Looking for PhD students at Paderborn University

This October, I will join Paderborn University as Professor of Computer Systems and start building a new research group. I am very happy that the first two PhD positions in the group are now officially open. These will be among the first researchers joining the group, and therefore also among the people who will help shape its research culture and directions from the beginning.

What do we want to work on?

Broadly, I am interested in systems software for dependable and predictable computing, especially as computer architectures become increasingly heterogeneous and unconventional.

There are several directions that I would like to develop in the new group:

• Operating systems and runtime systems, particularly mechanisms that make system behaviour more predictable and dependable;
• Memory-centric computing and emerging memory technologies, and the systems-software challenges that arise when memory itself becomes an active part of computation;
• Memory management and data placement, including how software should manage increasingly heterogeneous memory and processing resources;
• Cross-layer optimization between software and computer architecture, where useful system-level decisions cannot be made by looking at either hardware or software in isolation;
• Dependable and predictable systems software, including fault tolerance, resource management, timing predictability, and automated adaptation to hardware characteristics.

What matters more to me is that you enjoy understanding how computer systems actually work, are willing to dig through abstractions when necessary, and are interested in finding principled solutions rather than merely making something work once.

A background in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, or a closely related area can all make sense. Depending on the research direction, experience with operating systems, embedded systems, computer architecture, compilers, real-time systems, C/C++, Rust, or hardware/software co-design can be useful. Nobody needs to have all of these.

What kind of group do I want to build?

I would like us to be a group where people are comfortable crossing traditional boundaries between operating systems, real-time and embedded systems, computer architecture, and design automation. Many of the problems I find most interesting sit exactly between these areas.

I also want PhD students to gradually develop their own identity with research freedom, rather than spending several years simply executing a predefined list of tasks. Of course, there will be close supervision, especially in the beginning, but my goal is that a PhD eventually becomes something that the researcher genuinely owns.

The positions also include teaching and supervision of student projects. I see these not merely as obligations attached to a PhD position, but as part of learning how to become an independent academic researcher.

Contact me!

If this sounds like the kind of research environment you would enjoy, please send me your CV first so that I can tell you if it will be a good fit in my view. I am also happy to answer your questions via email: kuan.hsun.chen@upb.de.