Postdoctoral Research Associate

Full time: 35 hours/week

Postdoctoral Research Associate - University of Edinburgh Careers

The opportunity:

We are looking for a talented and ambitious early career researcher to work on the project “Randomized Numerical Linear Algebra for Optimization and Control of Partial Differential Equations” (Engineering and Physical Sciences, EPSRC grant EP/Z533786/1). 

This postdoctoral position will be devoted to research on Randomized Numerical Linear Algebra for Optimization and Control of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). It is one of two positions funded by EPSRC, and will be mentored by Prof. John Pearson (University of Edinburgh) and Prof. Stefan Güttel (University of Manchester). This post will involve the use of randomization to devise solvers for linear and nonlinear PDEs, applied to problems from optimization and control. This will utilize ideas from randomized sketching, and is likely to include examining problems driven by uncertainty or randomness. The project will involve a combination of theoretical aspects, obtaining guarantees on the convergence of solvers, and practical components, via algorithm development and implementation. As such, you should have some background in numerical linear algebra and, more generally, numerical analysis.

A record of some high-quality mathematical reports and/or publications, as well as coding skills (e.g. in MATLAB, Python, C) are essential. You will closely collaborate with a second postdoctoral researcher based at University of Manchester. The project team also involves two industrial partners, FESTO and Arup, who will provide guidance and pathways to produce highly impactful work through direct industry integration. As such, you are expected to be able to communicate your work effectively to practitioners. You will be part of Edinburgh’s world-leading Applied and Computational Mathematics Group, providing a friendly and vibrant research environment. You will also have access to a generous travel allowance which will enable you to present your work at national and international conferences. There is scope for a strong candidate to shape the research direction.

Your skills and attributes for success:

• Research experience and some publications in at least one of numerical analysis/scientific computing and/or numerical linear algebra and/or numerical methods for PDEs and/or optimization
• Enthusiasm to build new randomized linear algebra techniques for PDEs and optimization problems
• Excellent academic writing and communication skills
• Strong coding skills in at least one of MATLAB, Python, C

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