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 Video 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.

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

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Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the above information is current and correct. However, applicants should contact the appropriate administering body before making an application, as details do change frequently.