The Engineering Division at New York University Abu Dhabi, through its funded research project titled VRI on Sustainability, seeks to recruit a Post-Doctoral Associate to work on AI-based cyber-physical security of smart grids.

Existing security approaches are either inapplicable, not viable, insufficiently scalable, incompatible, or inadequate to address challenges introduced in Smart Grids. A major gap is the unavailability of real-time values of loads in the system, where the utilization of estimated or forecasted load changes in the system might not be perfectly accurate. Moreover, none of the attack-detection methods proposed has considered the effect of noise, which can affect the operation of FDIA detection methods adversely by increasing their false alarms. One of the main long-term objectives of this research is to deal with the lack of qualified cybersecurity experts and to increase the overall effectiveness of security threat detection and mitigation. This thrust focuses on creating a comprehensive, reliable and resilient AI-based cyber-physical security approach for smart power grid, which has significant challenges on grid operation owing to the huge intermittency of renewable energy systems along with the vulnerability to cyber-attacks. To that end, this research thrust primarily targets applicable techniques and best practices that can be utilized by power system operators. The proposed steps of: identifying threats, putting in place protection and detection strategies, and implementing response and recovery techniques; follow the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) widely adapted cybersecurity framework. The candidate will work in a multidisciplinary environment consisting of PhD-level scientists, graduate students and undergraduate students.

Applicants must have a PhD in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related field. Excellent systems security skills are required.

For consideration, applicants need to submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae with full publication list, statement of research interests and a page outlining three names who can act as letters of reference (letters will be solicited only for the shortlisted candidates), all in PDF format. The statement of research interest should include a named paragraph titled “System security skills” and explicitly describe the candidate experience in systems security. The ideal candidate should further possess cyber physical security skills (focused on power grid), as well as excellent machine learning skills. For any further queries, please reach out to michail.maniatakos vri@nyu.edu (michail.maniatakos%20vri@nyu.edu)

The terms of employment are very competitive and include housing and educational subsidies for children. Applications will be accepted immediately and candidates will be considered until the position is filled.

About NYUAD:

NYU Abu Dhabi is a degree-granting research university with a fully integrated liberal arts and science undergraduate program in the Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering. NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU New York, and NYU Shanghai, form the backbone of NYU’s global network university, an interconnected network of portal campuses and academic centers across six continents that enable seamless international mobility of students and faculty in their pursuit of academic and scholarly activity. This global university represents a transformative shift in higher education, one in which the intellectual and creative endeavors of academia are shaped and examined through an international and multicultural perspective. As a major intellectual hub at the crossroads of the Arab world, NYUAD serves as a center for scholarly thought, advanced research, knowledge creation, and sharing, through its academic, research, and creative activities.

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