Most of these positions are for joint projects among multiple faculty members, both here at UNC and other universities. Many of these projects have been recently funded and most of them are starting this fall. Therefore, there is considerable flexibility in the exact work to be done and the way it will be divided among the various RAs. What we have here is a first-cut list of topics. These topics are not independent of each other and we expect considerable collaboration among the students/faculty working on these projects. Most of these topics can be investigated at multiple levels of effort. In particular, it is possible to work for a year and produce something useful or for three years and complete a Ph.D. dissertation. We currently have 3-year funding for each of these projects and are looking for at least a 1-year commitment. For all of these positions, the expectation is that at the end of one year you would have done some original experimental research, implemented it in a software system, and helped write a research paper.
Most research takes two forms: generalize an existing specific concept to so that it can be applied to a larger domain, or specialise an existing general concept so that it can include domain-specific optimisations. Not surprisingly then, you will see both forms (and their combination) in the projects listed below. The references given below are to papers to existing concepts that will be extended by these projects.