POSTITIONS AVAILABLE AT KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF … · Analytical chemistry Detailed subject area Miniaturized bioanalysis including microfluidics, separation science and mass spectrometry

PhDPositionsatKTHforCSCApplicants,2014/2015 Page 1

PhD POSTITIONS AVAILABLE AT

KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

DURING 2014/15

FOR CHINESE SCHOLARSHIP COUNCIL (CSC)

APPLICANTS


Table of contents

Acoustics ........................................................................................................................................... 7

Analytical chemistry .......................................................................................................................... 9

Antennas, Communication, Design, Limits ..................................................................................... 11



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 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, catalysis, solar fuels ....................................................................................................... 66

Chemistry, solar fuels ...................................................................................................................... 67

Chemistry, sustainable energy, solar energy ................................................................................... 68

Communication Theory ................................................................................................................... 69





Computational biochemistry ........................................................................................................... 74

Computational Materialdesign ....................................................................................................... 75




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


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



Materials science .......................................................................................................................... 177


Materials Science .......................................................................................................................... 178




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


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


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

[email protected]

KTH School

SCI


KTH department

Department of Aeronautical and Vehicle Enginnering

Type of available position

CSC ‐ Full PhD position (4 years)


Analyticalchemistry


Miniaturized bioanalysis including microfluidics, separation science and mass spectrometry

Title of project

Micro scale analysis of bio‐related samples


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.




Åsa Emmer


Åsa Emmer


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department

Chemistry




Antennas,Communication,Design,Limits


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


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.


http://www.etk.ee.kth.se/personal/ljonsson/


Lars Jonsson


Lars Jonsson


[email protected]

KTH School

EES


KTH department

School of electrical engineering






As more and more items get online, often wire‐less, we expect an increase in information flow.










Title of project

Base‐station, efficiency over wide‐band


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.




Lars Jonsson


Lars Jonsson


[email protected]

KTH School

EES


KTH department

Electromagnetic Engineering






As more and more items get online, often wire‐less, we expect an increase in information flow.










Title of project

Automatic Antenna design


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.




Lars Jonsson


Lars Jonsson


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department






Astroparticlephysics


Astroparticle physics / astrophysics. Development of advanced X‐ray detection systems.

Title of project

X‐ray polarimetry for astrophysics


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.


www.particle.kth.se


Mark Pearce


Mark Pearce


[email protected]

KTH School

SCI

KTH department


Physics




Biomaterials


Polymer technology

Title of project

Design 3D scaffolds to adapt cell‐ material interactions


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.



Anna Finne Wistrand


Anna Finne Wistrand



[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department

Fibre and Polymer Technology




BiomedicalEngineering,ElectronicEngineering


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


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.



Asso. Prof. Fernando Seoane Prof. Lirong Zheng




[email protected]

KTH School

STH

KTH department

MSSS/STH ES/ICT




BiomedicalEngineering,ElectronicEngineering,Mobile

Healthcare


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


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.



Prof. Kaj Lindecrantz Prof. Lirong Zheng


Prof. Kaj Lindecrantz Prof. Lirong Zheng


[email protected]

KTH School

STH

KTH department

MSSS/STH ES/ICT





BiomedicalEngineering,ElectronicSystems,Informationand

CommunicationTechnology


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


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.







[email protected]

KTH School

STH

KTH department

MSSS/STH ES/ICT




Biotechnology


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


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.



Assoc. prof. Torbjorn Graslund


Assoc. prof. Torbjorn Graslund


[email protected]

KTH School

BIO


KTH department

Dept. of Protein Technology




Biotechnology


Theoretical Chemistry and Biology

Title of project

Modelling design of radioligands for use in positron emission tomography of the brain


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.


www.theochem.kth.se


Hans Ågren


Hans Ågren



[email protected]

KTH School

BIO

KTH department





BoilingHeatTransfer


Two‐phase flow and heat transfer

Title of project

Experimental and analytical study on high‐heat‐flux boiling and burnout


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.



Weimin Ma


Weimin Ma


[email protected]

KTH School

SCI

KTH department

Physics




ChemicalEcology


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


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.



Prof. Anna‐Karin Borg‐Karlson, Prof. Åsa Emmer



Prof. Anna‐Karin Borg‐Karlson, Prof. Åsa Emmer, Dr. Tao Zhao


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department

Chemistry




ChemicalEcology


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


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.



Prof. Anna‐Karin Borg‐Karlson, Prof. Åsa Emmer



Prof. Anna‐Karin Borg‐Karlson, Prof. Åsa Emmer, Dr. Tao Zhao


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department

Chemistry


CSC ‐ Joint PhD/PhD guest student (1‐2 years)


ChemicalEngineering


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


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



weihong yang


weihong yang


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Material Science Engineering





ChemicalEngineering


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


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.



weihong yang


weihong yang


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Material Science and Engineering




ChemicalEngineering


Separations and Transport Phenomena

Title of project

Crystallisation of pharmaceutical compounds


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.


http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/transport_phenomena/research


Åke C Rasmuson


Åke C Rasmuson


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department

Chemical Engineering and Technology




ChemicalEngineering


Separations and transport phenomena

Title of project

Novel hydrometallurgical methods for rare earth metals


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.




Åke C Rasmuson


Åke C Rasmuson


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department






ChemicalEngineering


Separations and transport phenomena

Title of project

Crystallization of metal‐organic framework (MOF) materials


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.




prof Åke C Rasmuson


dr Michael Svärd


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department






ChemicalNanotechnology


Nanotechnology Organic chemistry Materials science Supramolecular chemistry Glycoscience

Nanomedicine

Title of project

Anti‐Pathogenic Glyconanomaterials


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.


http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/orgkem/research/ramstrom


Prof. Olof Ramstrom


Prof. Olof Ramstrom


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department

Chemistry




ChemicalPhysics


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


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.




Prof Mats Göthelid


Prof Mats Göthelid


[email protected]

KTH School

ICT

KTH department

Materials and Nano Physics




Chemistry


Chemical Physics, Nano‐Photonics

Title of project

Plasmonic assisted light harvesting of molecules


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.


www.theochem.kth.se/people/luo


Prof. Yi Luo


Prof. Yi Luo



[email protected]

KTH School

BIO

KTH department

Department of Biotechnology




Chemistry


Catalysis

Water Splitting

Computational Chemistry

Transition metals

Title of project

Solar Fuels ‐ Mechanisms of Water Splitting Catalysts


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.



Mårten Ahlquist


Mårten Ahlquist


[email protected]

KTH School

BIO


KTH department

Theoretical Chemistry & Biology




Chemistry


Chemical Physics/Physical Chemistry Molecular electronics

Title of project

Dynamics and Statistics of Electron Transport in Single Molecules


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.


www.theochem.kth.se/people/luo


Prof. Yi Luo


Prof. Yi Luo



[email protected]

KTH School

BIO

KTH department

Department of Theoretical Chemistry and Biology




Chemistry


Organic chemistry Dynamic Chemistry Supramolecular chemistry Medicinal chemistry

Title of project

Dynamic Drug Discovery and Delivery


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.


http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/orgkem/research/ramstrom


Prof. Olof Ramstrom


Prof. Olof Ramstrom


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department

Chemistry





Chemistry


Catalysis

Water Splitting

Computational Chemistry

Transition metals

Title of project

Solar Fuels ‐ Mechanisms of Water Splitting Catalysts


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.



Mårten Ahlquist


Mårten Ahlquist


[email protected]

KTH School

BIO


KTH department

Theoretical Chemistry & Biology




Chemistry


Organic Chemistry

Title of project

Asymmetric Catalysis and Efficient Natural Product Synthesis for Sustainable Development.


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

‐


Johan Franzén

Name of supervisor(if other)

‐

E‐mail address to contact person

[email protected]

KTH school

CHE

KTH department

Chemistry




Chemistry


Organic chemistry asymmetric catalysis dynamic kinetic resolutions nucleophilic catalysis

Title of project

Development of non‐enzymatic dynamic kinetic resolutions of racemic alcohols and amines


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.




Associate Prof. Peter Dinér


[email protected]

KTH school

CHE

KTH department

Chemistry




Chemistry


Photoswitchable kinase inhibitors

Title of project

Development of photoswitchable kinase inhibitors as tools in biology


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.


http://www.kth.se/che/divisions/orgkem/research/diner/projects‐1.417465



Associate Prof. Peter Dinér


[email protected]

KTH school

CHE

KTH department

Chemistry




ChemistryandBiology



Title of project

Modeling of protein structures


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.


http://www.theochem.kth.se/people/tu/


Yaoquan Tu


Yaoquan Tu


[email protected]

KTH School

BIO

KTH department





ChemistryandBiology


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


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.



Vincent Bulone, Yaoquan Tu


Vincent Bulone, Yaoquan Tu


[email protected]

KTH School

BIO


KTH department





ChemistryandBiology



Title of project

Modeling of plant cell walls for the exploration of new bio‐mimetic materials


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.


http://www.theochem.kth.se/people/tu/


Yaoquan Tu


Yaoquan Tu


[email protected]

KTH School

BIO

KTH department





ChemistryandBiology


Computational Chemistry and Biology

Title of project

In‐silico Design of Molecules for Fibril‐imaging in Brain


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.


http://www.theochem.kth.se/people/murugan/project.html


Hans Ågren


N. Arul Murugan


[email protected]


KTH School

BIO

KTH department

Dvision of Theoretical Chemisty and Biology




ChemistryandBiology


Computational Chemistry and Biology

Title of project

Aggregation and Color


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.



Hans Ågren


N. Arul Murugan


[email protected]


KTH School

BIO

KTH department

Dvision of Theoretical Chemisty and Biology




Chemistry,catalysis,solarfuels


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


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.


http://www.kth.se/che/divisions/orgkem/research/lichengsun?l=en_UK



professor Licheng Sun


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department

Department of Chemistry




Chemistry,solarfuels


molecular catalysis, transition metal complexes, organometallic chemistry, electrochemistry and

photochemistry

Title of project

Synthesis of highly efficient molecular catalysts for hydrogen generation


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.





professor Licheng Sun


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department





Chemistry,sustainableenergy,solarenergy


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


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.




Professor Licheng Sun


Professor Licheng Sun


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department





CommunicationTheory


Wireless Communications, Wireless Networks, Interference Management, Interference

Alignment, Network Coding, Relaying, Cooperative Communications

Title of project

Interference Management for Future Wireless Networks


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.


http://www.ee.kth.se/~mingx/


Ming Xiao


Ming Xiao


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

Communication Theory




CommunicationTheory


Wireless Communications, Massive MIMO, 60GHz, Millimeter‐wave Communications.

Title of project

Key Techniques for Very‐Large Capacity Wireless Networks


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.


http://www.ee.kth.se/~mingx/


Ming Xiao


Ming Xiao


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department





CommunicationTheory


Channel Coding, Spatial‐coupling codes, Wireless Communications, Relaying, Belief Propagation

Decoding

Title of project

Design of Spatial‐coupling Coding for Wireless Networks


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.



Ming Xiao


Ming Xiao


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

communication Theory




CommunicationTheory


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


PhD in Communication Theory dealing with wireless communications, vehicular communications,

networked control, physical layer security, information theory, or distributed statistical inference


www.kth.se/~oech


Assoc. Prof. Tobias Oechtering


Assoc. Prof. Tobias Oechtering


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

Communication Theory Lab




CommunicationTheory


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


Communication Theory with focus in wireless communications, information theory, statistical

inference, or networked control


www.kth.se/~oech


Tobias Oechtering


Tobias Oechtering


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department





Computationalbiochemistry


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


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.



Tore Brinck


Tore Brinck


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department

Chemistry




ComputationalMaterialdesign


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


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.



Professor Levente Vitos




[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

MSE















very restricted.

Title of project

Austenite‐ferrite interfaces


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.








[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

MSE














very restricted.

Title of project

Stacking fault energy and plastic deformation mechanism


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.







[email protected]


KTH School

ITM

KTH department

MSE







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


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.








[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

MSE




Computationalmodellingoftrafficsystem


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


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


intelligent speed adaption (ISA), pedestrian detection systems, vehicle‐vehicle (V2V) and vehicle‐

infrastructure (V2I) communication etc.



Xiaoliang Ma


Xiaoliang Ma and Haris Koutsopoulos


[email protected]

KTH School

ABE

KTH department

Dept. of Transportation Sciences




ComputationalPhotochemistry


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


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.



Tore Brinck


Tore Brinck


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department

Chemistry




ComputerScience


Software Engineering

Title of project

A general theory of software engineering


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



Pontus Johnson


Pontus Johnson


[email protected]

KTH School

EES


KTH department

Industrial information systems




ComputerScience


Software System Architecture

Title of project

Automated, model‐based analysis of multiple system properties


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.


http://www.kth.se/en/ees/omskolan/organisation/avdelningar/ics/research/sa/p/the‐multi‐

attribute‐prediction‐map‐class‐diagram‐1.387306


Pontus Johnson


Pontus Johnson


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

Industrial information and control systems





ComputerScience,SoftwareEngineering,Information

Technology


System Architecture, Software Architecture, Enterprise Architecture, Modeling, Modularity,

Modifiability

Title of project

System Architecture Modularity


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.


www.ics.kth.se


Robert Lagerström


Robert Lagerström


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

Industrial Information and Control Systems (ICS) ‐ EH




Condensedmattertheory


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


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.



Anatoly B. Belonoshko


Anatoly B. Belonoshko


[email protected]

KTH School

SCI

KTH department

Theoretical Physics




Cyber‐physical system (CPS)


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


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.


http://www.kth.se/en/itm/inst/mmk/avdelningar/mda/research‐1.18173


Prof. Martin Törngren



Associate Prof. DeJiu Chen and Assistant Prof. Lei Feng


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Machine Design




DamsafetyandHydraulics


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


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 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.



James Yang, Anders Wörman




[email protected]

KTH School

ABE

KTH department

Hydraulic Engineering




Densityfunctionaltheory


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


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.



Assoc. Prof. Longcheng Liu




[email protected]

KTH School

CHE


KTH department

KET




ElectricalEngineering


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


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


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.).



Rajeev Thottappillil


Daniel Månsson


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

Electromagnetic engineering






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


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.



Martin Norgren


Martin Norgren



[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department







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


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


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.



Nathaniel Taylor


Nathaniel Taylor and Rajeev Thottappillil


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

ETK




ElectricalEnginnering


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


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


edge will be investigated by means of numerical codes and analytical models.


www.iter.org


Tendler Michael


Tendler Michael


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

Fusion Research




ElectricalEngineering,ElectronicEngineering,Computer

Science,ComputerEngineering

Title of project

Machine to machine wireless communications


Wireless networks, low‐power design, communications signal processing


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.





Jens Zander


[email protected]

KTH school

ICT

KTH department

CoS




ElectromagneticEngineering


Nonreciprocal electromagnetic wave, Faraday rotation, Magneto‐optical photonic crystals,

Plasmonics.

Title of project

Giant enhancement of nonreciprocal electromagnetic properties by plasmonics


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.



Prof. Sailing He


Prof. Sailing He & Dr. S. Zhang


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department





ElectricalEngineering,ComputerScience,ComputerEngineering

Title of project

Machine to machine wireless communications


Wireless networks, low‐power design, communications signal processing


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.



Jens Zander



Jens Zander


[email protected]

KTH school

ICT

KTH department

CoS




ElectromagneticEngineering


Microwave and mmwave antenna design, wireless channel analysis.

Title of project

Microwave‐mm wave cellular antenna systems for next generation communications


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.



Prof. Sailing He


Prof. Sailing He & Dr. S. Zhang


[email protected]


KTH school

EES

KTH department





ElectronicSystems,InformationandCommunicationTechnology


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


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.



Prof. Hannu Tenhunen


Prof. Hannu Tenhunen


[email protected]

KTH School

ICT

KTH department

ES/ICT





Emissioncontroltechnologies


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


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.



Dr. Jinying Yan




[email protected]

KTH School

CHE


KTH department

KET




EnergyResearch


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.


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


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/



Lorenzo Frassinetti / Per Brunsell


Lorenzo Frassinetti


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

Department of Fusion Plasma Physics





EnergyResearch


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


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.


http://www.kth.se/ees/omskolan/organisation/avdelningar/fpp/research/theory/theoretical‐

research‐projects‐1.34958


Torbjörn Hellsten


Thomas Johnson


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

Fusion plasma physics




EnergyTechnology/AdvancedEnergyconversionTechnology


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


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!


www.nanocofc.com


Prof. Torsten Fransson and Docent. Bin Zhu


Docent. Bin Zhu, Doc. Anders Malmquist, Ass. Prof. Björn Laumert and Dr. Ying Ma



[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Department of Energy Technology




EnergyTechnology/AdvancedFuelcelltechnology


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


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!


www.nanocofc.com


Prof. Torsten Fransson and Docent. Bin Zhu


Docent. Bin Zhu and Dr. Ying Ma


[email protected]


KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Department of Energy Technology




EnergyTechnology/Heatpumptechnology


Heat pumps for the Chinese market

Title of project

Heat pumps for the Chinese market


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.


www.energy.kth.se


Björn Palm



[email protected]

KTH school

ITM

KTH department

Energy Technology




Engineeringeducation


Global competence

Title of project

Global competence in engineering education and in engineering practice


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.



Associate professor Björn Kjellgren


Professor Anette Kolmos


[email protected]

KTH School

CSC

KTH department

ECE, Department of Learning (ECE was not an option in the list above!)


CSC ‐ Post Doc. (6‐12 months)


HydraulicEngineering


Groundwater renewal and extraction limits for water consumption

Title of project

Geohydraulics / Environmental hydraulics


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.


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.


http://www.cugb.edu.cn/EnglishWeb/


Anders Wörman


Xiao‐Wei Jiang


[email protected]

KTH school

ABE

KTH department

Byggvetenskap




Evolutionarygeneticsandgenomics


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


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


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.


http://www.kth.se/en/bio/research/genetech/evolutionary‐biology‐and‐forensics‐1.314219


Peter Savolainen


Peter Savolainen


[email protected]

KTH School

BIO

KTH department

Division of Gene Technology




Evolutionarygeneticsandgenomics


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


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


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.


http://www.kth.se/en/bio/research/genetech/evolutionary‐biology‐and‐forensics‐1.314219


Peter Savolainen


Peter Savolainen


[email protected]

KTH School

BIO

KTH department

Division of Gene Technology




FibreandPolymerTechnology


Polymer Technology

Title of project

Characterization of polymers and polymer degradation by mass spectrometry


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.


http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/polymer‐technology


Minna Hakkarainen


Minna Hakkarainen


[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department





FluidMechanics


Turbulence, Multiphase flows, Numerical simulations

Title of project

Turbulent flow of particle suspensions


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.


http://www2.mech.kth.se/~luca/index.php


Luca Brandt



Luca Brandt


[email protected]

KTH School

SCI

KTH department

Mekanik




FluidMechanics


Stability and Transition

Title of project

Instability of three dimensional flows


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.



Ardeshir Hanifi


Ardeshir Hanifi


[email protected]

KTH School

SCI

KTH department

Mechanics




FusionPlasmaPhysics


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


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.



Prof Jan Scheffel



Prof Jan Scheffel


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

Fusion Plasma Physics




Fusionplasmaphysics


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


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.




Henric Bergsåker


Henric Bergsåker


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

Fusionsplasmafysik




GamingandParticipatorySimulation


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.


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.


http://www.gapslabs.net


Sebastiaan Meijer


Sebastiaan Meijer


[email protected]


KTH School

ABE

KTH department

Transport Science




Geoinformatics


Remote Sensing and Geographic information Science

Title of project

To be submitted


To be submitted



Yifang Ban


Yifang Ban


[email protected]

KTH School

ABE

KTH department

Urban Planning and Environment




HighVoltageEngineering


Electrical Engineering, Power Systems, Dielectric insulation

Title of project

Improvement of dielectric strength in liquids with nanoparticles


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.


http://www.kth.se/en/ees/omskolan/organisation/avdelningar/etk/research/topics/research‐on‐

applied‐physics‐and‐multiphysics‐modeling‐for‐power‐components‐1.361532


Marley Becerra


Marley Becerra


[email protected]

KTH School

EES

KTH department

ETK





DamsafetyandHydraulics

Title of project

Instability of upstream slope of embankment dams due to rapid drawdown


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


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.


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.







[email protected]

KTH school

ABE

KTH department

Hydraulic Engineering




Hydromechanics&numericalmodelling


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


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


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



James Yang


James Yang


[email protected]

KTH School

ABE

KTH department

Hydraulic Engineeering




Hydromechanics&numericalmodelling


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


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


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



James Yang


James Yang


[email protected]

KTH School

ABE

KTH department

Hydraulic Engineeering




InformationandcommunicationTechnolgy


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


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.


http://www.kth.se/en/ict/forskning/ickretsar/kiselkarbid/hotsic‐1.378307


Anders Hallén


Anders Hallén


[email protected]

KTH School

ICT

KTH department

Integrated devices and Circuits





Informationsecurity,softwareengineering


cyber security, attack modelling, software architecture, systems architecture, enterprise

architecture,

Title of project

A framework for cyber security assessment


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.



Mathias Ekstedt


Mathias Ekstedt


[email protected]


KTH School

EES

KTH department

Industrial Information and Control Systems




MachineDesign


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


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.


‐


Professor Sergei Glavatskih




[email protected]

KTH School

ITM


KTH department

Machine Design




MachineDesign


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


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


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.


‐






[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Machine Design




MachineDesign,hapticdevices


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


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


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.


http://www.kth.se/en/itm/inst/mmk/forskning/forskningsenheter/system‐

komponentdesign/2.21514


Kjell Andersson


Kjell Andersson


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Machine Design




Magneticnanoparticlesforhighfrequencyapplications


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


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


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)



Professor Luyba Belova


Assoc Prof (Docent) Valter Ström


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Material Science





Materialphysics


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


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.



Prof. Liubov Bolova


Prof. K.V.Rao



[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

materialsvetenskapa‐ Tmfy‐MSEi




Materialacoustics


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


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.



Professor Leif Kari



Leif Kari


[email protected]

KTH School

SCI

KTH department

Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering




MaterialPhysics


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


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.


http://www.met.kth.se/~cpersson/


Clas Persson


Clas Persson


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Materials Science and Engineering





Materialphysics‐inkjetprintingfunctionalmaterials.


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


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.



Prof. Lyuba Belova


K.V.Rao



[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

materialsvetenskapa‐ Tmfy‐MSEi




Materialphysics


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


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.



Prof. Liubov Bolova


Prof. K.V.Rao


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM


KTH department

Material veetenskaap‐ MSE‐ (Tmfy MSE).




Materialphysics


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


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.



Prof. Liubov Bolova


Prof. K.V.Rao


[email protected]


KTH School

ITM

KTH department





Materialsscience


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


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.



Prof Lyuba Belova, Tmfy‐MSE


Prof. K.V.Rao


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department





MaterialsScience


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


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




Prof. Rajeev Ahuja


Prof. Rajeev Ahuja


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Department of Materials Science & Engineering




MaterialsScience


Data Driven Discoveries

Title of project

INFORMATICS FOR THE RATIONAL DESIGN OF CHEMICALLY COMPLEX NANOMATERIALS: LINKING

WITH AB INITO APPROACH


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



Prof. Rajeev Ahuja


Prof. Rajeev Ahuja


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Materials Science & Engineering




MaterialsScience


Data storage Materials

Title of project

Design of high‐performance nonvolatile memories based on phase‐change materials


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.



Prof. Rajeev Ahuja


Prof. Rajeev Ahuja


[email protected]


KTH School

ITM

KTH department





MaterialsScience


Design new materials for energy applications

Title of project

A theoretical search for new materials for Fuel cells, Batteries and Solar cells


‐ 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.



Prof. Rajeev Ahuja


Prof. Rajeev Ahuja


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM


KTH department





Materialsscience/PhysicalMetallurgy


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


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.


http://www.hero‐m.mse.kth.se/page.php?pid=134


Liubov Belova


Venkat Rao


[email protected]

KTH School

SCI

KTH department

materials science and engineering





Mechatronics


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


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.




Jan Wikander


Lei Feng


[email protected]


KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Machine Design




Microandnanosystems

Title of project

Heterogenous integration of sensors


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.


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.


www.ee.kth.se/mst/


Göran Stemme


Göran Stemme


[email protected]

KTH school

EES

KTH department

Micro and nanosystems




MunicipalorganicSolidwasteManagement


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


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


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.



Björn Frostell


Björn Frostell


[email protected]

KTH School

ABE

KTH department

Industrial Ecology




MunicipalorganicSolidwasteManagement


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


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


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.



Björn Frostell


Björn Frostell


[email protected]

KTH School

ABE

KTH department

Industrial Ecology




Nanobiotechnology


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


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.




Aman Russom


Aman Russom


[email protected]

KTH School

BIO

KTH department

Proteomics and Nanobiotechnology




Nanophotonics


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


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.


http://www.kth.se/en/ict/forskning/material‐och‐nanofysik/fotonik/optik‐och‐fotonik‐ofo‐

1.50897


Lech Wosinski



Lech Wosinski


[email protected]

KTH School

ICT

KTH department

Materials‐ and Nano Physics




Nanophotonics


Optical materials and nanophotonic concepts for efficient light harvesting

Title of project

Semiconductor photonic nanostructures for efficient solar energy conversion


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.



Srinivasan Anand, Associate Professor


Srinivasan Anand


[email protected]

KTH School

ICT

KTH department

Materials‐ and Nano‐Physics





Nanotechnology


Theoretical Modelling

Title of project

Computational design of nanodevices


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.


www.theochem.kth.se


Hans Ågren



Hans Ågren


[email protected]

KTH School

BIO

KTH department





Nanotechnology


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.


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



Professor Liubov Belova


Professor Liubov Belova


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department






Networkedsystemssecurity(incl.privacy)


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


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.



Panagiotis Papadimitratos


Panagiotis Papadimitratos


[email protected]


KTH School

EES

KTH department

LCN




NuclearPowerSafety


corium debris formation and coolability

Title of project

Study on corium coolability during a severe accident of light water reactors


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.



Weimin Ma


Weimin Ma


[email protected]

KTH School

SCI

KTH department

Physics




NuclearPowerSafety


Thermal‐hydraulics of reactor containment

Title of project

Development of a simulation tool for reactor containment safety analysis


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.



Weimin Ma


Weimin Ma


[email protected]

KTH School

SCI

KTH department

Physics




OpticalNetworking


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


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.




Jiajia Chen


Lena Wosinska


[email protected]

KTH School

ICT

KTH department

CoS




OpticalNetworking


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


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.


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.



Jiajia Chen


Lena Wosinska


[email protected]

KTH School

ICT

KTH department

CoS




OpticsandPhotonics


Nanophotonics, near‐field optics, plasmonics

Title of project

Nanoscale investigations of photothermal effects


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.



Prof. Saulius Marcinkevicius


Prof. Min Qiu


[email protected]

KTH School

ICT

KTH department

Materials and Nanophysics





OptimizationandSystemsTheory

Title of project

Coordination and Control of Multi‐agent Dynamical Systems


Mathematical systems theory for multi‐agent systems.


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.



Xiaoming Hu


Xiaoming Hu


[email protected]

KTH school

SCI


KTH department

Department of Mathematics




Photonics,Optics,Optoelectronics


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


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.




Associate professor Sergei Popov


Associate professor Sergei Popov


[email protected]

KTH School

ICT

KTH department

Material and Nano‐Physics




Physics


X‐ray free‐electron lasers

Title of project

Non‐linear X‐ray Physics


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.


www.theochem.kth.se


Hans Ågren


Hans Ågren



[email protected]

KTH School

BIO

KTH department





Physics


Applied physics, optical physics, laser physics, fiber optics

Title of project

functional optical fibers and laser


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.


www.laserphysics.kth.se


Prof. Fredrik Laurell


Dr. Zhangwei Yu


[email protected]

KTH school

SCI


KTH department

Applied Physics




Physics


nonlinear optics, laser physics, mid IR generation, photonic applications

Title of project

Mid IR generation and its applications


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.


www.laserphysics.kth.se


Prof. Fredrik Laurell


Prof. Valdas Pasiskevicius


[email protected]

KTH school

SCI

KTH department

Applied Physics department




SoftwareEngineering


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


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.



Mihhail Matskin



Mihhail Matskin


[email protected]

KTH School

ICT

KTH department

SCS ‐ Software and Computer Systems




SoftwareengineeringappliedtoMechatronics


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


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).


‐ 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.




Prof. Martin Törngren


Prof. Martin Törngren and Dr. Jad Elkhoury


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Machine Design




Soilmechanics


Swelling of natural bentonite under different conditions

Title of project

Investigation of the swelling mechanisms of bentonites at a molecular level


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.







[email protected]


KTH School

CHE

KTH department

KET




Soilmechanics


Swelling of natural bentonite under different conditions

Title of project

Investigation of the swelling mechanisms of bentonites at a molecular level


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.







[email protected]


KTH School

CHE

KTH department

KET




SpectralCT


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


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,


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.


www.mi.physics.kth.se


Prof. Mats Danielsson


Prof. Mats Danielsson


[email protected]

KTH school

SCI

KTH department

Physics




Steelandalloyproduction


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


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


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.



Pär Jönsson, Professor, (KTH, MSE)


Andrey Karasev, Docent, Senior Researcher (KTH, MSE)


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department





Sustainabledevelopment,environmentalscienceand

technology

Title of project

The Baltic Sea region system dynamics


Water resources and ecosystem services in coastal zones


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


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.



vladimir cvetkovic


vladimir cvetkovic


[email protected]

KTH school

ABE

KTH department

Sustainable development, environmental science and engineering




TechnicalAcoustics


Aeroacoustics.

Title of project

RESEARCH IN AEROACOUSTICS WITH APPLICATION TO

AICRAFT ENGINE NOISE REDUCTION


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:




Hans Bodén


Hans Bodén


[email protected]

KTH School

SCI

KTH department

Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering




TheoreticalChemistry


Computational methods for theoretical studies of magnetic resonance phenomena.

Title of project

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of excited states


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.




Olav Vahtras


[email protected]

KTH School

BIO

KTH department





TheoreticalMaterialsScience


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


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


(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


http://www.met.kth.se/~cpersson/


Professor/researcher: Dr Mathias Boström


Prof. Clas Persson


[email protected]

KTH School

ITM

KTH department

Department of Materials Science and Engineering




Theoreticalnuclearphysics

Title of project

Theoretical description of highly unstable nuclei


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.


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.


http://www.nuclear.kth.se/research/theoretical‐nuclear‐physics/


Prof. Ramon Wyss



Ramon Wyss, Roberto Liotta, Chong Qi


[email protected]

KTH school

SCI

KTH department

Physics





ThermalEnergyConversionandEmissions


Emissions from Thermal Energy Production Systems with CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS)

Title of project

Emission Characteristics of Thermal Energy Conversion Systems with CCS


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.


• 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.



Dr. Jinying Yan




[email protected]


KTH School

CHE

KTH department

KET




TrafficControlsandIntelligentTransportationSystems


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


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


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.



Dr. Xiaoliang Ma


Dr. Xiaoliang Ma


[email protected]

KTH School

ABE

KTH department

Department of Transportation Sciences




TransportScience


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


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.


www.metpex.eu


Yusak O. Susilo


Yusak O. Susilo / Oded Cats


[email protected]

KTH School

ABE


KTH department

Transport Science




TransportScience


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


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.



Yusak O. Susilo


Oded Cats / Yusak Susilo


[email protected]

KTH School

ABE

KTH department

Transport Science





TransportSystemAnalysis


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


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.



www.matsim.org


Gunnar Flötteröd


Yusak Susilo


[email protected]

KTH School

ABE

KTH department

Transport Science




Travelbehaviorandtransportsystems


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


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.




Joel Franklin


Joel Franklin


[email protected]

KTH School

ABE

KTH department

Transport Science




TribologyandChemistry


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.


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.



Prof Mark Rutland


Prof Mark Rutland


[email protected]


KTH School

CHE

KTH department

Chemistry




WaterConservingTechnologies


Water and wastewater systems for thermal energy production

Title of project

Development of Water‐Conserving Technical Options for Thermal Energy Production Systems


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.


• 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.



Dr. Jinying Yan





[email protected]

KTH School

CHE

KTH department

KET




WirelessNetworking


Machine‐to‐Machine Communications, Internet of Things

Title of project

Mathematical Performance Framework for Machine‐to‐Machine Applications


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 !


people.kth.se/~jamesgr/


James Gross


James Gross


[email protected]

KTH School

EES


KTH department





WirelessSensorNetworking

Title of project

Optimization in Wireless Sensor Network


Wireless Sensor Networks, Internet of Things, Smart Cities, Smart Grids


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!


people.kth.se/~carlofi/


Carlo Fischione


Carlo Fischione


[email protected]

KTH school

EES

KTH department


Automatic Control




WoodChemistry‐Biorefinery


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


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.


wobama.eu


Monica Ek


Monica Ek


[email protected]

KTH school

CHE

KTH department

Fibre and Polymer TEchnology




WoodChemistry‐Cellulosechemistry


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


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


http://www.kth.se/en/che/divisions/woodchem/welcome‐to‐wood‐chemistry‐and‐pulp‐

technology‐1.18841



Monica Ek


Monica Ek


[email protected]

KTH school

CHE

KTH department




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POSTITIONS AVAILABLE AT KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF … · Analytical chemistry Detailed subject area Miniaturized bioanalysis including microfluidics, separation science and mass spectrometry