<div dir="ltr">Online position description: <a href="https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/465428">https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/465428</a> <div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span lang="EN-AU">PhD in Tactile
Biomechanics and Neuroscience: How Do Humans Feel Friction?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u><span lang="EN-AU">Background:</span></u><span lang="EN-AU"> Prosthetic and robotic hands demonstrate poor
dexterity during object manipulation, often dropping objects. Humans rarely
allow objects to slip because we can sense if an object is slippery and adjust
our grip. In recent years, while we have learned more about the biomechanics
and neuroscience underpinning our ability to sense friction, there is still
much to learn. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given how poorly we understand human
friction sensing, very little research has been directed at replicating this
ability to sense friction or slipperiness in artificial sensors. This research
program has three work packages: <b>(WP1)
To advance our understanding of how humans sense friction</b>; (WP2) To
demonstrate, using a number of friction-based tactile sensor prototypes currently
under development by our research group, that friction sensing leads to
improved dexterity in robotic manipulation; <br>
(WP3) To use advanced design, manufacturing, and instrumentation methods to
miniaturise the proposed sensors to a scale similar to a human finger pad. The
outcomes of this research, which would endow artificial hands with the ability
to feel the slipperiness and/or impending loss of grip of a grasped object,
could significantly advance the fields of prosthetics, telesurgery, and service,
agricultural, and manufacturing robotics.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u><span lang="EN-AU">PhD scope:</span></u><span lang="EN-AU"> The candidate will work on <b>WP1 of this project, performing
biomechanical and microneurographic studies of the human sense of touch to
discover the mechanisms by which frictional information about the contact
interface between the finger pad and a manipulated object is transduced by the
skin of the finger pad, and subsequently encoded and signalled to the brain by
tactile afferents</b>. The biomechanical studies will involve video processing
of relative movement between the skin and the object surface, and this movement
(and associated forces) related to friction. Microneurography, using
microelectrodes placed in the median nerve at the level of the wrist, will be
used to record the responses of single tactile afferents in response to
localised biomechanical events, which in turn are influenced by frictional
properties – this demonstrates whether friction-related biomechanical events
(such as localised slips) can be detected by our mechanoreceptors. Robotic actuators
will be used (with support from additional technical and research staff) to
manipulate the skin of the finger pad. Advance statistical methods, including
machine learning techniques, will be used to decode the ensemble of neural
recordings, highlighting which biomechanical events are important to our
sensation of friction.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u><span lang="EN-AU">Supervision and research environment:</span></u><span lang="EN-AU"> The candidate will be <b>supervised by A/Prof Stephen Redmond</b> (School
of Electrical and Electronic Engineering: </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.ucd.ie/eleceng/" style="color:blue"><span lang="EN-AU">https://www.ucd.ie/eleceng/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU">) <b>and
Prof James Jones</b> (School of Medicine: </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.ucd.ie/medicine/" style="color:blue"><span lang="EN-AU">https://www.ucd.ie/medicine/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU">). The <b>candidate
will also spend time training with one of our international collaborators </b>to
develop skills in the technique of microneurography. Neurological recordings
will be performed in Dublin under the guidance of Prof Jones, and in
collaboration with Neurology Research Group at St Vincent’s University
Hospital, Dublin. The candidate will interact with the other work packages or
the project. The candidate will also have the opportunity to contribute to the
SFI Insight Centre for Data Analytics (</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.insight-centre.org/" style="color:blue"><span lang="EN-AU">https://www.insight-centre.org/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU">) based at UCD.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u><span lang="EN-AU">Funding:</span></u><span lang="EN-AU"> A <b>stipend
of </b></span><b><span lang="EN-AU">€</span></b><b><span lang="EN-AU">18,500 per annum plus tuition fee is available
for a maximum of four years</span></b><span lang="EN-AU">. The project is generously funded by Science Foundation Ireland’s
President of Ireland Future Research Leaders Award, held by A/Prof Redmond,
which includes an extensive budget for laboratory apparatus, consumables, and
travel. The tactile sensor design work packages are also partly supported by US
Office of Naval Research Global funding held by A/Prof Redmond and Dr Heba Khamis
at UNSW (Sydney, Australia).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u><span lang="EN-AU">Academic requirements:</span></u><span lang="EN-AU"> The minimum academic qualification
is a <b>first- or upper-second-class
honours degree</b> (or an equivalent international degree) in electrical
engineering, software engineering, biomedical engineering, neuroscience,
neurophysiology, or a sufficiently related field. <b>Software programming
skills are essential</b>. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u><span lang="EN-AU">Contact:</span></u><span lang="EN-AU"> Please <b>send the following documents to Stephen Redmond</b> (</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="mailto:stephen.redmond@ucd.ie" style="color:blue"><span lang="EN-AU">stephen.redmond@ucd.ie</span></a></span><span lang="EN-AU">): </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:36pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-AU">(1)</span><b><span lang="EN-AU"> Cover letter</span></b><span lang="EN-AU">;</span><b><span lang="EN-AU"></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:36pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-AU">(2)
<b>Curriculum vitae</b>;<b>
</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:36pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-AU">(3)</span><b><span lang="EN-AU"> All academic transcripts;</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:36pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-AU">(4) Currently valid </span><b><span lang="EN-AU">IELTS</span></b><span lang="EN-AU">, </span><b><span lang="EN-AU">TOEFL</span></b><span lang="EN-AU"> or other </span><b><span lang="EN-AU">English language
qualification</span></b><span lang="EN-AU">. </span><span lang="EN-AU"></span></p><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">********************************************</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div>Stephen Redmond, PhD</div><div>- Science Foundation Ireland President of Ireland Future Research Leader, UCD School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland. </div><div>- Funded Investigator, Science Foundation Ireland Insight Centre for Data Analytics.</div><div>- Adjunct Associate Professor, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.</div><div>- Co-founder, Contactile.</div><div>E: <a href="mailto:stephen.redmond@ucd.ie" target="_blank">stephen.redmond@ucd.ie</a></div><div>W: <a href="https://people.ucd.ie/stephen.redmond" target="_blank">https://people.ucd.ie/stephen.redmond</a></div><div>W: <a href="https://www.contactile.com" target="_blank">https://www.contactile.com</a></div></div></div><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>