The NaNoNetworking Center in Catalunya (N3Cat) seeks bright and motivated candidates for the ERC Starting Grant project called "WINC: Wireless Networks within Next-Generation Computing Systems". The WINC project envisions a revolution in computer architecture enabled by the integration of wireless networks within computing systems. The main hypothesis is that terahertz technology will lead to at least a tenfold improvement in the speed, efficiency, and scalability of both non-quantum and quantum systems. Hence, we are looking for electronic engineers, computer engineers, and computer scientists to work on the project and make such a 10X objective a reality. See the project website for more details. 

Technical Scope

N3Cat offers a full PhD scholarship for one highly qualified, motivated student to work on the area of next-generation computer architecture enabled by wireless interconnects. The candidate applying to this particular offer would be working in one or several of these tasks:

• The study of recent trends in technology (in-memory computing) and manycore architecture (interposers, chiplets, accelerators, hyperdimensional computing), the analysis of their main limitations and scaling bottlenecks, and the communication requirements. 
• The development and evaluation of novel computing architectures that fully exploit the benefits of wireless on-chip communication (e.g. low latency, reconfigurability, broadcast). 
• The integration of wireless interconnects into architecture simulators and/or the creation of a simulation framework encompassing multiple wireless networking tools targeting computer architecture research.

Work environment and conditions

The position is fully funded for 4 years. The candidate will have two UPC-BarcelonaTech supervisors (one oriented to Electrical Engineering and the other oriented to Computer Science) and will work in cooperation with other PhD students from the group. Your office will be located at UPC Campus Nord in Barcelona and the COVID situation is good, so work is expected to take place in person. Collaborations are also expected with students and professors from partner universities from the US, Germany, or Switzerland, to name a few. It is also expected that the student carries an internship in Europe or the US, depending on the research plan and objectives.

The following list is part of the employment package:

• Standard salary for a PhD student in Spain (14 payments a year)
• All tuition fees covered
• Thirty (30) natural days of holidays plus standard bank holidays (all paid)
• Healthcare benefits (social security) throughout the grant. You will get standard Spanish healthcare benefits which are equivalent to the healthcare provided to Spanish citizens. Public healthcare in Spain is considered among the best in the world.
• Travel allowance, if coming from abroad: one-way flight tickets from your location to Barcelona.
• Accommodation, if coming from abroad: 1 natural month at the UPC dorms, specifically at the UPC Campus Residencia Torre Girona.
• Paid research stay in a top-tier international organization (e.g. US, Germany, Switzerland) of at least three months, typically six months.
• Paid trips to conferences to present your work (based on publications, one or more expected per year).
• Desktop computer to work on campus.
• Laptop computer to work outside campus. 
• Personal and research group bonuses will be established once recruitment of the entire team is finalized.

Candidate Profile

We welcome Physics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science students holding (or about to receive) a Master of Science and with an excellent student record. We are particularly seeking individuals:

• Highly motivated and self-sufficient,
• Capable of thinking outside the box,
• With attention to detail,
• With strong communication skills in English (both oral and written). The candidate will participate in research papers, international conferences, and/or project meetings.

Knowledge on topics such as on-chip networks, quantum computing, RF analog design and modeling, neural network accelerators, or interposer-based systems, will be valued very positively. Background in electromagnetics and on-chip antennas is also a plus. Experience in VHDL/Verilog, design and synthesis, and computer architecture simulators like gem5 or SST will be valued positively as well.

Interested candidates can send his/her CV and academic transcript to Sergi Abadal (abadal@ac.upc.edu).