Employment opportunities and PhD scholarships

A Research Fellow Position in GPS/Surveying (this position was closed now in March 2008) (in the fields of GPS, sensor integration and electronics/automation)

The position

The main purpose of the position is to work on SportzEdge - Technology Platform for Rapid Design and Manufacture of Personalised Sports Products program. The SportzEdge research program aims to establish a technology platform for rapid design and manufacture of novel, affordable, high quality, personalised sports products through integration of complimentary research in engineering, science, design and business. It aims to facilitate rapid development and transition of performance enhancing personalised sports products from the elite domain to the ¡°high street¡±.

The appointee will carry out collaborative research in the area of intelligent sensor technologies for real-time monitoring and analysis in sport. This project will involve research in and development of appropriate sensors, instrumentation and interface technologies for measurement and analysis of athletes¡¯ performance, biomechanics, sensory perception, and other parameters of importance to the rapid design and development of personalised sports products. This technology will provide real-time data and will typically be lightweight, un-intrusive, ubiquitous, embedded and wireless.

Experience in low-cost, real-time kinematic GPS positioning and hardware/software integration with data communication and external sensor systems is required. GPS data processing software development experience and GIS/mapping, communication and interface knowledge is particularly useful. GPS electronics knowledge at both OEM board and chipset levels is an advantage.

The appointee is expected to contribute to the research activities of the newly established RMIT iPlatform research institute in the specialist areas of GPS and geospatial science.  The successful applicant will be a member of the measurement science team in the SMGS, and will be expected to:

1.        Lead, undertake and participate in the GPS related research work, including management of the research project, documentation, software development and carrying out field experiments;

2.        Collaborate with others and play an important role in the research and development program of the institute; and

3.        Contribute significantly to other academic programs of the institute as consistent with its strategy plan and business plan.

Key Selection Criteria

The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate:

1.  Proven ability and skills (a minimum of three years experience) in software development using C++/C, Matlab and MFC or VB.

2.  Knowledge and experiences in interface design, visualisation, integration of GPS technology with other sensor/information systems.

3.  Technical competence in one or more of the following research areas:

(i)  GPS software development and hardware integration, sound understanding and experience of GPS theory and practice;

(ii)  Electronic device hardware integration, GPS OEM board/chipset and data communication products in particular; and

(iii) GPS mobile applications, e.g. location-based services, A-GPS, indoor positioning, algorithms development including atmospheric studies to support robust GPS positioning.

4.  A demonstrated expertise in both theoretical and practical aspects of real-time kinematic positioning theory and practice, especially precise point position and high level applications of code-based DGPS with carrier smoothing.

5.  A demonstrated capacity to plan strategically and think creatively to produce innovative research.

6.  Proven ability to clearly communicate research results, concepts and knowledge, particularly in oral and written form.

7.  Proven ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team and build links to other activities.

8.  Proven experience/background involving multiple disciplinary work, preferably surveying/GPS and software engineering.

Position Accountabilities

The appointee is responsible for conducting the following tasks under supervision of the designated Program Leader, and for working both as a member of a team and independently. Tasks will include:

1.        To contribute to research and development activities in the relevant Platform Technologies Program.

2.        To generate publications in high-quality journals and conferences.

3.        To meet any existing commitments to grants, directing this work to the designated Platform Technologies Program.

4.        To apply for research funding such as ARC grants in accordance the strategic development of the research program.

5.        To provide key research skills in the designated Platform Technologies research area, identifying internal collaborative opportunities and promoting the research strengths to external stakeholders via presentations and competitive grant proposals.

6.        To participate in the execution of day-to-day projects at the discretion of the Program Leader, including the possible supervision postgraduate students.

7.        To organize, attend and/or support meetings, forums, seminars and such like associated with the work of the Institute, as well as being involved in other related meetings in the field as required.

8.        To deliver occasional lectures as relevant to the appointee¡¯s current research.

9.        To contribute to related tasks as specified by the Program Leader and the Institute Director for the designated research program in the Platform Technologies Institute.

Duration:   Three year fixed term initially, further extension is likely subject to performance and funding availability

Remuneration:   Initial appointment is in academic level A/B (upto $85,000 per annum, incl 17% superannuation contribution benefit).

Application Procedure and deadline:   Please send your detailed CV and expression of interest to Associate Professor Kefei Zhang at the first instance (Kefei.zhang@rmit.edu.au)

There is a high possibility of a Ph.D Scholarship opportunity in this area as well and expression of interest is also sought.

An Exciting Ph.D Scholarship @ RMIT University (this position was closed now in April 2007) (In the collaborative fields of GPS/GNSS, geodesy, atmospheric modelling, space tracking and advanced statistics)

Applications are invited for one Australian Research Council (ARC) and industry-funded research place. The project involves the investigation of new atmospheric density correction models (ADCMs) for accurate prediction and tracking of debris object and satellite orbits. This will be achieved through the use of the latest technologies, state of the art space-borne global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and novel approaches in modelling such as advanced statistical methodologies and data mining techniques (e.g. time series analysis, neural network and artificial intelligence). The main expected outcomes will be new, improved ADCMs for low earth orbit aerodynamics missions such as surveillance, monitoring, collision avoidance/warning, re-entry prediction and lifetime estimates purposes. This research will have tremendous impacts on realizing unaided debris laser ranging using cutting-edge space-borne GNSS technology and contribute significantly to the space environment info management, e.g. accurate collision warning and space junk tracking.

 

Required Background of Applicants:

General: Applicants for this position should have strong analytical and computational skills and should be comfortable working in a team environment.
Academic: A good degree in Surveying / GPS positioning / Geodesy / Geomatics / Math/Statistics / Computer engineering. A good knowledge/experience of working with atmospheric modelling and neural network will be an advantage.
 

Duration of Project and Stipend

The project is funded for 3 years from early 2007 and the tax-free annual stipend is $25,000+, commensurate with background and experience (Additional tutorship opportunity is available subject to experience and ability.)

 

Deadline: 10 March 2007
Contact Details:   A/Professor Kefei Zhang (Tel: (03) 9925 3272, fax: (03) 96632517, Email: kefei.zhang@rmit.edu.au)