Applications are invited for fully-funded PhD studentships in the
School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham within the theory
of (co)-evolutionary algorithms.
About the Project
Co-evolutionary algorithms and other randomised search heuristics have
been successfully applied to both classical optimisation as well as
game-theoretic and adversarial optimisation scenarios. However, the
theoretical understanding of these methods has been limited. Recently,
there has been significant progress in analysing -- via mathematically
rigorous proofs -- the runtime (also called optimisation time) of
these algorithms using techniques from probability theory, randomised
algorithms, and computational complexity. Results about the runtime
give insights into how the behaviour of these algorithms depends on
their parameter settings and the characteristics of the underlying
optimisation problem or game.
The successful candidate will contribute, together with other members
of our research group and international academic and industrial
partners, towards developing the theoretical foundation necessary for
the design of efficient and reliable (co)-evolutionary algorithms.
The PhD studentships will be associated with the UKRI-funded Turing AI
Acceleration Fellowship project "Rigorous Time-Complexity Analysis of
co-Evolutionary Algorithms". Our research regularly appears in
conferences within evolutionary computation and general AI, including
GECCO, PPSN, IJCAI, AAAI, and NeurIPS.
About the Candidate
The topic is mathematically challenging and requires an excellent
degree in computer science, mathematics or related discipline. In
particular, a strong background in probability theory, discrete
mathematics, game theory, and/or theoretical computer science is
desirable.
About the School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham
Our research is ranked 3rd across all UK universities according to the
latest UK-wide Research Excellence Framework. Education is ranked 7th
in the UK for computer science, according to 2023 tables. While
pursuing excellence in research and education, we also aim to optimise
our positive impact on society--examples include collaborations with
industry partners and charities, commercialisation activities and an
extensive wider participation programme. To support its aims, the
School offers a vibrant, open and intellectually stimulating research
environment.
Application deadline
December 5th, 2024
Further Information
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/computer-science/postgraduate-research
Prior to submitting their formal applications, candidates are
encouraged to send an email to Per Kristian Lehre with the subject
line "PhD Position" with their CV, transcript, and a brief explanation
of their research interests.
Best wishes
--
Professor Per Kristian Lehre
School of Computer Science
University of Birmingham
Email: [email protected]
http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~lehrepk
Twitter/X: @pklehre