Funding Options
There are several options for applying for funding to pursue a PhD at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) or BarcelonaTech (UPC).
Spanish/EU Nationality or Residency
You are most likely eligible to apply for European fellowships, Spanish national fellowships, Catalan fellowships, or even specific UAB and UPC fellowships. Please contact me for more information.
International Fellowships
Many countries offer fellowships for pursuing a PhD abroad. This is the case, for example, in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico, among others. You can apply for such a fellowship in your home country to join my research group.
Important:
During the application process, you will need an approval letter signed by me. It is strongly advisable to contact me before starting any application. Please include your CV and, if possible, a letter of recommendation.
Possible Research Topics
My research lines are broadly in computational optimization. With my current collaborators and PhD students, I am working on aspects concerning the following two lines of research:
Swarm Intelligence
This AI discipline aims to design intelligent multi-agent systems inspired by the collective behavior of animal societies (ant colonies, flocks of birds, etc.). Beyond techniques like ant colony optimization, I am also interested in discovering models of intelligent animal behaviors not yet used in technical applications, such as the de-synchronization behavior of Japanese tree frogs.
Hybridization of Metaheuristics with Exact Approaches
Research in metaheuristics has shifted towards hybridizing techniques to solve problems more effectively. This cross-fertilization of different areas of optimization, operations research, and AI has resulted in powerful hybrid algorithms. I am especially interested in developing new kinds of generally applicable hybrid algorithms by combining components from different optimization techniques.
Working Language
I am fluent in English, Spanish, and German. Any of these three can be the working language. However, please note that all research articles and the final thesis must be written in English.