[alife] International PhD project in Poland/UK

borys wrobel bwrobel at iopan.gda.pl
Wed Oct 20 04:54:26 PDT 2010


International PhD project at the Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland)
and University of Hertfordshire (UK):
Integrating evolution, morphogenesis and behaviour: a road towards
embodied intelligence

We are recruiting candidates for a PhD project that will be a part of
a larger team effort in several collaborating labs in Europe. This
effort aims at building a software platform that brings together
evolution, morphogenesis and behaviour, a platform that is based on
the principle of genome-physics interaction in shaping the
morphogenesis and on the paradigm of indirect genotype-phenotype
relationship (evolvable and efficient encoding of the features of an
organism). Such a platform will allow to model the coevolution of the
shape of the multicellular organism (“the body”) and the way its
behaviour is controlled (“the mind”). We believe that truly embodied
intelligence can only be possible when mind-body co-evolution is
allowed.

A suitable candidate would be interested in biology, but no previous
formal background in life sciences is required. It is essential that
he or she would have good knowledge of object-oriented programming
(C++ and/or Java). For the timely development of the project, it will
be necessary to modify existing models of evolving gene regulatory
networks (controlling behaviour of single cells), models of cell
division and differentiation, including differentiation into sensors,
actuators and neurons, and/or models of controlling the movement of
complex bodies in the environment. One or several issues will be
tackled by the candidate, depending on his or her interest, background
and abilities, in close collaboration with other members of an
international team of researchers. As the project will involve
collaborative software development, the willingness to work in such an
environment and a good command of English will be an important factor.

More information: http://mpd.amu.edu.pl/projects/10.htm

The duration of the graduate fellowship will be up to 4 years (2 will
be spent in the UK and 2 in Poland). The deadline for complete
applications is November 22, 2010.

For informal inquiries please contact:
 Dr Maria Schilstra (http://strc.herts.ac.uk/bio/maria/),
 Dr Volker Steuber (http://homepages.feis.herts.ac.uk/~comqvs/) or
 Dr Borys Wróbel (www.evosys.org)



-- 
Borys Wrobel
Evolutionary Systems Laboratory IOPAN & UAM
www.evosys.org
tel. +48 58 73 11 767 / fax +48 58 551 21 30
wrobel at evosys.org



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