Start Date: October 2013
Studentship Information Applications are invited for a PhD funding opportunity based in the UCL Department of Statistical Science, commencing in October 2013. The studentship is funded by a UCL Impact award held by Dr James Nelson in collaboration with the Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL). The successful candidate will have the opportunity for short secondments to the DSTL Laboratory, which may also include visits to the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation in La Spezia, Italy.
Inhomogenous multiresolution random fields
As autonomous underwater vehicles and sensor modalities such as modern sonar imaging systems become ever more sophisticated there is growing interest in spatial-statistical models and computer-aided approaches to data analysis for various problems in the oceanography, oil and gas, defence, and counter-terrorism sectors. In addition to the myriad noise sources polluting the data capture process, the complexity and variability of the seabed floor and potential objects of interest present major challenges to current statistical methodology in these problem domains.
This project will consider new inhomogeneous, multiresolution random field models and inferential statistics to underpin some key sonar imagery analysis tasks such as enhancement, detection, and segmentation.
Candidates with an interest in one or more of the following areas are strongly encouraged to apply: spatial models, random fields, statistical machine learning, computer vision, and image analysis. Informal enquiries to Dr James Nelson (j.nelson@ucl.ac.uk) are welcomed.
Eligibility The award is tenable for 36 months and covers tuition fees plus a stipend of £15,590 per annum (based on the standard UK Research Council rate with London weighting). This studentship may only be awarded to applicants liable to pay tuition fees at the UK/EU rate (i.e. it cannot be used to part-cover overseas tuition fees). The procedure for determining oneâs tuition fee status is outlined on the UCL website.
The requirement for admission to the MPhil/PhD in Statistical Science is a 1st class or high upper 2nd class Bachelorâs degree, or a Masterâs degree with merit or distinction in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative discipline. Overseas qualifications of an equivalent standard are also acceptable. Further details can be found on the Departmental website.
The successful applicant will be required to undergo security clearance by DSTL.
How to Apply For details on how to apply, please visit the apply button below.