The Perceiving Systems department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Tübingen, Germany announces several PhD scholarships as well as funded summer internships for graduate students in 2015. Research at Perceiving Systems is curiosity driven and spans a wide range of topics in computer vision, graphics and machine learning.

In particular, we are interested in

  * 3D shape and object modeling
    - acquisition, modeling, shape statistics, Riemannian geometry, tracking
    - compositional models of complex articulated objects like humans and animals
  * human and animal motion
    - pose estimation, tracking, shape/pose estimation, from video and range data
    - next generation motion capture of humans and animals
  * 3D scene understanding
    - 3D object detection, layout analysis, semantic analysis, 3D model-based methods, 3D mapping
    - optimization, models and methods
  * intrinsic images and video
    - extracting reflectance, shading, depth, occlusions, shadows
  * stereo and motion estimation
    - stereo, optical flow, scene flow, non-rigid structure from motion
    - combining low-level vision and high-level vision
  * modeling clothing, hair and fur and their motion
  * vision and tracking for virtual reality
  * machine learning
    - structured output models
    - deep neural networks
    - efficient learning and inference

The language of the department is English and the culture is international. More information about the department and our research can be found at http://ps.is.tuebingen.mpg.de/. Supervising faculty currently looking for students include:

  * Michael Black (http://ps.is.tuebingen.mpg.de/person/black)
  * Andreas Geiger (http://www.cvlibs.net/)
  * Peter Gehler (http://files.is.tue.mpg.de/pgehler/)
  * Javier Romero (http://ps.is.tuebingen.mpg.de/person/romero)

Prospective students will have the option to obtain their degree from either the ETH Zürich or the University of Tübingen. The PhD program at MPI gives the students access to unique research facilities, a rich intellectual environment, and great research freedom. Applicants (both for the PhD and internship positions) should hold a Master's degree in computer science, mathematics, physics, or engineering. Successful candidates will typically have ranked at or near the top of their classes and be highly proficient in written and spoken English. Very good computer science skills as well as a mathematical background are required. A PhD in Germany is usually 3-4 years in duration. Summer interns are encouraged to stay with us for at least 6 months.

Max Planck Institutes are internationally renowned and regarded as the foremost organization for fundamental research in Germany. The MPI for Intelligent System studies perception, action and learning. The Perceiving Systems department directed by Prof. Michael J. Black is located in Tübingen together with the Empirical Inference department of Prof. Bernhard Schölkopf, the robotics research department of Prof. Stefan Schaal and the renowned MPI for Biological Cybernetics. The Max Planck Institutes in Tübingen represent an exceptional research environment in which scientists from a wide range of fields including computer vision, machine learning, robotics, neuroscience, and cognitive science collaborate. A full range of state-of-the-art equipment is available, including high-resolution 3D and 4D scanning systems, motion capture, multi-camera video capture, and a large compute cluster. To increase our impact, the MPI also houses a Software Workshop that helps researchers develop, maintain, and deploy software projects.

Tübingen is a beautiful and lively medieval town with a large university population in southern Germany close to Stuttgart. At the edge of the Swabian Jura, the surrounding country is characterized by rolling hills, forests, river valleys, historic towns, and endless walking, hiking and biking trails. The quality of life is excellent.

Please send your application including a cover letter, research statement, transcripts, CV, links to publications if you have them, as well as contact details of at least two references to ps-apply@tuebingen.mpg.de.  Your research statement is critical and should address why you want to do a PhD with us. If you prefer to send a hardcopy application, you may do so (see our contact page for the address). The application deadline is 18.1.2015.

The Max Planck Society is trying to increase the percentage of women in scientific staff positions and strongly encourages applications from qualified women. The Society is also committed to employing more handicapped individuals and especially encourages them to apply.