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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
PhD Project Template
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Use one form per project
Please complete & submit to international@nuigalway.ie as soon as possible, and by 27/11/2012
In your email, begin the subject line with [SWB] (be sure to use square brackets) to ensure that
your email is filed correctly. Emails will be automatically filed
PI name & contact details:
School:
Dr Michael Madden:
michael.madden@nuigwalway.ie +353 91 493797
Information Technology,
College of Engineering & Informatics
Has project been agreed with head (or
nominee) of proposed registration school?
Yes
Research Centre / group affiliation:
Machine Learning & Data Mining Research Group
Research group / centre website:
http://datamining.it.nuigalway.ie/
PI website / link to CV:
http://datamining.it.nuigalway.ie/
Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max):
We focus on advances in techniques for machine learning and data mining, motivated by solving
important practical applications. We work on classification algorithms, kernel methods,
reinforcement learning, probabilistic inference, and data stream mining.
Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web):
Mining and Visualization of Historical Census Data
Data from the censuses on Ireland in 1901 and 1911 have recently been digitised and are available
on the National Archives website (http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/). This has led to renewed
interest among people of Irish heritage in finding out about their families’ histories. In our research
group, we have unique access to a full copy of this data in structured form, and we have used it to
build a map-based exploration tool http://danu2.it.nuigalway.ie/censusmap/, as well as to develop
algorithms for record matching.
This project will explore how the data from these census records and others can be organised and
visualised in ways that differ from the original simple list of details, and will implement these
visualisations. New techniques for record matching will be developed, in order to construct more
detailed family trees from the information contained in one census or another. Research will also be
conducted into how to apply techniques from social network analysis to this domain.
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
Unique selling points of PhD project in NUI Galway:
The National University of Ireland Galway, founded in 1845, has a distinguished record in scholarship and
research. The University enjoys a close relationship with Galway city, which is shaped by artistic communities,
active student life, innovative industry and leading edge research.
The University’s Structured PhD programme enables researchers to take advanced technical courses as well as
to develop their research skills in the early stages of their PhD work.
The Machine Learning & Data Mining Group has unique access to the Irish Census data of 1901 and 1911,
which will be used in this project. The group has strong links with research groups in other universities
internationally, such as the University of California Berkeley, the University of California Irvine and the
University of Helsinki, Finland.
Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above:
As above.
Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply:
Computer Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, or similar disciplines.
Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area:
Please indicate the specific programme priority area under which the proposed PhD project fits- choose only
one (tick box):
Engineering and other technological areas
Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)/Physical Sciences (Mathematics,
Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geosciences)
Health and Biomedical Sciences / Clinical, Pré-clinical and Health Sciences
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Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Computing
Aerospace
Pharmaceuticals
Sustainable Agricultural Production
Oil, Gas and Coal
Renewable Energy
Minerals, Minerals Technology
Biotechnology
Nanotechnology and New Materials
Technologies for Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Disasters
Bioprospecting and Biodiversity
Marine Sciences
Creative Industry
New technologies in constructive engineering
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
Please indicate which of the following applies to this project (referring to Science Without Borders
arrangements):
Suitable only as a Full PhD (Y/N): _ ____
Available to candidates seeking a Sandwich PhD arrangement (Y/N): _____
Suitable for either/Don’t know: 