14 April: fyi -- dialog, Stanford

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Research Positions at Stanford: Robust Dialogue Understanding

The Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI) at Stanford
University is seeking Research Scientists to work on multimodal
spoken-language dialogue systems, starting approximately 1 June 2007.

The ideal candidate is a Computational Linguist with an interest in the
computational semantics and pragmatics of dialogue, with experience in
formally-inspired and/or statistical/machine-learning approaches to
dialogue modeling. The position requires a Ph.D. in computational
linguistics, natural language processing, artificial intelligence,
cognitive science, or a related field. Applicants should have a
demonstrated capacity to define and implement a research plan, and to
conduct individual and collaborative research consonant with the
dialogue-systems projects underway at CSLI.

Current research into dialogue at CSLI includes both human-human and
human-computer dialogue modeling, and employs a variety of techniques,
including symbolic and stochastic, theory and data-driven. Proficiency in
multiple approaches relevant to current CSLI application areas will be
highly valued, as will an ability to participate in implementation.

Research topics of particular interest include:
- robust semantic interpretation from noisy data (e.g. fragment parsing,
role detection);
- robust context-based pragmatic interpretation (e.g.
anaphora/ellipsis/fragment resolution);
- multi-party discourse modeling (esp. group decision-making);
- topic/issue detection and tracking;
- probabilistic dialogue state/activity modeling and tracking.

The successful candidate will work with faculty, postdoctoral, and student
researchers in the Dialogue Systems Group at CSLI, performing novel
research and developing core infrastructure for natural multimodal
conversational systems for a range of interactions and applications.
Responsibilities will include supervising student research assistants and
participating in proposal-preparation to attract new funding.

The CSLI Dialogue Systems Group consists of about thirteen people, and is
involved in a number of projects involving close collaboration with other
Stanford departments, numerous other academic institutions, government
agencies such as NASA, not-for-profit research organizations such as SRI,
and various commercial enterprises. Current projects include: understanding
multi-party conversational interaction; collaborative control of teams of
robotic devices; conversational control of in-vehicle devices; and
speech-enabled intelligent tutoring systems.

The position is initially for 1 year, renewable for up to 3 years
(contingent on continued funding). Salary is dependent on qualifications
and experience, but is expected to be in a range starting from $70,000 for
a junior appointee, to $90,000 for a senior appointee. Candidates who may
be more appropriate for a more senior appointment are encouraged to contact
us directly and may be considered at a higher salary.

Applicants should submit a letter of application and a full resume or
curriculum vitae with names and email addresses of at least three
references. Please contact Stanley Peters and Matt Purver
{peters,mpurver}@csli.stanford.edu for further information.

Stanford University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.

Application Deadline: (Open until filled)

Email Address for Applications: mpurver@csli.stanford.edu

Contact Information:
Prof. Stanley Peters
Email: peters@csli.stanford.edu
Phone: (650) 725-2318




Index of April 2007 | Index of year: 2007 | Full index