position available at the University of Southampton, UK

[Stefan Bleeck <bleeck@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear List members

Fine below information about two positions at the University of
Southampton. Essentially, there are two positions for up to 9 months
starting on 1 January 2012. They would suit graduates who may be
considering a PhD in the area and wish to gain experience of research
at postgraduate level. The salary package is extremely attractive, as
it is based on Marie-Curie rates. There is the usual transnational
mobility requirement that applies to Marie-Curie training fellowships,
so it is normally necessary to move from outside the UK to undertake
these positions (although the M-C rules are complicated).
AUDIS website http://www.audis-itn.eu/

The salary package is correct – up to 35,000 Euros for 9 months!! The
training fellows will be on fixed-term staff appointments.

Please pass this on to anyone who may be interested – we are looking
for high flyers that can get rapidly into the research within the time
scale.

Mark

Professor Mark E Lutman
Institute of Sound and Vibration Research
University of Southampton
Highfield
Southampton SO17 1BJ
Tel. 023 80592798
Fax. 023 80593190

-- 
Dr. Stefan Bleeck
Institute of Sound and Vibration Research
University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
Room 4093, Tizard building (13)
bleeck@xxxxxxxxx Tel.: 02380 596682

Research training opportunities
Two research training positions are available at the Institute of
Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR) at the University of Southampton
as part of the AUDIS project. They will give first-hand experience of
conducting cutting-edge research and be an ideal preparation for
scientists or engineers contemplating registering for a PhD
afterwards. The start date is 3 January 2012 and the maximum duration
is until the end of September 2012. They are open to candidates with a
bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering or similar discipline
having appropriate skills in signal processing and its application to
human problems. Applicants must have less than 4 years’ experience of
research as a graduate and must satisfy the requirements of EU Marie
Curie schemes, including transnational mobility (normally must move
from outside the UK to commence the position).
Salary
Trainees will receive a generous package of salary and allowances up
to a maximum of approximately 35,000 Euros for 9 months.
How to apply
Send in the following documents via email to the AUDIS lead at ISVR
(Prof Mark E Lutman, mel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx):
• CV (including personal details, academic history, work experience,
experimental skills, publications)
• Copies of relevant diplomas and transcripts
• Two letters of recommendation
• Proof of proficiency in English (IELTS 6.5 or equivalent)
• Letter of motivation (research interest, reasons for applying to
programme and host)
Closing date for applications: 5 November 2011. Applicants may be
contacted by telephone or email for further information. Successful
applicants will be notified by 20 November at the latest.
Summary of research projects
The following are examples of research projects to be undertaken
during the training period. There will be limited flexibility to
accommodate the skills and interests of trainees. This is not an
exhaustive list.
Sparse speech processing for cochlear implants
Cochlear implants (CI) are devices for profoundly deaf people that
stimulate the auditory nerve by means of electrical pulse trains to
provide artificial hearing. A novel speech processing method based on
sparse coding theory has been proposed for the CI speech processor and
has shown promising performance for enhancing speech in noisy
environment. To further improve the performance of the novel speech
processor, this project will investigate key elements of the
algorithm, including efficient sparse representation, optimal
weighting function and robustness by using dictionary learning and
Bayesian methods. Other aspects of sparse coding may also be explored.
Development and validation of an experimental real-time processor for
cochlear implants
Algorithms for cochlear implant (CI) speech processors are typically
developed using generic software tools such as Matlab. They are
evaluated by processing signals off-line and presenting prepared
stimulus sequences to patients via their CI. This approach is
laborious and prevents immediate adjustment of parameters to meet
patient requirements; it is also unnatural for the patient. Work is
underway to develop new algorithms on a real-time platform using
Simulink and the Matlab Real-time Workshop. The project will implement
sparse coding algorithms on the real-time platform and evaluate their
performance on patients with CIs.