PhD Student - Department of Information Technology

Last application date Aug 31, 2021 00:00

Department TW05 - Department of Information Technology

Contract Limited duration

Degree Holder of a Master degree in Engineering, preferably Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or Photonics

Occupancy rate 100%

Vacancy type Research staff

Job description

PhD vacancy on routing and scheduling in optical networks Context imec imec is a world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. The combination of our widely acclaimed leadership in microchip technology and profound software and ICT expertise is what makes us unique. By leveraging our world-class infrastructure and local and global ecosystem of partners across a multitude of industries, we create groundbreaking innovation in application domains such as healthcare, smart cities and mobility, logistics and manufacturing, and energy. As a trusted partner for companies, start-ups and universities we bring together close to 4000 brilliant minds from over 97 nationalities. Imec is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium and also has distributed R&D groups at a number of Flemish universities, in the Netherlands, Taiwan, USA, China, and offices in India and Japan. All of these particular traits make imec to be a top-class employer. Ghent University – imec IDLab Research group The Internet Technology & Data Science Lab (IDLab) is an imec research group at Ghent University and the University of Antwerp. IDLab focuses its research on internet technologies and data science. Bringing together more than 300 internet experts, we develop technologies outperforming current solutions for communication subsystems, high speed and low power networking, distributed computing and multimedia processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence and web semantics. IDLab has a unique research infrastructure used in numerous national and international collaborations. IDLab collaborates with many universities and research centers worldwide and jointly develops advanced technologies with industry (R&D centers from international companies, Flanders’ top innovating large companies and SMEs, as well as numerous ambitious start-ups).

The IDLab NetModel team where this vacancy is offered consists of engineers and scientists who are building models for wired Internet architectures and optical networks. The NetModel group investigates network control mechanisms, network optimization and performance-related aspects of networks. The group has a strong track record in the domains of optical networks, network resilience and sofware-defined networking. Novel optical network architectures Together with our partnering research groups on photonic technology (counting on their physical layer expertise), we are investigating novel optical network architectures, for instance for high-speed interconnection networks between processors or routers. The IDLab NetModel team is responsible for the design of novel routing and network control algorithms.

The PhD research will encompass a very broad exploration of (basic and nonbasic) topologies in the networking layer. This includes varying design parameters as well as comparing a range of multi-stage switching architectures. The PhD research will also examine the design of network control algorithms which establish connections and broadcasting trees, considering the underlying optical network and the bandwidth and timing requirements defined by the applications. These algorithms will allocate resources, aiming to allow maximum usage of power saving techniques, such as managing sleep mode for various components of the optical network. In order to face the different research challenges in this domain, we are looking for a researcher with strong modelling and algorithmic skills needed to advance this field.

Job description

The job

• Under the supervision of professors in the team, you will prepare a PhD dissertation over a duration of about 4 years.
• You perform cutting-edge research in the domain of optical network design and optimization.
• You publish and present results both at international conferences and in scientific journals.
• You design novel routing algorithms, scheduling mechanisms and architectures for optical networks
• You validate your research through adequate quantitative measurements in a statistically meaningful manner
• You will assist the research group with limited educational tasks.

Job profile

Job requirements

• Holder of a Master degree in Engineering, preferably Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or Photonics.
• Strong analytical skills for designing and implementing abstract models.
• Strong interest in network modelling and optimization.
• Strong programming skills (e.g. Python, or C/C++, Java, …)
• Knowledge on photonic networks is a plus.
• You work independently, have a strong feeling of responsibility and are able to commit to timing and milestones set forward by different research projects.
• You are a team player and have strong communication skills.
• A good knowledge of English (oral and written) is a must.

This PhD position is available immediately and is open until the vacancy is filled. The position is not open for post-docs.

How to apply

Apply by sending an email to prof. Mario Pickavet, Didier Colle.

Your application should include

• your resume (curriculum vitae)
• motivation letter (indicating both your research background/interest as well as any specific research skills)
• a copy of your diploma and diploma supplement (with overview of all courses followed)

More information Mario Pickavet – mario.pickavet@ugent.be Didier Colle – didier.colle@ugent.be