[Portugal] Fwd: Announcement of 9 Doctoral Positions

Thu Jan 27 11:14:32 EST 2011

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:: A p o l o g i e s  for cross-postings ::

               GIScience- Geographic Information Science

                    University of Salzburg, Austria

                    Doctoral College - DK-GIScience

                 Announcement of 9 Doctoral Positions 

Geographic Information Science (GIScience) as an interdisciplinary field
seeks to understand the nature of geographic phenomena and of geographic
information. This doctoral college (DK for the German abbreviation used
by the Austrian Science fund) advances formalized doctoral education and
research training in GIScience at the University of Salzburg by
integrating PhD students with focused research clusters. The DK seeks to
conceptualize spatial principles and to explore scientific, educational,
and policy-related uses of geographic information in order to analyze
the complex relationships between individuals and society. It provides a
framework for explicitly spatial scientific studies of physical and
social phenomena. Three interconnected, interdisciplinary, research
clusters have been defined. Representations and Data Models is focused
on research into the conceptual modelling of space, spatial features
and phenomena, and provides a spatial view of various categories of
physical and abstract information objects in order to reveal the
potential power of the 'spatial perspective'. Time and Process research
will leverage the increasing availability of real-time sensor data, the
importance of process-oriented modelling, and will address the need for
temporal modelling beyond simple discrete time slices. Spatialization,
Media and Society considers user perspectives and utilizes geospatial
communication as a hypotheses generator for geospatial research:
cognitive processes lead to mental maps which are highly relevant for
actions, which in turn modify physical and societal spaces. 

Concepts of spatial thinking and spatial theory are the lynchpin of this
innovative cross-cutting field of research. The research clusters are
logically linked, provide structure and direction for the research
topics addressed, and define operational working groups for
collaboration across PhD topics. Research clusters are critically
important building blocks for workflows and information processing
chains based on geospatially referenced information. Salzburg is an
established hotspot for GIScience research and a well-known trademark in
research and education, and combines University (Dept. of Geography and
Geology) with non-university research (collaborating with the Austrian
Academy of Sciences, Salzburg Research and research studio iSPACE). The
Centre for Geoinformatics Salzburg (Z_GIS) is a flagship institution
dedicated to research and postgraduate education. Since 1994, more than
750 students have graduated from the successful MSc program UNIGIS
GIScience, the basis of a strong alumni culture.

Supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the program offers  

9 scholarships for doctoral researchers at the Paris Lodron University
Salzburg

The positions are in accordance with the regulations of the FWF
(www.fwf.ac.at) and the gross salary is 26278.- Euro per year,
regardless of age and family situation. Contracts will be awarded for
three years with an extension option of several months under defined
circumstances. It is foreseen to spend one semester at one of 22
pre-selected partner Universities worldwide.

Candidates need to choose from the following list of 9 topics while
providing a first choice and a second (alternative) choice. Detailed
descriptions of the topics can be found at
http://www.uni-salzburg.at/giscience.

PI / supervisor

R/M-1

T. Blaschke

Incorporating
LiDARscapes in an OBIA
framework

R/M-2

L. Schrott

Visualisation of
landforms and geomorphic
process domains using
regional data sets –
creating a digital
geomorphological map of
the European Alps

R/M-3

R. Marschallinger

3D modelling and
simulation of sediment
structures in
overdeepened alpine
basins and implications
for hydro(geo)logical
modelling

R/M-4

F. Neubauer

3D Structure of major
fault zones and its
application in
engineering geology and
geothermics

T/P-1

J. Strobl

Spatial System Dynamics:
Simulation for Decision
Support

T/P-2

A. Koch

Spatial Simulation of
Urban Segregation
Processes

T/P-3

E. Beinat

Geo-spatial models for
collective sensing

S/M-3

S. Reich

scalability and
performance in
near-real-time
processing of
geo-spatial data streams

S/M-4

M. Leitner

Developing a research
framework for criminal
geographic profiling

Requirements are the excellent completion of a degree at the Masters
level in Geoinformatics, Geomatics, Geography, Computer Science or any
scientific/technical subject in a relevant field, and excellent
English language (both oral and writing) skills. 

Important dates:  

•  First Application deadline: 20 April, 2011 (later applications may be
considered for a second round of interviews if any positions remain
open)

•  Selection workshop (for pre‐selected applicants): end of May / early
June, 2011 

•  Start of the program: Late September 2011, start of regular classes:
03 October.

Applicants have to submit the complete scholarship application as
detailed at the website from 01 February. Successful candidates will
then be invited to start their admission process at the University of
Salzburg.

Further information will be
forthcoming at http://www.uni-salzburg.at/giscience  

For all inquiries, please contact giscience  sbg.ac.at 

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-- 
Jorge Gustavo Rocha
Departamento de Informática
Universidade do Minho
4710-057 Braga
Tel: 253604430 (Geral), 253604479 (Gabinete)
Fax: 253604471
Móvel: 910333888