3 fully-funded PhD studentships at the School of Mathematics and Statistics, University College Dublin, Ireland

University College Dublin is pleased to invite applications for three
fully-funded PhD studentships in the School of Mathematics and Statistics
for entry in September 2020. These studentships include a tax-free stipend
of €18,000 per annum for four years, coverage of tuition fees (fully
covered for EU students and partially covered for non-EU students), funds
for conference travel, and an equipment allowance.

*PhD projects:*

– *Statistical methodologies for complex network data *supervised by *Dr
**Riccardo Rastelli**.* Complex networks describe the interactions
between entities in a variety of applied fields. For example, these may be
used to represent coauthorship relations between researchers,
liabilities between financial institutions, or functional connectivity
between different areas of the brain. The goal of this project is to
develop new principled statistical models and computationally efficient
algorithms that can facilitate the analysis of complex networks.

– *Advances in latent variable models for multivariate and
multidimensional networks *supervised by *Dr Michael Fop*. Network data
represent information about relationships between units and arise in many
research areas and applied fields, including biology, finance, medicine,
and social sciences. In most systems, the units interact with each other
in complicated patterns and are interconnected across multiple types of
relationships. Moreover, the relational structure is often accompanied by
additional information that characterizes the units and/or the relations
between them. These systems are represented through multidimensional
network data, which record multiple types of relationships, and through
multivariate network data, where multiple covariates are attached to the
nodes and/or the edges of the networks. Such types of data are inherently
complex and high-dimensional, and pose substantial statistical challenges,
from both a methodological and a computational perspective. The objective
of this PhD research project is the development of statistical methods for
the analysis of multidimensional and multivariate network data.

– *Geo-Spatial Functional Data Analysis (FDA) *supervised by *Dr
Michelle Carey*. Geo-spatial data distributed over geographical
locations and time are essential to the study of demographics, economies
and the environment. This PhD is devoted to the extension of a novel class
of semi-parametric spatial regression models with differential
regularisation. These models are based on regression analysis with a
regularisation term that involves a partial differential equation (PDE).
These models estimate and draw inference on spatial processes that evolve
over complex geometries in the presence of incomplete observations subject
to observational error; and prior knowledge regarding the physical
principles of the process characterised by a PDE.

These positions are funded through Insight Centre for Data Analytics (
http://www.Insight-centre.org ), an SFI funded Research Centre. The €150m
Centre is funded by Science Foundation Ireland and a wide range of industry
and European Union partners. Insight’s research focus encompasses a broad
range of data analytics technologies from machine learning, decision
analytics and social network analysis to linked data, recommender systems
and the sensor web. Together, with more than 220 partner companies, Insight
researchers are solving critical challenges in the areas of Connected
Health and the Discovery Economy.

University College Dublin is Ireland’s premier research university and the
research-active Statistics group is one of the highest-ranked in Ireland.
As UCD is a member institution, the successful applicant will be eligible
to attend the beneficial APTS (www.apts.ac.uk) statistics courses during
their first year. University College Dublin is a campus-based university
with excellent facilities, only a few kilometres from Dublin city centre.

*ENTRY REQUIREMENTS*
A candidate must have reached a minimum of an upper second-class degree or
equivalent in a relevant honour’s undergraduate degree/Master’s degree. All
applicants are required to demonstrate a high level of competence in the
English language. Applicants who have not undertaken their undergraduate
degree/ Master’s degree through English must provide evidence of their
English proficiency by achieving a minimum standard in a recognised English
language test such as IELTS.

*APPLICATION DETAILS*

An application consisting of a cover letter, curriculum vitae (including
the names and contact details of two referees) and scanned copies of
relevant academic transcripts should be sent to:

Dr Riccardo Rastelli (riccardo.rastelli@ucd.ie) for the project
entitled *Statistical methodologies for complex network data,*

Dr Michael Fop (michael.fop@ucd.ie) for the project entitled *Advances in
latent variable models for multivariate and multidimensional networks,*

Dr Michelle Carey (michelle.carey@ucd.ie) for the project entitled *Geo-Spatial
Functional Data Analysis.*

Application deadline *17th July 2020*.