Postdoctoral researcher in Language and Computation

The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) is a renowned research institute at the University of Amsterdam, in which researchers from the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Science collaborate. The research carried out at Humanities forms one of the six research schools within this faculty. The ILLC’s central research area is the study of fundamental principles of encoding, transmission and comprehension of information. Research at the institute is interdisciplinary and brings together insights from various disciplines concerned with information and information processing, such as logic, philosophy, linguistics, musicology, mathematics, computer science, artificial intelligence and cognitive science.

We are looking to fill one postdoc position in Language and Computation within the project EXPRESS: From the Expression of Disagreement to New Foundations for Expressivist Semantics (see Express). This is a five-year project funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant and led by Dr Luca Incurvati (Principal Investigator). The project aims to develop a novel theory and logic of the way disagreement is expressed in dialogue. This theory will then be used to establish a novel approach to natural language semantics, inferential expressivism.

The project is highly interdisciplinary and makes use of theoretical and empirical insights from philosophy and linguistics as well as formal techniques from logic and computer science. In addition to the PI and the language and computation postdoc, the research team includes a PhD student in philosophy of language and semantics, a postdoc in logic, and a research assistant. Many members of the ILLC have expertise and interests in the theoretical and empirical topics directly relevant to the project (e.g. Maria Aloni, Floris Roelofsen, Raquel Fernandez, Robert van Rooij, Frank Veltman). The project avails itself of an extensive international network of experts in its remit areas and is overseen by an Advisory Board consisting of scholars from Europe and the US.

Project description

You will work within the subproject The Emergence of Negation and Epistemic Modality. The overall goal of this subproject is to test using computational techniques the hypotheses for the raison d’être of negation and epistemic modals developed in the New Foundations for Expressivist Semantics subproject. An additional phase of the Emergence of Negation and Epistemic Modality subproject applies the logical framework developed in the Logic of Rejection subproject to improve on extant computational models for the automatic detection of agreement and disagreement. You will work under the supervision of the PI, Luca Incurvati and will collaborate with him and the other team members. The project’s methodology involves a constant interaction between philosophical reflection, empirical investigation and formal modelling.

Your work will involve the use of computational techniques, in particular in the form of computer simulation testing hypotheses about the emergence of certain linguistic expressions, and computational dialogue modelling. You have a PhD in computational linguistics or computer science with a strong focus on language, or another related field. Demonstrable expertise in computer simulation and computational modelling of dialogue will be an advantage. Your publication record is that of a young talented researcher ready to contribute to the project in terms of both expertise and teamwork. We are looking for an exceptionally motivated candidate with a marked collaborative attitude within an interdisciplinary setting, capable of working independently and efficiently against deadlines.

You will be expected to:

• carry out research in language and computation, with motivation and applications in philosophy, logic and linguistics;
• have regular meetings with the supervisor and take part in all of the project’s activities, including research visits abroad;
• complete at least six research articles (singly authored or co-authored with the PI or other team members), to be published in excellent peer-reviewed journals of computational linguistics, philosophy, or logic;
• collaborate with the other project team members;
• present intermediate research results (obtained individually or in cooperation with other team members) at international workshops and conferences for linguistic, logic and philosophical audiences;
• help out with organizational tasks connected to the project, such as the organization of conferences and workshops and the editing of a collected volume (the list is non-exhaustive);
• help out with the dissemination of the project results to non-specialists through, e.g., public lectures and social media.

All postdoctoral researchers embedded within the ILLC are expected, as part of their professional development, to gain teaching experience.

Requirements

You should:

• have a PhD degree in computational linguistics or computer science with a strong focus on language, or another related field;

• have an excellent record of publication in top journals;

• have a strong motivation to undertake excellent academic research;

• be able and willing to work in a team and in an interdisciplinary setting;

• have an excellent command of English.

Further information

For further information please contact:

• Dr Luca Incurvati

Appointment

You will be appointed full-time (38 hours per week), starting between 1 February and 31 March 2019. You will be based at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Amsterdam and your research will be carried out within the ILLC. The appointment is initially for a period of 12 months; contingent on satisfactory performance, it will be extended for up to a further two years, for a total maximum of up to three years. The gross monthly salary (on a full-time basis) will range from €3,303 to €3,916 in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. The salary will be supplemented with an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus. 

Job application

The UvA is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We value a spirit of enquiry and endurance, provide the space to keep asking questions and cherish a diverse atmosphere of curiosity and creativity.

Your application should consist of the following material:

1. a cover letter of maximum two A4 pages explaining your reasons for applying for the position and how they can contribute to the project in terms of both teamwork and expertise (with reference to your doctoral studies, publication record and writing sample);
2. a CV, including: (a) details of studies and in particular a list of completed courses and corresponding grades; (b) a list of all relevant outputs (especially articles and talks); (c) the names of two referees;
3. a writing sample of maximum 8,000 words. This can (but need not be) a chapter of your PhD thesis, in which case it is expected that the writing sample would still be sufficiently self-contained. The writing sample should be demonstrably relevant to the project’s themes and objectives.

The material must be collected into one single pdf file (not zipped) using the link below and choose the required field ‘CV’, named using the PI’s name, the applicant’s surname and 'computationpostdoc' as file name, i.e.: Incurvati-applicant’s surname-computationpostdoc.pdf

You must have completed or nearly completed your PhD degree by the closing date of this call. If the latter is the case, you must provide evidence in the cover letter that you will have obtained your PhD degree before the start of the position.

Please submit your application by using the link below no later than 23.59 (CEST) on 25 September 2018. We will consider only complete applications submitted via this link. #LI-DNP