[agents] Post-doctoral position at Lille/France

[philippe mathieu]

Vacancy of a postdoctoral position "Serious Game, Simulation,
MultiAgent Systems" in University of Lille 1

//title

Applications are invited for the position of postdoctoral working on
the FormatStore project funding by the French Ministery of Research
and Education. This position is offered with a duration between 12 and
18 months. The monthly gross salary is around 3000 euros.

//abstract

The FormatStore project carried out for the University Lille 1, by the
MultiAgent Systems and Behaviors (SMAC, http://www.lifl.fr/SMAC) -
team of the Fundamental Computer Science Laboratory (LIFL) led by
Prof. Philippe Mathieu - will be done in close collaboration with
industrial partners (specialized in business training and virtual
reality) in order to develop an interactive game environment (Serious
Games) for training vendors.

//context

The job of a salesman in a shop involves the implementation of
numerous technical communication, information, persuasion, and
detailed knowledge about the development of products, the arrangement
of shelves, etc. In an increasingly complex environment, training
vendors can no more rely solely on experiences or knowledge which are
strictly theoretical. Immersion in a simulated reality is a suitable
compromise between practice and theory, for schools in which future
sellers are trained and retailers seeking to improve the skills of
their staff.

//problems

We aim at developing and implementing a simulation application
addressing several key research topics of the team: the design of
realistic behavior for virtual clients, some advanced cognitive
mechanisms, the management of interaction between agents and
multi-level simulation. The IODA method
(http://www2.lifl.fr/SMAC/projects/ioda/), which focuses on modeling
and implementing different agent-based interactions, is particularly
suitable for the incremental design of intelligent agent behaviours.

//conditions

We ask

Candidates should have a PhD in computer science, artificial
intelligence or related disciplines. Experience with multiagent
systems modelling and implementation is required.  Software
engineering as Java development skills (design patterns, swing) are
important. Scientific creativity and productivity must be shown by
publications in international journals and conferences within the
indicated areas.

We offer 

An appointment as 'postdoc at the Lille1 University'. The position
will be for a period of 12 to 18 months starting as soon as possible.
The salary will be near 3000 euros gross per month depending on
qualifications and experience. The employment conditions are based on
the Collective Employment Agreement of the French Universities.

Candidates are invited to send as soon as possible, a CV, a covering
letter and the names (plus full contact details) of two academic
referees to: philippe.mathieu at lifl.fr and sebastien.picault at lifl.fr

References

   * Y. Kubera, P. Mathieu, S. Picault (2009) "How To Avoid Biases In
     Reactive Simulations" in: Y. Demazeau and J. Pavón (eds.),
     /International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and
     Multi-Agent Systems (PAAMS'09)/.

   * Y. Kubera, P. Mathieu, S. Picault (2008) "Interaction-Oriented Agent
     Simulations: From Theory to Implementation" in M. Ghallab,
     C.D. Spyropoulos, N. Fakotakis, M. Avouris (eds.): /18th European
     Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI'08)/, Frontiers in
     Artificial Intelligence Applications, IOS Press, p.  383-387, ISBN
     978-1-58603-891-5.
 
   * B. Lacroix, P. Mathieu, S. Picault (2006) "Time and Space Management
     in Crowd Simulation" in: /20th European Simulation and Modelling
     Conference (ESM'06)/.

-------------------------
Pr Philippe MATHIEU
Vice-Président de l'Université Lille 1
chargé des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication
Responsable de l'équipe SMAC du LIFL UMR 8022 CNRS
Tel: +33 (0)3 20 43 42 90 - +33 (0)3 59 63 22 25