PhD Studentship in Performance and Scalability Optimization of Blockchain based FinTech Infrastructure using Stochastic Constraint Programming

Deadline: 29th June 2018 at 5pm (GMT)

Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering

The aim of this scholarship award is to provide exceptional PhD candidate with a first-rate, challenging research training experience, within the context of a mutually beneficial research collaboration between academic and partner organisations e.g. industry and technology firms. The scholarship provides outstanding student access to training, facilities and expertise not available in an academic setting alone. The student will benefit from a diversity of experimental approaches with an applied/translational dimension. The student will have an opportunity to develop a range of valuable technical and mathematical skills and significantly enhance their future employability; they will also have the opportunity to become a research leader of the future.

Project Description

The aims of the project are to:

(i)Adopting the state-of-the-art stochastic constraint programming techniques, look at the trade-off between the network overhead and performance requirements of BFT/Consensus protocol underlying the blockchain;

(ii) adopt multiple objective stochastic optimisation in order to  maximise the speed of  transactions and minimise the cost of achieving transactions using TEE or BFT or a mixture of both The Award holder (UK/EU tuition fees will be covered, plus £14,553 stipend/year) will be located in the Centre for Intelligent Systems and their Applications, School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh.

Supervisors: Dr Tiejun Ma or Prof Jane Hillston.

Expected Start Date: September 2018

Entry Requirements

The normal minimum entrance requirement is:

A good Masters degree from a leading UK university or equivalent overseas/professional qualification in an appropriate subject or a First Class honours BSc in exceptional cases.

Further Information

Background/Skills Required

Detailed understanding and knowledge of at least two of the following:

• Computer Science/Computing/Programming Skills/Trusted Execution Environment.
• Mathematics/Probability/Operations Research.
• Distributed Algorithms and particularly Byzantine Fault Tolerance
• Mixed Integer Programming, Stochastic Programming, Robust Optimization (e.g. CPLEX)
• Understanding of Blockchain and practical blockchain systems (e.g. Hyperledge, Corda)

How to Apply

If you have any questions about the studentship or application process or enquiries about the project itself, please email either Dr Tiejun Ma or Prof Jane Hillston.