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.
Funded PhD opportunity: We are looking for a PhD student for an exciting project with Barclays to leverage ML for sustainable data services (e.g. dynamically scale containerized services according to predicted load). There is a scholarship available covering fees for UK students (and settled/pre-settled EU students) and a UKRI rate stipend (£19,237 in AY 24/25) for four years. Applications are due May 31, 2024. .
Next general deadline: The next general application deadline for scholarships for our Computing Science PhD program at the University of Glasgow will be July 31, 2024.
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 the 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, too.
My research revolves around resource-efficient distributed computer systems, aiming to make computing more sustainable. Please have a look over 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 mostly interested in empirical systems research. That is, new ideas are usually implemented prototypically, integrated with open-source software systems, and evaluated in experiments with real-world applications, datasets, and compute infrastructures. 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:
Much of the basics for 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 also commonly applied to make systems more adaptive (where performance data can, for example, stem from dedicated profiling runs or previous executions of recurring jobs).
More important than any specific knowledge or skill is a high level of motivation, related research interests, and the ability to work independently as well as to learn new skills along the way.
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 have only just started to act as a formal (co-)supervisor of PhD students, yet I have worked very closely with PhD students in previous roles already. Specifically, as a postdoc and senior researcher at TU Berlin and as a guest professor at HU Berlin, I have worked 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 (with Yehia Elkhatib) and Theviyanthan Krishnamohan (with Paul Harvey) at Glasgow.
Additional PhD thesis advising: I am currently part of the Thesis Advisory Committees of Jonathan Bader (TU Berlin), Fabian Lehmann (HU Berlin), and Vasilis Bountris (HU Berlin) in the DFG Collaborative Research Center FONDA.
Final year project supervising: I have supervised about a dozen 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.
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/direction/sketch to understand whether I might be a suitable supervisor for your PhD research.
You can find further guidance on our expectations for PhD research proposals on the School's website, including a few examples.