Applications are invited from those interested in pursuing a PhD in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) at the University of Trento, Italy, in the D3S group. D3S (http://d3s/disi.unitn.it) is a cross-institution research group focusing on dynamic, decentralized, distributed systems.

In the context of WSNs, the D3S group has been particularly successful in bringing research results into real-world, long-term, operational deployments. Examples are the structural health monitoring of a medieval tower, and the closed-loop control of lighting in a road tunnel. The scientific results of these projects received the Best Paper Award at IPSN (both in 2009 and 2011) and the Mark Weiser Best Paper Award at PerCom 2012.

Other ongoing projects include: i) a pervasive computing environment equipped with audio, video, and other types of sensors to provide support for elders and people with disabilities; ii) a mobile WSN for monitoring wildlife; iii) a platform for integrating WSNs into business process, through a model-driven approach.

Although we emphasize real-world applications as a motivation and a concrete opportunity for the validation of our research, the latter is not limited to the immediate needs of WSN deployments. We perform a mix of curiosity-driven and application-driven research. The research challenges tackled by D3S span a broad set of topics, ranging from low-layer issues concerned with the characterization and design of communication protocols to higher-layer issues related with programming platforms and software architectures for WSNs.

New PhD students are invited to participate in ongoing projects to gain experience and insight into real systems, and to identify novel, challenging problemswhose solutions break new grounds. The D3S group, and Trento at large, provide a fertile environment for high-quality research: two of our PhD students received the Best Ph.D. Thesis Award at the European Conference on Wireless Sensor Networks (EWSN) in 2009 and 2012.

The language of the research group is English.

The Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science is a leading and fast.growing research institution, characterized by a young and international faculty and by a large, international student population. Indicators for scientific production place the department among the top in Europe. The department and the PhD school closely collaborate with - and operate in - a fertile and rapidly growing research and innovation environment characterized by top class research centers and an increasing number of industrial research labs. The successful candidate will therefore have the opportunity to work in a dynamic and exciting environment.

Trento is a vibrant city with a beautifully preserved historic center, consistently ranked at the top for quality of life in Italy. It offers a variety of cultural and sports opportunities all year around, as well as excellent food and wine.

Applications must be filed online before May 15 2012 (at 13:00, Italy time) at the link below.

IMPORTANT:
In the "Areas of preference" section of the application, the applicant must indicate a preference BOTH for "Systems and Net. works" (under "Computer Science") AND "Remote and Distributed Sensing" (under "Telecommunications"). Failure to do so may result in ineligibility for this position.

It is strongly advised to get in contact with Prof. Gian Pietro Picco (gianpietro.picco@unitn.it) before submitting the application, by providing a curriculum vitae including three references.

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