Postdoctoral Fellow in Wind Turbine Control for Bird Strike Prevention

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About the position

As part of the project SKARV, we are looking for a postdoctoral researcher to work on a novel concept for reduction of bird collisions with wind turbine blades by actively controlling the turbine rotor speed. In contrast to existing measures for avoiding bird collisions, which employ deterrents such as sounds and lights, or turbine curtailment, the SKARV concept will be entirely benign, avoiding disturbances to the birds and surrounding nature.

The position is at the Department of Engineering Cybernetics in the group of Professor Lars Imsland, and will cooperate with the other research partners in SKARV, SINTEF Energy and Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. SKARV is financed by the Norwegian Research Council, Equinor and TotalEnergies.

The postdoctoral fellowship position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions. 

Duties of the position

• Develop control schemes that adjust wind turbine rotor speeds to avoid bird collisions, based on systems for detection of birds and probable bird flight paths.
• Cooperate with other researchers in the SKARV project towards the project goals
• Supervision of MSc students working on aspects related to the project

Required selection criteria

• You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD in engineering cybernetics, automatic control, applied mathematics, or a closely related field (for instance an engineering doctoral degree with focus on automatic control).
  If you can document that the PhD thesis has been submitted, your application can be assessed even if you have not yet defended your dissertation. Documentation of the obtained doctoral degree must be presented before you can take up the position. 
• A solid research track record
• Documented programming skills (at least one of Python, Matlab, Julia, C++)
• Good communication skills in English (written and oral)
• Good collaboration skills

As a result of the new Act relating to universities and university colleges with associated regulations of 01/08/2024, NTNU has, during a transitional period (for decisions on employment in recruitment positions before 1 August 2025), chosen to use the terms of employment in the old regulations of 31 January 2006 no. 102 on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, research fellow, scientific assistant and specialist candidate.

Preferred selection criteria

• Background in Model Predictive Control
• Experience with wind turbine control
• Experience with robust and/or stochastic (model predictive) control
• Background in numerical optimization algorithms
• Experience in implementation of advanced control algorithms

Personal characteristics

• The candidate should be self-driven, enthusiastic and creative
• The candidate should have good communication and networking skills, be proactive and forthcoming, and able to work independently if needed.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer 

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals.

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education.

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We havea number of measures to promote equality. 

Salary and conditions

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK  604 900 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.  

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application 

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The application must include:

• CV and certificates 
• transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's-, master's- and PhD degrees. If you have not yet completed your Ph.D, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the doctoral dissertation, or that your PhD thesis has been submitted
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, or have recently submitted your thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 5 items)
  A brief research plan outlining how you would approach the control problem in this project, and how this builds on your background
• Name and contact information of three referees

If all or parts of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation requiredcan be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and is committed to follow evaluation criteria for research quality according toThe San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment DORA and the obligations in CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information 

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is a strength. We want our faculty and staff to reflect Norway’s culturally diverse population and we continuously seek to hire the best minds. This enables NTNU to increase productivity and innovation, improve decision making processes, raise employee satisfaction, compete academically with global top-ranking institutions and carry out our social responsibilities within education and research. NTNU emphasizes accessibility and encourages qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender identity, ability status, periods of unemployment or ethnic and cultural background.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public listof applicants, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Lars Struen Imsland, email lars.imsland@ntnu.no . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant Berit Dahl, email: berit.dahl@ntnu.no .

If you find this position interesting, and in accordance with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.

Application deadline: 23.02.2025.

For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage. 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.