PhD Informatics Scholarship in Proof Theory (2024)

A 3.5 year PhD Informatics scholarship under the supervision of Dr Matteo Acclavio.

What you get

For 3.5 years, you will receive a tax-free stipend at a standard rate of £19,237 per year and your fees will be waived (at the UK, EU, or International rate). In addition, to a one-off Research and Training Support Grant of £2,000.

Type of award

Postgraduate Research

PhD project

The project aims at studying the problem of proof equivalence and its applications. The problem of proof equivalence, which recently came to the forefront after the discovery of the 24th Hilbert problem, deals with deciding whether two logical arguments should be considered as the same proof, providing theoretical foundations for notions of program equivalences. To this end, the project will investigate novel notions of proof equivalence in various logical systems through the lens of proof theory. Emphasis will be given to the study of proof systems allowing canonical representations of proofs (e.g., Hughes' combinatorial proofs and Girard's proof nets). Moreover, the project plans to establish connections between proof equivalence and games, both in the sense of dialogical games (Lorenz and Lorenzen) and game semantics (Abramsky, Highland and Ong). According to the interest of the candidate, applications to interoperability and usability of automated theorem prover and proof assistant, or applications to the theory of programming languages may be investigated. 

Eligibility

The stipend is available to: UK / EU / Overseas.  

The fee waiver is available to: UK / EU / Overseas. 

Eligible candidates will have an upper second-class (2:1) undergraduate degree or above, in a relevant field.  

The University of Sussex believes that the diversity of its staff and student community is fundamental to creative thinking, pedagogic innovation, intellectual challenge, and the interdisciplinary approach to research and learning. We celebrate and promote diversity, equality and inclusion amongst our staff and students. As such, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Number of scholarships available

1

Deadline

6 June 2024 23:59

How to apply

Apply via the postgraduate application system for a full time PhD in Informatics (SEPT2024). 

Please clearly state on your application that you are applying for the Proof Theory studentship under the supervision of Dr Matteo Acclavio. 

Please ensure you application includes each of the following: 

  • A motivation letter with indication of research interest.
  • A CV
  • Degree certificates and transcripts. 
  • 2 references, including a minimum of 1 from any institution studied at within the last 5 years.If your first language is not English you will need to demonstrate that you meet the University’s English language requirements, see here for details of our accepted documentation.

 

Contact us

For project specific enquiries, please email Dr Matteo Acclavio (m.acclavio@sussex.ac.uk).

For general enquiries, please email phd.informatics@sussex.ac.uk.

Timetable

Application deadline: 6th June 23:59 GMT

Interview date: Mid June

Availability

At level(s):
PG (research)

Application deadline:
6 June 2024 23:59 (GMT)

Countries

The award is available to people from these specific countries: