Monday, December 18, 2017

[DMANET] Postdoc positions in SAT solving at KTH Royal Institute of Technology

The TCS Group at KTH Royal Institute of Technology invites applications for postdoc positions in computer science focused on SAT solving.

KTH Royal Institute of Technology is the leading technical university in Sweden. The Theoretical Computer Science Group at KTH (www.csc.kth.se/tcs) offers a strong research environment spanning a wide range of research topics such as complexity theory and approximation algorithms, computer and network security, cryptography, formal methods and natural language processing. We have one of Europe's most prominent groups in algorithms and complexity theory, and the research conducted here has attracted numerous international awards and grants in recent years.

The postdoctoral researchers will be working in the research group of Jakob Nordstrom. Much of the activities of this research group revolve around the themes of efficient algorithms for satisfiability in propositional logic (SAT solving) and lower bounds on the efficiency of methods for reasoning about SAT (proof complexity). On the practical side, one problem of interest is to gain a better understanding of, and improve, the performance of current state-of-the-art SAT solvers based on conflict-driven clause learning (CDCL). We are even more interested in exploring new algebraic or geometric techniques (such as Groebner bases or pseudo-Boolean solving) that could potentially yield exponential improvements over CDCL. We also believe that there should be ample room for technology transfer with related areas such as SMT solving, constraint programming, and/or mixed integer linear programming, and so excellent researchers in these areas are also warmly welcome to apply.

The research project is financed by a Breakthrough Research Grant and a Consolidator Grant from the Swedish Research Council and a Starting Independent Researcher Grant from the European Research Council. A more detailed description of the project can be found at www.csc.kth.se/~jakobn/project-proofcplx. The group currently consists of 4 postdoctoral researchers and 4 PhD students (in addition to the PI). There are also several other professors, postdocs, and PhD students in the TCS Group working on other aspects of algorithms and computational complexity, and so this is a unique opportunity to explore new connections between theoretical and practical areas of computer science within a vibrant and growing research environment.

Within the overall framework sketched above, the postdocs will be expected and encouraged to contribute to and influence the research agenda. Taking part in teaching graduate seminar courses is encouraged but not required. Travel funding is included, and the group also receives short-term and long-term visitors on a regular basis.

These postdoc positions are full-time employed positions for one year with a possible (and expected) one-year extension. The expected starting date is in August-September 2018, although this is to some extent negotiable.

The application deadline is January 21, 2018. See http://www.csc.kth.se/~jakobn/openings/D-2017-0893-Eng.php for the full announcement with more information and instructions how to apply. Informal enquiries are welcome and may be sent to jakobn@kth.se .


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