A new three year full-time Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow Position is open at the Curtin Centre for Optimisation and Decision Science
The Curtin Centre for Optimisation and Decision Science conducts high-quality interdisciplinary research focused on data-driven optimisation for real-world applications. The Centre was established in January 2022 and it currently includes 16 full-time staff whose expertise spans operations research, process control, computational modelling, and data science. The Centre works with industry and government partners to develop cutting-edge optimisation technology for solving complex planning and decision problems in the mining, agriculture, energy, and defence sectors. Current areas of focus include maintenance planning and scheduling, rostering optimisation, misinformation in online social networks, and optimising chemical production processes.
For full details, application process and online application portal, please see: https://staff.curtin.edu.au/job-vacancies/?ja-job=763050
Applications close: 10PM Australian Western Standard Time (AWST), Sunday 3rd September 2023
Your new role
The centre is aiming to expand its capacity in research on complex social networks and systems. You will contribute to this by conducting high-quality fundamental and applied research under the supervision of, and in collaboration with, other members of the centre and take the lead in publishing your work in top international journals.
The position involves a negotiable split between working on independently proposed research topics, and working on pre-defined applications-based problems (see below for a sample list). You will also participate in collaborative multidisciplinary projects with researchers from engineering, psychology, and sociology, and government partners, as well as contribute to other activities such as preparing proposals for research funding, supervising honours and PhD students, and teaching at undergraduate or graduate level where required.
Candidates from a range of backgrounds are encouraged to apply, including systems and control engineering, applied mathematics, computer science, physics. Experience with multi-agent systems, networked dynamical systems, agent-based models is helpful but not essential. A critical aspect of your new role is a willingness to work on specific applications-based and demand-driven problems set by your line manager.
Some of the potential research topics for this position include:
- Mathematical modelling of diffusion processes in networks with applications to information transmission;
- Modelling of dynamic social processes and phenomena, including opinion formation dynamics, cultural dynamics, and formation and evolution of social norms; and
- Parametrisation and validation of mathematical models of social networks using experimental and observational data.
This position may involve research where the ability to successfully apply for an Australian security clearance would be highly beneficial. As such, applicants are required to disclose all citizenships as part of the selection process, and this may be considered relevant to selection.
To learn more about this opportunity, please contact Dr Mengbin Ye, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Optimisation and Decision Science on either mengbin.ye@curtin.edu.au or +61 08 9266 5739.
