The Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics is opening a PhD position in mathematical statistics, focusing on nonparametric regression modelling. The position covers four years of third-cycle studies, including participation in research and third-cycle courses. The last day to apply is October 20, 2023.

Project description and tasks:
What are the effects of climate change on the diversity of land birds? How many fur seals remain in Antarctica after breeding season? Do flies transmit the ‘bee’ parasite on flowers during defecation? Statistics is there to answer these big-scale and small-scale questions and to understand the world around us, each other and ourselves. When analyzing the relationships between a response and predictors, it might be natural to assume that some relationships obey certain shape constraints, such as monotonicity and convexity.

Shape-constrained generalized additive models (SCAM) provide a general and powerful framework for nonparametric regression modelling with shape constraints, demonstrating their efficacy and practicality in numerous applications. The popularity of SCAMs lies in the attractive balance between applicability and interpretability. However, existing methods do not support models with large data sets, yet these are increasingly invaluable and important as technological advances across science and industry generate vast quantities of data. Moreover, efficient and robust computation is currently possible in the standard exponential family setting.

The project aims to address these limitations by i) developing methods for fitting SCAM that can handle much larger data sets and more complex model structures than up to now been possible; ii) developing methods for models with response distribution beyond the standard cases; iii) developing open-source software that implements the new methods and meets the needs of scientific and industrial users within the relevant fields.

The project is partially funded by the Swedish Research Council.

Umeå offers excellent working and living conditions. The city is young and located right next to a large river. It is surrounded by forests and lakes and lies close by the sea. In the vicinity there are plenty of opportunities for both indoor and outdoor activities.

For further information and instructions on how to apply, see:

https://www.umu.se/en/work-with-us/open-positions/phd-position-in-mathematical-statistics_655520/