Wednesday, October 19, 2011

POSTDOCTORAL POSITION, CENTER FOR LANGUAGE SCIENCE, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY


The Center for Language Science (CLS) at Pennsylvania State University (http://cls.psu.edu/) invites applications for an anticipated postdoctoral position. We are seeking a candidate who has extensive language neuroscience experience, particularly with fMRI methods, and who would like to develop expertise on bilingual language processing. The position will include interaction with CLS faculty and students and the larger Penn State neuroscience community (seehttp://www.imaging.psu.edu and http://www.huck.psu.edu/education/neuroscience) towards developing fMRI expertise among students and faculty and creating potential collaborative projects. The successful candidate will benefit from a highly interactive group of faculty whose interests include bilingual language processing, second language acquisition in children and adults, and language contact. Applicants with interests in these topics and with an interest in extending their expertise within experimental psycholinguistics and cognitive neuroscience are particularly welcome to apply. There is no expectation that applicants will have had prior experience in research on bilingualism but previous fMRI expertise is critical.

The CLS is home to a cross-disciplinary research program that includes a new NSF training program, Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE): Bilingualism, mind, and brain: An interdisciplinary program in cognitive psychology, linguistics, and cognitive neuroscience. The program provides training in research on bilingualism that includes an international perspective and that exploits opportunities for collaborative research conducted with one of our international partner sites in the UK (Bangor, Wales), Germany (Leipzig), Spain (Granada and Tarragona), The Netherlands (Nijmegen), Sweden (Lund) and China (Hong Kong and Beijing) and in conjunction with our two domestic partner sites at Haskins Labs and the VL2 Science of Learning Center at Gallaudet University. The successful postdoctoral candidate will have an opportunity to engage in collaborative research within the Center's international network.

Questions about faculty research interests may be directed to relevant core training faculty: Psychology: Judith Kroll, Ping Li, Janet van Hell, and Dan Weiss;Spanish: Rena Torres Cacoullos, Giuli Dussias, Chip Gerfen, John Lipski, and Karen Miller; Linguistics:  Nola Stephens; Communication Sciences and Disorders:  Carol Miller; German: Carrie Jackson, Mike Putnam, and Richard Page. Administrative questions can be directed to the Director of the Center for Language Science, Judith Kroll: 
 jfk7@psu.edu. More information about the Center for Language Science (CLS), about the PIRE program, and faculty research programs can be found at http://cls.psu.edu or http://cls.psu.edu/PIRE.

The initial appointment will be for one year, with a strong possibility of renewal for the next year. Salary and benefits follow NSF/NIH guidelines. The search is open to all eligible candidates regardless of citizenship.
Applicants should send a CV, several reprints or preprints, and a statement of research interests. This statement should indicate two or more core faculty members as likely primary and secondary mentors and should describe the candidate's goals for research and training during a postdoctoral position, including previous fMRI experience and directions in which the candidate would like to develop his/her expertise in the language science of bilingualism. Applicants should also provide names of three recommenders and arrange for letters of recommendation to be sent separately.

Application materials should be sent electronically to
 pirepostdoc@gmail.com.  For fullest consideration, all materials should be received by December 1, 2011. The appointment can begin any time between February 1, 2012 and June 1, 2012. We encourage applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds.  Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity and the diversity of its workforce.

No comments: