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Nature demonstrates many examples of sophisticated collective information-processing that emerge from the individual actions of simple entities having only local view of their environment. Some often-cited examples include efficient foraging and intricate nest-building in insect societies, the spontaneous aggregation of a reproductive multi-cellular organism from individual amoebae in the life cycle of the Dictyostelium slime mold, the parallel and distributed processing of sensory information by assemblies of neurons in the brain, and the optimal pricing of goods in an economy arising from agents obeying local rules of commerce. The sequences of emergent patterns produced by the above systems can be viewed as manifestation of the information processing that aids in the system’s survival and success. However, it is not well understood how such apparent complex global coordination emerges from simple individual actions in natural systems, nor how such systems are produced by biological evolution. Therefore, when talking about artificial systems, it is difficult to design a collection of individual components and their interactions in a way that will give rise to useful global information processing. Our goal is to understand the mechanisms of emergent computation. Although there are examples of emergent computation in different media, most analytical results are obtained for cellular automata. This project will investigate the mechanisms of collective information processing in coupled map lattices and reaction-diffusion systems.
Funding Notes:
Successful candidates will receive a £6000 annual stipend payable for three years and payment of tuition fees (current value £3400).
This studentship is open to Home/EU candidates with a first degree in a relevant discipline.
Non-EU students can apply, but will not receive the stipend and will be required to pay fees.
Candidates must be available to commence their studies in October 2012.
All interviews will take place during between 21st May and 8th June 2012.
Please note that this project is part of a competitive round and there is no guarantee that it will be awarded.
References:
How to apply:
Postgraduate Degree by Research Applications should be completed online at http://www.uws.ac.uk/research/research-degrees/apply/
Please quote the Project Reference Number when applying.
Applications without all relevant documents will not be considered.
If you have any queries please contact Charlie Fielding on + 44 (0)141 848 3919 or email PGR@uws.ac.uk