LINGUIST List 7.1690

Fri Nov 29 1996

Jobs: NLP Research Positions, Director Of Writing Program

Editor for this issue: Ljuba Veselinova <lveselinemunix.emich.edu>

Directory

1. Robert Dale, NLP Research Positions in Sydney, Australia
2. Dr. Richard Tithecott, Director Of The Writing Program

Are you in the northern hemisphere? Chilly, huh? Well: why not
carry out research in language technology in Sydney, Australia
...

The Microsoft Research Institute's Language Technology Group,
situated on the campus of Macquarie University in Sydney, is
currently seeking to hire two research scientists. The successful
candidates will work on a number of ongoing and new projects in
the areas of natural language processing and language
engineering. We are particularly interested in hiring people to
work in the following three areas:

 automatic text generation;
 intelligent text processing and information extraction; and
 connecting language and action.

Generally, we expect research staff to spend approximately 50% of
their time working on group projects, and 50% pursuing other
research avenues of their own devising. We are particularly
interested in candidates with previous experience in one or more
of the following areas:

 corpus-based and statistical methods;
 message extraction and understanding;
 the use of natural language processing techniques in information
 retrieval;
 the design and development of dialogue systems;
 text planning; and
 linguistic realisation.

Applicants should have a postgraduate degree in computational
linguistics, computer science or linguistics, and competence in
several areas drawn from the following portfolio:

 Computational linguistic theory: a basic understanding of parsing
	techniques; a grounding in one or more syntactic theories; a
	familiarity with techniques in statistical text processing; an
	understanding of issues in discourse processing; an awareness
	of the breadth of issues in the field; and
 The ability to program (well!) in one or more of: C, C++, or Lisp.

MRI offers excellent computational facilities and the opportunity
to work in an expanding team that carries out leading-edge
research in language technology. MRI is located on the campus of
Macquarie University in North Ryde, a suburb of Sydney,
Australia, one of the world's most beautiful cities.

The positions will become available from January 1997, although
actual start dates are negotiable. The positions are open to
those considering postdoctoral positions as well as more
experienced candidates. Please send your application (including a
CV and list of publications) by email to Robert Dale
(Robert.Dalemq.edu.au) as soon as possible and by January 1st
1997 at latest. Early indications of interest would be useful if
received by December 13th 1996. Informal enquiries can be sent to
the same address.

Find out more about MRI at http://www.mri.mq.edu.au/ltg/

DIRECTOR OF THE WRITING PROGRAM

COLLEGE OF LETTERS, ARTS & SCIENCES

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

The College of Letters, Arts and Sciences of the University of
Southern California seeks applications and nominations for the
position of Director of its Writing Program.

We seek a director with a strong background in Rhetoric,
Composition, Linguistics, or related disciplines, extensive
experience in teaching writing and writing program
administration, and a knowledge of current developments within
the field, including writing across the curriculum and
computer-assisted instruction. He or she must maintain a
professional profile through research and publication, and
participate in the intellectual life of the university at the
graduate level. The successful candidate will qualify for a
tenured appointment in the appropriate department or a senior
administrative position.

The Director will report to the Dean of Curriculum and
Instruction and will oversee the development of course
curriculum, teacher training seminars, and the work of
administrators within the Writing Program. In addition, the
Director will work closely with faculty members in other
disciplines to coordinate linkage between a variety of
undergraduate courses and the composition course. The Director
will be expected to establish and coordinate training sessions
for faculty members involved in the linked courses, both lower
and upper division. Strong interpersonal skills are essential:
the Director must work well with university faculty as well as
with administrators in the Writing Program and over one hundred
teaching assistants.

The position of Director of the Writing Program offers a
competitive salary and benefits. Applications should include a
letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and the names and addresses
of three professional references. Nominations and expressions of
interest should be submitted by December 4 to:

Dean Nancy J. Vickers 
Adm. 304 University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-4012

The College enrolls approximately 6,000 undergraduates and 2,090
graduate students and also serves the students and staff of the
17 other schools of the university. The University of Southern
California is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer
and actively seeks nominations of and expressions of interest
from minority and female candidates.