Dept of Psychology, University of Wisconsin - Postdoctoral position in language

Postdoctoral Position in Language.  Faculty in the Department of Psychology and the Department of Communicative Disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are soliciting applications for a postdoctoral position in their NIH-funded Language Training Program: Acquisition and Adult Performance. The Program emphasizes the continuum of language acquisition to the adult state, including both language comprehension and production and both typical and atypical performance. The participating Psychology faculty are Martha Alibali, Morton Ann Gernsbacher, Maryellen MacDonald, Tim Rogers, Jenny Saffran, and Mark Seidenberg; participating faculty in Communicative Disorders are Jan Edwards and Susan Ellis Weismer. More information about language research and training faculty can be found at http://psych.wisc.edu/gradstudies/NewLanguage.html (for the six Psychology faculty) and at http://www.comdis.wisc.edu/research.htm (for Drs. Edwards and Ellis Weismer).

The successful candidate will benefit from our cohesive group of faculty whose interests span language processes from speech perception to discourse, typical and atypical performance, and from infancy through adulthood. Applicants should have developed research interests in one or more areas of language acquisition, adult comprehension, or adult production.  They should be open to expanding their understanding of the relationship between acquisition and adult performance, though there is no requirement to conduct research in multiple age groups.

The position is for one year, with renewal for a second year pending satisfactory performance. Salary and benefits are set by NIH guidelines. Provisions of the training program limit funding to US citizens and permanent residents (green card holders).  The candidate must have completed the Ph.D. before beginning the position. Ideally the position will begin in the Fall of 2012, but starting dates up to April 30, 2013 are permitted.

Applicants should send a CV, several reprints or preprints, and a statement of research interests. This statement should indicate a Language Training Program faculty member who would serve as a primary mentor, and optionally indicate additional training faculty to serve as a secondary mentor(s).The statement should also describe the candidate's goals for research and training during a postdoctoral position, including potential directions in which the candidate would like continue ongoing research and/or to expand his/her expertise into additional areas of language research, consistent with the goals of the training program. Applicants should also provide names of three recommenders and arrange for letters of recommendation to be sent separately. Applicant quality and fit with program faculty research are the primary criteria.  Application materials and inquiries about the training program should be sent to languagepostdocs@mailplus.wisc.edu.  Inquiries about faculty research can be directed to individual faculty. For fullest consideration, all materials should be received by April 30, 2012; however, we will consider applications until the position is filled. UW-Madison is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.