mathematical model | Scholarship for Nigerians and Africans - Part 4

Four PhD Positions in Interdisciplinary Mathematics, Sweden

The PhD students will work with an interdisciplinary mathematics research project, supervised by at least two PhD advisors working in different research disciplines. Ideally, at least one of these disciplines should be in the mathematical sciences, which here includes mathematical statistics, computational science and control systems. The second research discipline should have a connection to complex and dynamical systems, such as those found in physics, chemistry, biology, economics, finance etc.

PhD students will be expected to engage actively in the activities of the centre and the graduate school, i.e. seminars, scientific consultation and so on. They will be required to take at least 30hp (6 months full time study) PhD level mathematics and modelling courses offered by the mathematics and scientific computing departments.

Eligibility: The candidates are expected to have an interest in applied mathematics and/or using models in an interdisciplinary context. A PhD student position requires a Master of Science in a field that is relevant for conducting research in applied mathematics, e.g. mathematics, engineering physics or scientific computing. Candidates with a background in another area of science, e.g. chemistry or biology, with a strong competence and interest in mathematical modeling are also encouraged to apply.

Scholarship Application Deadline: 1 April 2011

Further Scholarship Information and Application

PhD Positions Available at CERE-DTU, Denmark

A four-year BioRec project is focused around behavior and effects of microorganisms in reservoir engineering: Enhanced oil recovery (EOR), hydrate formation and inhibition, and bio-induced corrosion. The goal of the specific subproject is a highly focused investigation of the possible recovery mechanisms of Bio-EOR under conditions of the Danish North Sea reservoirs.

Application of the modern oil recovery methods never leads to complete recovery. Production of few ten percent is often considered to be a success. Can oil recovery be increased by the application of microorganisms and/or enzymes – protein catalysts from living systems? A positive answer would provide the opportunity to produce more oil in a relatively cheap and environmentally safe way.

The task of the PhD student
The tasks of the PhD students will be to carry out a series of laboratory experiments by displacement of oil by water containing bacteria and/or enzymes; and advanced mathematical modeling of the displacement processes under realistic reservoir conditions. Selection of the samples and bio-agents will be carried out in collaboration with industrial partners: Mærsk Oil & Gas, DONG Energy, Novozymes, and Danish Technological Institute.

The students are expected to exhibit creativity, openness to new challenges and interest to independent and nontrivial research.

Required skills
* A degree (M.Sc.) in chemical or petroleum engineering, technical physics, other relevant areas;
* Knowledge of the fundamentals of flows and fluid distribution in porous media;
* Good writing skills in English;
* Interest to independent research;
* Laboratory skills;
* Skills in mathematics, physics and programming;

Scholarship Application Deadline: 15 March 2011

Further Scholarship Information and Application

Willis Research Fellow Position in Marine Cargo Exposure, Singapore

Willis, one of the world’s largest insurance and reinsurance brokers, has developed the Willis Research Network (www.willisresearchnetwork.com), the world’s largest collaboration between insurance and academia undertaking research to evaluate the frequency, severity and impact of extreme events and develop private and public sector risk financing to share the costs of these events across populations. In collaboration with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and with various other scientific institutions world-wide, it strives to develop a common framework to represent marine cargo exposure world-wide and to use this framework to design and develop a database dealing with world-wide marine cargo exposure.
The fundamental purpose of the research is to evaluate the world-wide exposure of marine cargo. The project will coordinate with the parallel NTU/WRN project into vulnerability, and with the various marine cargo (and other) research and development initiatives which are on-going within the WRN and within Willis.
The processes involved will include; a review of world-wide data sources dealing with all aspects of marine cargo, data collection and tabulation, database design and development, data mining and analysis, and mathematical modelling. The Willis Research Fellow will need to contribute to the design of the project, to research the exposure of cargo, to develop databases, to write and present analytical reports, research and industry papers and conference presentations, working in conjunction with WRN and Willis partners and others in collaborative and multidisciplinary research projects.

Scholarship Application Deadline: 21 February 2011

Further Scholarship Information and Application