The School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary University of London is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Associate focused on concept creation technology. The position forms part of a European Union Framework Programme 7 grant, collaborative with 5 other academic institutions (University of Twente, University of Helsinki, Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia, University of Coimbra, Complutense University of Madrid) and a company based in London (Chatterbox Analytics, Ltd).

As a whole, the project, ConCreTe, will investigate computational models for the representation and production of previously unseen concepts and apply them in context of various forms of creativity (for example, narrative and poetry). It will also investigate evaluation methods for creative systems, including comparison with humans via neuroscientific approaches. The project revolves around the central framework of a simulated cognitive architecture, making explicit the relationship between creativity and consciousness and forming an environment within which different kinds of concept generator can work in competitive parallel and be compared.

Queen Mary’s part of the project is focused on the construction and evaluation of the cognitive architecture, based on a combination of Baars’ Global Workspace Theory and principles from Shannon’s Information Theory, and subsequent population of the constructed architecture by statistical generators based on learned representations of language and meaning. An important part of the project will be to devise and deploy evaluation methods for this radically new kind of creative technology. Wherever possible, semantic web technology will be used and/or extended for use in ConCreTe.

The successful applicant should have a background in computational linguistics and cognitive science. He/she must be a competent programmer and willing to learn new programming languages if necessary. The successful candidate should have adequate mathematical skills to understand Shannon Information Theory, statistical modelling as applied in language processing and advanced geometrical methods for semantic representation. He/she must have excellent written and oral communication skills and be able to collaborate with partners. Often at a short notice, the successful applicant must be willing to travel to partner institutions (EU Countries) for extended working periods (not normally longer than 2 weeks). They must be willing to collaborate with other EU projects funded from the same call (Lrn2Cre8, WHIM, and COINVENT) and the associated coordination and support action, PROSECCO Candidates.

The project starts on 1 October 2013 and will end on 30 September 2016 so is for a maximum of 36 months, and we wish to appoint to start on or as soon as possible after this date, The post is full time and fixed term with the starting salary between £30,805 - £36,182 per annum inclusive of London Allowance. Benefits include 30 days annual leave, defined benefit pension scheme and interest-free season ticket loan.

Candidates must be able to demonstrate their eligibility to work in the UK in accordance with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. Where required this may include entry clearance or continued leave to remain under the Points Based Immigration Scheme.