Job Description

Position Overview

The Xiao Computational Perception Lab in the Department of Computer Science at American University seeks a full-time Research Assistant/ Lab Technician for an NIH-funded project on common mechanisms and individual variability of human material perception. The main goal is to build computational models to simulate, predict and explain human material perception in immersive and natural environments. To achieve this, we use a combination of human psychophysics, deep learning, VR/AR, and SOTA generative AI technique (e.g. GAN and Neural Radiance Field) to create immersive environments and measure human material perception with various tasks. 

Job Description  

The RA will support research activities in the lab and will work in a collaborative environment but is also encouraged to pursue research projects of their own. Possible duties include:  

• Recruiting human subjects 
• Python coding for experiment interface and behavioral data analysis
• Collecting data for psychophysical and EEG experiments
• Building VR/AR experimental interfaces with Unity3D
• Training machine learning models

This is an ideal position for someone interested in gaining research experience in perception science and computational modeling before applying to graduate school or an industrial research position. The position comes with a salary and full benefits. Full-time staff at AU can take undergraduate-level CS courses for tuition remission. This position is initially for a one-year contract and can be extended. Starting date is September 1st, 2023, or soon after. 

Position Requirements:

• The ideal candidate should have a Bachelor's degree in quantitative psychology, neuroscience, psychology, computer science, engineering, or a related field. 
• The candidate should have strong programming skills in Python and is familiar with Numpy, Pandas, and other numerical libraries. Having experience in deep learning with PyTorch is a plus.  
• Experience with statistical methods (linear models, multivariate analysis, etc.).
• Experience with psychophysics research is not required but would be useful. 

The Lab and Facility

Xiao Lab studies both human and computer vision with an emphasis on material perception and recognition. The lab currently has a few ongoing research projects:  

• Learning latent representation of human perception of material properties 
• Material and object perception in infants and children with behavioral and EEG methods (collaborating with Dr.Laurie Bayet). 
• Volumetric Capture Studio
• Uncertainty estimation in few-shot learning in text classification
• Prediction of clinical trial outcomes with human experts and machine learning models.

The Xiao Lab is located in a state-of-the-art technology building, which is home to computer science, physics, applied math, and a design and build lab. The lab has high-performing GPU workstations, haptic phantom devices, VR headsets, and 3D printers. 

Washington, DC, is the US capital and has a vibrant scene of computational cognition and computer vision research (e.g., NIH, NIST, Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, and the University of Maryland). 

How to apply

Please submit your application, including a CV, and a cover letter describing your background, experience, and motivation - preferably in PDF format, and the names of two references that have agreed to be contacted. Please apply no later than July 20th, 2023, to Prof. Bei Xiao at bxiao@american.edu. Please submit your application and inquiry to my email.