Research Associate-Fixed Term

Position Summary

The postdoc will develop a rich agent-based model of eco-evolutionary dynamics. The model will be written in C++, and will have the following properties: 1) stoichiometry, 2) lower-level particles that self assemble into higher-level agents, and 3) the capacity for interactions between the lower level particles, such that they can be modeled as an ecological community. The postdoc will use this model to test hypotheses about the conditions that support the emergence of Darwinian evolution. Specifically, they will use information theoretic techniques to determine under what circumstances collections of particles that are best understood as individuals arise.  Using a simpler model, we have already identified hypotheses about which patterns of ecological interactions among lower-level particles support the emergence of a higher level individual. The postdoc will test these hypotheses in the more complex system, and seek to further refine them. Because the new model will have both stoichiometry and ecological interactions, it will be comparable to prior work on ecological modeling and to prior work on chemical reaction networks. We will use the model as a bridge between these systems, enabling us to identify properties that a chemical reaction network would need in order to exhibit a major evolutionary transition in individuality. These hypotheses will then be tested by our wet lab collaborators. The postdoc will be responsible for coding, running in silico experiments, developing necessary mathematical formalisms, writing papers on our findings, and giving talks.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Degree

Doctorate -Computer Science or related field

Minimum Requirements

Experience with the following:

1. developing complex and open-ended agent-based evolutionary models, 
2. developing information theoretic metrics of biological individuation, 
3. the transition from ecological to adaptive dynamics, 
4. quantifying open-ended evolutionary dynamics, and 
5. in silico experimental evolution.

Required Application Materials

• CV
• Cover Letter

Review of Applications Begins On

03/28/2025

Website

cse.msu.edu

Department Statement

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering has robust research programs in several areas, including AI, Autonomous Driving, Biometrics, Computer Vision, security & privacy, Data Science, Evolutionary Computation, Machine Learning, Networking, and Software Engineering. The Department is home to 55 tenure-system faculty members and teaching specialists, including four endowed professors, 13 NSF CAREER awardees, and one member of the National Academy of Engineering. Our annual research expenditures exceed $11 million. The Department offers accredited B.S. degree programs in Computer Science and Computer Engineering and a B.S. degree in Computational Data Science. In addition to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science, the Department offers an M.S. degree in Data Science in collaboration with the Department of Statistics and the Department of Computational Mathematics, Science & Engineering. For additional information about the CSE Department please visit https://cse.msu.edu/.

MSU Statement

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.