Connectionists: [jobs] Postdoc in Tactile Robot Hands (Bristol Robotics Lab)

[Nathan Lepora]

*** closing date for applications: July 31 2017 ***
*** a member of our group (Ben Ward-Cherrier) is attending RSS and can
be approached informally about the post ***

The University of Bristol and Bristol Robotics Laboratory invites
applications for an immediate position in Tactile Robot Hands.

The Tactile Robotics Group at Bristol Robotics Laboratory is looking
for an outstanding candidate to grow an important research strand
within the group on tactile robotic hands. This will complement our
strengths in developing novel 3d-printed tactile sensors and
artificial intelligence methods for robot touch.

Although a relatively new group, we have a strong track record in
publishing in the major robotics/AI journals and conferences,
including RSS, NIPS, IEEE Trans Robotics and regularly in ICRA/IROS,
and also computational neuroscience journals such as PLOS
Computational Biology. We recently won a competition in Soft Robotics,
and our 3d-printed tactile sensors and a tactile hand are on display
in the Science Museum, London.

The research group has expanded rapidly to approximately ten people
over the last few years from attracting a large number of PhD
candidates and interns, and is currently expanding further in
postdoctoral staff due to a major investment from the Leverhulme Trust
and the University of Bristol of over £2M.

The project has funding until April 2022, making this an ideal
position to develop a leading academic career in this important
research area.

Post details:
The successful candidate will be part of a multi-disciplinary team on
the new Leverhulme-funded Leadership Award ‘A biomimetic forebrain for
robot touch’. £1M has been awarded by the Leverhume Trust, with a
similar contribution covered by the University of Bristol. These funds
will enable a 5-year project that will apply leading robotics,
artificial intelligence, neuroscience and psychology to develop a
biomimetic forebrain embodied on a 3D-printed tactile robot hand to
enable human-like tactile dexterity. This particular postdoc position
will focus on the design and application of the tactile robotic hands.

Applicant qualities:
This application is for a postdoctoral position (Research Associate)
in Tactile Robot Hands. The post-holder will complement and support
three other postdoctoral researchers and a technician, who will
collectively develop artificial intelligence methods for active touch
embodied on state-of-the-art tactile robot hands and link the progress
to a model of the mammalian forebrain involved in active touch in
animals.

You will hold (or will be expected to obtain soon) a strong PhD in a
discipline relevant to the project. In addition to an excellent
research track record in a related area to this project, you will also
have excellent communication and presentation skills, and a drive to
make impact with your research. You will also help supervise graduate
students and interns on projects related to your research.

Institution
The project will be based at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory
(www.brl.ac.uk) the largest center for multi-disciplinary robotics
research in the UK with state-of-the-art workshops and robotic
hardware.
The post holder will be employed by the Faculty of Engineering at the
University of Bristol, ranked 3rd for general Engineering in the UK
(just after Oxford and Cambridge).
The city of Bristol is consistently ranked as the 'best place to live'
in the UK, e.g. as reported by the BBC
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39320118).

Further details:
It is anticipated that interviews will take place in August 2017, and
the anticipated start as soon as possible thereafter. This post is
full time for 2 years initially, with funds in place to extend the
position until April 2022.
Further information about the Leverhulme Award
(http://www.lepora.com/leverhulme.htm) and the activities of the
research group (www.lepora.com) can be found via these links.
Details and procedure to apply can be made through this link
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/ with reference number ACAD102489
Informal enquiries can be made to: Dr. Nathan Lepora (N.Lepora at bristol.ac.uk)
Closing date for applications: 31 July 2017

best wishes
Nathan

--
Dr Nathan Lepora
Senior Lecturer in Engineering Maths & BRL Theme Leader in Tactile Robotics
Dept of Engineering Maths, Merchant Venturers Building, University of Bristol
Office (MVB2.50): 0117 3315169           Lab (BRL bays 3-5): 0117 3286171
@nathanlepora   lepora.com   bristol.ac.uk/engineering/people/nathan-f-lepora
@tactilerobot       brl.ac.uk/research/researchthemes/tactilerobotics.aspx