Outline

One of the most highly debated questions in the field of animal swarming and social behaviour, is the collective random patterns and chaotic behaviour formed by some animal species, in particular fish schooling. Recently, we found that some fish species do not have preferred orientation and they swarm in a random pattern mode. Nevertheless, there is a clear coordinated movement of the school as a whole. The proposed project aims on developing a theoretical model for three-dimensional random movement in fish schools, with the absence of a centralized coordination.

This is a multidisciplinary inter-institute project that requires training in biological fluid mechanics, with emphasis on potential flow theory, on one hand, and control and graph theory on the other. In addition, the PhD student will need to undertake computations of large fish schools that might require developing his/her skills handling large data and using a super computer.

What is funded

This is a 3 year scholarship covering:

- overseas tuition fees;

- annual stipend (£15,285 for 2020/21);

- research consumables, training, conference travel.

Duration

3 years, subject to satisfactory progress

Start Date: 1 October 2020.

Eligibility

A 2:1 or above Honours undergraduate degree or a master’s degree, in Mathematics or a related subject. Applicants for whom English is not their first language must demonstrate their proficiency by obtaining an IELTS score of at least 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each skills component.

Applicants must:

- be nationals of (or permanently domiciled in) the world’s Least Developed and Other Low Income Countries based on the DAC list of ODA Recipients 2020. See

http://www.oecd.org/dac/financing-sustainable-development/development-f…

- meet the academic criteria;

- be liable to pay overseas tuition fees;

- not have been awarded another scholarship covering both tuition fees and stipend

How to Apply

Applicants should submit an application for postgraduate study via the online application service http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research/programmes/programme/mathematics

In the research proposal section of your application, please specify the project title and supervisors of this project and copy the project description in the text box provided. In the funding section, enter VC International Scholarship