Graduate Research Positions at the Santa Fe Institute

[Jim Crutchfield]

Our group at the Santa Fe Institute has been applying evolutionary
computation techniques to design cellular automata and other
decentralized multiprocessor systems to perform computations. Our
group's work has two main thrusts: understanding how emergent
computation can occur in spatially-extended decentralized systems, and
understanding how an evolutionary process can produce complex, coherent
behavior in such a system. Part of what we are doing in this context
is formulating a mathematical theory of evolutionary search on
landscapes, taking tools from statistical mechanics and stochastic
process theory. Another novel aspect of our approach is the
development and application of new methods to detect and analyze the
computational structure in the evolved systems. We believe this work
will eventually lead to (1) a better understanding of how evolution
interacts with nonlinear decentralized systems in nature to produce
adaptive coordinated behavior and (2) biologically-inspired methods
for the automated design of parallel and distributed computing systems.

We are searching for two graduate students interested in pursuing
Ph.D.s on this project. This work is interdisciplinary: relevant
fields include machine learning, theory of computation (especially in
parallel decentralized systems), architectures for distributed
parallel computation, nonlinear dynamics and statistical physics,
evolutionary biology, and the mathematics of stochastic processes.
We (the project leaders), Jim Crutchfield and Melanie Mitchell, are
respectively a physicist and a computer scientist. We will consider
students in any of the fields listed above, and will help formulate
dissertation topics appropriate for the students' particular fields.

The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is a interdisciplinary scientific
research center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, whose research focuses on the
sciences of "complexity." Research programs include adaptive
computation, economics, theoretical biology, theoretical immunology,
theoretical ecology, anthropology, neurobiology, and foundations of
complex systems. There is a small semi-permanent faculty along with
a larger external faculty, several postdocs, and many other prominent
scientists from many universities around the world who spend extended
periods at the Institute. Included in this group are many Nobel
Laureates and MacArthur Fellows. Although SFI does not grant degrees,
it has a number of resident graduate research assistants who are
officially enrolled at degree-granting institutions but do their
dissertation research at SFI under the guidance of an Institute
faculty member. 

We are looking for students who have successfully completed their
graduate course work, are ready to engage in independent research,
and are willing to spend two to three years at SFI working on a
dissertation starting this coming summer or fall (1995). We will
provide funding to cover housing and a living stipend. The student
must have an official advisor at their home institution who is willing
to have the student perform his or her work at SFI under our guidance.

Interested students should send a letter stating their interest in
this position along with a resume including (1) a synopsis of
coursework and grades, (2) a synopsis of computer programming
experience and proficiencies in programming languages; (3) a synopsis
of research experience if any (and publications, if any); and (4) any
other information relevant to the student's application. These should
be sent (preferably by email) to:

    James P. Crutchfield
    Physics Department
    University of California
    Berkeley, California 94720-7300, USA
    Office: 510-642-1287
    FAX:    510-643-8497
    email: chaos at gojira.berkeley.edu

The student should also arrange for two letters of recommendation to
be sent to this address (also preferably by email).  

For more information and for our publications on this project, see
our group's Web page (http://www.santafe.edu/projects/evca).
Also see the Computational Mechanics Web page
(http://www.santafe.edu/projects/CompMech).
For more information on the Santa Fe Institute, see the SFI's
Web page (http://www.santafe.edu).  


    JAMES P. CRUTCHFIELD            MELANIE MITCHELL
    Research Physicist              Research Professor and Director, 
                                       Adaptive Computation Program
    (also Research Professor        (also Research Assistant Professor
    at the SFI)                     at the University of New Mexico)

    Physics Department              Santa Fe Institute
    University of California        1399 Hyde Park Road
    Berkeley, California 94720-7300 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

    173 Birge Hall
    chaos at gojira.berkeley.edu       mm at santafe.edu
    Office: 510-642-1287            505-984-8800
    FAX:    510-643-8497            505-982-0565

    http://www.santafe.edu/~jpc     http://www.santafe.edu/~mm