Fully Funded DPhil Studentship associated with SRC project "HW/SW Co-Verification via Directed Trace Partitioning"

The Verification Research Group is offering a fully funded DPhil (i.e. PhD) studentship in Oxford University's Department of Computer Science. This position is associated with an industrially focussed research project funded by the Semiconductor Research Corporation on "Hardware/Software Co-Verification via Directed Trace Partitioning".  Led by Professors Daniel Kroening and Tom Melham, the project addresses the broad area of correctness verification, by formal proof, of systems that have been represented as a mixture of hardware and software models.  Typical of the kind of problem we’re addressing is checking correspondences between a “golden” hardware reference model and a circuit implementation. Another scenario is checking properties of software/hardware interaction, where the software is written in C and the hardware modelled in an HDL such as Verilog or VHDL. There are a broad variety of styles in which ANSI-C programs or SystemC descriptions are used in these settings as (possibly partial) hardware specifications.

The project will cover both theoretical foundations and the implementation of prototype software tools. The research would suit applicants especially interested in formal aspects of computer science, such as machine-assisted logic, formal software or hardware verification, and symbolic execution or simulation – as well as applicants with an interest in modelling low-level systems. An essential part of the project is implementation of research ideas in prototype verification tools, and evaluating these on test examples. It is recognised that applicants are unlikely to have deep experience across the full range of all these topics, so the successful applicant will be expected to fill any gaps in their background. 

Proposals for doctoral study in specific topics relevant to the project are invited, and should include an indication of how they contribute to the project goals.  Informal enquiries in advance of making a formal application are welcome – when we can provide more background about the funded project this position is associated with. Successful applicants will be working with a first class team and have an exciting and unusual opportunity to work with major commercial companies.

The studentship is fully funded at home/EU fees level  (overseas candidates will need supplementary funding) for 3 years and is available immediately for a January 2013 start. The studentship includes a stipend of at least £13,590 per year as well as provision for travel to project meetings and conferences.

Candidates must satisfy the usual requirements:

http://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/admissions/dphil/dphil-criteria.pdf

for studying for a doctorate at Oxford. We will consider students with skills in theoretical computer science and in any of the above-mentioned areas. Candidates must have good writing, communication, presentation, and organization skills.

When applying for these studentships, please quote the following studentship codes:

2012-DK1-WEB (if you are applying via Computer Science departmental web pages)

2012-DK2-JOBS (if you are applying via jobs.ac.uk)

The closing date for applications is 30th November, 2012. If you have any questions about the studentship or application process please e-mail Julie.sheppard@cs.ox.ac.uk.