International PhD programme in NUMERICal Simulation

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - NUMERICS (International PhD programme in NUMERICal Simulation)

Période du rapport: 2020-10-01 au 2022-09-30

Numerical simulation and scientific computing will face major challenges in the coming years, such as the development of hardware and software architectures able to deliver very high computing power, the development of specific simulation algorithms that run on HPC computers, the generation of data from “simulation experiments”, data analysis with adequate multi-D visualisation systems, statistical analysis, modelling methods combining different scales and physical models and the management of large and complex data sets (BigData).
CEA has been recognized as an expert in scientific and technological research in this strategic area but ambitions to increase its competitiveness by renewing its research organisation and training capabilities, thus developing its expertise, accelerating development, and internationalizing its position. In this context, the NUMERICS project promote cutting edge research in scientific domains with real prospects yet still poorly developed at CEA by proposing an innovative PhD training that focuses on “numerical simulation and scientific computing” as transversal research activities that will act as leading stakeholder for CEA and further outline the existing PhD programme.
The ongoing NUMERICS PhD project focuses on "numerical simulation and scientific computing" as transversal research activities. Targeting 50 international fellowships for PhD projects taking place in CEA laboratories stimulating base camps for all PhD students. It strongly contributes to the development of European research and human resource capacities as well as knowledge transfer between academic, research institutions and industry. In this regard, NUMERICS aims at strengthening the development and innovation of EU industries in many competitive areas impacted by numerical simulation, e.g. energy, transport, health, climate. Training NUMERICS PhDs to the high standard set out in the programme will ultimately lead to introducing a new generation of researchers able to answer the societal challenges addressed by European Commission.

Since the beginning of the program, 4 calls for the selection of candidates have been organized. Overall, 37 junior researchers have been recruited at Calls 1, 2 and 3. For the last 4th call 36 applications have been received and the selection committee has auditioned 12 candidates. Finally, 8 PhD candidates joined the NUMERICS PhD programme before the end of 2021. The recruited 45 NUMERICS fellows are 14 women (31 %) and 31 men (69%) from 26 different nationalities.
The thematic areas covered by the PhD projects of the selected 45 researchers are very diverse and cover all domains of expertise at CEA. They range from climate and environmental sciences, complex fluids and processes, electronics, nanoelectronics and spintronics, energy systems, batteries and materials for energy, health and life sciences, high-energy physics, astrophysics and plasmas, instrumentation, computer sciences and software, to solid state physics, materials and structures. In order to stimulate the integration of the CEA PhD students, "Welcome days" have been organized.The programme also proposes career guidance and additional soft skills trainings. In particular, all 1st year NUMERICS students had the opportunity to follow a 2-days training session entitled "Build your thesis and your career plan". Other soft skills trainings offered to second and third year NUMERICS PhD students include “Leading a scientific and R&D project”, “Writing your PhD thesis” and “Make a success of your professional project and your recruitment interviews”. Such transversal training program is organized over the whole 3-year period of the PhD project and capitalizes on the experience and progress of the fellows. Over hundred inscriptions of the NUMERICS participants have been registered to the CEA training programme. Recently NUMERICS students have open and free access to the newly implemented CEA-INSTN Saclay FabLab.
Publications: More than 30 scientific articles. Overall, NUMERICS young researchers participated to about 60 scientific international and national conferences and workshops.
PhD thesis: up to date, six doctoral thesis defenses took place.
Four in 2021: Yimi WANG; Kangming Li; Shalu RANI; Giordano Fausti.
Two in 2022: Chi-Hsun SUNG; Pamela CAMILO.
Height additional PhD thesis defenses are scheduled by beginning of 2023.

The development of the NUMERICS PhD projects at CEA not only is strengthening scientific cooperation in EU but it is also providing socio-economic impact and societal implications. Indeed interesting results obtained so far in different areas e.g. materials for the future, climate studies, personalized health devices, innovative therapies for disabled, might have wider societal and environmental impacts. Out of 45 PhD subjects finally included in the NUMERICS projects, three of them have a potential short-term impact:
"Development of a lifetime estimation methodology for electric vehicles Li-ion batteries", PhD candidate: Marc Haber. The goal of this PhD thesis is to improve the lifetime estimation and aging models of Li-ion batteries for electric vehicles application by developing more reliable and representative accelerated aging protocols. A long-term vision of battery lifetime has economic and environmental impact. "Artificial intelligence for real-time decoding of motor commands from ECoG of disabled subjects for chronic brain computer interfacing", PhD candidate: Maciej Śliwowski. The goal of the PhD project is to create an innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) based system using Machine Learning to decode motor commands from ECoG signal of disabled humans and apply it to real-life experiments."Numerical methods for an autonomous personalized device for monitoring transpired gases", PhD candidate: Maria-Paula Comsa. The project aims at the development of an individual device, which can monitor the level of carbon dioxide in the blood in a robust and quantitative autonomous way. Indeed, the work of Numerics PhD students have already received attention in an international setting. The effort of Maciej Śliwowski (CEA/DRT CLINATEC) obtained the 2021 3rd place award at the BEETL competition. Paula Kleij (LSI, CEA) received at the 2021 47th EPS Plasma Physics conference the Student Poster Prize for the poster on "Ultra short electron bunches from tunable surface plasma wave excitation by laser with wavefront rotation". Other exciting results on the individual PhD projects are still expected in the near future.
The follow-up of the individual PhD projects ensure that the fellows effectively fully benefit from their scientific environment. Our intention is to go further, by supporting PhD students in developing their careers as well as CEA cooperation in EU thus increasing the overall impact of the project. To this end, the CEA set up the PACE (Pilot Action for Cooperation in Europe) mobility programme to support a PhD short visit in a hosting laboratory to present its PhD research work and explore the opportunity for a post-doc/employment. The PACE selection committee is comprised of CEA representatives involved in the establishment of relevant scientific international cooperation.
Two NUMERICS fellows have been thus granted the PACE award:
Leo-Laurenz Zeitler : third-years PhD student went to the at Francis Crick Institute (UK)
Chi-Hsun Sung : went to the EPFL (Switzerland)

NUMERICS thesis defence

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - NUMERICS (International PhD programme in NUMERICal Simulation)

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