UK: Postdoc Position, University of Reading

[administrator]

We are seeking a postdoctoral research fellow to work on an EPSRC-funded project "Covariance regularization for data assimilation in coupled dynamical systems". Data assimilation is a technique used to combine observational data with numerical models to understand the current state of a physical system. It is used on a daily basis to initialize numerical weather prediction models. In practice the best estimate of the state is found by minimising a large nonlinear least-squares objective function, often involving millions of variables. The sensitivity of the solution of this problem to changes in the data can be measured by its condition number, which also serves as a proxy for the amount of computational work needed to obtain the solution. In this project you will analyse mathematically the conditioning of new forms of the data assimilation problem using techniques from linear algebra and demonstrate the theoretical results using an idealized numerical model.

You will have: A PhD in mathematics or with a strong mathematical content (or soon to obtain a PhD). Knowledge of linear algebra. Programming experience in Python, Matlab or Fortran.

The project is fixed-term for 9.7 months, with a starting date as soon as possible, and is based in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Reading.

Further information and details of how to apply can be found at https://jobs.reading.ac.uk/displayjob.aspx?jobid=8151

The closing date for applications is 10 September.

For informal enquires please contact Dr Amos Lawless (a.s.lawless@reading.ac.uk) or Prof Nancy Nichols (n.k.nichols@reading.ac.uk).