Connectionists: PhD position available

[Michael Biehl]

PhD  position available: 
"Adaptive Distance Measures in Relevance Learning Vector Quantization"

Intelligent Systems Group
Institute for Mathematics and Computing Science
University of Groningen, The Netherlands

Project Description:
Learning Vector Quantization (LVQ) is a family of appealing
algorithms used in a variety of classification problems.
An iterative training process determines from a given set of
example data a set of prototypes which represent typical features
and parameterize a distance based classification scheme.
A key difficulty is the choice of an appropriate distance measure.
Frequently, Euclidean metrics are employed without further
justification, or different measures are compared in a trial-and-error
approach. An appealing solution to this problem is the use of adaptive
metrics. Relevance learning schemes have been proposed which assign a
relevance factor to each dimension in feature space. These factors and
the prototypes are updated at the same time during training.  One aim
of the project is a better theoretical understanding of relevance
learning.  To this end, we will extend our previous mathematical
description of the learning dynamics and performance of LVQ.
The focus of the project will be on an important extension of
relevance learning that we have recently suggested: the adaptation
of relevance matrices during training.  Matrix Relevance Learning
does not only weight single features differently, but takes into
account correlations between them, as well.  As a testbed for the
novel class of algorithms, it will be implemented and benchmarked in
practical problems of, e.g., medical data analysis, classification of
bioinformatics data and image processing problems.

Qualification:
You hold a university degree (diploma or master of science) in
Computer Science, Physics or a related discipline  with an
excellent academic record.  You are highly interested in both,
theoretical and applicational aspects of machine learning.
Proficiency in English (both oral and written) and
excellent communication skills are indispensible for this project.
This concerns, in particular, the ability to write scientific
articles and reprorts.

Organization:
The project will be embedded in the research group Intelligent Systems
with Dr. Michael Biehl as thesis supervisor.

Conditions of employment:
PhD students are employed for a maximum period of four years.
Salaries are according to the standard salary scale for PhD students
with an estimated gross salary of  1956,- Euros per month in the
first year, increasing to a monthly salary of  2502,- Euros in the
fourth year.

Contact information:
Dr. Michael Biehl (m.biehl at rug.nl) 

Information about on-going research, re- and preprints etc. are
available from: http://www.cs.rug.nl/~biehl

Application:
Initially,  send a short CV including information about
your  academic degrees and grades, as well as
a letter of motivation to Michael Biehl (preferred
format: pdf or ps).  The position will be open until
a suitable candidate is found.

NO AGENCIES