A colleague asked me to spread this information.

PhD positions in Formal Program Verification are to be filled at the Department of Informatics, University of Sussex at Brighton, UK. Applications are invited for two PhD positions for the EPSRC funded project “From Reasoning Principles for Function Pointers To Logics for Self-Configuring Programs” under the supervision of Bernhard Reus within the Foundations of Computing Group at Sussex. More information about the project is available at

<http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/research/projects/PL4HOStore/>

Each studentship covers tuition fees (for EU citizens only) and a  substantial maintenance grant of GBP 12,940 per year.   The earliest start date is 1st October 2008 and is negotiable to a limited  extent. Both studentships are for three years.

Profile and skills

The ideal candidate will have an excellent undergraduate degree in Computer Science or Mathematics with an interest in formal methods. Candidates should have a background in one, or ideally several, of the following areas:

• program logics
• separation logic
• denotational semantics
• (Hoare-) type systems
• reflective programming (in the context of object-oriented languages)
• mechanization of formal logics in theorem provers or other verification tools.

Candidates must speak English, be eligible to work in the UK and should  expect to work on-campus at the University of Sussex.  They will work on the development and implementation of reasoning principles for programs that use function pointers or reflective features that can be expressed with the help of function pointers like e.g. dynamic loading or  dynamic code update.

Sussex & Brighton

The University is situated in Brighton which is a famous seaside resort at the English south coast, about 50 miles from London (and half an hour from Gatwick Airport). It is renowned for its nightlife, fabulous shops, and cosmopolitan vibe.

Application Procedure

To apply on-line or by paper for a DPhil place at Sussex consult:

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/pgapplication

(which involves a simple registration process, you will find guidelines how to proceed).

Please state clearly in the academic interest section of the application that you are interested in this particular project.  If possible upload a sample of your academic writing.

The deadline is August 28th. After that applications will only be considered if places have not been filled.

Should interviews be necessary they will take place between  September 15th to 19th.