The Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics at Umeå University (Sweden) is offering a postdoctoral scholarship within the project “Bounds for Pancake Sorting and Analysis of the Pancake Graph”. The scholarship is tax-free and amounts to 375 000 SEK for one year with starting date 1st April, 2027 or by agreement.
After the scholarship period, there is a possibility to apply for an extension.
Project description The purpose of the project is to pursue research in pancake sorting, which is a well-known problem in combinatorial optimization which goes back up to a paper of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Papadimitriou from 1979. More concretely, we will study lower and upper bounds to both the unburnt and burnt version of this problem, and we will analyze the corresponding pancake graph. The specific research questions will be determined based on the candidate’s interests and expertise.
The postdoctoral scholarship is funded and administered by the Kempe Foundation (JCSMK-0158).
Research environment The project will be carried out in close collaboration with Associate Professor Gerod Jäger. Beyond this, the postdoctoral scholar will be encouraged to interact with other members of the Discrete Mathematics group, that currently consists of 20 individual researchers. The Discrete Mathematics research group is highly active; it holds a weekly seminar, hosts yearly workshops and receives a frequent flow of visitors and international collaborators. The group's interests cover a wide range of areas including extremal and probabilistic combinatorics, combinatorial optimization, graph theory, game theory, algorithmics and geometry.
Beyond Discrete Mathematics, the Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics carries out research in computational mathematics, financial mathematics, mathematical modeling, analysis, machine learning, optimization, mathematical foundations of artificial intelligence, mathematical ecology and mathematical statistics.
Qualifications To qualify as a postdoctoral scholarship holder, the postdoctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree. This qualification requirements must be fulfilled no later than at the time a decision is taken about the scholarship recipient.
Priority should be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree prior to that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organizations, military service, or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.
Doctoral degree should be within mathematics, computer science or a related area. You should have expertise in combinatorial optimization and graph theory as well as good programming skills. A further requirement is the ability to perform research independently and as part of a team. Finally, good knowledge of oral and written English is required.
Application A full application should include:
A cover letter (max 2 pages) summarizing your qualifications, your scientific interests, and your motivation to apply for this position,
A research plan, including motivation, presenting your ideas within the field (max 3 pages plus references),
Curriculum vitae (CV) including a complete publication list,
Certified copy of doctoral degree certificate or documentation when the doctoral degree is expected to be obtained,
Verified copies of other diplomas, list of completed academic courses and grades,
Copy of doctoral thesis and at most three most relevant publications,
Other documents that the applicant wishes to claim,
Contact information to two persons willing to act as references.
The application should be written in English or Swedish, and attached documents should be in PDF (preferably) or Word format. The application should be registered via Umeå University’s e-recruitment system Varbi and submitted by 9th October, 2026.
Umeå University strives to offer an equal environment where open dialogue between people with different backgrounds and perspectives lay the foundation for learning, creativity and development. We welcome people with different backgrounds and experiences to apply for this scholarship, and especially encourage female applicants.
Further information Further details are provided by Gerold Jäger, gerold.jager@umu.se, 0046-90-7866141.
