UK : PhD Studentship Imperial College London - Department of Computing

Fixed Term for 36 months

Stipend: £15,290 per annum (tax free)

Start Date: 1st March 2010 or as soon as possible thereafter

The Department of Computing is a leading department of Computer Science among UK Universities. It has consistently been awarded the highest research rating (5*) in the Research Assessment Exercises and came 2nd in the 2008 evaluation. The department was rated as "Excellent" in the previous national assessment of teaching quality.

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship to work on the EPSRC funded project “Cool: Coalgebras, Ontologies and Logic” in the Theory Group within the Department of Computing based at the South Kensington Campus. The studentship is available from 1 March, 2010 (or as soon as possible thereafter) for a period of up to three years. The purpose of this project is to develop the underlying theory of automated reasoning with coalgebraic logics, to implement and evaluate the ensuing techniques and to conduct case studies in collaboration with the project partner. The coalgebraic paradigm covers a large class of modal logics, including e.g. graded and probabilistic modal logics, in a uniform and compositional way. The goal of this research project is to bring this expressive power to bear on practical applications in knowledge representation. This involves both theoretical research into the foundations of automated reasoning within the coalgebraic paradigm, and the practical evaluation and optimisation of the reasoning algorithms. For further information about the project, please see http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~dirk/COOL/ or email Dr Dirk Pattinson (dirk@doc.ic.ac.uk) for informal enquiries.

Applicants for the post need to have a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science or Mathematics, an outstanding academic record and excellent programming skills. Preference will be given to applicants with previous experience in one or more of the following fields: automated reasoning, modal logic, knowledge representation, coalgebraic methods.

Note that due to the restrictions imposed by the funding body, tuition fees can only be covered in full for UK/EU candidates, and oversees nationals would need to fund the difference in fees (currently approximately £12,500 per annum) through different means.

How to apply:

Applications must include the following:

• A details CV that includes the contact details of 3 referees.
• Include a 1-2 page research statement indicating what you see as the interesting research questions in relation to your relevant experience.
• Include transcripts of all degree results.
• Please state reference number PHD DP 11 09 in all correspondence.

Applications should be sent to: Joanne Day, Research Support Officer.Email: research.officer@doc.ic.ac.uk.

Closing Date: 1 December 2009