Postdoctoral Fellow in Social Psychology or Community Psychology University of Hong Kong Department of Psychology

Applications are invited for appointment as Post-doctoral Fellow in Social Psychology or Community Psychology in the Department of Psychology (Ref.: 516777), to commence on December 1, 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter for one year, with the possibility of renewal.

The University of Hong Kong Healthy High Density Cities Lab has secured a Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) grant for designing a scalable, privacy-preserving platform to track infectious airborne diseases.  The Lab is assembling a group of scientists at the cutting edge of issues concerning Privacy, Health, Engineering, and the Built-Environment to implement an end-to-end proof of concept for this Spatial Exposure Notification (SEN) research project.  The SEN system is based on a new class of low-cost, Internet-of-Things sensor devices embedded within smart lightbulbs that interoperates with and addresses deficiencies of the existing Google/Apple Exposure Notification (GAEN) framework.  The smart lightbulb devices detect Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals transmitted by mobile phones as part of GAEN and communicate the measurements wirelessly to a nearby routing hub via the Thread network protocol.  Measurements are aggregated and processed in a backend server, and follow the confirmation of an infection event; notifications of potential exposure are communicated to individual mobile phones.

Applicants should possess a Ph.D. degree in Social Psychology, Community Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Behavioural Science, or related discipline. Competitive candidates should possess one or more of the following quality and expertise:

• Experience in scale development, online and offline behavioural experiments, judgement and decision-making research, and/or randomized controlled trials
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English;
• Keen interest and ability to work in a multi-disciplinary setting;
• Sensitivity and commitment to cultural diversity;
• A problem-solving mindset and the ability to work with a high degree of independence;
• Proven capacity to develop and pursue a coherent research agenda; and
• Exceptional potential to develop a body of high-quality publications.

The appointee will be working together with a world-leading group of scholars across a variety of fields (architecture, behavioural science, computer science, engineering, law) and will be responsible for designing and executing psychological studies and giving advice on psychological matters concerning the SEN project. He/She will be expected to develop and pursue a coherent agenda of scholarship; research complex ideas, concepts or theories, and apply appropriate methodologies (e.g., scale development, behavioural and decision-making experiment, randomized controlled trial); present research at domestic and international conferences; develop a body of high-quality publications in scholarly journals; and drive forward global impact.

Enquiries about the duties of the post should be sent to Dr. Christian Chan at shaunlyn@hku.hk.

A highly competitive salary commensurate with qualifications and experience will be offered, in addition to annual leave and medical benefits.

The University only accepts online application for the above post.  Applicants should apply online and upload an up-to-date CV.  Review of applications will start as soon as possible and continue until November 30, 2022 or until the post is filled, whichever is earlier.