The Department of Psychology, University of Alberta has four positions
open in the following areas:
- Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Position in Brain & Behaviour
- Full Professor Position in Behavioral or Cognitive Neuroscience
- Two tenure-track Assistant Professor Positions in Computational
Psychology / Computational Neuroscience or in Cognitive Engineering
These positions are described in detail below.
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DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Position in Brain & Behaviour
The Department of Psychology at the University of Alberta is seeking to
expand its development in the area of Brain and Behaviour. A tenure-track
position at the level of Assistant Professor is open to competition. The
appointment will be effective 1 July 2000.
Applicants should have expertise in an area of the study of Brain and
Behavior, such as plasticity or human cognitive neuroscience. The
expectation is that the successful candidate will secure NSERC, MRC, AHFMR,
or equivalent funding. Hiring decisions will be made on
the basis of demonstrated research capability, teaching ability, the
potential for interactions with colleagues, and fit with departmental needs.
A curriculum vita, a description of current and planned research, copies of
recent publications, and at least three letters of reference should be sent
to:
Dr Terry Caelli, Chair, Department of Psychology, P220 Biological Sciences
Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9.
Applications for this competition will be received and considered until a
suitable candidate has been identified.
Further information on these positions can be obtained from
http://web.psych.ualberta.ca/hiring.
The University of Alberta is committed to the principle of equity in
employment. As an employer we welcome diversity in the workplace and
encourage applications from all qualified women and men, including
Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible
minorities.
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DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
Full Professor Position in Behavioral or Cognitive Neuroscience
The Department of Psychology at the University of Alberta is seeking to
expand its development of the Brain, Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience
Program. Accordingly, a Full Professor position is open to competition. The
appointment will be effective 1 July 2000.
Applicants should have expertise in an area of Behavioral and Cognitive
Neuroscience, such as plasticity or human cognitive neuroscience. The
expectation is that the successful candidate will secure NSERC, MRC, AHFMR,
or equivalent funding. The successful will play a key role in further
developing the Brain, Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience program. Hiring
decisions will be made on the basis
of research excellence, teaching ability, leadership abilities, and fit
with departmental needs. Some administrative experience would be
advantageous. Applications for this competition will be received and
considered until a suitable candidate has been identified.
A curriculum vita, a description of current and planned research, copies of
recent publications, and at least three letters of reference should be sent
to: Dr Terry Caelli, Chair, Department of Psychology, P220 Biological
Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta,Canada T6G 2E9.
Further information on these positions can be obtained from
http://web.psych.ualberta.ca/hiring.
The University of Alberta is committed to the principle of equity in
employment. As an employer we welcome diversity in the workplace and
encourage applications from all qualified women and men, including
Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible
minorities.
_________________________________________________
Background
Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience (BCN)
The BCN program currently consists of four junior faculty (Buchanan,
Cabeza, Parent and Wong-Wylie), one senior faculty (Treit) and one emeritus
(Wahlsten). This is a diverse and dynamic program that spans various areas
of neuroscience including behavioral neuroscience and cognitive
neuroscience. The program has close ties with the division of neuroscience
and attracts a large number of undergraduate and graduate students. Some
exciting new opportunities as well as some unique demands have been created
as a result of the exceptional strength and recent accomplishments of the
junior faculty in the BCN program. Additional positions are needed to
fulfill our current responsibilities in teaching and research, to
facilitate the development of our program, and to realize our potential to
move to the next level of international recognition in the Neurosciences.
For the current year, we propose hiring in two areas: plasticity, and human
cognitive neuroscience. These positions will build on our current strength
and will bridge the various sub-specialties of the BCN program.
Cognitive Neuroscience: The area of cognitive neuroscience is among the
fastest growing of all areas of science. The University of Alberta, in
recognition of this fact, has earmarked neuroscience as a targeted
strength. The recent 12 million dollar CFI grant demonstrates the
perceived import of this technique in research and the plans of researchers
in this department to use that equipment played a large role in the funding
decision. This grant provides us with a unique opportunity, in Canadian
psychology, to attract imaging researchers of international repute -- we
will soon have one of the best-equipped imaging facilities in Canada. We
currently have staff members who examine either patients or brain imaging
but not both. By obtaining a researcher whose interests compliment the
techniques or area of study of our existing faculty members we will help
the department meet its goals of offering the students and the community
health relevant research with broad appeal and wide applicability. We will
also be in a position to train our students for jobs in this expanding field.
Plasticity: One fundamental property of the brain is that it changes with
development and experience. The understanding of plasticity and development
allows us not only to examine the nature of learning and memory, but it
also provides a way of understanding how brain and behavior changes with
age, with the consumption of addictive substances or the production of
gonadal and other hormones, and it provides insights into the nature of
recovery from brain injury. The applicant should study systematic changes
in brain and behavioral function. These changes may arise over the life
span, or as adaptive/reorganizational changes due to experience or
environmental stimuli.
The relevance of Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience to health brings
with it unique funding opportunities to researchers in Alberta. The
"Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR,
http://www.ahfmr.ab.ca) makes the University of Alberta very competitive in
the market for health-researchers and new members of our department are
strongly encouraged to apply for AHFMR scholarships and grants. The
department has currently two AHFMR scholars (Buchanan, Cabeza).
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DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
Two positions in Computational Psychology / Computational Neuroscience or
in Cognitive Engineering
The Department of Psychology at the University of Alberta, is seeking to
expand its program in Computational Psychology and Cognitive Engineering.
Two tenure-track positions at the Assistant Professor level in
Computational Psychology / Computational Neuroscience or in Cognitive
Engineering will be open to competition. Appointments will be effective
July 1, 2000.
Candidates in Computational Psychology / Computational Neuroscience should
have a strong interest in modeling and predicting human behavior, or in
modeling of brain functions at the level of neurons, neuronal groups or
large brain subsystems using formal approaches such as mathematical
modeling, neural networks, evolutionary computing, or computer simulations.
Candidates in Cognitive Engineering should have a strong interest in
interaction of humans with computers, machines or complex environments, in
decision-support systems in industrial, medical or emergency situations,
and in the design of computer-based tools to support and enhance
performance of humans in
these situations.
The expectation is that the successful candidates will secure competitive
research funds and/or industrial support. Hiring decisions will be made on
the basis of demonstrated research capability, teaching ability, potential
for interactions with colleagues and fit with departmental needs.
The applicant should send a curriculum vitae, a statement of current and
future research plans, recent publications, and arrange to have at least
three letters of reference forwarded, to: Dr Terry Caelli, Chair,
Department of Psychology P220 Biological Sciences Building University of
Alberta Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6G 2E9. Closing date for applications is
December 1, 1999.
Further information on these positions can be obtained from
http://web.psych.ualberta.ca/hiring.
In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, this advertisement is
directed to Canadian Citizens and permanent residents. If suitable Canadian
citizens and permanent residents cannot be found, other individuals will be
considered. The University of Alberta is committed to the principle of
equity in employment. As an employer we welcome diversity in the workplace
and encourage applications from all qualified women and men, including
Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible
minorities.
_____________________________________________________
Background
Computational Psychology / Computational Neuroscience
Computational Psychology is concerned with the generation of formal
representations and algorithms for modeling, predicting and improving human
behavior. Computational Neuroscience, on the other hand, is concerned with
modeling brain functions different levels, at the level of single neurons,
at the level of neuronal groups, and at the level of brain subsystems.
Both, Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, rely on a wealth of
formal approaches: mathematical modeling, neural networks, evolutionary
computing, computer simulations, uncertainty calculi, HMMs, etc. A hiring
in this area not only strengthens the expertise in our program, but also
helps to
increase collaborative ties between programs (in particular with BCN) and
between departments (in particular with Neuroscience and with Computing
Science).
Cognitive Engineering
Cognitive Engineering is concerned with the interaction of humans with
complex environments, such as the interaction of humans with computers,
machines or complex (typically industrial) environments, with
decision-support systems in industrial, medical or emergency situations,
with the design of computer-based tools to support and enhance performance
of humans in these situations, and with methods to efficiently train humans
for these situations. Cognitive Engineering relies on a variety of methods
and tools, including performance
assessment, spatial information systems and methods for developing computer
support technologies (e.g. expert systems, uncertainty, machine learning).
Cognitive Engineering has close links to Human Factors and industrial
applications.
-- Walter F. Bischof E-mail: wfb@ualberta.ca Psychology BSP-577 WWW: http://brain.psych.ualberta.ca/ University of Alberta Tel: +1 780 492 5275 Edmonton, T6G 2E9, Canada Fax: +1 780 492 1768