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September 2020

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Several Ph.D. positions in Algorithms, Verification and Logic for Uncertainty and Randomness
by Joost-Pieter Katoen 28 Sep '20

28 Sep '20

====================================================================== Various Open Positions for Research Assistants/Associates in the post-graduate program UnRAVeL “Uncertainty and Randomness in Algorithms, Verification and Logic” at RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany https://www.unravel.rwth-aachen.de/ ====================================================================== Context. The RWTH Aachen University is looking for enthusiastic and highly qualified doctoral researchers. Various positions are available within the interdisciplinary Research Training Group (RTG) UnRAVeL founded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). The key emphasis of an RTG is on the qualification of doctoral researchers with a focused research program and a structured training strategy. The RTG UnRAVeL aims to significantly advance probabilistic modelling and analysis for uncertainty by developing new theories, algorithms, and tool-supported verification techniques, and to apply them to core problems from security (e.g., probabilistic protocols), planning (robotics and railway engineering), and safety and performance analysis (railway systems). To tackle these research challenges, theoretical computer scientists from computer-aided verification, automata, logic and games, algorithms and complexity, together with experts from management science (robust optimization), applied computer science (robotics and security), and railway engineering intensively cooperate within the RTG UnRAVeL. Required profile. Candidates must have (or soon obtain) a master degree in Computer Science, Mathematics or related area and have completed their studies with excellent grades. You should have interest in performing original, highly competitive scientific research, publishing your results in top conferences and scientific journals. Self-motivation and the ability to work both independently and as a team player in local and international research groups are expected. Fluency in English is required; proficiency in German is helpful but not compulsory. How to apply? Your written application should contain: - a curriculum vitae - a transcript of records (list of courses and grades) - a cover letter including a statement of interest in (some of) the RTG topics (Algorithms and Complexity, Verification, Logic, or Application Scenarios) that can be found on our web-site, and - a recommendation letter e.g., by your master thesis supervisor(s). All documents should be formatted as a single pdf-file. You should send your application ultimately by ** October 30, 2020 (AoE) ** to the e-mail address: unravel-appl(a)cs.rwth-aachen.de. We check applications once they are received, and will conduct interview until our vacancies are filled. What do we offer? We offer a stimulating international research environment, the possibility to participate in highly competitive and interdisciplinary research and the opportunity to involve students in your research through project work. Doctoral researchers have a status as employee with a salary according to the German federal employee scale TV-L E13; the exact salary is subject to your family situation. The duration of the positions is three years. RWTH Aachen University offers excellent facilities for professional and personal development. Starting date of the positions: January 1, 2021 and June 1, 2021. Enquiries can be directed to Prof. Joost-Pieter Katoen (e-mail: katoen(a)cs.rwth-aachen.de). RWTH Aachen University is certified as a “Family-Friendly University”. We particularly welcome and encourage applications from women, disabled persons and ethnic minority groups, recognizing they are underrepresented across RWTH Aachen University. The principles of fair and open competition apply and appointments will be made on merit.

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PhD/Post-Doc positions at the University of Duisburg-Essen
by Barbara Koenig 08 Sep '20

08 Sep '20

The Theoretical Computer Science Group (Prof. Barbara Koenig) at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Campus Duisburg (Germany) has two open PhD positions paid according to TV-L 13 (full-time). The first position (no. 604-20) is in the DFG project SpeQt ("Spectra of Behavioural Distances and Quantitative Logics"), which has recently been granted by the German Research Foundation. This is a joint project with Prof. Lutz Schröder at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. A project description is attached below. The second position (no. 605-20) is not associated with a specific project. The PhD thesis topic will be in the area of modelling and verification of concurrent systems. You can apply for one or both positions. For both positions, candidates at post-doc level can also be considered. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic universities in Germany are partially closed. However, there is the possibility to meet and work at the university, observing the current Corona regulations. There is of course the possibility to do the job interview virtually. Requirements ------------ You should have or should be in the process of obtaining an MSc or equivalent degree (in Computer Science or Mathematics). Prior knowledge about the topics of the projects is considered an advantage. Good English speaking and writing skills are demanded, as well as the willingness to learn German. For a post-doc position you should have or should be in the process of obtaining a PhD. The application deadline is 8th October 2020. https://www.uni-due.de/theoinf/index_en.php ====================================================================== Your Application ---------------- You can obtain further information by adressing your enquiries to: Barbara Koenig barbara_koenig(a)uni-due.de tel.: ++49-203-3793397 If you are interested in the position, please send your application. Your application should include: * A description of your interest in the position, including your motivation and specific qualifications. * A curriculum vitae, including an abstract of your graduate thesis and the name of your supervisor. * If you are interested in a post-doc position, please include a list of your publications and the names of possible referees. Please send your application directly to me (barbara_koenig(a)uni-due.de). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DFG Project SpeQt - Spectra of Behavioural Distances and Quantitative Logics ---------------------------------------------------------------------- One of the central topics in the study of concurrent systems are notions of system equivalence, which define when two given system states have the same behaviour in a given sense. Classically, i.e. over relational transition systems, such system semantics range on a spectrum between branching-time and linear-time equivalences, with each equivalence reflecting a notion of possible interaction with systems, and characterized by a dedicated modal logic. In this setting, equivalences and logics are two-valued, i.e. two states are either equivalent or inequivalent, and a formula is either satisfied or not satisfied in a given state. For systems involving quantitative data, such as probabilities, weights, or more generally values in some metric space, it has been recognized that quantitative notions of equivalence, i.e. behavioural distances, and quantitative logics are more suitable for some purposes, and enable a more fine-grained analysis. For instance, while two states in Markov chains with small differences in their transition probabilities are just inequivalent under two-valued probabilistic bisimilarity, a suitable behavioural distance will retain the information that the two states are not exactly equivalent but still quite similar. As indicated above, behavioural distances by their very nature apply to settings that deviate from the classical relational model; these settings are generally less standardized and vary quite widely. This creates a need for uniform methods that apply to many system types at once. For branching-time behavioural metrics, we have developed such methods in earlier work within the framework of universal coalgebra, which encapsulates system types as functors and systems as coalgebras for the given type functor. The objective of SpeQt is to additionally parametrize these methods over the system semantics, thus providing support for spectra of behavioural distances in coalgebraic generality. The key tool we foresee for such a parametrization are graded monads, which we have successfully used in earlier work to parametrize two-valued equivalences. Central research goals include game-theoretic and logical characterization and efficient calculation of distances. Our results will enable us to derive such logics, games and algorithms in a principled way for a whole range of different types of transition systems and for the full spectrum between branching-time and linear-time semantics. We plan to test and evaluate the resulting algorithms in case studies centered around conformance testing of hybrid systems and differential privacy.

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