Computer science » Database management
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Engineering » Electronic engineering
Organisation/Company KU LEUVEN Research Field Agricultural sciences » Agricultural products Agricultural sciences » Zootechnics Agricultural sciences » Agronomics Computer science » Database management Computer science » Programming Computer science » Systems design Engineering » Agricultural engineering Engineering » Biomaterial engineering Engineering » Computer engineering Engineering » Control engineering Engineering » Design engineering Engineering » Electronic engineering Engineering » Industrial engineering Engineering » Materials engineering Engineering » Precision engineering Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country Belgium Application Deadline 22 Aug 2025 - 23:59 (UTC) Type of Contract To be defined Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 1 Oct 2025 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number BAP-2025-349 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description
Optical sensors are widely used in the agro-food sector to measure and monitor product quality. At the Livestock Technology research group of KU Leuven, we develop innovative and customized near-infrared spectral sensors to measure the composition of raw milk whilst being extracted from the cow’s udder. The obtained information can be used in real-time to separate milk based on its properties, safeguarding the quality of the delivered milk, or to create milk batches with unique characteristics. Moreover, as the production of milk is a dominant factor in the metabolism of dairy cows, involving a very intense interaction with the blood circulation, the extracted milk contains valuable information on the health status of the cow. As a result, the analysis of the milk components for each individual cow can provide valuable information on the cow’s udder health and metabolic and nutritional status. This can support early detection of altered health and welfare and reduce the use of antibiotics by taking preventive actions.
As all process analytical technologies, our sensors and their measured spectral data are subject to drift and structural noise. These discrepancies can originate from small differences in the hardware of sensor replicates, wear and maintenance, environmental fluctuations or variations in the cow management. The main goal of this project is to implement, optimize and validatenovel chemometrics methodologies, machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence techniquesto account for these effects and obtain models that are more robust against these sources of drift. To this end, d ifferent strategies for robust calibration, calibration transfer and calibration maintenance will be implemented and evaluated so that the developed modelscan cope with changing environments and conditions, ultimately resulting in more accurate predictions of the milk quality traits from the measured spectral data. The robustness of these prediction models will be evaluated and improved with the help of a detailed database of over 200 000 near-infrared spectra of milk samples that our group has collected over the past 3 years. The vast amount of these data and our broad expertise in this area will be the basis for studying the variation of the sensor measurements and the outcome of the models in relation to the milk quality and cow health.
To perform this data-oriented research, the Livestock Technology group of KU Leuven is looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate. If you:
* hold a MSc degree (with minimal distinction) in (bio)statistics, chemometrics, artificial intelligence, bioscience, bioscience-engineering or equivalent
* are eager to perform research on the crossroads of bioscience, data science, process analytical technologies and sustainable food production
* have a creative, critical, analytical and innovative mindset
* have good oral and written communication skills in English
* are eager to work in a multidisciplinary and diverse team of national and international researchers and learn and explore innovative technologies
* have a strong interest in technology, machine learning and scientific research
* are interested in building a career in data science
Then you are THE candidate we are looking for and we would like you to apply for this interesting PhD position.
Experience with machine learning and AI (SVM, PCA, PLS, CNN, …), process analytical technologies and scientific data-processing software (such as Matlab, Python, R or equal) is a plus. We offer a fulltime PhD position with competitive salary for 4 years, preferably starting on the 1st of October 2025. Our young, dynamic and multidisciplinary team will support you in all aspects to successfully obtain a PhD degree and proper scientific training at a top-ranked university, with excellent education and learning opportunities.
You will work closely together with the biophotonics and chemometrics research groups of KU Leuven (Prof. Wouter Saeys) and INRAe (Dr. Jean-Michel Roger, Montpellier, France) and the milking technology industry. You will have opportunities to participate in national and international meetings, establish your own network and gain experience in transferal skills. For more information please contact Prof. dr. ir. Ben Aernouts, tel.: +32 14 72 13 64, mail: ben.aernouts@kuleuven.be .
Research Field Agricultural sciences » Agricultural products Years of Research Experience 1 - 4
Additional Information
We offer a fulltime PhD position with competitive salary for 4 years, preferably starting on the 1st of October 2025. Our young, dynamic and multidisciplinary team will support you in all aspects to successfully obtain a PhD degree and proper scientific training at a top-ranked university, with excellent education and learning opportunities.
You will work closely together with the biophotonics and chemometrics research groups of KU Leuven (Prof. Wouter Saeys) and INRAe (Dr. Jean-Michel Roger, Montpellier, France) and the milking technology industry. You will have opportunities to participate in national and international meetings, establish your own network and gain experience in transferal skills.
Eligibility criteria
To perform this data-oriented research, the Livestock Technology group of KU Leuven is looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate. If you:
* hold a MSc degree (with minimal distinction) in (bio)statistics, chemometrics, artificial intelligence, bioscience, bioscience-engineering or equivalent
* are eager to perform research on the crossroads of bioscience, data science, process analytical technologies and sustainable food production
* have a creative, critical, analytical and innovative mindset
* have good oral and written communication skills in English
* are eager to work in a multidisciplinary and diverse team of national and international researchers and learn and explore innovative technologies
* have a strong interest in technology, machine learning and scientific research
* are interested in building a career in data science
Then you are THE candidate we are looking for and we would like you to apply for this interesting PhD position.
Experience with machine learning and AI (SVM, PCA, PLS, CNN, …), process analytical technologies and scientific data-processing software (such as Matlab, Python, R or equal) is a plus.
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