Carry out research in the EPSRC project on "Evolutionary Algorithms for Dynamic Optimisation Problems: Design, Analysis and Applications" and publish research papers in high impact journals and conferences.

The University of Birmingham has a world-class research group in natural computation, especially evolutionary computation. CERCIA is the applied arm of the synergetic triangle in natural computation at the University. It overlaps heavily with the Natural Computation Group (for basic research, http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/research/NC) and the MSc in Natural Computation (for education, http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/msc-nc/) in the RAE 5-rated School of Computer Science (http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk).

Main Responsibilities

• Carry out research in the EPSRC project on "Evolutionary Algorithms for Dynamic Optimisation Problems: Design, Analysis and Applications", especially in characterising dynamic optimisation problems (DOPs) and analysing EAs for DOPs theoretically, developing novel EAs and other meta-heuristic optimisation algorithms for DOPs in the telecommunications sector (in collaboration with BT) and the engineering sector (in collaboration with Honda Research Institute Europe).
• To undertake independent and collaborative research, especially theoretical research, with other project members in accordance with the specified research project.
• To publish research papers in high impact international journals, magazines and conferences.
• To complete assigned tasks within agreed work schedule to ensure that outcomes are delivered on time.
• To contribute to the development or choice of research methods, techniques, approaches and models used by this project, Cercia, the Natural Computation Group and the School.
• To organise project meetings and research/industrial workshops.
• To help prepare and write new grant proposals that are related to this project but are not covered by the current project.
• Assist with BSc/MSc/PhD student project supervision and teaching activities, including lecturing, tutoring, marking, etc.

The School of Computer Science - General Information

The School of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham has an established and growing international reputation for research and teaching in Computer Science. The School has nearly 130 active researchers (academic staff, research staff and research students) and is a close knit community that enjoys a stimulating intellectual environment. Both in teaching and research, our staff and students address issues of importance to the scientific community, business world and government agencies. Our research programmes are supported by a wide range of bodies, including UK and EU Research Councils, overseas governments and universities, and UK and multi-national companies. Research is also undertaken collaboratively with universities and research laboratories throughout the world. The School is internationally leading in research in four main themes:

• Artificial Intelligence, including robotics, reasoning and cognition, and natural language processing.
• Computing and Systems, including distributed and automatic systems, computer security, modelling & verifying systems, and human-computer interaction.
• Nature-inspired Computation, including image interpretation.
• Theoretical Computer Science, including principles of programming and mathematical foundations.

Since the early 1990s the School has been transformed by a succession of new appointments. It is a world class centre for research and research-led teaching. This has been recognized by the University in several ways, including provision of a new state of the art building opened in October 2001 on the prestigious West Campus Development. Several Research areas have seen substantial growth, including Theoretical Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Evolutionary Computing. The School has an externally-funded Centre for Research in computational Intelligence and Applications (CERCIA), which is the focus of our main industrial outreach.

The School has a strong research culture. There is considerable interaction between people working in different areas in the School, and several people work in two or more groups. The School has no divisive fragmentation into separately managed subgroups, and has maintained a friendly collaborative atmosphere, with a highly consultative management style. There are generally three or four research seminars each week, with a good balance between visiting and internal speakers and between formality and informality. A significant proportion of the School's budget is earmarked for research support, including provision of up to date computing facilities, a school library to complement the main university library, funding or travel for conferences, regular visiting seminar speakers, and guest positions. Research training towards MPhil or PhD degrees is offered in all the main research areas. The School makes available a number of studentships and teaching assistantships for outstanding PhD students, in addition to externally funded scholarships.

The School offers an integrated set of BSc and BEng/MEng degree programmes at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. All our undergraduate degree programmes have a strong practical element with software workshops in the first two stages and a major project in the final stage. All our main degrees allow students to take a year out for study abroad or to work in industry. Students also have the opportunity to combine Computer Science with Business Studies.

The School also offers a set of one-year MSc programmes, including Computer Security, Internet Software Systems, Natural Computation and Intelligent Systems Engineering. These programmes, together with out more research focused MSc in Advanced Computer Science, are available to students who have already completed an undergraduate degree in computer science. We also offer an MSc in Computer Science for students converting from another scientific or engineering discipline.

Devolved budgets allow the School to use a substantial amount of income to promote new research activities and provide the necessary infrastructure for research. The Research Fellows who are appointed will be provided an equipment allocation in the form of a workstation connected to the School's Unix-based research computing network. The School provides generous financial support for making presentations at conferences. It maintains a flexible, open and encouraging research culture with no divisive separations between different research groupings. It recognises the importance of both theoretical and applied research and of their interactions. In addition, the School encourages interdisciplinary research.

The University of Birmingham is a major civic university founded in 1900. It is research-led and has a strong reputation and an assured future as a leading British university.

The University is located on a pleasant leafy and spacious campus, three miles south of the recently re-developed City Centre, and is nevertheless only a short drive away from beautiful countryside. The campus is close to popular, attractive residential areas, and has a small railway station adjacent to it, connecting to the city centre and to towns south of Birmingham.

The city boasts excellent programmes of classical music, ballet and theatre. Also, Stratford-upon-Avon with its world-renowned theatrical productions is only a 40-minute drive from the campus. The city has an international airport, serving for instance the USA, and is well supplied with road and rail links.

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications and Experience Required

ESSENTIAL

• PhD in evolutionary optimisation or a closely related area, especially on theoretical issues.
• Outstanding academic achievement evidenced by high-quality publications or/and PhD thesis on theoretical studies in evolutionary optimisation or a closely related area.
• Understanding and experience of research methods and processes in dynamic evolutionary optimisation and its applications.
• Outstanding skills in theoretical (mathematical) analysis and computational studies in evolutionary optimisation and meta-heuristic optimisation in general.
• Outstanding problem-solving skills.
• Self-motivated and proactive.
• Ability to work effectively and efficiently as a team member as well as independently.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and inter-personal skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Good knowledge of combinatorial optimisation and computational complexity theory in general.

DESIRABLE

• Interest in working with industry and solving practical problems.
• Ability to assist with PhD student supervision.
• Ability to supervise MSc/BSc student projects and teach effectively

Job Features

Planning and Organising

• Attend and contribute to subject group meetings.

Decision Making

• Use resources and facilities as appropriate.

Internal/External Relationships

• Liaise with colleagues and students.
• Participate in internal networks for the exchange of information.