Author: Michael Kerber

The Institute of Geometry at Graz University of Technology offers a PhD position in the newly established research area “Computational Topology and Geometry”. The focus lies on the emerging field of persistent homology, a theory that turns homological algebra robust to noise and has paved the way to the topological analysis of real-world data. Besides theoretical aspects, the group works on algorithmic tools in the context of this data analysis techniques, on the connections to low- and high-dimensional computational geometry, and on applications of topological data analysis.

We offer a 4-year university assistant position (30 h/week) with a net salary of approximately 20,000 EUR per year. The position is available starting October 1 2015, and should be filled as soon as possible. The position is integrated into the field of expertise “Information, Communication, and Computing” at TU Graz, providing a stimulating interdisciplinary research environment. The graduate school “Discrete Mathematics” additionally contributes to the quality of TU Graz as a research center.

We are looking for outstanding students with a master’s degree in Mathematics/Computer Science or a closely related field. Knowledge in at least one of the fields computational geometry, computational topology, or algebraic topology, and programming skills, in particular in C++, are desirable.

Applications should include:
* a letter of application and motivation
* a detailed curriculum vitae
* a reference letter (for instance, by the Master thesis supervisor)
* email addresses of additional references (if applicable)
* a preferred starting date

and should be sent until August 23, 2015 using the reference number 5070/15/007 to (email is enough):

Technische Universität Graz
Dekan der Fakultät für Mathematik, Physik und Geodäsie
Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Phys. Dr.rer.nat. Wolfgang Ernst
Petersgasse 16
A-8010 Graz
bewerbungen.tmtph@tugraz.at

For further questions, please contact Michael Kerber (mkerber@mpi-inf.mpg.de).

…in the Journal of Symbolic Computation

Aim and Scope:

The interest in algorithms on topological problems and their implementation has rapidly grown during the last decade. One driving force is the emergence of “topological data analysis” which connects topological concepts like Morse theory and homology to the investigation of real-world data. Another recent track of research substantially expands the realm of possibility for computational approaches in 3-manifold and knot theory. Common to these and other developments is the ability to handle large data collections through an efficient algorithmic framework as well as mature software implementations of those. A workshop session at the International Congress of Mathematical Software (ICMS) in August 2014 was dedicated to this topic (http://icms14.appliedtopology.org/).

The Journal of Symbolic Computation (JSC) invites high-quality contributions from researchers in the area of Computational Topology reporting on original research achievements towards algorithms, software, and applications. The list of topics includes, but is not limited to

• (Persistent) homology
• Topological data analysis
• 3-manifold topology and knot theory
• (Discrete) Morse theory

Researchers which are unsure whether their contribution is suitable are encouraged to contact the guest editor.

Submission instructions:

It is recommended to prepare submission in the same format as regular submission to JSC (see the “Guide for Authors” at http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-symbolic-computation/).

The paper must start with a introduction that

• clearly states the considered problem
• discusses its relevance and related work
• explains the main contribution of the paper
• explains why the contribution is original and non-trivial

There is no page limit on submitted manuscripts. It is required, however, that

• all related work is completely and carefully discussed
• all theorems are rigorously proved
• important definitions/theorems/algorithms are illustrated by well-chosen examples.

All submitted papers will be refereed according to the high standards of JSC.

Guest editor:

Michael Kerber (Max Planck Institute for Informatics) – mkerber@mpi-inf.mpg.de

Deadline:

The submission deadline is January 31 2015. The special issue is planned to appear in Fall 2015