Postdoctoral researcher in Abductive Inference for Natural Language Interpretation

Are you a high potential young researcher with a PhD degree in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, or a related discipline, and would you be interested to join the Logic and Language programme at our institute to investigate Natural Language Interpretation as Abductive Inference? If so, we invite you to apply for this position.

This postdoc position is part of the NWO Open Competition project 'A Sentence Uttered Makes a World Appear---Natural Language Interpretation as Abductive Model Generation'. The successful applicant will join the group of Reinhard Muskens. The aim of the project is to explore how semantic values are assigned to natural language expressions in a compositional way and how the resulting values, represented as logical expressions, are subsequently enriched by means of abductive reasoning. The latter is studied in a tableaux setting.

What are you going to do?

You will be expected to fulfil the following tasks:

• collaborate with the other researchers working on the project (the PI and two further postdocs, to be hired at a later date);
• assist with the supervision of PhD candidates and MSc students;
• regularly present research results at international workshops and conferences, and publish them in conference proceedings and journals;
• participate in and contribute to the organisation of research activities and events at the institute, such as workshops and colloquia.

While this is primarily a research position, you will have the opportunity to contribute to teaching activities.

What do we require?

You have:

• a PhD degree in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, or a related discipline;
• a strong background in Logic or Computational Logic, as witnessed by publications in relevant conference proceedings or journals;
• in-depth knowledge of one of the following areas is a plus: 1) Resolution calculi and tableau calculi for first-order and higher-order logics, 2) Theories of abductive inference, 3) Natural language semantics, 4) Belief Revision;
• a strong passion for research and the wish to learn new skills through working with or assisting in guiding PhD and MSc students;
• excellent communication skills in English, both oral and written.

Our offer

An employment contract for 1 year for 38 hours per week, preferably starting a.s.a.p. but no later than 16-1-2020. An extension for 2 years subsequently follows if we assess your performance positive. The salary, depending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be between €2,709 and €4,274 (scale 10), based on fulltime (38 hours a week), exclusive 8 % holiday allowance and 8.3 end-of-year bonus. A favorable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look here.

Questions?

Do you have questions about this vacancy? Or do you want to know more about our organisation? Please contact:

• Reinhard Muskens 

About the Faculty of Science

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 6,500, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) is an interdisciplinary research institute that aims at bringing together insights from various fields concerned with information and information processing, such as computational linguistics, computer science, artificial intelligence, logic, philosophy, mathematics, linguistics, cognitive science and music cognition. Its central research area is the study of fundamental principles of encoding, transmission and comprehension of information. It offers an international research environment with world-class faculty in all of its areas of specialization.

Job application

The UvA is an equal-opportunity employer. We prioritise diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We value a spirit of enquiry and perseverance, provide the space to keep asking questions, and promote a culture of curiosity and creativity.

Applications should include (in one single .pdf file, using your surname as the file name):

• a cover letter, including a description of your research interests and accomplishments, as well as an explanation for why you are applying for this position (at most two pages);
• a detailed curriculum vitae (CV), including your list of publications;
• links to three selected publications available online, with a short motivation for the selection made (mature drafts of papers or papers currently under submission are also acceptable);
• a link to your PhD thesis available online (if available already) or an indication of the current status of your PhD thesis;
• the names, affiliations, and email addresses of three people we can contact for letters of reference for you.

NB: Interviews for this position will take place between 21 October and 1 November 2019. #LI-DNP