Connectionists: postdoc in mind reading by machine learning

[Máté Lengyel]

Postdoctoral Fellow in Computational Cognitive Science
Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

We are seeking a highly creative and motivated postdoctoral fellow to work in the group of Mate Lengyel at the Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary (https://cognitivescience.ceu.edu/).
The group is also twinned by the Lengyel group at the Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge (http://learning.eng.cam.ac.uk/Public/Lengyel/) where Dr Lengyel holds a permanent position.

The group studies learning and memory from computational, algorithmic/representational and neurobiological viewpoints. Computationally and algorithmically, we use ideas from Bayesian approaches to statistical inference and reinforcement learning to characterise the goals and mechanisms of learning in terms of normative principles and behavioral results. 

Specifically, the project will characterise how human’s structured and high dimensional mental representations change in time due to forgetting, learning, interference, and other processes. For this, state-of-the-art machine learning techniques will be employed to analyse a diverse set of behavioural data sets collected by our experimental collaborators: Gergely Csibra (infant studies) and Jozsef Fiser (visual perception and learning) in Budapest, and Daniel Wolpert (sensorimotor control) in Cambridge. The project is funded by an ERC grant, providing internationally competitive salaries.

The successful candidate will have
- a strong quantitative background
- demonstrable interest in the analysis of behavioural data
- obtained (or be close to the completion of) a PhD or equivalent in computational neuroscience, physics, mathematics, computer science, machine learning or a related field

Preference will be given to candidates with
- previous experience in machine learning, computational and / or behavioural neuroscience
- sufficient programming skills to run numerical simulations (eg. in C, Python, or MatLab)
- expertise with advanced data analysis and Bayesian techniques

Research environment:

The Central European University is the highest-ranked university in Hungary. It is a privately funded and endowed, fully English-speaking, postgraduate-only university, accredited in both the USA and Hungary. 

The Department of Cognitive Science is one of the most highly regarded centres for cognitive science in Europe, with world-leading groups in infant cognition, visual cognition, and social cognitive science. It provides a vibrant research environment, by running two journal club events per week on selected topics in cognitive science, a monthly research club, a weekly series of guest seminars by invited speakers from around the globe, a visitors programme with about two-three leading researchers in the field spending several months at the Department every year, and various small-to-medium sized international workshops, conferences, and summer schools organised locally by members of the Department. 

More broadly, Budapest is an exciting city, with a rich history and busy cultural life, great cuisine, and a very affordable cost of living index.

For informal queries, please contact Máté Lengyel <m.lengyel at eng.cam.ac.uk>. Applications will be accepted until the 
post is filled.

Mate Lengyel
-- 
Department of Cognitive Science
Central European University
Oktober 6 street 7, Budapest H-1051, Hungary
tel: +36 1 887 5142 , fax: +36 1 887 5010 

Computational and Biological Learning Lab
Cambridge University Engineering Department
Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK
tel: +44 (0)1223 748 532, fax:  +44 (0)1223 332 662

email: m.lengyel at eng.cam.ac.uk
web: www.eng.cam.ac.uk/~m.lengyel