[Announcements] Open PhD/Postdoc Positions on "Wireless Communications for Drone Networks" at Graz University of Technology

Wed Sep 29 12:50:00 EDT 2021

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    3 PhD/Postdoc Positions on "Wireless Communications for Drone Networks"
     with focus on Mesh Networking, UWB Localization, and Jamming Detection

   Institute of Technical Informatics, Graz University of Technology, 
Austria
                    https://www.tugraz.at/index.php?id=53517
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Institute of Technical Informatics at Graz University of Technology, 
Austria, is looking for motivated PhD students and Postdoc researchers 
to fill three open positions in the area of "Wireless Communications for 
Drone Networks" starting from November 1, 2021.

*** Context and scope ***
The open positions are linked to an international project focusing on 
the latest advances in wireless networking, localization, collaborative 
awareness, and machine learning, towards the development of secure, 
resilient, and highly-performant wireless mesh networks of unmanned 
aerial vehicles. The research activities will encompass three main 
topics, as briefly discussed next.

Research topic 1: Dependable mesh networking
- Performance analysis of Wi-Fi and BLE mesh networking solutions;
- Design of dependable Wi-Fi / BLE mesh communication protocols;
- Improving mesh performance by exploiting the availability of multiple 
RF interfaces and different physical layers;
- Secure and low-latency communication over mesh-cloud environments;
- Design of trusted network fallback mechanisms despite network 
failures/disruptions.

Research topic 2: Autonomous detection of jamming attacks
- Leveraging RF spectrum analysis and machine learning tools to reveal 
malicious behavior and detect jamming attacks;
- Design of solutions enriching UAVs with the ability to autonomously 
detect and mitigate malicious attacks, network anomalies, and 
coexistence issues;
- Implementation of such solutions on software-defined radios and/or 
off-the-shelf embedded devices;
- Development of RF-cognitive wireless systems where devices can either 
autonomously detect anomalies and attacks, or cooperatively infer such 
conditions in an efficient and reliable way.

Research topic 3: UWB-based localization of UAVs
- Real-time localization and tracking of UAV swarms using UWB technology;
- Collaborative localization across several UAVs;
- Scalable, secure, and privacy-preserving UWB localization;
- Increasing the performance of UWB communication and localization 
solutions in real-world scenarios;
- Use of location information to optimize the communication performance 
of drone mesh networks.

We expect candidates to have interest in (and, ideally, prior experience 
with) some of the aforementioned topics.
Knowledge on wirelessly-networked embedded systems (such as Internet of 
Things, Cyber-Physical Systems, Wireless Sensor Networks) is a must, as 
well as hands-on experience with the programming of networked embedded 
systems.

*** Candidate profile and requirements ***
Applicants for the PhD position must hold a Master degree in computer 
science, information/computer/software engineering, information science, 
telematics, electrical engineering, or related studies (note: a Bachelor 
degree is insufficient). Applicants for the Postdoc position must also 
hold a Doctoral degree in the aforementioned areas.
Good candidates have:
- Solid C programming skills and Linux experience (fluency in 
Python/Matlab is considered an asset);
- Very good proficiency in written and spoken English, which is the 
language of the research group and of external collaborators (knowledge 
of German is not required, and Graz University of Technology offers 
German language courses for all its employees);
- High motivation, self-initiative, as well as strong passion and 
commitment to research;
- Ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary and 
international team with both senior and junior people;
- Willingness to publish research results and to complete a dissertation 
at Graz University of Technology.

Postdoc candidates are additionally expected to show an established 
research record, including publications in major conferences and 
journals in research fields related with the aforementioned topics.
TU Graz aims to increase the number of female employees and therefore 
specifically invites qualified women to apply.
Applicants at TU Graz are not discriminated in personnel selection 
procedures on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual 
orientation.

*** Research team and working environment ***
The PhD and Postdoc positions will reinforce and extend the research 
activities of the "Networked Embedded Systems" group at the Institute of 
Technical Informatics.
The group has a long-standing track record in the area of networked 
embedded systems, and is one of the leading European groups on low-power 
wireless networking and IoT research.
The high quality of the research output is supported by several awards 
and by numerous conference papers at prestigious venues such as SenSys, 
IPSN, NDSS, ICDCS, INFOCOM, ICNP, EWSN, and RTSS. Group members have 
also chaired many of such leading conferences.
The group also leads the "Dependable Internet of Things in Adverse 
Environments" research excellence center, and is internationally 
renowned for its benchmarking infrastructure used to organize a 
dependability competition quantitatively comparing the performance of 
low-power wireless protocols (https://iti-testbed.tugraz.at). This 
infrastructure will also play a crucial role in the international 
project targeted by this call.
The team's activities can be broadly characterized as "systems and 
application-driven research" at the intersection of wireless networking, 
embedded systems, and IoT applications. To get a better idea of the type 
of applied research performed in the group, please browse the 
publications listed at http://www.carloalbertoboano.com.

*** Location ***
Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), with more than 16.000 students 
and 7 faculties, is a leading technical university which is ranked among 
the top 25 continental European universities according to the Shanghai 
subject ranking.
Graz is one of a handful of European research hotspots on 
electronic-based and vehicular systems with numerous leading research 
centers and companies.
Graz is the capital of the federal state of Styria, which is one of the 
European top research regions with about 5% of the gross regional 
product being invested in R&D.
Graz is also the second largest city in Austria, it is a young and 
lively city with more than 50.000 students situated at the south-eastern 
foot of the Alps.
It enjoys an almost Mediterranean climate & lifestyle and its medieval 
old town (one of the largest and best-preserved in central Europe) is a 
UNESCO world heritage site.
The city itself has a very high quality of life, and offers plentiful 
recreation opportunities.

*** Contractual details ***
The PhD and Postdoc positions are remunerated according to the 
collective contract (Kollektivvertrag) for Austrian Universities.
The salary amounts to roughly 41.601€/year before taxes for the PhD 
position, and to 55.242€/year before taxes for the Postdoc position. 
This corresponds to approximately 29k€ and 36.2k€ per year after taxes, 
health insurance, and social security deductions (see 
https://bruttonetto.arbeiterkammer.at/). The annual salary may increase 
in case of relevant prior work experience.
Note that, compared to other major central-European cities, cost of 
housing and living in Graz is relatively low.
The initial appointment for both PhD and Postdoc positions will be of 24 
months and can be renewed for additional years. Both positions are 
available from November 1, 2021.

*** How to apply ***
To apply for the available PhD or Postdoc positions, please prepare a 
single PDF file (max. 15 MB) containing:
- Motivation letter;
- Curriculum vitae;
- A recent certificate about the level of proficiency in English;
- A copy of your Master or PhD degree;
- A link to the online version or a copy of your Master thesis 
(respectively PhD thesis for Postdoc applicants);
- Any recommendation letters of your former advisor(s);
- Additional documents such as a list of publications, transcript of 
records, and other relevant certificates.

Applications must be submitted electronically using 
http://lampz.tugraz.at/~dependablethings/.
Please follow the instructions provided on the site and note that this 
is the only way to apply: applications sent via e-mail or through other 
portals will be ignored.
Please also ensure that your application makes a direct reference to one 
of the three research topics: generic applications will be desk-rejected.
The deadline for submitting an application is 31.10.2021.

*** Inquiries and contact persons ***
Candidates interested in either positions can contact Prof. Carlo 
Alberto Boano <cboano(at)tugraz(dot)at>
or Prof. Kay Römer <roemer(at)tugraz(dot)at> for further information.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Our sincere apologies if you receive multiple copies of these openings
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- 
.................................................
   Carlo Alberto Boano
   Associate Professor
   Graz University of Technology
   Institute of Technical Informatics
   Inffeldgasse 16, 8010 Graz, Austria
   Tel: +43 (0) 316 873 6413
   Fax: +43 (0) 316 873 6903
   E-Mail: cboano at tugraz.at
   Web: http://www.carloalbertoboano.com
.................................................