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[jobs] Research Associate Intelligent Adaptive Systems (e.g neural networks, nlp or robotics)
by Wermter, Stefan Dec. 6, 2018

Dec. 6, 2018

The Knowledge Technology Research Institute at the University of Hamburg invites applications for a Research Associate (Postdoc or postdoc-level/ final year PhD candidate) in accordance with Section 28 subsection 2 of the Hamburg Higher Education Act (Hamburgisches Hochschul- gesetz, HmbHG). The position commences on 1 Feb 2019 or as soon as possible and is for three years plus a three year extension option subject to the availability of resources. Responsibilities: Duties include teaching and research in the knowledge technology institute. Research associates can also pursue independent research and further academic qualifications as well as acquire teaching experience. These duties are intended to promote academic achieve- ment. Therefore, at least one-third of set working hours will be made available for the associate's own academic work. Specific Duties: The successful candidate will manage the international Master Programme in Computer Science (Intelligent Adaptive Systems) as well as contribute to teaching (4hrs/teaching week). Furthermore, the candidate is expected to conduct research in the area of Knowledge Technology and Intelligent Systems. Requirements: A university degree in a relevant subject plus doctorate prefered. Academic degree preferably in computer science qualifying the post holder to carry out the above-mentioned responsibilities. In particular, an MSc or PhD in Artificial Intelligence or Computer Science is essential. This post is open to Postdocs or experienced PhD candidates. Your demonstrated research interests should be in the areas of Knowledge Technology and Intelligent Systems (e.g. Neural Networks, Robotics, Natural Language Processing, Vision, or Knowledge Representation etc). You should have published in a field relevant to this post. We are also looking for very good communication skills and teamwork; a very good command of both German and English is a requirement. Experience with teaching or organisation of MSc programmes is considered an advantage. The job is remunerated at the salary level TV-L 13. The position is full-time and comprises 39 hours per week. The fixed-term nature of this contract is based upon Section 2 of the Academic Fixed-Term Labor Contract Act (Wissenschaftszeitver- tragsgesetz, WissZeitVG). The initial fixed term is three years. The contract provides for a maximum extension of another three years de- pending on the associate's achievements during the first stage. The University aims to increase the number of women in research and teaching and explicitly encourages women to apply. Equally qualified female applicants will receive preference in accordance with the Hamburg Equality Act (Hamburgisches Gleichstellungsgesetz, HmbGleiG). Severely disabled applicants will receive preference over equally qualified non-disabled applicants. For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Stefan Wermter, Head of Knowledge Technology Institute or consult our website at https://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/wtm/ https://www.inf.uni-hamburg.de/en/inst/ab/wtm/about/job/files/open-position… Applications should include an application letter, full curriculum vitae, pdf of best international publications, copies of degree certificates, evidence for required German and English language. The application deadline is 19 Dec 2018. Please email applications in a single pdf file to: Ms Katja Koesters, katja.koesters(a)informatik.uni-hamburg.de *********************************************** Professor Dr. Stefan Wermter Director of Knowledge Technology Department of Informatics University of Hamburg Vogt Koelln Str. 30 22527 Hamburg, Germany Email: wermter AT informatik.uni-hamburg.de http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~wermter/ http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/WTM/ ***********************************************

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Lab manager position in Perception & Brain Dynamics Laboratory at NYU Medical Center
by Max Levinson Dec. 5, 2018

Dec. 5, 2018

The Perception & Brain Dynamics Laboratory (http://www.med.nyu.edu/helab/) at Langone Medical Center, New York University is looking for a lab manager to start in summer 2019. The Laboratory is within the Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Health (http://www.med.nyu.edu/neuroscience) affiliated with Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Physiology, and Radiology. Our research focus is on understanding the neural bases of perceptual awareness using multimodal imaging (fMRI, MEG, EEG, ECoG) and stimulation (tDCS, TMS) techniques in humans, combined with computational neuroscience approaches. We are looking for a bright and driven candidate with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree who is dedicated to neuroscience research. A variety of backgrounds, including neuroscience, biology, psychology, and computer science is possible, and experience with programming is highly desirable. In addition, the ideal candidate has high responsibility and dependability, as well as excellent critical thinking, organizational and leadership skills. Performing independent research is an important aspect of the position, in addition to lab management duties. A minimal commitment of 2 years is required. Interested candidates please send a cover letter, a CV, undergraduate and/or graduate transcript, and names and contacts of two to three referees, to Prof. Biyu J. He at biyu.jade.he(a)gmail.com, with the subject line “Lab manager application 2019”

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SoAIR 2019: IEEE-RAS Spring School on "Social and Artificial Intelligence for User-Friendly Robots" in Japan
by Amir Aly Dec. 4, 2018

Dec. 4, 2018

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS **Apologies for cross posting ** We are pleased to call for applications for the IEEE-RAS spring school on: "*Social and Artificial Intelligence for User-Friendly Robots*" * Which will be held from 17-24 March, 2019 in Shonan Village, Japan *after the *Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)* conference that will be held in the near South Korea. *Webpage: **https://inic8.bitbucket.io/SoAIR19/* <https://inic8.bitbucket.io/SoAIR19/> *I. Aim and Scope *Autonomous and intelligent systems are progressively moving into spaces, which have previously been predominantly shaped by human agency. Unlike in the past where machines obediently served their human operators, machines now increasingly act without the intervention of a human. Artificial intelligence is meeting new challenges in the world, though human-like intelligence may still be a distant goal. Robots in factories are coming out of their cages. Autonomous cars are being tested on streets with regular human-driven cars. The private household is changing with the appearance of not only robotic vacuum cleaners, but also with the first-generation of social robots and smart devices. The challenges that face both the robotics and artificial intelligence communities are how the necessary intelligence for such new environments can be created as well as how to make artificial agents capable of not only solving tasks at hand but also considering social environments around them during interaction with human users so as to behave appropriately. Within the school, we plan to address the tension created by the balance between task-specific artificial intelligence and the demands of sociability required to function effectively in human-centered environments. ** *Who should apply?* We invite *Masters and PhD students* as well as *post-doctoral candidates and researchers from industry* with relevant research background to apply for this spring school. ** *This spring school is a Technical Education Program (TEP) endorsed and supported by IEEE-RAS*. ** *The school aims at bridging the gap between social and cognitive Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Autonomous Vehicles (AV) through high level talks, tutorials, and hands-on workshops (the program will be announced soon).* *II. Keynote Speakers: * 1. * Jun Tani *– Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Japan 2. *Daniele Magazzeni *– King's College London, UK 3. * Yukie Nagai *– National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Japan 4. * Tetsuya Ogata* – Waseda University, Japan 5. *Mohamed Chetouani *– University of Pierre and Marie Curie (UPMC), France 6. *Silvia Rossi* – University of Naples, Italy 7. *Agnieszka Wykowska *– Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Italy 8. *Tetsunari Inamura *– National Institute of Informatics (NII), Japan 9. *Amit Kumar Pandey *– SoftBank (Aldebaran) Robotics, France 10. *Mehul Bhatt* – Orebro University, Sweden (Tutorial) 11. *Mohsen Kaboli –* Bavarian Motor Works (BMW), Germany (Tutorial) 12. *Francesco Maurelli *– Jacobs University, Germany (Preparing Marie Curie funding proposal) 13. *Atsuko Nakatsuka* – Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan (Preparing JSPS funding proposal) *III. Submission * The applications must include the following files (combined into one file). No other documents would be necessary (More information is available on the school's webpage). 1. *Curriculum vitae*: A CV detailing relevant aspects of the candidate's academic career that demonstrates her/his relevance to the school theme. Please consider including the list of publications. 2. *Research abstract*: A 200-word research abstract that the candidate intends to present during the school. 3. *Letter of recommendation*: A brief letter from the academic advisor or the employer of the candidate supporting her/his application. Please also indicate if partial support would be required to attend the school. *Application submission*: Please use the following EasyChair web link:* Application Submission <https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=soair2019>.* *IV. Important Dates * 1. Application submission: *20-December, 2018 * 2. Notification of acceptance: *28-December, 2018 * 3. Spring School: *17-24 March, 2019* *V. Organizers * 1. *Amir Aly *– Ritsumeikan University – Japan 2. *Franziska Kirstein *– Blue Ocean Robotics, Denmark 3. * Shashank Pathak *– Visteon Corporation, Germany --------------------- *Amir Aly, Ph.D.* Senior Researcher Emergent Systems Laboratory College of Information Science and Engineering Ritsumeikan University 1-1-1 Noji Higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577 Japan

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Wellcome Trust funded four-year PhD programme in Neural Dynamics
by Conor Houghton Dec. 4, 2018

Dec. 4, 2018

Wellcome Trust funded four-year PhD programme in Neural Dynamics. We are looking for applicants to the Neural Dynamics four-year PhD programme at the University of Bristol http://www.bristol.ac.uk/neural-dynamics/ The PhD programme is strongly interdisciplinary with all students jointly supervised by a computational and an experimental or clinical supervisor and we invite applications from potential students with a wide range of backgrounds including neuroscience, mathematics, statistics, machine learning, computer science, physics, psychology, and medicine. We offer a generous four-year studentship stipend, PhD registration fees at the current Home/EU rate, substantial research expenses, and funds for travel to conferences or courses. We are also able to waive the international fee a successful international student. The deadline for applications is the 6 January 2019. All the best Conor Houghton

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Faculty position in Neurorobotics at Chemnitz University of Technology (Germany)
by Julien Vitay Dec. 3, 2018

Dec. 3, 2018

The Department of Computer Science at Chemnitz University of Technology (Germany) invites applications for a faculty position in Neurorobotics (W2-Professor with W3 Tenure-Track-Option). Please note that the position is initially limited to a duration of six years and requires a positive tenure review beginning 4 years after starting the position to be continued for an indefinite period as a W3 position. Further, the position includes teaching obligations. Courses can be given in English. Applicants are encouraged to submit their application by January 31, 2019. The complete job advertisement (in German) can be found here: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/verwaltung/personal/stellen/W2-Neurorobotik.php Informal inquiries can be addressed to: Prof. Dr. Fred Hamker, Chair of the Search Committee (fred.hamker(a)informatik.tu-chemnitz.de) Best regards Julien Vitay -- Professur für Künstliche Intelligenz Fakultät für Informatik Technische Universität Chemnitz, 09107 Chemnitz (+49) 371 531-39468 julien.vitay(a)informatik.tu-chemnitz.de http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~vitay/ <http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~vitay/>

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3 EPFL faculty positions in Neurocomputing, Neuroengineering, Neuroscience
by Wulfram Gerstner Dec. 3, 2018

Dec. 3, 2018

The EPFL in Switzerland has several faculty positions at the interface of neuroscience and engineering https://professeurs.epfl.ch/page-158407-en.html There are several positions announced in the broad area between engineering and neuroscience, one of the keywords is neurocomputing. Enquiries can be addressed to the chair of the search committee, Kind regards W. Gerstner

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Modeling milestones from the Allen Institute for Brain Science
by Anton Arkhipov Dec. 3, 2018

Dec. 3, 2018

The Allen Institute for Brain Science has recently achieved some modeling milestones, which we are happy to share with the community. 1. Our paper about a biologically-realistic, data-driven model of the Layer 4 of mouse V1 has been published: https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006…. As reported in the paper, simulations of the 45,000-neuron model reproduced a variety of experimental observations, including effects of optogenetic perturbations. Insights into the mechanisms underlying patterns of activity and computations in the Layer 4 circuit were obtained. And, the model was developed and simulated employing both the biophysically detailed and point-neuron levels of resolution. The model and results of simulations are freely available to the community. 2. We publicly released our software suite for model building and simulations, the Brain Modeling ToolKit (BMTK): https://alleninstitute.github.io/bmtk/. This Python-based tool provides a powerful environment for building neuronal circuit models and a standardized interface for simulations, which interacts with other excellent tools, such as NEURON, NEST, and others. The interface allows one to harness the power of these existing tools for large-scale network simulations, while keeping the need for software coding to the minimum. 3. The Allen Institute website now features a section on Computational Modeling and Theory: http://portal.brain-map.org/explore/models. This site contains information and data from our published modeling papers (including the one above, but also others) and modeling software. Please visit the site and use our resources for your work! We hope that these tools and data will be useful for you and are looking forward to questions and feedback. Anton Arkhipov Associate Investigator antona(a)alleninstitute.org<mailto:antona@alleninstitute.org> T: 206.548.8414 www.alleninstitute.org<http://www.alleninstitute.org>

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Researcher in NLP with focus on "identification of early signs of cognitive abnormalities in language"
by Dimitrios Kokkinakis Nov. 30, 2018

Nov. 30, 2018

*Type of employment:* Fixed-term employment, research position (12 months) *Extent*: 100 % *Location*: Department of Swedish, Gothenburg, Sweden *First day of employment: *2019-01-01 or as agreed. *Apply by*: 2018-12-13 *The position focus*:* identification of early signs of cognitive abnormalities in language* *Details of the post and instructions on how to apply are available from this link*: < *https://www.gu.se/english/about_the_university/job-opportunities/vacancies-details/?id=3417* <https://www.gu.se/english/about_the_university/job-opportunities/vacancies-…> *>* *Qualifications*: Ph.D. in Natural Language Processing (NLP), preferably in computer science with a strong focus on NLP and/or automatic speech processing (ASP), and *preferably *with a specialization in prior work related to mental and neurological impairments The Swedish Language Bank (SB) is a research unit at the Department of Swedish, University of Gothenburg. SB is the coordinating partner of the research project: “*Linguistic and extra-linguistic parameters for early detection of cognitive impairment*”. The successful applicant will conduct research in this project and particularly in the area in NLP and/or ASP in order to develop, adapt, analyze, and implement methods for processing *available* spoken and transcribed data samples acquired from people with mild and subjective forms of cognitive impairment as well as healthy controls (i.e. differentiating the different groups and/or identifying early cognitive abnormalities such as atypical language production, that precede the onset of dementia, especially Alzheimer’s). In particular, you will be using machine learning and other related techniques (deep learning) and develop, evaluate and deploy classification models and tools for experimenting with the data. Inquiries can be made to Dimitrios Kokkinakis ( dimitrios.kokkinakis(a)svenska.gu.se)

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'la Caixa' INPhINIT PhD opportunity at MCEN/BCAM and UChicago on neuron-glial connectomics
by Maurizio De Pitta Nov. 29, 2018

Nov. 29, 2018

Dear colleagues, please share with whoever could be interested and forward to your department mailing lists. PhD project : Structure and function of the glial connectome. Lab / Host institution : Group of Mathematical, Computational and Experimental Neuroscience (MCEN) at the Basque Center of Applied Mathematics (BCAM). Supervisors : Maurizio De Pittà (BCAM), SerafimRodrigues (BCAM), Narayanan Kasthuri (The University of Chicago, and Argonne National Labs). Location : Bilbao, The Basque Country, Spain. Duration : 3 years. Stipend : 30k+ EUR/year + mobility allowance. Starting date : May—Oct 2019 (negotiable). Award type: Preselection + competitive call. Categories: Incoming (for international students not living in Spain at the time of the call) and Retaining (for Spanish students) Preselection deadline: January 13th, 2019 (incoming); February 9th, 2019 (retaining). Application deadlines: February 6th, 2019 (incoming); February 27th, 2019 (retaining) (more details: https://goo.gl/HZCPxp) Scientific background : Neurons of the brain form complex circuits, connecting each other by means of synapses. The structure of these circuits is believed to closely relate with their function. Accordingly, mapping the architecture of neural circuits of the brain, otherwise known as the brain’s neuronal connectome, is a prominent area of investigation of modern neuroscience. In parallel, there is growing awareness that glial cells such as astrocytes, could modulate the physical structure of the neuronal connectome. Astrocytes indeed form barriers to neuronal connectivity and regulate synapse formation and deletion, but they could also modulate neuronal signal transmission in the extracellular space, along with structure and dynamics of synapses. In addition, astrocytes contact hundreds of thousand synapses, and are also connected in complex networks. This suggests that understanding the neuronal connectome should also include neuron-astrocyte interactions and thus mapping of the associated glial connectome in terms of synapse-astrocyte and astrocyte-astrocyte connections. Workplan : The candidate will be part of an international team of researchers within the framework of the Open Connectome Project (https://neurodata.io/) She/He will deploy mathematical tools borrowed from graph theory, statistical analysis, machine learning and algebraic topology to analyze big data sets from 3D electron microscopy of cortical tissue of rodent’s brain to seek the first map of astrocytic connections with synapses at subcellular spatial resolution. In parallel the candidate will develop expertise in modeling of complex heterogeneous cell networks of neurons and astrocytes, to explore potential functional relevance of specific synapse-astrocyte circuits and motifs in neuron-glial networks. Working environment : The candidate will be based in Bilbao (Spain) where she/he will work under the supervision of Drs. Maurizio De Pittà and Serafim Rodrigues at the Group of Mathematical, Computational and Experimental Neuroscience at the Basque Center of Applied Mathematics (BCAM). In addition, the candidate will also collaborate with and be supervised by Dr. Narayanan “Bobby” Kasthuri at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Labs (USA), where she/he will spend regular periods of time during her/his graduate training. Dr. De Pittà is a leading expert on computational modeling of neuron-glia interactions, with an experience in computational neuroscience of 10+ years who recently joined the MCEN group at BCAM as « Junior Leader » fellow with a start-up grant supported by la Caixa Banking Foundation. The MCEN group is a rapidly growing team led by Ikerbasque Professor Serafim Rodrigues, that was established in 2016 as part of the strategic research portfolio enacted by the Basque Country to foster interdisciplinary research in Neuroscience. Dr. Kasthuri is one of the leading experts in modern connectomics, who has pioneered large volume automated electron microscopy for mapping neuronal connections and synchrotron source X-ray microscopy to map the cellular composition of entire brains. BCAM is one of the Severo Ochoa’s excellence centers for scientific research in Spain and it provides an exeptionally fertile international environment for professional development and enriching scientific collaborations. Bilbao, as the capital of the Basque Country in Spain, is a vibrant, friendly city with one of the highest standards of life quality in Spain. Requirements : -- Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, or related fields. -- Excellent English skills (oral and written). – Experience in machine learning and/or statistical analysis and/or topology or algebraic topology. -- Programming skills in Matlab, Python and C/C++. -- High motivation for interdisciplinary research with strong interests for biological details and an analytic mindset. – Capacity to meet deadlines and outstanding propensity to work in an international dynamic environment. -- Essential knowledge of neuroscience and graph theory is preferred but not required. Additional notes : This is a cutting-edge project that ideally matches with outstanding and creative candidates, with a strong motivation for international collaborations, mobility, and independence. The candidate will work on the project full-time and no part-time agreements will be taken into consideration. Application process : The INPhINIT PhD Fellowship Program by la Caixa Banking Foundation is the most prestigious PhD fellowship program running in Spain. The program is highly competitive and offers unequalled training an financial support to its fellow. The ideal successful candidate should have an outstanding educational background and rank among the 5% best of his/her class. Candidates who are interested in the advertised PhD project, must first send a CV with letter of motivation (max 2 pages) to Drs. De Pittà (mdepitta(a)bcamath.org) and Kasthuri (bobbykasthuri(a)uchicago.edu) for review and preselection. Preselections are open now till January 13, 2019 (for incoming candidates) and February 3rd, 2019 (for retaining candidates). Specify as mail object: “INPhINIT PhD Project Application”. Relevant References: De Pittà et al., Astrocytes: orchestrating synaptic plasticity?, Neuroscience, 2015, 323:43. Katshuri et al., Saturated reconstruction of a volume of neocortex, Cell, 2015, 162 :648 Relevant links: Official call by BCAM: https://goo.gl/Vq8mto INPhINIT: https://goo.gl/d761sP BCAM homepage: https://goo.gl/ENSBAo Maurizio De Pittà: https://goo.gl/pJXEYJ Narayanan “Bobby” Kasthuri: https://goo.gl/pYmv2w Open Connectome Project: https://neurodata.io/ ----- Maurizio De Pitta' Research Fellow MCEN -- Group of Mathematical, Computational and Experimental Neuroscience BCAM -- Basque Center of Applied Mathematics https://sites.google.com/site/mauriziodepitta/home

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CFP Frontiers Research Topic: Closing the Loop: From Human Behavior to Multisensory Robots
by Pablo Barros Nov. 29, 2018

Nov. 29, 2018

Call For Papers - Frontiers Research Topic: Closing the Loop: From Human Behavior to Multisensory Robots I. Aim and Scope The ability to efficiently process crossmodal information is a key feature of the human brain that provides a robust perceptual experience and behavioral responses. Consequently, the processing and integration of multisensory information streams such as vision, audio, haptics, and proprioception play a crucial role in the development of autonomous agents and cognitive robots, yielding an efficient interaction with the environment also under conditions of sensory uncertainty. This Research Topic invites authors to submit new findings, theories, systems, and trends in multisensory learning for intelligent agents and robots with the aim to foster the development of novel and impactful research which will contribute to the understanding of human behavior and the development of artificial systems operating in real-world environments. II. Potential Topics Topics include, but are not limited to: - New methods and applications for crossmodal processing and multisensory integration (e.g. vision, audio, haptics, proprioception) - Machine learning and neural networks for multisensory robot perception - Computational models of crossmodal attention and perception - Bio-inspired approaches for crossmodal learning - Multisensory conflict resolution and executive control - Sensorimotor learning for autonomous agents and robots - Crossmodal learning for embodied and cognitive robots III. Submission - Abstract - 18th January 2019 - Paper Submission - 12th May 2019 More information: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/9321/closing-the-loop-from-huma… IV. Guest Editors Pablo Barros, University of Hamburg, Germany Doreen Jirak, Hamburg University, Germany German I. Parisi, Apprente, Inc., USA Jun Tani, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan -- Dr. Pablo Barros Postdoctoral Research Associate - Crossmodal Learning Project (CML) Knowledge Technology Department of Informatics University of Hamburg Vogt-Koelln-Str. 30 22527 Hamburg, Germany Phone: +49 40 42883 2535 Fax: +49 40 42883 2515 barros at informatik.uni-hamburg.dehttp://www.pablobarros.nethttps://www.inf.uni-hamburg.de/en/inst/ab/wtm/people/barros.htmlhttps://www.inf.uni-hamburg.de/en/inst/ab/wtm/

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