2 PhD Researchers on Distributed Information Indexing and Retrieval

The Viper group of the Department of Computer Science of the University of
Geneva is seeking

Two PhD Researchers on Distributed Information Indexing and Retrieval

The Viper group on Multimedia Information Management (http://viper.unige.ch)
is part of the Computer Vision and Multimedia Laboratory. The Viper group
initially specializes on visual information management and has now extended
its activities on multimedia information management.

This activity includes
several complementary aspects along the chain of assisted content-based
information management. We address the problem of content-based search and
retrieval of multimedia data in relation with modern machine learning and
data mining techniques. This is also related to our research on content
characterization where we mixed automated characterization techniques and
knowledge management and discovery techniques. The Viper group is now
chairing the Technical Committee 12 of the International Association for
Pattern Recognition (IAPR-TC12, “Multimedia and Visual Information
Systems† http://www.iapr-tc12.org). It has co-organized the ACM
International Conference on Image and Vid!
eo Retrieval (ACM-CIVR 2009, http://www.civr2009.org) and is chairing the
International Conference of the ACM-SIG on Information Retrieval in 2010
(ACM-SIGIR 2010, http://www.sigir2010.org).

* Tasks
The two positions are within the Swiss National Science Fundation (SNFS)
project for Large Scale Indexing and Retrieval of Multimedia Collections.
The project focuses on the issues of high performance, distributed and
parallel computation in the process of multi-modal information indexing and
content abstraction. The first PhD topic is dedicated to distributed data
processing and indexing, while the second is centered around parallel
machine learning and data-mining algorithms. Post-holders will be asked to
provide new specifications of a Multimedia Information Retrieval system
based on a complete state of the art of their respective domain as well on
as an evaluation of the most promising techniques. The integration of their
work into a single prototype is planned in a second phase of the project.

The distributed environment required by this project will be provided by the
Computer Science department of the University of Geneva (shared memory and
cluster systems, see http://spc.unige.ch/computing_resources). We also have
access to High Performance Computing resources through the Center for
Advanced Modelling Science (CADMOS), which associates the Universities of
Geneva and Lausanne with the Ecole Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne
(EPFL) to develop High-Performance and High Productivity Computing.

* Requirements
PhD position #1 (distributed data indexing)
- MSc degree in Computer Science or Applied Math with strong CS
background.
- Knowledge in approximate access structures (tree, hashing,
embeddings,…), databases (key-value storage) and distributed
storage/concurrent access.
- Programming experiences in C/C++, Java, Python, Parallel Programming
Models (MPI, OpenMP, MapReduce, …).
- Solid knowledge of software test methodologies.
- Strong written and communication skills. Oral presentations and
publications of results are expected from the PhD candidate.
- Fluent in English

PhD position #2 (parallel machine learning)
- MSc degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics or a closely
related field.
- Strong interest in knowledge discovery, machine learning, optimization
algorithms.
- Strong interest in parallel computation and algorithm complexity.
- Programming experiences in either C/C++, Java, Python, Matlab.
- Knowledge of software test methodologies.
- Strong written and communication skills. Oral presentations and
publications of results are expected from the PhD candidate.
- Fluent in English

* More information
Candidates are expected to complete the PhD within approx 4 years.
Information about the project and the Viper group at U Geneva:
- Dr. Eric Bruno, eric.bruno[at]unige.ch
- Prof. Stéphane Marchand-Maillet, stephane.marchand-maillet[at]unige.ch

* Application
Please send your complete application, including a curriculum vitae, a cover
letter and two references at cvml-job-cui[at]unige.ch. Due to the expected
large number of applications, candidates will be contacted only if selected
for an interview.

* Start date
As soon as possible.

* Original link
http://viper.unige.ch/doku.php/jobs (updated information will be posted
there)