The University of Maryland (UMD) Computer Science Department has a long history of leading research in software engineering and programming languages. To help ensure its continuing success, the UMD Computer Science Department is proud to announce a new call for nominations for the Victor Basili Postdoctoral Fellowship. The fellowship program seeks talented, highly-motivated, post-doctoral computer scientists to conduct research in the area of Applied Software Engineering and Programming Languages, broadly construed.
In particular, we are specifically seeking recent PhD graduates who are interested in research in software engineering for biomedical applications. In particular the Computer Science Department and the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies have developed unique expertise in pathogen informatics for diagnostics, food safety, and biodefense applications, and are involved in close partnerships with federal agencies such as the NIH, US FDA, and the USDA.
As examples of current projects within this broad area of research are: CONSERVE (conservewaterforfood.org) - a USDA-funded project exploring the use of recycled water for irrigating food crops; C.A.T.C.H (gotflu.umd.edu) - a DARPA-funded project studying the spread of respiratory illness in a student community; and S2FAST (www.umiacs.umd.edu/about-us/news/umiacs-partners-fraunhofer-signature-science-dna-screening-technologies) - a project funded under IARPAs FunGCAT (www.iarpa.gov/index.php/research-programs/fun-gcat) program aimed at developing computational approaches for assessing whether DNA sequences pose a biological threat.
One primary goal of this effort is to build research collaborations and capacity to solve a variety of problems in government and industry by using cutting-edge software engineering and programming languages research. Extending the scope of the software engineering and programming languages programs from their established roots, the new initiative will ask researchers to work with existing faculty sponsors 1/2 time, but will also allowing them the freedom to build and direct their own new areas of research. We believe that this fellowship is quite unique in providing a supportive atmosphere, but also according postdocs the freedom to evolve their own research programs.
The program supports multiple two-year postdoctoral appointments each year for several years, allowing new researchers to begin their careers at UMD, perform cutting edge research in applied software engineering and programming languages, and expand our existing CS research community. Professor Emeritus Victor Basili has generously supplied the program’s initial funding.
If you are interested in applying to the Victor Basili Postdoctoral Fellowship, you can learn more here: www.cs.umd.edu/basili-postdoc.
Review of applications will begin upon receipt and continue until positions are filled. For best consideration, please apply by Dec. 31, 2018.