[Haskell] Call for Papers IFL 2013

[publicityifl at gmail.com]

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VACANCY : 1x Phd Student in domain specific type error diagnosis for Haskell
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The activities of the Software Systems division at Utrecht University include 
research on programming methodologies, compiler construction, and program 
analysis, validation, and verification. For information about the research 
group of Software Technology, see:

 http://www.cs.uu.nl/wiki/Center

Financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), we
currently have a job opening for:

 * 1x PhD researcher (Ph D student) Software Technology

Domain-specific languages (DSLs) have the potential both to reduce the effort of 
programming, and to result in programs that are easier to understand and 
maintain. For various good reasons, researchers have proposed to embed DSLs
(then called EDSLs) into a general purpose host language. An important 
disadvantage of such an embedding is that it is very hard to make type error 
diagnosis domain-aware, because inconsistencies are by default explained in 
terms of the host language. We are currently looking for a highly motivated 
Ph D student to investigate this problem in the context of the functional 
language Haskell. 

The basic approach is to scale the concept of specialized type rules as 
developed by (Heeren, Hage and Swierstra, ICFP '03, see link below) for 
Haskell '98 to modern day Haskell with all of its type system extensions. 
The work is both technically challenging, i.e., how do you ensure that 
modifications to the type diagnositic process do not inadvertently change the 
type system, and practically immediately useful:  making domain-specific type 
error diagnosis a reality for a full sized language such as Haskell is likely 
to have a pervasive influence on the field of domain-specific languages, and 
the language Haskell.

The ICFP '03 paper can be found at

http://www.cs.uu.nl/people/jur/scriptingthetypeinferencer.pdf

A project paper that describes the context and aims of the current project can 
be found here:

http://www.cs.uu.nl/people/jur/tfp2013_submission_2.pdf

At first, the work will be prototyped in our own Utrecht Haskell Compiler. If
succesfull, the work will also make its way into the GHC.

We expect the candidate to communicate the results academically, to present the 
work at scientific conferences, to supervise Master students, and to assist in 
teaching courses at Bachelor or Master level.

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What we are looking for
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The candidate should have an MSc in Computer Science, be highly motivated, 
speak and write English very well, and be proficient in producing scientific
reports. Knowledge of and experience with at least one of the following two
areas is essential:

  * functional programming, and Haskell in particular
  *	type system concepts

Furthermore, we expect the candidate to be able to reason formally.
Experience in compiler construction is expected to be useful in this project.

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What we offer
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You are offered a full-time position for 4 years. The gross salary is in the 
range between Û 2083,- and maximum Û 2664,- per month. The salary is supplemented 
with a holiday bonus of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8,3% per year. 

In addition we offer: a pension scheme, a partially paid parental leave, 
flexible employment conditions. Conditions are based on the Collective 
Labour Agreement Dutch Universities.

We aim to start November 1, 2013 at the latest, but preferably sooner.

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In order to apply
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To apply please attach a letter of motivation, a curriculum vitae, and (email)
addresses of two referees. Make sure to also include a transcript of the courses
you have followed (at bachelor and master level), with the grades you
obtained, and to include a sample of your scientific writing, e.g., the pdf of
your master thesis.

It is possible to apply for this position if you are close to obtaining
your Master's. In that case include a letter of your supervisor with an estimate
of your progress, and do not forget to include at least a sample of your
technical writing skills.

Application closes on the 20th of June 2013.

For application, visit http://www.cs.uu.nl/vacatures/en/583630.html and
follow the link to the official job application page at the bottom.

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Contact person
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For further information you can direct your inquiries to:

 Dr. Jurriaan Hage
 Phone: (+31) 30 253 3283 
 e-mail: J.Hage at uu.nl.   
 website: http://www.cs.uu.nl/wiki/Hage/WebHome