ROLE PROFILE OF A CONTRACT RESEARCH PROFESSOR (M/F)
61rd section of the National Universities Council (CNU)
Multidisciplinary Research Laboratory in Energy, Mechanical and Systems Engineering (PRISME – Host Team/EA 4229)

Keywords: Observation, Estimation, Dynamic systems, Artificial intelligence, Learning 

The Centre-Val de Loire National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) http://www.insa-centrevaldeloire.fr/ is looking to hire a contract research professor effective 1 September 2021.

The Centre-Val de Loire INSA is a public scientific, cultural and professional institution (EPSCP) located on two campuses, in Blois and Bourges.

It awards:
-    4 engineering degrees accredited by the independent accreditation body for engineering degrees (CTI):

• Energy, Risks and the Environment (ERE),
• Industrial Systems Engineering (GSI),
• Industrial Risk Control (MRI)
• Computer Security and Technologies (STI),

-    The State Landscape Architect Degree (DEP) via the School for Nature and Landscape Department (DENP);
-    PhDs, through its Doctoral schools EMSTU (for Energy, Materials, Geosciences) and MIPTIS (for Mathematics, IT, Theoretical Physics and Systems Engineering).

The candidate must have demonstrated his/her ability to conduct all of his/her staff duties (teaching & research) in French and English (oral and written) and to get involved in the themes of sustainable development and social responsibility.

Teaching

The main subjects taught are as follows: probability, mathematics, data analysis and automation, ranging from three to five years’ higher education in ERE.

The candidate will also be expected to play a part in supervising projects, placements, industrial assignments and introduction to research projects. S/he will contribute to the supervision of apprentices in companies.

The candidate is expected to become involved in the institute’s day-to-day running by fairly quickly assuming educational responsibilities.

Teaching Contacts

Brady MANESCAU, Director, ERE Department         

Email: brady.manescaui@insa-cvl.fr

Jérôme FORTINEAU, Education Director

Email: jerome.fortineau@insa-cvl.fr 

 

Research  

The contract research professor will conduct his/her research within the Multidisciplinary Research Laboratory in Energy, Mechanical and Systems  Engineering/PRISME (Own higher education and research unit/UPRES – Host Team/EA 4229) which is jointly supervised by the Centre-Val de Loire INSA and University of Orléans. It has 180 members including 90 research professors, 20 engineers, technicians and administrative staff and around 70 PhD and postdoctoral students.

The PRISME laboratory serves a multidisciplinary purpose in the general field of engineering sciences and technologies, across a broad spectrum of subjects including:

• combustion in engines, energy systems engineering and explosions,
• fluid mechanics and aerodynamics,
• image and signal processing,
• automation,
• robotics. 

The laboratory has decided to coordinate with scientific departments organised into thematic strands.

The research activity will be carried out within the Images, Robotics, Automation and Signal (IRAuS) Department – Automation strand.

23 researchers and 11 PhD students are involved in this strand, which is divided into two topics: observation-control-optimisation (differential geometry, observation and control of nonlinear systems of ODEs, FDEs or PDEs, ensemble methods, robust optimisation) and diagnosis-maintenance (diagnosis, maintenance policy by HMM, operating safety). This work is implemented in the applied fields of mathematics for health, energy management and the industries of the future.

The candidate will join the observation and control theme, more specifically the synthesis activity of high-gain observers and non-asymptotic estimators.

The research activity will more particularly involve the observation and estimation of models for dynamic systems with a special focus on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) approaches, such as measurement-based estimation or machine learning.

AI in the context of automation has the potential not only to address the identification of complex systems where large dimensions come into play, but also to provide numerical solutions when analytical solving proves challenging. The fact that the laboratory is multidisciplinary is conducive to the application of these methods to complex systems in the social challenges of mathematics for health or energy management.

Over and above the requisite skills in automation and AI, any expertise in the field of quantum computing will be an advantage.

Research contacts

Driss Boutat, Head, Research Host Team

Email: driss.boutat@insa-cvl.fr

Azeddine KOURTA, Director, PRISME Laboratory

Email: directeur.prisme@univ-orleans.fr

Khaled CHETEHOUNA, Research and Promotion Director                      

Email: khaled.chetehouna@insa-cvl.fr 

Website of the PRISME Laboratory: https://www.univ-orleans.fr/fr/prisme 

Procedure:

Qualification: national candidates must hold a valid qualification from the relevant CNU section on the date they begin their employment.

Recruitment method: recruitment after consultation with a selection committee, grading proposal by the Restricted Academic Board (CAR) to research professors and decision by the Director of Centre-Val de Loire INSA.

Term: One-year fixed-term contract before renewal as a permanent contract.

Salary: on the basis of the lecturers’ salary scales not including PPCR (Professional Pathways, Careers and Remuneration). Seniority taken into account according to the reclassification rules for the recruitment of civil servant lecturers.

Staff service: the reference working time, corresponding to the working time decreed in the civil service, comprises, for research professors (civil servants and contract staff):

• For 50%, teaching services determined in relation to an annual reference duration equal to 192 hours of tutorials. These teaching services go hand-in-hand with preparation and assessment of the associated knowledge.

During the first year of their contract of employment, the contract research professor shall benefit from training aimed at developing the educational skills required to practise as a research professor. To that end, s/he shall be relieved of one-sixth of his/her teaching duties.

• For 50%, research activity.

Assignment: the position shall be taken up on the Bourges campus. 

Committed to combating all forms of discrimination, the Centre-Val de Loire INSA is ensuring as wide a distribution as possible of the job vacancy in a bid to encourage applications from diverse backgrounds.