Dear all,

The Laboratory of Urban Complexity and Sustainability (LUCAS) at the
University of Nottingham has advertised a number of Ph.D opportunities
for outstanding students. The following might be of interest:
     - PhD Studentship in Computer Modelling
<http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ALJ684/phd-studentship-in-computer-modelling/> (Ref: 

ENG884)
     - PhD Studentship in Computer Modelling – Social Modelling
<http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ALJ670/phd-studentship-in-computer-modelling-social-modelling/> 

(Ref: ENG886)

This is an exciting opportunity to join LUCAS, to contribute to the
research programme supported by the prestigious Leverhulme Research
Programme Grant “Sustaining Urban Habitats: An Interdisciplinary
Approach”. The ambitious aim of this programme is to transform our
understanding of how sustainable cities, and by extension our species,
can be. Our objectives are:

     Understand the complex interrelated and competing factors
influencing urban sustainability.
     Holistically define, measure and model urban sustainability.
     Identify pathways to transition developed cities and accommodate
growth in developing cities in minimally unsustainable ways.
     Define policy and governance structures to implement these pathways
in practice.

Whilst it is understood that we are now mainly an urban species, that
the overwhelming majority (some 80%) of economic activity and associated
resource use and atmospheric emissions (also around 80%) takes place in
cities, there is no consensus as to how to define and measure social,
economic and environmental sustainability. There is also no
comprehensive model of the spatially resolved resource flows through
cities, to enable specific strategies to be tested to optimise
environmental sustainability; or of the social and economic phenomena
that influence their respective pillars of sustainability. For example,
to determine the appropriate: population and building density; mix of
land and building uses; transport modes and network topology;
constructional materials and assembly / disassembly strategies for
recyclability … etc.

Positioned within this landscape and working as part of an
interdisciplinary, we invite applications from candidates for a
Leverhulme PhD studentship in integrated urban modelling. Specifically
to contribute towards the development of a spatially resolved integrated
physical and social urban modelling platform of both hypothetical and
real cities, to determine for the first time, just how sustainable
cities of different typologies can be. Areas of particular interest include:

•    Software integration and co-simulation: To satisfy our objectives
will require the development of new, and the adaptation of existing,
software that simulate a broad range of phenomena, integrated within a
coherent co-simulation framework and applicable to tasks of varying
functional requirement, spatial scale and spatiotemporal resolution
while taking onboard both epistemic and aleatory uncertainty.
•    Social simulation: The outcomes from empirical fieldwork to
characterise cities’ social and cultural as well as their economic
sustainability, will be integrated with a multi-agent simulation
framework to simulate their social and economic interactions, their
sustainability perceptions and how both may be changed through peer
influences as well as through specific interventions; including
regulation, financial incentive, educational programme and technological
innovation. This will be integrated into the above framework.



Requirements

The preferred candidate should have, or expect to obtain, a first-class
or good 2:1 honours degree and / or a distinction or high merit at MSc
level in a relevant subject area (e.g. computer science, mathematics,
engineering, physics or a cognate discipline).
Good communication skills, and the ability to work as part of a team as
well as independently are essential. A willingness to travel within
Europe and to China is desirable.
The studentship will cover PhD tuition fees for UK/EU students, due to
funding restrictions, plus a tax free stipend for three years of £13,863
per annum.
Informal enquiries prior to making an application may be addressed to
Dr. Peer-Olaf Siebers [log in to unmask] or to Prof.
Darren Robinson, email: [log in to unmask] To apply,
please email a covering letter stating why you wish to apply for and how
you fulfill the requirements of this studentship. Please also provide a
full CV, a transcript of your academic record and the names and
addresses of two referees (in PDF format) to [log in to unmask]


Kind regards,
Sameh

-- 

Sameh R. Zakhary

Researcher in Urban Sustainability
Laboratory of Urban Complexity and Sustainability (LUCAS)

University of Nottingham
B12 - Lenton Hurst
University Park
Nottingham
NG7 2RB

Email: [log in to unmask]







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