A studentship is available in the Advanced Interfaces Group within the School of Computer Science at The University of Manchester in the area of computer graphics and vision. The development of computer-generated humans that are indistinguishable from real humans is one of the most challenging tasks in computer animation. One of the main difficulties is animating the face during speech since humans are highly sensitive to facial behaviour and can very easily identify flaws in synthetic facial animation. The aim of this project is to investigate the synthesis of a video-realistic, interactive synthetic agent that exhibits human-like behaviour in direct response to speech and facial gesture input in order to communicate with people in a natural and intelligent manner. This will involve research in the areas of face tracking and gesture recognition, speech recognition and synthesis as well as computer graphics and animation. For more information please contact Dr Aphrodite Galata (a.galata@cs.man.ac.uk).

Who can apply?

This studentship is available to all UK/EU applicants. Candidates for the studentship should have at least an upper second-class honours degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science or a related subject (e.g. mathematics, electronic engineering, physics or mathematical science). Training in areas specific to the project will be provided as appropriate.

When is the Grant available?

The official start date is October 2006. However it may be possible to start the project earlier or later than this depending on the candidate`s circumstances.

What does the studentship pay for?

The studentship covers tuition fees at the UK/EU rate for the three years of the PhD programme (£3200 for 2005/06) and includes an annual maintenance grant at enhanced EPSRC rates (£12,500 for 2005/06). Funds are also available within the project to purchase computing equipment and travel to conferences throughout the period of PhD study. Students are encouraged to attend and submit papers to conferences and to publish their results in academic journals. PhD students within the school typically share an office with three or four people. The department also provides opportunities for research students to supplement their income by undertaking laboratory demonstrating and other teaching support work.

The school runs several training modules which are specifically aimed at research students. The University also provides training, and it is possible for research students to take modules on the MSc in Advanced Computer Science.

How to apply

The principal investigator is Dr Aphrodite Galata . Informal enquiries may be made to her by email (a.galata@cs.man.ac.uk) or phone +44 (0)161 275 6146.

Details of how to apply for this post are available online at cs.man.ac.uk (including an online copy of the application form). Alternatively you can contact the Postgraduate Secretary for an information pack and application form at:

The Postgraduate Admissions Secretary
School of Computer Science
The University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PL
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)161 275 6181
Fax: +44 (0)161 275 6204
Email: pg-compsci@manchester.ac.uk

Please ensure that you mark clearly on your application form under the “Proposed Area of Research” section that you are applying for “PhD Studentship in Computer Vision and Graphics” with the principal investigator as Dr Aphrodite Galata, otherwise your application may not beconsidered for this project.