Postdoc Position in Computational Social Choice

The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) at the University of Amsterdam is seeking to hire a postdoctoral research fellow (three years) in computational social choice, an active research area at the intersection of logic, computer science, and mathematical economics.

Project

The position is associated with a large international project on the "Computational Foundations of Social Choice". This project is part of the LogiCCC Initiative of the European Science Foundation on "Modelling Intelligent Interaction" and involves 12 partner universities in the Netherlands, Germany, Israel, Turkey, France, the UK and the USA. The Amsterdam subproject is funded by the NWO and led by Dr. Ulle Endriss.

The overall project will address a number of key issues in computational social choice. It aims at deepening our understanding of algorithmic and complexity-theoretic issues in social choice, at developing logic-based languages for modelling preferences and social choice problems, and at applying established techniques from AI, such as preference elicitation and learning, to problems of collective decision making. The focus of the research agenda followed by the Amsterdam group will be determined together with the successful candidate.

Institute for Logic, Language and Computation

The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) is an interdisciplinary research institute of the University of Amsterdam, in which researchers from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Humanities collaborate. Research at the ILLC draws from a wide range of different disciplines, including logic, mathematics, computer science, artificial intelligence, linguistics, cognitive science, philosophy and game theory.

Candidate Profile

Prospective candidates should hold or be about to obtain a PhD degree in a field relevant to the project (such as Logic, Artificial Intelligence, Multiagent Systems, Computer Science or Social Choice Theory), and have a proven track record of excellence in research, as witnessed by publications in relevant conference proceedings or journals. Most importantly, they should be open to interdisciplinary work and enthusiastic about being involved in what is a new, dynamic and fast expanding field of research. Good communication skills in English, both oral and written, are essential.

Appointment

The appointment will be for a period of three years (initially one year, with a further two years after a positive evaluation). The gross monthly salary will be in accordance with university regulations for academic personnel, and will range from EUR 2688 to EUR 3678 (scale 10), depending on experience and qualifications. While this is primarily a research position, the successful candidate will be given the opportunity to participate in teaching activities to further improve their CV.

Job Application

Applications should include a letter of motivation, a detailed curriculum vitae, a list of publications, and the names and contact details of two or three academic referees. If possible, please also include links to an online version of your PhD thesis and to relevant publications. Applications should be sent to Dr. Ulle Endriss (ulle.endriss at uva.nl), Institute for Logic, Language and Computation, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Plantage Muidergracht 24, 1018 TV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic applications are strongly preferred (if possible, please send a single PDF file).

We will start reviewing applications in late August, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Further Information

Computational Social Choice page at http://www.illc.uva.nl/~ulle/COMSOC/
ESF LogiCCC Programme at http://www.esf.org/logiccc
Institute for Logic, Language and Computation at http://www.illc.uva.nl
Working at the UvA (information for international members of staff) at http://www.medewerker.uva.nl/english

For additional information on the project or the open position, please feel free to contact Ulle Endriss (ulle.endriss at uva.nl).