PhD studentship in the area of data analysis and modelling

Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCL

*** Vacancy Information ***
A 3 year PhD studentship is available within the Physics and Astronomy Department, University College London, supervised by Dr Serena Viti. The studentship is available to start from 1st October 2011, or as soon as possible thereafter. The studentship is co-funded by Columba Systems Ltd, a London-based company that provides future financial event data. The PhD student will undertake the bulk of their research within the Physics and Astronomy Department at UCL, where the main project will deal with the statistical analysis and interpretation of grids of chemical and radiative transfer models covering astronomical conditions from local to high redshift galaxies. The student will also spend a significant amount of time working at Columba Systems where they will be analysing Columba’s historical corporate events database and other financial data sources. The ultimate aim is to produce a ‘back testing datapack’ including tools and statistical methodology for testing financial models against historic data. The student will be required to learn a significant amount about financial terms and data models.

*** Application ***
To apply for this studentship, please send a CV to Dr Serena Viti by e-mail (sv(at)star.ucl.ac.uk) in the first instance, explaining why you are interested in this PhD position.

*** Person Specification ***
Candidates must have obtained a Masters Degree or equivalent in Physics, Statistics, Astronomy or a related Engineering field by the 1st of October 2011 and within the past four years. The successful applicant must have completed one or more undergraduate-level courses in statistics, preferably including time series analysis. He or she must have strong computer skills and ideally be familiar with databases, SQL and XML.

*** Eligibility ***
All EU nationalities are eligible to apply.

*** Contact details ***
Dr Serena Viti
sv(at)star.ucl.ac.uk