Research Fellow (Fixed-Term) (SCI587526)

In this role you will develop cutting edge AI approaches to help researchers identify scientific information in historical manuscripts.  Specifically, working with the Royal Horticultural Society, we will build new systems to identify information about plant horticulture from historical books and texts stored in libraries.  We envisage a smartphone-based tool to help researchers in a library to quickly identify, parse, and extract relevant information from hard to read, cluttered and dense pages of text, and potentially, figures within that text.

Across history, plant propagation has been essential for both medicinal and food production practices. The UK boasts a rich tradition of plant cultivation dating back to medieval times, where gardens served as vital sources for medicinal herbs. However, much of the knowledge surrounding historical plant propagation techniques has been lost over time. As we face pressing challenges related to biodiversity loss, sustainability and the urgent need to meet net-zero carbon targets, uncovering and understanding these historical practices could provide innovative solutions for modern plant production demands.  Your AI tool will form a critical part of this information-gathering process.

The successful applicant will have strong expertise in programming, and in particular developing AI-based computer vision methods.  Ideally, they will have experience in the development and release of tools or apps relating to the research to end users.  They should be strong communicators, and able to evidence work they have carried out in multidisciplinary teams. Working with manuscripts is not a pre-requisite, but they should be able to demonstrate building and publishing computer vision approaches across a variety of imaging domains.

The role holder will work with and under the mentorship of Prof Andrew French and Dr. Michael Pound, at the Computer Vision Lab, Jubilee Campus, University of Nottingham. Apart from contributing to existing research projects, they will also be expected to advance their own independent research career. They will also have the opportunity to guide and mentor more junior members of the group.

Candidates are expected to have a good background in computer vision and strong understanding of a range of AI methods. They must hold a PhD in computer science, with a focus on developing AI-based computer vision approaches. Expertise can be evidenced through publications (including preprints), talks, projects, work openly accessible in git repositories, or in any other suitable way.

This is a full-time, fixed-term post until 02/03/2028. Hours of work are full time (36.25 hours per week). The position is based in the School of Computer Science on our Jubilee Campus in Nottingham.

If you are interested in this position, please click 'apply now', submit your details and upload a copy of your CV and Cover Letter. 

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Prof. Andrew French at andrew.p.french@nottingham.ac.uk . Please note that applications should not be sent directly to this email address. 

Closing Date: 10 Mar 2026
Category: Research and Teaching (R&T)