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PhD Projects Available!

PhD projects are available for exceptionally good candidates in Computer Science/Engineering for EU/UK Nationals in the areas of High Performance Computing, Data Mining and AI applications on MANET routing.

For more information contact Dr. Firat Tekiner

Supercomputing and Data Mining

Reference No RS/08/24

Studentship of 13,290 (current rate for 2009/10) [Tax Free] p.a. for 3 years plus tuition fees (at EU/Home rate) is available immediately.

Applications are invited for a full-time studentship available in the School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences in the Faculty of Science and Technology. The studentship is tenable for 3 years for the MPhil/PhD (subject to satisfactory progress). The studentship will cover the cost of tuition fees at UK/EU rates plus a tax free stipend (currently £13290 for 2009/10) per annum. International applicants may apply but will be required to pay the difference between UK/EU and international fees (Details about UK/EU and International Fees can be found at http://www.uclan.ac.uk/information/research/research_degrees/student_fees.php). The successful applicant is expected to start on 1st January 2010.

Across many applications, there is increasing utilisation of data mining algorithms to extract previously unknown knowledge from large datasets using Artificial Intelligence. Underpinning aspects of these algorithms include that they involve search space traversal and are relatively small and repeated frequently. Thus they are ideal for implementation on high performance accelerators and massively parallel machines. The project will investigate the area of parallel search and its application within a number of data mining approaches and application spaces. High Performance Computing (HPC) architectures and the new HPC technologies (GPGPU, IBM Cell (PS3), etc.) will be utilised.

Applicants should be highly motivated and have a good degree in Computer Science or a cognate discipline (e.g., Engineering, Mathematics, Physics or Chemistry) or a Bachelor degree with equivalent research or industry working experience. Previous research experience is an advantage, but not necessary. The successful applicant should have a good programming background (ideally in C/C++ programming). Parallel computing expertise is an advantage but not necessary as the successful candidate will be encouraged to attend to the relevant training available to UK researchers.

Applications should be sent to the Graduate Research Office researchdegrees@uclan.ac.uk

Closing Date for Applications to the Graduate Research Office:

22nd October 2009

Location and The Institute

The PhD student will be part of Jeremiah Horrocks Institute(JHI) which is located on UCLan's Preston campus, just five minutes north of the city centre. The Institute plays a leadership role in steering and operating the University's High-Performance Computational Science Facility, the centrepiece of which is a 56-node SGI Altix 3700. Procurement for a new 500-1000 node cluster on campus has begun, with installation planned for 2009-Q3.

Preston has numerous theatres, cinemas, pubs, clubs, and shops, and was England's first wireless city. It is also one of the most cost-effective places to live in the country. In a recent survey of graduate satisfaction by the Royal Bank of Scotland, graduates gave Preston a 69% rating - fourth in the country and better than Liverpool, Edinburgh, Manchester or London! Just beyond the city lies the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and to the west are the seaside resorts of Blackpool, Lytham St Annes and Southport. Further afield the Lake District and Peak District National Parks are within an hour's drive, as are the other regional centres of Liverpool and Manchester.

Preston lies on the West Coast Main Line, and is only two hours from London by train.

For further information on the Institute see www.star.uclan.ac.uk/index.htm

For Preston information, see www.visitpreston.com

For more information contact Dr. Firat Tekiner -