography‐Controlled Groundwater Flow”, Hydrogeology Journal 19(8):1531‐1543,
doi:10.1007/s10040‐011‐0768‐4
Toth, J., “A Theory of Groundwater Motion in Small Drainage Basins in Central Alberta,
Canada,” Journal of Geophysical Research, 67(11) 4375‐4387, 1962.
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 128
Toth, J., “A Theoretical Analysis of Groundwater Flow in Small Drainage Basins,” Journal of
Geophysical Research, 68(16) 4795‐4812, 1963.
Wörman, A., Packman, A.I., Marklund, L., Harvey, J.W., Stone, S., 2006. “Exact three‐
dimensional spectral solution to surface‐groundwater interactions with arbitrary surface
topography”, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L07402, doi:10.1029/2006GL025747.
Wörman, A., A. I. Packman, L. Marklund, J. W. Harvey, and S. H. Stone, 2007. ”Fractal
topography and subsurface water flows from fluvial bedforms to the continental shield”,
Geophys. Res. Lett.: 34, L07402, doi:10.1029/2007GL029426.
Project website if avaliable
http://www.cugb.edu.cn/EnglishWeb/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Anders Wörman
Name of supervisor(if other)
Xiao‐Wei Jiang
E‐mail address to contact person
worman@kth.se
KTH school
ABE
KTH department
Byggvetenskap
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 129
Evolutionarygeneticsandgenomics
Detailed subject area
The project concerns studies of the evolutionary history of the domestic dog, exploiting the new
generation of very powerful DNA sequencing technology.
We will perform phylogeographical studies to identify the geographical and cultural context of
wolf domestication, and genome sequence analysis and bioinformatics to identify the genes
under selection in the domestication of wolf and further dog evolution.
Our previous studies have indicated South China to be the origin of the domestic dog, and we
now intensify the studies, based on a unique, very dense, sample collection of dogs from South
China. The studies are performed in collaboration with Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese
Academy of Sciences.
Title of project
The origin and evolution of the domestic dog: large scale population‐genetic and genomic
investigation of South Chinese dogs and wolves
Short description of project
The project is based on a long‐established collaboration between Sweden and China: our
research group at KTH/Scilifelab and the research group of Professor Ya‐ping Zhang at Kunming
Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In a number of prominent papers we have previously unravelled the first detailed facts about the
origin and early history of the domestic dog, indicating South China as the probable region of dog
origins, thus changing a century‐long paradigm favouring Europe or the Middle East.
Knowledge about the origins of the domestic dog has great scientific value from many different
aspects: it concerns an important step in human history, the domestication of wolf is an
important model for understanding the biological and cultural mechanisms behind domestication
in general, and the immense diversity among dogs provides a unique model for understanding
development of morphological diversity, and rapid evolutionary change.
In this project, we will perform analyses of genome evolution and phylogeography, by generation
of DNA data and bioinformatic and population genetic analyses. Based on this, we aim to
describe dog origins in unprecedented detail: the precise geographical region, the related human
culture, and the genomic changes behind the behavioural and physical evolution in the
metamorphosis from wolf to dog.
The project is based on a unique resource available only to our research groups: a dense sample
of dogs and wolves from across South and Central China and a comprehensive reference sample
of dogs from across the world, creating a detailed phylogeographical map of dog evolution. We
will analyse mitochondrial and Y‐chromosomal DNA, and for a subset of samples the nuclear
genome sequence. Hereby, a detailed picture of the origins and earliest history of dogs can be
obtained, for example: place, time, number of founders, the related human culture and the
cultural mechanisms behind domestication. Furthermore, by bioinformatic comparisons of
Chinese dog and wolf genomes we will identify the genes under selection in the domestication of
wolf and the earliest steps of dog evolution. This will reveal the evolutionary mechanisms
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 130
involved in the domestication of wolf and earliest development of dog.
Thus, students with different backgrounds are welcome to apply we are looking for molecular
biologists, bioinformaticians as well as students with experience of phylogeographic analyses.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/bio/research/genetech/evolutionary‐biology‐and‐forensics‐1.314219
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Peter Savolainen
Name of supervisor (if other)
Peter Savolainen
Email address to contact person
savo@kth.se
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Division of Gene Technology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 131
Evolutionarygeneticsandgenomics
Detailed subject area
The project concerns studies of the evolutionary history of the domestic dog, exploiting the new
generation of very powerful DNA sequencing technology.
We will perform phylogeographical studies to identify the geographical and cultural context of
wolf domestication, and genome sequence analysis and bioinformatics to identify the genes
under selection in the domestication of wolf and further dog evolution.
Our previous studies have indicated South China to be the origin of the domestic dog, and we
now intensify the studies, based on a unique, very dense, sample collection of dogs from South
China. The studies are performed in collaboration with Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese
Academy of Sciences.
Title of project
The origin and evolution of the domestic dog: large scale population‐genetic and genomic
investigation of South Chinese dogs and wolves
Short description of project
The project is based on a long‐established collaboration between Sweden and China: our
research group at KTH/Scilifelab and the research group of Professor Ya‐ping Zhang at Kunming
Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In a number of prominent papers we have previously unravelled the first detailed facts about the
origin and early history of the domestic dog, indicating South China as the probable region of dog
origins, thus changing a century‐long paradigm favouring Europe or the Middle East.
Knowledge about the origins of the domestic dog has great scientific value from many different
aspects: it concerns an important step in human history, the domestication of wolf is an
important model for understanding the biological and cultural mechanisms behind domestication
in general, and the immense diversity among dogs provides a unique model for understanding
development of morphological diversity, and rapid evolutionary change.
In this project, we will perform analyses of genome evolution and phylogeography, by generation
of DNA data and bioinformatic and population genetic analyses. Based on this, we aim to
describe dog origins in unprecedented detail: the precise geographical region, the related human
culture, and the genomic changes behind the behavioural and physical evolution in the
metamorphosis from wolf to dog.
The project is based on a unique resource available only to our research groups: a dense sample
of dogs and wolves from across South and Central China and a comprehensive reference sample
of dogs from across the world, creating a detailed phylogeographical map of dog evolution. We
will analyse mitochondrial and Y‐chromosomal DNA, and for a subset of samples the nuclear
genome sequence. Hereby, a detailed picture of the origins and earliest history of dogs can be
obtained, for example: place, time, number of founders, the related human culture and the
cultural mechanisms behind domestication. Furthermore, by bioinformatic comparisons of
Chinese dog and wolf genomes we will identify the genes under selection in the domestication of
wolf and the earliest steps of dog evolution. This will reveal the evolutionary mechanisms
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 132
involved in the domestication of wolf and earliest development of dog.
Thus, students with different backgrounds are welcome to apply we are looking for molecular
biologists, bioinformaticians as well as students with experience of phylogeographic analyses.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/bio/research/genetech/evolutionary‐biology‐and‐forensics‐1.314219
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Peter Savolainen
Name of supervisor (if other)
Peter Savolainen
Email address to contact person
savo@kth.se
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Division of Gene Technology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 133
FibreandPolymerTechnology
Detailed subject area
Polymer Technology
Title of project
Characterization of polymers and polymer degradation by mass spectrometry
Short description of project
The use of polymers in applications, such as biomedical applications, food packaging and toys
demands knowledge of the total composition and potential release of degradation products and
additives from the materials. Mass spectrometry is a powerful molecular level characterization
tool for analysis of polymers and their interactions with the environment (e.g. human body, food,
natural environments). During this project mass spectrometric tools will be developed for
fingerprinting the degradation and long‐term properties of biomedical and/or renewable
materials. The main focus will be on the development of laser desorption ionization – mass
spectrometry (LDI‐MS) techniques, which will be applied in combination with GC‐MS, ESI‐MS and
traditional polymer characterization techniques.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/polymer‐technology
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Minna Hakkarainen
Name of supervisor (if other)
Minna Hakkarainen
Email address to contact person
minna@kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Fibre and Polymer Technology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 134
FluidMechanics
Detailed subject area
Turbulence, Multiphase flows, Numerical simulations
Title of project
Turbulent flow of particle suspensions
Short description of project
Suspensions are found in different processes and applications, e.g. sediment transport in
environments or pharmaceutical engineering. The laminar regime in the semi‐dilute or dense
cases, non vanishing volume fraction, is usually characterized by the sometime spectacular
rheological properties induced by the suspended phase. Much less is known about dissipation
and mixing in the turbulent regime.
Turbulent and transitional flows are usually characterized by a shear rate that intermittently
fluctuates in space and time. This feature, in combination with the peculiar rheological features
of semi‐dilute/dense suspensions, lead to new phenomenologies in these chaotic flow regimes.
As an example, experiments in a pipe show that for relatively large particles, the critical Reynolds
number at which transition to turbulence occurs cannot be simply rescaled considering the
increase of the effective viscosity due to the presence of the solid phase.
The aim of the present work is to investigate the turbulent channel flow of a fluid laden with rigid
particles. We shall consider both monodisperse and polydisperse suspensions, as well as
spherical and non‐spherical particles.
Direct numerical simulations will be performed by using an algorithm that fully describes the
coupling between the solid and fluid phases. The incompressible Navier‐Stokes equations are
discretized by second order finite differences on a staggered mesh. The finite‐size particles are
evolved by a Lagrangian algorithm that solves the linear and angular momentum equations. The
coupling between the two phases is directly achieved by using an Immersed Boundary Method.
Lubrication models are also used to correctly reproduce the interaction between particles when
their gap distance is smaller than the mesh size. The code was developed in collaboration with Dr.
Breugem at TU/Delft fully validated against several test cases.
The research in Fluid Mechanics at KTH is organized within the Linn e FLOW
Centre (www.flow.kth.se). The centre is one of the 20 original centers of excellence set up by the
Swedish Research Council, as the result of a highly competitive process with international
evaluation. About 50 PhD students and more than 15 senior scientists are part of the Linn e
FLOW Centre at the moment.
Project website if available
http://www2.mech.kth.se/~luca/index.php
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Luca Brandt
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 135
Name of supervisor (if other)
Luca Brandt
Email address to contact person
luca@mech.kth.se
KTH School
SCI
KTH department
Mekanik
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 136
FluidMechanics
Detailed subject area
Stability and Transition
Title of project
Instability of three dimensional flows
Short description of project
As the transition from laminar to turbulent flow is associated with an increase of friction drag,
recent requirements on significant reduction of CO2 and NOx have resulted in an increased
interest for laminar aircraft design. Since laminar‐turbulent transition in the boundary‐layer lows
is usually caused by breakdown of small unstable perturbations, the flow control methods for
delay of transition aim at reducing the growth rate of these perturbations. An improvement of
the capability to predict the laminar‐turbulent transition and thereby a more accurate prediction
of aircraft performance requires a better understanding of generation of perturbations in the
boundary layer flows.
The aim of this project is to use advance numerical simulation tools to investigate and understand
the receptivity process, i.e. process of generation of perturbations in the boundary layer flows
caused by e.g. free‐stream turbulence or surface roughness elements.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Ardeshir Hanifi
Name of supervisor (if other)
Ardeshir Hanifi
Email address to contact person
hanifi@kth.se
KTH School
SCI
KTH department
Mechanics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 137
FusionPlasmaPhysics
Detailed subject area
New, time‐spectral method for efficient and approximate solution of complex nonlinear problems
in turbulence, fluid mechanics and fusion plasma physics. The governing equations are time‐ and
space‐dependent nonlinear partial differential equations. By using spectral methods also for the
time domain, much higher efficiencies than in standard finite difference methods are expected.
Title of project
Efficient solution of initial‐value problems in fusion physics
Short description of project
This project concerns numerical and theoretical work at the Department of Fusion Plasma Physics
at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. The Department hosts the Extrap
T2R experimental reversed‐field pinch, but also has strong groups in radio frequency heating,
plasma‐wall interaction and numerical plasma modelling.
The widely separated time and space scales of critical problems in fusion physics today demand
extremely long computer simulations with vast memory requirements. An example is turbulence
at high Reynolds or Lundquist numbers, being addressed by gyrokinetic codes that are allocated
millions of CPU hours for parallel processing on supercomputers. It is worthwhile to explore new
avenues that may alleviate the requirements on computer power for these crucial problems.
In the present project a novel, promising computational method for time‐dependent problems in
general physics is further developed. The method's potential will now be further challenged by
addressing two central problems of fusion drift wave turbulence in tokamaks and kinetic stability
of resistive pressure driven modes in the reversed‐field pinch.
In brief, the method employs a spectral decomposition of the time domain rather using explicit or
implicit finite difference schemes. Metaphorically, whereas traditional methods explore the
shape of a landscape by trecking up and down hills and valleys in small steps, the present method
drops a blanket on the landscape to see how it forms. The computed solutions are truncated,
approximate semi‐analytical Chebyshev polynomial series, being immediately tractable for
mathematical analysis.
If you want to become a Ph D student, good mathematical skills and knowledge of computational
methods are desired.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof Jan Scheffel
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 138
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof Jan Scheffel
Email address to contact person
jan.scheffel@ee.kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Fusion Plasma Physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 139
Fusionplasmaphysics
Detailed subject area
Plasma‐surface interactions studies for fusion plasma physics are now largely focussing on
materials migration problems, which are relevant for the international ITER project and for future
fusion reactors. Materials migration limits the life time of plasma facing components in places
within the vacuum vessel where net erosion occurs. At places with net deposition on the other
hand, deposited layers incorporate more or less fuel (deuterium and tritium). This co‐deposition
process is undesirable from reactor safety and fuel economy points of view. Another effect of net
deposition is that deposited layers spall off when they get sufficiently thick, releasing dust. Dust
influences plasma operations and can, if accumulated, especially at hot surfaces, pose a safety
problem. Moreover, where more than one material is used facing the plasma, material mixing
due to materials migration is a critical issue. The materials migration problems are being studied
mainly in large tokamak experiments, prominently the European JET device, the presently largest
tokamak in the world. Dust related issues are inder investigation both at JET and in other fusion
devices. The main goal is to provide a sound basis for extrapolating from JET, now with ITER‐like
wall, to ITER.
Title of project
Studies of materials migration and dust in fusion devices
Short description of project
The KTH fusion plasma group is working on materials migration problems at JET, using a couple of
very specialized methods. Firstly, between operations periods at JET, plasma facing components
are routinely removed for post mortem analysis. The KTH group uses for this purpose mainly ion
beam analysis methods, especially ion microbeam at the Tandem accelerator laboratory in
Uppsala, Sweden. With nuclear microbeam the fuel trapping and materials mixing can be studied
at a microscopic level. Also scanning electron microscopy and other microscopic methods are
used. A unique isotopic marker experiment is also in progress at JET, where a tile enriched with
the 10Be isotope has been installed. Samples of the plasma facing surfaces in JET are analyzed
with the extremely sensitive accelerator mass spectrometry method, to map where the beryllium
eroded at the source tile is migrating. Modeling groups in Germany and Finland are involved in
interpreting the results. Finally, the KTH group also makes dust dynamics experiments using
innovative methods, in fusion devices in Germany, Sweden and Italy. The experimental dust
dynamics studies are supported in the KTH group with numerical modeling, using a numeriocal
code that is still under development, with emphasis on dust particle interactions with solid walls.
The PhD project should evolve within this frame, focussing either on microbeam analysis, the
10Be experiment or dust. The experimental work should be well linked with modeling.
Project website if available
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 140
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Henric Bergsåker
Name of supervisor (if other)
Henric Bergsåker
Email address to contact person
henricb@kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Fusionsplasmafysik
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 141
GamingandParticipatorySimulation
Detailed subject area
In the era of Big Data, GaPSlabs at KTH works on making this data not only visible, but also
immersive so that people can experience a simulated future scenario. By making people part of
the gaming and participatory simulations, it is possible to study their behaviour. This new form of
scientific research has a lot of value for bridging the gap between the technical and social
sciences. For this subject, computer scientists, social scientist, transportation experts and public
administration scientists work together.
Title of project
Gaming simulation for testing a Personal Travel Advisory platform based upon Big Data.
Short description of project
The project comprises the development of games and participatory simulations to test a
completely new personal mobility advisory App and Platform with stakeholders from government,
industry and end users.
The project is part of a larger program with leading European IT companies and cities from all
over Europe, who work on making their Big Data of use for travellers. Meanwhile, the city gains
more control over the use and public safety of its streets, attractions and infrastructures.
The student will work on creating the games and simulations based upon large data sets. The
topic is very challenging from a computer science point of view in the complexity of the
information and simulation, and from the social sciences point of view in really understanding
behaviour as it occurs, instead of from theoretical models.
The candidate sought has experience in advanced simulation and/or in computer science and has
an interest in human behaviour. The project will give many options to interact with industry and
municipalities.
Project website if available
http://www.gapslabs.net
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Sebastiaan Meijer
Name of supervisor (if other)
Sebastiaan Meijer
Email address to contact person
smeijer@kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 142
KTH School
ABE
KTH department
Transport Science
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 143
Geoinformatics
Detailed subject area
Remote Sensing and Geographic information Science
Title of project
To be submitted
Short description of project
To be submitted
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Yifang Ban
Name of supervisor (if other)
Yifang Ban
Email address to contact person
yifang@kth.se
KTH School
ABE
KTH department
Urban Planning and Environment
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 144
HighVoltageEngineering
Detailed subject area
Electrical Engineering, Power Systems, Dielectric insulation
Title of project
Improvement of dielectric strength in liquids with nanoparticles
Short description of project
The use of nanoadditives is one of the recent promising techniques to improve the insulation
strength and thermal properties of dielectric liquid used in power system components (e.g.
transformers, capacitors, etc). Unfortunately, there is a lack of understanding regarding the
processes that cause the improvement the liquid dielectric strength by using nanoparticles. This
PhD thesis project intends to contribute to the study of the basic physical mechanisms of
generation/loss of electrical carriers and dielectric failure in dielectric nanofluids compared with
traditional insulating liquids. This requires the study of nanofluids under high voltages in the
laboratory as well as the numerical modelling of the processes of conduction in the liquid. The
project will complement our research on conventional dielectric liquids and their performance.
Thus, the project requires a student with a Master of science degree in Technical physics,
Experimental physics, Electrical Engineering, or a corresponding degree. Solid experience in
MATLAB programming and scientific computing/programming is necessary. Ability to work
independently, in coordination with a team is necessary. Well developed analytical abilities and
endurance for solving demanding problems are qualities desired. In addition, fluency in written
and spoken English is necessary.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/ees/omskolan/organisation/avdelningar/etk/research/topics/research‐on‐
applied‐physics‐and‐multiphysics‐modeling‐for‐power‐components‐1.361532
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Marley Becerra
Name of supervisor (if other)
Marley Becerra
Email address to contact person
marley@kth.se
KTH School
EES
KTH department
ETK
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 145
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 146
DamsafetyandHydraulics
Title of project
Instability of upstream slope of embankment dams due to rapid drawdown
Short description of project
Introduction
For design and upgrade of embankment dams, slope stability is usually checked for the
downstream slope under design load conditions. The stability of the upstream slope is in
many cases disregarded. However, certain critical conditions do exist even for the upstream
slope, such during rapid drawdown of water stage in case of incidents or emergency.
Embankments may become saturated by seepage during a prolonged high reservoir stage.
During the rapid drawdown, the stabilizing effect of the water on the upstream face is lost,
the pore‐water pressure within the embankment remains high. As a result, the stability of
the upstream face of the dam is much affected. Stability analysis during rapid drawdown is
an important consideration in the design of embankment dams.
Modeling methods
The dissipation of pore‐water pressure in the embankment during rapid drawdown is largely
influenced by the permeability and the storage characteristic of the embankment materials.
Instead of doing a stability analysis of the embankment with an assumed piezometric line
after the rapid drawdown, a rigorous approach is to model the dissipation of pore‐water
pressure in the embankment.
There are several ways for computing the slope stability following rapid reservoir drawdown.
(a). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1970 procedure. The method may be unrealistically
conservative for soils that dilate during shear, and may lead to uneconomical designs. (b).
The method developed by Lowe and Karafiath (1960) and modified by Wright and Duncan
(1987) and by Duncan, Wright, and Wong (1990). The objectives of the modifications were
to simplify the method, and to account more accurately for shear strength in zones where
drained strength is lower than undrained strength. The method is more rational than the
Corps of Engineers 1970 procedure, and is often recommended. (c). Multiple time step
progressive stability analysis and (d). finite element method (FEM).
Need of research
The current state of art for limit equilibrium analysis of slope stability problems lacks a
satisfactory procedure for stability evaluation under general, rapid (undrained) loading
conditions. Some procedures are available for the analysis of rapid drawdown, but these
suffer from several shortcomings and, furthermore, are not applicable to other types of
rapid loading. There should be approaches that overcome these limitations. For example, it
should integrate four following components: establishment of soil behaviour on the basis of
laboratory testing, estimation of steady‐state conditions in the slope using a boundary value
analysis, estimation of distribution of undrained strength in the slope using undrained stress
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 147
paths and identification of the critical slip surface followed by calculation of its factor of
safety. There should be possible to develop methods that avoid the problems associated
with estimating pore pressures in undrained materials for the after‐drawdown condition by
using undrained strength and correctly reflects the strength of materials that tend to dilate
during shear. By using drained strength values where these are smaller than undrained
strength, the method avoids reliance on strength due to negative pore pressures, which
cannot be mobilized if drainage occurs.
Detailed subject area
The area dam safety and hydraulics covers, in this cases, numerical modelling of dam
stability involving knowledge of both hydraulics and soil mechanics. A good knowledge of
computer modelling (finite element or finite difference) is also an advantage.
Project website if avaliable
Name of responsible professor/researcher
James Yang, Anders Wörman
Name of supervisor(if other)
James Yang, Anders Wörman
E‐mail address to contact person
jamesya@kth.se
KTH school
ABE
KTH department
Hydraulic Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 148
Hydromechanics&numericalmodelling
Detailed subject area
Hydraulic structures subjected to a flow velocity exceeding 20–25 m/s are usually prone to
cavitation damages. The use of aerators is a common way, in many cases the only way, to prevent
the formation of cavitation. The entrainment and detrainment process of an aerator is still not
well understood, which is mainly due to laboratory instrumentation limitations. The difficulty
rests with mathematical interpretations of instantaneous images of the water‐air mixture with
high air concentration. The aim of the project is, by means of CFD simulations in combination
with laboratory test results, to investigate the entrainment at an aerator and examine the
streamwise development of the detrainment process. The project is expected to provide insight
into both the local and overall physical flow features of an aerator, an essential safety structure in
almost each medium‐ and high‐head spillway.
Title of project
Modeling of dispersed two‐phase flows over chute spillway aerators
Short description of project
Key Words
Spillway, cavitation, aerator, two‐phase flow, air entrainment & detrainment, CFD, experiment,
validation & verification
Background
Surface spillways, bottom outlets, channels and chutes are important flood discharge structures
that concern dam safety. If the flow velocity exceeds 20–25 m/s, there exists a risk of cavitation,
as is the case with most medium and high head dams. In Sweden, a large number of dams belong
to this category. To protect the hydraulic structures against cavitation damages, aerators are
usually adopted to add air into the flow in flow regions where the cavitation number drops below
a critical value. The figure below illustrates two cases of aerators.
With the use of an aerator, air is entrained from the waterway bottom and detrained further
downstream at the free surface. Air is entrained into water when turbulence at the water surface
is strong enough to overcome the stabilizing effects of gravity and surface tension. Once
entrained, air causes an increase in liquid volume (“bulking”) and changes its mean density. The
entrainment and detrainment process is shown below. The reduction of cavitation damage by air
addition dates back to 1950’s. Investigations of the minimum air amount required to avoid
cavitation have been conducted over the last 50 years. The recommendation ranges between 1–2%
and 5–8%. Despite of this, it is all agreed that a small amount of air close to the chute bottom
reduces the risk of cavitation damage significantly.
A comparative study was presented by Bhosekar et al. to assess the various existing methods
available for the estimation of jet length, sub‐pressure under the nappe and air demand. Practical
design guidelines are given by Falvey, Wood and Vischer & Hager. A few recent publications deal
with development of air concentration on chute spillways and air transport characteristics
(Kramerr et al. Pfister and Hager).
Research layout
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 149
Although aerators have been investigated during the past decades, the entrainment at the
aerator and detrainment further downstream are still not well understood, which is mainly due
to laboratory instrumentation limitations. The current design methods for aerator spacing are not
reliable. In a few recent publications, efforts are made to examine the air transport
characteristics in terms of spatial air concentration distribution on chute spillways. Most
investigations of aerators are made through experimentation in the laboratory. One disadvantage
is that laboratory modeling suffers from strong scale effects for two‐phase flow problems, as the
entrainment at the aerator and detrainment downstream can not be scaled correctly in a model.
The Foude law applies to water, not air.
The use of CFD modeling has been tried for the topic during the years. A few papers can be
mentioned of Hooping and Hoope, Straub and Andersson, Cain, Seng, Castillejo & Marcano, De
Fazio & Wei, Coleman et al. and Yuan, Bruce et al. Ozturk and Aydin used FLUENT for calculations
in 3D. In this study, the results of CFD obtained with respect to the air entrainment at spillway
aerators are compared to the data of the physical model study and the results of some empirical
equations presented by other investigators. The air entrainment rates obtained from the CFD
analyses are in reasonable good agreement with the values calculated by the empirical equations.
For dispersed flow problems such as the flow at the aerator, a very fine mesh, in the order of the
bubble dimension, is required to capture the small bubbles in the flow, which is time consuming.
As compared with the bubble size, too large computational cells would fail. With the
development of CFD, better tools than VOF and FVM are available nowadays for modeling
dispersed aerator flows, e.g. the Euler‐Euler method, the Lagrangian method or a hybrid method.
To verify CFD, previous experim
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
James Yang
Name of supervisor (if other)
James Yang
Email address to contact person
jamesya@kth.se
KTH School
ABE
KTH department
Hydraulic Engineeering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 150
Hydromechanics&numericalmodelling
Detailed subject area
Hydraulic structures subjected to a flow velocity exceeding 20–25 m/s are usually prone to
cavitation damages. The use of aerators is a common way, in many cases the only way, to prevent
the formation of cavitation. The entrainment and detrainment process of an aerator is still not
well understood, which is mainly due to laboratory instrumentation limitations. The difficulty
rests with mathematical interpretations of instantaneous images of the water‐air mixture with
high air concentration. The aim of the project is, by means of CFD simulations in combination
with laboratory test results, to investigate the entrainment at an aerator and examine the
streamwise development of the detrainment process. The project is expected to provide insight
into both the local and overall physical flow features of an aerator, an essential safety structure in
almost each medium‐ and high‐head spillway.
Title of project
Modeling of dispersed two‐phase flows over chute spillway aerators
Short description of project
Key Words
Spillway, cavitation, aerator, two‐phase flow, air entrainment & detrainment, CFD, experiment,
validation & verification
Background
Surface spillways, bottom outlets, channels and chutes are important flood discharge structures
that concern dam safety. If the flow velocity exceeds 20–25 m/s, there exists a risk of cavitation,
as is the case with most medium and high head dams. In Sweden, a large number of dams belong
to this category. To protect the hydraulic structures against cavitation damages, aerators are
usually adopted to add air into the flow in flow regions where the cavitation number drops below
a critical value. The figure below illustrates two cases of aerators.
With the use of an aerator, air is entrained from the waterway bottom and detrained further
downstream at the free surface. Air is entrained into water when turbulence at the water surface
is strong enough to overcome the stabilizing effects of gravity and surface tension. Once
entrained, air causes an increase in liquid volume (“bulking”) and changes its mean density. The
entrainment and detrainment process is shown below. The reduction of cavitation damage by air
addition dates back to 1950’s. Investigations of the minimum air amount required to avoid
cavitation have been conducted over the last 50 years. The recommendation ranges between 1–2%
and 5–8%. Despite of this, it is all agreed that a small amount of air close to the chute bottom
reduces the risk of cavitation damage significantly.
A comparative study was presented by Bhosekar et al. to assess the various existing methods
available for the estimation of jet length, sub‐pressure under the nappe and air demand. Practical
design guidelines are given by Falvey, Wood and Vischer & Hager. A few recent publications deal
with development of air concentration on chute spillways and air transport characteristics
(Kramerr et al. Pfister and Hager).
Research layout
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 151
Although aerators have been investigated during the past decades, the entrainment at the
aerator and detrainment further downstream are still not well understood, which is mainly due
to laboratory instrumentation limitations. The current design methods for aerator spacing are not
reliable. In a few recent publications, efforts are made to examine the air transport
characteristics in terms of spatial air concentration distribution on chute spillways. Most
investigations of aerators are made through experimentation in the laboratory. One disadvantage
is that laboratory modeling suffers from strong scale effects for two‐phase flow problems, as the
entrainment at the aerator and detrainment downstream can not be scaled correctly in a model.
The Foude law applies to water, not air.
The use of CFD modeling has been tried for the topic during the years. A few papers can be
mentioned of Hooping and Hoope, Straub and Andersson, Cain, Seng, Castillejo & Marcano, De
Fazio & Wei, Coleman et al. and Yuan, Bruce et al. Ozturk and Aydin used FLUENT for calculations
in 3D. In this study, the results of CFD obtained with respect to the air entrainment at spillway
aerators are compared to the data of the physical model study and the results of some empirical
equations presented by other investigators. The air entrainment rates obtained from the CFD
analyses are in reasonable good agreement with the values calculated by the empirical equations.
For dispersed flow problems such as the flow at the aerator, a very fine mesh, in the order of the
bubble dimension, is required to capture the small bubbles in the flow, which is time consuming.
As compared with the bubble size, too large computational cells would fail. With the
development of CFD, better tools than VOF and FVM are available nowadays for modeling
dispersed aerator flows, e.g. the Euler‐Euler method, the Lagrangian method or a hybrid method.
To verify CFD, previous experim
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
James Yang
Name of supervisor (if other)
James Yang
Email address to contact person
jamesya@kth.se
KTH School
ABE
KTH department
Hydraulic Engineeering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 152
InformationandcommunicationTechnolgy
Detailed subject area
The project concerns development and characterization of radiation hard devices and integrated
circuits in the semiconductor silicon carbide.
Title of project
Radiation hard silicon carbide devices and circuits
Short description of project
The background radiation is today a serious problem for semiconductor electronics and ensuring
reliable operation of electronics working in a radiation environment is a complicated, time
consuming and an expensive task. Mostly, the radiation has a cosmic origin, for instance high
energy protons from the sun that reach the earth’s atmosphere and start a chain of collisions and
nuclear reactions. Some of these energetic particles may interact with electronics and cause
various types of problems, for instance soft errors where logic values are changed within memory
circuits or hard errors which cause destruction of devices and circuits.
Silicon carbide is a novel semiconductor material with much better ability to withstand radiation
than for instance silicon, which is today the most often used material for electronic devices and
circuits. At the Circuit and Device group at KTH‐ITC, development of silicon carbide devices has
been ongoing for about 20 years and the group belongs to the 5 best groups in the world in this
area. The radiation hardness of SiC is well known, but has not yet been explored to any large
extent. With this project we will quantify in what way SiC can be considered as a more radiation
hard material than silicon, and also how this can be utilized in the design of SiC devices and
circuits.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/ict/forskning/ickretsar/kiselkarbid/hotsic‐1.378307
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Anders Hallén
Name of supervisor (if other)
Anders Hallén
Email address to contact person
ahallen@kth.se
KTH School
ICT
KTH department
Integrated devices and Circuits
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 153
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 154
Informationsecurity,softwareengineering
Detailed subject area
cyber security, attack modelling, software architecture, systems architecture, enterprise
architecture,
Title of project
A framework for cyber security assessment
Short description of project
A key challenge in most domains today is that information systems are increasingly
interconnected to a company‐ and even society‐wide system‐of‐systems. In the context of cyber
security the system‐level challenge is obvious. With a highly interconnected and complex system
architecture there will be large attack surface. It will be practically impossible to keep this
environment free of all kinds of vulnerabilities, from software flaws to misconfigured
components or lack of appropriate countermeasures. This means that there will exist many
potential attack processes into various parts of the infrastructure. However, not all will be equally
severe. The department of industrial and control systems is working with models and methods to
understand the cyber security and remedy
In particular the department is working in close cooperation with the electric power industry.
Thus the cyber security of the future smart grid is our particular area of expertise interest.
The purpose of this project is to expand and enhance a framework for estimating and analysing
cyber security called Cyber Security Modelling Language (CySeMoL). CySeMoL is based on a
combination of software systems modelling techniques in terms of the Unified Modelling
Language (UML) and the Object Constraint Language (OCL) and a probabilistic version of
attack/defense graphs. CySeMoL Has been successfully used in a number of real industrial case
studies.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Mathias Ekstedt
Name of supervisor (if other)
Mathias Ekstedt
Email address to contact person
mathias.ekstedt@ics.kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 155
KTH School
EES
KTH department
Industrial Information and Control Systems
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 156
MachineDesign
Detailed subject area
The scientific field of machine design deals with design of various mechanical systems and
components such as gears, sliding and rolling element bearings, clutches, springs, etc. These
components are used as building blocks to make up various mechanical products and systems.
In modern mechanical systems lubricants have become increasingly important to ensure
functionality of the components. Therefore, a lubricant must be seen as an important machine
element. Accordingly, lubricants should also be designed like traditional machine elements to
enable higher performance of modern and future machinery
Title of project
Tribochemical characterisation of high performance and environmentally friendly greases
Short description of project
Greases are undoubtedly the most widely used lubricants for friction and wear reduction in a
variety of machine components and systems such as rolling element bearings.
The development trend of machine components forces greases to operate in increasingly harsher
conditions. Grease performance characteristics should consequently be improved to provide
reliable lubrication. Another important aspect is environmental concerns. Modern greases should
be environmentally friendly.
A grease consists of a thickener, base oil and performance improving additives. The goal of this
project is to enhance tribological performance of green greases by identifying better grease
formulations.
The work is experimental involving various surface sensitive techniques, tribometers and full‐
scale components. The project will be carried out in a close collaboration with the Swedish
lubricant and heavy machinery companies. There will be a system of regular industry/academia
meetings.
Project website if available
‐
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Professor Sergei Glavatskih
Name of supervisor (if other)
Professor Sergei Glavatskih
Email address to contact person
segla@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 157
KTH department
Machine Design
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 158
MachineDesign
Detailed subject area
The scientific field of machine design deals with mechanical components such as gears, sliding
and rolling element bearings, clutches, etc. These components are used as building blocks to
make up various mechanical products and systems. The focus is also on machine design to ensure
an efficient integration of the components into mechanical systems. For example, gears, clutches
and bearings into transmissions. Even subsystems such as tribomechanical interfaces are of
importance. For example, in modern mechanical systems lubricated interfaces have become
increasingly important to ensure functionality of the components. Therefore, lubricated or
tribomechanical interfaces should also be designed like traditional machine elements to enable
higher performance of modern and future machinery.
Our modern society depends to a great extent on the functionality and efficiency of all the
mechanical machinery that we see around us and use every day. All these machines involve
numerous machine components and systems.
This means that even small improvements in making machine components more sustainable and
energy efficient lead to significant positive effects seen from a global perspective
Title of project
Novel design aspects of compliant fluid film bearings
Short description of project
Fluid film bearings are used to transmit loads from rotating shafts to surrounding structures in
most medium to large size rotating machinery such as electric motors, generators, turbines,
pumps, etc. Bearing safety margins are now being pushed to the limit in existing machinery by
operating at higher power densities. New turbomachinery designs feature even higher power
densities and speeds along with more flexible shafts, combined with higher requirements for
overall efficiency, reliability and durability. A critical limitation of current bearing designs is that of
temperature as the common bearing surface material, called babbitt or white metal, is prone to
creep at elevated temperatures. Thermal effects are also detrimental for tilting pad bearings.
A solution is to use new bearing materials that can sustain higher temperatures, short periods of
boundary lubrication and accommodate higher loads without sacrificing bearing safety.
Introduction of bearings with compliant polymer coatings will improve machine efficiency, e.g.
the bearings can be made smaller, which will result in lower power losses. Utilisation of the new
surface materials, having lower coefficient of friction, broader temperature range and higher
resistance to chemical attack and moisture, will increase bearing reliability and expand the field
of their application.
Indications of numerous advantages of polymer‐faced compliant surface bearings over
conventional white metal bearings promote a rapidly growing demand from the end users and
bearing designers for well‐documented scientific information of how to size and design such
bearings and how they perform at different load‐speed combinations in steady state and
transient operating conditions.
The goal of this project is to address these issues. The research work will include numerical
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 159
simulations of bearing operation using a commercial software package.
Influence of various design parameters will be investigated. Numerical results will also be
compared with available test data for the white metal and compliant bearings. The intended
bearing application is hydraulic, steam and gas turbines.
The work will be carried out in a close collaboration with the leading international turbine
manufacturers. There will be a system of regular industry/academia meetings.
Project website if available
‐
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Professor Sergei Glavatskih
Name of supervisor (if other)
Professor Sergei Glavatskih
Email address to contact person
segla@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Machine Design
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 160
MachineDesign,hapticdevices
Detailed subject area
The haptic group at KTH, Machine Design has a long tradition of research and development of a
simulator environment for training of surgeons to develop their skills in operating in stiff
structures such as bone or tooth. We have for this purpose developed software for collision
detection to identify when the tool gets in contact with the bone in the virtual world and returns
a haptic feedback to the user in terms of forces and torques. We have also developed a graphical
interface to visualize the different pats active during the operation i.e. the tool and the bone. The
last part of this device is the mechanical structure actuated by electrical motors. In our
prototypes that we have developed we have based the devices on parallel kinematic structures
which have been thoroughly analyzed and optimized to achieve best possible performance. We
have one prototype that has been built and tested and another is to be tested during this fall
(2013). We have also developed and tested control algorithms for the first prototype.
Title of project
Master‐Slave Haptic Devices
Short description of project
This project proposal focuses on master‐slave robotics where haptic feedback is used to reflect
interaction forces from the slave back to the operator who is maneuvering the master. There are
two key aspects in such systems: Transparency and stability. Transparency is defined as the
degree to which the actual contact forces/torques of the slave is actually reflected to the
operator. Stability means in this case the stability of the whole closed loop system operator‐
master‐slave‐environment. High degree of transparency and high degree of stability are
conflicting requirements. Stiff slave‐environment interactions (as in stiff tissue surgery) are
particularly challenging. For this research area we need competencies in both mechanical
engineering and control.
An initial phase of this project would be focusing on:
• State of the art of master‐slave haptic devices, particularly interesting
are those dealing with stiff interactions.
• Definition of requirements on the slave haptic device. We plan to use
one of the existing devices as a master.
• Search for potential structures for a slave haptic device.
• Once having reached to this step, evaluating design alternatives by
simulation programs, such as Adams and Matlab is the next step to
take.
• Optimization of the selected structure. Here the findings about
kinematic optimization that we have made so far can serve as a basis.
Performance measures such as e.g. isotropy and stiffness are
important to consider.
These are some of the initial tasks to start with in this project. The plan is to be able to build and
test the slave device as well as the total master‐slave system within time scope of a 4‐year PhD
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 161
study.
For this project we are aiming at 2 PhD positions to enforce the current team. One position is
focused more on mechanical design and analysis while the other one is focused on mechatronics
and control engineering for the master‐slave system.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/itm/inst/mmk/forskning/forskningsenheter/system‐
komponentdesign/2.21514
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Kjell Andersson
Name of supervisor (if other)
Kjell Andersson
Email address to contact person
kan@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Machine Design
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 162
Magneticnanoparticlesforhighfrequencyapplications
Detailed subject area
Research on magnetic nanoparticles incorporates a number of disciplines, where the most
prominent are magnetism, magnetic measurements and electromagnetic interaction.
At the nanoscale, particle size and size distribution is of fundamental importance which means
that much of the morphological investigation must be performed with state‐of‐the‐art
microscopy, TEM and Hi res TEM.
Two important applications are as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (non ionizing replacement for
Xray) Contrast Agent and Hyperthermia agent (where a portion of the tissue is heated by
magnetic losses from injected magnetic particles). In both these cases it is of utmost importance
to have full control of size and size distribution.
In order to have full control of the investigated material, our recently developed Rapid Mixing
technology will be used. This method gives a magnetic material with unprecedented good values
for magnetization and coercivity.
Subjects involved are
Preparation of particles with our custom developed instrumentation
Morphological characterization
Measurement of Magnetic Properties, both static and dynamic
Measurement of application specific properties: particle size effects on applicability for
hyperthermia and as Contrast Agent for MRI
Title of project
Development and Optimization of Magnetic Nanoparticles for advanced high frequency
applications
Short description of project
The Project will incorporate:
Systematic investigation of the magnetic (and morphological) effects of particle formation
parameters. As examples:
Nucleation temperature
Growth temperature
Exact anion (chloride, sulphate etc)
Concentrations
Morphological Characterization
X‐ray diffractometry
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
Hi resolution TEM
Magnetic characterization: quasistatic Vibrating Sample magnetometry, Superconducting
Quantum Interference Magnetometry (SQUID) and
AC susceptometry, and as Temperature dependence
Characterization towards specific application
High frequency magnetic characteristics for Hyperthermia application
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 163
T2 relaxation effects as used for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agent
Coating procedure
Most applications will need a suitable coating. We plan to avoid the traditional batch‐like coating
step and instead make an effort to integrate the coating with the particle formation process.
We have recently showed that by a Novel approach to co precipitation ‐ Rapid Mixing ‐ it is
indeed possible to synthesis magnetite nanoparticles with record high saturation magnetization,
record low coercivity and distinctevely more narrow size distribution than compared to
traditional methods.
There exist other methods for magnetite nanoparticle preparation, but these suffer from that the
particles are hydrophobic and use organic solvents in addition to their comparably very limited
batch size.
Our findings, see refs below, have been possible due to that the synthesis is combined with
custom made real time magnetic characterization. Ie, already at the time of synthesis, we can
assess from magnetic data whether sufficient batch uniformity is achieved.
Ref1 V. Ström, R. T. Olsson, K. V. Rao Real‐time monitoring of th
evolution of magnetism during precipitation of superparamagnetic nanoparticles for bioscience
applications J. Mater. Chem. 20 (2010) 4168‐4175
Ref2 M. Fang, V.Ström, R.T. Olsson, L.Belova, K.V.Rao Rapid mixing: A route to synthesize
magnetite nanoparticles with high moment Appl. Phys. Lett.99 (2011) 222501‐3
Ref3 M. Fang, V.Ström, R.T. Olsson, L.Belova, K.V.Rao Particle size and magnetic properties
dependence on growth temperature for rapid mixed coprecipitatedmagnetite nanoparticles
Nanotechnology23 (2012) 145601
Ref4 R. T. Olsson, M. A. S. Azizi Samir, G. Salazar‐Alvarez, L. Belova, V. Ström, L. A. Berglund, O.
Ikkala, J. NoguésU. W. Gedde Making flexible magnetic aerogels and stiff magnetic nanopaper
using cellulose nanofibrils as templates Nature Nanotechnology5, 584–588 (2010)
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Professor Luyba Belova
Name of supervisor (if other)
Assoc Prof (Docent) Valter Ström
Email address to contact person
valter@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Material Science
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 164
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 165
Materialphysics
Detailed subject area
Materials science is an interdisciplinary topic and involves expertise in physics, chemistry andd
meetalicc materials studies. Among technologically important materials electronic materials in
thin films forms are of importance for future advanced TEchnologies like transparent electlronics
for example. Among thin film technologios ink jet printing is a very promising one. This projeect is
to exploit ink jet technology to deposit and produce multicomponent functional materials for
various applications
Title of project
Multifunctiional thin film mterials by ink jet Printing: devices andd ccomponents
Short description of project
Ink‐jet printing offers an ideal answer to the emerging trends and demands of depositing picolitre
droplets of oxide solutions into functional thin films and device components with a high degree
of pixel precision at low temperatures. It is a direct single‐step mask‐free patterning technique
compatible with pre‐existing patterns and allows for multi‐layer and 3D patterning. This method
is fast, simple, easily scalable to meter format, precise, and highly inexpensive and cost effective
compared to any of other methods available for the realization of the promise of flexible, and/or
stretchable electronics of the future on virtually any type of substrate. Because low temperatures
are used and no aggressive chemicals are required for ink preparation, ink‐jet is compatible with
a very broad range of functional materials, including polymers, proteins and even live cells, which
makes it highly desirable for fabrication of inorganic/organic/bio hybrids, bio‐sensors and lab‐on‐
chip architectures. This project focuses particularly on fabrication and performance of thin films
and devices utilizing oxide functional components by ink‐jet printing, be they for electronics, bio‐
sensing, targeted drug delivery, solar energy conversion, or components for opto‐electronics and
spintronics. For each material and application concerned, the ink is designed specifically targeting
the application of choice. Broadly speaking, we will investigate three classes of inks: nanoparticle
suspension based, surface modified nanoparticles based, and direct precursor solution based,
with the following expected challenges: produce suspension inks for specific end products, device
developments, and electronic sensor designs.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Liubov Bolova
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. K.V.Rao
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 166
Email address to contact person
rao@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
materialsvetenskapa‐ Tmfy‐MSEi
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 167
Materialacoustics
Detailed subject area
Material acoustics is a distinguished research field within the Marcus Wallenberg Laboratory for
Sound and Vibration Research (MWL) at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. It consists of modeling,
simulating and experimentally testing materials for sound and vibration applications. The
experimental sound and vibration resources are famous world‐wide together with the high‐
quality research carried out on smart and poro‐elastic materials. The potential to succeed in
outstanding research on novel smart materials utilized in sound and vibration applications is
great.
Title of project
Smart materials used in sound and vibration applications
Short description of project
Smart materials are materials that alter specific properties, such as mechanical properties and
shapes while exposed to exterior stimuli, such as magnetic and electric fields. There are many
types of smart materials for example piezoelectric, electro‐ and magneto‐sensitive materials. A
novel, very promising smart material is liquid crystal elastomers they consist of weakly cross‐
linked, long polymer chains where the matrix also is liquid crystalline. They show not only
properties of ordinary elastomers and liquid crystals but also new, very interesting features such
as large shape alterations and reversible and instant shear modulus magnitude changes at, for
example, light exposure. Their potential applications are many and various, including mechanical
sensors and actuators. In this project, the potential of liquid crystal elastomers applied in sound
and vibration applications is explored, including smart audio frequency energy flow control by
vibration isolators made of liquid crystal elastomers where the stiffness is adaptively changed by
exterior stimuli, such as light exposure, to minimize the transmitted vibration energy and thereby
reducing the noise emitted. There are many more new, appealing sound and vibration
applications for liquid crystals elastomers, yet not fully explored nor understood. Our research
group cooperates within the liquid crystal elastomer field with the Soft Matter Group in the
Department of Materials at Queen Mary University of London. Potential candidates for this PhD‐
project should have a master degree within the field of Sound and Vibration, Engineering Physics,
Engineering Mechanics or Materials.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Professor Leif Kari
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 168
Name of supervisor (if other)
Leif Kari
Email address to contact person
leifkari@kth.se
KTH School
SCI
KTH department
Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 169
MaterialPhysics
Detailed subject area
Density Functional Theory, Many‐Particle Quantum Mechanics, Nanostructured Materials, Solid‐
State Lighting, Clean Energy, Code Developments,
Title of project
Theoretical Modelling and Analyses of Novel Light‐Emitting Solid Materials for Future Clean
Energy Environment
Short description of project
Light‐emitting solids will play a vital role in tomorrow’s clean and sustainable energy technologies.
In this project, the PhD candidate will explore novel materials for light‐emitting applications
employing the density functional theory (DFT). The candidate shall therefore have very good
knowledge in advanced quantum mechanics and solid state physics. Experience in atomistic
modeling and analyzing materials using DFT‐based program packages is very advantageous.
First‐principles methods like the DFT and the GW are extremely successful methods to describe
various static properties of condensed matter. Swedish research is well recognized in this field.
Today, we calculate and analyze nanostructures in various solar cells materials (see website). Our
activities involve modeling of materials as well as developing computational methods. We have
strong international collaboration with several research institutes world‐wide.
Project website if available
http://www.met.kth.se/~cpersson/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Clas Persson
Name of supervisor (if other)
Clas Persson
Email address to contact person
Clas.Persson@mse.kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Materials Science and Engineering
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 170
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 171
Materialphysics‐inkjetprintingfunctionalmaterials.
Detailed subject area
Materials science is an interdisciplinary topic and involves expertise in physics, chemistry andd
meetalicc materials studies. Among technologically important materials electronic materials in
thin films forms are of importance for future advanced TEchnologies like transparent electlronics
for example. Among thin film technologios ink jet printing is a very promising one. This projeect is
to exploit ink jet technology to deposit and produce multicomponent functional materials for
various applications.
Title of project
Multifunctiional Thin films by injet printing
Short description of project
Ink‐jet printing offers an ideal answer to the emerging trends and demands of depositing picolitre
droplets of oxide solutions into functional thin films and device components with a high degree
of pixel precision at low temperatures. It is a direct single‐step mask‐free patterning technique
compatible with pre‐existing patterns and allows for multi‐layer and 3D patterning. This method
is fast, simple, easily scalable to meter format, precise, and highly inexpensive and cost effective
compared to any of other methods available for the realization of the promise of flexible, and/or
stretchable electronics of the future on virtually any type of substrate. Because low temperatures
are used and no aggressive chemicals are required for ink preparation, ink‐jet is compatible with
a very broad range of functional materials, including polymers, proteins and even live cells, which
makes it highly desirable for fabrication of inorganic/organic/bio hybrids, bio‐sensors and lab‐on‐
chip architectures. This project focuses particularly on fabrication and performance of thin films
and devices utilizing oxide functional components by ink‐jet printing, be they for electronics, bio‐
sensing, targeted drug delivery, solar energy conversion, or components for opto‐electronics and
spintronics. For each material and application concerned, the ink is designed specifically targeting
the application of choice. Broadly speaking, we will investigate three classes of inks: nanoparticle
suspension based, surface modified nanoparticles based, and direct precursor solution based,
with the following expected challenges: produce suspension inks for specific end products, device
developments, and electronic sensor designs.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Lyuba Belova
Name of supervisor (if other)
K.V.Rao
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 172
Email address to contact person
rao@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
materialsvetenskapa‐ Tmfy‐MSEi
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 173
Materialphysics
Detailed subject area
Spintronics is a promising futuristic topic of research actively being pursued internationally. our
pioneering paper on Mn doped ZnO as a materials at roomtemperature for spintronicss is one of
the top 15 papers published in Nature Materials ever since 2003 and has been cited over 1300
times by now. that makes it one every two days! The challenge of two industrially important
materials ZnO and MgO both having been shown to be ferromagnetic above room temperature
in their thin film form is to understand the nature of defects and the mechanism for
ferromagnetism. We are active in thhis field that holds promise of future electronics. In this
project the films are produced by Pulsed Laser deposition and also sputtering techniques.
Title of project
Pulsed Laser Depsition of materials for spintronics
Short description of project
Pulsed LASER deposition (PLD) is widely recognized as excellent deposition technique owing to
stoichiometric transfer of target material, easy preparation and high quality. Thin films from few
nanometers to micrometer regime can be fabricated with equal ease. Although a batch process is
not suitable for mass scale industrial production, PLD is a versatile technique, efficient and
convenient for high quality basic research. This project illustrates the use of PLD technique to
study the emerging trends in tailoring multifunctional magnetic thin films both from basic
nanoscience and device development point of view.
Extensive characterization of magnetic, electrical, optical properties and microscopic structure
with strong international collaboration has ensured development of high quality magnetic
materials for future applications. Further research on these promising materials is expected to
yield new generation spintronic devices for better performance in terms of efficiency, energy
consumption and miniaturization of sizes.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Liubov Bolova
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. K.V.Rao
Email address to contact person
rao@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 174
KTH department
Material veetenskaap‐ MSE‐ (Tmfy MSE).
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 175
Materialphysics
Detailed subject area
Spibntronics is a promising futuristic topic of research actively being pursued internationally. Our
pioneeering paper on Mn doped ZnO as a magnetic material at room temperature for
applications in Spintronics is one of the top 15 papers published in Naature materials which has
been cited over 1300 timess by now. Almost one citation every second day! The challenge of two
industrially important materials ZnO and MgO both shown by us to be room temperature
ferromagnets challenges a good understanding of the basic as well as application needs of these
materials. In this project we produce films both by sputtering, as well as sPulsedd Laser
Deeposition and characterize them from atomic to bulk thin film level by using comprehensive
sophisticated experimental techniques.
Title of project
Pulsed laser deposited thin films for applications in Spintronics
Short description of project
Pulsed LASER deposition (PLD) is widely recognized as excellent deposition technique owing to
stoichiometric transfer of target material, easy preparation and high quality. Thin films from few
nanometers to micrometer regime can be fabricated with equal ease. Although a batch process is
not suitable for mass scale industrial production, PLD is a versatile technique, efficient and
convenient for high quality basic research. This project illustrates the use of PLD technique to
study the emerging trends in tailoring multifunctional magnetic thin films both from basic
nanoscience and device development point of view.
Extensive characterization of magnetic, electrical, optical properties and microscopic structure
with strong international collaboration has ensured development of high quality magnetic
materials for future applications. Further research on these promising materials is expected to
yield new generation spintronic devices for better performance in terms of efficiency, energy
consumption and miniaturization of sizes.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Liubov Bolova
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. K.V.Rao
Email address to contact person
rao@kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 176
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Material veetenskaap‐ MSE‐ (Tmfy MSE).
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 177
Materialsscience
Detailed subject area
Bulk metalliac Glasses is a very active area of research today amaong topics in adavaanced
metallic materials. To be able to produce glassy materials in bulk form and manipulate its
properties is a challenge. We are working on producing Bulk metallic glasses, and fully
characterising their physical properties from nano to bulk levels with specific applications in mind
is our goal. We also fabricate tthin films of this material which has many novel applications. The
project will be both at a fundamental and applications point of view.
Title of project
Novel Bulk Metallic Glasses
Short description of project
Bulk metalliac Glasses is a very active area of research today. To be able to produce glassy
materials in bulk form and manipulate its properties is a challenge. We are working on producing
Bulk metallic glasses, and fully characterising their physical properties from nano to bulk levels
with specific applications in mind is our goal. We also fabricate tthin films of this material which
has many novel applications. The project will be both at a fundamental and applications point of
view.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof Lyuba Belova, Tmfy‐MSE
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. K.V.Rao
Email address to contact person
rao@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Material veetenskaap‐ MSE‐ (Tmfy MSE).
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 178
MaterialsScience
Detailed subject area
The successful realization of the proposed project will lead to a deeper understanding of existing
materials and to the designing of new materials for energy conversion and storage. Specifically,
we focus on converting to and storing solar energy in the chemical form. We will explore one of
the most suitable pathways for mobile applications such as for ocean transportation (ships):
water splitting for hydrogen production and chemical storage of hydrogen in a suitable host
material.
Title of project
Advanced Materials for Solar Energy Conversion and Storage
Short description of project
In our studies, we plan to apply the state‐of‐the‐art computational tools as well as developing
new methods to investigate the relevant materials at the atomic level, based on first‐principles
theories in combination with advanced experimental approaches.
Specifically, on the topic of energy conversion through water splitting, we will investigate both
the homogenous and heterogeneous catalysis. In detail, we plan to:
• Advance the understanding of the interface between H2O and semiconductor nanoparticles
and their electronic/structural properties at 0 K and at finite temperatures.
• To design new semiconductor nanoparticles with the band‐gap and band‐edge potentials in the
suitable range for visible light driven water cleavage.
• To reveal the fundamental principles of the photo‐electrochemical reactions that occur on the
semiconductor‐water interfaces.
• To investigate proton coupled electron transfer reactions in water oxidation process by Ru‐
based catalyst.
• To design new bioinspired catalysts for efficient production of hydrogen.
Regarding the storage of hydrogen, our focus will be on light‐metal hydrides and metal‐organic
frameworks as hydrogen storage materials. In detail, we plan to:
• Advance the understanding of the interaction between H2 and the pore walls in metal‐organic
frameworks,
• Design functionalized metal‐organic frameworks with suitable properties for on‐board
applications.
• Develop new catalyst for hydrogen sorption reactions in complex light metal hydrides.
2. Survey of the field
Project website if available
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 179
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Rajeev Ahuja
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Rajeev Ahuja
Email address to contact person
ahuja@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 180
MaterialsScience
Detailed subject area
Data Driven Discoveries
Title of project
INFORMATICS FOR THE RATIONAL DESIGN OF CHEMICALLY COMPLEX NANOMATERIALS: LINKING
WITH AB INITO APPROACH
Short description of project
The aim of this research project is to challenge that consensus opinion by developing a totally
new approach to the study of chemical complexity in materials science using the tools of
information theory and data science, which link diverse and high dimensional data derived from
physical modeling and experiments. Varied and numerous sources of data – ranging from
computer simulations, high throughput experimentation via combinatorial experiments, and
large scale databases of legacy information – will serve as the data‐driven platform, one based on
discrete mathematics, rather than differential equations, for designing new chemically complex
nanomaterials and discovering new structure‐property relationships
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Rajeev Ahuja
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Rajeev Ahuja
Email address to contact person
ahuja@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Materials Science & Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 181
MaterialsScience
Detailed subject area
Data storage Materials
Title of project
Design of high‐performance nonvolatile memories based on phase‐change materials
Short description of project
It is a never ending quest for recording media with high‐speed, high‐density, low power
consumption and good scaling characters in today’s multimedia society. The goal of this project is
to develop high‐speed, low power consumption and good scaling chalcogenide based memories
by theoretical and experimental methods. Phase‐change materials have been in commercial use
in rewritable optical storage (DVD‐RW e.g.) for a decade and are currently investigated as
nonvolatile electronic storage to replace conventional FLASH‐memory. However, the mechanism
behind the utilization is not yet clear, therefore, current studies to tune the property of phase‐
change materials are generally based on empirical trials. With a combination of the theory and
experiments, this project will tune the properties of phase‐change materials with the aim to get
new materials with better performance. Using static and dynamic ab initio calculations, and
quantum Monte Carlo simulations, this project will extensively study the stoichiometry,
structures, chemical bonding and band structure, electrical and optical properties of phase‐
change materials in the amorphous and crystalline states. Furthermore, the effect of doping on
the structure and properties of GST will also been studied to tune the performance of phase‐
change materials and to identify new and better phase‐change materials. Finally, the predicted
new phase‐change materials with better performance by calculations will be deposited by
magnetron sputtering. The stoichiometry, structures, the phase transition between amorphous
and crystalline states and properties of the deposited films will be investigated. Furthermore, it is
expected to obtain a quantitative relation between the stoichiometry, structure and performance
of the phase‐change materials. The results of this project will not only provide fundamental
understandings of this family of technologically important materials, but also will guide their
practical applications.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Rajeev Ahuja
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Rajeev Ahuja
Email address to contact person
ahuja@kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 182
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Materials Science & Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 183
MaterialsScience
Detailed subject area
Design new materials for energy applications
Title of project
A theoretical search for new materials for Fuel cells, Batteries and Solar cells
Short description of project
‐ Our energy‐hungry world is increasingly relying on new methods to store and convert energy
for portable electronics, as well as new,
environmentally friendly modes of transportation and electrical energy generation. The
availability of advanced materials is linked to the
commercial success of improved power sources, such as batteries, solar cells and fuel cells. In
order to get a deeper understanding of the
relationship between properties and performance of power source materials, we suggest a
theoretical initiative, based on density functional
theory paired with molecular dynamics simulations.
This will be used as a complement to experimental work and sometimes as a supplement, in
order to avoid unnecessary or expensive
experiments. We propose to perform theoretical studies of fuel cells, batteries and solar cells,
with the purpose to identify and improve the most
important materials parameters. From the gained knowledge, we will invent materials which will
enable improved devices and constructions.
Hence we propose to focus new activities in the study of materials of significance in energy
applications.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Rajeev Ahuja
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Rajeev Ahuja
Email address to contact person
ahuja@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 184
KTH department
Materials Science & Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 185
Materialsscience/PhysicalMetallurgy
Detailed subject area
The project will be performed within the VINN Excellence Center Hero‐ m. The research within
Hero‐ m spans from materials that are industrially relevant today, e.g. steels and cemented
carbides, as well as materials that are expected to become important, e.g. bulk metallic steel. The
research involves fundamental topics of strategic value as well as more applied topics. The main
emphasis is on development of new theoretical predictive tools but experimental verification and
measurements play an essential role
Title of project
Bulk metallic glasses
Short description of project
Bulk‐glassy metals have many interesting properties, e.g. high wear and corrosion resistance and
biocompatibility as well as special functional properties. Based on a multi‐model technique which
couples a topological model of local structure of multicomponent liquids with the Calphad
approach, an efficient composition optimization procedure has been developed to predict alloys
with the best Glass‐Forming‐Ability (GFA) for a given choice of alloy elements. This novel
materials‐design approach has been validated by the fabrication of the world‐largest Ni‐free Ti‐
based fully glassy BMG with an ingot diameter of 12 mm which has been cast at Tokoku
University in Japan as a part of our collaboration. Such alloys may be interesting for bio
applications.
Project website if available
http://www.hero‐m.mse.kth.se/page.php?pid=134
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Liubov Belova
Name of supervisor (if other)
Venkat Rao
Email address to contact person
tangxin@nimte.ac.cn
KTH School
SCI
KTH department
materials science and engineering
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 186
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 187
Mechatronics
Detailed subject area
Mechatronic products offer enormous opportunities for new services, products, and improved
performance in almost all application domains in our society, from medical devices to advanced
vehicles. A major challenge of tomorrows society is sustainability, and especially so in terms of
energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions.
Advanced mechatronics and control are key to future solutions towards drastically reduced
environmental impact of vehicles used for goods and person transport. The subject area involves
the topics of system configuration, vehicle system modelling, sensor integration, hybrid systems
and adavanced control for holistic minimization of fuel consumption. The area is multidisciplinary,
with a basis in vehicle technology, systems engineering and control.
Title of project
Holistic control design for fuel efficient propulsion and energy management
Short description of project
The project targets major reduction of energy consumption related to road transport. Application
scenarios may include both person and goods transport with smaller as well as larger vehicles.
The uniqueness of the approach is its holistic characteristic which means that the major vehicle
internal energy consumers (e.g. propulsion and auxiliaries), the major energy storages (e.g.
electrical, kinetic, thermal), several sensor modalities (e.g. e‐horizon and vehicle radar), and
finally different drive‐line configurations are considered together.
The main control objective is to minimize overall fuel consumption under the constraints that the
vehicle must be propelled in appropriate speed to reach its destination in time and that the
concerned vehicle sub‐systems should not be worn out prematurely. The aim is to investigate and
analyze different control strategies for the vehicle motion given sensors data from a large number
of real‐time sensor systems, including data from neighboring vehicles, but also stored data from
earlier driving situations.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/itm/inst/mmk/avdelningar/mda/research‐1.18173
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Jan Wikander
Name of supervisor (if other)
Lei Feng
Email address to contact person
janwi@kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 188
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Machine Design
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 189
Microandnanosystems
Title of project
Heterogenous integration of sensors
Detailed subject area
The research area of micro and nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS / NEMS) deals with
research on devices that have dimensions in the micro and nanoscale, and on the
technologies to fabricate such devices. A well‐known example of MEMS/NEMS is the inertial
sensors that enable the popular motion controls in gaming consoles and smart phones. The
Department of Micro and Nanosystems (MST) at KTH is among the leading research groups
in Europe and consists of more than 35 researchers and students. Research at KTH‐MST
includes both applied and fundamental studies of MEMS and NEMS devices, and is done in
close collaboration with Swedish and European industries. Application areas include:
communications, biomedicine, environmental monitoring, and the automotive industry.
Short description of project
We are seeking applicants who have a desire to conduct cutting‐edge research within the
areas of Biomedical MEMS, Heterogeneous Integration of MEMS and CMOS technology, RF‐
MEMS, Microfluidics, Optics, Sensors, Actuators, Photonics, (Wafer‐level) 3D Packaging and
Nanotechnology. Within specific projects, your task is to develop next‐generation
MEMS/NEMS devices with dramatically improved or entirely novel functionalities.
Project website if avaliable
www.ee.kth.se/mst/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Göran Stemme
Name of supervisor(if other)
Göran Stemme
E‐mail address to contact person
goran.stemme@ee.kth.se
KTH school
EES
KTH department
Micro and nanosystems
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 190
MunicipalorganicSolidwasteManagement
Detailed subject area
By introducing improved waste collection system organic solid waste can
be utilized for energy production. Based on environmental and social
factors specific waste treatment method can be a investigated which can
be a good option for this waste utilization. By using Environmental
System Analysis tools such as Extended cost benefit analysis and Life
cycle assessment the opportunities and prospects can be investigate for
the proposed project of the developing country.
Title of project
Prospect of Bio‐gas production from organic solid waste in Bangladesh
Short description of project
Bangladesh is a developing country with high population density. It’s an
agricultural country and each year considerable amount of crop waste is
generated. The country is situated on tropic reason and has warm
(average temperature 28 C) climatic condition with heavy rainfall
during rainy season. The sanitary system is not good. The sanitary
wastes are not utilized for any purposes.
Besides this each day a huge amount of municipal organic solid waste is
generated. There are no proper source separation system exits and all
the mixed waste are dumped into the lowlands. This creates great
environmental and social problems. On the other hand as a developing
country energy demand is increasing day by day and the country has great
Scarcity of energy demand. As a result energy production (biogas) from
this huge amount of organic solid waste can play a very good role to the
energy sector. It will also help to reduce environmental pollution and
will also improve the social sectors.
The aim of the proposed project is to find out opportunities and
prospects of utilization of organic waste. To fulfill the aim it can try
to solve the following research questions.
i. Investigate the best suitable alternative source for the energy
generation. Municipal organic waste, agricultural crops, the sanitary
waste which is most potential can be investigated by laboratory
analysis or post data analysis.
ii. Investigate the technology selection. Based on climatic condition,
socioeconomic factors, availability of raw materials the suitable
technology can be selected among the treatment processes. since the
climatic condition is warm, heating is not required for some treatment
method as anaerobic digestion. It can save a lot of energy. besides this
all type of organic waste can be utilized in a mixed reactor. By
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 191
establishing a waste collection network various types of organic waste
can be collected and utilized for bio gas production.
iii. Find out the prospects of the proposed system by utilizing
environmental system analysis tools. Cost benefit analysis along with
Life cycle assessment can be utilized to determine the total cost
benefit of the project from beginning to end. By considering
environmental, health and social factors extended Cost benefit analysis
can be done to find out environmental and social benefits.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Björn Frostell
Name of supervisor (if other)
Björn Frostell
Email address to contact person
frostell@kth.se
KTH School
ABE
KTH department
Industrial Ecology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 192
MunicipalorganicSolidwasteManagement
Detailed subject area
By introducing improved waste collection system organic solid waste can
be utilized for energy production. Based on environmental and social
factors specific waste treatment method can be a investigated which can
be a good option for this waste utilization. By using Environmental
System Analysis tools such as Extended cost benefit analysis and Life
cycle assessment the opportunities and prospects can be investigate for
the proposed project of the developing country.
Title of project
Prospect of Bio‐gas production from organic solid waste in Bangladesh
Short description of project
Bangladesh is a developing country with high population density. It’s an
agricultural country and each year considerable amount of crop waste is
generated. The country is situated on tropic reason and has warm
(average temperature 28 C) climatic condition with heavy rainfall
during rainy season. The sanitary system is not good. The sanitary
wastes are not utilized for any purposes.
Besides this each day a huge amount of municipal organic solid waste is
generated. There are no proper source separation system exits and all
the mixed waste are dumped into the lowlands. This creates great
environmental and social problems. On the other hand as a developing
country energy demand is increasing day by day and the country has great
Scarcity of energy demand. As a result energy production (biogas) from
this huge amount of organic solid waste can play a very good role to the
energy sector. It will also help to reduce environmental pollution and
will also improve the social sectors.
The aim of the proposed project is to find out opportunities and
prospects of utilization of organic waste. To fulfill the aim it can try
to solve the following research questions.
i. Investigate the best suitable alternative source for the energy
generation. Municipal organic waste, agricultural crops, the sanitary
waste which is most potential can be investigated by laboratory
analysis or post data analysis.
ii. Investigate the technology selection. Based on climatic condition,
socioeconomic factors, availability of raw materials the suitable
technology can be selected among the treatment processes. since the
climatic condition is warm, heating is not required for some treatment
method as anaerobic digestion. It can save a lot of energy. besides this
all type of organic waste can be utilized in a mixed reactor. By
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 193
establishing a waste collection network various types of organic waste
can be collected and utilized for bio gas production.
iii. Find out the prospects of the proposed system by utilizing
environmental system analysis tools. Cost benefit analysis along with
Life cycle assessment can be utilized to determine the total cost
benefit of the project from beginning to end. By considering
environmental, health and social factors extended Cost benefit analysis
can be done to find out environmental and social benefits.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Björn Frostell
Name of supervisor (if other)
Björn Frostell
Email address to contact person
tanj414@gmail.com
KTH School
ABE
KTH department
Industrial Ecology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 194
Nanobiotechnology
Detailed subject area
Nanobiotechnology is interdisciplinary research field with the aimto combine nanotechnology
and microfluidics with various biotechnology and medical applications.
Title of project
Microfluidic based isolation of circulating tumor cells for cancer diagnostics
Short description of project
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. In 2010 alone, 7 million people died
from different types of cancer. Furthermore, dissemination of cells from the primary tumor in the
form of metastasis in distant organs is responsible for nine out of ten cancer‐related deaths.
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been detected in the blood of patients with metastatic
cancers, including lung, prostate, colon, breast, liver, and ovarian cancers. However, the
techniques used to isolate tumor cells require laborious manual sample preparation steps that
result in highly variable results and low sensitivity. CTCs are rare even in patients with advanced
cancer, representing as low as 1 to 10 cells/ml. As a result, a reliable rare cell sorter for CTCs
needs to detect approximately 1 CTC in 1 billion blood cells.
Recent development in microfluidics and microfabrication technology has shown great potential
in addressing the challenging task of isolating CTCs from peripheral blood. There are several
important advantages in microfluidics based isolation and diagnose: reduced sample volumes,
faster processing time, high sensitivity, low cost and portability. Current microfluidic CTCs
isolation technologies are primarily based on physical/size based isolation or affinity‐based CTCs
capture in surface functionalized channels or microstructures. Overall, the physical/size based
microfluidic chips for CTC isolation are normally easy, high throughput and label‐free, but not as
specific and sensitive as the affinity‐based counterparts. On the contrary, affinity‐based capture
methods have great capability to efficiently and selectively isolate CTCs from blood, and by far
also is the most commonly used technology to isolate CTCs from blood stream. However, these
microfluidic devices must be operated with low flow velocity to ensure maximum cell‐substrate
attachment for better capture efficiency. In addition, the receptors of CTCs specific antibody
(EpCAM or CKs) are not expressed in all tumors (e.g. sarcoma or melanoma), and therefore might
cause losing of some kinds of CTCs. Consequently, it is critical to develop a high throughput, high
capture efficiency and high‐purity platform to rapidly isolate and detect CTCs from large volume
of peripheral blood sample.
The aim of this project is to develop a microfluidic device which combined physical/size based
isolation methods (i.e inertial microfluidics) and affinity‐based capture (using multiple antibodies
or aptamers) for CTCs detection. Furthermore, isolated CTCs will be manipulated to next‐stage
analysis (e.g., on‐chip cell culturing, genetic analysis, drug screening). Strong interest in
multidisciplinary research is a prerequisite, with emphasis on microfluidics and clinical diagnosis.
Experience in microfluidic chip fabrication and biology experiment is desirable.
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 195
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Aman Russom
Name of supervisor (if other)
Aman Russom
Email address to contact person
aman.russom@scilifelab.se
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Proteomics and Nanobiotechnology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 196
Nanophotonics
Detailed subject area
Integrated photonic devices are key components in multichannel optical communication
networks and computer interconnects, as well as have a wide range of applications in sensor
technology. In order to increase integration density of optical components on a single chip it is
essential to get light confinement close to diffraction limit of light or even go below it. The sub‐
micron or nano‐scale waveguiding can be based on silicon nanowires, where strong light
confinement is obtained due to ultra‐high refractive index contrast between the core and the
cladding, photonic crystals where light confinement is due to the periodicity of the structure and
surface plasmon waveguides that can provide subwavelength confinement due to field
localization on the metal‐dielectric interfaces.
Title of project
Nanophotonic devices for optical communication, computer interconnect and sensing
Short description of project
The proposed work is devoted to the development of novel integrated photonic devices and will
include some of the following activities:
‐Design, fabrication and characterization of advanced photonic crystal‐ and novel nanowire‐based
devices for densely integrated photonic circuits, such as couplers, mode converters, polarization
splitters and rotators, add‐drop multiplexers, triplexers as well as photonic crystal (PhC) cavities
for sensing and dispersion engineered PhC structures, such as negative refraction in application
to polarization control and other devices.
‐Development of fabrication techniques for indium phosphide (InP) on silicon‐ and InP on SOI
(silicon‐on‐insulator)‐wafers as well as InP‐Si integrated components by means of novel method
based on nanotechnology.
‐Development of technologies for surface plasmon waveguides based on different metal‐
dielectric configurations in combination with other nanostructures such as quantum dots for loss
compensation or other metamaterial structures.
‐Experimental realization of plasmonic‐, hybrid pladmonic‐ or other artificially structured
metamaterials.
‐Fabrication of nanophotonic components based on these new materials that allow for
development of new ultra‐compact integrated structures.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/ict/forskning/material‐och‐nanofysik/fotonik/optik‐och‐fotonik‐ofo‐
1.50897
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Lech Wosinski
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 197
Name of supervisor (if other)
Lech Wosinski
Email address to contact person
lech@kth.se
KTH School
ICT
KTH department
Materials‐ and Nano Physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 198
Nanophotonics
Detailed subject area
Optical materials and nanophotonic concepts for efficient light harvesting
Title of project
Semiconductor photonic nanostructures for efficient solar energy conversion
Short description of project
Semiconductor photonic nanostructures are attractive for their specific optical properties, and
have a wide range of applications ranging from optical communications, sensing, light generation
and light harvesting. Examples of nanostructured semiconductors, currently being investigated
world‐wide, for the above applications, include photonic crystals, nanowires arrays, quantum
dots, and nanostructures hybrid materials.
The main project goal is to develop semiconductor photonic nanostructures in various
geometries and material combinations, and apply their unique optical and material properties for
efficient conversion of sunlight to electricity. In particular, the project investigates III‐V and Si
semiconductor nanowires/nanopillars and nanodisks for light trapping and material properties in
hybrid structures/combinations specifically for the solar spectral range. The research work will
involve fabrication, simulation and modeling of the behavior of light in periodic nanostructured
media, electrical and optical characterization of the fabricated structures and solar cells.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Srinivasan Anand, Associate Professor
Name of supervisor (if other)
Srinivasan Anand
Email address to contact person
anand@kth.se
KTH School
ICT
KTH department
Materials‐ and Nano‐Physics
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 199
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
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Nanotechnology
Detailed subject area
Theoretical Modelling
Title of project
Computational design of nanodevices
Short description of project
Computational design of nanodevices
This projects explores important physical and chemical phenomena that occur at interfaces and
that constitute the ground for nanoscience, like nanophotoncis and nanoelectronics, and of
nanotechnology in terms of imaging, sensor and detector devices at the nanoscale. The rational
design of such interfaces and nanostructures with given properties has become a most essential
target for current theory and modeling research. A complicating aspect for such efforts is that
these nanostructures often are too small for classical physics to be applicable, while yet being too
large to be dealt with by pure quantum chemistry, and they furthermore lack the periodic
symmetry that is required for many solid state physics approaches. Luckily, modern multiscale
technology comprising quantum mechanical cores embedded in expedient classical shells that
are atomically granulated with force fields have now been developed to the point where they
pose a realistic proposition for applications in nanoscience at interfaces.
The motivation for project work can be found in recent progress of such multiscale methods
accommodating also metallic environments. The description of such environments is challenging
in that “charge” becomes a meaningless entity and should be replaced with something like an
“induced charge”. Here we consider a polarizability‐capacitance approach addressing metallic
environments, and in particular studies using this approach for properties of molecules absorbed
on nanoparticles within the time dependent DFT formalism. Already obtained results indicate
that the capacitance‐polarization model provides an adequate description of static and dynamic
response from metallic nanoparticles to external electromagnetic fields, and that computations
of molecules on metal surfaces or nanoparticle and their properties now are realistic. Our model
addresses also molecular systems in complex environments, i.e. consisting from molecules
physisorbed on a metal surface or a nanoparticle which in turn is placed in a solvent or confined
organic/inorganic environment. The model has wide ramifications for calculations of properties
and spectra of hybrid nanoparticles in solutions or confined environments and can address a
number of topics within nanotechnology and bionanotechnology.
Project website if available
www.theochem.kth.se
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Hans Ågren
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Name of supervisor (if other)
Hans Ågren
Email address to contact person
agren@theochem.kth.se
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Theoretical Chemistry and Biology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 202
Nanotechnology
Detailed subject area
The project will address fabrication and characterization of nanoscale magnetic devices. Part of
the project will address magnetic noise in individual nanostructures, the other part will focus on
unconvential magnetic tunel junctions.
Title of project
3D nanopatterning for magnetoelectronics and spintronics.
Short description of project
Spintronics technologies and the hard drive industry are continuously pushing to smaller active
magnetic devices, memory elements and sensors, which use either the giant magnetoresistance
(GMR) or the tunneling magnetorestance (TMR) phenomena. With the decreasing size, there is a
significant amount of physics which is unclear as yet. It is arguable the most critical of the
unknown physics is to understand the noise in these nanoscale elements, which could limit the
usability of devices.
Nanofabrication is one of the key ingredients driving nanotechnology forward. We have an
established and well‐recognized position in 3D nanofabrication via direct e‐beam writing and this
project will use this knowledge and experience to fabricate small devices and components for
magnetielectronics and spintronics.
Some more information about relevant activities can be found in:
Nanotechnology 22, 145305, 2011
Langmuir, 28 (14), pp 6185–6191, 2012
Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 087206, 2012
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Professor Liubov Belova
Name of supervisor (if other)
Professor Liubov Belova
Email address to contact person
lyuba@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Material Science and Engineering
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Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
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Networkedsystemssecurity(incl.privacy)
Detailed subject area
We design and build secure networked systems our research track record and agenda include a
gamut of security and privacy problems. For more information, please see
http://www.ee.kth.se/~papadim/
Title of project
Networked systems security
Short description of project
We invite applications for pre‐doctoral research positions in the context of the KTH ‐ CSC program,
addressed to Chinese citizens. We design and build secure networked systems our research track
record and agenda include a gamut of security and privacy problems. For more information,
please see http://www.ee.kth.se/~papadim/
Applicants must hold or be about to receive an MSc degree in computer science, electrical
engineering, computer engineering, information and communication technologies, or a related
area. Furthermore, the applicant must have:
‐ Strong academic credentials, written and spoken English proficiency, communication and team‐
work skills.
‐ Preparation and readiness to contribute to our research agenda and to work in an
internationally oriented group.
‐ Interest in several of the following: design, analysis, verification, implementation, or empirical
evaluation of secure networked systems.
‐ Background in several of the following: computer security, mobile computing, networking,
Internet security, wireless communications, distributed algorithms and systems, programming
languages, performance analysis, operating systems, simulation techniques and tools, software
engineering, system and network programming, applied cryptography, privacy preserving or
enhancing technologies.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Panagiotis Papadimitratos
Name of supervisor (if other)
Panagiotis Papadimitratos
Email address to contact person
papadim@kth.se
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KTH School
EES
KTH department
LCN
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
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NuclearPowerSafety
Detailed subject area
corium debris formation and coolability
Title of project
Study on corium coolability during a severe accident of light water reactors
Short description of project
The project is concerned with corium coolability which is important to stabilization and
termination of a severe accident of light water reactors. The research includes development,
validation and application of an advanced analysis methodology for corium coolability analysis of
light water reactors, by implementation of a coupled approach between the accident sequence
analysis using lumped‐parameter codes at system level and the mechanistic (CFD based) analysis
of components at detailed level (e.g., MELCOR for accident sequence vs. JEMI and MEWA for
debris formation and coolability). For phenomenological understanding and model validation, the
project may involve experiments to be performed on our world‐class test facilities.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Weimin Ma
Name of supervisor (if other)
Weimin Ma
Email address to contact person
weimin@kth.se
KTH School
SCI
KTH department
Physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
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NuclearPowerSafety
Detailed subject area
Thermal‐hydraulics of reactor containment
Title of project
Development of a simulation tool for reactor containment safety analysis
Short description of project
Containment integrity is of paramount importance to light water reactors, since it is the last
barrier of radioactive fission products during a core‐melted severe accident. For the containment
safety analysis, although different computer programs have been developed to address the
typical containment issues (e.g., hydrogen distribution and combustion), there are still some
phenomena (e.g., direct contact condensation after steam blowdown to suppression pool of BWR)
which are not sufficiently modeled by the computer codes. Moreover, the features of new
reactor designs, such as passive cooling of containment, bring in more challenges to the
capabilities of the existing codes. Thus, there is a clear need for further/new development of the
simulation tools. This project is intended to fill in the gap in the contemporary needs of a
qualified tool for simulating passive cooled containment. The research includes development and
application of an advanced simulation tool which will have better models for direct contact
condensation, containment wall contamination and natural circulation.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Weimin Ma
Name of supervisor (if other)
Weimin Ma
Email address to contact person
weimin@kth.se
KTH School
SCI
KTH department
Physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
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OpticalNetworking
Detailed subject area
Capacity requirement in a backbone network varies according to the location of network nodes
and the time of the day. Moreover, there are certain classes of applications that undoubtedly
require high quality of service (QoS). An example is the remote control of an industrial process
that may require delay and jitter levels down to a few microseconds. Thus, flexible resource
allocation while guaranteeing QoS is highly demanded for core network.
Recently, based on the advances in optical transmission and electrical compensation technologies,
a novel transparent optical core network with broadcast‐and‐select manner has been proposed.
This approach is able to eliminate the usage of photonic reconfigurable components for switching
by introducing passive splitters and combiners for interconnecting the fiber links. Therefore, it
has been considered as a cost‐ and energy‐effective alternative to active optical switching
network solutions. Furthermore, due to the broadcast characteristic, this new network
architecture inherently provide fine granularity which can easily satisfy the varied bandwidth
demands for different connection requests while guaranteeing QoS. However, the advantages
mentioned above are at the expense of resource allocation efficiency since resource reuse is
limited. Consequently, the broadcast‐and‐select optical network solution may require more
resources compared with the active switched optical networks which are allowed to
accommodate reconfigurable and coloured components.
Title of project
Design of Flexible and Scalable Transparent Optical Core Networks
Short description of project
The main purpose of this project is to develop flexible and scalable transparent optical core
network solutions with:
‐broadcast‐and‐select manner to support fine granularity,
‐adaptive bit rate per connection request and elastic usage of the spectrum,
‐sliceable, tunable and cost‐efficient transceivers.
More specifically the objective of this project are:
1) To design cost‐ and energy‐efficient salable transparent optical core network solutions with
broadcast‐and‐select manner to easily support fine granularity.
2) Considering the constraints of the network solutions designed in (1), to develop a flexible
routing and resource assignment approach to guarantee QoS while adapting distinct bandwidth
demands from different connection requests.
3) To develop some techniques in order to improve the robustness for the network solutions
designed in (1), concerning resilience and security.
Project website if available
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Name of responsible professor/researcher
Jiajia Chen
Name of supervisor (if other)
Lena Wosinska
Email address to contact person
jiajiac@kth.se
KTH School
ICT
KTH department
CoS
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
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OpticalNetworking
Detailed subject area
Data centers are experiencing a tremendous increase in the amount of network traffic due to
cloud computing and many other emerging applications. It is expected that the peak
performance will increase 10 times every 4 years and the required bandwidth will increase 20
times every 4 years. However, the total power consumption that can be afforded by the data
center is allowed to increase at a much lower rate (i.e., 2 times every 4 years) due to thermal
dissipation constraints. The consumers of energy in data centers are IT equipment and other
supporting facilities (e.g. lighting, cooling, etc.). In order to identify how efficiently a data center
uses its power, a measure called power usage effectiveness (PUE) is defined as the ratio of the
total facility power to the IT equipment power. A smart selection of data center location could
greatly reduce the energy required for cooling and significantly improve PUE. For example,
Facebook carefully chose the location for its first data center outside the USA and launched Arctic
data center in Luleå, Sweden. By utilizing icy conditions in Sweden, this Arctic data center can
reach a low level of PUE, i.e., lower than 1.1. It implies that in modern data centers (in particular
in a country such as Sweden) major focus on energy savings should be moved to IT equipment.
Currently, network equipment in a data center took approximately 23% of the total energy
consumed by IT equipment and this number is expected to continue to grow in the future. Thus,
it becomes of extreme importance to address the energy consumption issue in data center
networks in order to sustainably handle ever‐increasing traffic demand.
Optical fiber communication is by far the least energy‐consuming and least costly technique to
offer ultra‐high bandwidth for telecommunication. It has been also considered as a promising
transmission technology for the data center applications. However, in the current data center
networks, switching is still done in electronic domain by the commodity switches, which
consumes an extensive amount of power and also causes a bottleneck for capacity upgrade. To
reduce or eliminate the electronic components in data center networks, many optical packet
switching based architectures have been proposed in the literature. However, there are still some
fundamental technical problems, particularly the lack of flexible optical memory and signal
processing technologies that are required for efficient contention resolution. To overcome the
aforementioned problems, the research efforts should concentrate on the viable optical
networking technologies (e.g., elastic optical networks), based on which a highly scalable and
environmentally sustainable architecture could be achieved for data center networks.
Title of project
Design of elastic optical switches for data center networks
Short description of project
The main objective of the project is to explore highly scalable and environmentally sustainable
architectures for data center networks. We are aiming to develop elastic optical switches,
supporting dynamic spectrum allocation for high flexibility. The specific goals are:
1) To design elastic optical switches for data center applications taking advantage of the key
technologies of elastic optical networks recently developed for telecom.
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 211
2) To verify the proposed structure in 1) and further evaluate it with respect to the scalability and
energy efficiency. Some modifications to refine the proposed structure will be introduced
according to the assessment.
3) To develop efficient resource allocation algorithm tailored to the updated structure for elastic
optical switches in order to adapt distinct bandwidth demands from servers in the data center.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Jiajia Chen
Name of supervisor (if other)
Lena Wosinska
Email address to contact person
jiajiac@kth.se
KTH School
ICT
KTH department
CoS
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
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OpticsandPhotonics
Detailed subject area
Nanophotonics, near‐field optics, plasmonics
Title of project
Nanoscale investigations of photothermal effects
Short description of project
Metal nanostructures show strong scattering and absorption of light in visible and near infrared
region owing to their localized plasmon resonances. The absorbed light is then turned into
thermal energy. Such photothermal effects in plasmonic nanostructures have great potentials in
applications for photothermal cancer therapy, optical storage, thermo‐photovoltaics, etc.
However, the transient temperature behavior of a nanoscale material system during an ultrafast
photothermal process has rarely been accurately investigated, mostly due to the fact that it is
very difficult to map temperature at nanometer scale, or at a short time scale. The physics of
thermodynamics at the nanoscale could be very much different from that of macroscopic level.
Our research may provide new understanding in this field.
The goals of this project are: Theoretically investigate and understand, through models and
numerical calculations, thermodynamics at nanoscale and the photothermal optical properties of
metallic nanostructures (absorbers, antennas, etc.) Design, fabricate, and characterize of
plasmonic nanostructures with nanometer resolution using scanning near‐field optical
microscopy and other sophisticated methods.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Saulius Marcinkevicius
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Min Qiu
Email address to contact person
sm@kth.se
KTH School
ICT
KTH department
Materials and Nanophysics
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Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
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OptimizationandSystemsTheory
Title of project
Coordination and Control of Multi‐agent Dynamical Systems
Detailed subject area
Mathematical systems theory for multi‐agent systems.
Short description of project
The aims of the project is to study emerging issues regarding cooperative multi‐agent
systems that are motivated by various types of applications, in terms of modeling, sensing
and control, with special
focus on the design of cooperative control protocols that are based on local and relative
information.
In this PhD project, we will focus on cooperative control of mobile agents. There are several
issues we would like to study. First we will extend our work to nonlinear systems that
possibly contain singularities such as a group of cooperative multi‐joint manipulators. Then
when the manipulators hold an object collectively, formation control becomes effectively
an attitude regulation problem. This is related to the attitude control of rigid body that has
been a classical problem in control theory. Finally, for most mobile multi‐agent systems,
exteroceptive sensors are used for sensing the
surroundings, which are intrinsically nonlinear and directional. In most cases one can not
get the needed depth information directly from the sensor data either. Furthermore, for
such systems, due to restrictions in the environment and the way the sensors function,
constraints have to be put on the control. Thus it is critical to understand how the limitation
on sensing would affect the control objective and how to design control in order to respect
the sensing constraint.
Project website if avaliable
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Xiaoming Hu
Name of supervisor(if other)
Xiaoming Hu
E‐mail address to contact person
hu@kth.se
KTH school
SCI
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 215
KTH department
Department of Mathematics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 216
Photonics,Optics,Optoelectronics
Detailed subject area
Recent progress in near‐field optics, nanophotonic science, and nanotechnology, enables both
new phenomena to be exploited and novel functional materials (natural and manmade) to be
realized. Near‐field nanophotonic elements involve classical, quantum‐mechanical, and nonlinear
(including chiral) interactions and have potential applications in the fields of sensors, metrology,
microscopy, spectroscopy, biomedicine, information technology, etc. Typical examples are meta‐
materials, core‐shell quantum dots, metallic nanoparticles, and various assemblies. Often the
studied phenomena also involve ultrafast optics, especially in semiconductor materials.
Experimental facilities of the Optics/Photonics group boost available resources for new
challenging tasks dealing with fundamentals of light‐matter interaction. For example, it can
include polarization properties of near‐field modes in plasmonic and hybrid (Si‐metal)
waveguides and composite optical gain materials (polymers + metal nanoparticles).
The proposed research contains theoretical, simulation, modeling, and experimental work (much
in collaboration with other groups), as well as the use of advanced SNOM equipment, ultrafast
optics setups, and other laser systems in the Optics/Photonics group. The project outcomes are
forefront scientific results and functionally efficient elements and systems for nanophotonic
applications.
Title of project
Near‐field optics and nano‐photonics systems
Short description of project
The research topics encompass studies of phenomena that are related to the interaction of a
near optical field with engineered materials, including composites, novel polymers, hybrid
(metal‐semiconductor), and meta‐materials.
All the aforementioned materials and devices fabricated on their base allow to effectively control
the transmission, polarization, spectrum, coherence, and other features of the transmitted or
reflected light. Although this is an immensely progressive research area with many applications,
investigations indicate that such materials possess rather high losses of the guided light. Among
other tasks, our project aims the study of the loss origin and possible solutions to overcome such
a drawback in otherwise promising structures.
On the other hand, recent research in plasmonics has indicated that metallic nanostructures can
function as efficient optical convertors to modify light polarization and provide unconventional
optical properties such as negative index or extraordinary transmission. The intrinsic properties
of optical near fields, such as evanescent wave interaction in classical and quantized
nanostructures, creation of local surface plasmons, influence of short‐range polarization and
(electromagnetic, temporal and spectral) coherence properties, play a crucial role in the topics
for study, affecting device performance (such as cavity properties) and fundamental physical
features (radiation/transition lifetimes). The research thus involves fundamental physics and
technology aspects.
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 217
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Associate professor Sergei Popov
Name of supervisor (if other)
Associate professor Sergei Popov
Email address to contact person
sergeip@kth.se
KTH School
ICT
KTH department
Material and Nano‐Physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 218
Physics
Detailed subject area
X‐ray free‐electron lasers
Title of project
Non‐linear X‐ray Physics
Short description of project
Non‐linear X‐ray Physics
Nonlinear processes at the smallest accessible spatio‐temporal scale is at the frontier of modern
research. In this respect, the nonlinear propagation of the XFEL pulses is one of the mainstreams
of strong X‐ray field physics where one can anticipate new and unexpected results.
1) We intend to investigate nonlinear processes such as stimulated X‐ray Raman scattering, four‐
wave mixing and pulse compression in molecules. The main aim of this part of our proposal is to
understand how the electron‐nuclear dynamics in complex molecules can affect the nonlinear
response of strong XFEL pulses.
2) The next goal of our project is to investigate the role of reshaping of intense X‐ray pulses
during its propagation in a molecular medium, especially its compression and generation of
Stokes and four‐wave mixing components.
3) Contrary to the linear regime with very poor optical properties (refractive index for X‐rays is
near one), the strong modification of the optical properties of materials in strong XFEL fields
open unprecedental opportunities both in fundamental X‐ray science and technology. Therefore,
investigations of the almost unknown new field of nonlinear X‐ray optics is timely. According to
our preliminary simulations we expect the slowdown of the XFEL pulse up to one order of
magnitude.
4) Due to the shot‐noise start‐up in SASE generation of XFEL radiation the pulses have inherent
stochastic character, with rather large variations in wavelength and intensity. This constitutes an
obstacle for various applications. Our strategy to get intense, ultrashort and tunable sources of
coherent X‐ray radiation from noisy XFEL pulses is the dissociative X‐ray laser which is based on
resonant core excitation of molecules (HBr, HCl, OCS, O2 CF4, or SF6) to a state which is subject
to ultrafast dissociation.
Project website if available
www.theochem.kth.se
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Hans Ågren
Name of supervisor (if other)
Hans Ågren
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 219
Email address to contact person
agren@theochem.kth.se
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Theoretical Chemistry and Biology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 220
Physics
Detailed subject area
Applied physics, optical physics, laser physics, fiber optics
Title of project
functional optical fibers and laser
Short description of project
The project is dealing with unique functional fiber components which we fabricate in the
fiber fabrication facility in Sweden. These can be used for many different applications. So far
we have demonstrated active polarization control in fibers for the optical fiber network. We
have shown modelocking and Q‐switching in all‐fiber lasers and switching of pulses out of
fiber lasers for various pulse picking and nonlinear optics application. We have also access to
three different fiber grating facilities with world‐class performance in which we can make
mirrors or filters for lasers and sensors. With our integrated electrodes these can be tuned to
obtain engineered properties of great importance for many emerging applications in the
health and medical fields. Another related area is high power fiber lasers where we together
with in‐house fabrication of nonlinear materials can obtain unique tailored light sources for
biological, display and machining applications. We also make combined fiber/capillaries
which we utilize in biological research to sort and study cells. It is in close
collaboration with Science for Life Laboratory at the Karolinska Institute.
A Chinese student with experience of optical fiber and laser technology could probably make
rapid progress in this fascinating area.
Project website if avaliable
www.laserphysics.kth.se
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Fredrik Laurell
Name of supervisor(if other)
Dr. Zhangwei Yu
E‐mail address to contact person
fl@laserphysics.kth.se
KTH school
SCI
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 221
KTH department
Applied Physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 222
Physics
Detailed subject area
nonlinear optics, laser physics, mid IR generation, photonic applications
Title of project
Mid IR generation and its applications
Short description of project
Nonlinear optics is an efficient way to generate mid IR generation based on established laser
technology. Particularly interesting and important is to tailor the nonlinear properties by
ferroelectric domain engineering or semiconductor engineering. Wavelengths in the
transparent in the atmosphere at 3 – 5 and 8 – 12 micron can then be addressed. Our group
has pioneered this field and is still among the world leaders. We will develop novel methods
and materials and use them in contemporary applications together with internationally
leading experts in the field. The project has both a content of fundamental material and
optical physics and important applications and is therfore of great societal importance.
Project website if avaliable
www.laserphysics.kth.se
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Fredrik Laurell
Name of supervisor(if other)
Prof. Valdas Pasiskevicius
E‐mail address to contact person
fl@laserphysics.kth.se
KTH school
SCI
KTH department
Applied Physics department
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
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SoftwareEngineering
Detailed subject area
Software architecture, service computing, cloud computing, crowdsourcing applied to a large
amount of mobile (semi‐)autonomous devices (for example, smart phones) connected to the
Internet.
Title of project
Clouds of Smart Services ‐ a Crowdsourcing Approach
Short description of project
In this project we propose a novel approach and a software platform for cloud‐based service
provision by a large collection of smart devices operating autonomously or in cooperation with
humans. The novelty of our approach lies in development of crowdsourcing methods for service
deployment, selection and provision in cloud environment and novel service analysis methods.
Let us imagine a case where continuous monitoring of some environmental characteristics (for
example, the radiation or noise levels) is needed in an area where no sensory infrastructure has
been installed. Naturally we would expect that an alarm be triggered if the level will exceed the
level of natural background radiation/noise. Most cost‐effective way to solve this task would be
to outsource this to someone with measuring devices in this area (for example, this could be
people carrying devices – smart phones or tablets). Availability of people with connected devices
in the area is highly probable because people carrying mobile devices (and often private
measuring devices) are nowadays available in almost every corner of the world and smart phone
(with camera or microphone) could be used as low cost radiation/noise detectors. In this case we
could outsource tasks directly to human’s devices. No direct involvement of device carriers will be
required if their devices are networked. Thus instead of installing and maintaining a fixed (usually
expensive) sensory infrastructure for measuring the environmental conditions we are going to
develop a flexible and dynamic clouds of service. In doing so we are going utilize device
capabilities (that might be idle otherwise) on a regular base or in emergency cases. With
increasing number of sensors embedded into smart phones (or sensors connected to smart
phones via Bluetooth) the number of measured environmental characteristics will increase.
In this project we are going to provide a new approach to service provision by smart devices in
cloud computing settings. We are going to propose a solution where a smart device can be both a
part of the cloud of services and communicate to cloud of services externally for outsourcing of
resources.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Mihhail Matskin
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Name of supervisor (if other)
Mihhail Matskin
Email address to contact person
misha@kth.se
KTH School
ICT
KTH department
SCS ‐ Software and Computer Systems
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 225
SoftwareengineeringappliedtoMechatronics
Detailed subject area
Mechatronic products offer enormous opportunities for new services, products, and improved
performance in almost all application domains in our society, from medical devices to
autonomous cars. New demands, and the heterogeneity and increasing connectivity of such
systems, require the use of large amounts of information and software tools to support their
development, production and maintenance.
The subject area deals with information technology integration with the goal to provide efficient
and effective engineering environments for mechatronic products. We use the term Engineering
Environment (EE) to refer to a dedicated setting of people, processes, artifacts and tools that
realize system development and production. Such a mechatronics EE involves multiple
stakeholders who have different but nevertheless related viewpoints and therefore use different
concepts, product data and tools (compare CAD, CAM, CASE and CACE) to deal with their
concerns of interest. Examples of typical viewpoints include mechanics design, controller design,
software design, and safety analysis. The multitude of experts and viewpoints required causes
fragmented sets of information and tools resulting in design, integration, maintenance and
efficiency problems in such environments.
The subject area involves the application of systems and software engineering methodology in
designing, analyzing and evaluating software solutions for EE’s with the ultimate goal to enhance
the work for the engineering end‐users, thereby improving product quality and cost‐efficiency.
The area is multidisciplinary, with a basis in software engineering/computer science but where
successful results will require understanding of the engineering domains and various stakeholder
concerns.
Title of project
Integrated engineering environments for Mechatronic products
Short description of project
Our research unit has for a long time addressed architecture and integration in the context of
mechatronic products and embedded systems. This project focuses on the topic of modeling,
analyzing, designing and evaluating integrated engineering environments (EE’s), used for the
development and production of mechatronic products.
The specific goal in this project is to develop domain‐specific and model‐based support tools that
enable heterogeneous assets (data, services and tools) to be integrated to form tailored EE’s .
These model‐based techniques should support,
(1) formalized description of the assets of the environment and their integration,
(2) analysis of such models, and
(3) automated generation of EE’s to lower the threshold for integration.
In the project, you will be directly involved in the following activities:
‐ concrete demonstrator and prototype development (bottom‐up, hands‐on).
‐ research into desirable properties of domain‐specific modeling languages for engineering
environments (top‐down).
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 226
‐ interactions with our collaboration partners and other stakeholders to get insight into best
practices and state of the art.
Given interest, there will also be opportunities to take on leadership of certain development
tasks.
The project builds upon experiences gained in the context of the iFEST (www.artemis‐ifest.eu/)
and MBAT (https://www.mbat‐artemis.eu/ ) projects.
You will be joining our dedicated international research team with the goal to contribute to
research and development. The expected results from the whole team include scientific papers,
prototype tools, industrial evaluations and potentially spin‐offs. Our collaboration partners
include industrial end‐users, tool providers and other academic institutions within Sweden,
Europe and world‐wide. The environment provides excellent opportunities for extending your
network.
A suitable profile for candidates will be software engineering and/or computer science, and
strong programming skills. Competence in domain‐specific modeling is a plus. Candidates should
have interest, and preferably experience, in one or more of the following areas: mechatronics,
embedded systems, control engineering, systems engineering.
Project website if available
http://www.kth.se/en/itm/inst/mmk/avdelningar/mda/research‐1.18173
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Martin Törngren
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Martin Törngren and Dr. Jad Elkhoury
Email address to contact person
martint@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Machine Design
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 227
Soilmechanics
Detailed subject area
Swelling of natural bentonite under different conditions
Title of project
Investigation of the swelling mechanisms of bentonites at a molecular level
Short description of project
Bentonite materials have many applications such as sealing freshwater ponds, irrigation ditches
and reservoirs and as a component in drilling slurries. Bentonite materials can exhibit substantial
swelling and shrinkage hence, they pose a serious threat to the stability of different structures. As
a consequence, it is important to be able to predict their swelling characteristics. The swelling of
bentonite‐based materials have been thoroughly studied on a macroscopic level. However, the
microstructure and the underlying swelling mechanisms are complex and yet not fully
understood.
The purpose of the project is to increase the fundamental understanding of the swelling
mechanisms of bentonite materials at a molecular level. The swelling properties and
microstructure of bentonite materials will be studied in order to understand and predict their
behaviour under different conditions. In particular the formation and breakage of
montmorillonite stacks under different conditions will be studied. The results will also be used to
improve a mechanistic model developed in our group to be able to predict the swelling pressure
of these materials under different conditions.
The macroscopic swelling properties will be investigated by performing suction and swell
pressure measurements under different conditions. The clay materials will be properly
characterized and the microstructure of the bentonites will be studied by X‐ray diffraction to
determine e.g. the number of montmorillonite particles (tactoids) in the clay material and their
layers spacing.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Assoc. Prof. Longcheng Liu
Name of supervisor (if other)
Assoc. Prof. Longcheng Liu
Email address to contact person
lliu@ket.kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 228
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
KET
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 229
Soilmechanics
Detailed subject area
Swelling of natural bentonite under different conditions
Title of project
Investigation of the swelling mechanisms of bentonites at a molecular level
Short description of project
Bentonite materials have many applications such as sealing freshwater ponds, irrigation ditches
and reservoirs and as a component in drilling slurries. Bentonite materials can exhibit substantial
swelling and shrinkage hence, they pose a serious threat to the stability of different structures. As
a consequence, it is important to be able to predict their swelling characteristics. The swelling of
bentonite‐based materials have been thoroughly studied on a macroscopic level. However, the
microstructure and the underlying swelling mechanisms are complex and yet not fully
understood.
The purpose of the project is to increase the fundamental understanding of the swelling
mechanisms of bentonite materials at a molecular level. The swelling properties and
microstructure of bentonite materials will be studied in order to understand and predict their
behaviour under different conditions. In particular the formation and breakage of
montmorillonite stacks under different conditions will be studied. The results will also be used to
improve a mechanistic model developed in our group to be able to predict the swelling pressure
of these materials under different conditions.
The macroscopic swelling properties will be investigated by performing suction and swell
pressure measurements under different conditions. The clay materials will be properly
characterized and the microstructure of the bentonites will be studied by X‐ray diffraction to
determine e.g. the number of montmorillonite particles (tactoids) in the clay material and their
layers spacing.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Assoc. Prof. Longcheng Liu
Name of supervisor (if other)
Assoc. Prof. Longcheng Liu
Email address to contact person
lliu@ket.kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 230
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
KET
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 231
SpectralCT
Detailed subject area
Rupture of plaque in the carotid arteries is a common cause of stroke. Depending on the
composition, plaques have larger or smaller probability of rupturing and knowing of this
probability would be an indicator for prophylactic removal of the plaque.
We hypothesize that spectral computed tomography (CT), especially multibin CT, can help
characterize the plaque as “benign” (low risk of rupture) or “malignant” (high risk of
rupture). This would have great impact on stroke prevention and also treatment, since the
risk of relapse (today about 30%) could be reduced and possibly open up for future
screening. The project constitutes a complement to an ongoing CT technology development
project at KTH and this allows rapid access to pre‐clinical prototypes when they are
developed. As the group already has contact at the neurology department at Karolinska
University Hospital, access to plaque specimen for experimental purposes is ensured.
Title of project
Novel applications and methods related to photon counting energy sensitive computed
tomography
Short description of project
Quantitive CT imaging means determining the equivalent amount of attenuation by selected
energy basis functions. This method was proposed already in 1976 by Alvarez and Makovski
(“Energy‐selective reconstructions in x‐ray computed tomography” Phys. Med. Biol. 21,
733–744) and in essence means that the linear attenuation coefficient μ for each bodily
constituent can be written as a linear combination of two known basis functions:
(1) μ (x,y,z E)=a_1 (x,y,z)f_1 (E)+a_2(x,y,z)f_2 (E).
With dual energy methods, two independent energy measurements are obtained and this
can be used for solving for a_1 and a_2 in (1). Strictly speaking, the above equation,
indicating an intrinsic dimensionality of bodily tissues of 2, is only valid for soft tissues. If
iodine is added, the expression needs to be expanded with a third base f_3 (E). In such cases,
dual energy methods do not suffice since 3 unknowns need to be determined from 2
measurements. However, a prior assumption on the relationship between a_1 and a_2 can
be made (for instance that the background is an uncompressible mixture of soft and
adipose tissue). Such iodine quantification methods are offered on the work stations of the
large vendors.
The problem arises when bone or any other highly calcified structure like plaque is present.
If both iodine and calcium is present, four basis functions are needed and then dual energy
systems fail, even with the application of prior assumptions. For multibin systems however,
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 232
with more than 4 energy windows, this is no problem since the 4 unknown can be solved for
with >4 measurements with the maximum likelihood solution described in detail 2009 by
Rössl and Herrmann (“Cramér‐Rao lower bound of basis image noise in multiple‐energy x‐
ray imaging”, Phys. Med. Biol. 54:1307‐1318).
In theory, this allows accurate quantification of tissue (since a_1 and a_2 determine all
tissues in the body) and also for contrast agents with a k‐edge (since a_3 describes this). The
problem is the that the straight forward method is not taking noise correlation structures or
scatter into consideration and is thus only unbiased and efficient in the (practically
irrelevant) ideal case.
Object scatter and noise correlation from multiple detections inside the detector (Compton
scatter) invalidates the current maximum likelihood (ML) method for solving the basis
decomposition problem. This can only be resolved by developing a statistical/iterative
reconstruction method where scatter and correlation is adequately modeled.
The first part of the work project aims at adjusting the ML‐method to take correlations into
consideration via an iterative reconstruction method. This will make quantitative imaging
possible. The second part of this four‐year project is to evaluate the method clinically on
excised plaque.
Project website if avaliable
www.mi.physics.kth.se
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Mats Danielsson
Name of supervisor(if other)
Prof. Mats Danielsson
E‐mail address to contact person
matsdan@kth.se
KTH school
SCI
KTH department
Physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 233
Steelandalloyproduction
Detailed subject area
Steel and alloy production.
Control of quality of steel and alloys on different stages of productions.
Formation and behavior of nonmetallic inclusions in the steel and alloys during ladle treatment,
casting and solidification.
Effect of different nonmetallic inclusions on mechanical and physical properties of steels and
alloys.
Development, improvement and application of analytical techniques for accurate estimation of
characteristics of nonmetallic inclusions and clusters in metal samples.
Title of project
Application and improvement of new methods for accurate analysis of inclusion characteristics in
different steels and alloys
Short description of project
Globally, the steel producer countries have the common development direction to reach a high
quality of steel production by lower price of steelmaking processes. Particularly, it is very
important for special high alloyed steel grades. The largest and most representative country,
which produces a lot of special steel grades, is Sweden. However, the advanced technic and
professional skill cannot be reached without the long‐term research and cooperation with the
specific research centers and universities. KTH Royal Institute of Technology (and department of
Materials Science and Engineering) is one of the known university in the field of materials science
and metallurgy in Europe. Top level leadership professors and research groups of KTH and the
department of Materials Science and Engineering cooperate successfully with universities,
research centers and metallurgical companies from China, US, Japan and other EU countries.
Applied Process Metallurgy division of MSE department is a group in KTH which works actively
and fruitfully with the steel industry. Moreover, a number of publications and presentations on
international conferences during the last five years show that the Applied Process Metallurgy
division is one of the most active groups in Europe, which successfully applied improved method
(such as the electrolytic extraction and some other) for accurate investigation of non‐metallic
inclusions and clusters in steel samples taken on different stages of production of various steel
grades and alloys.
Prepared project for 4 years PhD research work mainly focused on accurate analysis of inclusion
characteristics in different steels and alloys by using different improved techniques. Accurate
assessment of non‐metallic inclusion characteristics on different stages of steel production is very
important today for future development and improvement of current technological processes of
steelmaking. It is well known that the non‐metallic inclusion particles, which appear during
steelmaking process, are harmful for final properties of steel products. More specifically, they can
reduce the plasticity, toughness and fatigue life of the steel, make cold‐forming and hot‐forming
characteristics and even some physical performance of the steel deteriorate. Therefore, a
systematic study of inclusion characteristics (such as number, size, chemical composition and
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 234
morphology) is important for control of the formation and growth mechanisms of inclusions by
production of high‐quality billet. This, in order to decrease the harmful effect of inclusions on
properties of final product and to get a possibility for prediction of final steel properties based on
inclusion characteristics in steel on early stages of steelmaking.
The given project will focus on the following topics:
‐ experimental investigation of different types of nonmetallic inclusions in steel and alloy samples
taken on different stages of industrial heats and laboratory experiments
‐ physicochemical simulation of formation and behavior of nonmetallic inclusions in steels and
alloys on different stages of production
‐ development and improvement of analytical techniques for the control of the composition and
amount of different nonmetallic inclusions in metal samples
‐ investigations of the mechanisms for formation, growth and clustering of different non‐metallic
inclusions in liquid steel based on the accurate results obtained by using improved analytical
techniques.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Pär Jönsson, Professor, (KTH, MSE)
Name of supervisor (if other)
Andrey Karasev, Docent, Senior Researcher (KTH, MSE)
Email address to contact person
karasev@kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Material Science and Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 235
Sustainabledevelopment,environmentalscienceand
technology
Title of project
The Baltic Sea region system dynamics
Detailed subject area
Water resources and ecosystem services in coastal zones
Short description of project
Many aspects of Baltic Sea processes have been studied over the past decades. More recent
studies emphasise large‐scale flow and particle transport (Döös et al., 2004 Meier, 2007),
and also the biogeochemical processes of eutrophication that are based on oxygen
availability (Neuman and Schernewski, 2008 Meier et al., 2011 Eilola et al., 2011). A novel
approach to eutrophication dynamics based on carbon rather than oxygen availability
seems to provide a more robust alternative (Kiirikki et al., 2001, 2006). Quantifying flow and
transport dynamics on smaller (archipelago) scales of the Baltic Sea is important for many
applications but the studies have been limited (e.g., Engqvist and Andrejev, 2003) in
particular regarding water quality. Furthermore, the complex dynamics of discharges from
land and their relation to the eutrophication processes in the Baltic Sea are still poorly
understood. Thus there is a need for land‐sea system integration to better understand the
complex water quality dynamics of the Baltic Sea, in particular to establish scenarios for
possible trends over the coming decades.
The aim of this project is to improve the understanding of possible changes in the Baltic Sea
region earth system over a 30‐40 year horizon. The project will focus on physical and
biogeochemical processes subject to climate change on the one side, and to anthropogenic
impacts of regional land use change on the other. An important scientific issue of the
research is understanding scaling in space and time, such that impacts and interactions can
be understood and reasonably predicted from local scales of archipelagos to large scales
that encompass the entire sea.
The project will build on the catchment and land water quality research over the past 10
years at SU with the KTH‐IVL research on Baltic Sea regional hydrodynamics and
biogeochemical processes within two EU projects SEABED and WEBAP (http://webap.ivl.se/)
completed during 2013 the research results from SEABED and WEBAP are in the process of
being reported (e.g., Dargahi and Cvetkovic, 2014 Jonsson et al., 2014).
The scientific questions to be addressed within the project will be fully in line with most of
the Grand Challenges formulated within the recently launched Baltic Earth research
program (http://www.baltex‐research.eu/), in particular: What determines the salinity
dynamics in the Baltic Sea? What are the biogeochemical fluxes and feedbacks between the
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 236
land and the sea? What are the sea level dynamics in the Baltic Sea? What are the human
impacts on the environment and how do they change the regional Earth system? The results
of this project will be communicated within the Baltic Earth program network. The results
will be published in journals. The ambition is to expand the project by applying for
additional funds.
Outreach will be an important component of the project, primarily developed in
collaboration with Stockholm and Uusimaa municipalities, SYKE and Åbo Akademi. The
project would be an important boost for Chinese‐Swedish collaboration in the important
broad area of coastal resources and sustainability.
Project website if avaliable
Name of responsible professor/researcher
vladimir cvetkovic
Name of supervisor(if other)
vladimir cvetkovic
E‐mail address to contact person
vdc@kth.se
KTH school
ABE
KTH department
Sustainable development, environmental science and engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 237
TechnicalAcoustics
Detailed subject area
Aeroacoustics.
Title of project
RESEARCH IN AEROACOUSTICS WITH APPLICATION TO
AICRAFT ENGINE NOISE REDUCTION
Short description of project
Large efforts are being directed towards improving the noisy environment in the vicinity of
airports. Stricter noise requirements are being implemented by international noise regulatory
authorities and local airports. In order to achieve long‐term improvements, a need for much
quieter aircraft has evolved.
One of the main sources of noise in aircraft is the engine itself. Many recent studies on noise
reduction involve the use of acoustically absorbent material in the air and gas flow ducting of the
power plant. Typically, absorbent liners in the intake of the power plant account for about 5 PNdB
noise reduction, whilst lining in the discharge ducts, both hot and cold, accounts for over twice
this amount. An acoustic liner is an absorbent material which has a certain characteristics and is
attached to a hard surface. Acoustic liners are used in two places inside a jet engine, at the inlet
to minimize fan noise, including buzz saw noise, and in the jet pipe to minimize turbine, fan and
combustion noise. There are however some difficulties in using liners in aircraft engines. The
most important is that there is no large surface area to which the linings may be applied and, of
course, weight is a prime consideration. Equally, the environment in which linings have to survive
is extremely hostile. Therefore, those liners have to be carefully tailored in order to achieve the
most efficient attenuation.
The final objective of this project is to develop techniques for experimental characterisation of
acoustic liners for aircraft engines to make test under realistic operation conditions possible.
These will be used to validate computational tools and models which can be used to optimize the
acoustic properties of liners. The research group at MWL KTH is very active in this field an is now
working on how to include the effects of nonlinearity and high temperatures.
The work plan can be divided into three main parts:
1. Development of experimental test rig for liner impedance measurement:
a) Measurement techniques with grazing flow will be further improved.
b) Measurement techniques for high temperature flow effects will be improved and validated.
c) Measurement techniques for high amplitude non‐linear effects will be improved and validated.
2. Development of improved propagation models for the lined section to include more realistic
considerations to the models:
a) Accounting for flow with boundary layers in the duct.
b) Adding the possibility to define a real source in the model.
c) Developing a model for including non‐linear liner effects on sound propagation.
3. Experimental test campaign and validation:
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 238
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Hans Bodén
Name of supervisor (if other)
Hans Bodén
Email address to contact person
hansbod@kth.se
KTH School
SCI
KTH department
Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 239
TheoreticalChemistry
Detailed subject area
Computational methods for theoretical studies of magnetic resonance phenomena.
Title of project
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of excited states
Short description of project
Magnetic resonance spectroscopies provide sensitive probes of the geometric and electronic
structure of molecules, and are well‐developed tools for study of molecules in their ground states,
both theoretically and experimentally. For excited states the situation is different. One of the
experimental challenges of excited states is the different timescales involved in the decay process.
Normally, excited states with the same spin configuration as the ground state decay with
fluorescence and have a lifetime in the pico‐second range while magnetic resonance experiments,
both electronic (EPR) and nuclear (NMR) generally occur at timescales that are orders of
magnitude longer. This makes experimental detection of magnetic resonance spectra exceedingly
difficult. This is an area where theoretical calculations are needed to support further
experimental development in this field.
This project involves development and implementation of state‐of‐the‐art theoretical methods to
enable computer simulations of magnetic resonance spectroscopy in electronically excited states.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Name of supervisor (if other)
Olav Vahtras
Email address to contact person
vahtras@kth.se
KTH School
BIO
KTH department
Theoretical Chemistry and Biology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 240
TheoreticalMaterialsScience
Detailed subject area
Nanobiotechnology, Nanomaterials, Monte Carlo Simulations, Fortran programming, Quantum
Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, Dispersion Forces, Protein‐Nanoparticle complexation, Specific
Ion Effects
Title of project
Ion specific Effects in Protein‐Nanoparticle Complexation
Short description of project
The proposed PhD project focuses on doing multiscale simulations on macromolecule‐
nanoparticle interaction in different salt solutions. The material properties of for example gold
nanoparticles will be modeled by members of Prof. Clas Persson’s team in the theoretical
material physics group at the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. Some macromolecules that
will be studied within the project are different proteins, micelles, DNA, RNA, and peptoids. A very
strong background in Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, and Fortran programming, or
similar computer language, is essential. Knowledge in Many‐Particle physics is a distinct
advantage. Associate Prof. Fernando Luis Barroso da Silva (University of Sao Paulo at Ribeirao
Preto, Brazil) will train the student in using his Monte Carlo cell model program (written in
Fortran). The program for protein‐nanoparticle models is intermediate in details: it includes only
the most relevant details of the chemical heterogeneity of the proteins. This includes for example,
a description of protein shape at the residue level, but a description of the location of the
charges at the level of individual chemical groups. One can also include details of the OH‐ and H+
association and dissociation equilibria that are crucial for complexation and responsible for a key
electrostatic mechanism for the complexation. This is often ignored, even in simulations that
claim atomic detail. By means of Monte Carlo simulations, thermodynamical properties of the
systems (e.g. potentials of mean force) will be obtained. An important and in simulations
previously ignored effect is the fact that different salt solutions produce widely different results.
An initial project would be to investigate how the effective charge of different protein (e.g.
bovine‐serum albumin, hemoglobin, and lysozyme) changes for different background salt
solution. Results will be compared with experimental results from collaborating groups in Italy.
The main PhD project focuses on how to develop ion specific multiscale simulations on protein‐
nanoparticle interaction, as a continuation of Dr Barroso’s work on protein‐macromoleules
complexation (which up to now focused on electrostatic effects and could not distinguish
between different salt solutions). Prof. Clas Persson will supervise the student together with
Associate Prof. Fernando Luis Barroso da Silva. Dr Mathias Boström (Royal Institute of Technology,
Sweden) will act as co‐advisor, and scientific tutor, for the PhD student. The PhD project would be
an integrated part of an international network (STAMiNA, meaning STAtistical Mechanics in
NAnobiotechnolgy) which aims at promoting joint projects and scientific exchange among
researchers in the Statistical Mechanics field applied to nanobiotechnology. Efforts will be made
to involve the PhD student in collaborations with Dr. Erik E. Santiso (NSCU/USA) and other
members of the network. The initial core members of this network include Dr. Barroso da Silva
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 241
(USP/Brazil) and Prof. Frederico Wanderley Tavares (UFRJ/Brazil), Dr. Erik E. Santiso (NSCU/USA),
Prof. Keith Gubbins (NCSU/USA), Prof. Aatto Laaksonen (SU/Sweden), Prof. Clas Persson
(UiO/Norway), Dr. Boström (KTH/Sweden), Francesca Mocci (UCagliari/Italy) and Dr. Drew
Parsons (ANU/Australia). More information about the network (and links to the co‐advisors) at:
http://cthulhu.che.ncsu.edu/~erik/STAMiNA/STAMINA_Home.html
Project website if available
http://www.met.kth.se/~cpersson/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Professor/researcher: Dr Mathias Boström
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof. Clas Persson
Email address to contact person
Mathias.Bostrom@mse.kth.se
KTH School
ITM
KTH department
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 242
Theoreticalnuclearphysics
Title of project
Theoretical description of highly unstable nuclei
Detailed subject area
The main goal of the project is to decisively contribute to the development of microscopic
nuclear models for highly unstable nuclei and other open quantum systems.
Short description of project
A major physics infra structure investment is the construction of radioactive ion beam
facilities opening up new possibilities of detailed studies of highly unstable nuclei. It is
expected that standard concepts in nuclear structure physics will have to be reconsidered
and eventually modified enabling a deeper understanding of the underlying nucleon‐
nucleon interaction. A proper framework to describe the existing as well as the coming
experimental data requires a unified microscopic model of the complicated dynamics
governing the motion of the nucleons inside the nucleus. The KTH theory group works in
subjects which are important from a pure theoretical point of view as well as for the
interpretation and development of experiments which are been carried out in various
laboratories around the world. On‐going projects are, for example, calculations on various
properties of nuclei using different nuclear structure models and development of nuclear
models using experimental data. We also investigate the effect of nuclear structure on
alpha and proton decays as well as nuclear reaction. The main subjects in which the group is
working are: a) Foundations of the nuclear shell model configuration interaction approach b)
High‐performance shell model calculation and truncation algorithms c) Alpha clustering,
pairing collectivity and radioactive decays of exotic nuclei d) Shell model in the complex
energy plane and role of the continuum in nuclear spectra e) High accuracy mass
calculations based on the Wigner Kirkwood method f) Pairing properties in drip‐line nuclei.
We plan to apply the formalism that we have developed to describe the continuum, as
described above, to other unstable (open) systems and to analyze the very much debated
subject of double beta‐decay, which is the rarest known kind of radioactivity, and in
particular the neutrinoless decays as well as neutrino‐nucleus scattering off various nuclear
targets.
The project will be integrated within our research programme depending on the interests
and skills of the successful candidate.
Project website if avaliable
http://www.nuclear.kth.se/research/theoretical‐nuclear‐physics/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof. Ramon Wyss
Name of supervisor(if other)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 243
Ramon Wyss, Roberto Liotta, Chong Qi
E‐mail address to contact person
chongq@kth.se
KTH school
SCI
KTH department
Physics
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 244
ThermalEnergyConversionandEmissions
Detailed subject area
Emissions from Thermal Energy Production Systems with CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS)
Title of project
Emission Characteristics of Thermal Energy Conversion Systems with CCS
Short description of project
Currently, CO2 capture and storage (CCS) is the only technology that can significantly reduce CO2
emissions from the use of fossil fuels for thermal energy generation. The emission characteristics
of the thermal energy generation systems have significantly been changed as the system
integrated with CO2 capture processes.
Impacts of CO2 capture processes on the emission characteristics of thermal energy system will
been investigated based on fundamental studies and the observations from various scale of pilot
tests. Analysis will be carried out for the emission characteristics in order to get comprehensively
understanding of the emission mechanisms and consequences, and to identify important
emission issues associated with the CO2 capture processes.
Detailed study will be performed for important pollutants and emission mechanisms, which have
been identified in the analysis of emission characteristics, in order to get deep knowledge on the
specific pollutants formation and emissions.
The project will include system analysis of the new emission characteristics combined with
experimental observations. Detailed study specifically for important emissions will give some new
findings in this area.
The project will enhance student’s capability on:
• Technical details of CO2 capture technologies applied for thermal power and heat generation,
• Emission characteristics of the new thermal energy systems integrated with CCS, and
• Special emissions issues related to CCS processes applied for thermal energy systems
Student with background of chemical engineering, thermal energy engineering and
environmental engineering will be helpful.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Dr. Jinying Yan
Name of supervisor (if other)
Assoc. Prof. Longcheng Liu
Email address to contact person
lliu@ket.kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 245
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
KET
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 246
TrafficControlsandIntelligentTransportationSystems
Detailed subject area
While the transportation system faces the big challenges in congestion, energy efficiency and
environmental footprints, the rapid development in information and communication technology
(ICT) presents an excellent opportunity to tackle these problems through novel and integrated
intelligent transport system (ITS) solutions. Advanced ITS technologies will play a key role to
address the transport challenges outlined above. An example is given by the so called
cooperative ITS systems, which will require the development of a new type of intelligent and
cooperative vehicles and supporting ICT infrastructure and in‐vehicle systems. The vehicles need
to communicate to each other (V2V) and to the infrastructure (V2I). This opens up opportunities
for new generation of traffic information and management systems, which are expected to
manage traffic according to more accurate and comprehensive live traffic information, and target
at not only increasing mobility in real traffic but also reducing the environmental footprints
significantly.
Title of project
Optimal Cooperative Traffic Controls for Road Transport Management
Short description of project
The rapid increase of transport requirements has brought challenges to sustainable development
of our society in many aspects. Besides mobility, energy efficiency and emission impacts have
attracted increased attentions from traffic stakeholders and the general public. Vehicles consume
more fuel in congestion and emit greenhouse gases that are directly related to global climate
changes. In addition, road traffic generates nitrogen oxides (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO), volatile
organic compounds (VOC), particulate matter (PM) etc., all of which constitute a major source of
air pollution in large cities.
Active traffic management (ATM) includes a number of important measures to control road traffic
for predefined objectives. For example, traffic lights are conventionally designed to maximize
road capacity or minimize travel costs in terms of average waiting time or queue length at road
intersections. Route guidance through personal navigation system supports redirecting traffic
flows on roads, therefore minimizing travel costs on network. The challenges in energy efficiency
and environmental impacts lead to the increase in the number of goals that traffic controls need
to consider and manage. Those goals are sometimes in accordance with each other but, in many
cases, are mutually conflicting to each other. There is a demand to develop analytical approaches
to treat traffic management as a multi‐dimensional decision‐making problem. Therefore, one
important objective of the PhD project is to enhance and further improve the ATM measure, in
particular traffic signal control, dynamic speed limit and route guidance, to consider multiple
social economic goals and study how to achieve compromises among the goals using traffic
modelling and multi‐objective optimization methodologies.
While vehicle and ITS infrastructure technologies are moving into an era governed by cooperative
system concepts, another aspect of this project is to promote the development of cooperative
traffic management schemes. One example is to develop cooperative traffic signal control, which
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 247
means all vehicles will communicate with signal controller and inform their arrivals before they
reach an intersection. Meanwhile, vehicles may be informed by signal controller about their
optimal speeds even at a long distance before their arrivals so that they can drive in an optimal
way to save travel time and fuel usage.
This PhD project will be conducted at ITS lab, Division of Traffic and Logistics, Dept. of
Transportation Sciences, KTH. The lab is jointly initialized by KTH, IBM and Swedish Transport
Administration. Volvo, Scania and BMW are the industrial partners of the lab in cooperative ITS
system and traffic management development. The development of cooperative signal control will
be in collaboration with the RSM ltd., a Telematics Co. in Europe.
The candidate should have received (or will receive before June 2014) a Master degree in
engineering sciences, preferably in computer science, applied mathematics or transportation
systems. Good knowledge in machine learning, automatic control, traffic modelling and
simulation will give him or her merits. Other requirements by the Chinese Scholarship Council
need to be fulfilled.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Dr. Xiaoliang Ma
Name of supervisor (if other)
Dr. Xiaoliang Ma
Email address to contact person
liang@kth.se
KTH School
ABE
KTH department
Department of Transportation Sciences
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 248
TransportScience
Detailed subject area
Providing an accessible transport service for all is important in ensuring people are not excluded
from reaching places of employment and health, education and leisure services, and also
important in ensuring equal life opportunities for our diverse communities. However, at the same
time, different travellers have different needs and priorities, thus influence their appreciations
and satisfactions related to various quality factors of the provided services. Whilst guidelines and
standards aimed to accommodate the different needs of different travellers have been
established, there is nevertheless a lack of knowledge on what is really valued by different groups
of travellers. Further, previous studies often ignored the impacts of the access and egress legs on
the overall travellers’ journey satisfactions and the relativity of the impacts of travellers’
experience to their preferences and choices.
Title of project
Investigating the relativity of passenger’s travel experience and preference
Short description of project
The project will study the key determinants of travel satisfaction and their implications on
expectations and travel behavior. Data concerning real‐time travel decisions and satisfaction will
be analyzed in order to understand the variability of users’ travel patterns and experiences across
different countries and different socio‐demographic groups of travellers, including ageing
travellers and those with special needs. A behavioral model will be developed in order to
describe the relation between travel experience, satisfaction and expectations as well as explain
the process of habit formation and travel adaptation. The project will contribute to the
development and evaluation of a standardized tool to measure passenger experience across
Europe (www.metpex.eu), and to set as an example for other part of the world.
Project website if available
www.metpex.eu
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Yusak O. Susilo
Name of supervisor (if other)
Yusak O. Susilo / Oded Cats
Email address to contact person
yusak.susilo@abe.kth.se
KTH School
ABE
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 249
KTH department
Transport Science
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 250
TransportScience
Detailed subject area
Travel demand is expected to further increase and public transport services must be able to
accommodate most of the increase in travel in order to support sustainable growth. Public
transport planning and network design requires data concerning travel demand and behavioral
models of how travellers’ route choice preferences. The integration of such models into transport
forecasting tools will enable to assess the implications of various scenarios on system
performance and travellers’ assignment.
Title of project
Public transport route choice models
Short description of project
The project will study the dynamic aspects of route choice decisions for public transport trips.
Route choice models typically assume that travellers assess their travel alternatives before
leaving their origin and then execute their plans accordingly. However, in the era of continuous
access to real‐time information and increasingly crowded public transport systems, travellers
often adapt their travel plans to changing conditions. The project will hence analyze the impacts
of travel information, uncertainty and crowding on the dynamics of route choice decisions. It will
involve the estimation of a dynamic public route choice model that will be implemented in a
public transport simulation model. The model will be applied and validated in order to
demonstrate its modeling capabilities. An extensive real‐time travel database that is to be
collected across Europe will facilitate this project.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Yusak O. Susilo
Name of supervisor (if other)
Oded Cats / Yusak Susilo
Email address to contact person
Oded.Cats@abe.kth.se
KTH School
ABE
KTH department
Transport Science
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 251
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 252
TransportSystemAnalysis
Detailed subject area
Our transport science department has a deep experience in transport modelling, simulation,
cost‐benefit analysis, sustainable transport systems and travellers’ behaviour and valuations. In
doing so, we deploy various transport micro‐simulation packages. In this PhD proposal, we focus
on the use and further development of the MATSim multi‐agent transport simulation software
(www.matsim.org) to analyse the day‐to‐day variability of individual activity‐travel patterns. The
ability to model and predict the dynamics of travel and adaptation behaviours of individuals
allows designing and implementing optimal transport management measures in the city, both
from users’ and stakeholders’ perspectives.
Title of project
Incorporating individual multi‐day travel patterns in an agent based activity‐travel simulation
Short description of project
The transport sector plays a major role in the social fabric of our daily life. It generates substantial
employment, assists regional development, and provides access to all sorts of services, leisure
activities and job opportunities. Therefore, it is critical to create an efficient, sustainable,
affordable, resilient, but also inclusive, attractive and adaptive system that fulfils individuals’ daily
activity‐travel needs. In order to do that, a well‐planned integrated urban transport infrastructure
is immensely important. However, whilst previous studies have clearly shown that it is crucial to
account for the dynamics and heterogeneity of travellers, the most widely used modelling
approaches are still static and allocate heterogeneity impacts, if at all, to “random factors”. This
creates problems, especially in policy making processes, because this heterogeneity is what
makes individuals behave differently from what we may think they normally would do.
The dynamics and heterogeneity of the behaviour are decisive factors in the evolution of
European metropolitans like Stockholm however, they become even more important in
developing cities because of their higher economical and behavioural dynamics. In order to
provide reliable predictions of the futures of such cities, it is necessary to treat people as
individual yet interdependent agents, which are capable to make their own decisions and learn
from their own experiences. These processes can be modelled and analyzed with an activity‐
based multi agent transport model system like MATSim. We will use this system to study the
dynamics of individual trip chaining in complex urban environments and to analyze the overall
system’s performance. In doing so, we will exploit the unique level of detail provided by a multi‐
agent model system, which, for example, allows to analyze equity effects in transport networks
among urban residents.
In this PhD project, we will develop individual‐level multi‐day travel plan representations,
implement those in the MATSim model system, investigate the resulting behavioural and urban
dynamics in a case study for the city of Stockholm, and develop guidelines on how to transfer and
apply this knowledge for Chinese cities. In terms of concrete case studies, we will use the model
system to predict the dynamics of individual activity‐travel choices given various scenarios of
transport network failures and urban toll road implementations in Stockholm.
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 253
Project website if available
www.matsim.org
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Gunnar Flötteröd
Name of supervisor (if other)
Yusak Susilo
Email address to contact person
gunnar.floetteroed@abe.kth.se
KTH School
ABE
KTH department
Transport Science
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 254
Travelbehaviorandtransportsystems
Detailed subject area
This project combines the study of travel behavior with the study of transport systems. In
Transport Systems, we study how road, rail, and other transport systems operate under different
situations, and study new strategies to help transport systems to better serve society's needs.
Travel behavior studies are concerned with how travelers make decisions about whether, how,
when, and to where they travel. It also involves helping inform decision‐makers about the value
of safe, fast, and reliable transport, so that the costs of transport systems can be weighted
against the benefits.
Title of project
Travel time reliability, weather disturbances, and the value of information
Short description of project
Traffic congestion is a serious problem in most cities around the world, leading to excessive loss
of time spent in traffic. Recent research has shown that a substantial part of the cost of
congested travel is related not to long travel times per se, but to the uncertainty of travel times.
In other words, a large part of the real cost of congestion delays are due to unexpectedly arriving
late to a destination, what is often called “scheduling delay”.
The causes of delays are mixed, but one of the primary causes is weather. Wet pavements, ice,
reduced visibility due to fog, and even high winds can cause motorists and bus drivers to reduce
their speeds, making congestion worse. In extreme weather, certain transport links may be
temporarily taken out of service. Still, the real cost to the traveler is likely related to how
unexpected these disturbances are. For this reason, information about weather disturbances is
an area of growing interest in transport system management.
The funded PhD position will examine possible ways to reduce the cost of weather‐related
congestion delays, by combining historical data from Sweden’s weather service with observed
traffic movements from the same time periods. The PhD student will identify and estimate
models of travel behavior in the face of uncertain travel times, by using these data to understand
not only the travel times on the day, but also the historical distributions of travel times, which are
one indicator of what prior information travelers have. The student will then identify multiple
strategies for how to reduce uncertainty with weather information, which might be provided
either prior to beginning a trip or en‐route. Finally, the student will test these strategies using the
travel behavior models to estimate the socio‐economic value in the context of reduced
scheduling delays.
The project makes innovative use of datasets available in Sweden and has the possibility to
substantially contribute to future technologies to improve travel information under variable
weather conditions. The findings will be useful for stakeholders, public authorities, and service
providers around the world, not least in highly‐congested Chinese cities, to help mitigate the
effects of adverse weather.
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 255
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Joel Franklin
Name of supervisor (if other)
Joel Franklin
Email address to contact person
joel.franklin@abe.kth.se
KTH School
ABE
KTH department
Transport Science
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 256
TribologyandChemistry
Detailed subject area
Nanotribology in water based systems, and understanding of superlubricity.
Surface Science
Tribochemistry
Mechanical engineering
Atomic Force Microscopy
Title of project
The mechanism of water based superlubricity: Investigation of interfacial interactions at the
nanoscale.
Short description of project
In order to reveal the mechanisms of aqueous superlubricity, the surface and interface
interactions will be investigated in systems which have been identified by researchers at KTH and
at the State Key Laboratory for Tribology in Tsinghua. (Prof Jianbin Luo, Assoc Prof Chenhui Zhang
are collaborators in the project)) The adsorption of solute molecules on the surfaces will be
investigated by means of AFM, QCM and XPS. The surface forces in the solution will be studied by
the AFM colloid probe technique. It will be used to perform nanotribology measurements as
previously done for a range of aqueous and non aqueous systems. (see previous articles by
Rutland) In these systems there is generally no wear of the surfaces so it will be possible to see
whether the superlubricity is intrinsic to the surfaces and solution, or whether wear and
potentially mechanochemistry is a precursor. The frictional forces will be correlated with the
precontact surface forces as successfully performed earlier.
The lubrication properties will also be studied by means of tribometers, and nanotribometers.
The influence of the experimental conditions, such as pH, sliding speed, temperature, the
material of the friction pair, etc, will be investigated in detail to reveal the conditions for
superlubricity. Through these investigations, a bridge will be established between the macro
superlubricity properties and the nano scale interactions.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Prof Mark Rutland
Name of supervisor (if other)
Prof Mark Rutland
Email address to contact person
mark@kth.se
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 257
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
Chemistry
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 258
WaterConservingTechnologies
Detailed subject area
Water and wastewater systems for thermal energy production
Title of project
Development of Water‐Conserving Technical Options for Thermal Energy Production Systems
Short description of project
Thermal power and heat generation is a large water user and is highly dependent on reliable
water suppliers. According to new EU Water Directive, thermal power and heat generation
industry must develop new technologies to reduce water withdrawal and consumption, and
minimise or near zero wastewater discharge. The project intends to development new water
conserving options for the power and heat production using renewable fuels.
The project will be divided into two steps. In first step, a research will be carried out to
characterise water system (network) applied for renewable fuel thermal power systems, in which
analysis will be performed on the waster consumptions for various purposes, corresponding
quality requirements, the technologies applied for water treatments and wastewater
minimization.
In second step, a systemic analysis will be performed for the water systems defied in the first step
of the project. Optimisation approaches (e.g. water pinch) could be used for the optimisation of
the water and wastewater systems in thermal power and heat generation. Measures will be
developed to integrate the water and wastewater system and minimize the wastewater discharge.
The project will work on both methodology development and industry application for water
conserving option used in the thermal energy production industry.
The project will enhance student’s capability on:
• Technical details of water and wastewater systems used in thermal energy conversion processes
especially using renewable fuels,
• Water chemistry for industrial applications and associated environmental and energy issues,
and
• Optimisation and integration approaches used for industrial water and wastewater systems
Student with background of chemical engineering, environmental engineering and thermal
energy engineering will be helpful.
Project website if available
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Dr. Jinying Yan
Name of supervisor (if other)
Assoc. Prof. Longcheng Liu
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 259
Email address to contact person
lliu@ket.kth.se
KTH School
CHE
KTH department
KET
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 260
WirelessNetworking
Detailed subject area
Machine‐to‐Machine Communications, Internet of Things
Title of project
Mathematical Performance Framework for Machine‐to‐Machine Applications
Short description of project
The rise of machine‐to‐machine communications is related to the vision that automatic, control‐
type of applications will lead to the next level of digital revolution with a similar impact on
societies as the Internet impacted societies by the end of the nineties. A major precondition for
this to happen is that control applications will be run over standard communication infrastructure.
Nevertheless, we lack fundamentally a performance model for such applications as control
applications typically have very different characteristics than telephony or Internet applications.
This PhD position is dedicated to elaborating and evaluating such a performance model.
In detail, the student will work mostly mathematically in the field of queuing theory. Additional
knowledge related to network calculus or effectice bandwidth/capacity is highly appreciated. A
further prerequisite for this position are basics in wireless networking and wireless
communications. The candidate will join one of the world's leading laboratories in these areas
and is supposed to work on state‐of‐the‐art problems. Scientific publishing in top‐ranked
international conferences and journals is a further skill the candidate should be willing to develop.
We expect strong English language skills as well as a highly motivated and open‐minded
candidates.
The supervising professor (James Gross) has several contacts and students from China, and is also
familiar with the Chinese Scholarship Council programs. Interested students are therefore
welcome to apply for this position !
Project website if available
people.kth.se/~jamesgr/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
James Gross
Name of supervisor (if other)
James Gross
Email address to contact person
james.gross@ee.kth.se
KTH School
EES
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 261
KTH department
Communication Theory
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 262
WirelessSensorNetworking
Title of project
Optimization in Wireless Sensor Network
Detailed subject area
Wireless Sensor Networks, Internet of Things, Smart Cities, Smart Grids
Short description of project
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are the basic building block of the Internet of Things,
whereby sensing devices of constrained wireless communication and computational
capabilities allow embedding actuation, communication, control and monitoring
everywhere in the physical world. Smart cities, intelligent transportation systems, and smart
electricity grids are typical application domains of WSNs. In this project, based on
optimization theory, a system‐level design approach for WSNs supporting control
applications will be investigated. The goal is to develop a new theory to network
optimization with computation and communication constraints and application to smart
cities. The candidate will join one of the world's leading laboratories in these areas and is
supposed to work on state‐ of‐ the‐ art problems. Scientific publishing in top‐ ranked
international conferences and journals is a further skill the candidate should be willing to
develop. We expect strong English language skills as well as highly motivated and open‐
minded candidates.
The supervising professor (Carlo Fischione) has several contacts and students from China,
and is also familiar with the Chinese Scholarship Council programs. Interested students are
therefore welcome to apply for this position!
Project website if avaliable
people.kth.se/~carlofi/
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Carlo Fischione
Name of supervisor(if other)
Carlo Fischione
E‐mail address to contact person
carlofi@kth.se
KTH school
EES
KTH department
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 263
Automatic Control
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 264
WoodChemistry‐Biorefinery
Detailed subject area
To convert wood based raw materials to a range of value added bioproducts, both materials and
fuels, using different conversion technologies, within the biorefinery concept
Title of project
Wood based materials and fuels
Short description of project
The aim of the project is to converse wood based raw materials to a range of value added
bioproducts, both materials and fuels, using different conversion technologies, within the
biorefinery concept:
Wood Based Material → Conversion Technologies → Bioproducts
The project is supposed to result in a series of demonstrators, i.e. Ethanol, Adhesive, Composite,
Film and Cellulose Acetate.
Project website if avaliable
wobama.eu
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Monica Ek
Name of supervisor(if other)
Monica Ek
E‐mail address to contact person
monicaek@kth.se
KTH school
CHE
KTH department
Fibre and Polymer TEchnology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 265
WoodChemistry‐Cellulosechemistry
Detailed subject area
To advance the basic knowledge on structure‐property relationships from pulp production
to cellulose regenerate/derivative applications in order to enable for development of
improved and new products for high‐value applications.
To transfer this knowledge to improve processes for production of industrially important
cellulose derivatives
To use new reactions on various cellulosic materials to develop new cellulose derivatives
To develop a comprehensive methodology for chemical structure elucidation of cellulose
derivatives enabling correlation of technological properties to chemical structure
To apply the improved and new cellulose derivatives into high‐value biomedical or textile
products
Title of project
Cellulose regenerates and derivatives based on wood for textile and health care
applications
Short description of project
Cellulose accessibility and reactivity
The aim is to develop improved modification procedures for cellulose fibre materials in
order to make them readily applicable and accessible to chemical reactions for various
products, including cellulose derivatives. The raw materials include wood‐based fibres from
various sources, e.g. softwood dissolving pulps and various kraft pulps. The modification
methods are primarily based on the action of specific enzymes on structurally modified
pulps and suitable solvents, i.e. ionic liquids (ILs), possibly combined with mechanical or
other processing of pulps.
Increasing the accessibility of pulps to chemical reactions is the key property to be modified
by the various processing methods and their combinations to be studied. Important
parameters to be considered are the pulp conditions and the treatment history, e.g.
whether it has been dried before the pretreatments. The structural pulp modification may
be based on chemical,
enzymatic, mechanical or thermo‐chemical methods. The different types of pretreatments
which will be evaluated are mechanical/thermal, chemical and enzymatic. And important
area is to evaluate different types of solvents for cellulose this can be traditional solvent
systems but also new developed ionic liquid systems
Project website if avaliable
http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/woodchem/welcome‐to‐wood‐chemistry‐and‐pulp‐
technology‐1.18841
PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 266
Name of responsible professor/researcher
Monica Ek
Name of supervisor(if other)
Monica Ek
E‐mail address to contact person
monicaek@kth.se
KTH school
CHE
KTH department
Fibre and Polymer Technology
Type of available position
CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)
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