About us

The School of Mathematical Science has an exceptionally strong research presence across the spectrum of areas within Pure/Applied Mathematics and Statistics. It is currently organised into seven research groups: Algebra and Number Theory; Combinatorics; Complex Systems and Networks; Dynamical Systems and Statistical Physics; Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation; Probability and Applications; and Statistics and Data Science.

Following a period of significant growth, the School comprises around 74 academic staff, 16 research assistants and fellows, and 14 members of professional services staff. The School is home to around 80 PhD students, and approximately 1,000 undergraduates.

About the role

We invite applications for the position of Postdoctoral Research Assistant in the School of Mathematical Sciences. The successful applicant will work in close collaboration with Dr Alex Fink on the project “Extensions of matroid Hodge theory”, funded by EPSRC. A recent breakthrough, for which June Huh won a 2022 Fields Medal, was to prove that the Chow ring of any matroid satisfies the Kähler package even when there is no associated Kähler manifold. Objectives of this project include the extension of this theory to similar objects, in particular further flag varieties and Coxeter types, and oriented matroids; developing Berget, Eur, Spink and Tseng’s theory of matroid tautological bundles, and proving inequalities on their Chern classes; and to explore applications to conjectures concerning invariants so far inaccessible, like Speyer’s g-invariant.

The successful applicant will have, or be about to obtain, a PhD degree in mathematics, or equivalent level of professional qualifications and experience. Applicants should have research experience in a field closely related to matroid theory and/or combinatorial algebraic geometry, plus experience in writing high quality research papers.

For further details of the role and selection criteria, refer to the job specification attached.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The School holds a departmental Bronze Athena SWAN Award and is a registered supporter of the LMS Good Practice scheme. We are committed to the equality of opportunities and advancing women’s careers, and strongly encourage applications from female applicants. Please visit www.qmul.ac.uk/maths for information about the School our family friendly and parental leave polices.

Pay & Benefits

The post is full-time and fixed-term for 24 months with the possibility of extension. The start date is September 2023, with some flexibility. Salary will be in the range of £36,348 – £40,386 p/a inclusive of London Allowance, or £33,619 - £35,411 for candidates still obtaining their PhD. Benefits include access to a generous pension scheme, 30 days’ leave p/a, season ticket loan scheme, staff networks and access to a comprehensive range of personal and professional development opportunities. A generous travel allowance is also available for the successful candidate. Additionally, we offer a range of work life balance and family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, and campus facilities including an on-site nursery at the Mile End campus.

Queen Mary’s commitment to our diverse and inclusive community is embedded in our appointments processes. Reasonable adjustments will be made at each stage of the recruitment process for any candidate with a disability. We are open to considering applications from candidates wishing to work flexibly.

Informal enquiries should be addressed to Dr Alex Fink at a.fink@qmul.ac.uk or on +44 (0) 20 7882 5520.

The closing date for applications is 29 January 2023

Interviews are expected to be held Thursday 9 March 2023.