News:2015-04-20: Job: Postdoc position in Infovis/HCI, visualizing image construction in astrophysics, Nantes & Paris Saclay, France (Fall 2015)

Title: Visualizing image construction in astrophysics

Web: http://duke.univ-nantes.fr/blog/postdoc-position/

Keywords: activity traces, astrophysics, scientific activity, scientific processes, STS, information visualization

Description: The French National Research Agency (ANR) funds the Episteme project (2014-2018). Episteme is a multi-disciplinary project involving astrophysicists, historians, philosophers, computer scientists and media specialists from IRI Centre Pompidou, CEA Saclay IRFU, LIRIS University of Lyon 1, LINA University of Nantes, France Télévisions, Mediapart and Centre d’Histoire sociale du 20ème siècle University of Paris I). The goal of the project is to study the digital “episteme” i.e. how the “digital milieu” is involved in scientific processes and to what extent the way of carrying scientific activity has evolved and been transformed.

The general approach consists in studying how objects and researchers participate to and define a data transformation chain with more or less automated processing, collaboration, etc. The present postdoctoral researcher will collaborate with an epistemology postdoctoral researcher on the analysis and visualization of CEA Saclay IRFU [1] astrophysicists’ activity. Together they will model and collect valuable traces of scientific processes to ground the epistemological analysis. They will study the so-called “ground segment” processes that go from reception of satellite data on the ground and their calibration, to the production of scientific imagery and publications. Two astrophysical fields will be studied: star formation and cosmology, in particular we will focus on the case of the star forming region RCW36/VelaC and the GOODS galaxy deep field observed with the Herschel space observatory.

There are three mains objectives related to trace visualization:

• Define tools for the epistemological analysis and interpretation of the traces by the STS team;
• Define tools for reflective visualization of the traces by the scientists themselves, so that they can assess their own activity and get insights on the way it is conducted;
• Propose ways of simplifying traces and present them together with simplified data processing and analysis tools, so that the general public could develop an understanding of astrophysics scientific activity.

The project will follow a user-centered approach, the postdoc will be expected to publish in leading venues in HCI and Infovis.

Duration: 24 months, beginning sept. 2015.

Workplace: LINA, University of Nantes, frequent travels to Paris (Saclay) are to be expected.

Profile: PhD with honours in HCI, Datavis, activity analysis, interest for humanities. Good programming skills.

Salary: > 2000€ net, depending on experience and qualification

How to candidate: send CV + motivation + 2 references to yannick.prie@univ-nantes.fr and aurelien.tabard@univ-lyon1.fr

[1] http://irfu.cea.fr/en/Phocea/Vie_des_labos/Ast/index.php