Physical Science | Scholarship for Nigerians and Africans - Part 458

EPSRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Cognitive Control of Autonomous Systems, UK

The Cognitive Signal Image Processing Research (COSIPRA) Laboratory of Dr. Amir Hussain at the University of Stirling invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to work on the EPSRC project “Dual Process Control Models in the Brain and Machines with Application to Autonomous Vehicle Control”.

The general aim of this multi-disciplinary project is to exploit a range of similarities between systems in control engineering and the animal brain, focusing specifically on the concepts of automatised and controlled (or executive) processing and how they might map onto modular.

Given the inherent similarities between the two problem domains of AVC and action selection in animals, this ambitious project aims to leverage new results from psychology and neurobiology discovered in the laboratory of the project Co-Investigator (Prof Kevin Gurney at The University of Sheffield) and apply them to the AVC controllers under development in Dr Hussain’s Lab at Stirling. The outcome should be a new generation real-time cognitive AVC controller, more directly inspired by the biological ideas. The appointed postdoctoral researcher will work closely with our industrial partners (Industrial Systems Control and SciSys) to evaluate the benefits of these novel controllers within the challenging context of regular road driving and planetary rover vehicles.
Fellowship Application Deadline: 05/01/2011 at 12 noon
Further Fellowship Information and Application

Psychiatry: Two DPhil Studentships, UK

The Department is pleased to invite applications for 2 MRC-supported studentships, to conduct research towards a doctoral degree at the University. The department supports internationally-renowned research programmes that address the causes and treatments of psychiatric illness; it is particularly strong in neurobiology and physical treatments, psychopathology and psychological treatments, old-age and social psychiatry, psychiatric epidemiology and developmental psychopathology.

Information about particular projects offered this year can be found at http://www.psychiatry.ox.ac.uk/studentships/post-gradresearch. There are projects in the glucocorticoids and emotional processing, depression and the neural basis of reward, genetics of dementia and the ageing brain, psychological factors in eating disorders, electrophysiology of attention, and neural responses to trauma. Applicants are strongly advised to contact potential supervisors to discuss possible projects or their own proposals before applying. Candidates who are interested in other aspects of the research done within the Department are also encouraged to apply.
Scholarship Application Deadline: Friday 14 January 2011
Further Scholarship Information and Application

Erasmus Mundus Masters Scholarship in Advanced Spectroscopy in Chemistry

The ASC network aims at preparing students to become experts and develop international skills towards doctoral studies, and/or professional industrial careers in chemical analysis and characterization of the structure of materials.
A mobility scheme ensures that, in addition to high specialization and access to state of the art technologies, students will do a common core curriculum of studies in different higher education institutions throughout Europe.

This ASC master programme will:
-guarantee quality (all partners have official accredited Masters in chemistry)
– Allow students access to techniques not available locally (mutualisation of the equipment)
-provide a sound background in Advanced Spectroscopy, both in experimental techniques and in scientific knowledge;
-promote students mobility within a network of research laboratories spread amongst countries from a large area of Europe in an environment where they will be well looked after.prepare students to become experts in far reaching experimental techniques in Spectroscopy.
-help and prepare students to develop skills to follow future doctoral studies, and/or towards professional activities.

The originality of this programme is to allow students to choose their research master thesis in one highly specialized field according to their professional objectives. The high level of equipments available in the consortium is unique.

Scholarship Application Deadline: January 14th, 2011

Further Scholarship Information and Application