Duke Data Science Postdoctoral Fellowship

Mar 29, 2017

Duke University seeks exceptional candidates for the upcoming Duke Data Science Postdoctoral Fellowship. This competitive fellowship will provide three years of support for an outstanding scholar with established academic excellence in a quantitative science including (but not limited to) statistics, computer science, engineering or math who seeks to broaden their impact both within and outside of academia by working across disciplines and sectors to solve pressing social science problems. The Fellow will be under the primary mentorship of Dr. Jana Schaich Borg (neuroscientist and data science professor at Duke’s Social Science Research Institute), and will have secondary mentorship from Dr. Guillermo Sapiro (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Dr. David Dunson (Statistical Science and Mathematics) and Dr. Vincent Conitzer (Computer Science and Economics).

Approximately 65 percent of the Fellow’s time will be dedicated to leading the analytical efforts of an interdisciplinary project that will use machine vision and automated classifications of social interactions to predict individual social and economic decisions. The anticipated outcomes of this project will be used to develop tools to diagnose social disorders and create empathy training programs, as well as to develop social robots that can improve the quality of human life. As part of Duke’s Data Science vision, the postdoctoral fellow on this project must be an expert in at least one (and preferably two) of the relevant technical domains (i.e.: machine vision, signal processing, machine learning, mathematical models of synchrony, statistical models of high-dimensional systems in p>>n settings, behavioral economics, or social network modeling), but will be encouraged to expand their expertise over the course of the fellowship, and will work closely with scholars from other fields to ensure timely delivery of the project goals. The other 35 percent of the Fellow’s time will be dedicated “innovation time,” in which the postdoc can work on research projects of their choosing with guidance from the most relevant faculty or IT mentors.

The Data Science program will provide training opportunities to expand the Fellow’s expertise and experience to new disciplines and modern Big Data platforms, and will provide career mentoring to ensure the Fellow can leverage the fellowship experience to maximize future career productivity. The Data Science Fellow will also have the opportunity to teach in Duke’s upcoming Data Science master’s program, if desired.

Candidates must have a doctoral degree in a relevant field, a publication track record in peer-reviewed journals, and excellent communication skills. Candidates should also be able to provide evidence of (1) his/her ability to work in collaborative teams, and (2) his/her ability to learn new technical skills.

Interested candidates should send a cover letter describing why they would be a good match for the Duke Data Science Postdoctoral Fellowship and the independent research agenda they would be interested in pursuing. Applications should also include a CV (please include all publications), the names and contact information of three references, and a statement about when the applicant could start the appointment. The applications and/or any additional questions regarding the fellowship should be sent via e-mail to Dr. Jana Schaich Borg at js524@duke.edu.