Two positions are available in our Vancouver research group.  One would be appropriate for a Ph.D. in Computer Science or related field with interests in HCI, visualization, or multimedia; the second requires lab or field research skills and a Ph.D. in perceptual, cognitive, or social sciences.

Our visual analytics group is a partnership of Simon Fraser University’s SCIENCE and VAR Labs with the University of British Columbia Media And Graphics Interdisciplinary Centre, in collaboration with Boeing, CAE, Idelix, MacDonald Dettwiler and Oculus. Our centre is working to build partnerships with universities and research organizations in Europe, Asia, and the USA that build on our core strengths:

1) “Interaction science” research on human-information discourse: 
human perception, cognition, communication, and collaboration. This stream addresses the design and use of visual analytics information systems through development of new theories of human-information interaction and new research methods to guide application development. Methods include qualitative e.g. (grounded theory, discourse analysis), statistical and modeling (e.g. ACT-R, GOMS, SDT analysis).

2) Development of interactive visualization technology to support individual and group problem solving, with complex and poorly- structured datasets that may change over time. Our current research foci are in engineering analysis and decision support in the aerospace industry, and strategic and operational control of disaster relief, public health and law enforcement.

Successful candidates will have excellent communication skills and sufficient scientific and technical background to take a leadership role in one of these streams.  An ability to work with faculty, technical and administrative staff, students, and international academic and industry partners is important, as is the ability to delegate authority and responsibility while maintaining overall control of dynamic interdisciplinary research projects. Specific tasks include the following:

1. Design and implement field studies and qualitative analysis of cognitive task performance onsite and in partnership with international collaborators 2. Conduct laboratory studies to build theories of perceptual and distributed cognition to guide the development and evaluation of new VA technologies.
3. Contribute to the development of additional research opportunities through outreach to potential Canadian and international collaborators, and collaboration on grant and contract proposals 4. Participate in the day-to-day operation to ensure that deadlines are met, resources are used effectively, new opportunities are followed up and expectations are realized.

Contact Brian Fisher ( ) for more information

Applications will be considered on a continual basis until the positions are filled.  Simon Fraser University hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity.

Brian

Brian Fisher
http://www.siat.sfu.ca/faculty/brian_d._fisher
http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~fisher/brfisher.work.html