[Comp-neuro] Postdoctoral position in neuromorphic computing

A postdoctoral position is available in the Neuroinformatics group of
the UNIC laboratory, located in Gif-sur-Yvette, France, to work on the
development and exploitation of neuromorphic computing systems, as
part of the Human Brain Project.

The postdoc will work with Dr Andrew Davison and his group, and will
collaborate closely with the groups of Prof. Karlheinz Meier at
Heidelberg University and Prof. Steve Furber at the University of
Manchester.

The position is available immediately, and is for up to 2.5 years,
ending 31st March 2016. Salary depends on experience, and will be on
the standard French research scale.


Qualifications:

Applicants should have a PhD in computer science, physics, electrical
engineering, or a related discipline, or be nearing completion of PhD
studies. Excellent skills in programming (preferably Python and C++)
are essential. Candidates with expertise in computational
neuroscience, numerical simulation on parallel hardware, web
development and/or neuroinformatics will be preferred. Knowledge of
French would be helpful but is not required, as English is the working
language of the project.


How to apply:

Send your CV, a brief statement of research interests and contact
information for two references to andrew.davison@unic.cnrs-gif.fr.
Informal inquiries are also welcome.


Further details:

The Human Brain Project (HBP; https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/) is an
EU Flagship initiative in which over 80 partners will work together to
build a completely new information computing technology infrastructure
for neuroscience and for brain-related research in medicine and
computing, catalysing a global collaborative effort to understand the
human brain and its diseases and ultimately to emulate its
computational capabilities.

The Neuromorphic Computing sub-project of the HBP will design,
implement and operate a Neuromorphic Computing Platform that allows
neuroscientists and theoreticians to perform experiments with
configurable neuromorphic computing systems. The platform will provide
two systems. The first is based on physical (analogue or mixed-signal)
emulations of brain models, running 10^4 times faster than real time,
and ideally suited for studies of synaptic plasticity, development and
learning. The second system is based on numerical models running in
real time on digital multicore architectures, and is suited for
problems that require hard real-time performance, such as robotics.
The role of the Neuroinformatics group at UNIC is to develop software
that will make the neuromorphic platform accessible to researchers in
neuroscience, cognitive sciences and computer science, and to
investigate the capabilities and performance of the neuromorphic
computing systems.

UNIC (Unité de Neurosciences, Information et Complexité; http://www.unic.cnrs-gif.fr/)
is a research unit of the CNRS, located on a parkland campus in Gif-
sur-Yvette, about 40 minutes from central Paris. UNIC consists of
seven research groups, with a shared focus on complexity in the
dynamics of neocortical networks during sensory processing and
perception, and using a range of experimental, theoretical and
informatics approaches.


Principal duties:

The postdoc will take a leading role in developing and maintaining
software for specification of neuronal network models and simulation
experiments, configuring the neuromorphic hardware, running
experiments and retrieving results. The neuromorphic systems should be
seamlessly integrated into the HBP scientific workflow. There will be
the opportunity to use the neuromorphic computing systems for research
projects in computational neuroscience, for example in studies of
visual perception and multisensory integration. The postdoc will be
closely involved in the scientific direction of the project, in
dissemination of project results through publications and scientific
meetings, in supervision of PhD students associated with the project,
in day-to-day management and regular reporting of progress.


--
Dr Andrew Davison
Unité de Neurosciences, Information et Complexité (UNIC)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
1, avenue de la Terrasse
91198 Gif sur Yvette
France

Tel: +33 1 69 82 34 51
http://www.andrewdavison.info/






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