The IT University of Copenhagen invites applicants for post doctoral research positions in computer science, starting 1 July 2011 or later.
The hypothesis of this research project is the following: Is it possible to modernize the electoral process while balancing the trust of the people on the trustworthiness of the deployed technology?
In order to provide evidence in support of this hypothesis, we propose first to design a rigorous software engineering principle, which we call trust by design, that reproduces the trust-instilling elements of the conventional process in an electronic infrastructure. Second, together with our industry partners, we develop electronic election technology based on the trust by design principle.
Third, together with the Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Aarhus municipalities, we empirically evaluate the technology in order to analyze the social, political and cultural implications inherent in digitally transforming the democratic process.
The results of this project will provide decision makers important and invaluable insights into how to modernize the democratic process without jeopardizing the fundamental principles upon which democracies rest.
Postdoctoral candidates should have a Ph.D. in Computer Science or Mathematics and an established research record in one or more of the following fields:
- applied formal methods
- cryptography
- electronic voting systems (of primary importance)
- rigorous software engineering
- trust and trustworthiness
- logic and semantics
- logical frameworks and type theory
- proof theory and higher-order theorem proving
- program verification
The positions are part of a larger effort to prove that it is possible to modernize the democratic process without losing the trust of the voters using epistemic logical framework technology and cryptographic methods, such as full homomorphic encryption.
The research will be conducted under the supervision of Profs. Joseph Kiniry and Carsten Schrmann. A successful applicant will be hired initially for one year with the option to renew. The start date is flexible, but the position cannot be filled before 1 July, 2011. Candidates are also encouraged to explore research ideas on top of and beyond the project description. The positions provide significant opportunities for professional development.
Post Docs in Computer Science at the IT University of Copenhagen
