Short Description

Do you want to contribute to transforming electricity grids towards a truly future-proof, sustainable energy supply? We are looking for an assistant professor on Power Quality. The energy transition will accelerate further in the coming years. As a result, problems with power quality in power systems are also expected to increase rapidly and there is an urgent need for more knowledge in this area. This position allows you to contribute to relevant research challenges and to the increasing need for developing knowledge and solutions for power quality problems in power systems.

Job Description

Electrification is key to the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. The existing, passive electricity grid is not able to handle the fluctuating nature of renewable energy sources and the increasing demand for electrical power due to electrification. The energy transition requires a more active electricity system, dominated by the behavior of power electronic technologies.

The power quality, in particular regarding rapid voltage changes, voltage dips, and harmonics, will be strongly affected by the energy transition. New developments, such as inverter-based technologies, endanger the fulfillment of power quality requirements or may require additional legislation, technical measures, and tools to design and verify the effectiveness of these measures.

The topic of Power Quality is characterized by a strong interaction between theory and practice and requires an interdisciplinary approach. Strong ties with the technological aspects of transmission networks, distribution network operators, and customer installations are essential in understanding the impact of power quality and developing suitable mitigation strategies. This research requires collaboration between the university, network operators, manufacturers, regulators, and installers, thus profiling, funding, and accelerating the research in the area of power quality. Within the coming 5-10 years period, research on the following topics must be carried out to support the developments described above:

• Insight is needed to properly assess the risks and countermeasures. This applies not only to taking proper measures such as installing filters in the network, but also to support the need for appropriate regulations and connection requirements. The development of this knowledge shall contribute to defining the proper responsibilities and assessment criteria of all involved parties (e.g. producers, prosumers, customers, grid operators, manufacturers) at the point of connection of customers on the network of the grid operators;
• Providing knowledge for the development of technical standards, regulatory and connection requirements for power quality in transmission and distribution grids;
• Finding solutions for the technological challenge of incorporating end user technologies (including inverter-based generation, controllable loads, and electricity storage) within the given or newly developed bandwidth of all power quality levels;
• Defining the data requirements, data processing, and data applications including the characteristics of the supporting ICT to control the quality of the voltage and current in customer's installations and grid operators' networks.

This position will be part of the Power Conversion research program of the Electrical Energy Systems (EES) group of the Department of Electrical Engineering. The EES group has a strong track record on Power Quality. The mission of the EES group is the creation, dissemination, and valorization of knowledge to support the efficient supply and use of electrical energy for a sustainable society. The candidate for this will perform research enabling understanding and development of the know-how and technologies needed to fulfill this mission.

• Motivated researcher, with a PhD in Electrical Engineering with a focus on power systems and acknowledged expertise in power systems and/or power quality and/or power electronics research,
• Preferably, the candidate has an (international) network in the electrical power engineering research community and related industry and has experience in initiating national and international research projects.
• Ability to conduct high quality academic research, reflected in demonstratable outputs like an appropriate number of scientific publications and citation score.
• Ability to teach, demonstrated by experience or assistance in teaching. Informed vision on teaching and learning within your own discipline.
• Strong cooperation skills and ability to work in an interdisciplinary team.
• Effective communication and leadership skills, including coaching and mentoring of PhD and MSc students, and leading research projects.
• Excellent (written and verbal) proficiency in English. 

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting, and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• A Tenure Track of five years with the prospect of becoming an Associate Professor. If you have a more senior profile, a tailor-made career proposal will be considered.
• The opportunity to focus your career on education, research, or impact. You can develop your personal ambitions and objections within the strategic objectives of the university.
• Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 11.
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• A dedicated mentoring program to help you get to know the university and the Dutch (research) environment.
• High-quality training programs for academic leadership and teaching.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's daycare, and sports facilities.
• Partially paid parental leave and an allowance for commuting, working from home, and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team is available for international candidates, as are a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) and partner career support.