Model Based Development (MBD) has established itself as the key approach to software engineering of increasingly complex systems in automotive and aerospace domains. It has proved successful at managing complexity associated with functionality. A new approach is to use model-based techniques also for quality evaluation and predictions. Since most of quality attributes such as performance, reliability, availability, safety, and security have a probabilistic nature, probabilistic verification techniques are the best solution to perform model-based quality evaluation. The research project shall explore the possibilities of probabilistic modelling and verification techniques to reason about quality attributes early in the software development lifecycle. To get a detailed introduction into this research project please have a look at the following background literature: * Controller dependability analysis by probabilistic model checking ( http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conengprac.2006

The Centre for Digital Signal Processing in the Division of Engineering, King’s College London, invites applications for PhD students to pursue research in the field of perceptual sound field reconstruction/emulation. The goal of this project is to develop a new technology for multi-channel consumer audio which would significantly improve over existing techniques in terms of realism, the accuracy and stability of the auditory perspective, the size of the sweet listening spot and the persuasiveness of the envelopment experience. Further details about the project can be found at www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/pse/diveng/research/cdspr/zor/ . This project is funded by EPSRC and includes provision for collaboration between the Centre for Digital Signal Processing at King’s College London and the Institute of Sound Recording, University of Surrey. There is one full PhD studentship available which provides for UK/EU fees and additional funding of around GBP 1,100 per month for living expenses for 36

The Geography Department and Coastal and Marine Resources Centre of University College Cork, Ireland, have two funded research studentships available to commence in October 2008. The studentships cover university fees at the EU level, and an annual stipend. The PhD project aims to address issues of the use of Geoinformatics technologies for predicting the effects of climate change with respect to those coastal areas that are most at risk. The potential benefits of integrating remotely sensed data derived from satellite, airborne and field sources, with other spatial information will be considered. Automated image processing routines will be developed in order to better understand the coastal system at present. Through scenario testing of potential climatically induced terrestrial, marine and meteorological changes, the response of different coastal habitats will be modelled to provide greater insight into the present and future functioning of marsh, dune, lagoon and estuarine environme

Two PhD studentships are now available in the Energy Technology Research Group, School of Engineering Sciences (SES), which will fully cover University tuition fees (at EU/UK level**) and provide a tax-free bursary of GBP 12,900 per year, rising annually in line with the UK Government (EPSRC) recommended rate, for a 4-year duration. EU/UK fees GBP 3300 p.a., overseas fee GBP 13,480 p.a. (all figures subject to increase). Additional funding for fees may be available to exceptional overseas applicants. Applications are invited for two High End Computing (HEC) Studentships. The HEC Studentships will provide support for 4 years postgraduate training leading to a Doctorate in the field of computational multiphase flow, from the University of Southampton, plus an MSc in Computational Science and Engineering, from the University of Warwick. Multiphase flow is ubiquitous in nature and in industrial processes. The proposed research is concerned specifically with a two-phase system in which a ga

ESRC Funded PhD Studentship in The Governance of Clean Development in the School of Development Studies at the University of East Anglia Meeting the development needs of the majority of the world’s people in a carbon-constrained world presents a global challenge of staggering proportions. There is currently little research, however, about the role of institutions and policy processes in reconciling the growing levels of demand for energy investment in rapidly industrialising countries with the goal of clean development aimed at facilitating a transition to a lower carbon economy. An ESRC Climate Change Leadership Fellowship on The Governance of Clean Development will address this issue. The programme of work will explore the conditions in which the governance context nationally and internationally helps to determine (i) the nature, scale and direction of investment flows in the clean development sector (within and beyond the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism) and (ii) the exte

University of Hertfordshire Science and Technology Research Institute Applications are invited from candidates for a PhD studentship on self-motivated learning in robots based on information-theoretical principles. Project and Requirements: Based on a class of recently developed information-theoretic techniques and models, the project will study candidate mechanisms for the generation of biologically plausible self-motivated learning and behaviour dynamics for robots. The project will involve the intrinsically driven identification of intelligent behaviours based on informational criteria, and their incremental acquisition, refinement and expansion. The methods will be first developed in simulation and will then ideally be transferred to hardware robots. The prospective candidates should have a keen interest in contributing to a new and dynamic research area and a strong background in Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, Statistics or another relevant computational discipline. In pa

Ochanomizu University, a National University Corporation in Japan, is searching for a post-doctoral research fellow to work with Assistant Professor Dr. Jesper Jansson on the Program for Researchers to Promote Creative and Independent Research supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. Number of available positions: 1 Terms of Employment: The first term is from the appointment day to March 31, 2009. The contract may be extended on a yearly basis until March 31, 2012, depending on the research performance. Research areas: Algorithms (Graph Theory, Combinatorial Pattern Matching, Computational Complexity) and Bioinformatics (Phylogenetics, Clustering, Comparative Genomics). Qualifications: Applicants must have, or expect to hold by March 31, 2009, a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Bioinformatics, or Mathematics. Gross salary: 4,560,000yen (about 42,000 USD) per year. Social insurance contributions and income tax will be deducted from the salary.

Applications are invited for one-year Faculty Masters Studentships (comprising full home or overseas tuition fees): the deadline for applications is 15 August 2008. Applications are invited in the following subjects: English, French, Geography, History, Italian, Law, Politics, Psychology, Sociology and Spanish. A list of eligible courses and research degrees on which these awards may be held is available from the Faculty Officer (Ms Bronagh Dallat), Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XQ Tel: 0141 548 2750, Fax: 0141 552 0775, e-mail: d.mcarthur[ at ]strath.ac.uk, Further information is also available on the University Postgraduate Scholarships webpage by following the link to: Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences Studentships .