Applications call for Postdoctoral Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University.

The Human Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University is looking for a Post-Doctoral to support a new research project on understanding and improving distributed sensemaking on the web. Approximately 70 billion hours are spent every year on online sensemaking tasks (such as search) in the U.S. alone. Furthermore, after each sensemaking session – consumers deciding on purchases; students learning new fields; voters evaluating public policies – an individual’s work is essentially discarded with no one else benefiting. To capture this work this project aims to understand individuals’ information processing on the web and to develop web-based knowledge building environments that go beyond search to the collaborative creation of information landscapes: interactive visualizations that help individuals make decisions for themselves, but also capture their efforts so others looking for similar information will benefit. Allowing people to build on each others’ work may vastly increase the rate of knowledge acquisition and generation worldwide.

Position Summary

The focus of the research is two-fold: (1) to help individuals make sense of online information in a way that captures their efforts; and (2) to understand how others can use these efforts to improve their own sensemaking. The research will include empirical experiments to understand distributed sensemaking; tools to help individuals capture information; and tools to integrate that information into cohesive landscapes that can benefit others.

The post-doctoral fellow will be part of the broader Center for Knowledge Acceleration at Carnegie Mellon University. There will be opportunities to take courses at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh that support advanced research skills (e.g., cognitive psychology, visualization, specialized statistics, research methodology classes, machine learning, small groups). The fellowship is for one year with the possibility of renewal for up to two more years.

Eligibilities 

• An ideal post-doctoral fellow will have interests and skills blending interface and visualization development and evaluation, experimental design, and an understanding of both individual and distributed cognition.
• Ph.D. in computer science, HCI, information science, communication, or a related discipline.

Requirements

Requirements for this Postdoctoral Fellowship position at Carnegie Mellon University

• Background check
• A personal statement describing career objectives, background and experience along with a CV and at least two reference letters

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Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Carnegie Mellon has grown into an international university with over a dozen degree-granting locations in six continents, including campuses in Qatar and Silicon Valley, and more than 20 research partnerships. The university has seven colleges and independent schools, all of which offer interdisciplinary programs: the College of Engineering, College of Fine Arts, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mellon College of Science, Tepper School of Business, H. John Heinz III College of Information Systems and Public Policy, and the School of Computer Science.