2 PhD (Early Stage Researcher) positions in computer graphics – ITN project

2 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs; PhD students) positions are available for 3 years within the framework of the European training (ITN) project PRIME at Faculty of Mathematics of Charles University.

=> Submission deadline: 12^th October 2020

 

About the PRIME project

We are an EU funded training network for PhD students (Early Stage Researchers) in Computer Graphics. Eight organisations from all across Europe collaborate on the project. Our topic focus area is Predictive Rendering: highly accurate image synthesis that can be used for authoritative previews of appearance. Our main research areas are:

Improved Capture - capture techniques provide input data for the modeling stage, and are of critical importance in predictive workflows

Improved Authoring - working with both capture data and highly realistic material models is in some cases radically different from standard workflows, and needs research before it reaches the same level of utility as normal workflows

Improved Simulation - simulations are used for modelling purposes, rendering simulates the propagation of light in a scene, and manufacturing techniques are being optimised via simulations of light interaction with the manufactured object

Improved Learning - the use of PR results in machine learning settings, and employing deep learning techniques for optimisation of the actual rendering pipeline, including capture, authoring and light transport simulation

For more information about the project see http://prime-itn.eu.

 

Positions available at Charles University, Prague

ESR01: PREDICTIVE RENDERING OF FLUORESCENT MATERIALS

The ESR 01 PhD position within PRIME is about developing efficient light transport simulation algorithms for volumetric materials used in 3D printing, and about the inclusion of fluorescence in modern rendering technology. The optical effect of fluorescence is currently neglected in most rendering software, but it plays a significant role in the appearance of certain materials. The research undertaken by this ESR will be both fundamental research about inclusion of fluorescence in modern rendering technology, as well as work with appearance measurement, and the trialling of such rendering capabilities in actual industrial workflows.

ESR02: PREDICTIVE RENDERING OF WOODEN MATERIALS FOR RELIABLE PROTOTYPING IN THE WOODWORKING INDUSTRY

The ESR 02 PhD position within PRIME is all about representing wooden materials for virtual objects. The appearance of wood is a complex product of sub-surface scattering and oriented fibers. For reliable, accurate renderings a  more sophisticated solution is necessary than approximating textures. The candidate should develop a new model for wood appearance that allows for accurate predictions in the context of wood-based fabrication together with an accompanying capture technique to measure parameters off real samples.

 

Employment Details

Pay is standardised by the EU, and is ample by local standards. Employment duration within PRIME is 36 months, and the start date can be anytime between October 1st, 2020, and September 30th, 2021. However, we prefer candidates to be available as soon as is practical: ideally, we would like to hire until March 2021 at the very latest.

 

About the research group

The Computer Graphics Group (CGG) at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic is led by Alexander Wilkie and Elena Šikudová, and currently hosts seven PhD students and one PostDoc. The team is very international (British, Slovak, Czech, German, Iranian) and uses English as its working language. Topic-wise, the group’s interests are spread across realistic image synthesis, appearance fabrication, sky models, and computer vision. We are proud of our closely knit team environment, and our far-reaching network of collaborators in academia and industry. We are also privileged to be housed in a magnificent historical building right underneath Castle Hill in the historical centre of Prague.

 

Requirements

Formal Requirements

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Physics or Engineering.
• No Ph.D. degree1.
• Less than 4 years of professional employment after obtaining your master’s degree 1
• Less than 12 months of residency in the Czech Republic in the last 3 years 1

Technical Proficiency

• Advanced knowledge in the field of computer graphics, especially (volumetric) light transport simulation and material modelling.
• Solid foundation in optics, linear algebra, Monte Carlo integration, colour science.
• Experience with rendering software, preferably path tracers like Corona, VRay, pbrt or Mitsuba.
• Solid working proficiency in writing, debugging and maintaining C, C++ and/or Objective-C code.

Soft Skills Requirements

• Fluent spoken and written English. Minimum proficiency level is B2, C1 is definitely preferred.

An ability to speak Czech is not required during your entire stay at our university: the working language of our group, and the entire Ph.D. study plan, is English.

• Self-reliant working style
• Curious and ambitious personality.
• Prior research and publication experience is considered a definite plus, but is not required.

 

How to apply

Required materials

Qualified applicants are invited to submit the following information to the central project-wide e-mail address hiring at prime-itn.eu:

• A single Page CV
• A scan of one’s Master’s diploma, along with a transcript of records for the master studies
• A motivation letter why one wants to join PRIME.
• Letters of recommendation from two previous employers and/or teachers at the university the applicant graduated from (ideally, this includes the supervisor of the master thesis).
• A list of one to three ESR positions within the network for which one applies, along with a justification why one thinks one fits the research topic outlined for these positions. The justifications for these choices are crucial: we don’t want to hear where an applicant wants to go within the network, in terms of geographic location. Instead, we want to hear why they want to join a particular research project within the ITN.

Please collate all this information into a single PDF file, and provide it to us either as mail attachment at the above address, or via a file sharing service such as Google Drive.

Organisational notes on the hiring process:

• The hiring process consists of several steps:
  • 1. Screening for formal eligibility, by the ITN coordinator. This step only determines if the ITN hiring criteria mandated by the EU (master's degree, appropriate career stage, no recent residency in the hiring country) are met. Candidates which are rejected for such formal reasons are directly informed by the ITN coordinator.
  • 2. Distribution of applications to appropriate hiring institutions within the ITN, for them to screen candidates according to their own criteria listed below in the individual job adverts.
  • 3. If any of these hiring institutions deem the applicant to be of interest, they will directly contact them for an interview.
  • 4. If none of them do, the coordinator will inform the candidate of rejection.
• Note that in stage three, applicants might be contacted by multiple hiring institutions. We coordinate our hiring internally, and if an applicant looks potentially promising for multiple ESR positions, they might get interviewed for two (or more) of them. After the interviews, the institutions then decide amongst themselves who will actually make the applicant an offer.
• Note that as stated above, unless an applicant explicitly requests that their information be withheld from specific hiring institutions within the ITN, their information will be shared with the entire network. Requesting one’s information being withheld from any particular hiring institution does not negatively affect eligibility for the remaining positions: we just require that any such wishes be clearly stated in the initial application.
• As a consequence of this sharing of applications within the network, applicants might ultimately get an interview offer for an ESR position they did not actually select on their personal preference list.
• Typically, applicants can expect a response on their application within 3-4 weeks.

 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 956585