[Infovis] PostDoc position in user-centred design for visualization of effective search-profiling tools

[Tim Dwyer]

Project Title: PostDoc position in user-centred design for visualization of
effective search-profiling tools
Location: Monash University, Australia

Annual Salary: $AUD75-80k  (~$US70-74k)

Start Date: early 2015

Duration: one year

Our project is to build interactive visualizations of the solution process
of combinatorial optimization to support profiling and development of
models and solvers.  Effective and easy to use tools for optimization allow
us to better use our limited resources, which benefits our industry, our
health system, our security and our environment.

Currently solvers for optimization problems are very much "black boxes" and
it is difficult for people trying to model their problems to understand how
to debug the model or to give hints to help the solvers.
As a result there is a need for effective profiling tools to "open up"
these black boxes.
We have a lot of expertise in the solver and modelling technologies and are
working to develop such profiling tools.  However, since these tools are
very much about placing a "human in the loop" of the model-development and
optimization process, we are interested in adopting a user-centred design
approach.
There are key questions in understanding how people perceive these models
and how the solver's progress can be usefully visualized in a way that is
compatible with that perception.

We have funding for a postdoc with expertise in visualization or
human-computer interaction to join us in this research. We are interested
in people with diverse backgrounds.  Somebody who is less
technical/mathematical but has good design or HCI skills may well be a good
fit.

contact: Tim Dwyer, tim.dwyer at monash.edu
-- 
Dr Tim Dwyer BSc BCS(Hons) PhD
Senior Lecturer and Larkins Fellow
Caulfield School of Information Technology
Monash University, Victoria, Australia

Office Address:
Building H, 6.36, Caulfield Campus
900 Dandenong Rd
Caulfield East
Mobile: 0481 240 767
(from overseas: +61 481 240 767)

Postal Address:
Faculty of Information Technology
PO Box 197
Caulfield East
VIC 3145
Australia