Subject: Job Opportunities in Music Cognition From: Luke Windsor <windsor(at)NICI.KUN.NL> Date: Tue, 4 Nov 1997 13:05:09 +0100Job Opportunities in Music Cognition At the Nijmegen Institute of Cognition and Information of the Nijmegen University a research team is being assembled for the Music, Mind, Machine project. This project aims at improving the understanding of the temporal aspects of musical knowledge and music cognition using computational models. The research is interdisciplinary in nature, with contributions from musicology, psychology and computer science. The following positions are vacant: Computer Scientist / Lisp Programmer. (vacancy number 21.2.97) A challenging position is available for a Computer Scientist/programmer with experience in Common Lisp and CLOS. Knowledge of the Macintosh system, MCL, MIDI and audio applications is an advantage. He/she will work on the development of computational models of music perception. The design of WWW interfaces and some maintenance of system software will be part of the task. Appointment will be full-time for four years. This researcher will become member of the Music, Mind, Machine project team at the NICI. Research Assistant (vacancy number 118) The task of the research assistant (AiO) will be to design adaptive methods for learning rhythm perception. Possible methods that will be considered are neural networks, Hidden Markov models and probabilistic graphical models. The candidate needs an excellent background in physics, mathematics or computer science. This work will lead to a PhD degree in Physics. Additional expertise in either music or psychology is an advantage. Appointment will be full-time for four years or 8/10 for 5 years. Gross salary will be NLG 2135 per month in the first year, increasing to NLG 3812 in the fourth year, based on full-time employment. This researcher will become member of the neural network research group at the Laboratory for Medical and Biophysics and will be employed by KUN. This group consists of 8 researchers and PhD students and conducts theoretical and applied research on neural networks. Postdoctoral Researcher (vacancy number 21.7.97) Quantisation is the process of separating the categorical, discrete time components -durations as notated in the musical score-, from the continuous deviations as present in a musical performance. The project has next to the fundamental aspects (connectionist models of categorical rhythm perception and their empirical validation), an important practical focus and aims at developing a robust component for automatic music transcription systems. The postdoc will investigate an existing connectionist model for quatization and will design and evaluate the prototype system and supervise the implementation of the components. Extensions of the model to handle tempo-tracking, polyphony and possibly beat induction are foreseen. Furthermore the theoretical results obtained in the post-graduate project need to be integrated and put to practical use. We look for a cognitive scientist with experience in both experimental methods and in computational modeling, preferably using Lisp. Experience with quantization and relaxation networks is an advantage. Appointment will be full-time for three years, with a possible extension. Depending on experience, the salary will be between NLG 3882 and NLG 8201 gross per month. This researcher will become member of the Music, Mind, Machine project team at the NICI. Music Technologist/Programmer (vacancy number 21.8.97) This technical assistant will be responsible for setting up the hard- and software and conducting the recording of performance data, the construction of user-interfaces, interfaces to existing music notation software, and the implementation of an Internet version of the prototype. We look for an engineer with experience in MIDI and related music technologies, Apple Macintosh, World-Wide Web and Internet, and/or Lisp programming. Appointment will probably be half-time for three years, with a possible extension. The salary, depending on experience, will be between NLG 3694 and NLG 5603 gross per month. This researcher will become member of the Music, Mind, Machine project team at the NICI. More information Details about the context of the research can be found at http://www.nici.kun.nl/mmm and http://www.mbfys.kun.nl/SNN Employment will begin in early 1998. Nijmegen University intends to employ a proportionate number of women and men in all positions in the faculty. Women are therefore urgently invited to apply. Applications (three copies) should include a curriculum vitae and a statement of the candidate's professional interests and goals, and one copy of recent work (e.g., thesis, computer program, article). Please mark envelope and letter with the vacancy number. Applications for the OIO position (Vacancy 118) should be sent before October 25, 1997 to the Personnel Department of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen (Vacancy 118). Applications for the other positions (21.2.97, 21.7.97 or 21.8.97) should be sent before November 15, 1997 to the Department of Personnel & Organization, Faculty of Social Sciences, University Nijmegen, P.O.Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands. __________ Luke Windsor NICI Nijmegen Institute for Cognition and Information e-mail: windsor(at)nici.kun.nl post: NICI - P.O. Box 9104 - 6500 HE Nijmegen - Nederland/The Netherlands phone: +31 (0)24 361 5606 fax: +31 (0)24 361 6066