Funded PhD in Computational Neuroscience - The University of Manchester

Dear All,

applications are invited for a 3-year PhD studentship to work on a project entitled 'Quantifying the contribution of melanopsin to the processing of complex visual information' under the supervision of Dr Marcelo Montemurro and Prof Robert Lucas at the Faculty of Life Sciences of The University of Manchester.  The 3-year studentship will provide full support for tuition fees and an annual minimum tax-free stipend of £13,590. This studentship is available to UK/EU nationals only due to the nature of the funding and is due to start October 2013.

The successful applicant will work on the development of computational analysis methods based on information theory and their application to experimental data gathered at Lucas' lab. The student will also have the opportunity to receive training in experimental methods and actively participate in experiment design. The precise balance between the different types of approaches will be defined according to he the student's background and interests.

Further details can be found at:

http://www.mhs.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduate/studentships/featuredstudentship/fstudentship1

For enquires, please write to  Dr Marcelo Montemurro (m.montemurro@manchester.ac.uk

). Applications are invited up to 9.00 am Wednesday 14 November 2012.

Regards,

--
Dr. Marcelo A. Montemurro
Faculty of Life Sciences
University of Manchester
Room 3.606
Stopford Building
Oxford Road
Manchester, M13 9PT
UK

phone: +44(0)161 306 3883
___

Postdoctoral position in theoretical neuroscience

A postdoctoral position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Goldman at the University of California at Davis.  The lab works on a broad range of problems in computational neuroscience ranging from neural coding to dynamics and plasticity of single neurons and networks.  Immediate funding is available for a range of projects related to working memory, neural integration, motor learning, and decision-making as described below.  The postdoctoral candidate also would have flexibility to work on a range of issues of his or her choosing.  Candidates are expected to have strong training in an analytically rigorous discipline such as theoretical neuroscience, physics, mathematics, computer science, or engineering.  The postdoctoral candidate will have ample opportunity to interact within the vibrant computational and systems neuroscience communities at UC Davis and in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.    

     Candidates should send a CV, brief statement of previous research and future research interests, and email addresses and phone numbers of three references to:  Mark Goldman, msgoldman@ucdavis.edu.  I will also be at the upcoming SFN meeting.

Recent topics of particular interest to the laboratory are:

1) Dynamics of memory and motor-related neural activity: 

     Challenging the attractor picture of working memory.  In the traditional attractor picture of working memory, memory storage results from positive feedback processes that lead to the formation of self-sustained attractors.  In one project, we are exploring how functionally feedforward, rather than feedback, network architectures can generate flexible codes for storing memories and producing a broad range of input-output transformations.  In a second project, we are utilizing methods from engineering control theory to show how balanced cortical networks can utilize negative feedback to stabilize persistent patterns of neural activity. 

     Multi-scale modeling of neural integration.  The oculomotor neural integrator is a model system for understanding the mathematical integration of inputs and the maintenance of persistent neural activity.  We seek to determine the respective roles of cellular and circuit mechanisms of memory storage in this system.  Multi-scale models, from ion channels to behavior, will be generated based upon electrophysiological and optical imaging recordings from the laboratories of David Tank at Princeton University and Emre Aksay at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.  

     Role of the granule cell layer in cerebellar motor learning.  The eye movement system provides a highly tractable setting for studying motor learning because it is well-characterized experimentally and has fewer degrees of freedom than more complicated movement systems.  In collaboration with the whole-circuit optical imaging experiments of Emre Aksay’s laboratory, we are modeling the neural dynamics and coding of cerebellar granule neurons.  Particular focus is upon understanding the circuit basis for the transformations underlying plasticity in the gaze-holding system and oculomotor neural integrator. 

2) Collective intelligence and decision-making in ant colonies:  In collaboration with Deborah Gordon’s laboratory at Stanford University, we are using the foraging behavior of desert ants as a model system to quantitatively understand social decision-making.  Desert ants have strong ecological pressure to make wise choices as to when to leave the nest to forage for food.  We are modeling how the decision-making processes of individual ants result in adaptive whole-colony behavior.

POSTDOC: Computational modelling

POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW

Computational modelling of the neural mechanisms of spatial cognition

A post-doctoral research position in Neil Burgess’s lab. at UCL is available for computational modelling of the interactions between grid cells and place cells in coding spatial location (see e.g. 1,2,3) and their role in human spatial memory and imagery in combination with parietal cortex (see e.g. 4,5,6). Applicants should have experience of computational modelling applied to neuroscience or cognition and of programming languages such as MatLab. Experience of analysis or acquisition of experimental data in neuroscience or psychology would be a bonus.

Neil’s lab. forms part of the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (http://www.icn.ucl.ac.uk/), located close to the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit (http://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/), the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging  (http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/) and other facilities for research including electrophysiology and virtual reality. For details of the lab’s research interests see:  http://www.icn.ucl.ac.uk/Research-Groups/Space-and-Memory-Group/.

The post is part of a European Union grant on computational modelling of spatial cognition, with partners Fred Hamker (T U Chemnitz), Patrick Cavanagh (U Paris Descartes), Pieter Menendorp (Donders/Neijmegen) and Rufin Van Rullen (CNRS/U Toulouse). It will start in March 2013, for 3 years, with starting salary from around £30,000 pa, including London allowance. For more information please send informal inquiries to: n.burgess@ucl.ac.uk (he will be at SfN this year).

1. Burgess N, O’Keefe J (2011) Models of place and grid cell firing and theta rhythmicity. Curr Opin. Neurobiol. 21: 734-744.

2. Barry C, Ginsberg LL, O’Keefe J, Burgess N (2012) Grid cell firing patterns signal environmental novelty by expansion. P.N.A.S. In press.

3. Krupic J, Burgess N, O’Keefe J (2012) Neural Representations of Location Composed of Spatially-periodic Bands. Science, 337: 853-857.

4. Doeller CF, Barry C, Burgess, N (2010) Evidence for grid cells in a human memory network. Nature 463 657- 661.

5. Byrne P, Becker S, Burgess N (2007). Remembering the past and imagining the future: a neural model of spatial memory and imagery. Psychological Review 114 340-375.

6. Tcheang L, Bülthoff H, Burgess N (2011) Visual influence on path integration in darkness indicates a multimodal representation of large-scale space. P.N.A.S. 108: 1152-1157

______________________________

_________________
Comp-neuro mailing list
Comp-neuro@neuroinf.org
http://www.neuroinf.org/mailman/listinfo/comp-neuro

POST-DOC IN BRAIN NETWORKS AT IMT LUCCA

POST-DOC IN BRAIN NETWORKS AT IMT LUCCA (www.imtlucca.it). Deadline for
applications is October 26th 2012.

IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca invites applications for a
Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Brain Network Analysis, with specific emphasis
on the reconstruction of networks from time-signal analysis and the
detection of communities. Other than a PhD in NMR and international
experience in the field,  candidates must have an excellent record of
high-impact international publications and should demonstrate enthusiasm for
performing applied research in an interdisciplinary Research Unit.

The appointed candidate will join the NATWORKS - Natural Networks research
unit (http://natworks.imtlucca.it/) and specifically the APrICor (Analysis
and Processing of Image Correlation) project. The project’s main objective
is the definition of a framework for the interpretation of dynamical,
multiparametric biomedical images based on advanced statistical analysis
methods. More specifically, it will explore the benefits of a
complex-network representation of spatially and temporally correlated
signals to extract topological features that may be informative of the
underlying dynamical processes. The project will establish and validate
biological correlates for these features, in order to make this framework
useful for biological and medical research purposes. Software tools based on
these concepts will be developed and integrated within a flexible platform
for image analysis that will be made available to the scientific community.

IMT Lucca is a public international Graduate School and Institute of
Technology that acts as a research university with the aim of forming human
capital in disciplines characterized by their high potential for concrete
applications. IMT strives to reach the fusion of theoretical comprehension
and practical relevance.

For further information about the position and the online form, applicants
can refer to the website, or can contact pdf.calls@imtlucca.it.

Sara L. Olson
Communication & Events

IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca
Piazza San Ponziano, 6
55100 Lucca – Italy
Tel: +39 0583 4326 597
Fax: +39 0583 4326 565
E-mail: sara.olson@imtlucca.it
www.imtlucca.it
--------------------------
The content of this message and of its attachments is under exclusive
responsibility of the account owner and doesn't bind IMT anyhow with respect
to the recipient or third parties.


______________________________

_________________
Comp-neuro mailing list
Comp-neuro@neuroinf.org
http://www.neuroinf.org/mailman/listinfo/comp-neuro

Announcement: PhD program in computational neuroscience

Dear Colleagues,

Please inform students interested in computational neuroscience, mathematical biology, or computational biology PhD programs about the Tri-Institutional Training Program in Computational Biology and Medicine (CBM).

CBM takes advantage of the outstanding educational and research resources of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, and the Sloan-Kettering Institute (the research arm of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) in New York City to train computational biologists in the interdisciplinary approaches (quantitative and experimental) they need to solve the complex problems that characterize biology and medicine.

This NIH T32-funded PhD program is recruiting highly qualified students from biological science and/or quantitative backgrounds.  Neuroscience is one of CBM's main focus areas.

Please visit www.triiprograms.org/cbm for more information.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
David Christini, PhD
Director, CBM Program

postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience to study sleep oscillations

Applications are invited for an NIH-funded post-doctoral position to study mechanisms and functions of sleep oscillations. The successful candidate will join a research team involving the laboratories of Eric Halgren (UCSD), Terry Sejnowski (UCSD) and Maxim Bazhenov (UC Riverside).  For relevant references see, Chen et al, Journal of Physiology (London), 2012, Jul 9; Bonjean et al, Journal of Neuroscience, 2012, 32(15):5250-63. The ultimate goal of this work is to understand mechanisms and functions of sleep rhythms during stage 2 sleep and the role of sleep oscillations in memory and learning.

The successful candidate will be responsible for the design of a thalamocortical model generating sleep rhythms based on existing experimental data. These models will be used to understand underlying neural mechanisms, as well as guide data analysis and produce novel experimental predictions. Qualified applicants are expected to have experience in computational/theoretical neuroscience and conductance-based neural modeling. Programming experience with C/C++ is required. Knowledge of PYTHON or MATLAB is a plus.

The University of California offers excellent benefits. Salary is based on research experience. The initial appointment is for 1 year with a possibility of extension. Applicants should send a brief statement of research interests, a CV and the names of three references to Maxim Bazhenov at maksim.bazhenov@ucr.edu

-- 
Maxim Bazhenov, Ph.D.
Professor, Cell Biology and Neuroscience
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521
Ph: 951-827-4370
http://biocluster.ucr.edu/~mbazhenov/

Five PostDoc Positions in Glasgow

Research Associate (5 posts available)

University of Glasgow - Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology

You will contribute to Wellcome Trust funded research entitled "Natural and modulated neural communication: State-dependent decoding and driving of human Brain Oscillations" (Joint Investigators: Gregor Thut, Joachim Gross). This is one of 5 simultaneously filled 5-year Research Associate positions covering different aspects of the above project.

The job requires working in an interdisciplinary team of researchers on longstanding questions of how brain oscillations orchestrate brain functions, or relate to brain dysfunction. Depending on the position within the team, this will involve the development and/or application of new analysis methods to eavesdrop on brain communication and decode some of the information coded in brain oscillations (MEG/EEG), or using this knowledge for controlled intervention into brain oscillations by transcranial stimulation to modulate brain function (combined TMS/tACS-EEG).

For more information on the position and environment please write to Joachim.Gross@glasgow.ac.uk,  or Gregor.Thut@glasgow.ac.uk 

This post has funding available until 31 December 2017

Ref: 002653

Please apply here:  http://www.gla.ac.uk/about/jobs/

Salary: Grade 7, £31,948 - £35,938 per annum

Closing date: 15 October 2012

3 Postdoc Positions available

UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
AND
UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX

Advertisement

Sheffield Refs: UOS005250, UOS005253
Sussex Ref: 816

Three postdoctoral positions are available at the Universities of
Sheffield (two posts) and Sussex (one post) as part of the EPSRC funded,
‘Green Brain’ project. This exciting new project will develop
computational neuroscience models of learning and decision-making in the
honeybee brain, and controllers based on these to run on an NVIDIA GPU
supercomputer controlling a flying robot in real time. Invertebrate
neuroscientists are continuing to demonstrate that despite their small
sized brains, insects, such as honeybees, have comparable cognitive
sophistication to those of larger-brained animals, including
vertebrates. Honeybees, in particular, have been demonstrated to be able
to manage speed-accuracy trade-offs in decision-making, exhibit positive
and negative-reinforcement learning, and transfer concepts such as
'sameness' and 'difference' across sensory modalities. This project is
intended to advance our understanding of the invertebrate brain by
computational neuroscience modelling, with the ultimate long-term goal
of achieving a complete brain model of an animal such as the honeybee.
To achieve this goal, modern GPU super-computing will be used to build
detailed models of brain function that can run in real time and can
interface with a flying robot to study its behaviour in an embodied
context. The work will be carried out in close collaboration with
honeybee experts in Toulouse. It is expected that the long-term goal of
a full brain model will not only represent a significant basic research
achievement, but also lead to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence,
control of autonomous agents and computational insights into cognitive
mechanisms in higher animals

The postdoctoral positions of the research associates on this project
are as follows:

1. Computational neuroscientist (Sussex): Your primary responsibilities
will be to further develop models of the honeybee olfactory system and
learning pathways, develop GPU modelling tools, and integrate your work
with the other research associates.

2. Computational neuroscientist (Sheffield): Your primary
responsibilities will be to model the honeybee optic tubercle and visual
learning pathways, to investigate multi-modal integration and learning,
and to integrate your work with the other research associates

3. Roboticist (Sheffield): Your primary responsibility will be to
develop and maintain the GPU-supercomputer-controlled flying robot, and
integrate the work of the other research associates into the platform

Successful candidates must hold a PhD or equivalent degree in a
quantitative science discipline. All posts require a keen interest in
computational neuroscience and the basis of learning and behaviour in
animals. We are looking for candidates with a strong mathematical,
computational and computational neuroscience background (posts 1 and 2)
and keen interest in robotics (post 3). Knowledge of the insect
olfactory system (post 1), visual system (post 2) and robotic
controllers (post 3) is desirable, but is not a requirement. All
positions require good programming skills and experience with GPU
computing would be a big plus. The positions will involve travel between
Sheffield and Sussex and occasionally to the collaborating experimental
bee researchers in Toulouse.

For informal inquiries about the positions, please contact Dr. James
Marshall, James.Marshall@shef.ac.uk or Dr. Thomas Nowotny,
t.nowotny@sussex.ac.uk.
Candidates interested in applying for the University of Sussex job
please apply through www.sussex.ac.uk/jobs. Candidates interested in the
posts at University of Sheffield please apply through
http://www.shef.ac.uk/jobs. If candidates are interested in several
posts please apply on both sites.

Please provide a CV with publication list, a brief (1 page) statement of
why you are interested in the position and about your future career
plans with your application form.

Salary range: starting at £30,122 and rising to £37,012 per annum,
according to experience

Expected start date: 1 December 2012

Closing date for applications: 17/14 October 2012

Interviews are anticipated for: 1 November 2012

For full details and how to apply see
www.shef.ac.uk/jobs
www.sussex.ac.uk/jobs

The Universities of Sheffield and of Sussex are committed to equality of
opportunity.

Postdoc position in psychophysics and modeling

Department of Neuroscience

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX

Postdoc in human psychophysics and mathematical modeling

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position (minimum 2 years) in the laboratory of Dr. Wei Ji Ma (http://neuro.bcm.edu/malab) in the Department of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.

The long-range goal of our lab is to understand decision-making under uncertainty. Our methods include human psychophysics, mathematical modeling of behavior, and theoretical neuroscience. Recent publications have been in the areas of visual perception, visual short-term memory, visual attention, and multisensory perception.

Applicants should have a Ph.D. and experience in both psychophysics and modeling/theory. Good analytical and programming skills are required. Expertise in machine learning is an advantage.

To apply, please send CV, statement of interest, and the names and contact information of two references to Wei Ji Ma at wjma@bcm.edu. Consideration of applications will begin immediately, and will end when the position is filled. Salary is competitive and will be commensurate with experience and qualifications. Baylor College of Medicine is an Equal-Opportunity, Affirmative-Action and Equal-Access Employer.

--

Wei Ji Ma, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Department of Neuroscience

Baylor College of Medicine

Houston, TX 77030, USA

+1 713 798 8407

http://neuro.bcm.edu/malab

Faculty Position at the University of Southern California

COMPUTATIONAL MODELING OF LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR FROM COGNITIVE / NEURAL PERSPECTIVES

The University of Southern California, Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, in Los Angeles, California, invites applications for a position as Assistant or Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychology and/or Linguistics to start Fall 2013. We seek candidates engaged in novel research in the computational modeling of language behavior. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the modeling of language acquisition, comprehension, development, evolution, processing, production and variation. The research may be from neural or cognitive perspectives and with a strong link to empirical investigations. For an appointment at the level of Assistant Professor (tenure track), the appointment will be made in either the Department of Linguistics or the Department of Psychology. For an appointment at the level of Associate Professor (with tenure), a joint appointment between the two Departments is possible.

USC offers many opportunities for collaboration across these and other units of the university. Resources include the Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center, the Brain and Creativity Institute, the High-Performance Computing and Communications supercomputing cluster, and a broad interdisciplinary Neuroscience community, including a program in Hearing and Communication Neuroscience, composed of more than 70 faculty members in the basic, engineering, and clinical sciences. USC strongly values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity in employment. Women and men, and members of all racial and ethnic groups are encouraged to apply.

All applicants should have a Ph.D. at the time of appointment and should provide a CV, a research statement, a teaching statement, representative scholarly papers, and three letters of reference via email to Mr. Stephen Stephenson at psyling@dornsife.usc.edu. Screening of applicants will begin October 15, 2012. In order to be considered for this position, applicants are also required to submit an electronic USC application; follow this job link or paste in a browser: https://jobs.usc.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=66228 .

PARMENIDES FELLOWSHIPS IN THEORETICAL BIOLOGY

PARMENIDES FELLOWSHIPS IN THEORETICAL BIOLOGY - CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Two thematic Parmenides fellowships are open in the Parmenides Center for
the Conceptual Foundations of Science (Münich, Germany) under the
supervision of Prof. Eörs Szathmáry.

Successful candidates will carry out their own research agenda in the
fields described below. The positions are for a minimum of 1 year to a
maximum of 3 years. Successful applicants will receive a stipend of 2500
EUR per month (net).The proposed projects can start as soon as a suitable
candidate is identified, but not later than the 15th October, 2012.

Origin of life: Theory of the emergence and development of the RNA world.
The major evolutionary transitions, of which at least the first 3 is bound
to this period in the evolution of life on Earth, should be in the focus of
the proposed research project.

Replicator evolution in the brain: Population biology of replicators as
proposed in Darwinian neurodynamics, with special emphasis on the
application to Fluid Construction Grammar.

We seek applicants with an interest in theoretical evolutionary biology
and experience in using a range of computational, bioinformatic and
mathematical techniques to answer evolutionary questions. Furthermore,
candidates should have a few years of postdoctoral experience, a track
record in publishing in international scholarly journals and fluency
in English.

Candidates interested in either of the positions should submit an
application consisting of a CV with full list of publications, a motivation
letter (1 page) and a detailed workplan (max 5 pages).
The deadline for applications is 14th, September, 2012. Applications should
be sent by email to Eörs Szathmáry, szathmary.eors@gmail.com.

szathmary.eors@gmail.com

Postdoc position in Math Neuroscience

Computational/Mathematical Neuroscience Postdoc

Bard Ermentrout (http://www.pitt.edu/~phase) in the Mathematics Department
at the University of Pittsburgh is seeking applicants for a three-year
postdoctoral research position. The project is concerned with (1) the
interactions between correlated inputs and spatio-temporal patterns ; (2)
the origin and analysis of spatio-temporal patterns in mean-field and
spiking models of neurons; (3) relationship between population
oscillations and their mean-field approximations.  The ability to do
simulations and some perturbation analysis is desirable and knowledge of
XPPAUT or Matlab is also a plus.  The salary is competitive and there are
full benefits.

Please contact Bard Ermentrout at bard@pitt.edu

Two-year postdoc vacancy at Uni. South Australia, in Computational Neuroscience

Dear colleagues,

The University of South Australia's Institute for Telecommunications Research (ITR) is now seeking applications for an open Postdoctoral Research Fellow position. 

There is a formal application process, which must be completed online at the following address: Research Fellow position .

The closing date is 5th October 2012. See also http://www.unisa.edu.au/About-UniSA/Working-at-UniSA/Vacancies/ regarding employment at UniSA.

The Research Fellow will conduct theoretical research aimed at understanding the neurobiological communication and information storage mechanisms that exist within mammalian brains. The approach will be to combine mathematical modelling with computational simulations. The project is aligned with an Australian Research Council funded Discovery Grant, and is in collaboration with University of British Columbia, Canada.

The position is for two years full time, as follows:

-Salary range: AU$79,145 - AU$93,986 pa 

-Total remuneration range approximately: AU$87K - AU$103K pa; This includes salary, employer super contributions of 9% salary and annual leave loading.

It is essential that applicants possess (or are soon to submit) a doctorate (or equivalent research experience) in the area of computational and theoretical neuroscience, or closely related areas including electronic engineering, mathematical/statistical physics, applied mathematics, biophysics, biomedical engineering and mathematical biology.

The successful application will also be able to demonstrate expert mathematical knowledge in at least one of the following four areas: nonlinear dynamics; information theory; numerical methods; signal processing. 

For the full position description and selection criteria, please see http://workingatunisa.nga.net.au/publicfiles/workingatunisa/jobs/4ECDA9D1-7F17-A77C-B5C5-6DE4BAD453CF/Research Fellow Computational Neuroscience3.pdf

The successful applicant will be a member of ITR’s highly interdisciplinary Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience Laboratory, working with Principle Investigator, Dr Mark McDonnell. The Lab has excellent computational facilities, provides a stimulating interdisciplinary research environment and interacts with many international research collaborators.
For more information about the Lab please see: www.itr.unisa.edu.au/CTNL/ 

Please contact Dr Mark McDonnell for questions about the position. Please contact itrhr@unisa.edu.au for questions about the application form.

Regards

Dr Mark D. McDonnell

Senior Research Fellow

Principal Investigator
Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience Laboratory
http://www.itr.unisa.edu.au/research/ctnl/

Institute for Telecommunications Research
University of South Australia
Building W, Mawson Lakes Campus
Mawson Lakes SA 5095 AUSTRALIA

Phone:  +61 8 8302 3341
Fax:  +61 8 8302 3817

URL: http://people.unisa.edu.au/Mark.McDonnell
Email: mark.mcdonnell@unisa.edu.au

two postdoc positions available

Hi everyone,

We have two postdoc positions available in our laboratory at the
UNIC, related to theoretical and experimental study of magnetic
fields generated by neurons.  This is supported by a European
project called "Magnetrodes" and which consists of conceiving,
testing and modeling new microdevices (magnetrodes) to record
magnetic fields directly from neural tissue, and in some cases in
close proximity to neurons.  The device will be fabricated by a
laboratory in Saclay (Myriam Pannetier) and in Lisbon (Susana
Cardoso), and will be tested at the UNIC in vitro (cortical slices;
Thierry Bal) using patch-clamp experiments.  At the UNIC, we will
also model the results of the experiments (Alain Destexhe) to
obtain a characterization of the magnetic "generator" by neurons.
We will also study possible extensions to modeling the
magneto-encephalogram (MEG) signals.  Other partners of the project
are Pascal Fries (Frankfurt; in vivo testing) and Lauri Parkkonen
(Aalto, MEG).

We are looking for two postdocs (2 year contracts with possible
extension), one will be primarily involved in patch-clamp
experiments, and the other one will be involved in the modeling of
neuronal electromagnetic fields.  These two postdocs will interact
closely, and we will encourage candidates willing to participate to
both experiments and modeling.  One candidate should ideally be
physicist with strong background in electromagnetism theory, and
the other candidate should ideally be trained in electrophysiogy.

The Unité de Neuroscience, Information et Complexité (UNIC) is a
CNRS research unit (UPR 3293, Dir. Y. Frégnac) comprising 6
different laboratories, mixing experimental and theoretical
neuroscience.  The UNIC is part of the Alfred Fessard Neurobiology
Institute (INAF; Dir. P. Vernier), located in the CNRS campus of
Gif sur Yvette.  The CNRS Campus comprises about 2000 researchers
focusing on neuroscience, molecular biology, genetics and plant
biology, and is affiliated with several universities and
engineering schools in the Paris Region (Ecole Polytechnique,
Sup-Elec, Pierre & Marie Curie University Paris, University of
Orsay, Ecole Normale Superieure Paris).

Please contact

  Alain Destexhe  (destexhe at unic.cnrs-gif.fr)
  or
  Thierry Bal     (bal at unic.cnrs-gif.fr)

  Unité de Neuroscience, Information et Complexité (UNIC),
  UPR 3293, CNRS,
  1 Avenue de la Terrasse (BAT 33),
  91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France

  Tel: 33-1-69-82-34-35
  Fax: 33-1-69-82-34-27
  URL: http://cns.iaf.cnrs-gif.fr

Postdoctoral position at University of Manchester, Faculty of Life Sciences

A 4 year postdoctoral researcher position is available now in the lab
of Dr Mark Humphries in the Faculty of Life Science, University of
Manchester

The researcher will join a newly established lab group that tackles
the challenging problems of how to make sense of the deluge of
circuit-wide neural activity data, from cortical cell assemblies to
invertebrate central pattern generators. They will develop
cutting-edge analysis and data-mining techniques for multi-neuron
recording and apply those techniques to analyse and interpret
experimental data from collaborators across Europe and the USA. [For
background on the methodology see: Humphries (2011) Spike-train
communities: finding groups of similar spike-trains. J Neurosci, 31,
2321-2336]

The ideal candidate will hold a PhD in a related discipline (e.g.
mathematics, physics, engineering, computer science, or computational
neuroscience), have good programming skills and experience in either
neurophysiological data analysis or network theory.

For more details and to apply please visit:
https://www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/DisplayJob.aspx?pageno=0&htmlpage=JobDisplay&Jobid=19642&txtKeywords=neuro&chkCategory=962&lstRegion=&chkSalary=&chksubject=&optMatch=Any&clientid=73&AttachedSAF=0

Informal enquiries: m.d.humphries@sheffield.ac.uk

The closing date is September 28th 2012, 16:00 (UK time)

Postdoctoral position at University of Manchester, Faculty of Life Sciences

A 4 year postdoctoral researcher position is available now in the lab
of Dr Mark Humphries in the Faculty of Life Science, University of
Manchester

The researcher will join a newly established lab group that tackles
the challenging problems of how to make sense of the deluge of
circuit-wide neural activity data, from cortical cell assemblies to
invertebrate central pattern generators. They will develop
cutting-edge analysis and data-mining techniques for multi-neuron
recording and apply those techniques to analyse and interpret
experimental data from collaborators across Europe and the USA. [For
background on the methodology see: Humphries (2011) Spike-train
communities: finding groups of similar spike-trains. J Neurosci, 31,
2321-2336]

The ideal candidate will hold a PhD in a related discipline (e.g.
mathematics, physics, engineering, computer science, or computational
neuroscience), have good programming skills and experience in either
neurophysiological data analysis or network theory.

For more details and to apply please visit:
https://www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/DisplayJob.aspx?pageno=0&htmlpage=JobDisplay&Jobid=19642&txtKeywords=neuro&chkCategory=962&lstRegion=&chkSalary=&chksubject=&optMatch=Any&clientid=73&AttachedSAF=0

Informal enquiries: m.d.humphries@sheffield.ac.uk

The closing date is September 28th 2012, 16:00 (UK time)

Postdoctoral positions available in Group for Neural Theory, ENS Paris

THREE POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS are available in Sophie Deneve’s team at the Group Neural Theory, Paris, France (see www.gnt.ens.fr).  The GNT is highly interactive and dynamic, is situated in central Paris, and is embedded within the strong Parisian theoretical neuroscience community. The ideal candidate should have a PhD with a quantitative background (ideally in fields such as machine learning and/or computational neuroscience).

We will investigate information coding and learning in spiking neural networks, combining theoretical approaches, simulations and analysis of neurophysiological datasets. Possible projects are described in more details below.  

Starting dates are flexible. The positions are for two years, with net salaries from 2500 to 2800 euro/month depending on prior experience. We will also provide generous travel funds. Possibilities exists to get subsidized housing (especially for families).   

Candidates should send a letter of motivation (2 pages max), the contact information of 2 to 3 referees and their CVs to sophie.deneve@ens.fr BEFORE OCTOBER 10, 2012. Interviews of short-listed candidates will be conducted in the fall either in Paris, at SFN in New Orleans or by video-conferences.

Description of projects:

Dealing with uncertainties is necessary for the survival of any living organism. Indeed, recent years have seen the growing application of probabilistic inference models to perception and action. Excitable neural structures face similar uncertainties: they receive noisy and ambiguous inputs and must accumulate evidence over time, combine unreliable cues and decide among alternative interpretations of the sensory input. Probabilistic model can thus be used to further our understanding not only of behavior, but also of the function and dynamics of biological neural networks.

Our working hypotheses are two-fold. First, we suppose that neural networks are tuned to estimate sensory or motor variables as reliably as possible. And second, firing dynamics insure self-consistency, i.e. these estimates can be extracted by postsynaptic integration of output spike trains. These two principles entirely constrain the structure, dynamics and plasticity of the corresponding spiking neural network. In particular, this purely functional approach captures many aspects of cortical dynamics and sensory responses (Boerlin and Deneve Plos Comp Bio 2011, Lochman, Ernst and Deneve J Neurosci 2012, Lochman and Deneve, Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2011).  

The projects will consist in

1. Developing and generalizing this framework to explore its implications for neural coding, dynamics and sensory representations                  

2. Designing new methods of data analysis able to extract a network’s function from multi-electrode neural recordings.

3. Applying this approach to neural datasets (multielectrode recordings – optical imaging data) from sensory and motor areas.  

PHD POSITION: COMPUTATIONAL NEURAL MECHANISMS OF THE NEURAL ENCODING OF ACTION SAMANTICS

PHD POSITION: COMPUTATIONAL NEURAL MECHANISMS
OF THE NEURAL ENCODING OF ACTION SAMANTICS (Hertie Institute /
Center for Integrative Neuroscience, Tuebingen, Germany)
==============================

===============================
Action perception and action execution are tightly linked in the
brain, and how these funcions are neurally encoded has
received a lot of interest in recent research in neuroscience.
The clarification of the underlying neural mechanisms
requires the tight interaction between theoretical and
experimental neuroscience.

Collaborating closely with physiologists from the
Department of Cognitive Neurology and M.I.T., we
investigate experimentally the neural encoding of actions during
perception and execution. We develop physiologically-inspired
neural and probabilistic models for the visual processing of actions
and its interaction with motor representations. Applying advanced
statistical Bayesian approaches, we investigate the semantic
structure of action representations based on neural data, and we
exploit advanced technologies for online animation in order to
investigate the dynamics of neural representations of
actions in premotor cortex.

We look for a theoretically oriented researcher with strong
interest in physiology and systems neuroscience.
Ideal candidates for this position should have:

* a Masters degree in Computer Science,
  Electrical Engineering, Physics, or Biology with
  good mathematical and reasonable programming skills
* Basic knowledge about neural networks or machine
  learning, or models of biological functions
* programming experience (Matlab, C++, or Python)
* a strong interest in theoretical and experimental
  neuroscience, and especially in higher-level
  vision, motor control, or cognition
* English speaking and writing skills.

Applications with inappropriate background (e.g. in
molecular or cell biology) will not be considered.

Committed to Equal Opportunities.

The Section of Computational Sensomotorics is working
on computational and neural models of action processing,
and technical applications related to action perception and
control. Our lab is part of the Dept. of Cognitive Neurology
at the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), a
leading European institution in Clinical Neuroscience.
It is also part of the Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative
Neuroscience (CIN), an Excellence cluster from the German
Research organization with more than 70 groups working
on different aspects of systems neuroscience, and of the
Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience in Tübingen.

Please send applications preferentially electronically
(including CV, marks and 2 letters of reference)
as soon as possible to
Prof. Dr. Martin Giese, Hertie Institute
for Clinical Brain Research  & Centre for
Integrative Neuroscience, Otfried-Mueller-Str. 25,
72076 Tuebingen, Germany;
email: martin.giese@uni-tuebingen.de

Fellowshipsfor PHD: Neuroscience and Robotics

If you are interested in expanding your scientific background  and  join the multidisciplinary research group of the Robotics Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department  (RBCS) department at IIT apply to one of the PhD fellowships offered this year. 

Since the start of IIT in 2006 at RBCS (www.rbcs.iit.it), top-level neuroscience research and top-level robotics research is being merged to seek answers towards some of the long standing open problems in both fields while offering the possibility to publish in leading journals in life sciences, cognitive and neural sciences and robotic engineering.

By joining RBCS you will become part of a research team composed of neuroscientists, engineers, psychologists, physicists working together to investigate brain functions, realize intelligent machines and advanced rehabilitation devices. At RBCS you will be carrying out your own research in a stimulating environment while expanding your scientific background beyond your current expertize.

RBCS is also the home of the humanoid robot iCub in its dual role of stimulus for the study of human machine interaction and of tester of artificial cognitive architecture and developmental robotics.

Applications can be submitted electronically to the Doctoral Course on “Life and Humanoid Technologies” following a procedure described here (BEFORE SEPTEMBER 21^st):

http://www.iit.it/en/openings/phd-calls/1595-phd-school-in-life-and-humanoid-technologies.html

The research topics offered by RBCS this year can be selected from those listed in ANNEX-4 and grouped in five streams (from Theme 1.1 to 1.33):

1.      Manual and Postural Action (Themes 1.1 to 1.9)
2.      Perception during Action (Themes 1.10 to 1.20
3.      Interaction With and Between Humans (Themes 1.21 and 1.22)
4.      Interfacing with the Human Body (Themes 11.23 to 1.27)
5.      Sensorimotor Impairment, rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies (Themes 1.28 to 1.33)

Only the best 15 candidates and their proposed projects will be selected.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION IS SEPTEMBER 21^st

---

Prof. Giulio Sandini

Head: Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Phone: +39 010 71781 416 - Fax: +39 010 7170817

http://www.rbcs.iit.it

Graduate student position

Prof. Sebastien Helie is looking for new graduate students interested in the Mathematical and Computational Cognitive Science (MCCS) program to join the Purdue Laboratory for Computational Cognitive Neuroscience in Fall 2013. The Purdue Laboratory for Computational Cognitive Neuroscience is affiliated with the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University, which is consistently ranked among the top 50 in the US.  The Purdue Laboratory for Computational Cognitive Neuroscience uses different methodologies from cognitive psychology, neuroimaging, and computational modeling to study the relation between the brain and cognitive processing. The goal of the Purdue Laboratory for Computational Cognitive Neuroscience is to use empirical and computational methods to better understand categorization, automaticity, rule learning, sequence learning, skill acquisition, intuition in decision-making, and creative problem solving.

You can find more information about the Department of Psychological Sciences @ Purdue University here: http://www.purdue.edu/hhs/psy/

You can find more information about the Mathematical and Computational Cognitive Science (MCCS) program here: http://www.purdue.edu/hhs/psy/graduate/research_training_areas/mathematical/index.php

You can find more information about The Purdue Laboratory for Computational Cognitive Neuroscience program here: http://ccn.psych.purdue.edu/index.html

Interested students should contact Prof. Helie at shelie@purdue.edu.

------------------------------

-----
Sebastien Helie, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychological Sciences
Purdue University
703 Third Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2081
--
Office: Peirce Hall, Room 359
Phone: (765) 496-2692
E-mail: shelie@purdue.edu
Website: http://ccn.psych.purdue.edu/
------------------------------------

PhD position on models of decision making in Bristol

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to let you know about a fully funded 3-year interdisciplinary PhD studentship on computational models of decision making at the University of Bristol.

The student will be based in Bristol University's interdisciplinary centre for research into /Decision Making in an Unstable World  /(http://www.bristol.ac.uk/decisions-research/).  The centre currently has 2 postdoctoral researchers and 4 PhD students, runs a wide variety of topic focused seminars and workshops, and offers a range of exciting collaborative opportunities. The research team is located in a newly-refurbished dedicated space.

Applications are welcomed from UK/EU students who are enthusiastic and highly-motivated who possess, or will shortly obtain, a first or upper second class degree, or equivalent, in a numerate subject from across the Mathematical, Natural and Engineering Sciences (for example Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics or Physics).  Applicants must demonstrate a strong desire to be part of an interdisciplinary research team that combines mathematical and computational modelling with experimental research on humans.  Successful applicants will receive an EPSRC 3-year studentship covering living expenses and fees.

For further information, please visit http://www.bristol.ac.uk/decisions-research/.  Informal enquiries are very welcome and should be made to Dr David Leslie (david.leslie@bristol.ac.uk <mailto:david.leslie@bristol.ac.uk>) or Prof Iain Gilchrist (i.d.gilchrist@bristol.ac.uk <mailto:i.d.gilchrist@bristol.ac.uk>). Information about postgraduate study at the university, including the application procedure, is available at http://www.bris.ac.uk/prospectus/postgraduate/.  Please select 'Mathematics (PhD)' and indicate that that you are responding to the "Inter-disciplinary decision-making studentship advertisement" in the Research Details and Funding sections of the form.

We will carry out interviews and hope to appoint to this studentship as soon as possible.

*The closing date for applications is 9am on the 1^st October 2012.
*

**

Best wishes,

Rafal

Two PhD positions available at the Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience, University of Waterloo

Two fully funded graduate student positions (M(A)Sc/PhD) are available
immediately in the recently established van der Meer lab at the
University of Waterloo, Canada.

Research in the lab centers around the interplay between
decision-making, memory, and planning, which we approach using
synergistic experimental and computational tools. The lab’s newly
outfitted space enables the recording of neural activity from 10s to
100s of neurons, from multiple brain sites, as rodents perform flexible
behavioral tasks.

Possible experimental projects include, but are not limited to: (1) the
role of specific spike timing patterns (theta phase precession, replay)
in the acquisition and behavioral expression of place-reward
associations (van der Meer & Redish, J Neurosci 2011; Malhotra et al.
Rev Neurosci 2012) and (2) the relationship between ensemble states in
the hippocampus, ventral striatum, and subsequent behavior (van der Meer
et al. Neuron 2010).

The lab also hosts computational projects that explore related topics in
spiking network simulations (in collaboration with Chris Eliasmith’s
group). These may include, for instance, the embedding of a model
hippocampus in a large-scale functional model of the brain to explore
unifying hypotheses about its contributions to learning, memory and
flexible navigation (route planning).

Numerous opportunities for participating in funded, ongoing national and
international collaborations, as well as summer schools, are available.

Depending on background and interests, successful applicants may choose
as their home department Biology, Computer Science, or Systems Design
Engineering, all of which are compatible with the optional Diploma in
Theoretical Neuroscience.

Background in a quantitative discipline is highly desirable; experience
with rat behavior and/or electrophysiology is useful but not required.
To be considered for an interview, please send a cover letter and CV to
Matt van der Meer, Canada Research Chair in Integrative Neuroscience
(mvdm at uwaterloo dot ca). Informal inquiries are of course welcome!

For more information about the lab and the Centre for Theoretical
Neuroscience, see www.vandermeerlab.org and ctn.uwaterloo.ca.


--

Matthijs (Matt) van der Meer

Assistant Professor & Canada Research Chair in Integrative Neuroscience
Department of Biology and Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience
University of Waterloo, Canada

p: (519) 888-4567 x31151 | f: (519) 746-0614 | w: www.vandermeerlab.org
______________________________

_________________
Comp-neuro mailing list
Comp-neuro@neuroinf.org
http://www.neuroinf.org/mailman/listinfo/comp-neuro

Open position - Neuro-robotics group, The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy

Call for expression of interest in a position within the Neuro-robotics group of The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
The successful candidate will work on real-time and neuromorphic artificial models of the human somatosensory system, applied to robotic tactile sensing technologies.

The following optional qualifications will be an added value for the successful applicant:
- PhD in Computer Science, Real-time systems, Robotics and Cognitive Systems, Computational Neuroscience
- Experience in modeling and artificial mimicry of biological systems
- Experience in real-time programming, and in developing experimental and demonstration robotic platforms
- Experience in multi-disciplinary teams involving neuroscientists and roboticists
- Valuable publication record
- Fluency in spoken and written English

The salary and the duration of the position will be negotiated with the successful candidate.
The position will be opened and awarded as soon as a number of qualified expressions of interest will be received. Therefore, immediate feedback by potential candidates is encouraged.

A list of publications representing the research interests of the Neuro-Robotics group is reported at the following web pages:
http://www.sssup.it/external_context.jsp?ID_LINK=9111&area=6&SECPUB=SEC_0002&userid=m.c.carrozza&uid=001083
http://scholar.google.it/citations?user=viSqeKEAAAAJ

For additional information, please send a detailed CV to:
Prof. Maria Chiara Carrozza    m.c.carrozza@sssup.it
Dr. Calogero M. Oddo            oddoc@sssup.it
Dr. Fabrizio Vecchi            f.vecchi@sssup.it

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Neuroscience - University of Leicester

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Neuroscience - University of Leicester

At Leicester we're going places. Ranked in the top 20 universities in Britain our aim is to climb further. A commitment to high quality fused with an inclusive academic culture is our hallmark and led the Times Higher Education to describe us as "elite without being elitist".

This is an exciting research opportunity to contribute to the development of a low power wireless implantable chip, used to process and transmit data from recorded neurons to external devices (like brain machine interfaces). The focus of your research will be the implementation of optimal spike detection and sorting techniques.

The project will be carried out with Prof. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, director of the newly created Centre for Systems Neuroscience at the University of Leicester (www.le.ac.uk/neuroengineering).

You will have, or be close to completing, a PhD in Neuroscience, Signal Processing or a related area such as physics, mathematics, engineering or computer sciences. You will have a strong background in Mathematics (mainly Signal Processing) and/or Neuroscience. Experience with neurophysiology is also desirable. The position also requires very good knowledge of programming, especially in Matlab.

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be made to Prof. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga on rqqg1@le.ac.uk or  0116 252 2314.

The closing date for this post is midnight on 5 September 2012.

PhD student fellowship in the field of behavioral genetic and neuropsychopharmacology

We are seeking a highly motivated candidate for a PhD student fellowship to join our team at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), in Genova, Italy.

The overall goal of our research is to understand the genetic bases that cause the development of specific cognitive abnormalities and schizophrenia neuropathology. While several potential schizophrenia-susceptibility genes have been identified, effect sizes are very small and replication is inconsistent, likely because of the complexity of human polymorphisms, genetic and clinical heterogeneity and the potential impact of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions. In this context, mutant mice bearing targeted mutations of schizophrenia-susceptibility genes are unique tools to elucidate the neurobiological basis of this devastating disorder. Using genetically modified mice for genes relevant to schizophrenia, we will then employ a combined approach beginning at the behavioral level and culminating at the cellular and molecular levels. Cognitive abnormalities are core enduring symptoms in schizophrenia, dramatically contribute to poor functional outcomes in patients and currently represent a great “unmet therapeutic need”. We then mainly focus our work on behavioral cognitive analyses and relative neuronal correlates.

The IIT in Genova provides state-of-the-art research facilities in mouse behavioral phenotyping, molecular and cellular biology, imaging and electrophysiology. It brings together a large number of researchers with diverse backgrounds working together to achieve a high standard in training education.
The research fellowship is intended for a 3-year PhD position starting from January 2013.

Applications should include a cover letter, a CV, and at least two reference letters. Please send this material to:

Dr Francesco Papaleo
Team Leader
Department of Neuroscience and Brain Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30
16163 Genova - Italy
Phone: +39 01071781786
E-mail: francesco.papaleo@iit.it

______________________________

_________________
Comp-neuro mailing list
Comp-neuro@neuroinf.org
http://www.neuroinf.org/mailman/listinfo/comp-neuro

Research Associate in Computational Neuroscience

Please find below an advertisement for a postdoctoral position. Please note that while the position is fixed term for one year, there is the prospect, for a suitable candidate, of follow-on funding.

Research Associate in Computational Neuroscience

Imperial College London -Department of Bioengineering

Salary range: £32,100 per annum

Fixed term appointment for 12 months

Applications are invited for an Imperial/Wellcome Trust funded Research Associate post on the development of a computational model of optogenetic modulation of neural circuits. You will be based in the Department of Bioengineering, and work jointly with Dr Simon Schultz (Department of Bioengineering) and Dr Konstantin Nikolic (Centre for Bio-Inspired Technology & Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering). The RA would join a stimulating research environment with a rich programme of seminars and discussion meetings focused on Neurotechnology. The project is highly interdisciplinary. The RA will work at the interface between mathematics, engineering, physics and the life sciences, specifically in the mathematical and computational modeling of cortical neurons expressing channelrhodopsin, halorhodospsin, ArchT or similar light-activated ion channels. The research on this project will lead to a substantial project proposal which if accepted may allow for the extension of this post for up to 3 years.  

The Research Associate will have a PhD in Computational Neuroscience, Physics, Engineering or a related subject, and experience in computational modelling. The Research Associate's task will be to create mathematical models and then create computer simulations of individual cortical neurons as well as sets of neurons expressing optogenetic mechanisms. The RA will perform detailed system modeling and biophysical simulations of the experimentally determined optogenetic mechanisms, such as channelrhodopsin, halorhodospin, ArchT, etc. These models will be incorporated in models of neurons, and used for a large-scale model of optogenetic manipulation of the cortical circuit by, to the cortical microcircuit scale. The RA will study the effects of optical stimulation on a cortical column in which light sensitive ion channels have been expressed and analyse their implications for simulating brain injuries.

Our preferred method of application is online via the Imperial College website athttp://www3.imperial.ac.uk/employment where you will find a job description and person specification for this post.   Please select "Job Search" then enter the job title or vacancy reference number EN20120252FH into "Keywords". Complete and upload an application form as directed.

Should you have any queries, please contact:

Dr Simon Schultz, email: s.schultz@imperial.ac.uk , group web page http://www.schultzlab.org

or

Dr Konstantin Nikolic, T: +44 (0)20 7594 1594, E: k.nikolic@imperial.ac.uk

Please note that applications sent directly to these email addresses will not be accepted.

Closing Date: 17 September 2012

Simon R Schultz

Director of Postgraduate Studies (Research)

Royal Society Industry Fellow and Senior Lecturer

Department of Bioengineering

Imperial College London

Phone: +44-207 594 1533

Email: s.schultz@imperial.ac.uk

http://www.schultzlab.org

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/neurotechnology

Member of National Committee, British Neuroscience Association

http://www.bna.org.uk

Brain imaging postdoctoral positions at Stony Brook University

There are two postdoctoral positions in brain imaging open at Stony Brook University.

One is for diffusion MRI:

http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Admin/CampusJob.nsf/487fa351f970ddc3852569800011d0e4/819C0E87E24593AC85257A38004D3853?OpenDocument

and the other for multimodal image analysis:

http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Admin/CampusJob.nsf/487fa351f970ddc3852569800011d0e4/02DFAB49D07FDF4185257A2A00526356?OpenDocument

Cheers,

@rno

PhD call - neuromorphic, event-driven, asynchronous sensors - Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Two PhD positions with scholarships in the field of event-driven, asynchronous, neuromorphic sensors are available at the Robotics Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in the Neuromorphic Systems and Interfaces group led by Dr. Chiara Bartolozzi.

Deadline: 21^st September 2012

On-line application: http://servizionline.unige.it/studenti/post-laurea/dottorato

Research theme:

Carrying out real-world tasks in artificial behaving systems robustly and efficiently is one of the major challenges of today’s research in ICT. This is especially true if performances even remotely similar to those of biological behaving systems are desired. Indeed, biological systems are clearly outperforming artificial computing and robotic systems in terms of appropriateness of the behavioural response, robustness to interference and noise, adaptation to ever changing environmental conditions, or energy efficiency. All these properties are strongly interconnected and arise from the characteristics of the radically different style of computation used by the biological brain. In conventional robotics systems, sensory information is available in a sequence of “snapshots” taken at regular intervals. In this context high dynamics can be sensed only by increasing the sampling rate. Unfortunately the available bandwidth limits the amount of information that can be transmitted forcing a compromise between resolution and speed. As a result, current robotic systems are too slow and cannot react appropriately to unexpected, dynamical events. Biological systems also show us that predictive behaviour can compensate quite effectively for such latencies; however, proper predictions can be achieved only if scenes' dynamics are captured with sufficient temporal resolution. Neuromorphic sensors appear then as an efficient optimal solution to the problem. Neuromorphic event-based sensors sample information asynchronously with temporal resolutions that are order of magnitudes larger than the ones of conventional artificial cameras, while, at the same time, largely suppressing information redundancies and optimizing bandwidth usage and computational costs.

In this context two complementary research themes are available for PhD thesis:

Event-driven visual perception (theme 1.15)

N. of available positions: 1

The goal of the proposed research theme is the development of event-driven artificial vision for a humanoid robot, fully exploiting the advantages of such an un-conventional type of sensory encoding and validating it on a robotic platform capable of complex interaction with the real world. The research will start from the existing work on the development of event-driven motion estimation and object recognition and will involve the development of algorithms for spike-based vision, using both artificial and real data. This work will be complemented by the use and validation of the developed computational methods for driving the behaviour of the humanoids robot iCub (www.icub.org).

Event-driven tactile sensing (theme 1.16)

N. of available positions: 1

The goal of the proposed research theme is the study and development of artificial event-driven tactile sensors for a humanoid robot. It is a multi-disciplinary work that will combine the study of:

-           biological sensory transduction,

-           neuromorphic mixed signals microelectronics for the development of the sensor encoding

-           diverse existing mechanisms and materials for tactile sensory transduction

with the goal of creating an optimal system for event-driven tactile sensors. The potential applications of this line of research will start from the use in a bio-inspired event-driven humanoid robot (the “neuromorphic” iCub), up to the use in artificial limbs for sensorized prosthetics.

For further details concerning the research project, please contact: chiara.bartolozzi@iit.it

The PhD scholarships are part of the post-graduate program of the University of Genova, school of “Life and Humanoid Technologies”, Doctoral Course on “Robotics, Cognition and Interaction Technologies”. http://www.iit.it/en/openings/phd-calls.html

Memory and Learning in Robot Cognitive Development (PhD Position proposal)

The Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department at  the Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT - www.rbcs.iit.it) is offering positions for the Doctoral Course on “Life and Humanoid Technologies”
http://www.iit.it/en/openings/
phd-calls/1595-phd-school-in-life-and-humanoid-technologies.html

If your research interest is in addressing cognition from the human as well as humanoid perspective this proposal may be of interest to you.

At RBCS department top-level neuroscience research and top-level robotics research is being merged to seek answers towards some of the long standing open problems in both fields. The research team at RBCS is composed of neuroscientists, engineers, psychologists, physicists working together to investigate brain functions, realize intelligent machines and advanced prosthesis. RBCS is also the home of the humanoid iCub.

Emphasizing on “cumulative learning/cumulative reasoning” agenda for the cognitive development of iCub, we invite applications/enquiries from prospective candidates interested in investigating computational and biological mechanisms of ‘humanlike’ memories and endowing humanoid robots (iCub) with similar capabilities (see below for full description of the theme). This PhD project (Theme 1.11, see below) will be partially conducted within the framework of the EU funded project ‘DARWIN’ (http://darwin-project.eu/) in collaboration with a team of leading international scientists. The state of the art humanoid iCub as well as an industrial platform (see the website) will be used to validate the cognitive architecture in a range of playful scenarios and tasks inspired from animal and infant cognition.

Considering the interdisciplinary nature of the problem, the proposal is open for candidates from diverse disciplines (e.g. physics, biology, robotics, computer science) with an interest in understanding/modeling ‘human like’ memories and implementing such architectures on cognitive robots.

For further details concerning this research project, please contact: vishwanathan.mohan@iit.it

For more information on administrative issues, please contact:
Ms. Anastasia Bruzzone
Tel. +39 010 71781472
Fax. +39 010 7170817
Email: anastasia.bruzzone@iit.it

To apply, follow the instructions indicated in the links, in short: a detailed CV, a research proposal under one or more themes chosen among those above indicated, reference letters, and any other formal document concerning the degrees earned. Note that these documents are mandatory in order to consider valid the application.

DEADLINE is September 21, 2012 at noon (strict deadline, no extension).
ONLINE APPLICATIONS only, look at:
http://servizionline.unige.it/
studenti/post-laurea/dottorato

Theme 1.11: Towards a Humanlike “memory” for Humanoid robots

   Memory is the capability of the nervous system to benefit from experience. For cognitive robots “learning continuously” in time through various playful sensorimotor interactions with the world (and people in it), there is an urgent need to develop an equally powerful (and humanlike) memory architecture that can “abstract and store” useful information in such interactions and remember ‘valuable’ ones when faced with novel situations. While the neuroscience of memory has progressed significantly in recent times (Patterson et al, 2007, Martin, 2009, Meyer and Damasio, 2009, Squire et al, 2011), computational principles to implement such biologically inspired memory architectures in autonomous robots is still lagging way behind. Certainly, “learning” has been given importance in robotics but most of the learning is still restricted to task specific scenarios (learn to imitate movements, learn to push, learn to stack objects, etc.). Attempts to create a ‘task independent’ repository of causal knowledge that can be exploited/recycled under different circumstances and goals have been very sparse. This lacuna has to be filled if we are to see the emergence of truly cognitive systems that can use ‘experience’ to go ‘beyond experience’ in novel/unencountered situations. Further, we know from several studies in neuroscience that human memories are very different from generic computer memories. It’s not a ‘warehouse’ where information is dumped and retrieved through some iterative search. It is modality independent (ex. You can move from apple to how it tastes, the crunchy sound of it when you bite, and what you can do with it), there is no limit to retrieval (with more experience on a topic you recall more and more). There is a fine categorization between declarative (what is an apple), procedural (how to make an apple pie) and episodic (what you did with an apple yesterday) memory. It is also known that brain networks involved in recalling the past are also active in simulating the future (Schacter et al, 2007, Buckner et al 2007, Buckner et al 2008, Bressler et al, 2010, Sporns, 2010) for reasoning and planning action in novel situations (more recently named as the Default Mode Network of the brain). Considering that cognitive robots envisioned to assist us in the future are being designed to perform their goals in a dynamic and changing world that we humans inhabit, every moment is indeed novel and a powerful humanlike memory grounded in neurobiology is a fundamental requirement to “cognitively” exploit past experience in new situations. This PhD theme invites prospective candidates interested in investigating computational and biological mechanisms of ‘humanlike’ memories and endowing humanoid robots (iCub) with similar capabilities. This PhD proposal will be conducted within the framework of the EU funded project ‘DARWIN’ (http://darwin-project.eu/) in collaboration with a team of leading international scientists. The state of the art humanoid iCub as well as an industrial platform (see the website) will be used to validate the cognitive architecture in a range of playful scenarios and tasks inspired from animal and infant cognition.

Suggested References:
[1] Martin A.  Circuits in mind: The neural foundations for object concepts. The Cognitive Neurosciences, 4th Edition.  M. Gazzaniga (Ed.), MIT Press, 1031-1045, 2009.
[2] Patterson, K., Nestor, P.J. & Rogers, T.T. (2007) Where do you know what you know? The representation of semantic knowledge in the human brain, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 8(12), 976-987 [3] Squire, L.R. & Wixted, J. The cognitive neuroscience of human memory since H.M. Annual Review of Neuroscience,34, 259-288.
[4] Buckner, R.L and Carroll, D.C. (2007) Self-projection and the brain. Trends in Cognitive Science; 2:49-57.
[5]Schacter, D.L., Addis, D.R., and Buckner, R.L. (2007) Remembering the past to imagine the future: the prospective brain. Nat Rev Neurosci; 8(9):657-661.
[6] Bressler SL, Menon V. Large-scale brain networks in cognition: emerging methods and principles. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 14:277-290 (2010).
[7] Sporns,O. "Networks of the Brain", MIT Press, 2010, ISBN 0-262-01469-6.
[8] Meyer K, Damasio A. (2009) Convergence and divergence in a neural architecture for recognition and memory. Trends in Neuroscience. Jul;32(7):376-82.

---

Prof. Giulio Sandini

Head: Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Phone: +39 010 71781 416 - Fax: +39 010 7170817

http://www.rbcs.iit.it

and

LIRA-Lab University of Genova