Academic (Postgraduate) Researcher
ETC Permit No. 214/2016
http://www.mcast.edu.mt/vacancy/15
The selected candidate/s will join the Energy Research Group within the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at The Institute of Engineering & Transport to develop multi-disciplinary research programme/s on energy-water nexus and smart grids, benefiting from strong links with the industry and two international consortia on two funded projects:
· EdGeWIsE – Energy and Water Systems Integration and Management.
In the near future, both urban and rural environments will manage water and energy as an integrated system. The first situation directly leads us to the smart cities’ concepts, were the city is ruled as an integrated environment where all systems inside it should cooperate to achieve an optimal point of operation.
In the second, the intensive use of hydric resources comes with an increasing modernization of the agriculture by introducing electrical machinery and sensing networks wish demand a growing energetic availability. Despite the differences found in these two environments, they share issues that can be solved by the same scientific foundations. Water and wastewater processes lack low energy technologies, whereas the application of renewable energy is hindered by low efficiency. In addition, these processes demand a constant supply of energy, while most renewable energy sources can’t provide energy in continues time base.
The project EdGeWIsE will contribute to integrate the water and energy systems in a single and efficient system. To achieve this vision the following general approaches and objectives will be pursued:
1. Improve and promote efficiency based on data collected by low power wireless sensor networks.
2. Identify renewable energy sources inside urban and rural areas.
3. Research new methods for water and energy caption/storage.
4. Stimulate the intelligent use of the available water and energetic resources.
5. Explore the impact of Micro-Hydro technology on river systems.
To reach the previous general objectives the project will develop research activities concerning renewable solar and wind energy; wireless sensors network powered by energy harvest form microbial fuel cell and vibrations; energy storage in and production from water systems. These research activities will lead to scientific advances that after incorporation in energy and water systems will contribute to integrate both systems in a single highly efficient system.
· 3D-Mgrid – Design, Development and Demonstration of a future-proof active smart Micro-grid system.
The project will facilitate the design, development and demonstration of a future-proof active smart micro-grid system to integrate and optimise multiple small to medium sized energy sources and loads. The overarching objective is to capitalise on the availability of local and large renewable energy resources and adapting them for solutions to sustainability in terms of electricpower demand and supply. A demo smart micro-grid system will be built integrating all energy components, in an effort to (i) maximise renewable energy utilisation, (ii) reduce the carbon footprint by minimising consumption, (iii) improve the power quality while ensuring economic feasibility, and (iv) replicate similar setups to institutions and commercial and rural sites.
3D-Mgrid shall undertake a detailed campus assessment of existing energy scenarios, including: energy consumption; diesel consumption and generation efficiency; loads and their classification; consumption patterns such as human presence and behaviour; power quality with respect to grid power, switching between various distributed power sources, and techno-commercial assessment. 3D-Mgrid will also assess other studies related to the establishment and justification of a smart micro-grid while utilising various equipment, sensors, meters, hardware, and software for measuring, monitoring and analysing the required data to undertake the study.
Different power saving strategies will be envisaged, including load/demand forecasting; renewable energy generation forecasting, integration with weather sensors; utility grid’s power outage pattern identification; prioritizing loads and exercising the option of demand response; identifying the appropriate distributed generator to turn-on; and exercising the option of storage technology utilization of appropriate size. It is expected that the 3D-Mgrid will provide distinct benefits like energy savings, frequency support, and demand side management.
Qualification & Experience Requirements
· MQF Level 6 equivalent to a first degree in Engineering (minimum award 2:1)
· A Master’s degree in a related field and or a relevant undergraduate degree with strong academic results would be preferred.
Prospective candidates are invited to submit their application either by email to hr@mcast.edu.mt or by post to HR Department, Administration Building, MCAST Main Campus, Corradino Hill, Paola PLA 9032. Applicants are required to complete the MCAST application form available online the Vacancies web-page of the MCAST website http://www.mcast.edu.mt/Portals/0/DOWNLOAD%20FILES/application_fulltime.pdf together with the Employment History Sheet obtainable from the ETC by not later than the 17th July 2016.
You will be enthusiastic, self-driven and independent, be able to work well in a team as well as individually, and committed to excellent research. You should also have an appreciation of the purpose of undertaking research and the difference between research and taught degrees. Interest and/or knowledge of renewable energy integration issues, as well as a good understanding of power system operation would be useful. Familiarity with distributed energy resource concepts, probabilistic methods and/or multi-agent systems would be a further advantage. Working knowledge of simulation packages and programming languages such as MATLAB and / or C++ are also desirable. Hand-on experience in integrating of different technologies is also considered an asset.
The projects are funded by the Malta, Council for Science and Technology (MCST) through the ERANETMED initiative of Member States, Associated Countries and Mediterranean Partner Countries.
This article was last updated on: April 6, 2017