PhD student position in neuromechanical models of vertebrate locomotion at EPFL
The Biorobotics laboratory (Biorob, http://biorob.epfl.ch/) at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) anticipates to have one open PhD studentship in computational neuroscience and biorobotics. The goal of the project is to develop neuromechanical models of vertebrate locomotion, together with Marc-Olivier Gewaltig (computational neuroscientist) and Gregoire Courtine (neuroscientist). *The neuromechanical models will include numerical models of spinal cord circuits coupled to biomechanical models of the body. The first target animal will be the mouse; depending on progress, human models might be developed in a second stage. The spinal cord models might also be tested and validated in some of the quadruped robots developed by the Biorobotics laboratory. The position will be fully funded thanks to a grant from the Human Brain Project.
http://biorob.epfl.ch/openings
EPFL is one of the leading Institutes of Technology in Europe and offers internationally competitive salaries and research infrastructure.
Requirements:
Candidates need to have a Master degree in a field related to computational neuroscience e.g. in physics or computer science. The ideal candidate for this position should have a strong math background (e.g. in dynamical systems), good programming skills, and interest/expertise in modeling neural circuits and biomechanical systems, and in locomotion.
How to apply for the position:
Step 1: The position is only open to applicants who have been accepted by the EPFL doctoral school (see http://phd.epfl.ch/). The first step is therefore to fill the applications for one of the relevant EPFL doctoral programs in robotics (http://phd.epfl.ch/EDPR) or neuroscience (http://phd.epfl.ch/neuroscien
Step 2: In parallel to step 1, or once accepted by one of the doctoral programs (please specify which doctoral program and the date of acceptance), the application to the position should be sent by email to Prof. Auke Ijspeert and consist of a motivation letter (explaining why you are interested in the project, and why you feel qualified for it) and a copy of the doctoral program application.
Informal inquiries about the relevance of an application can be sent to auke.ijspeert@epfl.ch (e.g. before or while submitting an application to the doctoral school), but responses can be slow because of a heavy schedule and a filled mail box.
Deadline and starting date:
Applications will be considered continuously until the position is filled. The starting date is between April and September 2016 (the sooner the better). Note that the doctoral program in robotics (EDRS) has a deadline on April 15 2016, and the one in neuroscience (EDNE) on May 1st 2016.
Contact:
Information concerning the type of research carried out by the group can be found at http://biorob.epfl.ch/. You should send your application and any inquiry by email to: Prof. Auke Jan Ijspeert (http://biorob.epfl.ch/page381