Ph.D. position at AILab, Zurich

[Dimitrios Lambrinos]

------------------------------------------
    Position for a Ph.D. student in
                Biorobotics
    at the AILab, University of Zurich
------------------------------------------
A new Ph.D. student position is open at the Artificial Intelligence
Laboratory, Dept. of Computer Science of the University of Zurich.
Availability: Immediately or at earliest convenience.

Continuing previous work conducted at the AILab, this research will be
focusing on Biorobotics, i.e. on building autonomous agents based on
biological findings, that are capable of robust visually guided behavior
in complex real-world environments.

Biorobotics, with its goal of bringing together biology/neurobiology,
engineering and computer science has enormous potential. On the one hand
it  will change our perception of biological intelligence, on the other
it will inspire and influence the way we design, build, and use
information technology.

The main task of the agents will be to safely navigate in complex
environments. This will require scaling-up previous theoretical and
practical work. The challenge will be, first to demonstrate that
mechanisms which are thought to be employed by natural systems can be
implemented in real-world artifacts, and second, that such mechanisms,
though very parsimonious, are sufficient for achieving complex behavior.

If the above challenges capture your interest, and you would to become a
member of an international research team conducting transdisciplinary
work, submit a curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, and
names of three referees ASAP to:

Corinne Maurer
Dept. of Computer Science
University of Zurich
Winterthurerstrasse 190
CH - 8057 Zurich, Switzerland

E-mail:   maurer at ifi.unizh.ch
Phone:    41 - 1 - 635 43 31
Fax:      41 - 1 - 635 68 09

Profile: Applicants should have an MSc degree, or equivalent, in one of
the following areas: computer science, electrical or mechanical
engineering, biology, neurobiology, physics, mathematics, cognitive
science, or related disciplines. He/she should have good programming
skills (C, C++, etc.) preferably experience with robot programming,
knowledge of electronics, and strong scientific background.

Tasks: The main task for the accepted candidate will be to conduct
research towards his/her Ph.D. Additional tasks include support for
classes organized by the AI-Lab as well as other administrative tasks
required by the computer science department.
Financial: The salary will be according to the specification of the
Swiss National Science Foundation.

Time prospect: The candidate is expected to complete his/her Ph.D. work
within a period of maximum 4 years.