One or more PhD Stipends in Decision and Optimization Theory

At the Technical Faculty of IT and Design, Department of Electronic Systems, a PhD stipend is available within the general research programme Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The stipend is open for appointment from October 1, 2020, or soon hereafter.

This project aims to develop new planning and decision algorithms for autonomous machines that need to interact with humans and, at the same time, satisfy their individual needs.

To accomplish this aim, the Ph.D. student will combine dynamic programming from control theory and reinforcement learning from machine learning, with quantum-probabilistic decision models from mathematical psychology. The work of the Ph.D. student will go beyond the current practice of artificial intelligence, providing the well-founded and numerically tractable theory of decision making. We strive to show that the combination of quantum dynamics and safe dynamic programming and reinforcement learning leads to this goal.

The student will work in a well-established group of junior and senior researchers working within control theory, optimization. The Ph.D. student will collaborate with a machine learning group from North West University in Boston and mathematical psychology from Indiana University, and Jacobs University in Bremen.

You may obtain further information from Prof. Rafael Wisniewski, phone: +45 29133623, email: raf@es.aau.dk , concerning the scientific aspects of the stipend.

PhD stipends are allocated to individuals who hold a Master's degree. PhD stipends are normally for a period of 3 years. It is a prerequisite for allocation of the stipend that the candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Technical Doctoral School of IT adn Design in accordance with the regulations of Ministerial Order No. 1039 of August 27, 2013 on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions. According to the Ministerial Order, the progress of the PhD student shall be assessed every six months. It is a prerequisite for continuation of salary payment that the previous progress is approved at the time of the evaluation.