Phd Position

The Peter Grünberg Institute - Neuromorphic Software Ecosystems (PGI-15) led by Prof. Dr. Emre Neftci explores neuromorphic computing technologies that learn and work like the brain. Our research team designs computing algorithms and architectures from the perspective of neuroscience and their physical realizations in dedicated circuits and devices. Applications of our research are targeted to improve computing in computer vision, autonomous control, data processing in mobile devices, and scientific data analysis.

**Your Job**:
Adaptive Control Theory (ACT) provides mathematically grounded and robust learning rules, prescribing that neurons should be diffusively forced toward a teacher trajectory and achieve teacher-student synchronization. However, this synchronization necessitates an exact student model, making the ACT often inexact and susceptible to uncertainty and variability. The project will aim at demonstrating how teacher learning can be made robust in an event-based framework, that is, when both the teacher model and the learning rules are event
- based. The combination of excitable teacher dynamics and synaptic learning rules will be exploited to demonstrate that synchrony of events (rather than trajectories) can be made robust to mismatch between the teacher and student models. Additionally, the project will demonstrate that the learning rules can be made local and pairwise such as in Hebbian learning. Your tasks in detail:

- Study learning rules from the perspective of control theory and event-based computing to develop a continuous and local alternative to existing gradient-based learning rules, bridging theories of predictive coding with event-based control/
- Simulate models of the learning algorithm on practical problems, and analyze the robustness of the algorithms to noise and perturbations
- Publish research articles, regular participation in top international conferences to present your work.
- Complete two internships at KU Leuven (Prof. Rodolphe Sepulchre) and at TU Delft (Prof. Charlotte Frenkel)
- Participate in yearly retreats organized by the doctoral network participants
- Support the dissemination of software tools and concepts.
- Supervise student projects and BSc/MSc theses.

**Your Profile**:

- Master’s degree in physics, electrical/electronic engineering, computer science, mathematics, or a related field.
- Strong coding skills for programming neural networks, machine learning and machine learning software frameworks (e.g. PyTorch or Jax) is a must.
- The ability for creative and analytical thinking across discipline boundaries and abstraction levels is a must.
- Experience with control theory and spiking neural networks are a plus.
- Ability for collaborative work, interdisciplinary and cross-topical thinking.
- Very good communication skills in English, both spoken and written. PGI-15 offers an English speaking environment therefore German language skills are not required.

**Our Offer**:
We work on the very latest issues that impact our society and are offering you the chance to actively help in shaping the change We offer ideal conditions for you to complete your doctoral degree:

- The prestige and career benefits of being a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Fellow, including international visibility, research excellence, mobility opportunities, and competitive salary arrangements.
- A world-leading, interdisciplinary and international research environment, provided with state-of-the-art experimental equipment and versatile opportunities to grow as a curious researcher.
- An interdisciplinary and collaborative work environment including researchers at the following institutes: Neuromorphic Hardware Nodes (PGI-14), Electronics Materials (PGI-7), the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine - Computational and Systems Neuroscience (INM-6), The Jülich Supercomputing Center (JSC) and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at RWTH Aachen.
- 30 days of annual leave and provision for days off between public holidays and weekends (e.g. between Christmas and New Year)
- Flexible working hours
- You will be enrolled in the PhD program of the department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, RWTH Aachen.
Targeted services for international employees, e.g. through our International Advisory ServicePlace of employment: Aachen