Job Description

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE, Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)-Howland Lab, to collaborate on a project with and supported by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.  Wind farm turbines are typically operated to maximize only their own power production resulting in wake losses that reduce farm energy. Recent work has demonstrated that operating wind turbines collectively can increase total wind farm power production through flow control (wake steering and induction control). Existing wind farm flow control methods are principally open-loop, where a controls-oriented flow model is optimized offline to identify a predetermined control strategy. This project will develop improved methods for closed-loop wind farm flow control, assimilating wind farm data into the flow control decision-making. The methods will be tested first in large eddy simulation (LES) and then in a full-scale field experiment with utility-scale turbines.  Will join a group of postdoctoral, Ph.D., S.M., M.Eng, and undergraduate researchers in the Howland and Parsons laboratories. There will be opportunities to collaborate on other research projects; mentor undergraduate/graduate students; and participate in the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and in the flagship MIT Climate Grand Challenge project, “Preparing for a new world of weather and climate extremes”, a project jointly investigated by the Howland Lab.  

REQUIRED: Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering, mechanical engineering, or related field; knowledge of and skillset in wind energy, aerodynamics, wind farm control, optimization, computer programming, high-performance computing, data analysis, and technical writing; ability to communicate effectively and work both independently and on a multidisciplinary research team; track record of publications and scientific output; and excellent organizational, analytical, and writing skills. PREFERRED: background in uncertainty quantification, machine learning, and data assimilation.  Job #22288

This is a one-year position.

To apply, please submit the following, in a single PDF, to Professor Howland (mhowland@mit.edu) with [Control] in the subject line: a cover letter describing your relevant experience, scholarly interests, and preferred start date; a curriculum vitae; relevant publications; and two to three references (names and contact information). 

1/17/23

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