Postdoctoral Research Associate in

Statistical Physics
London Institute for Mathematical Sciences
Location: London Placed on: 10th January 2018
Salary: £40,000 per annum Closes: 10th March 2018
Hours: Full Time
Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral research associate position in physics at the London
Institute for Mathematical Sciences. The position will be supervised by Dr Thomas Fink and will
last for up to two years.

The successful candidate will play a key role in developing theory and simulations of innovation
and its relation to evolution.

Candidates should have a PhD in physics with experience in statistical physics or discrete
mathematics, and an excellent research record.

Innovation is to organizations what evolution is to organisms: it is how organisations adapt to

changes in the environment and improve. Yet despite steady advances in our understanding of
evolution, what drives innovation remains elusive. New mathematical models based on
component recombination can help us gain fundamental insight into how organizations and
technologies develop.

A recent relevant paper by the supervisor and a review of this paper are:

Thomas Fink et al., Serendipity and strategy in rapid innovation, Nature Communications
8, 2002 (2017). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-02042-w
César Hidalgo, Economic complexity: From useless to keystone, Nature Physics. 14, 9
(2018). https://www.nature.com/articles/nphys4337

The London Institute for Mathematical Sciences (lims.ac.uk) is a private research centre for
theoretical physics and mathematics. It gives scientists the freedom and support to do what they
do best: make fundamental discoveries. The Institute is made up of full-time and part-time
Fellows, full-time Postdocs and Visiting Scientists and occupies a five-floor building in Mayfair in
the heart of London.

Advert information

Type / Role:

Academic or Research
Subject Area(s):

Physical and Environmental Sciences Physics and Astronomy Mathematics and Statistics
Mathematics Statistics
Location(s):

London