[TYPES/announce] PhD position at University of Strathclyde, Glasgow -- additional opportunity

[Patricia Johann]

New information about the PhD position mentioned below has just become 
available.

We are pleased to announce that the post will indeed include a stipend for an 
EU student. (The ad below says that no stipend is available for such
students, but this is no longer the case.)

Ideally, potential applicants should contact me directly by email by 1 
July, since this extra funding requires us to meet a couple of internal 
deadlines. Since the group is in the process of moving, it is best to send 
email to both the address in the ad and this one:

    pjohann at crab.rutgers.edu

Best wishes,
Patricia Johann





                       PhD Position
                           in
   Operational and Categorical Approaches to Parametricity

       Department of Computer and Information Sciences
            University of Strathclyde, Scotland


Applications are invited for one PhD position within the newly-formed
Mathematically Structured Programming group at the University of
Strathclyde. The group comprises Prof. Neil Ghani, Dr. Patricia Johann,
and Dr. Conor McBride. The funded PhD project centers around operational
and categorical approaches to relational parametricity, which serves as
the basis for deriving both structured tools for programming with, and
effective techniques for reasoning about, functional programs, solely from
their (polymorphic) types. The project aims to develop the theoretical
foundations of parametricity for languages supporting advanced datatypes
--- such as nested types, GADTs, and their mixed-variance versions --- as
well as to apply these foundations to program transformations and other
applications. The project is under the direction of Patricia Johann.

The successful applicant will have an MSc in Mathematics or Computing
Science or a related subject with a strong Mathematics or Computing
Science component. Ideally, they will also have a strong, documented
interest in doing research. Strong mathematical background and
problem-solving skills are essential; good programming skills are a plus.
Prior knowledge in the areas of operational semantics, category theory,
and/or parametricity is an advantage, but is not required.

The PhD position is for 3 years; the start date is negotiable. The
position is a fully-funded post for a home (i.e., UK) student, and
includes both coverage of fees and an EPSRC-level stipend for each of the
three years. For European students, the post covers only fees (i.e., no
stipend is available).

More information about the department is available at

        http://www.strath.ac.uk/cis

The University of Strathclyde (http://www.strath.ac.uk) is located in the
heart of Glasgow, which Lonely Planet Travel Guides hail as "one of
Britain's largest, liveliest and most interesting cities" (see
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/scotland/glasgow/). Southern
Scotland provides a particularly stimulating environment for researchers
in theoretical computer science, with active groups in this area at
Heriot-Watt University, the University of Edinburgh, the University of
Glasgow, the University of St. Andrews, and the University of Strathclyde.

Requests for further information and other informal enquiries can be sent
to:

        Patricia Johann
        Patricia.Johann at cis.strath.ac.uk

(The group is currently in the process of moving to the University of
Strathclyde, so the above is the best contact address for the duration of
the summer. Students interested in joining the group to work on other
topics should contact Prof. Ghani at Neil.Ghani at cis.strath.ac.uk, since
further positions are expected soon.

Those interested in the position are asked to send e-mail to the address
given above. Full Details of the application process are available upon
request, but an application will include:

    1. A cover letter stating the applicant's specific interest in the
       project.

    2. A full curriculum vitae, including an abstract of the applicant's
       graduate thesis and the name of their supervisor.

    3. Letters of recommendation or references from at least two
       scientific staff members. (Letters of recommendation should either
       be included along with the application, or should arrive
       separately promptly.)

    4. A completed application for postgraduate study at the University
       of Strathclyde.

Applications, forms for letters of recommendation, and instructions are
available at

        http://www.strath.ac.uk/prospectus/postgraduateapplications/

Applications will be considered until the position is filled, but those
received on or before

        15 August 2008

will have priority.