PhD in geometric group theory/theoretical computer science

University of Technology Sydney
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences


A PhD place is available starting in 2021 in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney, to work with Professor Murray Elder (UTS) and Dr Adam Piggott (ANU) on the project “Geodetic groups: foundational problems in algebra and computer science”.

Candidates with a strong interest and demonstrated skills in algebra, combinatorics and/or theoretical computer science are sought, who are able to contribute collaboratively to a research team as well as being able to work independently and self-motivated.

The recipient must be a domestic student (Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident or NZ Citizen). Applicants from all backgrounds including traditionally underrepresented groups are welcomed. 

Essential Skills/Qualifications 

  • First class Honours or MSc or equivalent 
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills in English 
  • Demonstrated organisational skills, time management and ability to work to deadlines 
  • Demonstrated problem solving abilities and analytical skills 
  • The ability to work independently as well as collaboratively as a member of a team 

Desirable 

  • Previous studies or work in geometric group theory and/or formal language theory, automata, rewriting systems 
  • Programming skills 

The recipient will receive a domestic Commonwealth Research Training Program scholarship (RTP Stipend) at the 2021 indexed RTP rate of $28,597 pa for 3 years.

The successful student will be expected to enrol for Research Session 1 (previously known as Autumn Session) between 1 January to 30 May 2021.     

Please direct enquiries to Murray.Elder@uts.edu.au 

Mathematical Biology Special Interest Group Best Student Paper Prize

The MBSIG will offer a best student paper prize annually, for an exceptional paper in the field of mathematical biology. The winner of this prize will be awarded $300AUD and will be invited to present the paper at the annual MBSIG meeting, associated with the ANZIAM conference. 

Closing date    16th  December 2020

Eligibility    The prize is open to any student affiliated with the MBSIG. The award may be shared by multiple student authors who have contributed substantially to the same paper.

The awardee(s) must:

  • have been normally resident in Australia or New Zealand at the time the research was conducted.
  • be a fully paid-up member of ANZIAM. 

The paper nominated must have:

  • been submitted while the awardee was enrolled as a student (undergraduate or postgraduate), but acceptance may have occurred subsequent to conferral of the nominee’s degree,
  • published in final form within the 18 months preceding the closing date for the prize. This includes early online access on the journal webpage.

Decisions regarding eligibility will be made by the judging panel, whose decision will be final. 

Application material    Please submit:

  •  an electronic copy of the paper, 
  • a statement of contributions (<200 words, if the paper is multi-authored), 
  • a statement of eligibility, 
  • a (<500 word) summary, in your own words, of the significance of the paper. Consider questions such as: Why is the work important to you, and to the field? Which aspects of the work are you most proud of? Where might the research go next?

Submissions must be made to mbsig@anziam.org.au by midnight Eastern Standard Time on the closing date.

Judges     The judging panel will consist of three members of the MBSIG committee and/or nominees determined by the committee, and judging panel will rotate annually.

Criteria    We expect there to be a broad collection of papers submitted, covering a range of mathematical biology topics. Novel mathematical techniques will be weighted equally to novel applications by the judging committee. Criteria to be considered by the judging panel include:

  • Originality and impact
  • The contribution of the nominee(s)

Two PhD Scholarships in calcium dynamics

Department of Mathematics
University of Auckland

Closing Date: 15th January 2021

Two PhD studentships are available in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Auckland, for work on a project in the general field of calcium dynamics. Successful applicants will have have an Honours or Masters degree in some area of quantitative science (such as Mathematics, Physics or Engineering) and will have a demonstrated interest in applications of mathematical techniques to real-world problems and data, particularly those arising in medicine, physiology or biology. A good background in dynamical systems and scientific programming is desirable. Successful applicants will work with the researchers James Sneyd, Vivien Kirk and Marie Graff at the University of Auckland, and Martin Wechselberger at the University of Sydney. 


The positions will be available starting in March 2021, and come with funding that will cover tuition fees and an annual stipend of $27,500 NZD for three years.


Interested candidates should send their cv, a copy of their academic record, and a brief statement of why they are interested in the position, to James Sneyd, at j.sneyd@auckland.ac.nz, or to Vivien Kirk, at v.kirk@auckland.ac.nz. There is no formal closing date for applications, but those received by January 15th will receive priority. 

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

The School of Mathematics and Physics
University of Queensland

Closing date: 18th December 2020

This opportunity is for a postdoctoral research fellow to conduct research on the Australian Research Council funded Discovery Project Towards Logarithmic Representation Theory of W-algebras.

This position is located at our picturesque St Lucia campus, renowned as one of Australia’s most attractive university campuses, and located just 7km from Brisbane’s city centre. Bounded by the Brisbane River on three sides, and with outstanding public transport connections, our 114-hectare site provides a perfect work environment – you can enjoy the best of both worlds: a vibrant campus with the tradition of an established university.

For more information and to apply, click here.

Statistical Modeller

Telethon Kids Institute

Closing Date: 4th December 2020

Telethon Kids Institute has a unique opportunity for a skilled Statistical Modeller to join the Geospatial Health and Development (GHD) Team.  GHD is a new and growing team, whose mission is to generate innovative methods to understand major infectious diseases including COVID-19 and malaria, to support effective planning of disease control on a national and international scale.

This is a 12 month full-time position at academic level A (either Post-doc or RA). It would require general analysis and modelling skills in R, and would be ideally suited to someone who likes building bespoke Bayesian models in greta, Stan, JAGS, or similar.

You would be working with a large team of mathematical and statistical modellers who have been contributing to Australia’s response to the pandemic. You can read about some of this previous work here.

For more information and to apply, click here.

PhD scholarship: Mathematical modeling in infection and immunity

Infection Analytics Program
Kirby Institute
UNSW Sydney

The Infection Analytics Program at the Kirby Institute is looking for talented students with a strong interest in applying quantitative approaches to solving major challenges in infectious diseases, health and immunity.

The Group and Projects

The Infection Analytics Program is a team of mathematicians, physicists and other quantitative specialists, working to understand infection and immunity. The group primarily works on HIV and malaria and has an outstanding track record of research, making a major contribution to the medical and biological sciences. Students who join the group will be trained in interdisciplinary research with a strong emphasis on using mathematical and quantitative approaches to interpret experimental and clinical data. The aim of our research is to address key questions, such as how antimalarials and immunity operate in malaria infections and how to optimise treatment for HIV. More information on the group is available here.

Scholarships

Applicants are sought for domestic PhD students to commence studies in 2021. Top-up scholarships will be awarded to students in addition to the Research Training Program (RTP) awards of 12,000 p.a. for a duration of 3.5 years.

Applicant Requirements

  • A quantitative background (e.g. mathematics / physics / statistics)
  • A strong interest in developing a better understanding of real challenges in infection and immunity.
  • A strong interest in applying modelling and statistics to better understand experimental and clinical data.
  • The scholarships are highly competitive, with a requirement for first class honours (or equivalent) for consideration.

How to apply

Applications are open now for students to commence in May 2021. Please apply by providing your academic transcripts and CV to:


Professor Miles Davenport (m.davenport@unsw.edu.au),
Dr. Deborah Cromer (dcromer@kirby.unsw.edu.au), or
Dr. David Khoury (david.khoury@unsw.edu.au).

Lecturer in Data Science and Statistics

The School of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Melbourne

Closing Date: 15th December 2020

The School of Mathematics and Statistics is seeking to expand its expertise in data science and contemporary statistics.

The successful applicant is expected to develop and maintain a high-level research program in data science and statistics. Beyond the Data Science and Statistics groups, the University of Melbourne provides an outstanding environment in which to develop innovative research in data science and statistics, with opportunities for collaborations in the Melbourne Centre for Data Science, with machine learning and bioinformatics researchers in Computing and Information Systems, biostatisticians in Population and Global Health, big data research in genomics in the Melbourne Integrative Genomics research hub as well as applied and theoretical approaches to big data in the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS). The School has excellent computing facilities and access to both local and cloud high performance computing clusters.

The candidate should also have a strong commitment to teaching and the supervision of research students. Teaching will occur within the School of Mathematics and Statistics undergraduate and MSc programs, and the applicant will be expected to teach statistics and its applications to a variety of audiences. They are also expected to supervise research students at undergraduate, MSc and PhD levels in data science and statistics.

To be considered for this role you will have completed a PhD or equivalent research higher degree in statistics or related discipline and demonstrated research excellence in relation to career stage.

This is a full-time fixed-term position for 3 years.

For more information and to apply, click here.

AustMS Early Career Workshop 2020

This is a reminder that the 2020 AustMS Early-Career Workshop (ECW) will be held online on Monday December 7, preceding the 64th Annual Meeting of the Australian Mathematical Society. 

The ECW is intended for current higher-degree research students and ECRs (up to roughly five years post-PhD). 

Registration is free! Speaker info, a provisional schedule, and the registration form can be found on the AustMS Early Career Workshop 2020 website.

Chair of the Department of Mathematics

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Closing Date: 22nd January 2021

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), ranked as the top young U.S. university for the second year in a row by the Times Higher Education, invites nominations and applications for the position of Chair of the Department of Mathematics, following a pause due to the pandemic.

UAB is a Carnegie level 1 research university and leader among comprehensive public universities with an academic medical center, offering a world-class education to a diverse student population that prepares the nation’s future citizens and leaders. The Department of Mathematics is well poised for significant growth under the leadership of the new Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, following its recent move into the new University Hall building completed in 2019. The Chair of Mathematics will chart the direction for the future of UAB’s signature core curriculum through inspiring new pedagogical approaches to improve student success rates in core math courses. There will be significant opportunity for a faculty cluster hire to start new programs and expand advanced degree programs. The new Chair will lead efforts to raise the department’s research profile through collaborations across the College and the hiring of new faculty. Last year, UAB had over $600 million in research expenditures. Since the inception of the College of Arts and Sciences in 2010, twelve new degree programs have been established and more than 109 new faculty have been hired.

The College and the faculty are interested in creating an environment that will encourage collaboration and build bridges between mathematics and computer science, physics, actuarial science, genomics, engineering and emerging fields that are hugely data intensive. The Chair will collaborate with peers to explore new instructional opportunities and to use emerging technologies to promote digital literacy and provide equal educational opportunities to all students. The faculty are passionate about new opportunities for mathematics research and education stemming from our technology intensive society and preparing students to apply mathematics in their pursuit of diverse careers.

Administrative responsibilities will include fiscal responsibility, departmental administration, overseeing the accreditation process and compliance with professional organization requirements. The new Chair will be expected to maintain a distinguished research and scholarship activity, with excellent administrative support to assist with departmental responsibilities.

University of Alabama at Birmingham is the single largest employer in Alabama and home to the third largest public academic medical center in the country. There are more than 23,000 employees and the annual economic impact for the state exceeds $5 billion. At the heart of UAB’s 50-year history is a thriving partnership with Birmingham. Together, accomplishments have been historical. The University has enjoyed record enrollment for the fifth consecutive year, with a Fall of 2020 enrollment at 22,563. Federal research funding is at an all-time high and the footprint of UAB continues to grow with new state-of-the-art buildings lining University Boulevard and expanding the campus.

Birmingham is within driving distance to Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville and New Orleans. The “Magic City” is noted for its vibrant music scene, fine dining, warm weather, a culture embracing diversity and great schools.

A more detailed profile for this search with information about the University, job responsibilities and qualifications for the position can be found here.

Nominations, Applications and Expressions of Interest

For best consideration, applications and nominations should be received by January 22, 2021, although expressions of interest will be considered until the position is filled.

Application materials must include:

  1. A letter of interest stating how the candidate’s experience is applicable to the position, opportunities and challenges, qualifications, and personal attributes expressed in the leadership profile;
  2. A detailed curriculum vitae;
  3. Names, email addresses, and telephone numbers of five professional references, including the candidate’s professional relationship with each of these individuals. References will not be contacted until after semi-finalist interviews and with the candidate’s prior consent; and
  4. The names of three individuals who could prepare letters of reference in support of the application.

To be considered, applicants MUST apply through the University of Alabama at Birmingham career opportunities portal.

The Esmée Fairbairn Junior Research Fellowship in Mathematics

New College
University of Oxford

Closing Date: 10th December 2020

The College invites applications for this post, which is tenable for a fixed period of three years from 1 October 2021 based in New College, Oxford. The person appointed will be expected to undertake their own independent and original academic research in Mathematics. The Fellowship is open to those who have already acquired a first degree, and who at the time of appointment have completed at least two years’ study for a PhD/DPhil.

Candidates may not previously have held a Junior Research Fellowship or comparable appointment.

For more information and to apply, click here.