Lectureship in HCI at the University of Bristol

We are currently advertising for a lectureship in HCI at the
University of Bristol (equivalent of assistant professor).

Applicants who can complement our existing research expertise in
human-hardware interaction, novel interactive devices, tangible user
interfaces and electronic interaction design are particularly welcome.

You will have substantial academic experience, an emerging
international reputation and a proven track record for innovation and
research leadership. A solid track record of collaboration with
researchers and practitioners in the arts, humanities and social
sciences would be welcome to complement our work across the University
and the wider Bristol community in creative technologies.

The Bristol Interaction and Graphics research group
(http://big.cs.bris.ac.uk) have a deep commitment to interdisciplinary
research, and in particular rethinking computing devices and designs
drawing on ethnographic and experimental research.

The University of Bristol offers an excellent research environment for
Human-Computer Interaction, as it gathers internationally acknowledged
leaders in the field, with computer scientists collaborating with
designers, social scientists and artists. Within the University and
across the region, Bristol is home to an ecosystem of centres of
excellence engaged in creative technologies and has one of the largest
concentrations of creative and microelectronics industries in Europe.

You will help the group develop its emerging international reputation
for research. The passion to impact on the world research stage and
drive the field of Human-Computer Interaction in novel directions will
be important. You will also be an enthusiastic lecturer and contribute
to teaching our excellent postgraduate and undergraduate students in
Computer Science.

Informal enquiries should be made to Dr Mike Fraser (email:
Mike.Fraser@bristol.ac.uk) as Head of research group, Dr Neill
Campbell (email: Neill.Campbell@bristol.ac.uk) as Head of Department
or Professor Nishan Canagarajah as Head of School (email:
Nishan.Canagarajah@bristol.ac.uk)

Further details are available at
http://www.bris.ac.uk/boris/jobs/feeds/ads?ID=96691

Post-doctoral position in VR/HCI at the University of Florida

This is to announce a postdoctoral researcher position opening at the Virtual Environments Research Group (verg.cise.ufl.edu) at the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL, USA)

Timeframe:
- Positions are part of a NIH-funded project running June 1, 2010 - September 31, 2015
- Applications are expected to participate for a minimum 1 year full-time with the position renewable for up 4 years.
- Deadlines:
Open until filled (please apply by June 15th to ensure consideration)
Our goal is to have a decision by July 1st, 2011

Tasks:
- Develop interactive virtual human applications in medicine (see http://www.virtualpatientsgroup.com)
- Lead undergraduate and graduate student research in the Virtual Experiences Research Group (significant opportunity for leading students, developing leadership skills, developing networking skills, teaching, and creating new projects based on your experience)
- Lead grant proposal writing and submission

Requirements:
- Mandatory:
- Previously completed or about to complete a doctoral degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience
- Fluent in English (frequent meetings with medical collaborators and students makes good communication skills critical)
- Research focus includes at least one of the following areas:
- Virtual or Augmented Reality
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Computer Graphics
- Information Visualization
- Record of research results at an international level

- Desirable:
- Experience with C#, PHP, C++, OpenGL, Ogre, conducting user studies, interdisciplinary collaboration
- An interest in a future academic position

Benefits
- Work in an internationally recognized VR/HCI research team with strong links to medicine and simulation. Our group has a specific focus on application-based research in the emerging field of virtual humans.
- Develop leadership skills (this postdoc is more than just a work-on-a-specific project position, but will significantly involve working on skills to be successful at the assistant professor position at a research university). This includes focusing on grant writing, project and student leadership, teaching, and networking.
- University of Florida is the sixth largest university in the United States (50,000+ students). Gainesville is an affordable and vibrant larger-than-college-town town (110,000+) with significant cultural, sports, and entertainment opportunities. The CISE department is a Top 40 Computer Science graduate school.
- Job could begin any time after July 1st, 2011. Flexibility in starting date.

How to apply
Send your detailed CV (including list of publications and name of referees) to Benjamin Lok (lok@cise.ufl.edu)

PhD project: Determinants and measurement of presence during advanced driver assistance systems simulator testing

Objective
The aim of the PhD project is to define a theoretical framework and to identify the factors influencing the subjective sensation of presence in a virtual environment. It should result in the validation of a method to achieve the driver's presence in a driving simulator, in order to reach qualitatively high levels of representativity (of the real driving situation) behaviors in simulation conditions. The focus will be directed toward the concept of presence, which can be defined as the cognitive and psychological realism, or the “credibility/plausibility" of the situation.



Background

Virtual and mixed reality is more and more used to design experimental scenarios, aiming at evaluating cognitive and sensorimotor aspects of human-environment interactions.

For car makers, the driving simulator, dynamic or static, is a major tool to design and evaluate Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Human-Machine Interactions (HMI).

Many Human Factors studies emphasize important issues related to the validity of behaviors observed in virtual environments, considering the absence of objective and physical risk.

In that respect, the subjective sensation of presence appears as a promising concept, as it depends both on the capacity of the driving simulator to reproduce the psycho-physical realism of a driving task (at the sensory and perceptive levels) and on the psychological state of the driver (motivations and intentions), which influences behavior.

Indeed, the absence of objective risk and the technical limitations of the virtual environment (even if it is highly realistic) influence this psychological state, and consequently the degree of presence.

The aim of the PhD thesis is to define and validate ways to increase the level of presence, notably by manipulating the experimental protocol (context and scenario) and by taking into account the subjects' characteristics (personality traits).





DURATION

36 months, starting date between October 1, 2011 and January 1, 2012



FUNDING

French public funding ANRT, PSA



REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS

- Master's degree in cognitive sciences (cognitive psychology, cognitive ergonomics,)

- Good notions of human cognition - perception/action modeling- and metacognition

- Interest in human cognition, HMI, virtual reality, driving and cars (transports)

- Methods and tools in general and particularly experimental psychology methodology (quantitative and qualitative methods).

- No motion sickness



Contact

Daniel MESTRE

Institut des Sciences du Mouvement - UMR 6233

163 avenue de Luminy, CP 910, 13288 Marseille cedex 09.
daniel.mestre@univmed.fr .

Tél : +33 (0)4 91 17 04 38