Postdoc Jobs in Tokyo – Virtual Worlds (”Second Life”, OpenSim)

Japan.  Within the framework of the “Global Lab” project at the National Institute of Informatics (NII) in Tokyo, our lab is conducting pioneering work in combining the real world with the virtual world – in particular, the 3D online virtual world “Second Life” (and soon, OpenSim) – in novel ways, for the benefit of both.

We are looking for a dedicated Postdoc, who is interested in advancing the Global Lab project by:

• Investigating and implementing novel ideas that bridge the real world and the virtual world
• Writing scientific papers for major conferences and journals
• Supervising and organizing international internship students (Master and Ph.D. level)
• Showing commitment to the project
• Enjoying the life in a mega-city

Candidates should hold a Ph.D. degree in computer science, with good programming skills in Java or C++ (with flexibility to adapt to C#). Interest and knowledge in 3D computer graphics, networks, and simulation are beneficial. English speaking is required.

Keywords:
Virtual Worlds, Markup Languages for Agent (”Bot”) Control in Second Life or OpenSim, Simulating/Visualizing Sensor Networks and Robot Behavior in Virtual Worlds, Urban Computing, Virtual City, Social Web Integration

Working Duration:
Oct. 1, 2008 – Sept. 30, 2009 (extension possible, depending on performance)

Working Hours:
Mon – Fri (8 hrs/day)

Salary:
3,800,000yen – 4,000,000yen/year
(additionally: transportation fare, insurance)

Application:
As soon as possible (within July 2008)

Interview (depending on situation):
End of August 2008

NB:
This message does not refer to a position formally announced by NII. As a professor at NII, however, I have the possibility to suggest a candidate. Hence, I will be the one who will manage the paper work, based on your information.

Please send by e-mail:

1. a standard CV including the publication list
2. your motivation to become a Postdoc on this topic (short statement)
3. names of two professors, who could provide recommendation letters for you (those letters are not required for the application)

Contact:
Helmut Prendinger
Associate Professor
National Institute of Informatics, Tokyo
Web: http://research.nii.ac.jp/~prendinger/
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/NIIsland/217/69/25/
E-mail: helmut@nii.ac.jp