[TYPES/announce] PhD Positions in Software Language Engineering and Verification at Royal Holloway University of London, UK

[Matthew Hague]

PHD POSITIONS IN SOFTWARE LANGUAGE ENGINEERING AND VERIFICATION

Applications are invited for two fully-funded PhD positions in the Department of
Computer Science at Royal Holloway, University of London. The positions are
funded by the Department's Reid Scholarships programme, awarded on the basis of
academic excellence to new students who will commence a research programme in
2014-15.

We are looking for students with an interest in programming language theory,
implementation, or verification.  Areas include

- pragmatic formal semantics,
- generalised parsing,
- disambiguation strategies,
- term rewriting,
- program analysis via automata, types, or constraint solving,
- concurrent programs
- temporal and modal logics

Our goal is to produce closely coupled theory and tools which allow software
engineers to deploy sound techniques without needing to master the underlying
formalisms.

To discuss these areas, please contact Dr Mathew Hague (email:
matthew.hague at cs.rhul.ac.uk, web: http://www.cs.rhul.ac.uk/home/hague) or Prof.
Adrian Johnstone (email: A.Johnstone at rhul.ac.uk, web:
http://www.rhul.ac.uk/computerscience/research/CSLE/CSLEhome.aspx). 


THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

The Department offers a very vibrant research culture. In the last research
assessment (RAE 2008), we ranked 11th in the UK for the quality of our research
output. Our research is strongly supported by external funding from various
sources, including companies. The University itself was ranked 102nd in the
Times HE World Rankings 2013, which equates to 12th place in the UK. We are
situated in a beautiful campus in Egham, Surrey, ranked alongside Oxford and
Cambridge as one of the twelve most beautiful universities in the world. We are
both close to Central London and 10 minutes by taxi from Heathrow Airport. 

For more information about the Departmental of Computer Science at Royal
Holloway, visit our web-site in http://www.rhul.ac.uk/computerscience/.


INFORMATION ABOUT REID SCHOLARSHIPS

A Reid Scholarship provides support of £15,726 per year over 3 years for a
full-time student or £7,863 over 6 years for a part-time student. It also
includes a fee waiver to cover fees at the HEU rate.


REQUIREMENTS

A good degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related
disciplines. 

ELIGIBILITY

The scholarships are available to students starting their studies in September
2014.  Home, EU and International students are eligible but please note the
scholarships do not cover overseas fees. Students who have already started their
study programme are not eligible.


APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants should prepare two documents: (a) a personal statement and (b) a 4
page research proposal in one of the areas above. These documents should be
submitted together with an online application following the application
procedure accessible from https://apply.embark.com/grad/royalholloway/98/.


IMPORTANT DATES

March 31st, 2014: initial contact with expression of interest
April 2014: discussions and preparation of formal application
End of April 2014: decision of the scholarship
Mid May 2014: formal confirmation of the scholarship granting

For candidates who wish to fund themselves, the Department accepts applications
throughout the year. The normal starting date is late September each year but
alternative starting dates can be arranged. Candidates with visa requirements
should ensure that they apply in time for their visa to be issued in advance of
their planned start date.