A Ph.D. scholarship is open at the Department of Industrial Engineering (DII) of the University of Trento, Italy.

Research Topic

The objective of this Ph.D. is to design and develop 3D-printed sensors and electronics for low-power wearable devices in smart healthcare and sports applications.
Additive manufacturing is gaining momentum in the electronic industry thanks to the performance improvements of the so-called "printed electronic components" .

(In these figures some example of 3D printed sensors from VTT and Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

These techniques, thanks to their properties of implementation easiness, fabrication speed, amount of required material, and limited energy consumption, are of great interest when compared to standard technologies for electronic components manufacturing. In addition, unlike standard "rigid" electronics, printed electronic objects can be
compliant with flexible applications and roll-to-roll processes.

This Ph.D. research activity aims to investigate the employment of inkjet printing of conductive, semiconductive, and insulating inks to manufacture flexible sensors for healthcare and sports applications.
The Ph.D. student is expected to design and realize prototypes on flexible substrates of simplified geometry transducers using the Ceradrop CeraPrinter F printer available in the department (one of the world's most advanced 3D printers for functional material and electronic components) (figure below). 3D-printed sensors will be used with the most recent ultra-low-power micro-architectures to develop wearable computing devices.

The proposed research topics span across:

• Energy-Efficient Computing
• Energy-neutral and battery-less systems
• 3D printing electronics
• Flexible electronics

Mandatory Requirements

• Master's degree (or equivalent) in engineering, electronics, electrical engineering, and computer science.
• Fluent English level

Expression of Interest

If you are interested in applying for the scholarship, please contact Prof. Davide Brunelli via email (davide.brunelli@unitn.it) and [PhD-UNITN] as the subject of the email) by sending your CV (including prior knowledge, skills, and publications, if any).

Candidates will be contacted for an interview and additional information for finalizing the application.

• The Ph.D. scholarship will start 01/11/2024.

To get more information:

• visit the following link Becoming a Ph.D. student in UNITN
• or write directly to (davide.brunelli@unitn.it)

The Department of Industrial Engineering (DII)

The Department of Industrial Engineering (DII) is the first of the 13 departments of the University of Trento for the quality of research and the level of funding. The Department is a leading and fast-growing research institution characterized by a young and international faculty and a large international student population. It was established only in 2002, in a very modern campus, aggregating existing groups in Trento and actively recruiting faculty members circulating throughout Italy, Europe, and the United States.

Its scientific production Indicators place the department among the top in Europe.

The Department covers the Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial Engineering, Electronics, and Mechatronics. It is very active in terms of self-financing, including projects with, for example, the EU and the European Space Agency (ASI). Trento is also the Italian co-location center of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

The Department has been constantly recognized as a DEPARTMENT of EXCELLENCE for scientific research and university teaching.

Trento

Trento is a modern university city with a long, multicultural history. Trento is a vibrant city with a beautifully preserved historic center and is in the heart of the beauty and diverse landscape of the Italian Dolomites that enchants in every season.

Trento is consistently ranked among Italy's best cities for quality of life. It offers a variety of cultural and sports opportunities all year-round, as well as excellent food and wine.

Trento boasts a large student population that attends the University and is a city with a culture that remembers and honors the past while celebrating and creating the future with a broad, young multicultural scientific community that excels in any STEM domain (Electronics, Computer Science, Physics, Math, Materials) with more than 4000 researchers working in the University and its international research institutes (FBK and FMACH).