Postdoctoral Fellow, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

DEPARTMENT Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
ORGANIZATION NAME Temp Researcher Internal Fund

ABOUT UNIVERSITY

Khalifa University is a world-class, research-intensive institution in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The University’s mission is to seamlessly integrate research and education to produce world leaders and critical thinkers in science, engineering, and medicine, and also to be a catalyst towards Abu Dhabi’s 2030 vision for a knowledge-based economy. Khalifa University has two campuses in the city of Abu Dhabi – the KU Main Campus and the Sas Al Nakhl Campus, the latter housing two of KU’s flagship research institutes: Masdar Institute and Petroleum Institute.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Applications from recent PhD holders in the area of Embedded Systems design and Instrumentation are sought to support an interdisciplinary project funded by Khalifa University between the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering departments to develop a multisensory system.

The appointment will be for 34 months and starts by September 2020. The project’s aim is to substitute the actual costly chemical-based facility used for oil-water de-emulsification with a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution, which consists of smart sensors and actuators, embedding state of the art algorithms of AI and machine learning. Real-time performance, accuracy of measurement, and separation efficiency would be the main target features of the system. Therefore, the successful candidate is expected to have a proven track record and leadership capability in hardware design (both digital on either FPGA, DSP, or GPU platforms, and sensor systems design), real-time programming, and hardware-software co-design. Even though the main target is to deploy the technology in oil fields to boost the oil production throughput at a lower cost, other applications, which require real-time de-emulsification processes, such as in food and pharmaceutical industries, can take advantage of the technology, which is sought to be developed throughout the project. The post holder will be located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The key strategic roles of the successful candidate would be to:

• Design and troubleshoot embedded hardware systems
• Design, troubleshoot, verify, and validate embedded software
• Coordinate different parts of the project with other postgraduate and undergraduate students
• Disseminate results through high-quality scientific publications
• Attract other funds (internal and external funds) related to the project
• Implement testing tools to assess the performance of the system

The key operational roles of the successful candidate would be to:

• Modify the existing multiphase flow loop to host experiments representative of an actual oil field
• Conduct extensive experiments on a multiphase flow loop for various fractions of oil, water, and gas to assess the performance of the sensors and actuators
• Process collected data using state of the art AI and machine learning algorithms
• Design embedded hardware system according to the certifications requirements of the zones where it is expected to be deployed
• Troubleshoot and perform extensive offline and online testing of the embedded hardware
• Ensure continuous maintenance and upgrade of the Multiphase flow loop
• Provide guidance of undergraduate, MSc, and PhD students who work on the project

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Required Qualifications:

• PhD Degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering or equivalent

Required Experience:

• Track research record in Embedded Systems design (both hardware and software design on FPGA, DSP, and/or GPU platforms is highly desired) and Sensor Systems design is highly desired.
• Familiarity with FEM tools such as Comsol is highly desired.

HOW TO APPLY

A complete application includes curriculum vitae, cover letter, photo, and the names and contact information of three references.

Should you require further assistance or if you face any issue with the online application, please feel to contact the Recruitment Team (RecruitmentTeam@ku.ac.ae)?