Interested in being my student?

The primary objective of my research is to produce new algorithms and software that can dramatically improve phylogenetic analysis (whether in linguistics or in biology), as tested in simulation or on real data. Theoretical research is often done at the same time, using probability theory to predict performance under Markov models of evolution, but then testing these predictions in simulation. Mathematical modelling is also part of the work. If you are a student who loves to design algorithms, likes the challenge of trying to solve NP-hard optimization problems, loves to program, and enjoys collaborations (especially with scientists!), please contact me! Potential students are expected to take Spring 2008 course on Algorithms for Computational Biology (CS 395T); no background in biology is required. I also recommend that you read the following papers:

An overview of phylogeny reconstruction, by C. Randal Linder and T. Warnow (in press).
Disk Covering Methods: improving the accuracy and speed of large-scale phylogenetic analyses by T. Warnow (in press).
Tutorial on Phylogenetic Tree Estimation by J. Kim and T. Warnow. ISMB 1999.