8 July: fyi -- voice analysis phd funding, AU
Index of July 2010 | Index of year: 2010 | Full index
Doctoral and postdoctoral opportunities in Forensic Voice Comparison
Doctoral students are sought in connection with the three-year
half-million-dollar Australian Research Council Linkage Project
(LP100200142) "Making demonstrably valid and reliable forensic voice
comparison a practical everyday reality in Australia". This is a
unique opportunity to obtain multidisciplinary training in both
acoustic-phonetic and automatic approaches to forensic voice
comparison and evaluation of forensic evidence within the new paradigm
for forensic science ? likelihood-ratio framework with testing of
validity and reliability.
The project will be centred at the to-be-formed Forensic Voice
Comparison Laboratory, School of Electrical Engineering &
Telecommunications, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
http://www.ee.unsw.edu.au/. The University of New South Wales is one
of Australia's major research institutions, attracting top national
competitive research grants and with extensive international research
links.
The lead investigator on this project is Dr. Geoffrey Stewart Morrison
http://geoff-morrison.net/. More details about the project can be
found at http://forensic-voice-comparison.net/.
Doctoral students
We are looking for two types of candidates:
1. The ideal candidate would have a strong background in acoustic
phonetics and also be (or have the potential to quickly become)
knowledgeable and skilful in forensic science (especially the
likelihood-ratio framework), programming (especially Matlab),
statistics (especially Bayesian) and pattern recognition, and signal
processing (especially speech processing).
2. The ideal candidate would have a strong background in signal
processing, especially speech processing, pattern recognition, and
programming (especially Matlab), and also be (or have the potential to
quickly become) knowledgeable and skilful in forensic science
(especially the likelihood-ratio framework), acoustic phonetics, and
statistics (especially Bayesian).
A candidate with a Masters degree specialising in forensic voice
comparison within the likelihood-ratio framework would be highly
favoured. An excellent command of spoken and written English is
essential, and fluency in Spanish and/or Standard Chinese would be
advantageous.
The start date is flexible but is likely to be early 2011. In some
cases this may be dictated by scholarship rules. Applicants should
initially submit a curriculum vitae with cover letter as soon as
possible, both documents should be submitted as a single pdf to
geoff-morrison@forensic-voice-comparison.net
If a suitable international candidate is found by 10 July 2010, we
will make a decision at that time in order to facilitate Endeavour
award application, see below (the deadline is tight because of the
Australian Research Council's late announcement of Linkage Project
funding). Otherwise positions will remain open until filled. The
number of positions is flexible depending on the ability of candidates
to obtain external funding.
We have a small amount of money (AU$10k per year) within the project
allocated to supporting PhD students. This is envisaged as a top up to
a more substantial scholarship. Potential students will have to apply
for such a scholarship, but we will render all assistance possible to
assist in making that application.
Citizens and permanent residents of Australia and New Zealand should apply for:
1. Australian Postgraduate Award and other scholarships
http://www.grs.unsw.edu.au/scholarships/localschols/unswlocalschols.html
The application closing date for a 2011 start will probably be
mid-October 2010 (check the link regularly for updates).
International students should apply for:
1. Endeavour Awards
http://www.deewr.gov.au/International/EndeavourAwards/Pages/Home.aspx
The Australian Government's internationally competitive, merit-based
scholarship program providing opportunities for citizens of the
Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Europe and Americas to undertake study,
research and professional development in Australia. The UNSW internal
deadline for the next round of applications is 19 July 2010 (the
following deadline will be January 2011).
2. UNSW International Research Scholarships
http://www.grs.unsw.edu.au/scholarships/intschols/unswintschols.html
These scholarships include full fees and some living allowance and
are typically very competitive. Please contact us before applying.
3. Any scholarships available from the student's home country (we have
experience with applying for SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships). See also
http://www.grs.unsw.edu.au/scholarships/homecountryschols.html
Postdoctoral Researchers
We would also welcome applications from postdoctoral researchers who
have external funding (e.g., SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship) and wish
to join our team. We will assist with preparing applications for
external funding.
Visiting Students/Researchers
We would also welcome applications for externally-funded shorter
research visits from PhD students and researchers from other
universities. We will assist with preparing applications for external
funding (e.g., Endeavour Research Fellowships).
Enquiries should be addressed to geoff-morrison@forensic-voice-comparison.net
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