PhD student position on explaining the meaning of logical formulas, Utrecht (The Netherlands)

The Natural Language Processing group at Utrecht University's Information and Computing Sciences department is looking for a junior researcher who wants to take up a PhD position to develop algorithms for explaining the meaning of logical formulas in ordinary language. This four-year position comprises 85-90% research time and 10-15% teaching time, thus presenting an excellent opportunity to develop an academic profile as a researcher and teacher.

The idea is to investigate computational techniques for optimising logical formulas and "translating" these into NL text, and to empirically evaluate the clarity and usefulness of the resulting text. The totality of the above research programme comprises aspects of computational logic, natural language generation, and experimental psychology. Since few people master all relevant research areas, the precise focus of this PhD project will be chosen in discussion with the successful candidate. The choice of logical formalism is still open; options include First Order Predicate Logic and formalisms of Formal Argumentation. The choice of natural language is likewise still open; options include English, Dutch, and Chinese, which are all studied in the department. The supervisory team will include Kees van Deemter (of Utrecht University) and Jordi Levy (of CSIC's Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Barcelona). The PhDship will include three secondmends, two at the Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Barcelona, and one at ARRIA NLG Limited in Aberdeen.