Supervision
I very much enjoy working with research students, I have experience in guiding student research, and I am available to supervise new research students at the University of Glasgow.
Next general deadline: The next application deadline for a variety of scholarships for our Computing Science PhD program at the University of Glasgow will likely be January 31, 2026.
For a first idea of degree options, research areas, entry requirements, fees, and funding opportunities, I recommend having a look at this overview of postgraduate research degrees in Computing Science at the University of Glasgow.
Funding opportunities: Each year there are a number of studentships/scholarships available to support postgraduate research students, who want to pursue a PhD in Computing Science at the University of Glasgow. Please have a look at the information for prospective PGR students on the School's website (particularly at the funding opportunities that the School of Computing Science Studentships, Minerva Scholarships, and Scholarships of the College present).
Application process and guide: The School website explains the application process and requirements (such as the requested research proposal). Moreover, my colleague Richard McCreadie prepared an application guide that might be helpful as well.
My research revolves around resource-efficient distributed computer systems, aiming to make computing more sustainable. Please have a look at my lab (for my current focus), research statement (for the general motivation and approach of my work), and previous publications (for examples of specific results).
Research methodology: I am mainly interested in empirical systems research. That is, new ideas are usually implemented prototypically, integrated with relevant open-source software systems, and evaluated in experiments with real-world applications, datasets, and infrastructures. In addition, some of my work also makes use of simulations.Relevant skills: I consider the following competencies and skills particularly important for my area of research:
The fundamentals of my area of research are taught in classic systems courses. The computing environments targeted are usually distributed and virtualized. Data analysis, machine learning, and optimization methods are typically applied to make systems adaptive (where performance data can, for example, stem from dedicated profiling runs or previous executions of recurring jobs).
A high level of motivation, related research interests, and the ability to work independently and learn new skills are more important than any specific knowledge or skill.
Slides: I prepared a slide set on my research and environment at the University of Glasgow (in November 2022):
A recording of me presenting an earlier version of these slides can be found on youtube.
I only started acting as a formal (co-)supervisor of PhD students in the last few years, but I have worked closely with PhD students for several years already in previous roles. Specifically, as a postdoc and senior researcher at TU Berlin (2018-2022) and as a guest professor at HU Berlin (2021-2022), I have worked closely with around a dozen PhD students and RAs, both in funded research projects (including FONDA) and collaborative team efforts without funding (including ARM and diselab).
PhD student (co-)supervision: I currently co-supervise Kathleen West (since 2023, with Yehia Elkhatib) and James Nurdin (since 2024, with Richard McCreadie) at Glasgow. In addition, I am about to start co-supervising Max MacDonald (from 2025, with Matthew Barr and Chris McCaig). Furthermore, I am a second supervisor to Theviyanthan Krishnamohan (since 2023).
Additional PhD student advising: I am currently part of the Thesis Advisory Committees of Fabian Lehmann (HU Berlin, since 2021), Jonathan Bader (TU Berlin, since 2022), Vasilis Bountris (HU Berlin, since 2022), and Philipp Thamm (HU Berlin, since 2025) in the DFG Collaborative Research Center FONDA.
Final-year project supervision: I have supervised over two dozen L4/L5/MSc dissertation projects at Glasgow. In addition, I (co)-supervised over two dozen bachelor and master theses (equivalent to dissertations in the UK) with Prof. Dr. habil. Odej Kao, Prof. Dr. habil. Andreas Polze, Prof. Dr. Robert Hirschfeld, Prof. Dr. Ulf Leser, and Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann in Germany at TU Berlin, HPI, and HU Berlin.
If you are interested in working with me, please contact me (lauritz.thamsen at glasgow.ac.uk) before you apply.
Please include:
I do not expect a final and complete research proposal to be attached to your first message, but I do need to see a rough idea to understand whether I might be a suitable supervisor for your research.
You can find further guidance on our expectations for PhD research proposals on the School's website, including a few examples.