ATR Neural Information Analysis Laboratories, Kyoto, Japan, have
openings for researcher or research engineer positions and invite
applications with strong motivations and ambitions in the research
project described below.

Our laboratories research on brain-machine interface (BMI), which
controls actuators by estimating human movement and intension from
brain activities measured noninvasively by MEG, EEG, fMRI, and NIRS.
The project for which we are recruiting aims to construct a new
information-communication technology to connect people and machines
through engineering applications of neuroscience. More specifically,
the project's goal is to develop a BMI methodology that works well in
various environments in the real world by simultaneous measurement of
human behavior and brain activities and also by parallel and
distributed processing of large-scale data. This project is funded by
the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC), Japan,
until March, 2015. The project organization consists of five
research institutes, and specifically ATR is the representative
institute.

Our institute ATR, located in western Japan, is one of the top
research centers in computational neuroscience, biomedical signal
processing, and robotics in the world (see http://www.cns.atr.jp/en/
for more details). The Brain Information Communication Research Lab
Group (BICR) at ATR is also funded by the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan and by the
National Institute of Information and Communications Technology
(NICT), Japan. The people at ATR BICR include 81 researchers /
research engineers, 30 graduate students, 9 engineers, and 15
administrative staffs. Since the establishment of the brain research
group in 2003, we have published more than 180 papers in
peer-reviewed international journals, which include 13 Nature,
Science, Nature Neuroscience, and Neuron papers.

We look forward to your applications and recommendations.

Shin Ishii
ATR Neural Information Analysis Laboratories, Kyoto, Japan


= Job description =

(1) Ambient informatics team
The researcher will join a team dedicated for establishing an
environment for continuous measurement and recognition of human
behavior in a daily life. Here, the "environment" includes hardware
facilities, efficient network, and pattern recognition algorithms and
software. The team is supported by engineers. Data measurement
devices include stereo cameras, laser range finders, microphones,
pyroelectric sensors, power monitors (for appliance), and
bio-measurement devices (for electromyogram (EMG), heart pulse, blood
pressure, perspiration, and temperature). Good proposals for
additional measurement modalities will be welcomed.

(2) Decoding team
The researcher will join a team dedicated for developing artifact
reduction and decoding algorithms for brain activities measured under
real environments. Brain activity data measured in real environments
would often be contaminated by non-brain signals, which must be
reduced by all means for further analysis. By solving a challenging
research problem of decoding of movement or intension in uncontrolled
experiments, the team will develop BMI algorithms under real
environments. The successful candidate should have a strong
background in machine learning, information retrieval, or statistical
signal processing. Excellent programming skills and experiences of
large-scale data analysis will be advantageous.

(3) Neuroscience team
The researcher will join a team dedicated for neuroscience studies
focusing on human decision making and motor control under real
environments. The team's challenging goal is to elucidate the neural
bases involved in decision making and motor control, which are
sufficiently robust even in the uncertain real world, by fully
utilizing newly developed techniques of brain machine interface.

= Requirements =
Applicants must:
- have a Ph.D. (or be near completion).
- have strong motivations and ambitions to take part in the research
  above.
Also, researchers having interest in neural and human science with
expertise in one or more of the following areas are welcomed:
- Statistics, machine learning, parallel distributed computing,
  signal processing, artificial intelligence, bio-measurement and
  instrumentation, computer vision, statistical physics, cognitive
  psychology.
Exceptional applicants with a master's or equivalent degree will be
considered as well.

= Number of openings =
Few

= Employment conditions =
Position : Full-time Researcher / Full-time Research Engineer
Tenure : Single year based contract, renewable based on evaluation
Treatment: Based on individual performance
Work Location:
Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR)
2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan

= Application materials =
Please submit the following five materials to the contact address
below, either in printed or electronic form:
1. CV
2. List of publications
3. Reprints of 1--3 major publications
4. Document (one or two pages in A4 or letter size) describing:
  - Summary of your previous research
  - Interests and proposal for research
  - Additional research skills not directly foreseeable from
    publications
5. Recommendation letters from two researchers
* Original documents you submit will not be returned.

= Judging system =
After documentary examination, we ask for presentation and interview
if needed

= Starting date =
Negotiable

= Deadline for application =
Opens until positions are filled.

= Contact =
ATR Neural Information Analysis Laboratories
(Application for Researcher Position)
2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan
Email: [log in to unmask]

= Use of personal data =
All personal data received will be properly managed and only be used
for the purpose of recruitment.