Denmark: PhD Position at The Mads Clausen Institute

Denmark: PhD Position at The Mads Clausen Institute, The Faculty of Engineering, University of Southern Denmark

The Mads Clausen Institute for Product Innovation (MCI) at the University of Southern Denmark announces an opening for a Ph.D position within the area of mechatronics and cybernetics in relationship to the Robot-Assisted Polishing (RAP) project.

The MCI, part of the Faculty of Engineering, employs 70 people engaged in research and teaching in the field of product innovation. The Mads Clausen Institute is situated in the completely new university facilities at Alsion in Sonderborg which besides the university has capacity for a research park, a concert hall and a railway station.

The research of this Ph.D position is time critical mechatronic devices that require real time monitoring and control of advanced manufacturing processes. In the RAP case it is to assist a skilled human operator in the different operations involved in polishing a work piece, with an industrial robot equipped with a series of adequate sensors and actuators. We wish to explore the possibility of going towards more autonomy and intelligence for the robotic part, by incorporating such functionalities as automatic online monitoring of the process and diagnosis of the treated surface.

The candidate shall hold an MSc in Engineering or within a field related to the project, and have good programming and practical skills. Since, the project involves discussions with industrial partners on different issues; good communication skills are also desirable. Some knowledge on robotics would also be appreciated.

The stipend is a full 3 year scholarship with a research budget of approx. 2 million Euros. The project will be in co-operation with the Technical University of Denmark and Danish Industry.

If you have questions to the position you can direct your questions to:

The Mads Clausen Institute
The University of Southern Denmark
Alsion 2
DK-6400 Sonderborg

Att: Associate professor Arne Bilberg, Head of Technology Research, e-mail: abi@mci.sdu.dk. phone: +45 65501629
or
Att: Associate professor Jerome Jouffroy. e-mail: Jerome@mci.sdu.dk, phone +45 65501635

The scholarship is salaried in accordance with the the agreement on salaried Ph.D.-students between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Association).

Further information about the Ph.D.-study can be found at the homepage of the Faculty: http://www.sdu.dk/tek/

The application is to be made using the official application form, which can be downloaded from the homepage of the Faculty, or can be requested from the faculty secretariat. Please also send your curriculum vitae, a covering letter stating your motivation for applying (all in English), and the names and addresses of two referees for letters of recommendation

Please send three copies of the application and enclosures marked “position no 084059″ to the University of Southern Denmark, the Faculty of Engineering, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. The application must be at the faculty 6th May 2008 at 12 noon, at the latest.

Keywords: Industrial robotics, cybernetics, hybrid systems, monitoring, path planning, grinding and polishing processes.

Deadline: May 6, 2008