Research professorship at KU Leuven ESAT/PSI – Audio and/or Speech Processing The division ESAT/PSI (Processing Speech & Images, http://www.esat.kuleuven.be/psi) performs 
fundamental and applied research in the broad field of audio-visual information processing. The 
research is multidisciplinary and integrates expertise from engineering, physics, mathematics, 
medicine, linguistics, machine learning and computational science. New methods are developed and 
validated in computer vision, medical imaging, speech and audio processing and other application 
fields. PSI is one of the leading labs in its areas of research. The division is part of the EE 
department (ESAT) of the University of Leuven, the largest and highest-ranked university in 
Belgium. Leuven lies about 25 km east of Brussels and 15 minutes from Brussels airport by train.

To strengthen and widen its research domain, the PSI division is looking for a research 
professor in the area of audio and/or speech processing. The focus is on the interpretation of 
large amounts of these data, possibly in combination with other sensorial data (eg. images). We 
live in an environment where sound is ubiquitous and the interpretation of speech and other 
sounds is crucial for safety, for communication, for understanding of our environment, ... In 
many applications the ability of a computer to achieve human-like performance in this respect is 
highly desired and worldwide a lot of research effort is spent to achieve this goal. We want to 
expand our own research lines by hiring a new professor to enlarge the existing group with new 
projects and researchers exploring new ideas and paradigms that advance the state-of-the-art in 
this area.

The candidate must be an internationally recognized researcher, with a strong publication 
record. At the start of the mandate he/she must have at least 3 years of experience in 
scientific research as a postdoc, with hands-on experience in supervising PhD students. 
Experience with successful project grant writing is a definite plus. He/she also needs to 
possess didactic qualities. The position is primarily research-oriented, but the applicants must 
be prepared and are also expected to undertake limited teaching assignments. Applicants should 
be prepared to learn Dutch.

Entering research professors are appointed with a rank depending on their qualifications. Young 
researchers with at least 3 years and less than 7 full years of postdoctoral experience at the 
time of the appointment are typically offered a Tenure Track position, without excluding a 
higher academic position. Advanced researchers with at least 7 years of postdoctoral experience 
at the time of appointment are typically hired as a full professor, without excluding a Tenure 
Track position.

Applications should include a CV (incl. a complete publication list) and an abstract (1-2 pages) 
of a research proposal for the coming five years. They should be submitted by e-mail as soon as 
possible but ultimately before August 31st, 2014 to

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Department of Electrical eEgineering - ESAT
Center for Processing Speech and Images - PSI
Kasteelpark Arenberg 10 bus 2441
3001 Heverlee, Belgium
E-Mail: patrick dot wambacq at esat dot kuleuven dot be

Applicants may be invited to give a seminar to the staff of the research division ESAT/PSI. 
Subsequently, promising candidates will be asked to participate to the university-wide selection 
procedure for research professorships. Each year the KU Leuven appoints a number of research 
professors. These positions are financed by a university fund called 'BOF' (Bijzonder 
Onderzoeksfonds) that is funded by the Flemish Government.