Technology (The Netherlands), there is a vacancy for a 4 year
PhD-position. This PhD position is supervised by Frits Spieksma and
Christopher Hojny.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The notion of fairness has a long history within mathematical
optimization. Clearly, in problems where entities or agents face the
task of distributing a certain amount of resources among them, fairness
questions are imminent. In many discrete optimization problems, agents
can be modeled as nodes (or arcs) in a graph, and a solution has not
only a global aspect, but also immediate consequences for the individual
agents.
To find fair solutions for individual agents, there exist several
techniques to incorporate aspects of fairness into discrete optimization
problems. In recent years, however, novel fairness questions have
surfaced that require new tools and concepts for finding fair solutions,
among others in
- tournament design. Fairness is deeply ingrained in for instance
sports, and there is an abundant literature on the very concrete problem
of designing a fair knockout tournament. More generally, the challenge
of devising fair rules is one of increasing importance given the massive
interests.
- kidney exchange. To maximize the number of kidney exchanges within a
pool of patients and donors, a classical model is to find a collection
of disjoint cycles in a suitably defined graph that covers as many nodes
as possible. Any such set of cycles maximizes the number of kidney
exchanges. But in the presence of multiple optimal solutions, the
question arises which solution is fairest.
- matching. Weighted matching problems arise very frequently, e.g., in
assigning passengers to a taxi pool, where edge weights model for
instance the waiting time for passengers or travel cost. Any minimum
cost maximum cardinality matching will then minimize the total waiting
time/cost. But from an individual perspective, specific matchings will
give a (dis-) advantage to some passengers, and the challenge is to find
a matching that distributes cost also from an individual perspective in
a fair way.
The goal of this research project is to increase our understanding of
fairness in combinatorial optimization problems by identifying
situations where fairness plays a role, by proposing criteria for what
it means for a solution to be fair, and by designing (and implementing)
methods that yield fair solutions.
REQUIREMENTS
- You have a master degree in (Applied) Mathematics or a related field
such as Operations Research or Theoretical Computer Science.
- You have a strong background in Combinatorial Optimization, Discrete
Optimization, and/or Integer Programming.
- You have good communication skills.
- You are creative, and ambitious, as well as self-motivated, proactive,
and goal-oriented.
- You have a good command of the English language (knowledge of Dutch is
not required).
- Experience in programming will be considered an advantage.
ABOUT TU EINDHOVEN, THE DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE,
AND THE COMBINATORIAL OPTIMIZATION GROUP
TU Eindhoven (TU/e) was established in 1956 as a polytechnic. It has
grown into a university with nine departments. TU/e now has
approximately 3000 employees (incl. PhD students) and 8000 BSc and MSc
students. The TU/e campus is in the center of Eindhoven, which itself is
the heart of the Brainport region. Our Department offers several
bachelor and master programs, all of which are taught in English. The
Combinatorial Optimization group provides a dynamic international
research atmosphere.
BEING A PhD STUDENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
In the Netherlands, every PhD student gets paid a salary; no additional
grants are needed. Moreover, although PhD students sometimes take
courses, there is no minimum requirement. Hence, PhD students are more
like employees than like students. Indeed, the Dutch word for PhD
student translates to "research trainee". The work of a PhD student may
include assisting in courses of BSc or MSc programs of the department.
This amounts to around 10% of the time; the remaining time is spent on
research and research-related activities. Foreign PhD students need not
speak Dutch: it is easy to get by with English, not only at the
university but also in everyday life.
WHAT WE OFFER
We offer a PhD position in Combinatorial Optimization. Gross salary
ranges from 2.325 euro per month in the first year increasing up to
2.972 euro in the fourth year. TU Eindhoven offers a broad package of
fringe benefits (e.g. excellent technical infrastructure, child daycare
and excellent sports facilities).
FURTHER INFORMATION
For more information about the project or about the working conditions,
please contact Christopher Hojny (c.hojny@tue.nl), or Frits Spieksma
(f.c.r.spieksma@tue.nl).
HOW TO APPLY
Applications should be done through the following website:
https://jobs.tue.nl/en/vacancy/phd-position-fairness-in-combinatorial-optimization-939623.html
Besides personal and contact information, you should upload four PDF
documents:
* a letter of motivation outlining professional background and why you
apply for this specific position (named motivation.pdf)
* a CV including list of publications if existing (named cv.pdf)
* a complete list of Bachelor and Master courses and grades (named
courses.pdf)
* two recent recommendation letters (names references.pdf)
Do not upload any other documents.
CLOSING DATE
July 10, 2022
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