Dear colleagues,
The Urban Energy Systems Laboratory (UESL) at Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology) is inviting applications for a PhD position on the operational feasibility and robustness of AI- and multifractal-inspired urban energy systems.
The position is part of FRACNET-CITY, a French–Swiss research collaboration funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The project brings together expertise in multifractal analysis, urban and energy planning, geography, and artificial intelligence to develop coherent and resilient approaches for urban energy infrastructures.
The successful candidate will focus on evaluating the operational feasibility and robustness of urban energy system designs emerging from AI- and multifractal-informed planning approaches. The research will involve:
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Optimization-based modelling of electricity and heating systems at district and urban scale
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Analysis of system performance under uncertainty (e.g. demand evolution, renewable generation)
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Integration of analytical models with data-driven and AI-based methods
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Applications to synthetic cases and real urban case studies in Switzerland and France
The PhD researcher will be based at Empa in Dübendorf (Zurich), Switzerland, and will collaborate with partner institutions within the FRACNET-CITY consortium, including research stays in France and Switzerland.
Candidate profile
Applicants should hold a Master’s degree in Engineering, Energy Systems, Applied Mathematics, Operations Research, Physics, or a related field, and have experience with optimization models, quantitative analysis, and programming (e.g. Python or MATLAB).
Starting date: ideally September 2026 (flexible)
More information and application details can be found here: PhD Position in Operational Feasibility and Robustness of AI- and Multifractal-Inspired Urban Energy Systems
Please feel free to share this opportunity with potentially interested candidates.
Best regards,
Georgios Mavromatidis
Head, Urban Energy Systems Laboratory