University of Exeter, UK
Colleges of Engineering, Mathematics & Physical Sciences, and Life &
Environmental Sciences
Mathematics Research Institute/Centre for Ecology and Conservation
Associate Research Fellow, Reference Number N3293
Salary £24,370 to £26,063 per annum on GradeE
Biological invasion processes - Control systems methodologies for modelling and
analysis
The Colleges wish to recruit an Associate Research Fellow to support the work
of Stuart Townley
(Professor of Applied Mathematics, Environment & Sustainability Institute) and
David Hodgson
(Senior Lecturer, Centre for Ecology & Conservation) in collaboration with
Hartmut Logemann
(Professor of Mathematics, University of Bath) on the EPSRC funded project:
Biological invasion
processes - Control systems methodologies for modelling and analysis. The post
will be based at
the University of Exeters Cornwall Campus and is available from October 2011.
The successful applicant will work at the interface between Systems & Control,
Applied
Mathematics and Ecology and will contribute to an integrated modelling and
analysis approach for
population dynamics. He/she will analyse, predict and quantify envelopes of
future population
dynamics by developing mathematical and systems & control concepts, results and
techniques.
He/she will join an inter-disciplinary team dedicated to developing novel
mathematical tools that
improve the predictive capabilities of ecological models. Results will have
critical implications for
the conservation and sustainable exploitation of biological resources,
globally.
The post duties will include: quantify and qualify model structure in a
database of population
projection matrix models; explore the role of uncertainty and non-normality in
projection models;
develop input-to-state stability concepts for population dynamics in disturbed
environments;
develop integral projection models for coupled invasion dynamics; analyse
biological invasion
dynamics from a robustness viewpoint. This project represents a paradigm shift
in how
mathematicians and ecologists view real-world population dynamics. The
successful applicant will
be able to present information on research progress and outcomes, communicate
complex
information, orally, in writing and electronically and help prepare proposals
and applications to
external bodies. The research team emphasises the dissemination of findings in
the best scientific
journals and at international conferences.
Applicants will possess a relevant PhD and be able to demonstrate sufficient
knowledge in the
discipline and be able to work independently and with team members by drawing
on expertise in
control theory and/or population dynamics and/or dynamical systems and
computation.
The starting salary will be from £24,370 to £26,063 per annum on Grade E,
depending on
qualifications and experience.
For further information please contact Professor Stuart Townley, e-mail
s.b.town...@ex.ac.uk or
telephone (01326) 317200. To apply, please send your CV and covering letter,
with contact details
of three referees, to Professor Stuart Townley.
The closing date for completed applications is September 16th and interviews
will take place in the
middle of October.