[AUDITORY] Postdoctoral position measuring effort and fatigue during interactive conversation

[Ewen MacDonald <ewen.macdonald@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear list,

We are seeking a post-doctoral researcher to develop physiological measures to assess effort and fatigue during interactive communication.

The post-doctoral researcher will work on extending the current physiological methods of estimating listening effort and/or fatigue so that they can be applied to continuous speech and interactive conversations. Further, the researcher will aim to identify analysis techniques that provide measures sensitive to levels of fatigue during conversation. Unlike subjective ratings, where listeners have to pause to report their perceived levels of effort or fatigue, the proposed physiological measures are objective and can be used to continuously evaluate effort or fatigue without altering the behaviour of the listener. An important focus of this work will be the data analysis of physiological signals such as eye tracking and cardiac measures. 

While the majority of the research will be conducted at the University of Waterloo, in Canada, the researcher will also conduct external stays at the Eriksholm Research Centre in Denmark. 

Applicants are required to have a Ph.D. in a field related to the project (e.g., biomedical engineering, hearing science, audiology, psychology, neuroscience). Experience with eye-tracking, analysis of physiological signals, or conversational testing is preferred. Salary will be commensurate with experience.

Prospective applicants should send a Letter of Interest and their CV to Ewen MacDonald (ewen.macdonald@xxxxxxxxxxxx) by May 31, 2022.


About the Department of Systems Design Engineering:
The Department of Systems Design Engineering is a unique interdisciplinary department in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo. We offer an educational program for engineering students wanting to learn how to address and solve problems that transcend traditional boundaries in engineering. Waterloo is Canada’s largest engineering school and ranks among the top 50 engineering school worldwide.

About Eriksholm:
Eriksholm pursues audiological discoveries with the potential to significantly enhance end-user benefits in future hearing care. We work in close collaboration with academic research institutions, clinicians and end-users, and being part of Oticon ensures that our scientific insights are applied in solutions that empower people with hearing loss.


Questions regarding this position may be directed to:
Ewen MacDonald
Associate Professor
Department of Systems Design Engineering,
University of Waterloo, ON, Canada
ewen.macdonald@xxxxxxxxxxxx