Ph.D. position on change detection in heterogeneous remote sensing images with machine learning methods at University of Tromsø

University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway, Faculty of Science and Technology, has a PhD position vacant for applicants who wish to obtain the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD).
The position is attached to the Department of Physics and Technology and the project ?Change Detection in Heterogeneous Remote Sensing Images (Heterochange)? hosted by the research group in Earth Observation.
The appointment is for a period of three years.
The PhD position is for a fixed term, with the objective of completion of research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to a PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position. The PhD Candidate shall participate in the faculty’s organized research training, and the PhD project shall be completed during the period of employment. Information about the application process for admission to the PhD programme, application form and regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) is available at our website.
Further information about the position and project details is available by contacting:
Associate Professor Stian Normann Anfinsen by email stian.normann.anfinsen-AT-uit.no or telephone +47 776 45173.
The position’s affiliation
The Faculty of Science and Technology consists of the following departments: Department of Chemistry, Department of Computer Science, Department of Engineering and Safety, Department of Geology, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and Department of Physics and Technology.
The Department of Physics and Technology consists of four research groups: Energy and Climate, Earth Observation, Space Physics, and Electrical Engineering. The department provides education at the Bachelor, Master, and PhD levels. The department comprises 17 permanent professors and a technical/administrative staff of 10 persons. The candidate will be associated with the Earth Observation research group at the Department of Physics and Technology. The group consists of four permanent academic staffs, three adjunct professors and several postdocs and PhD students.
The PhD position is associated to the project “Change detection in Heterogeneous Remote Sensing” funded by the Research Council of Norway.
The position’s field of research
The successful candidate will do research in the field of pattern recognition and machine learning applied to Earth observation and satellite remote sensing. The research will make use of an archive of multitemporal and multisource satellite images. It will employ advanced methods from pattern recognition and machine learning, such as kernel methods and Markov random fields. The position will be connected to the Earth Observation Laboratory and will also work closely with the Machine Learning Laboratory at UiT.
The project “Change detection in Heterogeneous Remote Sensing”
This project funded by the Research Council of Norway aims to develop innovative method for change detection in heterogeneous satellite images of the Earth. The employed PhD student shall develop a suite of algorithms capable of detecting changes in both pairs and longer time series of co-located remote sensing images captured by different sensors or with different acquisition modes. Traditional algorithms for change detection in images typically assume that the images are perfectly co-registered and co-calibrated, such that ?no change? is characterized by close to zero difference between the compared pixels. This assumption is in its strict sense unrealistic due to variations in viewing geometry and environmental conditions, phenological evolution of vegetation, and other factors that cannot be perfectly compensated for. This project will compare images that have radically different radiometric and statistical properties. It is therefore necessary to search for alternative strategies to characterize and delineate changes. One challenge is to find diverging temporal patterns within groups of pixels that can indicate occurrence of changes. The methods will be taken from recent developments in machine learning, pattern recognition and statistics. The PhD student will be trained within a collaboration network with Telecom Bretagne and University of Genoa allowing research visits to and co-tutoring by leading experts and authors of seminal work on the research topic. The student should be willing to spend extensive periods as a visiting researcher with the collaborating partners in France and Italy.
Qualification requirements
Candidates should have strong analytical skills, experience with data analysis and remote sensing, and a good background in physics, mathematics, statistics and image processing. The candidate must have interests in both theoretical and applicative aspects of data analysis, and an interest in algorithms and software development.
The successful applicant must fulfil the requirements for admission to the faculty’s PhD programme, cf. Regulation for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Tromsø. In addition, he/she shall be able to document proficiency in English equivalent to Norwegian Higher Education Entrance Qualification, refer to the website about PhD regulations at UiT.
Emphasis shall also be attached to personal suitability.
Working conditions
The normal period of employment and the nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the research fellow has already completed parts of his/her research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position (PhD Candidate, research assistant, or the like) in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years.
Remuneration for the position of PhD Candidate is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted.
Assessment
An expert committee will assess the applicants. During this assessment process, emphasis will be attached to the applicant’s potential for research as shown by:
Master’s thesis or equivalent
any other academic works, and
state of purpose (cover letter) highlighting the candidate’s background and its relevance to the job announced
In addition, consideration may be given to work experience or other activities of significance for the implementation of the PhD studies. This includes experience with communication of science, programming and software development, and experience with popularization, teaching or other types of dissemination of technical and scientific work. Information and material to be considered during the assessment must be submitted by the stipulated deadline.
The applicants who are assessed as the best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview shall among other things aim to clarify the applicant’s personal suitability for the position.
Application
The application must be submitted electronically via the application form available on www.jobbnorge.no.
In addition, by the application deadline, the application shall contain:
Letter of application
CV (containing a complete overview of education, supervised professional training and professional work)
Copies of:
diploma and transcript from your Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
diploma and transcript from your Master’s degree or equivalent
diploma supplement for completed degrees
documentation of English language proficiency
references
State of purpose (cover letter) highlighting the candidate’s background and its relevance to the job announced
List of works and description of these (see below)
The list of works shall contain the following information:
author(s), the work’s title
for articles: the journal’s name and volume, the first and last page of the article, year of publication
for publications: publisher, printer, year of publication, number of pages
All documentation that is to be evaluated must be and translated into English or a Scandinavian language. You may be asked to display originals.
Information and material to be considered during the assessment must be submitted by the stipulated deadline.
The works (published or unpublished), which the applicant wishes to be taken into consideration during the assessment process, must be submitted.
Applicants shall also refer to the Utfyllende bestemmelser for tilsetting i stillinger som postdoktor, stipendiat (PhD) og vitenskapelig assistent (Research Assistant) positions at the UiT and to the Forskrift om ansettelsesvilkår for stillinger som postdoktor (Postdoctor), stipendiat (PhD), vitenskapelig assistent (Research Assistant) og spesialistkandidat (Resident).
Questions concerning the organisation of the working environment, such as the physical state of the place of employment, health service, possibility for flexible working hours, part time, etc. as well as questions about the PhD programme may be directed to the telephone reference in this announcement.
UiT has HR policy objectives that emphasize diversity, and encourages all qualified applicants to apply regardless of their gender, functional ability and national or ethnic background.
UiT is an IW (Inclusive Workplace) enterprise, and will emphasize making the necessary adaptations to the working conditions for employees with reduced functional ability.
Personal data given in an application or CV will be processed in accordance with the Act relating to the processing of personal data (the Personal Data Act). In accordance with Section 25 subsection 2 of the Freedom of Information Act, the applicant may request not to be registered on the public list of applicants. However, the University may nevertheless decide that the name of the applicant will be made public. The applicant will receive advance notification in the event of such publication.