PhD candidate in Game Theory for Socio-Technical Systems

We invite highly motivated candidates with a strong background in applied mathematics, control theory and/or optimization to apply for a fully funded 4-year PhD position in the Smart Manufacturing Systems (SMS) group at the Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG). The project aims to address timely challenges in the analysis, design, and operation of complex socio-technical systems, such as energy and transportation networks. You are a highly-motivated, creative, and curious researcher with:

• A Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Applied Mathematics, Systems and Control, Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a closely related quantitative field.
• Strong background in applied mathematics, with interest in both theoretical concepts and practical methodologies.
• Specific knowledge in at least one of game theory, optimization, control theory, dynamical systems, graph theory.
• Experience with at least one programming language (e.g., Matlab or Python).
• Good analytical and problem-solving abilities, and a critical mindset.
• Motivation to conduct high-quality fundamental research that translates into real-world applications addressing timely societal challenges.
• Fluent in spoken and written English (knowledge of Dutch is not required).

Large-scale socio-technical systems are characterized by the interaction between human factors (such as individual behaviors, group dynamics, organizations, and firms) and physical infrastructure. Prominent examples include energy and transportation networks, which are undergoing a profound transformation driven by renewable energy integration, battery storage, ubiquitous computation and communication technologies, the rise of the sharing economy, and the emergence of new market participants such as prosumers. A central challenge is understanding the interplay of strategic behavior, economic incentives, network constraints, and regulatory decisions in shaping collective outcomes. Identifying optimal designs and interventions is further complicated by multiple, often competing, objectives, including efficiency, fairness, reliability, and sustainability. Despite recent advances, existing mathematical models often fail to jointly capture these aspects and trade-offs, limiting their ability to provide reliable predictions and support effective decision-making. The aim of the PhD project is to address these gaps by developing theoretical and computational tools that combine game theory, graph theory, control, and optimization to study the interaction of these factors. Some questions of interest include (but are not limited to):

• Modeling and analyzing strategic equilibrium problems with different incentives, mechanisms and regulatory scenarios, evaluating their performance with respect to different objectives and their trade-offs.
• Developing decentralized and bi-level algorithms to help firms, system operators and users to reach optimal or stable outcomes in dynamical systems with full and partial information;
• Computing systemic optimal interventions to improve the system performance under budget constraints.

Apart from the research project, the candidate is expected to contribute (10% of total workload) to the teaching and supervision of Bachelor and Master students. The Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG) is an internationally recognized research center within the Faculty of Science and Engineering. ENTEG research is highly multidisciplinary in nature and focuses on both fundamental and applied research. The candidate will be a member of the Jan C. Willems Center for Systems and Control which is recognized for its long tradition in mathematical systems theory and its strength in linear/nonlinear systems analysis and control of complex networks. According to the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2023, Automation and Control Engineering at the University of Groningen is ranked 3rd in Europe and 19th worldwide. The research will be carried out under daily supervision of Dr. Martina Vanelli and cosupervised by Prof. Claudio De Persis. The candidate will be part of the Smart Manufacturing Systems (SMS) group and will have close relations with the Discrete Technology & Production Automation (DTPA) group. Both groups are internationally recognized in the modeling, design, and control of complex systems, with over 36 PhD students and 10 postdoctoral researchers.