PhD student in Computational modelling of visual aesthetics

PhD student in Computational modelling of visual aesthetics

The Computer Science Department of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona is looking for a candidate to fill the position of “Personal Investigador en Formació” (PIF) (PhD student).

Research title: “Computational modelling of visual aesthetics”. Visual neuroaesthetics is a branch of empirical aesthetics that studies the characteristics of the primate brain that give rise to aesthetic perceptions and judgements of art, objects and visual images in general. Recent advances in our understanding of visual information processing have resulted in ever more complex and sophisticated low-level models of the visual cortex, supplemented with similar improvements in machine learning and neural networks. The objective of this doctorate is to explore the contribution of low-level and high-level processing to overall aesthetic judgement in humans. Our approach will be multidisciplinary, combining computational modelling with visual perception and psychophysics.

The Research will take place at the Computer Vision Centre of the Univ. Autònoma de Barcelona, which is consistently ranked among the top Spanish Universities. The centre is located in a campus outside the vibrant city of Barcelona and has a strong tradition of multidisciplinary research in computational colour vision with their own psychophysical laboratory and living labs facilities. The candidate will be part of the NeuroComputation and Biological Vision Team (NeuroBiT), a recently-formed multidisciplinary research group which combines perceptual and computational approaches with visual neuroscience. We offer regular meetings with other PhD students, international contacts and the possibility of internship/cooperation with other experimental/theoretical labs. The successful candidate is likely to obtain several high-impact publications.

The duration of the position is 3 years (36 months). We expect the position to start on the 1st of September 2019 (i.e. eventual visa issues should be solved beforehand!). The total annual stipend of the grant is €15.350,88 gross, which include the cost of registration fees for the official doctorate program.

Conditions:

The candidate must

  • Hold a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) qualification of at least 300 ECTS credits or a university-awarded Master degree or equivalent in the natural sciences/engineering at the time of signing the contract.
  • Have experience in programming (e.g., C, C++, Matlab, Python, etc.)
  • Have knowledge of / interest in the human visual system, visual perception and statistics.
  • Proficiency in English and Spanish
  • Have excellent skills in analytical thinking, perceptiveness, commitment, self-organization, teamwork, and communication

Any previous experience in the subject of computational aesthetics will also be a bonus.

How to apply:

Step 1: Please send your CV and a short statement (500 words) connecting your previous work with some of my previous work (which can be found here) to Alejandro.Parraga@cvc.uab.es

Step 2: Please fill in the form that will be available from the 30/4/19 to the 5/5/19 at http://www.uab.es/concursospdi/and attach the following documentation:

  • Registration form
  • A copy of their ID card or passport
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • A copy of the official academic transcript (including GPA)

More information can be found at the UAB website following this link.

Download the job offer here.

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