Connectionists: PhD Studentships at Giessen University and NextLimit Technologies

[Roland Fleming]

PhD STUDENTSHIPS AT GIESSEN UNIVERSITY AND NEXTLIMIT TECHNOLOGIES AS PART OF THE EU-FUNDED "PRISM" NETWORK
Two full-time 36-month PhD studentships are available immediately as part of the EU-funded Marie Curie Initial Training Network on the Perceptual Representation of Illumination, Shape and Materials (PRISM: https://sites.google.com/site/prismitn/home).  One is in Roland Fleming's lab in the Psychology Department, University of Giessen (http://www.allpsych.uni-giessen.de/roland/).  The other is with the leading computer graphics firm NextLimit Technologies, Madrid (http://www.nextlimit.com/).  As NextLimit is an industrial partner  the PhD degree will be awarded through Giessen University --- however, NextLimit will be the primary host for the research projects.

ABOUT THE NETWORK
The PRISM network is a research and training consortium that brings together seven academic and two industrial partners from across Europe to study how the brain represents the illumination, shape and material properties of surface and objects in our surroundings.  The network provides outstanding inter-disciplinary training opportunities through hands-on research projects, international lab exchanges, industrial secondments and specialist workshops and conferences.  We invite applicants with a strong background in psychology, neuroscience, biology, physics, computer science, or engineering who are keen to understand how the brain represents the richly detailed ‘look and feel’ of surfaces, objects and illumination in the surrounding world.  Studentships are generously funded at a rate set by the EU and with many opportunities for travel and networking.

ABOUT THE HOSTS
Roland Fleming’s lab uses a combination of psychophysics, computer graphics and image analysis techniques to study how the brain visually estimates the physical properties of surfaces and objects. This includes the perception of 3D shape, optical properties of materials (such as translucency and glossiness), and higher-level physical and functional properties such as object stability and fluid viscosity.  This project will focus primarily on the perception of soft, deformable materials, investigating how we use shape---and the way shape changes over time---to infer the properties of the materials.

NextLimit Technology is a software development company specializing in simulation technologies. NextLimit’s research on rendering algorithms has produced one of the most advanced rendering technologies on the market: Maxwell Render. This technology is capable of simulating the interaction of the light and materials by means of sophisticated ray-tracing techniques, resulting in very high quality images.  Another product developed by Next Limit is RealFlow, a physics simulation technology, which includes fluids and body dynamics to produce advanced simulations.  These technologies have been used in numerous Hollywood blockbusters including Avatar, 2012, GI Joe and many others.  This project will focus primarily on the visual evaluation of image fidelity and realism, using psychophysics and modelling to develop image quality metrics for evaluating renderings.  Previous experience with computer graphics is highly recommended.

ELIGIBILITY
Applicants should have a strong academic training, including a Master's degree in a relevant discipline.  Due to requirements of the funding scheme, the applicant for the position in Roland Fleming's lab must not have spent more than 12 months in the past 3 years in Germany.  Similarly, the applicant for the position at NextLimit must not have spent more than 12 months in the past 3 years in Spain.  We particularly encourage female applicants and applicants from any ethnic background to apply.

HOW TO APPLY
Please send a CV and a brief (max. 1 page) cover letter explaining why you are interested in applying for the position to roland.w.fleming at psychol.uni-giessen.de and, if you are applying for the position at NextLimit, also to mariajose.orellana at nextlimit.com, with the subject "REF: PRISM ITN Position at Next Limit".  In your cover letter, please briefly explain in a couple of paragraphs:
·      your research interests
·      what you are looking for in a PhD
·      why you would like to study at the host institution
·      your longer term career goals
 
CONTACT INFORMATION
-- Giessen, Germany: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
Roland Fleming: roland.w.fleming at psychol.uni-giessen.de

-- Madrid, Spain: NextLimit Technologies*
María José Orellana: mariajose.orellana at nextlimit.com

FIND OUT MORE
For further information see the PRISM website:
https://sites.google.com/site/prismitn/home

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20130115/2622b044/attachment-0001.html>