Connectionists: PhD studentships in Language Emergence and Related Areas --- University of Connecticut

[Whitney Tabor]

Ph-D Studentships in Language
Emergence and related areas, Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut
 
The formal study of natural
language has focused largely on dyadic symbolic interaction:   person A emits a string of symbols that
person B detects and interprets, providing a basis for knowledge revision and,
possibly, a course of action.  But
natural languages generally arise in communities, and their grammatical
structures (as well as their word inventories)  change via community interaction.  A new, NSF-sponsored project in the
University of Connecticut Department of Psychology takes up the experimental
and formal study of language emergence in groups of interacting individuals.  One or more students are sought to
participate in this project and to be involved in synergistic cognitive/language
science activities at the University of Connecticut.
 
The Language Emergence
project involves a collaboration between Whitney Tabor, a psycholinguist at the
University of Connecticut, Gene Robinson, a bee scientist at the University of
Illinois, and Harry Dankowicz, a dynamical systems engineer at the University
of Illinois.   The project’s broad
concern is to develop a formal theoretical framework for understanding the
emergence and metamorphosis of communication systems in communities of
interacting agents.
 
Ideal candidates will combine
formal training (e.g., in mathematics, physics, computational modeling,
statistics, or a related area) with knowledge of conceptual issues in cognitive
science.
 
The following domains are particularly
relevant:
 
---Knowledge of experimental
semiotics (the experimental and computational study of language emergence and
change)
---Knowledge of the formal
theory of linguistic structure
---Knowledge of the field of psycholinguistics
---Knowledge of formal
learning theories
---Knowledge of dynamical
systems theory
---Knowledge of discrete
math/formal language theory
---Knowledge of graph theory
---Knowledge of statistical
analysis
---Programming ability
 
The Department of Psychology (www.psychology.uconn.edu) at the University of Connecticut has a strong
program in Psycholinguistics (http://web.uconn.edu/langcog/).  Recently, the university formed a Systems
Science Network which links complex systems researchers from many UConn departments,
including Computer Science and Engineering, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Geography, Kinesiology, Mathematics, Linguistics, and Psychology. 
 
This year, the University of
Connecticut initiated an NSF-sponsored IGERT graduate training program called,
“Language Plasticity:  Genes, Brain,
Cognition, Computation” (www.igert.cogsci.uconn.edu).   Highly
synergistic with the Language Emergence Project,  the IGERT provides many additional Ph.D.
stipend lines with extensive support mechanisms for interdisciplinary training
including:  foundations courses in
relevant fields, innovation workshops, innovation grants, primer courses in
bridge areas,  and international
internship opportunities.
 
Many language researchers at
the University of Connecticut are also researchers at Haskins Laboratories in
New Haven (www.haskins.yale.edu), an independent speech and reading
laboratory.  Haskins provides many additional
opportunities for graduate training and postdoctoral work. 
 
To apply, submit an
application to the Language and Cognition PhD program in Psychology at the
University of Connecticut:
 
http://www.psychology.uconn.edu/academics/graduate/graduate_program.html   
 To learn more about the
Language Emergence project and related opportunities, please contact Whitney
Tabor (whitney.tabor at uconn.edu).  See also http://solab.uconn.edu/People/Tabor/tabor.html
 
Whitney Tabor                                                         (860) 486-4910 (office)
Department of Psychology                           (860) 486-2760 (fax)
University of Connecticut                             (860) 486-6080 (lab)
Storrs, CT  06269-1020 
USA                                  BOUS Room 124 (office)




http://solab.uconn.edu/People/Tabor/tabor.html
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