STUDENTSHIP covers fees (University and College) and maintenance.

Applications are invited for a postgraduate studentship, funded by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Global Research Partnership [KAUST GRP], to work on “Modelling Coronary Blood Flow Dynamics” under the supervision of Dr Nic Smith and Prof. Jon Chapman. This DPhil studentship will start on 1 October 2009, is available to all nationalities, covers maintenance and full overseas fees and will be based in the newly established Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics (OCCAM).

OCCAM has been established with substantial funding from the KAUST GRP. The Centre, which is part of the Mathematical Institute, will be allied to a global network of mathematicians. Aiming to meet the ever-increasing global demand for quantitative understanding of complex scientific phenomena, OCCAM has been built on the strength of four pre-existing groups of applied and computational mathematicians working in Oxford: the Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Centre for Mathematical Biology, the Numerical Analysis Group and the Computational Biology Group. It has a symbiotic relationship with other scientific communities which have a need for problem-solving mathematics both within the University of Oxford and beyond. Over the first five years the centre will employ 40 new staff and students.

Coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the western world. Recent advances in high performance computing and medical imaging have lead to the development of detailed models of vascular structure and blood flow respectively. These techniques now enable the simulation of perfusion through three dimensional representations of vascular geometry. However, there are two difficulties with these classes of models: (1) the computational simulation of flow through complete vascular beds from feeding vessels to capillaries is computationally prohibitive and (2) it is impossible to measure flow in all vessels and thus fully validate such models for clinical application. Recent developments in Perfusion MRI and Nuclear Medicine by our clinical collaborators at St Thomas’ Hospital now provide the ability to accurately measure blood volume in cardiac tissue. This presents an opportunity to develop a novel modelling framework to explicitly address these limitations by linking vascular structure to whole organ perfusion through the application of a multi-scale porous-flow model.

The goal of this project will be to develop models with the potential to directly interpret clinically acquired perfusion images and guide revascularisation strategies in the heart. The methodology will be based on homogenizing discrete vascular structures by applying previously developed asymptotic approach. A key mathematical challenge will be adapting the multiple scales technique to the hierarchical branching structure of blood vessels. This may lead to a continuum sub-model for each generation of vessel (e.g. capillaries, arterioles, small/large coronary vessels) which are coupled to produce a full multi-domain and multi-scale representational of coronary perfusion. These predicted perfusion fields will be mathematically validated via comparison with the perfusion fields determined using the discrete model whose structure was used to define the porosity tensor. Finally the model will be applied to human data collected at St Thomas’ to assess the clinical potential of the approach.

The collaborators on this project are Professor Jos Spaan (Department Medical Physics, University of Amsterdam) and Professor Eike Nagel (Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital).

The studentship is attached to St Anne’s College.
For information about OCCAM please visit the official website: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/occam

Applications can be made online at www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate_courses/apply/how_to_apply.html and should include a CV, covering letter, three references and a transcript of your undergraduate degree. Alternatively, applications can be sent to Margret Sloper at the Mathematical Institute using the University’s application form for graduate study, which can be downloaded from the above link. Applications must arrive by end of day Friday 27th February 2009. The reference for this application is BK/08/058; make sure that you state this in the covering letter. Applicants must arrange for their referees to send references directly to the Graduate Studies Assistant (fax or e-mail is sufficient) by the closing date. For further details about the projects, including the application process, please see the Further Particulars link below, or contact Graduate Studies, email graduate.studies [ -a-t- ] maths.ox.ac.uk. Oxford University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

• [UK] PhD Studentships Physical Activity, Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Neural Health in Humans at Oxford Brookes University
• [UK] PhD Studentships in Applied Mathematics – University of the West of England
• [UK] Oxford Student Scholarships for Undergraduate
• [UK] PhD Studentships – FORCE Cancer Research Charity Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry
• [Germany] PhD or Postdoctoral Position in Meteorological Modelling at University of Trier

A post-graduate research assistant position is available in the laboratory of Prof. John P. O’Doherty at Trinity College Dublin. The position, part of a research programme funded by Science Foundation Ireland, will involve contributing to the organization of a research programme concerned with uncovering the neural mechanisms underlying choice, reward-learning and decision making in the brain. Duties include helping with subject recruitment, running experiments (brain imaging and behavioural studies) and contributing to data analysis.

An undergraduate degree in psychology, neuroscience, computer science, mathematics or a related discipline would be a pre-requisite, and evidence of strong quantitative skills in computer programming, mathematics and statistics would be essential. Some prior exposure to cognitive, behavioural or computational neuroscience would be an advantage. The project will be carried out using state of the art MRI facilities at the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. The position is available for a period of 2 to 3 years.

Start date: As soon as is practicable.

Interested candidates should send a CV, brief statement of research interests, and contact details for two referees to John O’Doherty: odoherjp at tcd.ie. Informal enquiries are also welcome.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
Trinity College Dublin is an equal opportunity employer.

• [UK] Postgraduate Studentships in Diversity, Integration and Policy, University of Dublin
• [Ireland] Post Graduate Research Positions in Computer Science, Trinity College Dublin
• [Ireland] PhD Studentship in Life Sciences and Medicine at University College Dublin
• [Ireland] MSc/PhD Research Studentships in Soil Biology Research, University College Dublin
• [Ireland] Scholarships for Full-time Postgraduate Research in Innovative Learning Strategies and Technologies

The university is located in Espoo, Otaniemi campus, and forms a calm and research friendly environment with significant amount of foreign students. Finland is known for an excellent infrastructure for families and Helsinki region houses multiple international schools. Helsinki University of Technology, together with Helsinki School of Economics and the University of Art and Design Helsinki will be part of a new foundation-based Aalto University at the end of next year. The new university aims to nourish a student centered culture and high-quality research.

If you are interested, please send CV and a letter of recommendation before 10th December to Simo Vanni, AMI centre, PO Box 3000, 02015-TKK, Espoo, Finland, or by e-mail to vanni [ a t ] neuro.hut.fi. Please do not hesitate to ask for more information.

• [Finland] Master’s Degree Programme in Bioinformatics
• [Finland] PhD Studentship in Optoelectronics at the Department of Physics, the University of Kuopio
• [Finland] International CIMO Fellowships for Young Researchers
• [Austria] PhD Positions in Cognitive Vision, Vienna University of Technology
• [Finland] PhD Studentships in Biochemistry at University of Oulu

At CEMFI we train students for careers as professional or academic economists. Our graduates acquire the quantitative tools and research skills to work as economists in business, finance, government, and academia.

The basic graduate offering at CEMFI is its highly prestigious Master in Economics and Finance. Unlike many Master programs in the US and elsewhere, ours is self-contained and offers a well respected qualification.
CEMFI grants a subset of its Master students exemptions from the tuition fee and/or scholarships for living expenses amounting up to EUR 10,000 per year. They are granted according to academic merit. In previous years, the Fundación Carolina, in cooperation with the Fundación BBVA, has endowed several scholarships for Latin American students of the Master. If new grants are endowed, they will be announced on CEMFI’s web page.

An important distinguishing feature of our Master is that it lasts for two years, the second being essential for shaping the skills of our graduates. The first year consists of basic graduate coursework and some optional subjects. The second year includes specialized courses and research training through a Master thesis. Our ratio of students to faculty is between four and five. Thus we can devote a lot of attention to each student. This is particularly important for the Master thesis, where the faculty provides guidance to a unique degree.

Members of CEMFI’s faculty publish in top journals and are research leaders in their fields. They are also editors of prestigious journals and are key players at leading learned societies such as the European Economic Association and the Econometric Society.

Our Master students get very good jobs as economists. For example, in positions dealing with portfolio and risk management, macroeconomic forecasting, policy evaluation, or microeconomic consultancy. CEMFI has been building a reputation for more than 20 years and a degree from CEMFI provides a strong signal of quality, regularly confirmed by the market. Moreover, we run an experienced and efficient job placement service.

Students interested in furthering their research training, either because they aim for a professional career with a stronger research content or because they aim for an academic position, will continue to develop their research skills for another three years and complete the PhD program. Graduates from CEMFI’s PhD program have published papers from their dissertation in top journals and we have an excellent record in the PhD job market.

Admission to the PhD program at CEMFI is through the Master. All students admitted to the PhD program obtain a scholarship, either from an external source or from CEMFI. For more information on admission and scholarship applications, please visit: http://www.cemfi.es. For any queries, feel free to contact: admissions [a-t] cemfi.es.

Application has to be received by 6 April 2009.

• [Spain] PhD Studentships in Empirical Economics, University of Granada
• [Spain] Master Scholarships in Economics and Finance, CEMFI, Madrid
• [Australia] Financial Support for PhD students in Finance at the University of Melbourne
• [Germany] PhD Scholarships in Economics, The Ruhr Graduate School in Economics
• [Italy] Partial Scholarships in Economics and Finance, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

Job description
The International Research Centre for Telecommunications and Radar (IRCTR) of Delft University of Technology performs internationally recognized research in the areas of radar, remote sensing and telecommunications.
Nano-technology in electronics and mechanics aims at the development of very small devices, e.g., mm3 scale and smaller, which are computationally powerful and able to perform a wide variety of tasks, including environment sensing and actuation, information extraction and communication. Wireless communications between such devices is an emerging and challenging area of research and will be the topic of this PhD investigation. The research will focus on the physical layer aspects of communication for nano-devices based on the transmission and reception of electromagnetic (EM) fields, processing the received signals and extracting information from them.

Requirements
The researcher should have an MSc degree in electrical engineering or physics and experience in the field of electromagnetics and statistical signal detection. Preference is given to those who have both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. The candidate should have the ability to perform independent research as well as work in a team on research projects. The duties include: 1) Development of a detailed research programme; 2) Realization of this research programme; 3) Preparation and presentation of scientific publications; 4) Preparing and defending the PhD thesis; 5) Supervision of MSc students.
The researcher should have an open personality and good English language skills in order to closely cooperate with colleagues and students as well as write project documents.

Conditions of employment
The estimated starting salary for the PhD student is € 2,000 per month gross, with a maximum of € 2,558 gross (based on a full-time appointment and depending on experience). The successful candidate will be employed by Delft University of Technology for a fixed period of four years within which he/she is expected to write a doctoral thesis. TU Delft offers an attractive benefits package, including a flexible work week, free high-speed Internet access from home, and the option of assembling a customized compensation and benefits package (the ‘IKA’). Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.
Delft University of Technology strives to increase the number of women in higher academic positions; women are therefore especially encouraged to apply.

Information and application
For more information about this position, please contact G.J.M. Janssen / A. Yarovoy, phone: +31 (0)15-2786736 / +31 (0)15-2782496, e-mail: g.j.m.janssen [-a-t-] tudelft.nl / a.yarovoy [-a-t-] ewi.tudelft.nl.
To apply, please e-mail a detailed CV along with a letter of application by 1 December, 2008 to: peno-ewi [-a-t-] tudelft.nl.
When applying for this position, make sure to mention vacancy number EWI2008-37.

• [Netherlands] PhD Position in Multi Field Design Optimization at The TU Delft
• [Netherlands] PhD Position in Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices, University of Twente
• [Netherlands] Postdoctoral Positions in Modelling of and Logistic Systems, Delft University of Technology
• [Taiwan] Postdoctoral Position in Computational Nano Science and Plasma Physics at National Cheng Kung University
• [Netherlands] PhD Studentship in New Generation of Solar Cells at Radboud/Delft Univ. of Tech

IMT Distinctive Features
IMT Institute for Advanced Studies is an Institute for Advanced Studies that aims to push the frontiers of knowledge and to contribute to the formation of international professional elites for business and institutions. Research and PhD programs focus on institutional and technological change, the role of organizations and markets in economic systems, the analysis of complex systems in social sciences, computer science and engineering.

IMT attracts bright students, young researchers and professors through competitive, transparent procedures at an international level. IMT believes that faculty and staff diversity contributes to excellence and is an equal-opportunity employer.

IMT Institute for Advanced Studies invites strong candidates active on networking and software systems for global computing, including web data mining and mobile systems, with applications e.g. to service oriented computing, economics and embedded systems to apply for Faculty Positions at the Assistant Professor and Post-Doctoral Fellow level. Preference will be given to candidates combining in their research fundamental and application oriented aspects. Preference will be given to candidates who have completed or are near completion of their Ph.D. degrees.

Assistant Professors and Post-doctoral Fellows are appointed for a fixed term of up to three years. Contracts may be renewed once for an additional three years (i.e. six years in total). Assistant Professors differ from Post Doctoral Fellows on the basis of experience, scientific curriculum and remuneration. The remuneration package is competitive at the international level (30,000-45,000 EUR pre-tax for Post-doctoral Fellows and 45,000-60,000 EUR pre-tax for Assistant Professors) and includes generous research funds. Additional benefits may be negotiated with selected applicants.

Please note that the competition is for one vacancy at either level, depending on candidate experience. Successful candidates for either type of position will work closely with other young researchers, graduate students, and senior researchers, and will have a limited teaching load in the school’s graduate program (e.g. one class per year). IMT believes that faculty and staff diversity contributes to excellence and is an equal-opportunity employer. Additional information about IMT may be found at www.imtlucca.it

Applicants are required to apply on line (www.imtlucca.it ). In addition, at least two letters of reference must be sent as e-mail attachments (preferably in PDF format) to: yrf.opening[ at ]imtlucca.it or by mail to the following address:

Job Openings 2009 – YRF-CSE.

IMT Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies
Piazza San Ponziano 6
55100 Lucca – Italy

Deadline: 1 December 2008

For further details on the call, please see the School website at www.imtlucca.it
Alternatively, one may also contact:

yrf.openings[ -a-t- ]imtlucca.it
Phones: +39 0583 4326554, +39 0583 4326577

• [Italy] 15 PhD Positions in Computer Science and Engineering, IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Luca
• [Italy] PhD Positions in Computer Science and Engineering at IMT Lucca
• [Italy] PhD Scholarships in Business and Economics, University of Venice
• [Japan] The United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies seeks PhD& Postdoctoral Fellowships – Sustainable Development
• [USA] Fellowships in Sustainability Science Center for International Development, Harvard University

Applications for graduate studentships starting in October 2009 are invited from suitably-qualified graduates or final year undergraduates who hold or expect to gain a first/upper second class honours degree or equivalent in Physics or a related subject.

Successful candidates will undertake a four year research training programme under the guidance of named supervisors. Successful applicants will receive an annual stipend – £19,096 (inner London – Chester Beatty Laboratories, Fulham Road) or £17,770 (outer London – Sutton Campus).

For further details on these studentships and details on how to apply, please visit: www.icr.ac.uk/phds

The closing date for applications is 1 December 2008.
Interviews will be held from 2nd – 4th February 2009.

• [UK] MRes and PhD Studentships in Chemical Biology, Chemical Biology Centre
• [UK] PhD Studentships – FORCE Cancer Research Charity Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry
• [UK] PhD Studentship in Cancer Research – University of Plymouth
• [Germany] PhD Student Position in Cancer Models TU Munich
• [Ireland] PhD Studentship in Life Sciences and Medicine at University College Dublin