Interdisciplinary Cognitive & Ecological Neuroscience of Smartphone Behavior Cognition and Neural Dynamics Lab (CNDL), BITS Pilani (Pilani Campus)

The Cognition and Neural Dynamics Lab (CNDL) at BITS Pilani, Pilani campus, invites applications for Postdoctoral Fellow positions under the National Post Doctoral Fellowship (NPDF) scheme of ANRF.

We explicitly encourage interdisciplinary applicants spanning cognitive neuroscience, psychology, biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, HCI, and education research, who are interested in studying real-world cognition using ecological experimental paradigms.

About the Lab: CNDL investigates decision-making, attention, learning, and reward processing in naturalistic contexts. A central focus of the lab is understanding smartphone-mediated behavior and cognition using psychophysics and multimodal neurophysiology, with an emphasis on ecological validity.

Research themes and recent work: https://​csndl​-iitd​.github​.io/c…

Research Areas

The postdoctoral fellows will contribute to and help shape projects including (but not

limited to):

1. Smartphone-related cognition and behavior

• Quantifying reward landscapes of smartphone apps and social media platforms
• Characterizing predictability, uncertainty, and volatility in app reward structures
• Identifying individual differences in susceptibility to specific reward landscapes

2. Gaming vs. Gambling

• Differentiating engagement, habit formation, and compulsion using reward statistics
• Identifying neural and behavioral markers of learning under uncertainty

3. Cognition in the Classroom

• Studying attention, engagement, and cognitive load in real educational settings
• Understanding the impact of digital devices on learning and decision-making

Applicants are encouraged to propose their own problem statements aligned with thesecthrust areas and to take intellectual ownership of projects.

• Fellowship amount: ₹80,000 per month
• House Rent Allowance (HRA): As per Government of India / BITS Pilani norms
• Contingency grant: As per NPDF rules (to support research expenses, consumables, minor equipment, and publication-related costs)
• Travel support: As per NPDF norms (for conferences and research-related travel)
• Duration: Two years, subject to satisfactory performance and NPDF regulations

PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related field

1. Candidates who have already been awarded the PhD degree, as well as those who have submitted their doctoral thesis and are awaiting formal award, are eligible to apply, subject to ANRF – NPDF rules
2. Demonstrated or demonstrable expertise in EEG data collection, experimental design (behavioral / psychophysics), and EEG data analysis using Python

Desirable:

• Experience with EMG, eye tracking, or physiological recordings
• Familiarity with computational models, reinforcement learning, or decision-making frameworks
• Experience with web or app development for experiment deployment (not mandatory)
• Prior work involving naturalistic or field experiments

Shortlisted candidates will receive mentoring support for preparing and submitting a competitive NPDF application. Career Development

The position offers strong career development opportunities, including independent project leadership, high-impact publications, mentorship of graduate students, and exposure to grant writing and proposal development.

Fill out this form before the deadline: https://forms.gle/n6VzCHefUtyT…