PhD Studentship available now

(Fully funded for UK students - which can include EU citizens having
lived in the UK, EU/International students might need to obtain
supplementary funding.)

Topic:
Computational Search Methods for Mixing Online & Offline Optimisation

University of Nottingham - School of Computer Science

This studentship is to work on a project to investigate automated
decision making processes that effectively handle the interactions
between the online and offline decision making. The project will aim to
develop new theory and also practical computational search methods, so
as to effectively combine together queueing networks (e.g. using
simulation) and combinatorial optimisation, so as to solve real-world
problems.

The mix of online and offline will place it in an exciting and
relatively unexplored area of computer science and operational research.
The specific research is motivated by real-world situations that require
some immediate (online) decision making, but have aspects requiring
(offline) planning over a longer time period. A particular focus of
interest will be that of the management of a hospital emergency room. As
patients arrive, then decisions need to be made immediately. Conversely,
staffing decisions, such as which nurses work on which shifts, can be
made weeks in advance (offline). The challenge in this case is to design
a system so that these online and offline decision making processes work
efficiently and effectively together. As far as possible, patients
should get rapid treatment, but also staffing costs should be reduced,
and nurses should have working times matching their preferences. This is
a computationally challenging problem (e.g. NP-hard), but of practical
interest in many real-world situations.

Students should have at least an upper second-class honours degree
(ideally a first class degree), in computer science, artificial
intelligence, mathematics, operational research, management science
(with a substantial mathematics component), or a related area, or a
combination of qualifications and/or experience equivalent to that
level. Good programming ability will be required. Students with a
mathematical background, if they have some programming experience, are
encouraged to apply. Knowledge of one or more of computational
complexity theory, heuristic and exact search methods, mathematical
programming, and stochastic processes (such as queuing theory or Markov
chains), is also desirable, though the main requirement is good
analytical thinking.

This studentship will allow the student to be associated with The LANCS
Initiative (see: http://www.lancs-initiative.ac.uk/), and particularly
the 'Heuristic understanding' and "Systems to build systems" research
clusters. The successful student will join the Automated Scheduling,
OptimisAtion and Planning (ASAP) research group (see:
http://www.asap.cs.nott.ac.uk/) and have the opportunity to interact
with the leading scientists in the field. ASAP is one of five main
Research Groups within the School of Computer Science at Nottingham.
ASAP has been carrying out innovative research into the development and
investigation of decision support, search methodologies and machine
learning for a wide and diverse range of real world problem environments
for the last decade. The group comprises 8 members of academic staff, 7
researchers, 37 PhD students and 1 administrator.

This studentship is available for 3.5 years and includes an approximate
maintenance grant of £13,590 per year, maintenance grant and UK/EU
tuition fees. Due to funding restrictions, this studentship is primarily
directed at UK students. However, in some circumstances EU or
International students might also be able to be supported. EU and
International students wishing to apply need to obtain one of the
scholarships offered by The International Office of the University of
Nottingham
(http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/internationalstudents/scholarshipsfeesfinance/scholarships/index.aspx#international)
to complement this studentship.

Informal enquiries are welcome and may be addressed to Dr Andrew Parkes,
see: http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~ajp/ Email: ajp@cs.nott.ac.uk. However,
please note that applications sent directly to this email address will
not be accepted. To apply, please access:
http://pgstudy.nottingham.ac.uk/apply-for-postgraduate-courses.aspx.

Please quote ref. SCI/1101.

Closing date: The extended deadline is 21 March 2012, though the
position will remain open until filled. If in doubt please email to ask.

For all our vacancies and more about working at the University of
Nottingham see: http://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/.

regards,
Andrew Parkes
http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~ajp/