[Ireland] Masters and PhD Scholarships in Electronics and Reconfigurable Radio

Applications are invited for a Masters/PhD studentship in the area of sensing and wireless technologies for reconfigurable radio systems. One of the critical challenges in software radio, or more specifically cognitive radio, is the issue of sensing your environment. In this project we are looking at developing the platforms necessary for sensing other users and collectively agreeing to
a common channel.

Candidates should hold a first or upper second class honours degree in Electronic Engineering. Interest, and preferably experience, in the area of electronics and specifically wireless propagation and RF circuit design is essential.

Successful candidates will join a large multi-disciplinary team and be initially enrolled on a full-time Masters of Engineering Science, with a review after 18 months for progression to a PhD programme.

Apply This Scholarship »

Applications are invited for a Masters/PhD studentship in the area of interoperability of software defined radio systems. This area of research, led by Dr. Ronan Farrell, as part of substantial ongoing activities in the Institute of Microelectronics and Wireless Systems in the area of reconfigurable radio systems. This project is part of a larger collaborative research programme within the SFI Centre for Telecommunications Value-Chain Research (CTVR) As the number of reconfigurable radio platforms increase, both hardware and software components, it is increasingly difficult to ascertain the relative performance of these systems and the level of interoperability between the different hardware and software elements. Existing solutions in this space are overwhelmingly complex. The research will focus on tools and techniques to assess the performance of measure and accurately quantify the capabilities of the various platforms currently available, and then to propose a low-cost interface for encouraging interoperability between hardware and software platforms.

A PhD studentship in mathematical ecology is available within the Biodiversity Research Group at University College Cork, Ireland. Predicting the dynamical consequences of biodiversity change in complex systems. This project will explore the dynamic consequences of species loss from large complex food webs. Food webs can be viewed as complex systems of interacting species and have a number of network properties that can be explored from a mathematical perspective. The aim of the project will be to use mathematical and computational approaches to investigate the importance of species in a food web context. The project will use documented patterns of body size, abundance and food web structure to parameterise models of a series of marine food webs with a special focus on Lough Hyne, south west Ireland. We are also interested in dynamics of food webs in general. We are currently recruiting for a Ph.D in theoretical ecology (Applied Mathematics) to work on the project. The prospective candidate should have a background in mathematics. The applicant should be open to multidisciplinary research and have a full and clean drivers licence. The scholarship will be in the region of €24,000 a year inclusive of fees and research costs.

PhD Studentships TSSG (Telecommunications Software & Systems Group) Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Ireland Duration: 3 years. There are two studentships available and they consist of a bursary of €16,800 (plus fees) per year for three years. Advisor: Dr. Huaiguo Fu The successful applicant will develop the novel algorithms, approaches and framework for distributed knowledge sharing, data mining, as well as trust and identity management. The work will also include development of the Grid-based or P2P-based system of data mining for Digital Ecosystems.

Postgraduate Masters Position: Technologies for Embedded Computing (TEC) Centre Research Opportunities Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland is commencing an ambitious expansion of its Applied Research Programme through the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Embedded Computing. The TEC Centre, supported by major research funding from Enterprise Ireland, will build significant research activities to support the growth of regional industry, including the creation of new enterprise, based directly upon the development of its research and development Programme. The TEC Centre is currently seeking a highly motivated, resourceful people for the following research and development position within the TEC Centre. A successful candidate will become part of an ambitious team seeking to implement high impact applied research, development and exploitation programmes in collaboration with regional industry.

Distributed Cooperative Control of Large-Scale Networked Embedded Systems Project Description Control of large engineering systems, consisting of networks of interconnected/interacting subsystems, has attracted considerable attention in recent years due to the increasing availability of cheap computer and sensing power. Despite this progress, most control strategies rely on distributing control authority among individual system units without explicitly accounting for interactions between the subsystems. Such a completely decentralised strategy may result in unacceptable control performance, especially if the subsystems interact strongly. On the other hand, completely centralised control of large, networked systems might be regarded as impractical and unrealistic. Two vital alternatives to this problem are the communication-based and cooperative control strategies. The former utilises a decentralised strategy but allows for information (about controllers) to be exchanged between different controllers, while in the latter the objective functions of the local controllers are modified to achieve systemwide control objectives.

Title: Role of Journalism in Transitional and Developing Democracies Reference: 07/114 Description: The traditional societies of Central and Eastern Europe have been the subject of considerable investment by Western development and aid agencies, including the European Union with a particular focus on developing civil society structures. The establishment of open media systems and the development of a free press have been central to these efforts for which a number of different strategies have been employed. This research will examine the role played by media development agencies such as the BBC World Service Trust and IREX in the countries of the CEE/CIS region. Recent experience has seen a shift from direct training of media professionals and the establishment of western-oriented media systems to one of placing greater emphasis of education of the next generation of journalistic practice. DIT has been a participant in a number of such programmes and gathered extensive data in countries such as Bulgaria and Ukraine. For the purposes of this research, the research student will critically examine models of media development and assess their contribution to enhancing standards of journalism and contributing to the development of democracy in the region.

Applications are invited for a Ph.D. Studentship, beginning in October 2007, to conduct research on T cell inducing vaccines to influenza virus. A highly efficacious cross-subtype influenza virus vaccine that induces T cell immunity to conserved influenza antigens could be used throughout the world to protect against current and newly arising strains including the avian H5N1 subtype that differs little from human influenza in its internal antigens. This project will develop and examine methods to induce long lasting T cell memory responses by immunization with vaccines based on virus vector platforms. The immunity and efficacy against infection induced by immunisation with these vaccines will be tested and correlates of immune protection will be elucidated. The research will be conducted in the Immunotherapy and Vaccine Research Laboratory lead by Dr. Anne Moore in the Dept. of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and based in the School of Pharmacy, UCC.

PhD Fellowships Integrative Systems Microbiology Ireland Programme In response to Irish government funding initiatives, University College Cork and Trinity College Dublin, have joined forces to form a new International PhD programme in Integrative Systems Microbiology. This PhD programme will offer exciting opportunities for Life Science, Mathematics and Computer Science Graduates. This programme will provide excellent training for students in academic and core research skills as well as exciting multi-disciplinary projects. The programme is scheduled to commence in October 2007 (subject to a successful funding-bid outcome). Application deadline is July 23rd and short-listed candidates will be notified by August 10th.

INTRODUCTION The Environmental Policy Research Group within the School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy, UCD Dublin (http://www.ucd.ie/gpep/gpepinfo/) is a leading centre of research into the integration of environment and development. One strand of our work focuses on understanding how to mobilize markets to conserve environmental endowments and control green house gas emissions. We are seeking a PhD candidate in Environmental Economics to join our team. JOB DESCRIPTION: The successful candidate will contribute to the research project “The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and the Greening of Technology”, funded by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency. This project undertakes the analysis of the effects of the EU Emission Trading scheme on the technology available to firms across the European Union, with special emphasis on Irish firms. Through the use of an array of econometric techniques and a variety of different types of data, it proposes to investigate all phases of the process of technological change: invention, innovation, and diffusion. Identifying the key elasticities and the fundamental drivers of the process of technical change, this project aims at providing a fundamental contribution to inform the current debate on the review of the EU ETS and the post-Kyoto policy alternatives. This study will also contribute to an ex post analysis of the pilot phase of EU ETS, in which study UCD Dublin is in partnership with MIT and Caisse des Dépôts, Paris.