Postdoctoral Researcher in Semantic Information Mining, Ireland

Postdoctoral Researcher in Semantic Information Mining
Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI),
National University Of Ireland, Galway
Ref. No. NUIG-057-09

The DERI Semantic Information Mining stream (http://sim.deri.ie/) invites applications for a postdoctoral position on mining organisational structure (expertise, communities, etc.) from organisation-specific textual and semi-structured data sets and social and collaborative interactions.

Candidates should have a PhD degree in a relevant field of study, e.g. computer science, natural language processing, data mining, machine learning, etc. with an emphasis on areas such as text & web mining and semantic analysis. Selected candidates are expected to have the willingness to combine formal scientific work with application-oriented research and development in projects funded by national and international (EU) funding agencies. The position is for a fixed period of 18 months with the possibility of extension, depending on successful acquisition of project funding in which the selected candidate will be expected to actively participate.

Essential skills:

• A PhD, typically in a computing-related discipline, with a strong empirical and analytical component
• A PhD with substantial components in natural language processing, machine learning and data mining
• Research experience in the analysis of large text collections such as digital libraries, web corpora, etc.
• An ability to develop and manage their own research agenda
• An ability to work in an interdisciplinary team
• Good interpersonal skills and a commitment to working collaboratively in a research team and delivering on team goals

Desirable skills:

• A record of published research in areas such as contextualized and personalized search
• Familiarity with current research on Social Network Analysis and Semantic Web
• Experience in developing an effective working relationship with researchers from other disciplines and industrial collaborators
• Experience in the preparation of research grant proposals
• Experience in the development of research software
• Some experience assisting in the supervision of research students

DERI is a leading research institute in semantic technologies that offers a stimulating, dynamic and multi-cultural research environment, excellent ties to research-groups worldwide, close collaboration with industrial partners and up-to-date infrastructure and resources. The DERI Semantic Information Mining stream is a collaboration between the DERI units for Natural Language Processing (http://nlp.deri.ie/) and Information Mining and Retrieval (http://uimr.deri.ie/). The DERI Unit for Natural Language Processing has a focus on applied research in ontology-based information extraction, semantic-level text mining and the use of linguistic and semantic methods in information retrieval. UNLP develops methods for the efficient application of NLP tools in combination with domain semantics as specified in ontologies, thesauri and other knowledge organisation systems for relevant use cases. The DERI Unit for Information Mining and Retrieval focuses on methods to harness the massiv!
e amounts of dynamically-produced, semi-structured data produced by Web communities. UIMR examines techniques for the selection and combination of features in collaborative information spaces. Another focus is the analysis and modelling of the dynamics of online communities in order to understand the structures and behaviours which underlie topic development and diffusion. Applications of this work lie in the development of richer personalisation, filtering and recommendation techniques using user preferences, constraints and context, content analysis, content semantics and collaborative and social relationships.

Salary range: €40,578 - €49,341 per annum, (commensurate with qualifications and experience)

For informal enquiries about this post please contact Dr. Paul Buitelaar paul.buitelaar-at-deri.org and/or Dr. Conor Hayes conor.hayes-at-deri.org

To apply:
Interested candidates should send a detailed CV with cover letter, names and addresses of at least three and not more than five referees, and a statement of research interests, summarising how their experience and expertise will contribute to a research program in semantic information mining. Applications may be sent via e-mail (in PDF only) to paul.buitelaar-at-deri.org
Please put ref.no. NUIG-057-09 in subject line of e-mail application.

Closing date for receipt of applications is 5pm on Monday September 14th 2009.

National University of Ireland, Galway is an equal opportunity employer.