PhD position Forensic Face Recognition

The project Forensic Face Recognition, which is funded by NWO (the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research), is a collaboration between:

• the chair of Signals and Systems (SAS), in the faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) of the University of Twente,
• the Korteweg-de Vries Institute of the University of Amsterdam,
• and the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI).

In this project, one PhD student will do research on face recognition systems for the forensic domain. This PhD student will be appointed in the SAS group of the University of Twente, which has a strong research profile in biometrics, including face recognition, fingerprint recognition, fusion, and biometric template protection. It is involved in national and European projects about forensics, border control and home safety. SAS’ biometrics research, including the present project, is part of the multidisciplinary research institute Centre for Telematics and Information Technology (http://www.ctit.utwente.nl).

Another PhD student will be appointed in the Korteweg-de Vries Institute of the University of Amsterdam. This PhD student will do innovative research on the statistical issues in this project. Interested candidates are invited to apply here.

De uitdaging / The challenge
When comparing a facial image from a crime scene with a police photograph, forensic experts pay attention to morphologic-anthropologic features, following a prescribed protocol. The support for the hypothesis that crime-scene and reference image originate from one individual is expressed in qualitative terms, such as “no support”, “limited sup-port”, “moderate support”, “strong support”, and “very strong support”. Presently a strong effort is being made to replace such a qualitative description by a likelihood ratio, which is a quantitative measure of evidential value that can support the judge in court to make an objective decision.

Biometric face recognition is an automated process, for example used in access control. It does not use morphologic-anthropologic features, but extracts and compares abstract features, resulting in a quantitative similarity score. If this is above a predetermined threshold, the compared faces are accepted as resulting from the same individual.

The NWO project Forensic Face Recognition combines the fields of forensic face comparison and biometric face recognition in order to develop a (partially) automated system for forensic facial comparison that quantifies the evidential value as a likelihood ratio thus supporting the court to make an objective decision. This will be realized by:

• Automation of the current forensic morphological-anthropological practice.
• Optimization of biometric face recognition for forensic applications.
• Computation of likelihood ratios as quantitative evidential value from the above 2 systems.

Topics 1 and 2 will be addressed at the University of Twente. Topic 3 will be addressed at the University of Amsterdam.

Ons aanbod / Our offer
As PhD student, you will be appointed for a period of four years, at the end of which you must have completed a PhD thesis. During this period, you have the opportunity to broaden your knowledge by joining international exchange programs, to participate in national and international conferences and workshops, and to visit other research institutes and universities worldwide.

We offer a full-time PhD position in a dynamic and international environment. The duration of the contracts is four years. The gross salary will range from € 2.042,00 in the first year to € 2.612,00 per month in the fourth year. Additionally, the University of Twente provides excellent facilities for professional and personal development. In addition, we offer a holiday allowance (amounts to 8%) and an end-of-year bonus (amount to 8.3%) and a number of additional benefits. The labour agreements are in accordance with the CAO-NU for Dutch universities.

Uw profiel / Your profile
The PhD student in Twente will do research on face recognition systems for the forensic domain. For this task, we are looking for a highly motivated researcher with an MSc degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics or a related topic, with adequate experimental and theoretical skills. You have knowledge of image processing, pattern recognition, and probability theory. Knowledge in more specific areas such as biometrics will be an advantage. Fluency in English is a requirement. An interview will be part of the selection procedure.

De organisatie / The organisation
The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which drives change, innovation and progress in society. The University of Twente is the only campus university in the Netherlands; divided over six faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. The University of Twente has a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out pioneering research.

The faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) comprises three disciplines that shape Information and Communication Technology. ICT is more than communication. In almost every product we use mathematics, electronics and computer technology and ICT now contributes to all of societies' activities. The faculty works together intensively with industrial partners and researchers in the Netherlands and abroad and conducts extensive research for external commissioning parties and funders. The research which enjoys a high profile both at home and internationally, has been accommodated in the multidisciplinary research institutes MESA+, CTIT and MIRA.