Using Computational Biology to Bring Predatory Dinosaurs Back to Life

The proposed programme of research seeks to use state-of-the-art computational techniques to reverse engineer the walking cycle of a predatory dinosaur. Software for image-based modelling, parallel finite element analysis and evolutionary robotics will be coupled and deployed
over a computational Grid comprising many thousands of processors. This resource will facilitate a range of unique meta-experiments, enabling new scientific research to be undertaken that would otherwise not be possible. Not only will these experiments provide insight into the evolution of
bipedalism or answer questions such as "How fast could T-Rex run?", they will also lead to the development of computational techniques that may be applied in classical engineering sectors such as the Automotive and Aerospace Industries.

The project is fully funded through a Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship and Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Award. For further details please contact Dr Lee Margetts (lee.margetts@manchester.ac.uk).

Please note that only students from the following countries are eligible:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana,Brazil, Burkina
Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea,Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, FYR Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Oman, Pakistan, Palau Islands, Palestinian Administered Areas, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St Helena, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Trinidad and Tobago, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.