[visionlist] Scholarship / Research Associate position for International Researchers: "Context-aware systems and interfaces for Health, Wellness, and Assisted Living"

[Andreas Bulling]

Lancaster University
Computing & Communications

Scholarship / Research Associate position for International Researchers 
"Context-aware systems and interfaces for Health, Wellness, and Assisted 
Living"

Ref: A238R

Salary: 		circa £28,000 - £33,000 plus mobility and travel allowance

Closing Date: 	31 August 2011 

We invite applications for a position in Lancaster University’s School of
Computing & Communications, for research on context-aware systems and
interfaces. The position is available in the “iCareNet” project, funded by the
European Union’s Marie Curie programme for mobility of early-stage
researchers.

Eligibility for Application:
To meet the mobility requirements of the programme, you must not have lived,
worked or studied in the UK for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to
joining the network. To qualify as ‘early-stage’ researcher, the programme
requires that you have not yet completed a PhD and that you have not been
active in research for more than 4 years since completion of a Master’s
degree.

Context-awareness has emerged as a key area of research in the fields of
ubiquitous computing and human-computer interaction (HCI). You will join a
research group at Lancaster that is recognised as internationally leading in
context sensing using body-worn and pervasive sensors, and in user interface
technologies that leverage sensors and context. In the scope of the advertised
project, we are interested in research in any of the following directions:

  * Wearable eye-tracking and pattern analysis of eye movement in everyday
     activity as a source of context information on people’s activity and
     wellness

  * Mobile systems that integrate eye gaze and body movement analysis
     with user feedback to support visual and manual tasks

  * Sensing-based interfaces for spontaneous interaction across multiple
     devices, and personalisation of user interaction on shared devices

  * Context-aware and situated interfaces that support workflows and
     distributed tasks, for example in care-giving environments

We invite applications from enthusiastic individuals who are strongly
motivated to help push the boundaries of knowledge and technology in our
research area. You must have an MSc or equivalent qualification in Computer
Science or closely related field. It is essential that you have excellent
knowledge of methods for analysis and processing of sensor data (pattern
recognition, machine learning, computer vision) coupled with a strong interest
in human-computer interaction and ubiquitous computing. The research will be
experimental and you will need to have excellent skills in system development,
programming, and data analysis. Prior experience with sensors and devices for
wearable and ubiquitous computing, and/or eye-tracking systems is desirable.

Lancaster's School of Computing and Communications offers a stimulating
environment for research development, with over 200 staff and PhD students.
The iCareNet project provides complementary opportunities for training,
networking, and collaboration with academic and industrial partners across
Europe. The project funds 19 early-stage researchers in total, and you will be
expected to engage strongly in network-wide events and collaborative
activities.

The position is available for a fixed term of 3 years. The starting date is
negotiable between 1 October 2011 and end of the year. Applications should
include a statement of research interest, an example of previous work (e.g.,
published work, or MSc dissertation). 

You are strongly encouraged to contact Prof. Hans Gellersen for initial
discussion, with an informal statement of your research interests and a brief
summary of your qualifications.
 
Contact
Prof. Hans Gellersen, School of Computing & Communications, Lancaster 
University, Lancaster LA1 4WA, UK.  email: hwg at comp.lancs.ac.uk

For further information and to apply online, please visit:
http://hr-jobs.lancs.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=A238R