[ecoop-info] 2 Ph.D positions on Formal Methods for Concurrent Systems and Security Analysis (at U. of Oslo, Inst. of Informatics)

[Martin Steffen]

	   __________________________________________________

		TWO PH.D POSITIONS IN FORMAL METHODS FOR
			   SECURITY ANALYSIS

			     31st January 2016

                       University of Oslo (www.uio.no)
                 Institute for Informatics (www.ifi.uio.no)
	   __________________________________________________



1 Short description
===================

  There are two Ph.D positions in the area of formal methods for
  analyzing security properties in concurrent and distributed programs.

  One Ph.D position is connected to the /ConSeRNS/ initiative, targeting
  research challenges in security and robustness of ICT infrastructures.

  This is a 4 year position with a 25% teaching load.  The other Ph.D
  position is connected to the /IoTSec/ project, targeting security in
  Internet-of-Things (IoT) for Smart Grids, and is for 3 years without
  teaching.  

  Both positions have application deadline January 31st 2016.


  - http://www.mn.uio.no/ifi/english/research/groups/pma/news/news-positions-phd-2015-2.html


1.1 ConSeRNS position
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The goal of the first PhD scholarship is to address the problem of how
  IT systems during runtime can assess, detect, react and adapt to
  current security threats, vulnerabilities and attacks in order to
  achieve a certain level of security threat immunity. Elements to be
  considered as part of this PhD project is the development of models
  for dynamic risk, the design of redundant security architectures, and
  the application of formal methods for security design verification.
  The PhD scholar will be supervised by a team of the faculty (see
  contact information below).


1.2 IoTSec  position
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The second PhD scholarship is focusing on semantic descriptions for
  the infrastructure components of IoT Smart Grids and their attack
  surface, and thus establishing an overall semantic model for IoT Smart
  Grids systems.  The work will include development of case studies and
  tools.  The PhD scholar will be supervised by a team of the faculty
  (see link below) involved in the /IoTSec/ project.


2 Specific qualifications
=========================

  The applicant is required to hold a Master's degree or equivalent in
  /computer science/ and should have good analytical and programming
  skills. The ideal candidate has background in (some of) the following
  areas of system security and formal methods and analysis: software
  verification, validation, monitoring and testing, semantics, including
  knowledge of tools in that field.

  Besides technical skills, we are looking for a curious, ambitious
  candidate who is highly motivated to do research and contribute to the
  work done at our group. Good communication skills in both oral and
  written English are expected. We strongly encourage that the
  application is accompanied by a short cover letter explaining shortly
  how the applicant's background and education fits to the goals and
  requirements of this project.


3 Research group
================

  Both positions are associated with the research group for Precise
  Modeling and Analysis (PMA), focusing on formal models, programming
  and modeling languages, and semantically based tools.  See the [PMA
  homepage].

  One position is a part of the ConSeRNS Strategic Research Initiative
  at the /University of Oslo/.  ConSeRNS is run by 12 faculty members
  from the /Department of Informatics/ and targets essential research
  challenges in security and robustness of ICT infrastructures.
  ConSeRNS is part of a national Center for Resilient Networks and
  Applications (CRNA), which spans Simula Research Laboratory, the
  University of Bergen as well as the University of Oslo. For more
  information, see the group's web-page.  The other position is a part
  of the IoTSec project.


  [PMA homepage]      http://www.mn.uio.no/ifi/english/research/groups/pma/

  [group's web-page]  http://www.mn.uio.no/ifi/english/research/groups/conserns

  [IoTSec project]    http://www.iotsec.no/



4 Further information
=====================

  For further information concerning 

     - work environment
     - payment and economocal aspects
     - social security & other contractual conditions
     - support of families and social aspects of working for a PhD in Norway

  please see the mentioned link 

   http://www.mn.uio.no/ifi/english/research/groups/pma/news/news-positions-phd-2015-2.html

  resp. the official central application webpage linked in there.

  For equiries, feel free to contact us.

5 Contact
=========

    - Olaf Owe (olaf at ifi.uio.no)  (ConSeRNS, IoTSec)

    - Joseph Noll (josef at unik.no) (IoTSec)

    - Martin Steffen (msteffen at ifi.uio.no) (ConSeRNS)