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3 PhD studentships - EPSRC CASE, Sheffield
PhD Studentships (EPSRC - CASE)
Department of Probability and Statistics
University of Sheffield
Applications are invited for three EPSRC-funded
CASE (Collaborative Awards in Science and
Engineering) PhD studentships in the
Department of Probability and Statistics,
University of Sheffield.
Each studentship will be for three years and will
include full fees and a maintenance grant of at
least 11,700 pounds per year (under review),
including a contribution of 3,000 pounds per
year from the collaborating body. It is intended
that the studentships will start on 23
September 2002 but they could, by
arrangement, be delayed until 10 February
2003.
A brief description of each project is given
below; further details (including telephone
numbers and email addresses for informal
enquiries) are available on the web at the
locations shown.
In addition, one or more other studentships may
be available for other projects; information on
possible topics is available on the web at
http://www.shef.ac.uk/~pas/PhD/. Informal
enquiries may be made to the PhD Admissions
Tutor, Dr Paul Blackwell
(p.blackwell@sheffield.ac.uk;
tel. +44 114-2223719).
Other information about the department, its staff
and their research is at
http://www.shef.ac.uk/~pas/
PROJECT OUTLINES
Probabilistic Relational Models for Gene
Expression
Supervisor: Dr. Nick Fieller
Further details: http://www.shef.ac.uk/nickfieller
Collaborating body: AstraZeneca
This CASE studentship involves working with
both the EST Statistical Sciences Department
and the Bioinformatics Group of AstraZeneca at
Alderley Park, Macclesfield. The overall aim of
the work is to develop tools for analyzing micro
array data. A distinctive feature of such data is
that they are very high dimensional but with
relatively few observations. Standard tools of
multivariate analysis (cluster analysis, principal
component analysis and other dimensionality
reduction methods) are only partially successful
in such studies. This project will investigate
incorporating additional information in the
analyses by application and extension of
Bayesian techniques, Bayesian Network
Analysis in particular. This studentship should
be attractive to those with a statistical and/or
mathematical background who want to develop
their interest in the direction of bioinformatics.
Statistical Methods for Estimating Former Sea
Levels
Supervisor: Professor Clive Anderson
Further details: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~st1cwa
Collaborating body: English Heritage
Past levels of the sea and the changing extent
of past wetlands are of much current
environmental and archaeological interest, both
in relation to climate change and also for the
light they throw on the spatial and temporal
relationships between past humans and their
environment. These questions have been at the
forefront of two recent research projects in the
Humber Wetlands aimed at furthering
understanding of the past environment and
archaeology of the area. The work has
demonstrated the intimate link between past
sea levels and the mapping of ancient wetland
environments, but has failed to produce robust
results fully consistent with archaeological
evidence. Current reconstructions, for example,
suggest that some archaeological sites were
under water at times when they are known to
have been occupied. This project will develop
statistical tools for estimating sea levels and
wetland extent, using data collected in both the
Humber Wetlands Project and the Land-Ocean
Interaction Study (LOIS). In particular it will
quantify uncertainty in palaeoenvironmental
reconstruction and palaeotidal modelling, and
will build methodology to integrate model
results with relevant archaeological evidence.
Statistical Modelling for Robust and Flexible
Chronology Building
Supervisors: Dr Caitlin Buck, Dr Paul Blackwell
Further details: http://www.shef.ac.uk/st1ceb
Collaborating body: English Heritage
Chronology building plays a vital role in
archaeology, geology, palaeo-environmental
studies and palaeo-climatology. In all these
disciplines, methods such as radiocarbon
dating are now routinely used to aid in
chronology construction. The current practice of
statisticians working with such data is to
assume that material suitable for dating was
deposited between events of unknown calendar
date with a uniform deposition rate. It is clear,
however, that for many real projects this
assumption is unlikely to hold. As a result,
researchers who use these models would like
to understand more about how this will affect
the inferences they make, and be offered some
alternatives for more realistic and robust
modelling of deposition processes. Staff at
English Heritage, the CASE sponsor for this
studentship, routinely use Bayesian statistical
methods to provide the core of their
interpretative process, but have no statisticians
on their team to aid with model development.
The student working on this project will thus
need a background in statistics. They will
devise alternative models for the deposition of
datable material and will offer practical
assistance with choosing from the models
available. In so doing, they could make an
enormous impact on the day-to-day work of
both the industrial sponsor and other
archaeologists (and, potentially, geologists,
palaeo-environmentalists and climatologists)
engaged in a wide variety of research around
the world.
ELIGIBILITY
Candidates will be expected to obtain at least a
II(i) honours degree (or the equivalent) involving
a substantial proportion of mathematics and
statistics, or to already hold such a degree.
Current EPSRC guidelines restrict the
maintenance part of the studentship to
applicant with "a relevant connection with the
United Kingdom", essentially to those normally
resident in the UK (not resident mainly for
educational purposes). Candidates with a
relevant connection to another EU country may
apply for a "fees-only" award.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
The application procedure is described in the
further particulars for each project. Applications
should be made as soon as possible, preferably
no later than 24 May 2002; the Department
reserves the right to make an award before that
date.