[Bldg-sim] HELP WANTED: postdoc position at MIT

[Leslie Keith Norford]

Dear All,

An inter-disciplinary research project to improve temperature control in MIT campus buildings seeks a postdoctoral researcher.  Please find below the description, as it appears at https://architecture.mit.edu/jobs.

Regards,

Les Norford
Professor of Building Technology
Department of Architecture
MIT

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE
The Building Technology Program in the Department of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology invites application for a postdoctoral research associate to support efforts to reduce building energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions on the MIT campus while maintaining occupants’ comfort through the use of machine learning-based algorithms to dynamically adjust building temperature setpoints and equipment operating schedules. The project is a collaboration between several entities on campus, including the Department of Facilities<http://web.mit.edu/facilities/>, the Office of Sustainability<https://sustainability.mit.edu/>, the Building Technology Program<https://architecture.mit.edu/building-technology/program/overview>, and the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems<https://lids.mit.edu/>.
Progress to date includes development of physics-based models at the room level and graph-based machine-learning models at the building level, both driven by available or estimated data for weather, occupancy and internal loads.  Optimized temperature set points are communicated to the building automation system for implementation.

This position is for a researcher who will continue to develop, test and improve models and control algorithms for a wide range of room and building types and HVAC systems. Of particular interest are melding physics-based and ML algorithms, identifying surrogates for hard-to-measure parameters,  accurately estimating energy savings and mapping those savings to reductions in carbon emissions associated with operation of MIT’s tri-generation central utility plant, and rapid scaling across rooms and buildings with similar characteristics.

Responsibilities

  *   Perform research as defined by the scope of work and the skills of tam members
  *   Review relevant literature and apply documented concepts as appropriate
  *   Communicate clearly and work productively with campus facilities personnel and employees of building automation companies that serve the MIT campus
  *   Communicate project testing and implementation phases with space users
  *   Make use of existing machine-learning software packages
  *   Present, publish and disseminate research results to the campus and global communities
Job qualifications and skills:
Required:

  *   PhD in a relevant engineering or scientific discipline, including building science/technologies, electrical engineering and computer science, mechanical engineering and applied physics
  *   Experience performing academic research
  *   Solid skills in developing and testing data-driven models of physical systems
  *   Solid skills in Python programming
  *   Ability to effectively communicate research results in the form of juried research journal articles and oral presentations
  *   Ability to work comfortably and productively as a member of a project team
  *   Proactive, optimistic approach to problem-solving
Preferred:

  *   Expertise in building energy modeling and building technology systems, including space-conditioning equipment at the zone and whole-building level
  *   Knowledge of the principles of control of dynamic systems
  *   Knowledge of optimization methods, including multi-objective optimization
  *   Experience in applying system identification and machine learning techniques to building energy systems;
  *   Experience with deep learning frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, Torch, Caffe, etc.)

Supervision Received:



The individual will regularly meet with and be guided by team members and senior MIT Department of Facilities personnel, and will report directly to Leslie Norford, Professor of Building Technology in the Department of Architecture.



The appointment is for one year with the possibility of extension to a second year based on excellent performance.



MIT is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.



To apply go to https://careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/client_mit/external/jobDetails/jobDetail.html?jobPostId=29869&localeCode=en-us

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