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Operational Research and Optimization

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PhD Optimization and Operational Research - 3 Years (Full-time)

PhD Optimization and Operational Research - 6 Years (Part-time)

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Contact information: Postgraduate Secretary
Phone: +44 (0) 131 650 5048
Fax: +44 (0) 131 650 6553
Email: pg.maths@ed.ac.uk; Mrs Gill Law (Postgraduate Research Administrator)
Phone: +44 (0)131 650 5085
Email: G.Law@ed.ac.uk; Address: School of Mathematics
JCMB
The King's Buildings
Edinburgh
EH9 3JZ

As a member of the Operational Research and Optimization group you will also be part of the Edinburgh Research Group in Optimization (ERGO), a wider association which includes academics at the universities of Dundee and Oxford as well as commercial organisations.

Through its regular seminar series, this network provides interaction with a broad array of local and international institutions and industrial bodies interested in the development of operational research and optimization. As a result, you will establish valuable relationships that will help you take your research to its optimum level.

Entry requirements

International students

All applicants must meet our general entry and language requirements. Detailed advice for international students is available here:

Research profile

Our group has as its primary focus the mathematical and computing aspects of optimization. Core technology in optimization is the solution for large sparse linear and quadratic problems, and we are able to provide world-class expertise in the two main solution methods for these: the simplex method and the interior point method. We have interests in global optimization, decomposition methods, parallel computing, industrial applications of optimization and stochastic optimization. Our researchers are currently exploring the following areas:

parameter uncertainty in queueing theory and revenue management
algorithms for linear and nonlinear nonconvex smooth optimization problems optimization methods for linear, quadratic and nonlinear programming
decomposition methods for large-scale nonlinear nonconvex constrained optimization bundle methods
warmstarts for interior point methods
pooling problems
computational techniques for solving large-scale linear programming problems
applications of optimization in the chemical, oil and electricity industries
efficient gradient methods for large-scale convex and nonconvex optimization problems

Staff and student numbers

We have 80 staff members and 80 students.

Training and support

Our students are assigned two supervisors from the academic staff. As well as working on their research project, students are expected to take part in other regular activities of the School, such as graduate lecture courses, research seminars and colloquia, and the postgraduate colloquium (organised by and for postgraduates).

The Scottish Mathematical Sciences Training Centre runs a series of training courses designed specifically for first-year graduate students of mathematics. Students also have access to a transferable skills programme for further professional development.

Facilities

Our postgraduate students enjoy excellent facilities, ranging from one of the world’s major supercomputing hubs (EPCC) to generous library provision for research, including the new King’s Buildings Library and the mathematics-focused James Clerk Maxwell Library.

Funding

Please see Scholarships and Student Funding Services for information about funding opportunities:

Scholarships and Student Funding Services

An environment of excellence

Being part of the Operational Research and Optimization group and ERGO will give you the opportunity to meet and confer with academics worldwide – we are currently interacting with researchers in Italy, Norway, China, France, Spain and Turkey. Two of our visiting professors are world leaders in continuous optimization.

In addition, researchers from our group are regularly invited to give addresses and organise workshops at major optimization conferences, join international conference committees and sit on assessment panels for European grants.

Further Information

This article was published on Apr 25, 2013