Audio and Acoustic Signal
Processing Job Opportunities

he “Center for multidisciplinary research on signal processing” (CMRSP) is looking for post-doc candidates. CMRSP is a three year initiative funded by Conicyt-Chile with the mission to provide and disseminate a research and training framework for the integration of signal processing (SP) research between the current disjoint fields such as astronomy, mining, radar, volcanology, speech and communications. This center will foster: 1. Greater uniformity in the levels of SP expertise across a wider range of application fields; 2. Improved collaboration across currently distinct and separated research fields. The great potential for cross fertilization between currently distinct application fields certainly suggests excellent prospects for fundamental and applied research with local and global impact. The center will be composed of Universidad de Chile (U. Chile) as the main institution, and Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH) and Universidad de la Frontera (UFRO) as associated institutions. The “Observatorio Vulcanológico de los Andes Sur” (OVDAS) and “The Center for Astrophysics and Related Technologies” (CATA) also collaborate with the center. From the research point of view, the main objective of the CMRSP is to propose and evaluate common SP frameworks to address fundamental research issues found in fields such as astronomy, mining, radar, volcanology, speech and communications. Six fundamental problems are related to SP: P1- Noise estimation and canceling P2- Pattern recognition P3- Equalization P4- Multi-object estimation P5- Confidence estimation P6- Periodic or quasi-periodic process evaluation and estimation The proposed Center will address these common problems to generate the common SP solution frameworks P1 to P6. These will be applied to research topics in fields that are strategic to Chile and world-wide, and of great relevance at an international level including the above application areas. The closing date for applications is July 15th, 2013. However, each application will be evaluated on its own merit and the positions may be filled before this deadline. Benefits: US$ 46.000 /year (according to current conversion rate) Candidates need to send their CVs to: Prof. Nestor Becerra Yoma, Ph.D. Department of Electrical Engineering Universidad de Chile Av. Tupper 2007, POBox 412-3 Santiago, CHILE Tel. +56 2 2978 4205 E-mail: nbecerra@ing.uchile.cl http://www.lptv.cl

This job opening covers a 3-year research position at KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium) for a postdoctoral researcher in the frame of an FP7/FET project on Heterogeneous Ad-hoc Networks for Distributed, Cooperative, and Adaptive Multimedia Signal Processing. The project is aimed at developing a new ICT paradigm, which considers multiple heterogeneous devices that cooperate in multiple signal processing tasks. The job will involve two main tasks (each of them occupying 50% of the time budget): 1) Academic research in the field of distributed signal enhancement in heterogeneous sensor networks, in particular for speech enhancement in acoustic sensor networks. This may also involve daily supervision of Ph.D. students working on related topics. 2) Management of the HANDiCAMS project (consortium of 4 European academic partners), which involves project planning and monitoring, financial and administrative coordination, dissemination, organizing project meetings, workshops, etc. Candidates must hold a Ph.D. in Engineering or Applied Sciences (or equivalent). Experience with signal processing theory, speech processing and other related areas, and/or experience with (FP7) project management, are recommended. Excellent proficiency in the English language is also required. This job opening covers a full-time research position of 3 years. Interested? For more information please contact Dr. Alexander Bertrand, mail: alexander.bertrand@esat.kuleuven.be or Prof. dr. ir. Marc Moonen, mail: marc.moonen@esat.kuleuven.be.

This vacant position is opened in the frame of an FP7/FET project on Heterogeneous Ad-hoc Networks for Distributed, Cooperative, and Adaptive Multimedia Signal Processing ('HANDiCAMS'). The research involves algorithm design for speech enhancement in wireless acoustic sensor networks (WASNs). A WASN consists of a set of nodes which are all equipped with a microphone array, as well as facilities for local signal processing and wireless communications. The nodes in the WASN then cooperate to enhance their respective microphone signals based on in-network signal fusion using signals from other nodes. The research will mainly focus on distributed speech enhancement algorithms for heterogeneous WASNs, as well as distributed network topology inference and selection. Profile Candidates must hold a Masters degree in Engineering (or equivalent). Experience and education in signal processing theory, speech processing and other related areas, as well as Matlab programming skills, are recommended. Excellent proficiency in the English language is also required. Offer This job opening covers a full-time research position of at least 3 years in the frame of a doctoral program (resulting in a PhD degree awarded by KU Leuven). The research work will be carried out at KU Leuven, Belgium (Supervisors: Dr. Alexander Bertrand and Prof. Marc Moonen). Interested? For more information please contact Dr. Alexander Bertrand, mail: alexander.bertrand@esat.kuleuven.be or Prof. dr. ir. Marc Moonen, mail: marc.moonen@esat.kuleuven.be.

Position Description::

Experienced Researcher (ER) in FP7-PEOPLE Marie Curie Initial Training Network DREAMS (Dereverberation and Reverberation of Audio, Music, and Speech)

www.dreams-itn.eu

The DREAMS Initial Training Network will investigate the problem of modeling, controlling, removing, and synthesizing acoustic reverberation with the aim of enhancing the quality and intelligibility of audio, music, and speech signals. The ITN will host 12 Early Stage Researchers and 4 Experienced Researchers, each performing an individual research project around one of four themes that reflect the most challenging open problems in the area of (de-)reverberation. The research training will be organized and supervised by an international consortium of 12 leading institutions from academia and industry.

This job opening covers a 16-month postdoctoral research position in the DREAMS ITN. The main part of the research work will be carried out at KU Leuven, Belgium (Supervisors: Dr. Toon van Waterschoot, Prof. Marc Moonen), while a 4-month research secondment will be undertaken at Aalborg University, Denmark (Co-supervisor: Prof. Søren Holdt Jensen).

Nearly all approaches to (de)reverberation require a room acoustics model. A plethora of microscopic models is available, but unfortunately there is no consensus on which model to use for which purpose. Moreover, interconnections between different models are weak or non-existing, and most microscopic models suffer from a lack of modeling efficiency. Even though many approaches to (de)reverberation do not necessarily require a detailed room acoustics model, macroscopic models are hardly available. The objective of this research project is to develop new macro- and microscopic models of room acoustics, to establish interconnections between models, and to evaluate models in terms of modeling efficiency and appropriateness for artificial reverberation synthesis and dereverberation.

Required Degree: PhD Degree in Engineering (or equivalent), focused on Acoustic Signal Processing.

Required Languages: English (Excellent)

Marie Curie ITN Eligibility Conditions: 1) Experienced Researchers must, at the time of recruitment by the host organization, be in possession of a doctoral degree or have at least four years of full-time equivalent research experience. In ITN, experienced researchers must also, at the time of recruitment by the host organization, have less than five years of full-time equivalent research experience. 2) At the time of recruitment by the host organization, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date.

Position Description::

Advanced Bionics, with headquarters in Stäfa/Schweiz, belongs to one of the three worldwide leaders in research and development of Cochlear Implant (CI) systems for children and adults. The company has more than 800 employees worldwide with the distribution of its products in around 30 different countries in the world. As a member of the Sonova group Advanced Bionics now has access to the leading technology and know-how of the world-leading hearing aid manufacturer Phonak AG regarding acoustics and micro system technology as well as complex audiological algorithms. The goal is to improve the hearing ability of people with profound hearing loss, thus adding to their quality of life.

In Hannover, Germany, Advanced Bionics moves ahead with the European Research Center, founded in 2008. This center focuses particularly on sound processing for CIs, especially the combination of electric and acoustic stimulation, the integration of frontend algorithms to improve speech understanding in noise and fitting procedures. The research center works in close cooperation with clinics, technical development centers and universities from different European countries.

To support our research team in Hannover we are now looking for a:

Embedded SW-Engineer (m/f) for Medical Technology

Tasks & Responsibilities

Implement CI signal processing algorithms (coding strategies, noise reduction, beamforming, etc) and new embedded firmware on digital signal processors and on simulation platforms
Maintenance and further development of dedicated CI research interfaces and platforms based on Assembly language, C++, C# and .Net, support of external research partners using these tools
Design test protocols taking regulatory requirements into account
Perform bench-testing of research software and firmware systems. Capture test data, generate test reports and other supporting documentation according to the research and development process
Technical support of perceptual tests with CI recipients at the Medical School Hannover and in other European CI clinics
Collaboration with Phonak R&D in Staefa, Switzerland and Advanced Bionics R&D in Valencia, CA, USA
Education, Specialized Knowledge & Skills

Bachelor or Master degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics or a related field
Strong academic or commercial background in Digital Signal Processing and Processors as well as in Electrical Engineering
Experienced with implementing embedded software applications in Assembly language and C on DSP platforms, preferably for a medical application
Familiarity with audio signal processing, MATLAB, Simulink, LabView, Visual Studio, fixed-point arithmetic, USB communication protocol, .NET/C# and large scale projects are a plus
Excellent English in speech and writing mandatory, German is a plus
Ability to work with cross functional groups to debug and troubleshoot system issues
Location
Advanced Bionics GmbH, European Research Center, Feodor-Lynen-Strasse 35, D-30625 Hannover

In return, we offer an exciting and challenging position with great potential for personal development, with a unique organization in a fascinating and fast-growing medical industry. If you want to work in an enthusiastic, motivated team and help launch the hearing implants of the future then send us your online application in German or English. Please contact Reto Michel, Talent Acquisition Specialist (+41 58 928 01 01), for further information.

Human Resources
Advanced Bionics GmbH
Max-Eyth-Str. 20
D-70736 Fellbach-Oeffingen
+49 711 510 700
www.bionicear.eu

Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in FP7-PEOPLE Marie Curie Initial Training Network DREAMS (Dereverberation and Reverberation of Audio, Music, and Speech)

www.dreams-itn.eu

The DREAMS Initial Training Network will investigate the problem of modeling, controlling, removing, and synthesizing acoustic reverberation with the aim of enhancing the quality and intelligibility of audio, music, and speech signals. The ITN will host 12 Early Stage Researchers and 4 Experienced Researchers, each performing an individual research project around one of four themes that reflect the most challenging open problems in the area of (de-)reverberation. The research training will be organized and supervised by an international consortium of 12 leading institutions from academia and industry.

This job opening covers a 3-year research position in the frame of a 4-year doctoral program (resulting in a PhD degree awarded by KU Leuven). The main part of the research work will be carried out at NXP Software, Belgium (Supervisor: Dr. Wouter Tirry), and will include two 5-month research secondments at KU Leuven, Belgium (Co-supervisor: Dr. Toon van Waterschoot) and University of Oldenburg, Germany (Co-supervisor: Prof. Simon Doclo).

The direct-to-reverberant ratio (DRR) is a simple and intuitive measure for quantifying acoustic reverberation. Based on the intrinsic similarity of the DRR with the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), it is appealing to employ multi-channel acoustic noise reduction algorithms based on adaptive beamforming to the problem of dereverberation. The objectives of this research project are to derive optimal adaptive beamformers for the problem of dereverberation, to design a scalable algorithm that allows to achieve a pre-specified and possibly dynamic DRR, and to evaluate the algorithm for a high-end audio conferencing application on mobile devices.

Required Degree: Master Degree in Engineering (or equivalent).

Required Languages: English (Excellent)

Marie Curie ITN Eligibility Conditions: 1) Early-Stage Researchers must, at the time of recruitment by the host organization, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree. 2) At the time of recruitment by the host organization, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date.

Contact Name:: Wouter Tirry
Contact Email:: wouter.tirry@nxp.com
Expiration Date:: 21 December 2012

Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in FP7-PEOPLE Marie Curie Initial Training Network DREAMS (Dereverberation and Reverberation of Audio, Music, and Speech)

www.dreams-itn.eu

The DREAMS Initial Training Network will investigate the problem of modeling, controlling, removing, and synthesizing acoustic reverberation with the aim of enhancing the quality and intelligibility of audio, music, and speech signals. The ITN will host 12 Early Stage Researchers and 4 Experienced Researchers, each performing an individual research project around one of four themes that reflect the most challenging open problems in the area of (de-)reverberation. The research training will be organized and supervised by an international consortium of 12 leading institutions from academia and industry.

This job opening covers a 3-year research position in the frame of a 4-year doctoral program (resulting in a PhD degree awarded by the University of Oldenburg). The main part of the research work will be carried out at the University of Oldenburg, Germany (Supervisor: Prof. Simon Doclo), and will include two 5-month research secondments at Fraunhofer IDMT, Germany (Co-supervisor: Dr. Stefan Goetze) and KU Leuven, Belgium (Co-supervisor: Dr. Toon van Waterschoot). We are seeking for candidates with a Master degree in electrical engineering, computer science or physics, who have excellent grades and a solid scientific background in signal processing, speech and audio processing and/or acoustics. Familiarity with scientific tools and programming languages such as MATLAB or C, as well as excellent English language skills are required. A strong interest in interdisciplinary and application-oriented work is desirable.

In many speech communication applications, such as hands-free telephony, voice-controlled systems, and hearing aids, the microphone signals are often corrupted by both background noise and reverberation, decreasing the speech intelligibility and the performance of automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems. Although several multi-microphone techniques have been developed for noise suppression and dereverberation separately, the integration of noise suppression and dereverberation remains an open problem. The objective of this research project is therefore to develop multi-microphone techniques that effectively integrate noise suppression and dereverberation, in order to improve speech intelligibility and increase ASR performance.

Required Degree: Master Degree in Engineering (or equivalent).

Required Languages: English (Excellent)

Marie Curie ITN Eligibility Conditions: 1) Early-Stage Researchers must, at the time of recruitment by the host organization, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree. 2) At the time of recruitment by the host organization, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date.

Contact Email:: simon.doclo@uni-oldenburg.de

Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in FP7-PEOPLE Marie Curie Initial Training Network DREAMS (Dereverberation and Reverberation of Audio, Music, and Speech)

www.dreams-itn.eu

The DREAMS Initial Training Network will investigate the problem of modeling, controlling, removing, and synthesizing acoustic reverberation with the aim of enhancing the quality and intelligibility of audio, music, and speech signals. The ITN will host 12 Early Stage Researchers and 4 Experienced Researchers, each performing an individual research project around one of four themes that reflect the most challenging open problems in the area of (de-)reverberation. The research training will be organized and supervised by an international consortium of 12 leading institutions from academia and industry.

This job opening covers a 3-year research position in the frame of a 4-year doctoral program (resulting in a PhD degree awarded by University of Oldenburg). The main part of the research work will be carried out at Nuance, Germany (Supervisor: Dr. Tobias Wolff), and will include two 5-month research secondments at University of Oldenburg, Germany (Co-supervisor: Prof. Simon Doclo) and Aalborg University, Denmark (Co-supervisor: Prof. Søren Holdt Jensen).

The objective of this research project is to develop an efficient multi-channel joint dereverberation and acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) system for distant talking voice control applications. The outcome shall be adequate for real-time processing on state-of-the-art hardware platforms. The research methodology will focus on extracting additional room acoustics features from the AEC filter(s), while keeping the computational complexity at a minimum. In addition, synergies between residual echo suppression and dereverberation using spectral enhancement methods will be investigated, based on a profound understanding of acoustical phenomena.

Required Degree: Master Degree in Engineering (or equivalent).

Required Languages: English (Excellent)

Marie Curie ITN Eligibility Conditions: 1) Early-Stage Researchers must, at the time of recruitment by the host organization, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree. 2) At the time of recruitment by the host organization, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date.

Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in FP7-PEOPLE Marie Curie Initial Training Network DREAMS (Dereverberation and Reverberation of Audio, Music, and Speech)

www.dreams-itn.eu

The DREAMS Initial Training Network will investigate the problem of modeling, controlling, removing, and synthesizing acoustic reverberation with the aim of enhancing the quality and intelligibility of audio, music, and speech signals. The ITN will host 12 Early Stage Researchers and 4 Experienced Researchers, each performing an individual research project around one of four themes that reflect the most challenging open problems in the area of (de-)reverberation. The research training will be organized and supervised by an international consortium of 12 leading institutions from academia and industry.

The job opening covers a 3-year research position in the frame of a 3-year doctoral program (resulting in a PhD degree awarded by Imperial College). The main part of the research work will be carried out at Imperial College (Supervisor: Dr. Patrick Naylor), and will include two 5-month research secondments. The topic to be addressed is titled: 'Environment-aware Multichannel Dereverberation'. For further details see:

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AFK633/marie-curie-early-stage-researcher-in-environment-aware-multi-channel-dereverberation/

Required Degree: Master Degree in Engineering (or equivalent).

Required Languages: English (Excellent)

Marie Curie ITN Eligibility Conditions: 1) Early-Stage Researchers must, at the time of recruitment by the host organization, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree. 2) At the time of recruitment by the host organization, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date.

Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in FP7-PEOPLE Marie Curie Initial Training Network DREAMS (Dereverberation and Reverberation of Audio, Music, and Speech)

www.dreams-itn.eu

The DREAMS Initial Training Network will investigate the problem of modeling, controlling, removing, and synthesizing acoustic reverberation with the aim of enhancing the quality and intelligibility of audio, music, and speech signals. The ITN will host 12 Early Stage Researchers and 4 Experienced Researchers, each performing an individual research project around one of four themes that reflect the most challenging open problems in the area of (de-)reverberation. The research training will be organized and supervised by an international consortium of 12 leading institutions from academia and industry.

The job opening covers a 3-year research position in the frame of a 3-year doctoral program (resulting in a PhD degree awarded by Imperial College). The main part of the research work will be carried out at Imperial College (Supervisor: Dr. Patrick Naylor), and will include two 5-month research secondments. The topic to be addressed is titled: 'Speech Intelligibility in Reverberation, Noise and Nonlinear Distortion' and will particularly focus on speech dereverberation as applied to law-enforcement applications of audio and speech processing. For further details see:

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AFK484/marie-curie-early-stage-researcher-in-speech-intelligibility-in-reverberation-noise-and-nonlinear-distortion/

Required Degree: Master Degree in Engineering (or equivalent).

Required Languages: English (Excellent)

Marie Curie ITN Eligibility Conditions: 1) Early-Stage Researchers must, at the time of recruitment by the host organization, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree. 2) At the time of recruitment by the host organization, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date.

The cluster of excellence Hearing4all: Models, Technology and Solutions for Diagnostics, Restoration and Support of Hearing at the Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (in collaboration with Medizinische Hochschule Hannover and Leibniz Universität Hannover) is seeking to fill as soon as possible

Postdoctoral Research Associate Positions
in the areas of

Auditory Modeling & Signal Processing for Hearing Instruments (TV-L E 14, full time) (development and implementation of model-based algorithms for audio processing in hearing instruments, contribution to evaluation with hearing-impaired subjects)

Acoustical Signal Processing (TV-L E14, full time) (development and implementation of advanced algorithms for speech enhancement and sound presentation in hearing instruments and assistive listening devices)

Computational Auditory Scene Analysis (CASA) (TV-L E13, full time) (development of CASA methods for hearing aids and assistive technology, development of algorithms for improving speech intelligibility in complex acoustic scenes)

Hearing Aid Algorithm Evaluation & Individualization (TV-L E14, full time) (tests of prototype hearing devices with patients, fitting methods for experimental hearing devices based on personalized diagnostic data)

The positions are available from 1 November 2012, for initially 2 years, with prospect for continuation for up to 3 more years. For more details, please visit http://www.hearing4all.org/52922.html

Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in FP7-PEOPLE Marie Curie Initial Training Network DREAMS (Dereverberation and Reverberation of Audio, Music, and Speech)

www.dreams-itn.eu

The DREAMS Initial Training Network will investigate the problem of modeling, controlling, removing, and synthesizing acoustic reverberation with the aim of enhancing the quality and intelligibility of audio, music, and speech signals. The ITN will host 12 Early Stage Researchers and 4 Experienced Researchers, each performing an individual research project around one of four themes that reflect the most challenging open problems in the area of (de-)reverberation. The research training will be organized and supervised by an international consortium of 12 leading institutions from academia and industry.

This job opening covers a 3-year research position in the frame of a 4-year doctoral program (resulting in a PhD degree awarded by KU Leuven). The main part of the research work will be carried out at KU Leuven, Belgium (Supervisors: Dr. Toon van Waterschoot, Prof. Marc Moonen), and will include two 5-month research secondments at NXP Software, Belgium (Co-supervisor: Dr. Wouter Tirry) and Imperial College London, UK (Co-supervisor: Prof. Patrick Naylor).

While parametric room acoustics models are generally considered a necessary and convenient tool for representing and cancelling reverberation, there are a number of algorithmic and computational issues that encumber the efficient and robust inversion of these models for dereverberation. The objectives of this research project are to approach the dereverberation problem using a non-parametric representation of the acoustic wave field, and to develop algorithms for inversely solving the discretized acoustic wave equation by making use of wave field information obtained through multiple microphone recordings.

Required Degree: Master Degree in Engineering (or equivalent).

Required Languages: English (Excellent)

Marie Curie ITN Eligibility Conditions: 1) Early-Stage Researchers must, at the time of recruitment by the host organization, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree. 2) At the time of recruitment by the host organization, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date.

Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in FP7-PEOPLE Marie Curie Initial Training Network DREAMS (Dereverberation and Reverberation of Audio, Music, and Speech) www.dreams-itn.eu The DREAMS Initial Training Network will investigate the problem of modeling, controlling, removing, and synthesizing acoustic reverberation with the aim of enhancing the quality and intelligibility of audio, music, and speech signals. The ITN will host 12 Early Stage Researchers and 4 Experienced Researchers, each performing an individual research project around one of four themes that reflect the most challenging open problems in the area of (de-)reverberation. The research training will be organized and supervised by an international consortium of 12 leading institutions from academia and industry. This job opening covers a 3-year research position in the frame of a 3-year doctoral program (resulting in a PhD degree awarded by Aalborg University). The main part of the research work will be carried out at Aalborg University, Denmark (Supervisor: Dr. Jan Østergaard), and will include two 5-month research secondments at Bang & Olufsen, Denmark (Co-supervisor: Dr. Søren Bech) and Imperial College London, UK (Co-supervisor: Prof. Patrick Naylor). When used in reverberant environments, existing model-based speech and audio coding techniques for wireless distributed microphones are not able to exploit the spatiotemporal evolution of the reverberant sound field through the network of microphones, and suffer either from severe coding artefacts or from a substantial increase in coding rates. The objectives of this research project are to design and analyze parametric models for efficient encoding and transmission of reverberant sound in wireless distributed microphones, and to establish information theoretic bounds on the coding rates required for encoding and transmission of a reverberant sound field subject to a desired fidelity criterion. Required Degree: Master Degree in Engineering (or equivalent). Required Languages: English (Excellent) Marie Curie ITN Eligibility Conditions: 1) Early-Stage Researchers must, at the time of recruitment by the host organization, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree. 2) At the time of recruitment by the host organization, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date.

Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in FP7-PEOPLE Marie Curie Initial Training Network DREAMS (Dereverberation and Reverberation of Audio, Music, and Speech) www.dreams-itn.eu The DREAMS Initial Training Network will investigate the problem of modeling, controlling, removing, and synthesizing acoustic reverberation with the aim of enhancing the quality and intelligibility of audio, music, and speech signals. The ITN will host 12 Early Stage Researchers and 4 Experienced Researchers, each performing an individual research project around one of four themes that reflect the most challenging open problems in the area of (de-)reverberation. The research training will be organized and supervised by an international consortium of 12 leading institutions from academia and industry. This job opening covers a 3-year research position in the frame of a 3-year doctoral program (resulting in a PhD degree awarded by Aalborg University). The main part of the research work will be carried out at Oticon, Denmark (Supervisor: Dr. Jesper Jensen), and will include two 5-month research secondments at Aalborg University, Denmark (Co-supervisor: Prof. Søren Holdt Jensen) and University of Oldenburg, Germany (Co-supervisor: Prof. Simon Doclo). Modern hearing aids are equipped with noise reduction algorithms, but they tend to work poorly in reverberant situations, which, unfortunately, are abundant during the working day of a typical hearing aid. The objective of this research project is to develop and evaluate a class of scalable, robust multi-microphone signal processing algorithms to improve speech intelligibility for hearing aid users in reverberant situations. The development work will result in statistically and perceptually relevant signal models and estimators, while the evaluation work will be based on listening tests with normal hearing and hearing impaired subjects. Required Degree: Master Degree in Engineering (or equivalent). Required Languages: English (Excellent) Marie Curie ITN Eligibility Conditions: 1) Early-Stage Researchers must, at the time of recruitment by the host organization, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree. 2) At the time of recruitment by the host organization, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date.

Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in FP7-PEOPLE Marie Curie Initial Training Network DREAMS (Dereverberation and Reverberation of Audio, Music, and Speech)

www.dreams-itn.eu

The DREAMS Initial Training Network will investigate the problem of modeling, controlling, removing, and synthesizing acoustic reverberation with the aim of enhancing the quality and intelligibility of audio, music, and speech signals. The ITN will host 12 Early Stage Researchers and 4 Experienced Researchers, each performing an individual research project around one of four themes that reflect the most challenging open problems in the area of (de-)reverberation. The research training will be organized and supervised by an international consortium of 12 leading institutions from academia and industry.

This job opening covers a 3-year research position in the frame of a 3,5-year doctoral program (resulting in a PhD degree awarded by Imperial College London). The main part of the research work will be carried out at Spinvox, UK (Supervisor: Mr. Uwe Jost), and will include two 5-month research secondments at Imperial College London, UK (Co-supervisor: Prof. Patrick Naylor) and KU Leuven, Belgium (Co-supervisor: Dr. Toon van Waterschoot).

Reverberation is known to be very damaging to the performance of automatic speech recognition (ASR) because information from a frame of data is spread into subsequent frames in a distorting manner. The growing use of hands-free mode in smart phones and Skype-type terminals raises the importance of robustness of ASR to reverberation. The objectives of this research project are to develop models and measures of reverberation for diarization exploiting signal classification with data-driven models and to investigate and evaluate single-ended, single-channel techniques for dereverberation targeting telephone and law enforcement applications.

Required Degree: Master Degree in Engineering (or equivalent). A background in digital signal processing is required, as well as strong mathematical knowledge and skills and good software engineering skills including MATLAB experience.

Required Languages: English (Excellent)

Marie Curie ITN Eligibility Conditions: 1) Early-Stage Researchers must, at the time of recruitment by the host organization, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree. 2) At the time of recruitment by the host organization, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date.