Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (Fully Funded)

The Hydrogen Research Institute (IRH) of the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR) was founded in 1994. It is one of the leaders in hydrogen research in Canada. Our mission is to promote science and technology for the establishment of a sustainable energy system using hydrogen particularly in the field of storage, safety and use. The IRH is a multidisciplinary team of more than 60 people well equipped in the characterization and synthesis of nanoporous materials and hydrides, in the evaluation of fuel cells, combustion engines and renewable energy systems.

Pratt & Whitney (a global leader in aircraft engine manufacturing), MTLS-AeroStructure Inc. (the provider of various types of aerospace engineering services), Flying Whales (manufacturer of the largest cargo airships) and Hydrogen Research Institute of University of Quebec in Trois-Rivieres (UQTR) have joined forces to develop solutions aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of airships, while maintaining their performance. The development of a hybrid powertrain, composed of fuel cells combined with an energy storage system, and comparison with other electrified powertrains are among the main objectives of this project, which is being co-funded by CRIAQ, NSERC, and MITACS.  The student will be part of an integrated and diversified team of three Ph.D. students and one post-doctoral fellow whose respective projects will cover aspects of hydrogen-powered powertrains, scaling methods for turbomachinery components, modeling, and design of innovative energy management strategies. Specifically, this Ph.D. project will focus on the comparison of different electrified powertrains (multi-stack fuel cell + battery, fuel cell + supercapacitor, and fuel cell + battery + supercapacitor) along with the development of real-time energy management strategies. This project will be carried out at hydrogen research institute of UQTR under the supervision of Prof. Sousso Kelouwani and the co-supervision of another professor.

Skills and Training Required:

The desired candidate should have a master’s degree in electrical/mechanical engineering, mechatronics, or any other relevant field and especially have expertise in optimization, power distribution, control theory, and machine learning. Prior knowledge of energy management design for hybrid vehicles is an asset. Moreover, the candidate is expected to be highly familiar with programming languages (MATLAB and Python). The knowledge about electrical instrumentation, micro controllers, DC-DC converters, and National Instrument systems, such as CompactDAQ (cDAQ), and CompactRIO (cRIO) is required. The selected candidate will be committed, autonomous, dynamic, and creative, with excellent teamwork and communication skills.

Application

The Applicant Interested in joining this project should send:

•         A letter of motivation.

•         A curriculum vitae including a list of publications.

•         All undergraduate and graduate transcripts (if shortlisted)..

•         An example of technical writing of which she/he is the principal author (e.g., article, report, or master's thesis).

Applications should be sent by email to Dr. Mohsen Kandidayeni (mohsen.kandidayeni[@]irh.ca).

With the goal of beginning the project in the Fall/Winter 2022 semester, applications will be evaluated as they are received and the offer will end as soon as a qualified candidate is identified.

A financial support of 21000 CAD/year will be allocated to the Ph.D. student.