PhD or Postdoc Position in Computational Linguistics

With the launch of a new `NCCR Evolving Language'
(www.evolvinglanguage.ch), which involves nearly 40 different research
groups from a large variety of disciplines across Switzerland, we seek
to fill a PhD or postdoc position at the University of Geneva for a
four-year project starting in September 2020, or at the selected
candidate's convenience.

Our goal is to make progress in understanding the emergence of
compositionality from observational, computational and neural
perspectives. To this end, we plan to study the evolutionary dynamics
of linguistic complexity. Machine learning models will be used to
investigate how compositional structure in natural language has
progressively evolved. Parallel research in non-human primates will
aim to better understand the point at which sequences of calls become
compositional, integrated units.

The successful candidates will join the computational linguistics
group in Geneva (CLCL), directed by Prof. Merlo. The project is
jointly run by Prof. Merlo and Profs. Bickel and Townsend from the
Department of Comparative Language Science at the University of
Zurich, and the successful candidate is expected to also spend time in
Zurich.

Applicants should hold a Master's degree (or a  Ph.D.  ) in
computational linguistics or a related field (e.g.  natural language
processing, computer science, cognitive science), have good
computational and quantitative skills, and a good command of
English. They must have a demonstrated clear interest for issues
related to the language sciences.

We aim to generate a work programme that maximally fits the
candidates' own interest -- within the limits of the project's goals -
so we will look for evidence of personal initiative, independent work
ethics, and a strong interest in theory. Successful candidates should
have excellent teamwork skills and be interested to go beyond
disciplinary boundaries.

For consideration please compile the following documents into a single
PDF labelled `WP Compositionality-CL -YourSurname.pdf' and send to
jobs@evolvinglanguage.ch: a cover letter (motivation and
qualifications, 2 pages max); curriculum vitae; photocopy of highest
degree and transcripts of bachelor's and master's courses; if
applicable, publication list with an indication of the three most
representative publications and a URL where all publications will be
available; contacts of three referees; writing sample (2 pages
max). The NCCR places great emphasis on gender balance; we
particularly encourage women to apply.


The positions are available until filled but we start reviewing
applications on June 15. For questions contact Paola.Merlo@unige.ch.