Open PhD position in Geomatics/GIS at the University of Florida

Research area: Spatio-temporal analysis of crowd-sourced geoinformation

Crowd-sourced data (e.g., Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), social media) are a widely used data source to answer societal questions across many disciplines (e.g., transportation, natural resources, tourism, information science). This field of big data is rapidly changing due to the rise of new data sharing platforms, social media apps, and location-based services. Advanced analytical methods of spatio-temporal contribution patterns are needed to fully access, understand, and utilize the information scattered across these platforms. Crowd-sourced data provide new opportunities for rapid event detection, data quality assessment, and data fusion.

The Geomatics Program at the University of Florida is seeking a PhD candidate who brings computer programming and spatial data handling skills to advance the analysis of crowd-sourced geo-data conducted at UF.

The ideal candidate has the following characteristics:
– A Master’s degree in Geographic Information Science, Computer Science, Statistics or related discipline
– Versatile in computer programming/scripting (e.g., Java, R, Python)
– Experience with spatial databases (e.g., PostgreSQL/PostGIS)
– Familiarity with GIS software (e.g. QGIS)
– Passion for crowd-sourced and/or open data
– Solid communication skills in both spoken and written English

The PhD candidate will enter an established program leading to the degree of PhD within a time frame of four years. The PhD research will be carried out at UF’s Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center (http://flrec.ifas.ufl.edu/) located in the southeastern coastal part of Florida (near Miami). The position includes a tuition waiver, health insurance, and annual stipend.