Full information, including deadlines and such: https://di.ku.dk/ominstituttet/ledige_stillinger/phd-fellowships-in-parallel... The section for Programming Languages and the Theory of Computation (PLTC) at the Department of Computer Science invites applicants for PhD fellowships in two areas: data parallel programming languages broadly construed (including design, implementation, theoretical aspects, and parallel algorithms), and the intersection of systems-level security and formal aspects of computer science (e.g., verification, type systems, programming languages, language-based security, formal methods, logic and so on). When applying, please indicate which areas are of interest to you (which can be both). Two positions, are available: # Parallel Functional Programming Parallel programming on modern massively parallel processors such as GPUs is notoriously difficult and awkward for humans, particularly for irregular problems or those with nested structure. At DIKU, we are a small team that researches programming and compilation techniques for making high-performance parallel programming more accessible to non-specialist programmers. We conduct applied research with a focus on actual real-world performance on mainstream hardware, and we use the functional array language Futhark (https://futhark-lang.org) and its implementation as our main experimental vessel. The precise research problems to be investigated by the PhD candidate depends on the interests of the candidate, but we are particularly interested in problems such as: * How to efficiently map fully or partially irregular nested parallelism to hardware, while still taking advantage of locality. * The construction of profiling tools that can precisely measure the performance of heavily compiler-transformed code and connect it to the original program, allowing the programmer to understand the high-level performance of their program. * Optimising data layout based on how it is accessed by the program; possibly also taking distributed execution or NUMA behaviour into account. * Data parallel formulations of algorithms that are historically difficult to express; e.g. syntax analysis, constraint propagation, and similar recursive and irregular problems. At a basic level, our research consists of developing a strong idea, and then demonstrating the applicability of the idea by implementing it in a practically usable compiler or tool. For more information, feel free to contact Troels Henriksen (athas@diku.dk). # Systems-Level Language-Based Security Systems-level security is a challenging field, particularly because it is often difficult to fully ensure the absence of errors. For example, modern operating systems use kernel extensions provided by users to add functionalities like network filters and performance tracking. These extensions, while useful, can pose significant security risks as they run with high privileges, potentially affecting the entire system or can access sensitive information. At DIKU, we are a small group that researches programming-language techniques and formal methods for improving systems-level security. We conduct both applied research and theoretical work, with Open Source software such as the Linux kernel as one of our main interests. The specific research areas for the PhD candidate will align with their interests. However, we're particularly keen on exploring topics such as: * Providing strong, formally verified security guarantees for the eBPF subsystem in the Linux kernel. * Using user-provided code, like WebAssembly or eBPF, for computational storage, ensuring these have strong security guarantees. * Using the programming language Rust for improving systems-level Open Source project, for instance the Linux kernel. Hereunder, exploring automated verification of Rust code correctness, including the development of, or contribution to existing tools for reasoning about Rust code. Our research typically involves developing a solid idea and demonstrating its practical application, either through a usable tool or a proof-of-concept. For more information, feel free to contact Ken Friis Larsen (kflarsen@di.ku.dk).