[ The Types Forum (announcements only),
http://lists.seas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/types-announce ]Dear all,There is currently a PhD position available at Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands) in the topic /Higher-order Term Rewriting for Program Equivalence/. The position is for four years, and comes with a competitive salary and very attractive employment conditions.
Interested students who either already hold a Masters' degree in computer science, mathematics, or a related area, or who will complete such a degree before September, are encouraged to apply. The initial application deadline is 20 June, but will be extended if no suitable candidate is found by that time.
*The project*As a PhD candidate, you will conduct research into higher-order term rewriting systems with logical constraints. This project brings together two different areas of theoretical computer science: /higher-order term rewriting/ and /program equivalence analysis/.
/Term rewriting/ is a formal system that can be used to specify algorithms. Its simple, rigorous definition makes it very suitable for formal analysis, and as a result, its properties are well studied. Higher-order term rewriting extends standard term rewriting with anonymous functions and binders as in the lambda-calculus, thus providing a highly liberal class of systems.
Term rewriting can be combined with a logical theory and logical constraints; for example, integer numbers and conditions such as x >= 1 /\ y != x. With this approach, it Is possible to model programs in common programming languages; higher-order term rewriting systems in particular offer a natural model to analyse functional and object-oriented programming languages.
/Program equivalence analysis/ is the study of whether two systems of program code have the same result, given the same input. This is a challenging field with many applications both in business practice and in other areas of computing science.
In this project, your task will be to develop techniques for program equivalence analysis, by analysing in particular higher-order term rewriting systems with logical constraints, which encode realistic programs. The majority of the project is the development of theory, but since it is a goal to develop automatable techniques, you will also implement some of your techniques in a prototype analysis tool.
You will be supervised by Dr Cynthia Kop. If you wish to learn more, feel free to send an e-mail to [email protected].
*Work environment*Strategically located in Europe, Radboud University is one of the leading academic communities in the Netherlands. It is a place with a personal touch, where top-notch education and research take place on a beautiful green campus, in modern buildings with state-of-the-art facilities.
The position is available in the Software Science group of the Institute for Computing and Information Sciences (iCIS) at Radboud University. Research at iCIS focuses on software science, digital security and data science. During recent evaluations, iCIS has been consistently ranked as the No. 1 Computing Science department in the Netherlands. Evaluation committees praised our flat and open organisational structure, our ability to attract external funding, our strong ties to other disciplines, and our solid contacts with government and industrial partners. The Software Science group is well known for its contributions to the mathematical foundations of software, formal methods, and functional programming.
*What we expect from you* * you will be able to start at some time between the end of August and the end of November; * you hold an Msc or equivalent degree in computer science, mathematics or a closely related field -- or will graduate from such a field before starting the PhD position; * you are able to work both independently and as part of a team; * you are proficient in English (knowledge of Dutch is not required); * you have some programming experience.Note that prior knowledge of term rewriting or implicit complexity is not required.
*What we have to offer* * employment: 1.0 FTE; * a maximum gross monthly salary of € 2,972 based on a 38-hour working week; * the gross starting salary amounts to €2,325 per month, and will increase to €2,972 in the fourth year; * in addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus; * duration of the contract: 4 years; * your performance will be evaluated after 18 months. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years; * you will be classified as a PhD Candidate (promovendus) in the Dutch university job-ranking system (UFO); * you will be able to make use of our dual career service ( https://www.ru.nl/english/working-at/why-work-at-radboud-university-0/our-way-working-personal-approach/dual-career-service/ ) where our Dual Career Officer will assist with family related support, such as child care, and help your partner prepare for the local labour market and with finding an occupation; * For our employment conditions, see https://www.ru.nl/english/working-at/why-work-at-radboud-university-0/terms-employment/ . *How to apply*Submit a motivation letter, your CV, and a list of courses taken and grades obtained by e-mail to [email protected] (you will receive a notification confirming when it has arrived).
