From hexmoor at cs.Buffalo.EDU Sat Mar 1 12:15:20 1997 From: hexmoor at cs.Buffalo.EDU (Henry H Hexmoor) Date: Sat, 1 Mar 1997 12:15:20 -0500 (EST) Subject: CFP Message-ID: <199703011715.MAA14745@hadar.cs.Buffalo.EDU> Dear Colleague, Maja Mataric and I are guest editing a special issue of Prof. George Bekey's Autonomous Robots Journal. Please review our CFP which is salo available online. http://www.cs.buffalo.edu/~hexmoor/autonomous-robots.html Call for papers Autonomous Robots Journal Special Issue on Learning in Autonomous Robots Guest editors: Henry Hexmoor and Maja Mataric Submission Deadline: August 15, 1997 Autonomous Robots is an international journal published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Editor-in-Chief: George Bekey Current applications of machine learning in robotics explore learning behaviors such as obstacle avoidance, navigation, gaze control, pick and place operations, manipulating everyday objects, walking, foraging, herding, and delivering objects. It is hoped that these are first steps toward robots that will learn to perform complex operations ranging from folding clothes, cleaning up toxic waste and oil spills, picking up after the children, de-mining, look after a summer house, imitating a human teacher, or overseeing a factory or a space mission. As builders of autonomous embedded agents, researchers in robot learning deal with learning schemes in the context of physical embodiment. Strides are being made to design programs that change their initial encoding of know-how to include new concepts as well as improvements in the associations of sensing to acting. Driven by concerns about the quality and quantity of training data and real-time issues such as sparse and low-quality feedback from the environment, robot learning is undergoing a search for quantification and evaluation mechanisms, as well as for methods for scaling up the complexity of learning tasks. This special issue of Autonomous Robots will focus on novel robot learning applications and quantification of learning in autonomous robots. We are soliciting papers describing finished work preferably involving real manipulator or mobile robots. We invite submissions from all areas in AI and Machine Learning, Mobile Robotics, Machine Vision, Dexterous Manipulation, and Artificial Life that address robot learning. Submitted papers should be delivered by June 1, 1997. Authors intending to submit a manuscript should contact Henry Hexmoor as soon as possible to discuss paper ideas and suitability for this issue. Manuscripts should be typed or laser-printed in English (with American spelling preferred) and double-spaced. Both paper and electronic submission are possible, as described below. For paper submissions, send five (5) copies of submitted papers (hard-copy only) to: Dr. Henry Hexmoor Department of Computer Science State University of New York at Buffalo 226 Bell Hall Buffalo, NY 14260-2000 U.S.A. PHONE: 716-645-3197 FAX: 716-645-3464 For electronic submissions, use Postscript format, ftp the file to ftp.cs.buffalo.edu, and send an email notification to hexmoor at cs.buffalo.edu Detailed ftp instructions: compress your-paper (both Unix compress and gzip commands are ok) ftp ftp.cs.buffalo.edu (but check in case it has changed) give anonymous as your login name give your e-mail address as password set transmission to binary (just type the command BINARY) cd to users/hexmoor/ put your-paper send me an email notification hexmoor at cs.buffalo.edu to let me know you transferred the paper Editoral Board: James Albus, NIST, USA Peter Bonasso, NASA Johnson Space Center, USA Enric Celaya, Institut de Robotica i Informatica Industrial, Spain Adam J. Cheyer, SRI International, USA Keith L. Doty, University of Florida, USA Marco Dorigo, Universite' Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Judy Franklin, Mount Holyoke College, USA Rod Grupen, University of Mass, USA John Hallam, University of Edinburgh, UK Inman Harvey, COGS, Univ. of Sussex, UK Gillian Hayes, University of Edinburgh, UK James Hendler, University of Maryland, USA David Hinkle, Johns Hopkins University, USA R James Firby, University of Chicago, USA Ian Horswill, Northwestern University, USA Sven Koenig, Carnegie Mellon University, USA Kurt Konolige, SRI International, USA David Kortenkamp, NASA Johnson Space Center, USA Francois Michaud, Brandeis University, USA Robin R. Murphy, Colorado School of Mines, USA Jose del R. MILLAN, Joint Research Centre of the EU, Italy Amitabha Mukerjee, IIT, India David J. Musliner, Honeywell Technology Center, USA Ulrich Nehmzow, University of Manchester, UK Tim Smithers, Universidad del Pai's Vasco, Spain Martin Nilsson, Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Sweden Stefano Nolfi, Institute of Psychology, C.N.R., Italy Tony J Prescott, University of Sheffield, UK Ashwin Ram, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA Alan C. Schultz, Naval Research Laboratory, USA Noel Sharkey, Sheffield University, UK Chris Thornton, UK Francisco J. Vico, Campus Universitario de Teatinos, Spain Brian Yamauchi, Naval Research Laboratory, USA Uwe R. Zimmer, Schloss Birlinghoven, Germany Relevant Dates: August 15, 1997 submission deadline November 15, 1997 review deadline December 1, 1997 acceptance/rejection notifications to the authors  From sjoberg at ae.chalmers.se Sun Mar 2 11:09:37 1997 From: sjoberg at ae.chalmers.se (Jonas Sjoberg) Date: Sun, 02 Mar 1997 17:09:37 +0100 Subject: IDENTIFICATION, ADAPTATION, LEARNING Message-ID: <3319A641.2695@ae.chalmers.se> This book might be of interest for some of you on the connectionist list. yours Jonas Sjoberg > Contributed by Sergio Bittanti > > > IDENTIFICATION, ADAPTATION, LEARNING > The Science of Learning Models from Data > > Series F: Computer and Systems Sciences Vol. 153 > Springer-Verlag 1996 > > > This book contains the lectures given at > the NATO Advanced School Institute: "From Identification to Learning" held > at Villa Olmo - Como (Italy) August 22 -September 2 1994. > The state of the art in identification, adaptation and > learning is overviewed at a tutorial level. > Besides linear dynamical models in state > space, ARMAX, or frequency domain form, nonlinear models are extensively > treated with emphasis on neural networks models and wavelets. An effort is > made to clarify the connections of identification and adaptation with the > basic paradigms of learning theory. > > The volume is organized in 14 Chapters, written by outstanding specialists > in systems and control, theoretical computer science, numerical analysis, > and statistics. There has traditionally been a separation between these > disciplines. Understanding automatic model-building is important both in > systems and control, statistics and theoretical computer science and > nowadays it is urgent to get an interdisciplinary view of this field. In > this respect this book represents an initiative filling a real need. > > Besides being mathematically well-founded and intellectually fascinating, > the methods and algorithms described in this book provide rational and > concrete tools for the analysis and synthesis of "intelligent" engineering > systems. > > > CONTENTS: > > Geometric methods for state space identification > by A. Linquist and G. Picci > > Parameter estimation of multivariable systems using balanced realizations > by J. Maciejowski > > Balanced canonical forms > by R. Ober > > >From data to state model > by P. Rapisarda and J.C. Willems > > Identification of linear systems from noisy data > by M. Deistler > > Identification in H-infinity: theory and applications > by P. Khargonekar, G. Gu and J. Friedman > > System identification with information theoretic criteria > by A.A. Stoorvogel and J.C. van Schuppen > > Least squares based self tuning control systems > by S. Bittanti and M. Campi > > On neural network model structures in system identification > by L. Ljung, J. Sjoberg and H. Hjalmarsson > > An overview of computational learning theory and its applications to neural > network > by M. Vidyasagar > > Just in time learning and estimation > by G. Cibenko > > Wavelets in identification > by A. Benveniste, A. Judistky, B. Delon, Q. Zhang and P.Y.Glorennec > > Fuzzy logic modelling and control > by P. Albertos > > Searching for the best: stochastic approximation, simulated annealing and > related procedures > by G. Pflug -- _______________________________________________________________ Jonas Sjoeberg Email: sjoberg at ae.chalmers.se Dept. of Applied Electronics Tel +46-31-772 18 55 Chalmers University of Technology Fax: +46-31-772.17.82 412 96 Goeteborg, Sweden http://www.ae.chalmers.se/~sjoberg ______________________________________________________________  From marwan at valaga.salk.edu Sun Mar 2 14:50:15 1997 From: marwan at valaga.salk.edu (Marwan Jabri) Date: Sun, 2 Mar 1997 11:50:15 -0800 (PST) Subject: Lecturership/Senior Lecturership Message-ID: Lecturer/Senior lecturer (fixed-term or tenurable) Ref B07/04 Department of Electrical Engineering University of Sydney, Australia The Department is looking to expand its research and teaching capability in the computer engineering, integrated systems and neuromorphic engineering areas. In line with a strategic plan which includes high quality postgraduate research, the Department seeks an appointee with an outstanding research career potential. The existing staff in related areas have research interests in integrated systems, neural networks, artificial intelligence, biomedical systems, non linear and adaptive control, communications systems and image processing. Generally, the Department is vigorously developing its research work to the highest international standards. A special feature of this effort is the high level of interaction with industry, both local and international. The appointee must have completed a PhD with a high level of research outcomes; have the capability to teach large and small classes; supervise research students and present advanced courses to industry. Undergraduate teaching experience and experience of industrial applications are desirable. Preference will be given to applicants with analytical skills in the areas of computer engineering, integrated systems, neuromorphic systems, and related subjects. The position will be offered as a three-year fixed term appointment or offered as tenurable to an exceptional applicant. Membership of a University-approved superannuation scheme is a condition of employment for new appointees. For further information contact Prof M A Jabri (see info below) Salary: Senior Lecturer: $52,726 - $60,797 pa (under review); Lecturer $43,042 - $51,113 pa (under review) Closing: 27 March 1997 ------------ Marwan Jabri, PhD On sabbatical at CNL, Salk Institute PO Box 85800, San Diego CA 92186-5800 10010 North Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037-1099 Tel: (+1-619) 453-4100 X: 1029 Fax: (+1-619) 455-7933 marwan at sloan.salk.edu  From bishopc at helios.aston.ac.uk Mon Mar 3 10:21:28 1997 From: bishopc at helios.aston.ac.uk (Prof. Chris Bishop) Date: Mon, 03 Mar 1997 15:21:28 +0000 Subject: NATO Advanced Study Institute Message-ID: <15443.199703031521@sun.aston.ac.uk> A NATO Advanced Study Institute GENERALIZATION IN NEURAL NETWORKS AND MACHINE LEARNING 4 - 15 August 1997 Isaac Newton Institute, Cambridge, U.K. The last few years have seen a substantial growth of research activity in machine learning, focusing in large part on neural network models. For most applications of machine learning the central issue is that of generalization. This NATO ASI will provide a comprehensive and coherent tutorial programme aimed at research scientists at postdoctoral level and beyond, though it will also be accessible to advanced graduate students having a good mathematical background. Organising Committee: Director: C M Bishop (Aston) J M Buhmann (Bonn), G E Hinton (Toronto), M I Jordan (MIT) Lecturers: E Baum (NEC) J C Mackay (Cambridge) C M Bishop (Aston) R Neal (Toronto) L Breiman (Berkeley) B D Ripley (Oxford) J M Buhmann (Bonn) H Sompolinsky (Jerusalem) P Dayan (MIT) N Tishby (Jerusalem) G E Hinton (Toronto) L G Valiant (Harvard) T Jaakkola (UCSC) V Vapnik (AT&T) M I Jordan (MIT) C K I Williams (Aston) Y Le Cun (AT&T) The ASI will form a component in the Newton Institute programme on Neural Networks and Machine Learning, organised by C M Bishop, D Haussler, G E Hinton, M Niranjan and L G Valiant. Applications: To participate in the NATO ASI, please complete and return an application form and, for students and postdoctoral fellows, arrange for a letter of reference from a senior scientist. Limited financial support is available for participants from appropriate countries, and the usual guidelines for the NATO ASI series will be followed in the selection of participants. Location and Costs: The workshop will take place at the Isaac Newton Institute and accommodation for participants will be provided at Wolfson Court, adjacent to the Institute. The conference package costs 520 UK pounds, which includes accommodation from 3 August to 15 August, together with breakfast, and evening meals, plus lunch and refreshments during the days that lectures take place. Further Information and Application Forms: are available from the WWW at http://www.newton.cam.ac.uk/programs/nnm.html. Completed forms and letters of recommendation should be sent to Heather Dawson at the above address, or by e-mail to: h.dawson at newton.cam.ac.uk Closing Date for the receipt of applications and letters of recommendation is 21 April 1997  From sayegh at CVAX.IPFW.INDIANA.EDU Mon Mar 3 20:57:36 1997 From: sayegh at CVAX.IPFW.INDIANA.EDU (sayegh@CVAX.IPFW.INDIANA.EDU) Date: Mon, 03 Mar 1997 20:57:36 EST Subject: No subject Message-ID: <009B0B9D.FC824A60.1@CVAX.IPFW.INDIANA.EDU> A symposium on Neural Networks and Brain Signals will be held at Indiana University - Purdue University in Ft Wayne, Indiana March 28, 1997, 8:30am - 4:30 pm. The symposium is free and some funding may be available for travel. Neural Networks have reached a level of maturity whereby they have been applied to a variety of real world problems. At a different end of the spectrum, a number of scientists have been exploring the network properties of the brain, delineating and mapping its computational capabilities as well as their breakdown in pathology. Coming full circle (clockwise or counterclockwise!) several groups have started applying neural networks to the analysis and modeling of brain signal and function in health and disease. This symposium dual goal is to be an introduction to this exciting field of research and a forum where scientists and students, at either end, or anywhere along the spectrum, can interact and exchange ideas, techniques and (mild) criticism. The morning session is specifically meant to be introductory and those new to the field or curious about it are strongly encouraged to attend it. Morning Session: Introduction to Neural Networks and Brain Function. Vijai Dixit, PhD, Physics, St Louis University "Physical and Computational Aspects of Neural Networks" Paul Hayes, ITT, K Ranasinghe and S Sayegh, Indiana-Purdue "Practical Aspects of Neural Networks Computation" Douglas Horner, Medical Informatics Engineering, Inc. "Neural Network Resources on the WWW" Robert Sweazey, PhD, Indiana School of Medicine "An Introduction to Neuroanatomy" Jeff Wilson, PhD, Psychology, Indiana-Purdue: "Neurotransmitters, Receptors, and Post-Synaptic Potentials: Communication in a Real Neural Network" Navin Varma, MD, Neurology, University of Michigan "Neural Networks Awry: A Neurologist Prospective" Afternoon Session: Neural Networks in Clinical Neurosciences. Robert Sclabassi, MD, PhD University of Pittsburgh, Neurosurgery, Neuroscience and EE Modeling Epilepsy Robert Worth, MD, PhD Indiana University Dept of Neurosurgery Computer Modeling of Somatosensory Cortex Reorganization Krzysztof J. Cios, PhD Professor of Bioengineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science University of Toledo Neural Networks Classification of Brain Signals During Pallidotomy Surgery for Parkinson's Samir Sayegh, MD, PhD Indiana Purdue, Physics For registration call (219) 481-6306 or email Esther Gerken at gerken at cvax.ipfw.indiana.edu For technical information email sayegh at cvax.ipfw.indiana.edu or call (219) 481-6157  From ludwig at ibm18.uni-paderborn.de Tue Mar 4 06:07:43 1997 From: ludwig at ibm18.uni-paderborn.de (Lars Alex. Ludwig) Date: Tue, 4 Mar 1997 12:07:43 +0100 (NFT) Subject: FNS '97 - Last Announcement Message-ID: <9703041107.AA16125@ibm18.uni-paderborn.de> A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text Size: 8630 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/00000000/9965569c/attachment.ksh From watrous at scr.siemens.com Wed Mar 5 14:11:40 1997 From: watrous at scr.siemens.com (Raymond L Watrous) Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 14:11:40 -0500 (EST) Subject: Research assistantships in neural/Bayesian networks Message-ID: <199703051911.OAA23127@tiercel.scr.siemens.com> Student Research Assistantships Siemens Corporate Research has several openings for student research assistants in the area of neural and Bayesian networks with applications in biomedical signal processing and classification. The projects for which research assistants are sought lie at the leading edge of patient monitoring and diagnostic screening. These positions include full-time summer and/or immediate part-time opportunities. Candidates should have strong research skills, including literature survey, conceptual analysis, excellent oral and written communication, and good programming abilities in a variety of languages and experience in Unix and PC environments. Siemens Corporate Research provides excellent research and support facilities for its approximately 140 technical staff, who are engaged in research and development in the areas of imaging, multimedia, software engineering and adaptive systems. The adaptive information and signal processing department has expertise in time series prediction, control, and system identification using nonlinear models, learning and classification using statistical and symbolic methods, with applications to biomedical and acoustic signal processing, information processing, data mining and industrial process control. Siemens is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Interested graduate, or upper level undergraduate, students are invited to apply to: Dr. Raymond Watrous Project Manager Adaptive Information & Signal Phone: (609) 734-6596 Processing Department FAX: (609) 734-6565 Siemens Corporate Research 755 College Road East Princeton, NJ 08540 watrous at scr.siemens.com  From terry at salk.edu Wed Mar 5 23:54:15 1997 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 20:54:15 -0800 (PST) Subject: NEURAL COMPUTATION 9:2 Message-ID: <199703060454.UAA08685@helmholtz.salk.edu> Neural Computation - Contents Volume 9, Number 2 - February 15, 1997 Review Probabilistic Independence Networks for Hidden Markov Probability Models Padhraic Smyth, David Heckerman, and Michael I. Jordan Note Using Expectation-Maximization for Reinforcement Learning Peter Dayan and Geoffrey E. Hinton Letter Fast Sigmoidal Networks via Spiking Neurons Wolfgang Maass Computing with the Leaky Integrate-and-Fire Neuron: Logarithmic Computation and Multiplication Doron Tal and Eric L. Schwartz Effect of Delay on the Boundary of the Basin of Attraction in a Self-Excited Single Graded-Response Neuron K. Pakdaman, C. Grotta-Ragazzo, C. P. Malta, and J.-F. Vibert Shattering All Sets of 'K' Points in "General Position" Requires (K-1)/2 Parameters Eduardo D. Sontag Statistical Inference, Occam's Razor and Statistical Mechanics on the Space of Probability Distributions Vijay Balasubramanian Bias/Variance Analyses of Mixtures-of-Experts Architectures Robert A. Jacobs The Behavior of Forgetting Learning in Bidirectional Associative Memory Chi Sing Leung and Lai Wan Chan Adaptive Encoding Strongly Improves Function Approximation with CMAC Martin Eldracher, Alexander Staller, and Rene Pompl An Analog Memory Circuit for Spiking Silicon Neurons John G. Elias, David P. M. Northmore, and Wayne Westerman Average-Case Learning Curves for Radial Basis Function Networks Sean B. Holden and Mahesan Niranjan A Sequential Learning Scheme for Function Approximation Using Minimal Radial Basis Function Neural Networks Lu Yingwei, N. Sundararajan, and P. Saratchandran ----- ABSTRACTS - http://www-mitpress.mit.edu/jrnls-catalog/neural.html SUBSCRIPTIONS - 1997 - VOLUME 9 - 8 ISSUES ______ $50 Student and Retired ______ $78 Individual ______ $250 Institution Add $28 for postage and handling outside USA (+7% GST for Canada). (Back issues from Volumes 1-8 are regularly available for $28 each to institutions and $14 each for individuals Add $5 for postage per issue outside USA (+7% GST for Canada) mitpress-orders at mit.edu MIT Press Journals, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. Tel: (617) 253-2889 FAX: (617) 258-6779 -----  From info at cogsci.ed.ac.uk Thu Mar 6 13:39:30 1997 From: info at cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Centre for Cognitive Science) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 18:39:30 GMT Subject: MSc/PhD study in Cognitive Science, Edinburgh Message-ID: <8193.199703061839@burns.cogsci.ed.ac.uk> POSTGRADUATE STUDY IN THE CENTRE FOR COGNITIVE SCIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH Cognitive Psychology Neural Computation Computational Linguistics Formal Logic Data Intensive Linguistics Logic Programming Theoretical Linguistics & Knowledge Representation The Centre for Cognitive Science (CCS) offers a programme of postgraduate study in cognitive science, centred on language and cognition. The programme leads to the degrees of MSc in Cognitive Science and Natural Language, MPhil or PhD. CCS is committed to research and postgraduate teaching in cognitive science at international level. The work of the Centre is at the heart of Edinburgh's view of *informatics* -- the study of the structure, behaviour, and design of computational systems, both natural and artificial. CCS has a well-developed system of collaboration with departments within Informatics (Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science) and beyond (Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology). The Centre's lecturers and research fellows work with over 60 postgraduates in a rich and varied intellectual and social environment. Regular interdisciplinary research workshops, in which students actively participate, focus on current problems in cognitive science. Visiting researchers contribute to a lively seminar series. Research projects, many of them collaborative with other European centres of excellence, have been funded by the UK research councils ESRC, EPSRC and MRC as well as by the European Union LRE and ESPRIT programmes in such areas as natural language understanding and computational neuroscience. Teaching staff: [with associated departments] Ewan Klein Head of Department linguistic theory, phonology Chris Brew [HCRC] corpora, data intensive linguistics, language technology Jo Calder [HCRC] grammar formalisms, computational linguistics Matthew Crocker [ESRC Fellow] statistical language processing, computational psycholinguistics Mark Ellison computational phonology and morphology, natural computation Bruce Graham computational neuroscience, neural networks Alexander Holt natural language semantics, computational linguistics Alex Lascarides [HCRC] lexical and discourse processing, semantics, pragmatics Paul Schweizer PhD Organiser philosophical logic, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language Richard Shillcock MSc Course Organiser psycholinguistics, cognitive modelling, cognitive neuropsychology Keith Stenning [HCRC] human memory, inference, connectionism Associates and Fellows: Sheila Glasbey EPSRC Fellow M. Louise Kelly [Linguistics] Robert Ladd [Linguistics] John Lee [HCRC] Chris Mellish [Artificial Intelligence] Jon Oberlander [HCRC] Massimo Poesio EPSRC Fellow David Willshaw [MRC] Human Communication Research Centre: The HCRC is a centre of excellence in the interdisciplinary study of cognition and computation in human communication, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (UK). Drawing together researchers from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Durham, HCRC focuses on the psychological aspects of real language processing. HCRC shares a site with CCS, and the two contribute towards a joint research environment. Studying in Edinburgh: Edinburgh contains the largest concentration of expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing in Europe. Students have access to that expertise, to Edinburgh's large copyright libraries, and within Cognitive Science, to a substantial offprint library. The department possesses extensive computing facilities based on a network of Sun workstations and Apple Macintoshes; access to Edinburgh's concurrent supercomputer and other central computing services is easily arranged. Requirements: Applicants typically have a first degree in one of the participating areas or an appropriate joint honours degree. Funding: UK and EU students following the MSc and PhD courses are eligible to apply for studentships. CCS will advise all students concerning funding possibilities. CCS attracts studentships from a variety of UK and non-UK funding bodies. Non-UK applicants with sufficient background may enroll as non-graduating students. If you would like more information about the Postgraduate Programme in Cognitive Science at the University of Edinburgh, please contact: Admissions Centre for Cognitive Science University of Edinburgh 2 Buccleuch Place Edinburgh EH8 9LW UK Telephone: +44 131 650 4667 Fax: +44 131 650 6626 Email: info at cogsci.ed.ac.uk WWW: http://www.cogsci.ed.ac.uk/  From Friedrich.Leisch at ci.tuwien.ac.at Thu Mar 6 03:52:09 1997 From: Friedrich.Leisch at ci.tuwien.ac.at (Friedrich Leisch) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 09:52:09 +0100 Subject: CI BibTeX Collection -- Update Message-ID: <199703060852.JAA13889@galadriel.ci.tuwien.ac.at> The following volumes have been added to the collection of BibTeX files maintained by the Vienna Center for Computational Intelligence: neural networks 9/6-9 neural computation 8/8, 9/1-2 machine learning 25, 26 The complete collection can be downloaded from http://www.ci.tuwien.ac.at/docs/ci/bibtex_collection.html ftp://ftp.ci.tuwien.ac.at/pub/texmf/bibtex/bib/ Best, Fritz -- ===================================================================== Friedrich Leisch Institut f?r Statistik Tel: (+43 1) 58801 4541 Technische Universit?t Wien Fax: (+43 1) 504 14 98 Wiedner Hauptstra?e 8-10/1071 Friedrich.Leisch at ci.tuwien.ac.at A-1040 Wien, Austria http://www.ci.tuwien.ac.at/~leisch PGP public key http://www.ci.tuwien.ac.at/~leisch/pgp.key =====================================================================  From ngoddard at psc.edu Thu Mar 6 14:47:03 1997 From: ngoddard at psc.edu (Nigel Goddard) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 14:47:03 -0500 Subject: Parallel Simulation for Computational Neuroscience Message-ID: <199703061947.OAA19257@pscuxb.psc.edu> FIRST CALL Simulations in Computational Neuroscience June 11-14, 1997 Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center Pittsburgh, PA Participants in this workshop will learn to use PGENESIS, a parallel version of the GENESIS simulator, and PNEURON (under development), a parallel version of the NEURON simulator. This course will be of interest to active modelers who perceive the need for large simulations which are beyond the effective capabilities of single-cpu workstations. Both PGENESIS and PNEURON are suitable for large scale parallel search of parameter space for single neuron and neuronal network models. PGENESIS is also suitable for parallel simulation of very large network models. Both of these packages run on single workstations, workstation networks, small-scale parallel computers and large massively parallel supercomputers, providing a natural scale-up path. For large simulations NSF funds four supercomputing centers for the use of US-based computational scientists. Familiarity with the non-parallel version of GENESIS or NEURON is preferred but not required. Techniques for parallel search of parameter space and for decomposition of network models will be two foci of the workshop. Participants are encouraged to bring their models to the workshop. Each participant is provided with an SGI Irix workstation and accounts on PSCs advanced computing resources including our 512-node Cray T3E. Each day lectures will be followed by hands-on computing sessions at which experienced instructors will be available to assist in using PGENESIS and PNEURON, and optimizing models, Hotel accommodations during the workshop for researchers affiliated with U.S. academic institutions will be paid by our NIH grant. Complimentary breakfast and lunches also will be provided. There is no registration fee for this workshop. All other costs incurred in attending (travel, other meals, etc.) are the responsibility of the individual participant. The deadline for submitting applications is May 3, 1997. Enrollment is limited to 20 participants. Further information and application materials can be found at: http://www.psc.edu/biomed/workshops/wk-97/neural.html Support for this workshop is from NIH under the NCRR program and from NSF under the Computational Activities in Biology program.  From bap at cs.unm.edu Thu Mar 6 20:39:00 1997 From: bap at cs.unm.edu (Barak Pearlmutter) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 97 18:39 MST Subject: Abbadingo One: DFA Learning Competition Message-ID: Abbadingo One: DFA Learning Competition Announcement & Call for Participation In order to encourage the development of better grammar induction algorithms, the Abbadingo One competition will award at least $1,024 to the designer of the system that is most successful at discovering the structure of random deterministic finite automata, as assessed by a graded series of nine benchmark problems. The competition ends on 15-Nov-1997. This competition is being sponsored by, among others, * The Computer Science Department at the University of New Mexico, which is providing computational support. * The Kluwer Academic journal "Machine Learning," which will give priority treatment to a paper describing the award winning algorithm. * The Santa Fe Institute, which will host the award ceremony. * The "Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research." For details retrieve http://abbadingo.cs.unm.edu/ Good luck, and may the best algorithm win! -- Competition Kevin J. Lang organizers: Barak A. Pearlmutter  From jordan at psyche.mit.edu Sat Mar 8 10:12:24 1997 From: jordan at psyche.mit.edu (Michael Jordan) Date: Sat, 8 Mar 97 10:12:24 EST Subject: NIPS*97 Call for Papers Message-ID: <9703081512.AA29774@psyche.mit.edu> CALL FOR PAPERS -- NIPS*97 Neural Information Processing Systems -- Natural and Synthetic Monday December 1 - Saturday December 6, 1997 Denver, Colorado This is the eleventh meeting of an interdisciplinary conference which brings together cognitive scientists, computer scientists, engineers, neuroscientists, physicists, and mathematicians interested in all aspects of neural processing and computation. The conference will include invited talks and oral and poster presentations of refereed papers. The conference is single track and is highly selective. Preceding the main session, there will be one day of tutorial presentations (Dec. 1), and following will be two days of focused workshops on topical issues at a nearby ski area (Dec. 5-6). Major categories for paper submission, with example subcategories (by no means exhaustive), are as follows: Algorithms and Architectures: supervised and unsupervised learning algorithms, model selection algorithms, feedforward and recurrent network architectures, localized basis functions, online learning algorithms, active learning algorithms, algorithms for combining classifiers, belief networks, combinatorial optimization. Applications: handwriting recognition, DNA and protein sequence analysis, expert systems, fault diagnosis, financial analysis, medical diagnosis, music processing, time-series prediction. Artificial Intelligence: inductive reasoning, problem solving and planning, natural language understanding, hybrid symbolic-subsymbolic systems. Cognitive Science: perception and psychophysics, development, neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, language, human learning and memory, attention. Implementation: analog and digital VLSI, optical neurocomputing systems, novel neuro-devices, simulation tools, parallelism. Neuroscience: functional imaging, systems physiology, neural coding, synchrony, synaptic plasticity, neuromodulation, dendritic computation, calcium dynamics, inhibition, computational models. Reinforcement Learning and Control: exploration, dynamic programming, planning, navigation, robotic motor control, process control, Markov decision processes. Speech and Signal Processing: speech recognition, speech coding, speech synthesis, rapid adaptation, robust processing, auditory scene analysis, models of human speech perception. Theory: computational learning theory, statistical mechanics of learning, dynamics of learning algorithms, learning of dynamical systems, approximation and estimation theory, combining predictors, model selection, complexity theory. Visual Processing: image processing, image coding and classification, object recognition, stereopsis, motion detection and tracking, visual psychophysics. Review Criteria: All submitted papers will be thoroughly refereed on the basis of technical quality, significance, and clarity. Novelty of the work is also a strong consideration in paper selection, but to encourage interdisciplinary contributions, we will consider work which has been submitted or presented in part elsewhere, if it is unlikely to have been seen by the NIPS audience. Authors should not be dissuaded from submitting recent work, as there will be an opportunity after the meeting to revise accepted manuscripts before submitting final camera-ready copy. Paper Format: Submitted papers may be up to seven pages in length, including figures and references, using a font no smaller than 10 point. Submissions failing to follow these guidelines will not be considered. Authors are encouraged to use the NIPS LaTeX style files obtainable by anonymous FTP at the site given below. Papers must indicate (1) physical and e-mail addresses of all authors; (2) one of the nine major categories listed above, and, if desired, a subcategory; (3) if the work, or any substantial part thereof, has been submitted to or has appeared in other scientific conferences; (4) the authors' preference, if any, for oral or poster presentation (this preference will play no role in paper acceptance); and (5) author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Submission Instructions: Send eight copies of submitted papers to the address below; electronic or FAX submission is not acceptable. Include one additional copy of the abstract only, to be used for preparation of the abstracts booklet distributed at the meeting. SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MAY 23, 1997. From within the U.S., submissions will be accepted if mailed first class and postmarked by May 20, 1997. Mail submissions to: Michael Kearns NIPS*97 Program Chair AT&T Laboratories Research Room 2A-423 600 Mountain Avenue Murray Hill, NJ 07974-0636 USA Mail general inquiries and requests for registration material to: NIPS*97 Registration Conference Consulting Associates 451 N. Sycamore Monticello, IA 52310 fax: (319) 465-6709 (attn: Denise Prull) e-mail: nipsinfo at salk.edu Copies of the LaTeX style files for NIPS are available via anonymous ftp at ftp.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.206.173) in /afs/cs/Web/Groups/NIPS/formatting The style files and other conference information may also be retrieved via World Wide Web at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Web/Groups/NIPS NIPS*97 Organizing Committee: General Chair, Michael Jordan, MIT; Program Chair, Michael Kearns, AT&T Labs Research; Publications Chair, Sara Solla, Northwestern University; Tutorial Chair, Satinder Singh, University of Colorado; Workshops Co-Chairs, Steven Nowlan, Lexicus, and Richard Zemel, University of Arizona; Publicity Chair, Anthony Bell, Salk Institute; Local Arrangements, Arun Jagota, University of California, Santa Cruz; Treasurer, Bartlett Mel, University of Southern California; Web Master, Doug Baker, Carnegie Mellon University; Government Liaison, John Moody, OGI; Contracts, Steve Hanson, Rutgers University, Scott Kirkpatrick, IBM, Gerry Tesauro, IBM. Conference arrangements by Conference Consulting Associates, Monticello, IA. NIPS*97 Program Committee: Sue Becker, McMaster University; Joachim Buhmann, University of Bonn; Tom Dietterich, Oregon State University; Michael Kearns, AT&T Labs Research (chair); Richard Lippmann, MIT Lincoln Lab; Larry Saul, AT&T Labs Research; Jude Shavlik, University of Wisconsin; Rich Sutton, University of Massachusetts; Tali Tishby, Hebrew University; Michael Turmon, Jet Propulsion Lab; Paul Viola, MIT; John Wawrzynek, UC Berkeley; Tony Zador, Salk Institute. DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF SUBMISSIONS IS MAY 23, 1997 - please post -  From kmathia at gotham.accurate-automation.com Fri Mar 7 17:07:50 1997 From: kmathia at gotham.accurate-automation.com (Karl Mathia) Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 17:07:50 -0500 (EST) Subject: Learning Control at SCI'97 Message-ID: <199703072207.RAA07637@gotham.accurate-automation.com> ! PLEASE POST ! PLEASE POST ! PLEASE POST ! PLEASE POST ! PLEASE POST ! *********************************************************************** LAST Call for Papers: SPECIAL SESSION ON LEARNING CONTROL ----------------------------------- at the WORLD MULTICONFERENCE ON SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS (SCI'97) Caracas, Venezuela July 7-11, 1997 (Extended Deadline for Abstracts: March 31, 1997) *********************************************************************** LEARNING CONTROL ---------------- "Learning Control" is a term attributed to a broad class of self-tuning processes, where the performance of the controlled system with respect to a particular task is self-improved based on the performance for previous identical tasks. The idea of self-learning control systems is aesthetically appealing and represents a fundamental step towards fully autonomous systems. This is of advantage when dealing with uncertain or changing systems. The major difference between adaptive and learning control is sometimes characterized in terms of 'local' and 'global' learning. An adaptive systems continuously adapts to changes in environment and system para- meters (local), whereas a learning systems memorizes and recognizes previously experienced situations (global). The classification of learning control will be one of many topics at this SCI'97 session. We invite you to present your recent research results, learn about current avenues in the field, and to meet interesting people. We look for quality papers which cover the topics outlined below. Similar work is also welcome. OVERVIEW OF SCI'97 ------------------ SCI'97 is a truly multi-disciplinary conference, covering intelligent computing, information theory, cybernetics, social and biological systems, psychology, and applications. General information about the conference is listed below or can be found at the website http://www.iiis.org/ SCI'97 is an ideal platform for a special session on "Learning Control", an emerging discipline which is receiving more and more attention from both the academic and industrial controls community, due to the increasing complexity of (technical) systems. TOPICS ------ The Learning Control Session will include, but is not limited, to the following topics (further suggestions are encouraged): * Classification of learning control systems. * Mathematical learning theory in a controls context. * Biological or social self-learning control mechanisms and their extension to technical systems. * Human operator modeling. Human operators are (currently) the ultimate learning controller for complex systems. * Neurocontrol, using biological or artificial neural networks. * Fuzzy logic and learning. * Optimal Control type learning algorithms (adaptive critics, Q-learning, etc.). * Variable structure learning of controllers and its variants, e.g. reconfigurable and reparameterizable controllers. * Stability of learning control systems (important!). * Hardware implementations. * Applications and case studies which exceed the usual benchmark problems towards real-world complex systems. Questions about, or contributions to this special session can be e-mailed to Karl Mathia at karl at mathia.com or kmathia at accurate-automation.com PAPER SUBMISSION ---------------- Please mail three (3) hardcopies of your abstract or draft (1-2 pages) to: Dr. Karl Mathia Accurate Automation Corporation 7001 Shallowford Road Phone: (423) 894-4646 Chattanooga, TN 37421 Fax: (423) 894-4645 USA Full-size papers (max. 8 pages, single spaced) are be submitted by authors after the notification of acceptance. Please note the extended deadline for camera-ready papers: May 12, 1997. DEADLINES --------- March 15, 1997 Submission of 1-2 page abstracts or drafts. March 31, 1997 Acceptance notifications. May 1, 1997 Submission of camera ready papers (max. 8 pages, single spaced). ***********************************************************************  From paolo at eealab.unian.it Mon Mar 10 10:07:22 1997 From: paolo at eealab.unian.it (Paolo Campolucci) Date: Mon, 10 Mar 97 17:07:22 +0200 Subject: No subject Message-ID: <9703101507.AA00234@dns.eealab.unian.it> --------------------------CALL FOR PAPERS-------------------------------- Special Session on Neural Networks for Signal Processing ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- ISIS'97- International Symposium on Intelligent Systems ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- Signal processing problems, with their particular features and challenges, have provided an important field of application for artificial neural networks (ANNs). The non-linear processing and classification capabilities of these networks, in fact, can be very useful in many DSP applications. However, to provide robust, efficient and reliable NN solutions to many real-world problems, new and original ideas should be found to overcome nowadays limitations. This special session, organized within ISIS'97, wants to provide an open forum for researchers in this field to present and discuss new and promising results on the theory and application of artificial neural networks for signal processing. Papers are solicited for, but not limited to, the following topics: >>>Paradigms: artificial neural networks, evolutionary computation, nonlinear signal processing, robust fitting, classification and learning, statistical properties of ANNs, complexity issues. >>>Application areas: speech processing, speech enhancement, space-time processing, adaptive filtering, channel equalization and predistortion, robotics, system identification and control, time series prediction, temporal pattern recognition. >>>Theories: generalization, design algorithms, optimization, learning, neural architectures for signal processing, dynamic recurrent neural networks, locally recurrent neural networks, IIR synapses neural networks, Time Delay Neural Networks, fast learning algorithms, on-line training algorithms, on-line clustering, and identification/rejection of outliers. >>>Implementations: parallel and distributed implementation, hardware design, other implementation technologies. The International Symposium on Intelligent Systems will be held in Reggio Calabria (Italy) in the center of the Mediterranean sea, from September 11 to September 13, 1997. This 2+1/2 days interdisciplinary symposium aims to be an international forum for advanced studies in Neural Networks, Fuzzy Systems and related intelligent technologies, with special concern for analysis and synthesis of systems which have to make decisions in an environment of uncertainty and imprecision. This Conference follows up the series of International Symposia organized by AMSE in Istanbul (1988), Brighton (1989), Cetinje (1990), Warsaw (1991), Geneva (1992), London (1993), Lyon (1994), Brno (1995) and Leon (1996). More information about the workshop is available at: http://neurolab.ing.unirc.it/isis97.html Papers Submission to special session: Papers must be received by April 15, 1997. They should include an abstract not exceeding 100 words and should not exceed five A4 pages, single-column format in Times Roman or similar font style, 10 points or larger with 2.5 cm (one inch) margins on all four sides, including figures, tables and references. All submitted manuscripts, both invited and contributed, will be evaluated by peer reviewers to determine their suitability for publication. Authors are encouraged to submit their work via Air Mail or Express Courier so as to ensure timely delivery. All submissions will be acknowledged by electronic or postal mail. Authors of accepted papers wil= be invited to submit their final camera-ready papers by May 31, 1997. Five copies of the manuscript must be sent to the address below with an accompanying letter including the following information: Full Title of the Paper Technical Topics (First and Second Choices) Corresponding Author (Name, Postal and E-Mail Addresses, Telephone and Fax Numbers) Presenting Author and preferred mode of presentation (Oral or Poster) Symposium Language: English will be the official language of the Symposium. Important dates: April 15, 1997 Deadline for manuscripts submitted to the special session. May 10, 1997 Notification to Authors.=20 May 31, 1997 Deadline for receiving final camera-ready papers Proceedings: Accepted papers will be included in the Proceedings published by IOS press. Selected papers could be published in several journals of AMSE. All manuscripts submitted to the special session must be sent to: Prof. Francesco Piazza Dipart. Elettronica ed Automatica, Universita' di Ancona via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona email: upf at eealab.unian.it (or paolo at eealab.unian.it) TEL: +39 (71) 2204 453 or 2204 541 FAX: +39 (71) 2204 464 or 2204 835 For informations about the special session, please contact Prof. F. Piazza, at the address above, or: Dr. Elio D. Di Claudio Dipart. INFO-COM, Universit=E0 di Roma "La Sapienza" via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Roma email dic at infocom.ing.uniroma1.it TEL: +39 (6) 44585 837 or 44585 839 FAX: +39 (6) 4873300 For information about the symposium, please contact: Symposium Secretariat: ISIS'97 Secretariat=20 University of Reggio Calabria=20 Faculty of Engineering, DIEMA=20 Via E.Cuzzocrea 48, I-89127 Reggio Calabria, Italy Phone: +39 -965 875224, Fax: +39 -965 875247 E-mail: neurolab at csiins.unirc.it WWW: http://neurolab.ing.unirc.it/isis97.html  From henkel at physik.uni-bremen.de Tue Mar 11 05:45:30 1997 From: henkel at physik.uni-bremen.de (Rolf Henkel) Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 11:45:30 +0100 Subject: Stereovision: TR, Webpages, Demo Message-ID: <332537CA.12A4AAE6@theo.physik.uni-bremen.de> A technical report, some Webpages and an Online-Demo of a new computational approach to Stereovision are now available. The new approach rests on aliasing effects of simple disparity estimators caused by sampling visual space only at two eye-positions. In connection with a coherence-detection scheme, a stable algorithm is obtained which calculates within a single computational structure a dense disparity map and a verification count for the disparity estimates. In addition, the network fuses the left and right stereo images into the cyclopean view of the scene. Keywords: Stereovision, cyclopean view, complex cells, parallel algorithm Comments to the ideas presented are very welcome. The webpages can be found at the URL http://axon.physik.uni-bremen.de/~rdh/research/stereo/ the technical report retrieved under http://axon.physik.uni-bremen.de/~rdh/research/papers/tyc.ps.gz and the Online-Demo of the algorithm tested under the URL http://axon.physik.uni-bremen.de/~rdh/online_calc/stereo2/ Thank you very much for your interest, Rolf Henkel Institute of Theoretical Neurophysics, University Bremen, Germany ----------------------------------------------------------------- Email: henkel at theo.physik.uni-bremen.de URL: http://axon.physik.uni-bremen.de/~rdh/research/ -----------------------------------------------------------------  From golden at utdallas.edu Tue Mar 11 13:48:32 1997 From: golden at utdallas.edu (Richard M Golden) Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 12:48:32 -0600 (CST) Subject: NEW MIT BOOK! Mathematical Methods for Neural Net Analysis and Design Message-ID: Mathematical Methods for Neural Network Analysis and Design Richard M. Golden MIT Press (1996) ORDERING INFO: ISBN 0-262-07174-6 http://www.amazon.com Cloth ($65.00), 432 pages. http://www-mitpress.mit.edu/order-info.html 1-800-356-0343 (MIT BOOK ORDER Department) ***FOR MORE INFO: http://www.utdallas.edu/~golden/book_abs.html This textbook teaches students how to carefully use a powerful set of mathematical tools for analyzing and designing a wide variety of NONLINEAR HIGH-DIMENSIONAL Artificial Neural Network (ANN) systems. Chapter 1: ANN systems with Neuroscience, Psychology, Engineering Applications Chapter 2: Specific ANN system architectures; classification/learning paradigms Chapter 3: LaSalle's Invariant Set Theorem for behavioral analysis of ANNs Chapter 4: Stochastic Approximation Theorem for behavioral analysis of ANNs Chapter 5: Nonlinear Optimization Theory for ANN system design Chapters 6,7: Bayesian Decision Theory and Markov Random Fields for the design of "rational" ANN classification/learning objective functions. Chapter 8: Confidence intervals for an ANN system's predictions. Statistical tests for: (i) pruning/adding units, and (ii) model selection. Solutions: Solutions to over 100 ANN system analysis and design problems ***** This message is being sent to multiple mailing lists. My apologies if you receive this message more than once. ******  From terry at salk.edu Fri Mar 14 16:59:05 1997 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 13:59:05 -0800 (PST) Subject: Telluride Deadline April 1 Message-ID: <199703142159.NAA19854@helmholtz.salk.edu> ****** Deadline for application is April 1, 1997 ***** "NEUROMORPHIC ENGINEERING WORKSHOP" JUNE 23 - JULY 13, 1997 TELLURIDE, COLORADO Christof Koch (Caltech) Terry Sejnowski (Salk Institute/UCSD) and Rodney Douglas (Zurich, Switzerland) invite applications for a three-week summer workshop that will be held in Telluride, Colorado in 1997. The 1996 summer workshop on "Neuromorphic Engineering", sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Gatsby Foundation and by the "Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering" at Caltech, was an exciting event and a great success. A detailed report on the workshop is available at http://www.klab.caltech.edu/~timmer/telluride.html GOALS: Carver Mead introduced the term "Neuromorphic Engineering" for a new field based on the design and fabrication of artificial neural systems, such as vision systems, head-eye systems, and roving robots, whose architecture and design principles are based on those of biological nervous systems. The goal of this workshop is to bring together young investigators and more established researchers from academia with their counterparts in industry and national laboratories, working on both neurobiological as well as engineering aspects of sensory systems and sensory-motor integration. The focus of the workshop will be on "active" participation, with demonstration systems and hands-on-experience for all participants. Neuromorphic engineering has a wide range of applications from nonlinear adaptive control of complex systems to the design of smart sensors. Many of the fundamental principles in this field, such as the use of learning methods and the design of parallel hardware, are inspired by biological systems. However, existing applications are modest and the challenge of scaling up from small artificial neural networks and designing completely autonomous systems at the levels achieved by biological systems lies ahead. The assumption underlying this three week workshop is that the next generation of neuromorphic systems would benefit from closer attention to the principles found through experimental and theoretical studies of brain systems. FORMAT: The three week summer workshop will include background lectures, practical tutorials on aVLSI design, hands-on projects, and special interest groups. Participants are encouraged to get involved in as many of these activities as interest and time allow. There will be two lectures in the morning that cover issues that are important to the community in general. Because of the diverse range of backgrounds among the participants, the majority of these lectures will be tutorials, rather than detailed reports of current research. These lectures will be given by invited speakers. Participants will be free to explore and play with whatever they choose in the afternoon. Projects and interest groups meet in the late afternoons, and after dinner. The aVLSI practical tutorials will cover all aspects of aVLSI design, simulation, layout, and testing over the workshop of the three weeks. The first week covers basics of transistors, simple circuit design and simulation. This material is intended for participants who have no experience with aVLSI. The second week will focus on design frames for silicon retinas, from the silicon compilation and layout of on-chip video scanners, to building the peripheral boards necessary for interfacing aVLSI retinas to video output monitors. Retina chips will be provided. The third week will feature a session on floating gates, including lectures on the physics of tunneling and injection, and experimentation with test chips. Projects that are carried out during the workshop will be centered in a number of groups, including active vision, audition, olfaction, motor control, central pattern generator, robotics, multichip communication, analog VLSI and learning. The "active perception" project group will emphasize vision and human sensory-motor coordination. Issues to be covered will include spatial localization and constancy, attention, motor planning, eye movements, and the use of visual motion information for motor control. Demonstrations will include a robot head active vision system consisting of a three degree-of-freedom binocular camera system that is fully programmable. The "central pattern generator" group will focus on small walking robots. It will look at characteristics and sources of parts for building robots, play with working examples of legged robots, and discuss CPG's and theories of nonlinear oscillators for locomotion. It will also explore the use of simple aVLSI sensors for autonomous robots. The "robotics" group will use robot arms and working digital vision boards to investigate issues of sensory motor integration, passive compliance of the limb, and learning of inverse kinematics and inverse dynamics. The "multichip communication" project group will use existing interchip communication interfaces to program small networks of artificial neurons to exhibit particular behaviors such as amplification, oscillation, and associative memory. Issues in multichip communication will be discussed. PARTIAL LIST OF INVITED LECTURERS: Andreas Andreou, Johns Hopkins. Richard Andersen, Caltech. Dana Ballard, Rochester. Avis Cohen, Maryland. Tobi Delbruck, Arithmos. Steve DeWeerth, Georgia Tech Rodney Douglas, Zurich. Christof Koch, Caltech. John Kauer, Tufts. Shih-Chii Liu, Caltech and Rockwell. Stefan Schaal, Georgia Tech Terrence Sejnowski, UCSD and Salk. Shihab Shamma, Maryland. Mark Tilden, Los Alamos. Paul Viola, MIT. LOCATION AND ARRANGEMENTS: The workshop will take place at the "Telluride Summer Research Center," located in the small town of Telluride, 9000 feet high in Southwest Colorado, about 6 hours away from Denver (350 miles) and 5 hours from Aspen. Continental and United Airlines provide many daily flights directly into Telluride. Participants will be housed in shared condominiums, within walking distance of the Center. Bring hiking boots and a backpack, since Telluride is surrounded by beautiful mountains (several mountains are in the 14,000 range). The workshop is intended to be very informal and hands-on. Participants are not required to have had previous experience in analog VLSI circuit design, computational or machine vision, systems level neurophysiology or modeling the brain at the systems level. However, we strongly encourage active researchers with relevant backgrounds from academia, industry and national laboratories to apply, in particular if they are prepared to talk about their work or to bring demonstrations to Telluride (e.g. robots, chips, software). Internet access will be provided. Technical staff present throughout the workshops will assist with software and hardware issues. We will have a network of SUN workstations running UNIX, MACs and PCs running LINUX (and windows). COST: Scholarships are available to reimburse some participants for up to $500 for domestic travel and for all housing expenses. Please specify on the application whether such financial help is needed. DURATION: Unless otherwise arranged with one of the organizers, we expect participants to stay for the duration of this three week workshop. Because of the intensity of the workshop and the focus on projects, spouses and families cannot be accommodated during the workshop. HOW TO APPLY: The deadline for receipt of applications is April 1, 1997. Applicants should be at the level of graduate students or above (i.e. post-doctoral fellows, faculty, research and engineering staff and the equivalent positions in industry and national laboratories). We actively encourage qualified women and minority candidates to apply. Application should include: 1. Name, address, telephone, e-mail, FAX, and minority status (optional). 2. Curriculum Vitae. 3. One page summary of background and interests relevant to the workshop. 4. Description of special equipment needed for demonstrations that could be brought to the workshop. 5. Two letters of recommendation Complete applications should be sent to: Terrence Sejnowski The Salk Institute 10010 North Torrey Pines Road San Diego, CA 92037 email: terry at salk.edu FAX: (619) 587 0417 Applicants will be notified around May 1, 1997.  From bert at mbfys.kun.nl Mon Mar 17 11:34:12 1997 From: bert at mbfys.kun.nl (Bert Kappen) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 17:34:12 +0100 Subject: paper available Stimulus dependent correlations in stochastic networks (25 pages) Message-ID: <199703171634.RAA21938@bertus> Content-Length: 950 FTP-host: ftp.mbfys.kun.nl FTP-file: snn/pub/reports The file Kappen.Featurelinking.ps.Z is now available for copying from the Neuroprose repository: Stimulus dependent correlations in stochastic networks (25 pages) ABSTRACT: It has been observed that cortical neurons display synchronous firing for some stimuli and not for others. The resulting synchronous cell assemblies are thought to form the basis of object perception. In this paper this 'dynamic linking' phenomenon is demonstrated in networks of binary neurons with stochastic dynamics. Analytical treatment within the mean field theory and linear response theory is possible and is compared with simulations. We establish that correlations are a sensitive function of the spatial coherence in the stimulus. We discuss the possibility to use these correlations as a mechanism for scene segmentation. The papar has been accepted for publication in Physical Review E. Bert Kappen  From maire at fit.qut.edu.au Mon Mar 17 00:03:33 1997 From: maire at fit.qut.edu.au (maire@fit.qut.edu.au) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 15:03:33 +1000 Subject: CADE-14 workshop CFP Message-ID: <3.0.16.19970317150311.2ca710b0@sky.fit.qut.edu.au> ============================================================= FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS CADE-14 WORKSHOP July 13, 1997, Townsville, Australia -------------------------------------------- CONNECTIONIST SYSTEMS FOR KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION AND DEDUCTION -------------------------------------------- Joachim Diederich, Frederic Maire & Ross Hayward Neurocomputing Research Centre Queensland University of Technology Brisbane 4001 Queensland, Australia Phone: +61 7 3864-2143 Fax: +61 7 3864-1801 E-mail: {joachim,maire,hayward}@fit.qut.edu.au GOALS The objective of the workshop is to provide a discussion platform for researchers interested in Artificial Intelli- gence (AI), Neural Networks (NN), Automated Reasoning and Deduction. The workshop should be of considerable interest to computer scientists, mathematicians and engineers as well as to cognitive scientists and people interested in NN applications which try to bridge the gap between symbolic AI systems and connectionist networks. INTRODUCTION Connectionist systems are attractive because they have highly desirable properties such as fine-grain parallelism, fault tolerance and automatic learning. For a long time, they lagged behind symbolic AI systems for knowledge representation and automated reasoning. But over the last ten years, several connectionist knowledge representation systems have been introduced with greater expressive and inferential power than previous systems (e.g. Pinkas 1991, Shastri & Ajjanagadde 1993, Lange & Dyer 1989, Diederich & Kurfess 1994, Derthick, 1988). SIGNIFICANCE The rapid and successful proliferation of applications incorporating Artificial Neural Network methods and systems in fields as diverse as commerce, science, industry and medicine, offers a clear testament to the capability of the NN paradigm. However, NNs are generally weak methods for knowledge representation. In contrast to symbolic systems, neural networks have no explicit, declarative knowledge representation and therefore have considerable difficulties in generating complex or embedded (e.g. recursive) structures. In neural networks, knowledge is encoded in numeric parameters (weights) and generally distributed. For NNs to gain an even wider degree of user acceptance and to enhance their overall utility as learning and generalisation tools, it is highly desirable (if not essential) to overcome their limitations as representational systems. DISCUSSION POINTS FOR WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS 1. Oscillatory or signature passing models such as SHRUTI (Shastri & Ajjanagadde, 1993) or ROBIN (Lange & Dyer, 1989). 2. Systems based on energy minimisation such as Pinkas (1991a,b) or Derthick (1988). 3. Integrated modular systems that employ multi-layer feedforward networks and simple recurrent networks (e.g. Diederich & Kurfess, 1994). Learning and representation need to interact here and the representational expressiveness needs to be improved. 4. Logical formalism representable in connectionist networks 5. Representing reasoning processes in a connectionist architecture 6. Relevance of the connectionist approach to overcome the main obstacles to the automation of reasoning (clause retention, inadequate focus, redundant information, clause generation, demodulation, metarules etc.) 7. Learning for Connectionist Representation Systems 8. Learning direction strategy to reduce the severity of the obstacle of inadequate focus. SUBMISSION OF WORKSHOP EXTENDED ABSTRACTS/PAPERS Authors are invited to submit 3 copies of either an extended abstract or full paper relating to one of the topic areas listed above. Papers should be written in English in single column format and should be limited to no more than eight, (8) sides of A4 paper including figures and references. We encourage e-mail submissions in Postscript. Please include the following information in an accompanying cover letter: Full title of paper, presenting author's name, address, and telephone and fax numbers, authors e-mail address. Submission Deadline is April 21,1997 with notification to authors by May 5, 1997 and final postscript versions for the proceedings due by June 2, 1997. For further information, inquiries, and paper submissions please contact: Joachim Diederich, Frederic Maire & Ross Hayward Neurocomputing Research Centre Queensland University of Technology Brisbane 4001 Queensland, Australia Phone: +61 7 3864-2143 Fax: +61 7 3864-1801 E-mail: {joachim,maire,hayward}@fit.qut.edu.au More information about the CADE-14 workshop series is available from: WWW: http://www.cs.jcu.edu.au/~cade-14/ Information about Workshop participation fees are available from: WWW: http://www.cs.jcu.edu.au/~cade-14/CADE-14/RegoForm.html  From ataxr at IMAP1.ASU.EDU Sat Mar 15 00:45:25 1997 From: ataxr at IMAP1.ASU.EDU (Asim Roy) Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 00:45:25 -0500 (EST) Subject: Does plasticity imply local learning? And other questions Message-ID: [ Moderator's note: Asim Roy led a discussion across several newsgroups on the topic of plasticity and local learning. Below is a summary of the responses he received. -- DST ] I am posting the responses I have so far without comment. Some of the responses provide a great deal of insight on this topic. I hope this will generate more interest in the questions raised. The original posting is attached below for reference. Asim Roy Arizona State University ============================================================= From rao at cs.rochester.edu Mon Mar 17 22:34:36 1997 From: rao at cs.rochester.edu (Rajesh Rao) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 22:34:36 -0500 Subject: Tech Report: Eye movements - a computational study Message-ID: <199703180334.WAA22044@skunk.cs.rochester.edu> The following report describing a computational model of eye movements in visual cognition is available for retrieval via ftp. Keywords: Saccades, spatiochromatic filters, saliency maps, spatial memory, object-centered maps, reference frames Comments and suggestions welcome (This message has been cross-posted - my apologies to those who received it more than once). -- Rajesh Rao Internet: rao at cs.rochester.edu Dept. of Computer Science VOX: (716) 275-2527 University of Rochester FAX: (716) 461-2018 Rochester NY 14627-0226 WWW: http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/rao/ =========================================================================== Eye Movements in Visual Cognition: A Computational Study Rajesh P.N. Rao, Gregory J. Zelinsky, Mary M. Hayhoe, and Dana H. Ballard Technical Report 97.1 National Resource Laboratory for the Study of Brain and Behavior University of Rochester March 1997 Abstract Visual cognition depends critically on the moment-to-moment orientation of gaze. Gaze is changed by saccades, rapid eye movements that orient the fovea over targets of interest in a visual scene. Saccades are ballistic; a prespecified target location is computed prior to the movement and visual feedback is precluded. Once a target is fixated, gaze is typically held for about 300 milliseconds, although it can be held for both longer and shorter intervals. Despite these distinctive properties, there has been no specific computational model of the gaze targeting strategy employed by the human visual system during visual cognitive tasks. This paper proposes such a model that uses iconic scene representations derived from oriented spatiochromatic filters at multiple scales. Visual search for a target object proceeds in a coarse-to-fine fashion with the target's largest scale filter responses being compared first. Task-relevant target locations are represented as saliency maps which are used to program eye movements. Once fixated, targets are remembered by using spatial memory in the form of object-centered maps. The model was empirically tested by comparing its performance with actual eye movement data from human subjects in natural visual search tasks. Experimental results indicate excellent agreement between eye movements predicted by the model and those recorded from human subjects. Retrieval information: FTP-host: ftp.cs.rochester.edu FTP-pathname: /pub/u/rao/papers/tr97.1.ps.Z URL: ftp://ftp.cs.rochester.edu/pub/u/rao/papers/tr97.1.ps.Z 35 pages; 1385K compressed, 6667K uncompressed ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anonymous ftp instructions: >ftp ftp.cs.rochester.edu Connected to anon.cs.rochester.edu. 220 anon.cs.rochester.edu FTP server (Version wu-2.4(3)) ready. Name: [type 'anonymous' here] 331 Guest login ok, send your complete e-mail address as password. Password: [type your e-mail address here] ftp> cd /pub/u/rao/papers/ ftp> get tr97.1.ps.Z ftp> bye >uncompress tr97.1.ps.Z >lpr tr97.1.ps  From rojicek at utia.cas.cz Tue Mar 18 10:17:12 1997 From: rojicek at utia.cas.cz (Jiri Rojicek) Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 16:17:12 +0100 Subject: Curse of dimensionality - new book now available Message-ID: <332EB1F8.3D73@utia.cas.cz> I'd like to inform you about a new book dealing with the 'curse of dimensionality' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Intensive Methods in Control and Signal Processing The Curse of Dimensionality --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K. Warwick, University of Reading, England M. K?rny, Institute of Info. Theory, Prague, Czech Republic (Eds.) 0-8176-3989-6 * 1997 * $69.95 * Hardcover * 320 pages * 47 Illustrations For further information and ordering please visit the page: http://www.birkhauser.com/cgi-win/ISBN/0-8176-3989-6/ ********************************************************************** Jiri Rojicek Ji?? Roj??ek (in Win CP 1250) rojicek at utia.cas.cz http://www.utia.cas.cz/AS_dept/rojicek/ tel: +420 - 2 - 66052310 **********************************************************************  From ollis at nucleus.hut.fi Wed Mar 19 08:13:25 1997 From: ollis at nucleus.hut.fi (Olli Simula) Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 15:13:25 +0200 Subject: ICONIP'97 Special Session on System Monitoring, Modeling, and Analysis Message-ID: <332FE675.47D5@nucleus.hut.fi> ICONIP'97, The Fourth International Conference on Neural Information Processing, November 24-28, 1997. Dunedin/Queenstown, New Zealand Special Session on System Monitoring, Modeling, and Analysis CALL FOR PAPERS Adaptive and intelligent systems based on neural computation and related techniques have successfully been applied in the analysis of various complex processes. This is due to the inherent learning capability of neural networks which is superior in analyzing systems that cannot be modeled analytically. In addition to various fields of engineering, like pattern recognition, industrial process monitoring, and telecommunications, practical applications include information retrieval, data analysis, and financial applications. A special session devoted to these areas of neural computation will be organized at ICONIP'97. The scope of the special session covers neural networks methods and related techniques as well as applications in the following areas: - monitoring, modeling, and analysis, of complex industrial processes - telecommunications applications, including resource management and optimization - data analysis and fusion, including financial applications - time series modeling and forecasting Prospective authors are invited to submit papers to the special session on any area of neural techniques on system monitoring, modeling, and analysis including, but not limited to the topics listed above. The submissions must be received by May 30, 1997. Please, send five copies of your manuscript to Prof. Olli Simula, Special Session Organizer Helsinki University of Technology, Laboratory of Computer and Information Science, Rakentajanaukio 2 C, FIN-02150 Espoo, Finland. More detailed instructions for manuscript submission procedure can be found at WWW, on the special session home page: http://nucleus.hut.fi/ICONIP97/ssmonitor/ For the most up-to-date information about ICONIP'97, please browse the conference home page: http://divcom.otago.ac.nz:800/com/infosci/kel/iconip97.htm Important dates: Papers due: May 30, 1997 Notification of acceptance: July 20, 1997 Final camera-ready papers due: August 20, 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------  From Paul.Vitanyi at cwi.nl Wed Mar 19 09:37:35 1997 From: Paul.Vitanyi at cwi.nl (Paul.Vitanyi@cwi.nl) Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 15:37:35 +0100 Subject: Book Announcement: 2nd Edition Li-Vitanyi on Kolmogorov Complexity Message-ID: <9703191437.AA16825=paulv@gnoe.cwi.nl> Ming Li and Paul Vitanyi, AN INTRODUCTION TO KOLMOGOROV COMPLEXITY AND ITS APPLICATIONS, REVISED AND EXPANDED SECOND EDITION, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1997, xx+637 pp, 41 illus. Hardcover \$49.95/ISBN 0-387-94868-6 (Graduate Texts in Computer Science Series) After four years and two printings the second edition has now appeared. During the preparation the book has been out of stock for a year. In interaction with many readers and teachers of courses and seminars, all reported errors and problems have been corrected. The book is revised and expanded by about 90 pages. The price has been *lowered* by over $9. See the web page "http://www.cwi.nl/~paulv/kolmogorov.html". From parodi at cptsu2.univ-mrs.fr Wed Mar 19 11:09:48 1997 From: parodi at cptsu2.univ-mrs.fr (Olivier Parodi) Date: Wed, 19 Mar 97 17:09:48 +0100 Subject: Cargese Summer School, 2d Announcement Message-ID: <9703191609.AA10605@cptsu2.univ-mrs.fr> SUMMER SCHOOL on NEURONAL INFORMATION PROCESSING : FROM BIOLOGICAL DATA TO MODELLING AND APPLICATIONS Cargese -- Corse du Sud (France) June 30 -- July 12, 1997 organized at the INSTITUT D'ETUDES SCIENTIFIQUES DE CARGESE CNRS (UMS 820) Universite de Nice-Sophia Antipolis - Universite de Corte F 20130 CARGESE Sponsored by Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique DGA-DRET (French Ministry of Defence) Conseil Executif de la Corse THEME In the past ten years, statistical mechanics and dynamics of neuronal automata have been extensively studied. Most of the work has been based on over-simplified models of neurons. Recent developments in Neurosciences have, however, considerably modified our knowledge of both the operating modes of neurons and information processing in the cortex. Multi-unit recordings have allowed precise temporal correlations to be detected, within temporal windows of the order of 1 ms. Simultaneously, oscillations corresponding to a quasi-periodic spike-firing, synchronized over several visual cortical areas, have been observed with anaesthesied cats and with monkeys. Last but not least, recent work on the neuronal operating modes have emphasized the role played by the dendritic arborization. These developments have led to considerable interest for coding scheme relying on precise spatio-temporal patterns both from the theoretical and experimental points of view. This prompts us to consider, for information processing, new models which would proceed, e.g., from a synchronous detection of correlated spike firing, and could be particularly robust against noise. Such models might bring about original technical applications for information processing and control. Further developments in this field may be of major importance for our understanding of the basic mechanisms of perception and cognition. They should also lead to new concepts in applications directed towards artificial perception and pattern recognition. Up to now, artificial systems for pattern recognition are far from reaching the standards of human vision. Systems based on a temporal coding by spikes may now be expected to bring about major improvements in this field. The aim of the school is to provide students and people engaged in both applied and basic research with state of the art in every relevant field (Neurosciences, Physics, Mathematics, Information and Control Theory) and to encourage further interdisciplinary and international exchanges. LECTURES Pr. Ad Aertsen (Freiburg am Brisgau) - Dynamic organization of cortical activity. Pr. P. Combe (Marseille) - Learning: a geometrical approach. Pr. J. Demongeot (Grenoble) - Dynamics of modular architectures. Pr. L. van Hemmen (Munchen) - Coding by spikes. Pr. J. Herault (Grenoble) - Information processing in retina. Pr. J. Hertz (Copenhague) - Temporal coding and learning. Pr. A. Holley (Lyon) - Information processing in the mammalian olfactory system. Dr. R. Lestienne (Paris) - Temporal coding with and without clocks. Pr. C. von der Malsburg (Bochum) - The importance of neural synchrony in the visual system. Dr. C. Masson (Paris) - From complex signals to adapted behavior: the example of a small olfactory brain. Dr. J. P. Nadal (Paris) - Information theory and neuronal architecture. Dr. O. Parodi (Marseille) - Temporal coding and correlation detection. Dr. P. Roelfsema (Frankfurt) - Oscillations in the visual cortex of mammalians. Pr. S. A. Solla (ATT) - Dynamics of on-line learning processes. Dr. T. Schanze & Prof. R. Eckhorn (Marburg): Neural mechanisms of visual feature binding and separation investigated with microelectrodes and models. OFFICIAL LANGUAGES The official languages of the School are English and French. Lectures will given in English. DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL Olivier PARODI, Centre de Physique Theorique CNRS-Luminy, case 907, F 13288 MARSEILLE CEDEX 09, France Tel. (33) 4 91 26 95 30 Fax (33) 4 91 26 95 53 e-mail parodi at cpt.univ-mrs.fr REGISTRATION FEES Students: free CNRS and members of CNRS institutes: free University: 1500 FF Industry: 2500 FF ACCOMMODATION GRANTS 1 - The School is sponsored by the Formation Permanente du CNRS, which can support accomodation expenses of at least 16 CNRS participants. 2 - The Organizing Committee will consider grants for students and young participants. PRACTICAL INFORMATION The school will be held at the Institut d'Etudes Scientifiques de Cargese. Lectures and Seminars will be given from 9 am to 12:30 pm and from 4 to 7:15 pm.(except on Sunday) from July 1 to 11 included. All participants are expected to arrive on June 30 and leave on July 12. TRAVEL : Cargese is located approximatively 60 kms North of Ajaccio. The best way to get to Cargese is to reach Ajaccio. You are asked to make your own travelling arrangements. However, in order to reduce the cost of your travel, two groups will be organized on regular flights between Paris and Ajaccio and Marseille and Ajaccio on June 30 and July 12 (approx. 1200-1400 FF for a Paris- Ajaccio return ticket). We also consider renting buses for the Ajaccio-Cargese and return journeys. Details will be sent later. ACCOMODATION : The Institute is located 2 km south of the village, on the sea shore. On working days, lunches will be served at the Institute (800 FF for the session, including refreshment and coffe breaks). There are various housing possibilities: - shared room at the Institute or in apartments in the village - 1920 FF (per person for the session) - single room in shared apartments in the village - 2640 FF for the session - rented apartment in the village for your family - 270 to 500 FF per day - hotels in the village - 250 to 400 FF per person per day - camping on the grounds of the Institute - 20 FF per person per day. You have to bring your own equipment, showers are at your disposal. Breakfast will be served at the Institute for people staying on the grounds. WARNING: There are no banks nor cash machines in Cargese and credit cards are not accepted everywhere. Think to bring enough French cash before leaving Paris, Marseille or Ajaccio. NOTE : We cannot provide accomodation before or after the dates of the School. POSTER SESSION : One or several poster sessions will be organized. Participants are encouraged to prepare posters on their own work. REGISTRATION : You have to fill the enclosed application and return it by e-mail to cargese at cpt.univ-mrs.fr BEFORE MARCH 31, 1997 with, if necessary, a letter justifying your grant request. The School will accept up to 50 students, including those supported by the Formation Permanente of CNRS. In case of over-demand, participants will be selected by the Scientific Committee, with a balance between junior and senior students, and a preference for students carrying an active research in the field. ------------------ http://cpt.univ-mrs.fr/Cargese ----------------------  From terry at salk.edu Thu Mar 20 01:58:53 1997 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 22:58:53 -0800 (PST) Subject: NEURAL COMPUTATION 9:3 Message-ID: <199703200658.WAA27040@helmholtz.salk.edu> Neural Computation - Contents Volume 9, Number 3 - April 1, 1997 Article A Neuro-Mimetic Dynamic Scheduling Algorithm for Control: Analysis and Applications Harpreet S. Kwatra, Francis J. Doyle III, Ilya A. Rybak, and James S. Schwaber Notes Conductance-Based Integrate and Fire Models Alain Destexhe A Simple Model of Transmitter Release and Facilitation Richard Bertram Functional Periodic Intracortical Couplings Induced by Structured Lateral Inhibition in a Linear Cortical Network S. P. Sabatini, G. M. Bisio and L. Raffo Letters Possible Roles of Spontaneous Waves and Dendritic Growth for Retinal Receptive Field Development Pierre-Yves Burgi and Norberto M. Grzywacz Singularities in Primate Orientation Maps K. Obermayer and G. G. Blasdel Topographic Receptive Fields and Patterned Lateral Interaction in a Self-Organizing Model of the Primary Visual Cortex Joseph Sirosh and Risto Miikkulainen The Formation of Topographic Maps that Maximize the Average Mutual Information of the Output Responses to Noiseless Input Signals Marc M. Van Hulle Self-Organization of Firing Activities in Monkey's Motor Cortex: Trajectory Computation from Spike Signals Siming Lin, Jennie Si, and A. B. Schwartz Hyperparameter Selection for Self-Organizing Maps Akio Utsugi Supervised Networks Which Self-Organize Class Outputs Ramesh R. Sarukkai How Well Can We Estimate the Information Carried in Neuronal Responses from Limited Samples? David Golomb, John Hertz, Stefano Panzeri, Alessandro Treves and Barry Richmond Covariance Learning of Correlated Patterns in Competitive Networks Ali A. Minai A Mobile Robot that Learns its Place Sageev Oore, Geoffrey E. Hinton, and Gregory Dudek ----- ABSTRACTS - http://www-mitpress.mit.edu/jrnls-catalog/neural.html SUBSCRIPTIONS - 1997 - VOLUME 9 - 8 ISSUES ______ $50 Student and Retired ______ $78 Individual ______ $250 Institution Add $28 for postage and handling outside USA (+7% GST for Canada). (Back issues from Volumes 1-8 are regularly available for $28 each to institutions and $14 each for individuals Add $5 for postage per issue outside USA (+7% GST for Canada) mitpress-orders at mit.edu MIT Press Journals, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. Tel: (617) 253-2889 FAX: (617) 258-6779 -----  From jordan at psyche.mit.edu Thu Mar 20 15:58:03 1997 From: jordan at psyche.mit.edu (Michael Jordan) Date: Thu, 20 Mar 97 15:58:03 EST Subject: Call for Workshop Proposals---NIPS*97 Message-ID: <9703202058.AA02744@psyche.mit.edu> CALL FOR PROPOSALS NIPS*97 Post Conference Workshops December 5 and 6, 1997 Breckenridge, Colorado Following the regular program of the Neural Information Processing Systems 1997 conference, workshops on current topics in neural information processing will be held on December 5 and 6, 1997, in Breckenridge, Colorado. Proposals by qualified individuals interested in chairing one of these workshops are solicited. Past topics have included: Active Learning, Architectural Issues, Attention, Audition, Bayesian Analysis, Bayesian Networks, Benchmarking, Computational Complexity, Computational Molecular Biology, Control, Neuroscience, Genetic Algorithms, Grammars, Hybrid HMM/ANN Systems, Implementations, Music, Neural Hardware, Network Dynamics, Neurophysiology, On-Line Learning, Optimization, Recurrent Nets, Robot Learning, Rule Extraction, Self-Organization, Sensory Biophysics, Signal Processing, Symbolic Dynamics, Speech, Time Series, Topological Maps, and Vision. The goal of the workshops is to provide an informal forum for researchers to discuss important issues of current interest. There will be two workshop sessions a day, for a total of six hours, with free time in between for ongoing individual exchange or outdoor activities. Concrete open and/or controversial issues are encouraged and preferred as workshop topics. Representation of alternative viewpoints and panel-style discussions are particularly encouraged. Workshop organizers will have responsibilities including: 1) coordinating workshop participation and content, which involves arranging short informal presentations by experts working in an area, arranging for expert commentators to sit on a discussion panel and formulating a set of discussion topics, etc. 2) moderating or leading the discussion and reporting its high points, findings, and conclusions to the group during evening plenary sessions 3) writing a brief summary and/or coordinating submitted material for post-conference electronic dissemination. Submission Instructions ----------------------- Interested parties should submit via e-mail a short proposal for a workshop of interest by May 20, 1997. Proposals should include a title, a description of what the workshop is to address and accomplish, the proposed length of the workshop (one day or two days), the planned format (mini-conference, panel discussion, or group discussion, combinations of the above, etc), and the proposed number of speakers. Where possible, please also indicate potential invitees (particularly for panel discussions). Please note that this year we are looking for fewer "mini-conference" workshops and greater variety of workshop formats. The time allotted to workshops is six hours each day, in two sessions of three hours each. We strongly encourage that the organizers reserve a significant portion of time for open discussion. The proposal should motivate why the topic is of interest or controversial, why it should be discussed and who the targeted group of participants is. In addition, please send a brief resume of the prospective workshop chair, a list of publications, and evidence of scholarship in the field of interest. Submissions should include contact name, address, e-mail address, phone number and fax number if available. Proposals should be mailed electronically to mpp at watson.ibm.com. All proposals must be RECEIVED by May 20, 1997. If e-mail is unavailable, mail so as to arrive by the deadline to: NIPS*97 Workshops c/o Steven J. Nowlan Motorola, Lexicus Division 3145 Porter Drive Palo Alto, CA 94304 Questions may be addressed to either of the Workshop Co-Chairs: Steven J. Nowlan Richard Zemel Motorola, Lexicus Division University of Arizona steven at lexicus.mot.com zemel at aruba.ccit.arizona.edu PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MAY 20, 1997 -Please Post-  From gp at stat.Duke.EDU Fri Mar 21 13:01:37 1997 From: gp at stat.Duke.EDU (Giovanni Parmigiani) Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 13:01:37 -0500 (EST) Subject: MODELING WORKSHOP: CALL FOR POSTERS Message-ID: <199703211801.NAA03870@boninsegna.isds.duke.edu> ====================================================================== CALL FOR POSTERS -- CALL FOR TRAVEL FUNDING APPLICATIONS ====================================================================== ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WORKSHOP ON STOCHASTIC MODEL BUILDING AND VARIABLE SELECTION ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Duke university, Durham, NC, October 9-10, 1997 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GOALS OF THE WORKSHOP Advances in statistical methodology and computing are opening opportunities for statistical analysis and modeling of complex data sets. In this endeavor, it is becoming increasingly common to use computer-based tools for guiding the initial specification of the main features of statistical models. Recently, a new generation of stochastic algorithms has been emerging as an important augmentation to traditional deterministic strategies. Examples include stochastic search methods for variable selection, graphical models, selection of variable transformations and interactions, wavelet thresholding, ARMA modeling, CART, MARS, neural networks, data mining and more. The goal of the workshop is to promote interaction between researchers involved in diverse aspects of this field. PROGRAM The program of the Workshop will include both talks and poster presentations. The talks will be invited, and will be organized in 5 or 6 sessions, each including 2 or 3 related presentations. Ample time will be allowed for floor discussion. No parallel sessions will be planned, to encourage interaction among participants with different interests and background. The meeting will run from Thursday morning October 9 to Friday afternoon, October 10, 1997. A poster session open to contributors will take place the evening of October 9, and will also provide a venue for further informal interaction. Further details about the Workshop are available at the www site http://www.isds.duke.edu/conferences/GP97/vs97.html The site will be updated as soon as more detailed information about the program and participants becomes available. This Workshop is part of STATISTICS WEEK 1997 at Duke University. Participants may be interested in the other meetings: * THE 1997 NBER/NSF TIME SERIES SEMINAR (Oct 10-11) * WORSKHOP ON WAVELETS AND STATISTICS (Oct 12-13) Further details are available at http://www.isds.duke.edu/conferences/fall97.html CALL FOR POSTERS We are actively seeking presentations for the poster session. These are some of the relevant topics for discussion at the workshop: Stochastic versus deterministic search for variable selection. Modelling, elicitation and calibration issues. Graphical models, causal modelling, large data bases, visualization, data-mining and other topics in artificial intelligence. Selection of transformations and interactions, generalized linear models, generalized additive models, neural networks. Model choice and variable selection issues in clustering and hierarchical models. Partition models. Stochastic CART and MARS. Computing issues and algorithms. MCMC Jump diffusion. Bayes factors and marginal model probability calculations. Stochastic annealing. Case studies from any field of applications. Decision analysis and utility in variable selection and modelling problems. Modelling the cost of variables. Computing algorithms. Time Series and Wavelets REGISTRATION AND TRAVEL SUPPORT The Workshop organizers have applied for an NSF Group Travel Grant for participants from the USA to attend the Workshop. Interactive registration and grant application forms are available at the www site http://www.isds.duke.edu/conferences/GP97/vs97.html PROCEEDINGS A World Wide Web version of the proceedings of the Workshop will be created at the ISDS www site. Papers will be made available as soon as the link information is sent to us. Instructions for submission are posted on the workshop site. We look forward to seeing you at the Workshop. The Organizing Committee: John Geweke, Giovanni Parmigiani (Chair) Mike West The Program Committee: David Draper, John Geweke, David Madigan, Giovanni Parmigiani, Mike West  From jordan at psyche.mit.edu Fri Mar 21 13:09:29 1997 From: jordan at psyche.mit.edu (Michael Jordan) Date: Fri, 21 Mar 97 13:09:29 EST Subject: erratum Message-ID: <9703211809.AA08679@psyche.mit.edu> In the NIPS*97 Call for Workshop Proposals that was posted earlier this week, there was an error. Proposals should be sent via email to: steven at lexicus.mot.com and not to mpp at watson.ibm.com as stated erroneously in the Call. Mike Jordan  From jose at kreizler.rutgers.edu Sat Mar 22 06:08:47 1997 From: jose at kreizler.rutgers.edu (Stephen Jose Hanson) Date: Sat, 22 Mar 1997 06:08:47 -0500 Subject: Graduate Students: New programs Message-ID: <3333BDBF.16E1@kreizler.rutgers.edu> PLEASE REPOST... The Department of Psychology of Rutgers University-Newark Campus is immediately soliciting Graduate Student Candidates in the area of COGNITIVE SCIENCE. Highly Competitive (18-20k$) Graduate RESEARCH Assistantships are available for students to bridge from Computer Science or EE to Psychology or specifically in areas of Cognitive Science. The new program in Psychology will include new tracks in COGNITIVE AND PERCEPTUAL SYSTEMS; EMOTION & ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR SYSTEMS and COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE: Relevant interest areas are in Connectionist Modeling, Cognitive modeling, Intelligent Tutoring systems, Learning systems, Distance learning, or Multimedia systems. Research opportunites exist across Psychology-Rutgers, NJ Center for Multimedia Research and Center for Compuational Neuroscience (with CMBN). Please send as soon as possible your applications to Professor Stephen Jos Hanson, Chair, Department of Psychology, 101 Warren Street, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102. Email inquires can be made to jose at psychology.rutgers.edu. PLEASE REPOST... Stephen Jose Hanson Professor & Chair Department of Psychology Rutgers University Newark, NJ 07102 email: jose at psychology.rutgers.edu voice: 201-648-5095 fax: 201-648-1171  From harnad at cogsci.soton.ac.uk Sat Mar 22 11:26:01 1997 From: harnad at cogsci.soton.ac.uk (Stevan Harnad) Date: Sat, 22 Mar 97 16:26:01 GMT Subject: Psyc: Call for Papers Message-ID: <970.9703221626@cogsci.ecs.soton.ac.uk> PSYCOLOQUY CALL FOR PAPERS PSYCOLOQUY is a refereed electronic journal (ISSN 1055-0143) sponsored on an experimental basis by the American Psychological Association and currently estimated to reach a readership of 50,000. PSYCOLOQUY publishes reports of new ideas and findings on which the author wishes to solicit rapid peer feedback, international and interdisciplinary ("Scholarly Skywriting"), in all areas of psychology and its related fields (biobehavioral science, cognitive science, neuroscience, social science, etc.). All contributions are refereed. All target articles, commentaries and responses must have (1) a short abstract (up to 100 words for target articles, shorter for commentaries and responses), (2) an indexable title, (3) the authors' full name(s), institutional address(es) and URL(s). In addition, for target articles only: (4) 6-8 indexable keywords, (5) a separate statement of the authors' rationale for soliciting commentary (e.g., why would commentary be useful and of interest to the field? what kind of commentary do you expect to elicit?) and (6) a list of potential commentators (with their email addresses). All paragraphs should be numbered in articles, commentaries and responses (see format of already published articles in the PSYCOLOQUY archive; line length should be < 80 characters, no hyphenation). It is strongly recommended that all figures be designed so as to be screen-readable ascii. If this is not possible, the provisional solution is the less desirable hybrid one of submitting them as .gif .jpeg .tiff or postscript files (or in some other universally available format) to be printed out locally by readers to supplement the screen-readable text of the article. PSYCOLOQUY also publishes multiple reviews of books in any of the above fields; these should normally be the same length as commentaries, but longer reviews will be considered as well. Book authors should submit a 500-line self-contained Precis of their book, in the format of a target article; if accepted, this will be published in PSYCOLOQUY together with a formal Call for Reviews (of the book, not the Precis). The author's publisher must agree in advance to furnish review copies to the reviewers selected. Authors of accepted manuscripts assign to PSYCOLOQUY the right to publish and distribute their text electronically and to archive and make it permanently retrievable electronically, but they retain the copyright, and after it has appeared in PSYCOLOQUY authors may republish their text in any way they wish -- electronic or print -- as long as they clearly acknowledge PSYCOLOQUY as its original locus of publication. However, except in very special cases, agreed upon in advance, contributions that have already been published or are being considered for publication elsewhere are not eligible to be considered for publication in PSYCOLOQUY, Please submit all material to psyc at pucc.princeton.edu http://www.princeton.edu/~harnad/psyc.html http://cogsci.soton.ac.uk/psyc ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad/Psycoloquy ftp://cogsci.soton.ac.uk/pub/harnad/Psycoloquy gopher://gopher.princeton.edu/11/.libraries/.pujournals news:sci.psychology.journals.psycoloquy ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CRITERIA FOR ACCEPTANCE: To be eligible for publication, a PSYCOLOQUY target article should not only have sufficient conceptual rigor, empirical grounding, and clarity of style, but should also offer a clear rationale for soliciting Commentary. That rationale should be provided in the author's covering letter, together with a list of suggested commentators. A target article can be (i) the report and discussion of empirical research; (ii) an theoretical article that formally models or systematizes a body of research; or (iii) a novel interpretation, synthesis, or critique of existing experimental or theoretical work. Rrticles dealing with social or philosophical aspects of the behavioral and brain sciences are also eligible.. The service of Open Peer Commentary will be primarily devoted to original unpublished manuscripts. However, a recently published book whose contents meet the standards outlined above may also be eligible for Commentary. In such a Multiple Book Review, a comprehensive, 500-line precis by the author is published in advance of the commentaries and the author's response. In rare special cases, Commentary will also be extended to a position paper or an already published article dealing with particularly influential or controversial research. Submission of an article implies that it has not been published or is not being considered for publication elsewhere. Multiple book reviews and previously published articles appear by invitation only. The Associateship and professional readership of PSYCOLOQUY are encouraged to nominate current topics and authors for Commentary. In all the categories described, the decisive consideration for eligibility will be the desirability of Commentary for the submitted material. Controversially simpliciter is not a sufficient criterion for soliciting Commentary: a paper may be controversial simply because it is wrong or weak. Nor is the mere presence of interdisciplinary aspects sufficient: general cybernetic and "organismic" disquisitions are not appropriate for PSYCOLOQUY. Some appropriate rationales for seeking Open Peer Commentary would be that: (1) the material bears in a significant way on some current controversial issues in behavioral and brain sciences; (2) its findings substantively contradict some well-established aspects of current research and theory; (3) it criticizes the findings, practices, or principles of an accepted or influential line of work; (4) it unifies a substantial amount of disparate research; (5) it has important cross-disciplinary ramifications; (6) it introduces an innovative methodology or formalism for consideration by proponents of the established forms; (7) it meaningfully integrates a body of brain and behavioral data; (8) it places a hitherto dissociated area of research into an evolutionary or ecological perspective; etc. In order to assure communication with potential commentators (and readers) from other PSYCOLOQUY specialty areas, all technical terminology must be clearly defined or simplified, and specialized concepts must be fully described. NOTE TO COMMENTATORS: The purpose of the Open Peer Commentary service is to provide a concentrated constructive interaction between author and commentators on a topic judged to be of broad significance to the biobehavioral science community. Commentators should provide substantive criticism, interpretation, and elaboration as well as any pertinent complementary or supplementary material, such as illustrations; all original data will be refereed in order to assure the archival validity of PSYCOLOQUY commentaries. Commentaries and articles should be free of hyperbole and remarks ad hominem. STYLE AND FORMAT FOR ARTICLES AND COMMENTARIES TARGET ARTICLES: should not exceed 500 lines (~4500 words); commentaries should not exceed 200 lines (1800 words), including references. Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation should be consistent within each article and commentary and should follow the style recommended in the latest edition of A Manual of Style, The University of Chicago Press. It may be helpful to examine a recent issue of PSYCOLOQUY. All submissions must include an indexable title, followed by the authors' names in the form preferred for publication, full institutional addresses and electronic mail addresses, a 100-word abstract, and 6-12 keywords. Tables and diagrams should be made screen-readable wherever possible (if unavoidable, printable postscript files may contain the graphics separately). All paragraphs should be numbered, consecutively. No line should exceed 72 characters, and a blank line should separate paragraphs. REFERENCES: Bibliographic citations in the text must include the author's last name and the date of publication and may include page references. Complete bibliographic information for each citation should be included in the list of references. Examples of correct style are: Brown(1973); (Brown 1973); Brown 1973; 1978); (Brown 1973; Jones 1976); (Brown & Jones 1978); (Brown et al. 1978). References should be typed on a separate sheet in alphabetical order in the style of the following examples. Do not abbreviate journal titles. Kupfermann, I. & Weiss, K. (1978) The command neuron concept. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 1:3-39. Dunn, J. (1976) How far do early differences in mother-child relations affect later developments? In: Growing point in ethology, ed. P. P. G. Bateson & R. A. Hinde, Cambridge University Press. Bateson, P. P. G. & Hinde, R. A., eds. (1978) Growing points in ethology, Cambridge University Press. EDITING: PSYCOLOQUY reserves the right to edit and proof all articles and commentaries accepted for publication. Authors of articles will be given the opportunity to review the copy-edited draft. Commentators will be asked to review copy-editing only when changes have been substantial. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prof. Stevan Harnad psyc at pucc.princeton.edu Editor, Psycoloquy phone: +44 1703 594-583 fax: +44 1703 593-281 Department of Psychology http://cogsci.soton.ac.uk/psyc University of Southampton http://www.princeton.edu/~harnad/psyc.html Highfield, Southampton ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad/Psycoloquy SO17 1BJ UNITED KINGDOM ftp://cogsci.soton.ac.uk/pub/harnad/Psycoloquy news:sci.psychology.journals.psycoloquy gopher://gopher.princeton.edu/11/.libraries/.pujournals Sponsored by the American Psychological Association (APA)  From Friedrich.Leisch at ci.tuwien.ac.at Mon Mar 24 07:11:56 1997 From: Friedrich.Leisch at ci.tuwien.ac.at (Friedrich Leisch) Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:11:56 +0100 Subject: CALL FOR PAPERS Message-ID: <199703241211.NAA22194@galadriel.ci.tuwien.ac.at> CALL FOR PAPERS Special Section on Fusion of Neural Nets, Fuzzy Systems and Genetic Algorithms in Industrial Applications in the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. There is a tremendous interest in the theory and applications of computational intelligence using neural nets,fuzzy systems and genetic algorithms in many fields including Engineering Science and Business.This new field have united scientists and engineers in the development of theory and applications of computational techniques . Fortunately neural nets, fuzzy systems and genetic algoriths are not competitive but synergistic in nature where each respective technique enhances the capability of the other. This special issue is devoted to the fusion of neural nets, fuzzy systems and genetic algorithms in solving complex problems in the field of industrial electronics. Topics include but are not limited to: FUSION OF (any two techniques or more) Neural nets Fuzzy systems Genetic algorithms Chaos theory in solving engineering problems in the area of industrial electronics PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATIONS OF Theory of fusion Robust working models of the techniques This special issue on the fusion of neural nets,fuzzy systems and genetic algorithms in INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS will be useful for engineers, scientists and managers who wish to improve their productivity by using the state of the art. This special volume will bring together a fairly representative sample of applications of computational intelligence from scientists and engineers working as team from all around the world. Prospective authors are requested to submit six copies of the completed manuscript to the guest editor by 15 APRIL 1997. Guest Editor L.C.Jain Director Knowledge-Based Intelligent Engineering Systems School of Physics & Electronic Systems Engineering University of South Australia The Levels Campus,Adelaide,SA,5095 Australia  From jagota at cse.ucsc.edu Mon Mar 24 11:44:41 1997 From: jagota at cse.ucsc.edu (Arun Jagota) Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 08:44:41 -0800 Subject: NCS print version Message-ID: <199703241644.IAA08088@arapaho.cse.ucsc.edu> Dear Connectionists: Neural Computing Surveys has signed an agreement with Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (LEA) to publish a print version of NCS, starting 1998. Annually, four print issues will be published. The electronic version will continue to be published, in the form announced earlier. Accepted papers will appear in the electronic version immediately upon acceptance and in the print version, with some time lag, in the approximate order of acceptance. Both versions will allow authors to reuse their work without permission, but with appropriate credit. For subscription information on the print version, contact jagota at cse.ucsc.edu For submission and other information about NCS, visit http://www.icsi.berkeley.edu/~jagota/NCS or http://www.dcs.rhbnc.ac.uk/NCS/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Arun Jagota Robert R. Kidd Managing Editor Vice-President, Editorial Neural Computing Surveys Lawrence Erlbaum Associates  From dld at cs.monash.edu.au Mon Mar 24 22:46:07 1997 From: dld at cs.monash.edu.au (David L Dowe) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 14:46:07 +1100 Subject: CFPs, Complexity and information-theoretic approaches to biology Message-ID: <199703250346.OAA02690@dec11.cs.monash.edu.au> The Call For Papers (CFPs) below is on the WWW at http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~dld/PSB-3/PSB-3.Info.CFPs.html . CFPs: Complexity and information-theoretic approaches to biology ---------------------------------------------------------- This is the Call For Papers for the 3rd Pacific Symposium on BioComputing (PSB-3, 1998) conference stream on "Complexity and information-theoretic approaches to biology". PSB-98 will be held from 5-9 January, 1998, in Hawaii, at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua on Maui. Stream Organisers: David L. Dowe and Klaus Prank. Specific technical area to be covered by this stream: Kolmogorov (1965) and Chaitin (1966) studied the notions of complexity and randomness, with Solomonoff (1964), Wallace (1968) and Rissanen (1978) applying these to problems of statistical and inferential learning and to prediction. The methods of Solomonoff, Wallace and Rissanen have respectively come to be known as Algorithmic Probability (ALP), Minimum Message Length (MML) and Minimum Description Length (MDL). All of these methods relate to information theory, and can also be thought of in terms of Shannon's information theory, and can also be thought of in terms of Boltzmann's thermo-dynamic entropy. An MDL/MML perspective has been suggested by a number of authors in the context of approximating unknown functions with some parametric approximation scheme (such as a neural network). The designated measure to optimize under this scheme combines an estimate of the cost of misfit with an estimate of the cost of describing the parametric approximation (Akaike 1973, Rissanen 1978, Barron and Barron 1988). This stream invites all original papers of a biological nature which use notions of information and/or complexity, with no strong preference as to what specific nature. Such work has been done in problems of, e.g., protein folding and DNA string alignment. As we shortly describe in some detail, such work has also been done in the analysis of temporal dynamics in biology such as neural spike trains and endocrine (hormonal) time series analysis using the MDL principle in the context of neural networks and context-free grammar complexity. To elaborate on one of the relevant topics above, in the last couple of years or so, there has been a major focus on the aspect of timing in biological information processing ranging from fields such as neuroscience to endocrinology. The latest work on information processing at the single-cell level using computational as well as experimental approaches reveals previously unimagined complexity and dynamism. Timing in biological information processing on the single-cell level as well as on the systems level has been studied by signal-processing and information-theoretic approaches in particular in the field of neuroscience (see for an overview: Rieke et al. 1996). Using such approaches to the understanding of temporal complexity in biological information transfer, the maximum information rates and the precision of spike timing to the understanding of temporal complexity in biological information transfer, the maximum information rates and the precision of spike timing could be revealed by computational methods (Mainen and Sejnowski, 1995; Gabbiani and Koch 1996; Gabbiani et al., 1996). The examples given above are examples of some possible biological application domains. We invite and solicit papers in all areas of (computational) biology which make use of ALP, MDL, MML and/or other notions of information and complexity. In problems of prediction, as well as using "yes"/"no" predictions, we would encourage the authors to consider also using probabilistic prediction, where the score assigned to a probabilistic prediction is given according to the negative logarithm of the stated probability of the event. List of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) re PSB-98 : ----------------------------------------------------- Q1. How can my paper be included in PSB's hardbound proceedings? PSB publishes peer-reviewed full papers in an archival proceedings. Each accepted paper will be allocated 12 pages in the proceedings volume. Paper authors are required to register (and pay) for the conference by the time they submit their camera-ready copy, or the paper will not be published. Q2. How does a PSB publication compare to a journal publication? PSB papers are strenuously peer reviewed, and must report significant original material. PSB expects to be included in Indicus Medicus, Medline and other indexing services starting this year. All accepted full papers will be indexed just as if they had appeared in a journal. It is too early to assess the impact of a PSB paper quantitatively, but we will take every action we can to improve the visibility and significance of PSB publication. Q3. If I do not want to submit a full paper to PSB, but wish to participate? Authors who do not wish to submit a full paper are welcome to submit one page abstracts, which will be distributed at the meeting separately from the archival proceedings, and are also welcome to display standard or computer-interactive posters. Q4. What are the paper submission deadlines? Papers will be due July 14, although session chairs can to adjust this deadline at their discretion. Results will be announced August 22, and camera ready copy will be due September 22. Poster abstracts will be accepted until October 1, and on a space available basis after that. Poster space is limited, especially for interactive posters that require computer or network access. Q5. Where should I send my submission? All full papers must be submitted to the central PSB address so that we can track the manuscripts. Physical submittors should send five copies of their paper to: PSB-98 c/o Section on Medical Informatics Stanford University Medical School, MSOB X215 Stanford, CA 94305-5479 USA Electronic submission of papers is welcome. Format requirements for electronic submission will be available on the web page (http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/psb) or from Russ Altman (altman at smi.stanford.edu). Electronic papers will be submitted directly to Dr. Altman. We prefer that all one page abstracts be submitted electronically. Please send them to us in plain ascii text or as a Microsoft Word file. If this is impossible, please contact Dr. Altman as soon as possible. Q6. How can I obtain travel support to come to PSB? We have been able to offer partial travel support to many PSB attendees in the past, including most authors of accepted full papers who request support. However, due to our sponsoring agencies' schedules, we are unable to offer travel awards before the registration (and payment) deadlines for authors. We recognize that this is inconvenient, and we are doing our best to rectify the situation. NO ONE IS GUARANTEED TRAVEL SUPPORT. Travel support applications will be available on our web site (see Q7). Q7. How can I get more information about the meeting? Check our web page: http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/psb or send email to the conference chair: hunter at nlm.nih.gov More information about the "Complexity and information-theoretic approaches to biology" stream is available on the WWW at http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~dld/PSB-3/PSB-3.Info.CFPs.html . This page was put together by Dr. David Dowe, Dept. of Computer Science, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3168, Australia e-mail: dld at cs.monash.edu.au Fax: +61 3 9905-5146 and Dr. Klaus Prank, Abteilung Klinische Endokrinologie Medizinische Hochschule Hannover Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1 D-30623 Hannover Germany e-mail: ndxdpran at rrzn-serv.de Tel.: +49 (511) 532-3827 Fax.: +49 (511) 532-3825  From marco at McCulloch.ing.UNIFI.IT Mon Mar 24 12:13:34 1997 From: marco at McCulloch.ing.UNIFI.IT (Marco Gori) Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 18:13:34 +0100 Subject: Summer School info (corrected) Message-ID: <9703241713.AA02495@McCulloch.ing.UNIFI.IT> I'd like to post the announcement of the international school on ``adaptive processing of sequences,'' which will be held in Vietri sul Mare (Salerno, IT) next September. Please, don't hesitate to ask any eventual editing of this message so as to make it suitable for connectionist news. Thank you in advance. Best regards, -- Marco Gori. ================================================================================================== Marco Gori Email: marco at mcculloch.ing.unifi.it WWW: http://www-dsi.ing.unifi.it/neural Universita' di Siena Universita' di Firenze V. Roma, 56 - Siena (Italy) V. S. Marta, 3 - 50139 Firenze (Italy) Voice: +39 577 26-36-04; Fax: +39 577 26-36-02 Voice: +39 55 479-6265; Fax: +39 55 479-6363 ================================================================================================== ================================ CAIANIELLO SUMMER SCHOOL on Adaptive Processing of Sequences ================================ Vietri sul Mare, Salerno (Italy) 6-14 September 1997 Directors C.L. Giles and M. Gori Lectures -------------------------------------------------------------------------- C.L. Giles (NEC, USA) M. Gori (Siena Univ. IT) A.C. Tsoi (Wollongong Univ. Aus) P. Baldi (Caltech, USA) Y. Bengio (Montreal Univ. CA) P. Frasconi (Florence Univ. IT) H. Bourlard (IDIAP, CH) H. Siegelmann (Technion Univ. Israel) P. Gallinari (Curie Univ. FR) Z. Ghahramani (Toronto Univ. CA) B.A. Pearlmutter (Salk Ins., USA) E. Wan (Oregon Inst. USA) M. Mozer (Colorado Univ. USA) A. Sperduti (Pisa Univ. IT) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Objectives This summer school is intended to provide a unified view of different techniques for processing temporal information that rely hardly on learning. The topics of the school include architectures (e.g., recurrent networks, Markovian models), optimization algorithms (e.g., gradient-based, EM-based), theoretical results, integration with symbolic systems, and applications (control, speech recognition, time series analysis) related to sequence processing tasks. Sponsors AI*IA (Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence) CNR (Italian Scientific Research Council) IEEE Neural Networks Council (Italian RIG) IIASS (International Institute for Advanced Scientific Studies) SIREN (Italian Neural Networks Society) University of Salerno University of Siena General Information This is the second Summer School dedicated to the memory of Prof. E.R. Caianiello. Prof. M. Marinaro (Univ. of Salerno and IIASS) and Prof. M. Jordan (MIT, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences) are the organizers and advisors of this cycle of schools. The first school was organized last year in Erice (Italy) on graphical models by M. Jordan and D. Heckerman. People wishing to attend the school should send an e-mail to Prof. Marco Gori (marco at mcculloch.ing.unifi.it) and then send the written application to: Prof. Maria Marinaro - IIASS "Eduardo R. Caianiello" via Pellegrino, 19 - 84019 Vietri sul Mare (SA) Italy, Tel: +39 89 761167 - Fax: +39 89 761189 They should specify: 1) date and place of birth together with present nationality; 2) degree and other academic qualifications; 3) present position and place work. Young researchers with little experience should include a letter of recommendation from the head of their research group or from a senior scientist, active in the field. The total fee, which includes full board and lodging (arranged by the school), is $1000 US. Thanks to the generosity of the sponsoring Institutions, partial support can be granted to some deserving students who need financial help. Requests to this effect must be specified and justified in the application letter. Closing date for application: June 15th, 1997 More information can be found at http://www.ing.unisi.it/DII/research/neural/SUMMER_SCHOOL  From jbower at bbb.caltech.edu Tue Mar 25 11:48:27 1997 From: jbower at bbb.caltech.edu (James M. Bower) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 08:48:27 -0800 Subject: Journal of Computational Neuroscience Message-ID: The Journal of Computational Neuroscience ============================================================== Volume 4, Issue 1, 1997 How Neural Interactions Form Neural Responses in the Salamander Retina; Jeff Teeters, Adam Jacobs and Frank Werblin 5 Flexibility and Repeatability of Finger Movements During Typing: Analysis of Multiple Degrees of Freedom; John F. Soechting and Martha Flanders 29 The Calculation of Frequency-Shift Functions for Chains of Coupled Oscillators, with Application to a Network Model of the Lamprey Locomotor Pattern Generator; Thelma L. Williams and Graham Bowtell 47 Traveling Waves and the Processing of Weakly Tuned Inputs in a Cortical Network Module; Rani Ben-Yishai, David Hansel and Haim Sompolinsky 57 Learning Navigational Maps Through Potentiation and Modulation of Hippocampal Place Cells; Wulfram Gerstner and L.F. Abbott 79 ============================================================== Volume 4, Issue 2, 1997 Oscillatory Mechanisms in Pairs of Neurons Connected with Fast Inhibitory Synapses; Peter F. Rowat and Allen I. Selverston 103 Synchronous Bursting Can Arise from Mutual Excitation, Even When Individual Cells are not Endogenous Bursters; Peter F. Rowat and Allen I. Selverston 129 Simulation of Gamma Rhythms in Networks of Interneurons and Pyramidal Cells; Roger D. Traub, John G.R. Jeffreys and Miles A. Whittington 141 How Does the Crayfish Swimmeret System Work? Insights from Nearest-Neighbor Coupled Oscillator Models; Frances K. Skinner, Nancy Kopell and Brian Mulloney 151 The Role of Axonal Delay in the Synchronization of Networks of Coupled Cortical Oscillators; S.M. Crook, G.B. Ermentrout, M.C. Vanier and J.M. Bower 161 The Role of Inhibition in an Associative Memory Model of the Olfactory Bulb; Ofer Hendin, David Horn and Misha V. Tsodyks 173 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Subscription and other information about the Journal of Computational Neuroscience is available from: http://www.bbb.caltech.edu/JCNS *************************************** James M. Bower Division of Biology Mail code: 216-76 Caltech Pasadena, CA 91125 (818) 395-6817 (818) 795-2088 FAX WWW addresses for: laboratory http://www.bbb.caltech.edu/bowerlab GENESIS: http://www.bbb.caltech.edu/GENESIS science education reform http://www.caltech.edu/~capsi J. Computational Neuroscience http://www.bbb.caltech.edu/JCNS/ CNS*97 meeting http://www.bbb.caltech.edu/cns97/cns97.html  From omlinc at cs.rpi.edu Tue Mar 25 11:41:19 1997 From: omlinc at cs.rpi.edu (C Omlin) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 11:41:19 -0500 (EST) Subject: comment on recent paper by Maas and Orponen Message-ID: <199703251641.LAA20047@colossus.cs.rpi.edu> In their recent paper "On the Effect of Analog Noise in Discrete-Time Analog Computations" Wolfgang Maas and Pekka Orponen discuss the stable encoding of deterministic finite-state automata in recurrent neural networks with sigmoidal discriminant functions. This problem has previously been discussed in the literature: P. Frasconi, M. Gori, M. Maggini, G. Soda, "A Unified Approach for Integrating Explicit Knowledge and Learning by Example in Recurrent Networks", IJCNN'91 Proceedings, Vol. 1, p. 811, 1991. P. Frasconi, M. Gori, M. Maggini, G. Soda, "Unified Integration of Explicit Rules and Learning by Example in Recurrent Networks", IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, Vol. 6, No, 6, 1994. P. Frasconi, M. Gori, G. Soda, "Injecting Nondeterministic Finite State Automata into Recurrent Networks", Technical Report, Dipartimento di Sistemi e Informatica, Universita di Firenze, Italy, 1993. P. Frasconi, M. Gori, M. Maggini, G. Soda, "Representation of Finite State Automata in Recurrent Radial Basis Function Networks", Machine Learning, Vol. 23, No. 1. p. 5-32, 1996. C.W. Omlin, C.L. Giles, "Stable Encoding of Large Finite-State Automata in Recurrent Neural Networks with Sigmoid Discriminants" Neural Computation, Vol. 8, No. 7, p. 675-696, 1996. (This paper discusses scaling issues for neural DFA encodings.) C.W. Omlin, C.L. Giles, "Constructing Deterministic Finite-State Automata in Recurrent Neural Networks", Journal of the ACM, Vol. 43, No. 6, p. 937-972, 1996. (This paper discusses the theoretical foundations for encoding DFAs in second-order recurrent neural networks, and also shows that encodings can be made stable in the presence of noise. It also contains a table summarizing various encoding methods and the required resources (neurons/weights), and restrictions on weight values and fan-in/out.) Best regards, Christian Omlin ------------------------------------------------------------------- Christian W. Omlin, Ph.D. Phone (518) 273-0504 Adaptive Computing Technologies E-mail: omlinc at cs.rpi.edu 201 River Street, Suite 37 Troy, NY 12180 URL: http://www.neci.nj.nec.com/homepages/omlin/omlin.html -------------------------------------------------------------------  From Leslie.Smith at ee.ed.ac.uk Tue Mar 25 08:54:41 1997 From: Leslie.Smith at ee.ed.ac.uk (Leslie S Smith) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 13:54:41 GMT Subject: European Workshop on Neuromorphic Systems: final CFP Message-ID: <199703251354.NAA20318@forbes.ee.ed.ac.uk> EWNS: 1st European Workshop on Neuromorphic Systems --------------------------------------------------- Final Call for Papers --------------------- 29-31 August 1997, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland Organisers: Centre for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience University of Stirling and Department of Electrical Engineering University of Edinburgh Neuromorphic systems are implementations in silicon of sensory and neural systems whose architecture and design are based on neurobiology. This growing area proffers exciting possibilities such as sensory systems which can compete with human senses and pattern recognition systems that can run in real-time. The area is at the intersection of many disciplines: neurophysiology, computer science and electrical engineering. Papers are requested in the following areas: Design issues in sensorineural neuromorphic systems: auditory, visual, olfactory, proprioception, sensorimotor systems. Designs for silicon implementations of neural systems. Papers not exceeding 8 A4 pages are requested: please send 3 copies. These should be sent to Dr. Leslie Smith Department of Computing Science University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA Scotland email: lss at cs.stir.ac.uk FAX (44) 1786 464551 We also propose to hold a number of discussion sessions on some of the questions above. Short position papers (less than 4 pages) are requested. Key Dates --------- Submission Deadline: Mon 7th April 1997 Notification of Acceptance: June 2nd 1997 World Scientific will be publishing a book based on this conference. Applications are invited from UK Ph.D. students to cover the cost of travel and registration. Please contact Dr. Leslie Smith. Full information is on the WWW at http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/~lss/Neuromorphic/Info1.html ___________________________________________________________________________ Registration form: Full name Full postal address Telephone number Fax number email address Registration fee: UKpounds 100 _____ (includes lunches and coffees and copy of proceedings) Conference Dinner UKpounds 25 _____ Accommodation required: 28 August UKpounds 17.02 _____ 29 August UKpounds 17.02 _____ 30 August UKpounds 17.02 _____ 31 August UKpounds 17.02 _____ 1 September UKpounds 17.02 _____ Total _____ Cheques should be made payable to the University of Stirling. Eurocheques are acceptable. Unfortunately the University does not take credit cards. Please send form with remittance to Dr. Leslie Smith, Department of Computing Science and Mathematics, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA Scotland, UK.  From dyyeung at cs.ust.hk Tue Mar 25 03:16:36 1997 From: dyyeung at cs.ust.hk (Dit-Yan Yeung) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 16:16:36 +0800 (HKT) Subject: TANC-97 Call for Participation Message-ID: <199703250816.QAA06075@cssu35.cs.ust.hk> Call for Participation TANC-97 Hong Kong International Workshop on Theoretical Aspects of Neural Computation: A Multidisciplinary Perspective May 26-28, 1997 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Over the past decade or so, neural computation has emerged as a research area with active involvement by researchers from a number of different disciplines, including computer science, engineering, mathematics, neurobiology, physics, and statistics. Interdisciplinary collaboration and exchange of ideas has often led us to address research issues in this area from different perspectives. Consequently, some interesting new paradigms and results have become available to the field and have contributed significantly to the strengthening of its theoretical foundations. This workshop, to be held in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology located at the scenic Clear Water Bay, is intended to bring together researchers from different disciplines to review the current status of neural computation research. In particular, theoretical studies of the following themes will be given special emphasis: NEUROSCIENCE, COMPUTATIONAL AND MATHEMATICAL, and STATISTICAL PHYSICS. While the focus of this workshop is on theoretical aspects, the impact of recent theoretical advances to applications and the novel application of theoretical results to real-world problems will also be covered. Moreover, as an important objective of the workshop, future research directions and topics that have strong interdisciplinary nature will be explored. The workshop papers will be published as a book by Springer-Verlag after the workshop. Technical Program ----------------- The workshop will feature several keynote presentations and invited papers by leading researchers: KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: Shun-ichi Amari (RIKEN, Japan), Haim Sompolinsky (Hebrew University, Israel). INVITED SPEAKERS: Chris van den Broeck (LUC, Belgium), Peter Dayan (MIT, USA), Aike Guo (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China), John Hertz (NORDITA, Denmark), Jenq-Neng Hwang (University of Washington, USA), Jong-Hoon Oh (POSTECH, Korea), Manfred Opper (Wuerzburg, Germany), Juergen Schmidhuber (IDSIA, Switzerland), Sebastian Seung (Bell Labs, USA), Sara Solla (AT&T Research, USA), Lei Xu (Chinese University of Hong Kong). In addition to keynote and invited papers, there will also be a number of submitted papers. All oral and poster presentations will be scheduled in a single track with no parallel sessions to facilitate interdisciplinary interaction. To facilitate further discussions with other workshop participants, authors of oral presentations will be highly encouraged to put up posters in the poster session and be present there. A detailed technical program is attached separately. Student Posters --------------- To encourage research postgraduate students to participate in this workshop and to give informal presentations of their ongoing research, some bulletin boards will be reserved for student posters during the poster session. To be considered for a poster presentation, a summary of no more than 500 words should be submitted to the workshop secretariat by April 15. Electronic submissions are acceptable. Notification of acceptance will be sent by electronic mail by the end of April. Registration immediately after receiving the notification letter will receive the same discount rate as other student participants who register on or before April 15. Social Functions ---------------- A reception for all workshop participants will be held in the morning of day 1 (May 26). The workshop banquet will be held in the evening of day 2 (May 27). In addition, a post-workshop excursion will be arranged on day 4 (May 29). Tickets for the excursion will be sold separately. Registration ------------ Please complete the registration form attached and mail it back with payment to: TANC-97 Secretariat Department of Physics Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong Fax: +852-2358-1652; E-mail: tanc97 at usthk.ust.hk WWW: http://www.cs.ust.hk/conferences/TANC97 Registration before April 15 can enjoy the discount rates. Useful Information for Overseas Participants -------------------------------------------- [Transportation] The most convenient way to come to the university campus from the Hong Kong International Airport is by taxi. You may take a taxi outside the arrival hall of the airport. The journey takes about half an hour and costs about HK$100. Ask the taxi driver to stop at the main extrance, and request the guard to direct the taxi to the Visitor Centre. [Accommodation] The Visitor Centre of the university is equipped with standard hotel facilities. [Climate] In late May, the temperature is typically around 27C (81F) and the relative humidity is about 80%, with occasional mist and rain showers. Have sweaters and showerproof jackets ready. [Visa] In view of the political transition in 1997, you are advised to check with your local British embassy about your visa. Normally, visitors from most countries can enter Hong Kong without a visa for periods varying from seven days to one year, depending on their nationalities. [Exchange rate] One US dollar is roughly equal to 7.8 Hong Kong dollars. [Hong Kong 1997] This is a great opportunity to visit Hong Kong as the workshop will be held shortly before Hong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region of China starting from July 1, 1997. [More information] For more information about Hong Kong, you may visit the Web site of the Hong Kong Tourist Association (http://www.hkta.org/). Also, remember to pick up a tourist package before you exit the passport control in the Hong Kong International Airport. Organizing Committee -------------------- Kwok-Ping Chan (University of Hong Kong), Lai-Wan Chan (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Irwin King (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Zhaoping Li (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), Franklin Shin (Hong Kong Polytechnic University), Michael K.Y. Wong (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) [Chairman], and Dit-Yan Yeung (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology). !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TANC-97 WORKSHOP REGISTRATION FORM ******************************************************************************** Section A (for all participants) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Name: _________________________________________________________ Title: _____ (surname/family name/last name) (given name/first name) Professional affiliation: ___________________________________________________ Mailing address: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ E-mail address: _____________________ Fax number: _________________________ Registration fee: ___________________ Before 15 April 1997 After 15 April 1997 ++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++ Regular HK$1,200 HK$1,400 Student HK$ 500 HK$ 600 (Regular registration includes banquet and post-workshop proceedings.) ******************************************************************************** Section B (for paper presenters only) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If you have special equipment needs other than an overhead projector for your presentation, please provide details below: ******************************************************************************** Section C (for overseas participants only) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Number of accompanying persons (besides you): _________ Room reservation in the Visitor Centre of HKUST: __ Single (HK$410 per night for 1 person) __ Double (HK$550 per night for 2 persons) __ Apartment (HK$760 per night for 4 persons) Check-in date: _________ Check-out date: ________ Number of nights: _____ X Room charge per night: _____ = Total charge: _____ ******************************************************************************** Please mail the completed registration form with payment to: TANC-97 Secretariat Department of Physics Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Water Bay, Kowloon Hong Kong Payment must be made by money order or bank draft in Hong Kong currency drawable from banks in Hong Kong. Money orders and bank drafts must be made payable to "Hong Kong University of Science and Technology". Receipts will be available for collection at the workshop.  From pekka at dcs.ed.ac.uk Wed Mar 26 06:19:13 1997 From: pekka at dcs.ed.ac.uk (Pekka Orponen) Date: Wed, 26 Mar 1997 11:19:13 +0000 (GMT) Subject: comment on recent paper by Maas and Orponen In-Reply-To: <199703251641.LAA20047@colossus.cs.rpi.edu> Message-ID: Dear connectionists: In a recent message to this list, C. Omlin mentions a result of ours about implementing finite state automata in sigmoidal neural nets, and lists a number of related papers. We are familiar with the work listed, at least the journal papers, and it is cited in our paper (at least in the full version; some references may have been omitted for lack of space from the NIPS version). The difference is that we wanted a _noise-tolerant_ simulation of automata in sigmoidal _first-order_ networks. The result is really simple, and is included in the paper only because we could not find a source for it in the literature. As far as I recall, the simulations of Frasconi et al. don't pay attention to the noise tolerance requirement, and those of Omlin et al. use higher-order networks. Regards, Pekka Orponen  From charles.bruce at yale.edu Wed Mar 26 09:59:52 1997 From: charles.bruce at yale.edu (Charles Bruce) Date: Wed, 26 Mar 1997 09:59:52 -0500 Subject: Postdoctoral Position from 3/1/97 Message-ID: Postdoctoral Position Integrative Neurophysiology A postdoctoral NIMH fellowship is available immediately to study the neurophysiological basis of sensorimotor and cognitive processing in monkey neocortex. Cortical organization and function are studied using single- and multiple-neuron recording, microstimulation and reversible inactivation of small cortical regions, interneuronal correlations of spike trains, ect. applied during performance of sensorimotor and mnemonic tasks. The frontal eye field, supplementary eye field, and related cortical association areas are investigated with the ultimate purpose of developing realistic computational model of the network of cortical areas that underlie sensory, motor, and cognitive integration. Experience in neurophysiological, computational, or behavioral neuroscience is desired. US citizenship or permanent resident status required for NIMH fellowships. Send CV and names of two references to: Charles Bruce, Ph.D. Section of Neurobiology Yale University School of Medicine 333 Cedar St Rm 303C SHM PO Box 208001 New Haven, CT 06520-8001 Phone: (203) 737-2727 Fax: (203) 785-5263 Email: charles.bruce at yale.edu http://info.med.yale.edu/neurobio/bruce/bruce.html  From ken at nagano.is.hosei.ac.jp Thu Mar 27 02:18:32 1997 From: ken at nagano.is.hosei.ac.jp (Ken-ichiro Miura) Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 16:18:32 +0900 Subject: ICONIP'97:special session Message-ID: <333A1F48.C39@nagano.is.hosei.ac.jp> ICONIP'97, The Fourth International Conference on Neural Information Processing, November 24-28, 1997. Dunedin/Queenstown, New Zealand Special Session on Spatio-temporal Information Processings in the Brain CALL FOR PAPERS Recently spatio-temporal aspects have been recognized to be very important in order to understand the neural information processing mechanisms in the brain. The importance lies not only in the sensory systems such as the visual system, the auditory system etc. but also in the higher order systems like memory and learning. Many works from the aspects are now being done. A special session devoted to these works will be organized at ICONIP'97. The scope of the special session covers computational theories, neural network models, physiological studies and psychological studies which are related to spatio-temporal information processings in the brain. Prospective authors are invited to submit papers to the special session. (Traveling expenses and conference fee are not supplied.) The submissions must be received by May 30, 1997, Please send five copies of your manuscript to Prof. Takashi Nagano, Special Session Organizer Dept. of Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, Hosei University 3-7-2 Kajino-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184, JAPAN For the most up-to-data information about ICONIP'97, please browse the conference home page: http://divcom.otago.ac.nz:800/com/infosci/kel/iconip97.htm Important dates: Paper due: May 30, 1997 Notification of acceptance: July 20, 1997 Final camera-ready papers due: August 20, 1997 Manuscript format: Papers must be written in English on A4-format white paper with one inch margins on all four sides, in two column format, on not more than 4 pages, single-spaced, in Times or similar font of 10 points, and printed on one side of the page only. -- ------------------------------------------------ Takashi Nagano Dept. of Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, Hosei University 3-7-2 Kajino-cho, Koganei, Tokyo JAPAN Tel +81-423-87-6350 Fax +81-423-87-6350 mailto:nagano at nagano.is.hosei.ac.jp ------------------------------------------------  From matteo at cns.nyu.edu Mon Mar 31 00:20:54 1997 From: matteo at cns.nyu.edu (Matteo Carandini) Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 00:20:54 -0500 Subject: Model of orientation selectivity Message-ID: A MATLAB package is now available that implements a simple recurrent model of orientation selectivity in the primary visual cortex. It can be run in seconds on a personal computer, and allows one to observe the responses of recurrent models to a variety of visual stimuli. The model is described in the attached abstract. The address for downloads is http://cns.nyu.edu/home/matteo/v1ori.html. PREDICTIONS OF A RECURRENT MODEL OF ORIENTATION SELECTIVITY Matteo Carandini and Dario L. Ringach Vision Research, submitted (1996) Recurrent models of orientation selectivity in the visual cortex postulate that an initially broad tuning given by the pattern of geniculate afferents is substantially sharpened by intracortical feedback. We show that these models can be tested on the basis of their predicted responses to certain visual stimuli, without the need for pharmacological or physiological manipulations. First, we consider a detailed recurrent model proposed by Somers, Nelson and Sur (1995) and show that it can be simplified to a single equation: a center-surround feedback filter in the orientation domain. Then, we explore the responses of the simplified model to stimuli containing two or more orientations. We find that the model exhibits peculiar responses to stimuli containing two orientations, such as plaids or crosses: if the component orientations differ by less than 45 degrees the model cannot distinguish between them; if the orientations differ by more than 45 degrees the model overestimates their angle by as much as 30 degrees. Moreover, the model cannot signal the presence of three orientations separated by 60 degrees (it responds as if there were only two orientations), and the addition of two-dimensional visual noise to an oriented stimulus results in strong spurious responses at the orthogonal orientation. We argue that the effects of attraction and repulsion between orientations and the emergence of responses at off-optimal orientations are common to a wide class of feedback models of orientation selectivity. These models could thus be tested by measuring the visual responses of cortical neurons to stimuli containing multiple orientations. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Matteo Carandini http://cns.nyu.edu/home/matteo Howard Hughes Medical Institute Center for Neural Science New York University 4 Washington Place #809 New York, NY 10003  From hexmoor at cs.Buffalo.EDU Sat Mar 1 12:15:20 1997 From: hexmoor at cs.Buffalo.EDU (Henry H Hexmoor) Date: Sat, 1 Mar 1997 12:15:20 -0500 (EST) Subject: CFP Message-ID: <199703011715.MAA14745@hadar.cs.Buffalo.EDU> Dear Colleague, Maja Mataric and I are guest editing a special issue of Prof. George Bekey's Autonomous Robots Journal. Please review our CFP which is salo available online. http://www.cs.buffalo.edu/~hexmoor/autonomous-robots.html Call for papers Autonomous Robots Journal Special Issue on Learning in Autonomous Robots Guest editors: Henry Hexmoor and Maja Mataric Submission Deadline: August 15, 1997 Autonomous Robots is an international journal published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Editor-in-Chief: George Bekey Current applications of machine learning in robotics explore learning behaviors such as obstacle avoidance, navigation, gaze control, pick and place operations, manipulating everyday objects, walking, foraging, herding, and delivering objects. It is hoped that these are first steps toward robots that will learn to perform complex operations ranging from folding clothes, cleaning up toxic waste and oil spills, picking up after the children, de-mining, look after a summer house, imitating a human teacher, or overseeing a factory or a space mission. As builders of autonomous embedded agents, researchers in robot learning deal with learning schemes in the context of physical embodiment. Strides are being made to design programs that change their initial encoding of know-how to include new concepts as well as improvements in the associations of sensing to acting. Driven by concerns about the quality and quantity of training data and real-time issues such as sparse and low-quality feedback from the environment, robot learning is undergoing a search for quantification and evaluation mechanisms, as well as for methods for scaling up the complexity of learning tasks. This special issue of Autonomous Robots will focus on novel robot learning applications and quantification of learning in autonomous robots. We are soliciting papers describing finished work preferably involving real manipulator or mobile robots. We invite submissions from all areas in AI and Machine Learning, Mobile Robotics, Machine Vision, Dexterous Manipulation, and Artificial Life that address robot learning. Submitted papers should be delivered by June 1, 1997. Authors intending to submit a manuscript should contact Henry Hexmoor as soon as possible to discuss paper ideas and suitability for this issue. Manuscripts should be typed or laser-printed in English (with American spelling preferred) and double-spaced. Both paper and electronic submission are possible, as described below. For paper submissions, send five (5) copies of submitted papers (hard-copy only) to: Dr. Henry Hexmoor Department of Computer Science State University of New York at Buffalo 226 Bell Hall Buffalo, NY 14260-2000 U.S.A. PHONE: 716-645-3197 FAX: 716-645-3464 For electronic submissions, use Postscript format, ftp the file to ftp.cs.buffalo.edu, and send an email notification to hexmoor at cs.buffalo.edu Detailed ftp instructions: compress your-paper (both Unix compress and gzip commands are ok) ftp ftp.cs.buffalo.edu (but check in case it has changed) give anonymous as your login name give your e-mail address as password set transmission to binary (just type the command BINARY) cd to users/hexmoor/ put your-paper send me an email notification hexmoor at cs.buffalo.edu to let me know you transferred the paper Editoral Board: James Albus, NIST, USA Peter Bonasso, NASA Johnson Space Center, USA Enric Celaya, Institut de Robotica i Informatica Industrial, Spain Adam J. Cheyer, SRI International, USA Keith L. Doty, University of Florida, USA Marco Dorigo, Universite' Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Judy Franklin, Mount Holyoke College, USA Rod Grupen, University of Mass, USA John Hallam, University of Edinburgh, UK Inman Harvey, COGS, Univ. of Sussex, UK Gillian Hayes, University of Edinburgh, UK James Hendler, University of Maryland, USA David Hinkle, Johns Hopkins University, USA R James Firby, University of Chicago, USA Ian Horswill, Northwestern University, USA Sven Koenig, Carnegie Mellon University, USA Kurt Konolige, SRI International, USA David Kortenkamp, NASA Johnson Space Center, USA Francois Michaud, Brandeis University, USA Robin R. Murphy, Colorado School of Mines, USA Jose del R. MILLAN, Joint Research Centre of the EU, Italy Amitabha Mukerjee, IIT, India David J. Musliner, Honeywell Technology Center, USA Ulrich Nehmzow, University of Manchester, UK Tim Smithers, Universidad del Pai's Vasco, Spain Martin Nilsson, Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Sweden Stefano Nolfi, Institute of Psychology, C.N.R., Italy Tony J Prescott, University of Sheffield, UK Ashwin Ram, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA Alan C. Schultz, Naval Research Laboratory, USA Noel Sharkey, Sheffield University, UK Chris Thornton, UK Francisco J. Vico, Campus Universitario de Teatinos, Spain Brian Yamauchi, Naval Research Laboratory, USA Uwe R. Zimmer, Schloss Birlinghoven, Germany Relevant Dates: August 15, 1997 submission deadline November 15, 1997 review deadline December 1, 1997 acceptance/rejection notifications to the authors  From sjoberg at ae.chalmers.se Sun Mar 2 11:09:37 1997 From: sjoberg at ae.chalmers.se (Jonas Sjoberg) Date: Sun, 02 Mar 1997 17:09:37 +0100 Subject: IDENTIFICATION, ADAPTATION, LEARNING Message-ID: <3319A641.2695@ae.chalmers.se> This book might be of interest for some of you on the connectionist list. yours Jonas Sjoberg > Contributed by Sergio Bittanti > > > IDENTIFICATION, ADAPTATION, LEARNING > The Science of Learning Models from Data > > Series F: Computer and Systems Sciences Vol. 153 > Springer-Verlag 1996 > > > This book contains the lectures given at > the NATO Advanced School Institute: "From Identification to Learning" held > at Villa Olmo - Como (Italy) August 22 -September 2 1994. > The state of the art in identification, adaptation and > learning is overviewed at a tutorial level. > Besides linear dynamical models in state > space, ARMAX, or frequency domain form, nonlinear models are extensively > treated with emphasis on neural networks models and wavelets. An effort is > made to clarify the connections of identification and adaptation with the > basic paradigms of learning theory. > > The volume is organized in 14 Chapters, written by outstanding specialists > in systems and control, theoretical computer science, numerical analysis, > and statistics. There has traditionally been a separation between these > disciplines. Understanding automatic model-building is important both in > systems and control, statistics and theoretical computer science and > nowadays it is urgent to get an interdisciplinary view of this field. In > this respect this book represents an initiative filling a real need. > > Besides being mathematically well-founded and intellectually fascinating, > the methods and algorithms described in this book provide rational and > concrete tools for the analysis and synthesis of "intelligent" engineering > systems. > > > CONTENTS: > > Geometric methods for state space identification > by A. Linquist and G. Picci > > Parameter estimation of multivariable systems using balanced realizations > by J. Maciejowski > > Balanced canonical forms > by R. Ober > > >From data to state model > by P. Rapisarda and J.C. Willems > > Identification of linear systems from noisy data > by M. Deistler > > Identification in H-infinity: theory and applications > by P. Khargonekar, G. Gu and J. Friedman > > System identification with information theoretic criteria > by A.A. Stoorvogel and J.C. van Schuppen > > Least squares based self tuning control systems > by S. Bittanti and M. Campi > > On neural network model structures in system identification > by L. Ljung, J. Sjoberg and H. Hjalmarsson > > An overview of computational learning theory and its applications to neural > network > by M. Vidyasagar > > Just in time learning and estimation > by G. Cibenko > > Wavelets in identification > by A. Benveniste, A. Judistky, B. Delon, Q. Zhang and P.Y.Glorennec > > Fuzzy logic modelling and control > by P. Albertos > > Searching for the best: stochastic approximation, simulated annealing and > related procedures > by G. Pflug -- _______________________________________________________________ Jonas Sjoeberg Email: sjoberg at ae.chalmers.se Dept. of Applied Electronics Tel +46-31-772 18 55 Chalmers University of Technology Fax: +46-31-772.17.82 412 96 Goeteborg, Sweden http://www.ae.chalmers.se/~sjoberg ______________________________________________________________  From marwan at valaga.salk.edu Sun Mar 2 14:50:15 1997 From: marwan at valaga.salk.edu (Marwan Jabri) Date: Sun, 2 Mar 1997 11:50:15 -0800 (PST) Subject: Lecturership/Senior Lecturership Message-ID: Lecturer/Senior lecturer (fixed-term or tenurable) Ref B07/04 Department of Electrical Engineering University of Sydney, Australia The Department is looking to expand its research and teaching capability in the computer engineering, integrated systems and neuromorphic engineering areas. In line with a strategic plan which includes high quality postgraduate research, the Department seeks an appointee with an outstanding research career potential. The existing staff in related areas have research interests in integrated systems, neural networks, artificial intelligence, biomedical systems, non linear and adaptive control, communications systems and image processing. Generally, the Department is vigorously developing its research work to the highest international standards. A special feature of this effort is the high level of interaction with industry, both local and international. The appointee must have completed a PhD with a high level of research outcomes; have the capability to teach large and small classes; supervise research students and present advanced courses to industry. Undergraduate teaching experience and experience of industrial applications are desirable. Preference will be given to applicants with analytical skills in the areas of computer engineering, integrated systems, neuromorphic systems, and related subjects. The position will be offered as a three-year fixed term appointment or offered as tenurable to an exceptional applicant. Membership of a University-approved superannuation scheme is a condition of employment for new appointees. For further information contact Prof M A Jabri (see info below) Salary: Senior Lecturer: $52,726 - $60,797 pa (under review); Lecturer $43,042 - $51,113 pa (under review) Closing: 27 March 1997 ------------ Marwan Jabri, PhD On sabbatical at CNL, Salk Institute PO Box 85800, San Diego CA 92186-5800 10010 North Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037-1099 Tel: (+1-619) 453-4100 X: 1029 Fax: (+1-619) 455-7933 marwan at sloan.salk.edu  From bishopc at helios.aston.ac.uk Mon Mar 3 10:21:28 1997 From: bishopc at helios.aston.ac.uk (Prof. Chris Bishop) Date: Mon, 03 Mar 1997 15:21:28 +0000 Subject: NATO Advanced Study Institute Message-ID: <15443.199703031521@sun.aston.ac.uk> A NATO Advanced Study Institute GENERALIZATION IN NEURAL NETWORKS AND MACHINE LEARNING 4 - 15 August 1997 Isaac Newton Institute, Cambridge, U.K. The last few years have seen a substantial growth of research activity in machine learning, focusing in large part on neural network models. For most applications of machine learning the central issue is that of generalization. This NATO ASI will provide a comprehensive and coherent tutorial programme aimed at research scientists at postdoctoral level and beyond, though it will also be accessible to advanced graduate students having a good mathematical background. Organising Committee: Director: C M Bishop (Aston) J M Buhmann (Bonn), G E Hinton (Toronto), M I Jordan (MIT) Lecturers: E Baum (NEC) J C Mackay (Cambridge) C M Bishop (Aston) R Neal (Toronto) L Breiman (Berkeley) B D Ripley (Oxford) J M Buhmann (Bonn) H Sompolinsky (Jerusalem) P Dayan (MIT) N Tishby (Jerusalem) G E Hinton (Toronto) L G Valiant (Harvard) T Jaakkola (UCSC) V Vapnik (AT&T) M I Jordan (MIT) C K I Williams (Aston) Y Le Cun (AT&T) The ASI will form a component in the Newton Institute programme on Neural Networks and Machine Learning, organised by C M Bishop, D Haussler, G E Hinton, M Niranjan and L G Valiant. Applications: To participate in the NATO ASI, please complete and return an application form and, for students and postdoctoral fellows, arrange for a letter of reference from a senior scientist. Limited financial support is available for participants from appropriate countries, and the usual guidelines for the NATO ASI series will be followed in the selection of participants. Location and Costs: The workshop will take place at the Isaac Newton Institute and accommodation for participants will be provided at Wolfson Court, adjacent to the Institute. The conference package costs 520 UK pounds, which includes accommodation from 3 August to 15 August, together with breakfast, and evening meals, plus lunch and refreshments during the days that lectures take place. Further Information and Application Forms: are available from the WWW at http://www.newton.cam.ac.uk/programs/nnm.html. Completed forms and letters of recommendation should be sent to Heather Dawson at the above address, or by e-mail to: h.dawson at newton.cam.ac.uk Closing Date for the receipt of applications and letters of recommendation is 21 April 1997  From sayegh at CVAX.IPFW.INDIANA.EDU Mon Mar 3 20:57:36 1997 From: sayegh at CVAX.IPFW.INDIANA.EDU (sayegh@CVAX.IPFW.INDIANA.EDU) Date: Mon, 03 Mar 1997 20:57:36 EST Subject: No subject Message-ID: <009B0B9D.FC824A60.1@CVAX.IPFW.INDIANA.EDU> A symposium on Neural Networks and Brain Signals will be held at Indiana University - Purdue University in Ft Wayne, Indiana March 28, 1997, 8:30am - 4:30 pm. The symposium is free and some funding may be available for travel. Neural Networks have reached a level of maturity whereby they have been applied to a variety of real world problems. At a different end of the spectrum, a number of scientists have been exploring the network properties of the brain, delineating and mapping its computational capabilities as well as their breakdown in pathology. Coming full circle (clockwise or counterclockwise!) several groups have started applying neural networks to the analysis and modeling of brain signal and function in health and disease. This symposium dual goal is to be an introduction to this exciting field of research and a forum where scientists and students, at either end, or anywhere along the spectrum, can interact and exchange ideas, techniques and (mild) criticism. The morning session is specifically meant to be introductory and those new to the field or curious about it are strongly encouraged to attend it. Morning Session: Introduction to Neural Networks and Brain Function. Vijai Dixit, PhD, Physics, St Louis University "Physical and Computational Aspects of Neural Networks" Paul Hayes, ITT, K Ranasinghe and S Sayegh, Indiana-Purdue "Practical Aspects of Neural Networks Computation" Douglas Horner, Medical Informatics Engineering, Inc. "Neural Network Resources on the WWW" Robert Sweazey, PhD, Indiana School of Medicine "An Introduction to Neuroanatomy" Jeff Wilson, PhD, Psychology, Indiana-Purdue: "Neurotransmitters, Receptors, and Post-Synaptic Potentials: Communication in a Real Neural Network" Navin Varma, MD, Neurology, University of Michigan "Neural Networks Awry: A Neurologist Prospective" Afternoon Session: Neural Networks in Clinical Neurosciences. Robert Sclabassi, MD, PhD University of Pittsburgh, Neurosurgery, Neuroscience and EE Modeling Epilepsy Robert Worth, MD, PhD Indiana University Dept of Neurosurgery Computer Modeling of Somatosensory Cortex Reorganization Krzysztof J. Cios, PhD Professor of Bioengineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science University of Toledo Neural Networks Classification of Brain Signals During Pallidotomy Surgery for Parkinson's Samir Sayegh, MD, PhD Indiana Purdue, Physics For registration call (219) 481-6306 or email Esther Gerken at gerken at cvax.ipfw.indiana.edu For technical information email sayegh at cvax.ipfw.indiana.edu or call (219) 481-6157  From ludwig at ibm18.uni-paderborn.de Tue Mar 4 06:07:43 1997 From: ludwig at ibm18.uni-paderborn.de (Lars Alex. Ludwig) Date: Tue, 4 Mar 1997 12:07:43 +0100 (NFT) Subject: FNS '97 - Last Announcement Message-ID: <9703041107.AA16125@ibm18.uni-paderborn.de> A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text Size: 8630 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/00000000/9965569c/attachment-0001.ksh From watrous at scr.siemens.com Wed Mar 5 14:11:40 1997 From: watrous at scr.siemens.com (Raymond L Watrous) Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 14:11:40 -0500 (EST) Subject: Research assistantships in neural/Bayesian networks Message-ID: <199703051911.OAA23127@tiercel.scr.siemens.com> Student Research Assistantships Siemens Corporate Research has several openings for student research assistants in the area of neural and Bayesian networks with applications in biomedical signal processing and classification. The projects for which research assistants are sought lie at the leading edge of patient monitoring and diagnostic screening. These positions include full-time summer and/or immediate part-time opportunities. Candidates should have strong research skills, including literature survey, conceptual analysis, excellent oral and written communication, and good programming abilities in a variety of languages and experience in Unix and PC environments. Siemens Corporate Research provides excellent research and support facilities for its approximately 140 technical staff, who are engaged in research and development in the areas of imaging, multimedia, software engineering and adaptive systems. The adaptive information and signal processing department has expertise in time series prediction, control, and system identification using nonlinear models, learning and classification using statistical and symbolic methods, with applications to biomedical and acoustic signal processing, information processing, data mining and industrial process control. Siemens is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Interested graduate, or upper level undergraduate, students are invited to apply to: Dr. Raymond Watrous Project Manager Adaptive Information & Signal Phone: (609) 734-6596 Processing Department FAX: (609) 734-6565 Siemens Corporate Research 755 College Road East Princeton, NJ 08540 watrous at scr.siemens.com  From terry at salk.edu Wed Mar 5 23:54:15 1997 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 20:54:15 -0800 (PST) Subject: NEURAL COMPUTATION 9:2 Message-ID: <199703060454.UAA08685@helmholtz.salk.edu> Neural Computation - Contents Volume 9, Number 2 - February 15, 1997 Review Probabilistic Independence Networks for Hidden Markov Probability Models Padhraic Smyth, David Heckerman, and Michael I. Jordan Note Using Expectation-Maximization for Reinforcement Learning Peter Dayan and Geoffrey E. Hinton Letter Fast Sigmoidal Networks via Spiking Neurons Wolfgang Maass Computing with the Leaky Integrate-and-Fire Neuron: Logarithmic Computation and Multiplication Doron Tal and Eric L. Schwartz Effect of Delay on the Boundary of the Basin of Attraction in a Self-Excited Single Graded-Response Neuron K. Pakdaman, C. Grotta-Ragazzo, C. P. Malta, and J.-F. Vibert Shattering All Sets of 'K' Points in "General Position" Requires (K-1)/2 Parameters Eduardo D. Sontag Statistical Inference, Occam's Razor and Statistical Mechanics on the Space of Probability Distributions Vijay Balasubramanian Bias/Variance Analyses of Mixtures-of-Experts Architectures Robert A. Jacobs The Behavior of Forgetting Learning in Bidirectional Associative Memory Chi Sing Leung and Lai Wan Chan Adaptive Encoding Strongly Improves Function Approximation with CMAC Martin Eldracher, Alexander Staller, and Rene Pompl An Analog Memory Circuit for Spiking Silicon Neurons John G. Elias, David P. M. Northmore, and Wayne Westerman Average-Case Learning Curves for Radial Basis Function Networks Sean B. Holden and Mahesan Niranjan A Sequential Learning Scheme for Function Approximation Using Minimal Radial Basis Function Neural Networks Lu Yingwei, N. Sundararajan, and P. Saratchandran ----- ABSTRACTS - http://www-mitpress.mit.edu/jrnls-catalog/neural.html SUBSCRIPTIONS - 1997 - VOLUME 9 - 8 ISSUES ______ $50 Student and Retired ______ $78 Individual ______ $250 Institution Add $28 for postage and handling outside USA (+7% GST for Canada). (Back issues from Volumes 1-8 are regularly available for $28 each to institutions and $14 each for individuals Add $5 for postage per issue outside USA (+7% GST for Canada) mitpress-orders at mit.edu MIT Press Journals, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. Tel: (617) 253-2889 FAX: (617) 258-6779 -----  From info at cogsci.ed.ac.uk Thu Mar 6 13:39:30 1997 From: info at cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Centre for Cognitive Science) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 18:39:30 GMT Subject: MSc/PhD study in Cognitive Science, Edinburgh Message-ID: <8193.199703061839@burns.cogsci.ed.ac.uk> POSTGRADUATE STUDY IN THE CENTRE FOR COGNITIVE SCIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH Cognitive Psychology Neural Computation Computational Linguistics Formal Logic Data Intensive Linguistics Logic Programming Theoretical Linguistics & Knowledge Representation The Centre for Cognitive Science (CCS) offers a programme of postgraduate study in cognitive science, centred on language and cognition. The programme leads to the degrees of MSc in Cognitive Science and Natural Language, MPhil or PhD. CCS is committed to research and postgraduate teaching in cognitive science at international level. The work of the Centre is at the heart of Edinburgh's view of *informatics* -- the study of the structure, behaviour, and design of computational systems, both natural and artificial. CCS has a well-developed system of collaboration with departments within Informatics (Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science) and beyond (Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology). The Centre's lecturers and research fellows work with over 60 postgraduates in a rich and varied intellectual and social environment. Regular interdisciplinary research workshops, in which students actively participate, focus on current problems in cognitive science. Visiting researchers contribute to a lively seminar series. Research projects, many of them collaborative with other European centres of excellence, have been funded by the UK research councils ESRC, EPSRC and MRC as well as by the European Union LRE and ESPRIT programmes in such areas as natural language understanding and computational neuroscience. Teaching staff: [with associated departments] Ewan Klein Head of Department linguistic theory, phonology Chris Brew [HCRC] corpora, data intensive linguistics, language technology Jo Calder [HCRC] grammar formalisms, computational linguistics Matthew Crocker [ESRC Fellow] statistical language processing, computational psycholinguistics Mark Ellison computational phonology and morphology, natural computation Bruce Graham computational neuroscience, neural networks Alexander Holt natural language semantics, computational linguistics Alex Lascarides [HCRC] lexical and discourse processing, semantics, pragmatics Paul Schweizer PhD Organiser philosophical logic, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language Richard Shillcock MSc Course Organiser psycholinguistics, cognitive modelling, cognitive neuropsychology Keith Stenning [HCRC] human memory, inference, connectionism Associates and Fellows: Sheila Glasbey EPSRC Fellow M. Louise Kelly [Linguistics] Robert Ladd [Linguistics] John Lee [HCRC] Chris Mellish [Artificial Intelligence] Jon Oberlander [HCRC] Massimo Poesio EPSRC Fellow David Willshaw [MRC] Human Communication Research Centre: The HCRC is a centre of excellence in the interdisciplinary study of cognition and computation in human communication, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (UK). Drawing together researchers from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Durham, HCRC focuses on the psychological aspects of real language processing. HCRC shares a site with CCS, and the two contribute towards a joint research environment. Studying in Edinburgh: Edinburgh contains the largest concentration of expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing in Europe. Students have access to that expertise, to Edinburgh's large copyright libraries, and within Cognitive Science, to a substantial offprint library. The department possesses extensive computing facilities based on a network of Sun workstations and Apple Macintoshes; access to Edinburgh's concurrent supercomputer and other central computing services is easily arranged. Requirements: Applicants typically have a first degree in one of the participating areas or an appropriate joint honours degree. Funding: UK and EU students following the MSc and PhD courses are eligible to apply for studentships. CCS will advise all students concerning funding possibilities. CCS attracts studentships from a variety of UK and non-UK funding bodies. Non-UK applicants with sufficient background may enroll as non-graduating students. If you would like more information about the Postgraduate Programme in Cognitive Science at the University of Edinburgh, please contact: Admissions Centre for Cognitive Science University of Edinburgh 2 Buccleuch Place Edinburgh EH8 9LW UK Telephone: +44 131 650 4667 Fax: +44 131 650 6626 Email: info at cogsci.ed.ac.uk WWW: http://www.cogsci.ed.ac.uk/  From Friedrich.Leisch at ci.tuwien.ac.at Thu Mar 6 03:52:09 1997 From: Friedrich.Leisch at ci.tuwien.ac.at (Friedrich Leisch) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 09:52:09 +0100 Subject: CI BibTeX Collection -- Update Message-ID: <199703060852.JAA13889@galadriel.ci.tuwien.ac.at> The following volumes have been added to the collection of BibTeX files maintained by the Vienna Center for Computational Intelligence: neural networks 9/6-9 neural computation 8/8, 9/1-2 machine learning 25, 26 The complete collection can be downloaded from http://www.ci.tuwien.ac.at/docs/ci/bibtex_collection.html ftp://ftp.ci.tuwien.ac.at/pub/texmf/bibtex/bib/ Best, Fritz -- ===================================================================== Friedrich Leisch Institut f?r Statistik Tel: (+43 1) 58801 4541 Technische Universit?t Wien Fax: (+43 1) 504 14 98 Wiedner Hauptstra?e 8-10/1071 Friedrich.Leisch at ci.tuwien.ac.at A-1040 Wien, Austria http://www.ci.tuwien.ac.at/~leisch PGP public key http://www.ci.tuwien.ac.at/~leisch/pgp.key =====================================================================  From ngoddard at psc.edu Thu Mar 6 14:47:03 1997 From: ngoddard at psc.edu (Nigel Goddard) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 14:47:03 -0500 Subject: Parallel Simulation for Computational Neuroscience Message-ID: <199703061947.OAA19257@pscuxb.psc.edu> FIRST CALL Simulations in Computational Neuroscience June 11-14, 1997 Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center Pittsburgh, PA Participants in this workshop will learn to use PGENESIS, a parallel version of the GENESIS simulator, and PNEURON (under development), a parallel version of the NEURON simulator. This course will be of interest to active modelers who perceive the need for large simulations which are beyond the effective capabilities of single-cpu workstations. Both PGENESIS and PNEURON are suitable for large scale parallel search of parameter space for single neuron and neuronal network models. PGENESIS is also suitable for parallel simulation of very large network models. Both of these packages run on single workstations, workstation networks, small-scale parallel computers and large massively parallel supercomputers, providing a natural scale-up path. For large simulations NSF funds four supercomputing centers for the use of US-based computational scientists. Familiarity with the non-parallel version of GENESIS or NEURON is preferred but not required. Techniques for parallel search of parameter space and for decomposition of network models will be two foci of the workshop. Participants are encouraged to bring their models to the workshop. Each participant is provided with an SGI Irix workstation and accounts on PSCs advanced computing resources including our 512-node Cray T3E. Each day lectures will be followed by hands-on computing sessions at which experienced instructors will be available to assist in using PGENESIS and PNEURON, and optimizing models, Hotel accommodations during the workshop for researchers affiliated with U.S. academic institutions will be paid by our NIH grant. Complimentary breakfast and lunches also will be provided. There is no registration fee for this workshop. All other costs incurred in attending (travel, other meals, etc.) are the responsibility of the individual participant. The deadline for submitting applications is May 3, 1997. Enrollment is limited to 20 participants. Further information and application materials can be found at: http://www.psc.edu/biomed/workshops/wk-97/neural.html Support for this workshop is from NIH under the NCRR program and from NSF under the Computational Activities in Biology program.  From bap at cs.unm.edu Thu Mar 6 20:39:00 1997 From: bap at cs.unm.edu (Barak Pearlmutter) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 97 18:39 MST Subject: Abbadingo One: DFA Learning Competition Message-ID: Abbadingo One: DFA Learning Competition Announcement & Call for Participation In order to encourage the development of better grammar induction algorithms, the Abbadingo One competition will award at least $1,024 to the designer of the system that is most successful at discovering the structure of random deterministic finite automata, as assessed by a graded series of nine benchmark problems. The competition ends on 15-Nov-1997. This competition is being sponsored by, among others, * The Computer Science Department at the University of New Mexico, which is providing computational support. * The Kluwer Academic journal "Machine Learning," which will give priority treatment to a paper describing the award winning algorithm. * The Santa Fe Institute, which will host the award ceremony. * The "Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research." For details retrieve http://abbadingo.cs.unm.edu/ Good luck, and may the best algorithm win! -- Competition Kevin J. Lang organizers: Barak A. Pearlmutter  From jordan at psyche.mit.edu Sat Mar 8 10:12:24 1997 From: jordan at psyche.mit.edu (Michael Jordan) Date: Sat, 8 Mar 97 10:12:24 EST Subject: NIPS*97 Call for Papers Message-ID: <9703081512.AA29774@psyche.mit.edu> CALL FOR PAPERS -- NIPS*97 Neural Information Processing Systems -- Natural and Synthetic Monday December 1 - Saturday December 6, 1997 Denver, Colorado This is the eleventh meeting of an interdisciplinary conference which brings together cognitive scientists, computer scientists, engineers, neuroscientists, physicists, and mathematicians interested in all aspects of neural processing and computation. The conference will include invited talks and oral and poster presentations of refereed papers. The conference is single track and is highly selective. Preceding the main session, there will be one day of tutorial presentations (Dec. 1), and following will be two days of focused workshops on topical issues at a nearby ski area (Dec. 5-6). Major categories for paper submission, with example subcategories (by no means exhaustive), are as follows: Algorithms and Architectures: supervised and unsupervised learning algorithms, model selection algorithms, feedforward and recurrent network architectures, localized basis functions, online learning algorithms, active learning algorithms, algorithms for combining classifiers, belief networks, combinatorial optimization. Applications: handwriting recognition, DNA and protein sequence analysis, expert systems, fault diagnosis, financial analysis, medical diagnosis, music processing, time-series prediction. Artificial Intelligence: inductive reasoning, problem solving and planning, natural language understanding, hybrid symbolic-subsymbolic systems. Cognitive Science: perception and psychophysics, development, neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, language, human learning and memory, attention. Implementation: analog and digital VLSI, optical neurocomputing systems, novel neuro-devices, simulation tools, parallelism. Neuroscience: functional imaging, systems physiology, neural coding, synchrony, synaptic plasticity, neuromodulation, dendritic computation, calcium dynamics, inhibition, computational models. Reinforcement Learning and Control: exploration, dynamic programming, planning, navigation, robotic motor control, process control, Markov decision processes. Speech and Signal Processing: speech recognition, speech coding, speech synthesis, rapid adaptation, robust processing, auditory scene analysis, models of human speech perception. Theory: computational learning theory, statistical mechanics of learning, dynamics of learning algorithms, learning of dynamical systems, approximation and estimation theory, combining predictors, model selection, complexity theory. Visual Processing: image processing, image coding and classification, object recognition, stereopsis, motion detection and tracking, visual psychophysics. Review Criteria: All submitted papers will be thoroughly refereed on the basis of technical quality, significance, and clarity. Novelty of the work is also a strong consideration in paper selection, but to encourage interdisciplinary contributions, we will consider work which has been submitted or presented in part elsewhere, if it is unlikely to have been seen by the NIPS audience. Authors should not be dissuaded from submitting recent work, as there will be an opportunity after the meeting to revise accepted manuscripts before submitting final camera-ready copy. Paper Format: Submitted papers may be up to seven pages in length, including figures and references, using a font no smaller than 10 point. Submissions failing to follow these guidelines will not be considered. Authors are encouraged to use the NIPS LaTeX style files obtainable by anonymous FTP at the site given below. Papers must indicate (1) physical and e-mail addresses of all authors; (2) one of the nine major categories listed above, and, if desired, a subcategory; (3) if the work, or any substantial part thereof, has been submitted to or has appeared in other scientific conferences; (4) the authors' preference, if any, for oral or poster presentation (this preference will play no role in paper acceptance); and (5) author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Submission Instructions: Send eight copies of submitted papers to the address below; electronic or FAX submission is not acceptable. Include one additional copy of the abstract only, to be used for preparation of the abstracts booklet distributed at the meeting. SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MAY 23, 1997. From within the U.S., submissions will be accepted if mailed first class and postmarked by May 20, 1997. Mail submissions to: Michael Kearns NIPS*97 Program Chair AT&T Laboratories Research Room 2A-423 600 Mountain Avenue Murray Hill, NJ 07974-0636 USA Mail general inquiries and requests for registration material to: NIPS*97 Registration Conference Consulting Associates 451 N. Sycamore Monticello, IA 52310 fax: (319) 465-6709 (attn: Denise Prull) e-mail: nipsinfo at salk.edu Copies of the LaTeX style files for NIPS are available via anonymous ftp at ftp.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.206.173) in /afs/cs/Web/Groups/NIPS/formatting The style files and other conference information may also be retrieved via World Wide Web at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Web/Groups/NIPS NIPS*97 Organizing Committee: General Chair, Michael Jordan, MIT; Program Chair, Michael Kearns, AT&T Labs Research; Publications Chair, Sara Solla, Northwestern University; Tutorial Chair, Satinder Singh, University of Colorado; Workshops Co-Chairs, Steven Nowlan, Lexicus, and Richard Zemel, University of Arizona; Publicity Chair, Anthony Bell, Salk Institute; Local Arrangements, Arun Jagota, University of California, Santa Cruz; Treasurer, Bartlett Mel, University of Southern California; Web Master, Doug Baker, Carnegie Mellon University; Government Liaison, John Moody, OGI; Contracts, Steve Hanson, Rutgers University, Scott Kirkpatrick, IBM, Gerry Tesauro, IBM. Conference arrangements by Conference Consulting Associates, Monticello, IA. NIPS*97 Program Committee: Sue Becker, McMaster University; Joachim Buhmann, University of Bonn; Tom Dietterich, Oregon State University; Michael Kearns, AT&T Labs Research (chair); Richard Lippmann, MIT Lincoln Lab; Larry Saul, AT&T Labs Research; Jude Shavlik, University of Wisconsin; Rich Sutton, University of Massachusetts; Tali Tishby, Hebrew University; Michael Turmon, Jet Propulsion Lab; Paul Viola, MIT; John Wawrzynek, UC Berkeley; Tony Zador, Salk Institute. DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF SUBMISSIONS IS MAY 23, 1997 - please post -  From kmathia at gotham.accurate-automation.com Fri Mar 7 17:07:50 1997 From: kmathia at gotham.accurate-automation.com (Karl Mathia) Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 17:07:50 -0500 (EST) Subject: Learning Control at SCI'97 Message-ID: <199703072207.RAA07637@gotham.accurate-automation.com> ! PLEASE POST ! PLEASE POST ! PLEASE POST ! PLEASE POST ! PLEASE POST ! *********************************************************************** LAST Call for Papers: SPECIAL SESSION ON LEARNING CONTROL ----------------------------------- at the WORLD MULTICONFERENCE ON SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS (SCI'97) Caracas, Venezuela July 7-11, 1997 (Extended Deadline for Abstracts: March 31, 1997) *********************************************************************** LEARNING CONTROL ---------------- "Learning Control" is a term attributed to a broad class of self-tuning processes, where the performance of the controlled system with respect to a particular task is self-improved based on the performance for previous identical tasks. The idea of self-learning control systems is aesthetically appealing and represents a fundamental step towards fully autonomous systems. This is of advantage when dealing with uncertain or changing systems. The major difference between adaptive and learning control is sometimes characterized in terms of 'local' and 'global' learning. An adaptive systems continuously adapts to changes in environment and system para- meters (local), whereas a learning systems memorizes and recognizes previously experienced situations (global). The classification of learning control will be one of many topics at this SCI'97 session. We invite you to present your recent research results, learn about current avenues in the field, and to meet interesting people. We look for quality papers which cover the topics outlined below. Similar work is also welcome. OVERVIEW OF SCI'97 ------------------ SCI'97 is a truly multi-disciplinary conference, covering intelligent computing, information theory, cybernetics, social and biological systems, psychology, and applications. General information about the conference is listed below or can be found at the website http://www.iiis.org/ SCI'97 is an ideal platform for a special session on "Learning Control", an emerging discipline which is receiving more and more attention from both the academic and industrial controls community, due to the increasing complexity of (technical) systems. TOPICS ------ The Learning Control Session will include, but is not limited, to the following topics (further suggestions are encouraged): * Classification of learning control systems. * Mathematical learning theory in a controls context. * Biological or social self-learning control mechanisms and their extension to technical systems. * Human operator modeling. Human operators are (currently) the ultimate learning controller for complex systems. * Neurocontrol, using biological or artificial neural networks. * Fuzzy logic and learning. * Optimal Control type learning algorithms (adaptive critics, Q-learning, etc.). * Variable structure learning of controllers and its variants, e.g. reconfigurable and reparameterizable controllers. * Stability of learning control systems (important!). * Hardware implementations. * Applications and case studies which exceed the usual benchmark problems towards real-world complex systems. Questions about, or contributions to this special session can be e-mailed to Karl Mathia at karl at mathia.com or kmathia at accurate-automation.com PAPER SUBMISSION ---------------- Please mail three (3) hardcopies of your abstract or draft (1-2 pages) to: Dr. Karl Mathia Accurate Automation Corporation 7001 Shallowford Road Phone: (423) 894-4646 Chattanooga, TN 37421 Fax: (423) 894-4645 USA Full-size papers (max. 8 pages, single spaced) are be submitted by authors after the notification of acceptance. Please note the extended deadline for camera-ready papers: May 12, 1997. DEADLINES --------- March 15, 1997 Submission of 1-2 page abstracts or drafts. March 31, 1997 Acceptance notifications. May 1, 1997 Submission of camera ready papers (max. 8 pages, single spaced). ***********************************************************************  From paolo at eealab.unian.it Mon Mar 10 10:07:22 1997 From: paolo at eealab.unian.it (Paolo Campolucci) Date: Mon, 10 Mar 97 17:07:22 +0200 Subject: No subject Message-ID: <9703101507.AA00234@dns.eealab.unian.it> --------------------------CALL FOR PAPERS-------------------------------- Special Session on Neural Networks for Signal Processing ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- ISIS'97- International Symposium on Intelligent Systems ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- Signal processing problems, with their particular features and challenges, have provided an important field of application for artificial neural networks (ANNs). The non-linear processing and classification capabilities of these networks, in fact, can be very useful in many DSP applications. However, to provide robust, efficient and reliable NN solutions to many real-world problems, new and original ideas should be found to overcome nowadays limitations. This special session, organized within ISIS'97, wants to provide an open forum for researchers in this field to present and discuss new and promising results on the theory and application of artificial neural networks for signal processing. Papers are solicited for, but not limited to, the following topics: >>>Paradigms: artificial neural networks, evolutionary computation, nonlinear signal processing, robust fitting, classification and learning, statistical properties of ANNs, complexity issues. >>>Application areas: speech processing, speech enhancement, space-time processing, adaptive filtering, channel equalization and predistortion, robotics, system identification and control, time series prediction, temporal pattern recognition. >>>Theories: generalization, design algorithms, optimization, learning, neural architectures for signal processing, dynamic recurrent neural networks, locally recurrent neural networks, IIR synapses neural networks, Time Delay Neural Networks, fast learning algorithms, on-line training algorithms, on-line clustering, and identification/rejection of outliers. >>>Implementations: parallel and distributed implementation, hardware design, other implementation technologies. The International Symposium on Intelligent Systems will be held in Reggio Calabria (Italy) in the center of the Mediterranean sea, from September 11 to September 13, 1997. This 2+1/2 days interdisciplinary symposium aims to be an international forum for advanced studies in Neural Networks, Fuzzy Systems and related intelligent technologies, with special concern for analysis and synthesis of systems which have to make decisions in an environment of uncertainty and imprecision. This Conference follows up the series of International Symposia organized by AMSE in Istanbul (1988), Brighton (1989), Cetinje (1990), Warsaw (1991), Geneva (1992), London (1993), Lyon (1994), Brno (1995) and Leon (1996). More information about the workshop is available at: http://neurolab.ing.unirc.it/isis97.html Papers Submission to special session: Papers must be received by April 15, 1997. They should include an abstract not exceeding 100 words and should not exceed five A4 pages, single-column format in Times Roman or similar font style, 10 points or larger with 2.5 cm (one inch) margins on all four sides, including figures, tables and references. All submitted manuscripts, both invited and contributed, will be evaluated by peer reviewers to determine their suitability for publication. Authors are encouraged to submit their work via Air Mail or Express Courier so as to ensure timely delivery. All submissions will be acknowledged by electronic or postal mail. Authors of accepted papers wil= be invited to submit their final camera-ready papers by May 31, 1997. Five copies of the manuscript must be sent to the address below with an accompanying letter including the following information: Full Title of the Paper Technical Topics (First and Second Choices) Corresponding Author (Name, Postal and E-Mail Addresses, Telephone and Fax Numbers) Presenting Author and preferred mode of presentation (Oral or Poster) Symposium Language: English will be the official language of the Symposium. Important dates: April 15, 1997 Deadline for manuscripts submitted to the special session. May 10, 1997 Notification to Authors.=20 May 31, 1997 Deadline for receiving final camera-ready papers Proceedings: Accepted papers will be included in the Proceedings published by IOS press. Selected papers could be published in several journals of AMSE. All manuscripts submitted to the special session must be sent to: Prof. Francesco Piazza Dipart. Elettronica ed Automatica, Universita' di Ancona via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona email: upf at eealab.unian.it (or paolo at eealab.unian.it) TEL: +39 (71) 2204 453 or 2204 541 FAX: +39 (71) 2204 464 or 2204 835 For informations about the special session, please contact Prof. F. Piazza, at the address above, or: Dr. Elio D. Di Claudio Dipart. INFO-COM, Universit=E0 di Roma "La Sapienza" via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Roma email dic at infocom.ing.uniroma1.it TEL: +39 (6) 44585 837 or 44585 839 FAX: +39 (6) 4873300 For information about the symposium, please contact: Symposium Secretariat: ISIS'97 Secretariat=20 University of Reggio Calabria=20 Faculty of Engineering, DIEMA=20 Via E.Cuzzocrea 48, I-89127 Reggio Calabria, Italy Phone: +39 -965 875224, Fax: +39 -965 875247 E-mail: neurolab at csiins.unirc.it WWW: http://neurolab.ing.unirc.it/isis97.html  From henkel at physik.uni-bremen.de Tue Mar 11 05:45:30 1997 From: henkel at physik.uni-bremen.de (Rolf Henkel) Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 11:45:30 +0100 Subject: Stereovision: TR, Webpages, Demo Message-ID: <332537CA.12A4AAE6@theo.physik.uni-bremen.de> A technical report, some Webpages and an Online-Demo of a new computational approach to Stereovision are now available. The new approach rests on aliasing effects of simple disparity estimators caused by sampling visual space only at two eye-positions. In connection with a coherence-detection scheme, a stable algorithm is obtained which calculates within a single computational structure a dense disparity map and a verification count for the disparity estimates. In addition, the network fuses the left and right stereo images into the cyclopean view of the scene. Keywords: Stereovision, cyclopean view, complex cells, parallel algorithm Comments to the ideas presented are very welcome. The webpages can be found at the URL http://axon.physik.uni-bremen.de/~rdh/research/stereo/ the technical report retrieved under http://axon.physik.uni-bremen.de/~rdh/research/papers/tyc.ps.gz and the Online-Demo of the algorithm tested under the URL http://axon.physik.uni-bremen.de/~rdh/online_calc/stereo2/ Thank you very much for your interest, Rolf Henkel Institute of Theoretical Neurophysics, University Bremen, Germany ----------------------------------------------------------------- Email: henkel at theo.physik.uni-bremen.de URL: http://axon.physik.uni-bremen.de/~rdh/research/ -----------------------------------------------------------------  From golden at utdallas.edu Tue Mar 11 13:48:32 1997 From: golden at utdallas.edu (Richard M Golden) Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 12:48:32 -0600 (CST) Subject: NEW MIT BOOK! Mathematical Methods for Neural Net Analysis and Design Message-ID: Mathematical Methods for Neural Network Analysis and Design Richard M. Golden MIT Press (1996) ORDERING INFO: ISBN 0-262-07174-6 http://www.amazon.com Cloth ($65.00), 432 pages. http://www-mitpress.mit.edu/order-info.html 1-800-356-0343 (MIT BOOK ORDER Department) ***FOR MORE INFO: http://www.utdallas.edu/~golden/book_abs.html This textbook teaches students how to carefully use a powerful set of mathematical tools for analyzing and designing a wide variety of NONLINEAR HIGH-DIMENSIONAL Artificial Neural Network (ANN) systems. Chapter 1: ANN systems with Neuroscience, Psychology, Engineering Applications Chapter 2: Specific ANN system architectures; classification/learning paradigms Chapter 3: LaSalle's Invariant Set Theorem for behavioral analysis of ANNs Chapter 4: Stochastic Approximation Theorem for behavioral analysis of ANNs Chapter 5: Nonlinear Optimization Theory for ANN system design Chapters 6,7: Bayesian Decision Theory and Markov Random Fields for the design of "rational" ANN classification/learning objective functions. Chapter 8: Confidence intervals for an ANN system's predictions. Statistical tests for: (i) pruning/adding units, and (ii) model selection. Solutions: Solutions to over 100 ANN system analysis and design problems ***** This message is being sent to multiple mailing lists. My apologies if you receive this message more than once. ******  From terry at salk.edu Fri Mar 14 16:59:05 1997 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 13:59:05 -0800 (PST) Subject: Telluride Deadline April 1 Message-ID: <199703142159.NAA19854@helmholtz.salk.edu> ****** Deadline for application is April 1, 1997 ***** "NEUROMORPHIC ENGINEERING WORKSHOP" JUNE 23 - JULY 13, 1997 TELLURIDE, COLORADO Christof Koch (Caltech) Terry Sejnowski (Salk Institute/UCSD) and Rodney Douglas (Zurich, Switzerland) invite applications for a three-week summer workshop that will be held in Telluride, Colorado in 1997. The 1996 summer workshop on "Neuromorphic Engineering", sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Gatsby Foundation and by the "Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering" at Caltech, was an exciting event and a great success. A detailed report on the workshop is available at http://www.klab.caltech.edu/~timmer/telluride.html GOALS: Carver Mead introduced the term "Neuromorphic Engineering" for a new field based on the design and fabrication of artificial neural systems, such as vision systems, head-eye systems, and roving robots, whose architecture and design principles are based on those of biological nervous systems. The goal of this workshop is to bring together young investigators and more established researchers from academia with their counterparts in industry and national laboratories, working on both neurobiological as well as engineering aspects of sensory systems and sensory-motor integration. The focus of the workshop will be on "active" participation, with demonstration systems and hands-on-experience for all participants. Neuromorphic engineering has a wide range of applications from nonlinear adaptive control of complex systems to the design of smart sensors. Many of the fundamental principles in this field, such as the use of learning methods and the design of parallel hardware, are inspired by biological systems. However, existing applications are modest and the challenge of scaling up from small artificial neural networks and designing completely autonomous systems at the levels achieved by biological systems lies ahead. The assumption underlying this three week workshop is that the next generation of neuromorphic systems would benefit from closer attention to the principles found through experimental and theoretical studies of brain systems. FORMAT: The three week summer workshop will include background lectures, practical tutorials on aVLSI design, hands-on projects, and special interest groups. Participants are encouraged to get involved in as many of these activities as interest and time allow. There will be two lectures in the morning that cover issues that are important to the community in general. Because of the diverse range of backgrounds among the participants, the majority of these lectures will be tutorials, rather than detailed reports of current research. These lectures will be given by invited speakers. Participants will be free to explore and play with whatever they choose in the afternoon. Projects and interest groups meet in the late afternoons, and after dinner. The aVLSI practical tutorials will cover all aspects of aVLSI design, simulation, layout, and testing over the workshop of the three weeks. The first week covers basics of transistors, simple circuit design and simulation. This material is intended for participants who have no experience with aVLSI. The second week will focus on design frames for silicon retinas, from the silicon compilation and layout of on-chip video scanners, to building the peripheral boards necessary for interfacing aVLSI retinas to video output monitors. Retina chips will be provided. The third week will feature a session on floating gates, including lectures on the physics of tunneling and injection, and experimentation with test chips. Projects that are carried out during the workshop will be centered in a number of groups, including active vision, audition, olfaction, motor control, central pattern generator, robotics, multichip communication, analog VLSI and learning. The "active perception" project group will emphasize vision and human sensory-motor coordination. Issues to be covered will include spatial localization and constancy, attention, motor planning, eye movements, and the use of visual motion information for motor control. Demonstrations will include a robot head active vision system consisting of a three degree-of-freedom binocular camera system that is fully programmable. The "central pattern generator" group will focus on small walking robots. It will look at characteristics and sources of parts for building robots, play with working examples of legged robots, and discuss CPG's and theories of nonlinear oscillators for locomotion. It will also explore the use of simple aVLSI sensors for autonomous robots. The "robotics" group will use robot arms and working digital vision boards to investigate issues of sensory motor integration, passive compliance of the limb, and learning of inverse kinematics and inverse dynamics. The "multichip communication" project group will use existing interchip communication interfaces to program small networks of artificial neurons to exhibit particular behaviors such as amplification, oscillation, and associative memory. Issues in multichip communication will be discussed. PARTIAL LIST OF INVITED LECTURERS: Andreas Andreou, Johns Hopkins. Richard Andersen, Caltech. Dana Ballard, Rochester. Avis Cohen, Maryland. Tobi Delbruck, Arithmos. Steve DeWeerth, Georgia Tech Rodney Douglas, Zurich. Christof Koch, Caltech. John Kauer, Tufts. Shih-Chii Liu, Caltech and Rockwell. Stefan Schaal, Georgia Tech Terrence Sejnowski, UCSD and Salk. Shihab Shamma, Maryland. Mark Tilden, Los Alamos. Paul Viola, MIT. LOCATION AND ARRANGEMENTS: The workshop will take place at the "Telluride Summer Research Center," located in the small town of Telluride, 9000 feet high in Southwest Colorado, about 6 hours away from Denver (350 miles) and 5 hours from Aspen. Continental and United Airlines provide many daily flights directly into Telluride. Participants will be housed in shared condominiums, within walking distance of the Center. Bring hiking boots and a backpack, since Telluride is surrounded by beautiful mountains (several mountains are in the 14,000 range). The workshop is intended to be very informal and hands-on. Participants are not required to have had previous experience in analog VLSI circuit design, computational or machine vision, systems level neurophysiology or modeling the brain at the systems level. However, we strongly encourage active researchers with relevant backgrounds from academia, industry and national laboratories to apply, in particular if they are prepared to talk about their work or to bring demonstrations to Telluride (e.g. robots, chips, software). Internet access will be provided. Technical staff present throughout the workshops will assist with software and hardware issues. We will have a network of SUN workstations running UNIX, MACs and PCs running LINUX (and windows). COST: Scholarships are available to reimburse some participants for up to $500 for domestic travel and for all housing expenses. Please specify on the application whether such financial help is needed. DURATION: Unless otherwise arranged with one of the organizers, we expect participants to stay for the duration of this three week workshop. Because of the intensity of the workshop and the focus on projects, spouses and families cannot be accommodated during the workshop. HOW TO APPLY: The deadline for receipt of applications is April 1, 1997. Applicants should be at the level of graduate students or above (i.e. post-doctoral fellows, faculty, research and engineering staff and the equivalent positions in industry and national laboratories). We actively encourage qualified women and minority candidates to apply. Application should include: 1. Name, address, telephone, e-mail, FAX, and minority status (optional). 2. Curriculum Vitae. 3. One page summary of background and interests relevant to the workshop. 4. Description of special equipment needed for demonstrations that could be brought to the workshop. 5. Two letters of recommendation Complete applications should be sent to: Terrence Sejnowski The Salk Institute 10010 North Torrey Pines Road San Diego, CA 92037 email: terry at salk.edu FAX: (619) 587 0417 Applicants will be notified around May 1, 1997.  From bert at mbfys.kun.nl Mon Mar 17 11:34:12 1997 From: bert at mbfys.kun.nl (Bert Kappen) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 17:34:12 +0100 Subject: paper available Stimulus dependent correlations in stochastic networks (25 pages) Message-ID: <199703171634.RAA21938@bertus> Content-Length: 950 FTP-host: ftp.mbfys.kun.nl FTP-file: snn/pub/reports The file Kappen.Featurelinking.ps.Z is now available for copying from the Neuroprose repository: Stimulus dependent correlations in stochastic networks (25 pages) ABSTRACT: It has been observed that cortical neurons display synchronous firing for some stimuli and not for others. The resulting synchronous cell assemblies are thought to form the basis of object perception. In this paper this 'dynamic linking' phenomenon is demonstrated in networks of binary neurons with stochastic dynamics. Analytical treatment within the mean field theory and linear response theory is possible and is compared with simulations. We establish that correlations are a sensitive function of the spatial coherence in the stimulus. We discuss the possibility to use these correlations as a mechanism for scene segmentation. The papar has been accepted for publication in Physical Review E. Bert Kappen  From maire at fit.qut.edu.au Mon Mar 17 00:03:33 1997 From: maire at fit.qut.edu.au (maire@fit.qut.edu.au) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 15:03:33 +1000 Subject: CADE-14 workshop CFP Message-ID: <3.0.16.19970317150311.2ca710b0@sky.fit.qut.edu.au> ============================================================= FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS CADE-14 WORKSHOP July 13, 1997, Townsville, Australia -------------------------------------------- CONNECTIONIST SYSTEMS FOR KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION AND DEDUCTION -------------------------------------------- Joachim Diederich, Frederic Maire & Ross Hayward Neurocomputing Research Centre Queensland University of Technology Brisbane 4001 Queensland, Australia Phone: +61 7 3864-2143 Fax: +61 7 3864-1801 E-mail: {joachim,maire,hayward}@fit.qut.edu.au GOALS The objective of the workshop is to provide a discussion platform for researchers interested in Artificial Intelli- gence (AI), Neural Networks (NN), Automated Reasoning and Deduction. The workshop should be of considerable interest to computer scientists, mathematicians and engineers as well as to cognitive scientists and people interested in NN applications which try to bridge the gap between symbolic AI systems and connectionist networks. INTRODUCTION Connectionist systems are attractive because they have highly desirable properties such as fine-grain parallelism, fault tolerance and automatic learning. For a long time, they lagged behind symbolic AI systems for knowledge representation and automated reasoning. But over the last ten years, several connectionist knowledge representation systems have been introduced with greater expressive and inferential power than previous systems (e.g. Pinkas 1991, Shastri & Ajjanagadde 1993, Lange & Dyer 1989, Diederich & Kurfess 1994, Derthick, 1988). SIGNIFICANCE The rapid and successful proliferation of applications incorporating Artificial Neural Network methods and systems in fields as diverse as commerce, science, industry and medicine, offers a clear testament to the capability of the NN paradigm. However, NNs are generally weak methods for knowledge representation. In contrast to symbolic systems, neural networks have no explicit, declarative knowledge representation and therefore have considerable difficulties in generating complex or embedded (e.g. recursive) structures. In neural networks, knowledge is encoded in numeric parameters (weights) and generally distributed. For NNs to gain an even wider degree of user acceptance and to enhance their overall utility as learning and generalisation tools, it is highly desirable (if not essential) to overcome their limitations as representational systems. DISCUSSION POINTS FOR WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS 1. Oscillatory or signature passing models such as SHRUTI (Shastri & Ajjanagadde, 1993) or ROBIN (Lange & Dyer, 1989). 2. Systems based on energy minimisation such as Pinkas (1991a,b) or Derthick (1988). 3. Integrated modular systems that employ multi-layer feedforward networks and simple recurrent networks (e.g. Diederich & Kurfess, 1994). Learning and representation need to interact here and the representational expressiveness needs to be improved. 4. Logical formalism representable in connectionist networks 5. Representing reasoning processes in a connectionist architecture 6. Relevance of the connectionist approach to overcome the main obstacles to the automation of reasoning (clause retention, inadequate focus, redundant information, clause generation, demodulation, metarules etc.) 7. Learning for Connectionist Representation Systems 8. Learning direction strategy to reduce the severity of the obstacle of inadequate focus. SUBMISSION OF WORKSHOP EXTENDED ABSTRACTS/PAPERS Authors are invited to submit 3 copies of either an extended abstract or full paper relating to one of the topic areas listed above. Papers should be written in English in single column format and should be limited to no more than eight, (8) sides of A4 paper including figures and references. We encourage e-mail submissions in Postscript. Please include the following information in an accompanying cover letter: Full title of paper, presenting author's name, address, and telephone and fax numbers, authors e-mail address. Submission Deadline is April 21,1997 with notification to authors by May 5, 1997 and final postscript versions for the proceedings due by June 2, 1997. For further information, inquiries, and paper submissions please contact: Joachim Diederich, Frederic Maire & Ross Hayward Neurocomputing Research Centre Queensland University of Technology Brisbane 4001 Queensland, Australia Phone: +61 7 3864-2143 Fax: +61 7 3864-1801 E-mail: {joachim,maire,hayward}@fit.qut.edu.au More information about the CADE-14 workshop series is available from: WWW: http://www.cs.jcu.edu.au/~cade-14/ Information about Workshop participation fees are available from: WWW: http://www.cs.jcu.edu.au/~cade-14/CADE-14/RegoForm.html  From ataxr at IMAP1.ASU.EDU Sat Mar 15 00:45:25 1997 From: ataxr at IMAP1.ASU.EDU (Asim Roy) Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 00:45:25 -0500 (EST) Subject: Does plasticity imply local learning? And other questions Message-ID: [ Moderator's note: Asim Roy led a discussion across several newsgroups on the topic of plasticity and local learning. Below is a summary of the responses he received. -- DST ] I am posting the responses I have so far without comment. Some of the responses provide a great deal of insight on this topic. I hope this will generate more interest in the questions raised. The original posting is attached below for reference. Asim Roy Arizona State University ============================================================= From rao at cs.rochester.edu Mon Mar 17 22:34:36 1997 From: rao at cs.rochester.edu (Rajesh Rao) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 22:34:36 -0500 Subject: Tech Report: Eye movements - a computational study Message-ID: <199703180334.WAA22044@skunk.cs.rochester.edu> The following report describing a computational model of eye movements in visual cognition is available for retrieval via ftp. Keywords: Saccades, spatiochromatic filters, saliency maps, spatial memory, object-centered maps, reference frames Comments and suggestions welcome (This message has been cross-posted - my apologies to those who received it more than once). -- Rajesh Rao Internet: rao at cs.rochester.edu Dept. of Computer Science VOX: (716) 275-2527 University of Rochester FAX: (716) 461-2018 Rochester NY 14627-0226 WWW: http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/rao/ =========================================================================== Eye Movements in Visual Cognition: A Computational Study Rajesh P.N. Rao, Gregory J. Zelinsky, Mary M. Hayhoe, and Dana H. Ballard Technical Report 97.1 National Resource Laboratory for the Study of Brain and Behavior University of Rochester March 1997 Abstract Visual cognition depends critically on the moment-to-moment orientation of gaze. Gaze is changed by saccades, rapid eye movements that orient the fovea over targets of interest in a visual scene. Saccades are ballistic; a prespecified target location is computed prior to the movement and visual feedback is precluded. Once a target is fixated, gaze is typically held for about 300 milliseconds, although it can be held for both longer and shorter intervals. Despite these distinctive properties, there has been no specific computational model of the gaze targeting strategy employed by the human visual system during visual cognitive tasks. This paper proposes such a model that uses iconic scene representations derived from oriented spatiochromatic filters at multiple scales. Visual search for a target object proceeds in a coarse-to-fine fashion with the target's largest scale filter responses being compared first. Task-relevant target locations are represented as saliency maps which are used to program eye movements. Once fixated, targets are remembered by using spatial memory in the form of object-centered maps. The model was empirically tested by comparing its performance with actual eye movement data from human subjects in natural visual search tasks. Experimental results indicate excellent agreement between eye movements predicted by the model and those recorded from human subjects. Retrieval information: FTP-host: ftp.cs.rochester.edu FTP-pathname: /pub/u/rao/papers/tr97.1.ps.Z URL: ftp://ftp.cs.rochester.edu/pub/u/rao/papers/tr97.1.ps.Z 35 pages; 1385K compressed, 6667K uncompressed ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anonymous ftp instructions: >ftp ftp.cs.rochester.edu Connected to anon.cs.rochester.edu. 220 anon.cs.rochester.edu FTP server (Version wu-2.4(3)) ready. Name: [type 'anonymous' here] 331 Guest login ok, send your complete e-mail address as password. Password: [type your e-mail address here] ftp> cd /pub/u/rao/papers/ ftp> get tr97.1.ps.Z ftp> bye >uncompress tr97.1.ps.Z >lpr tr97.1.ps  From rojicek at utia.cas.cz Tue Mar 18 10:17:12 1997 From: rojicek at utia.cas.cz (Jiri Rojicek) Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 16:17:12 +0100 Subject: Curse of dimensionality - new book now available Message-ID: <332EB1F8.3D73@utia.cas.cz> I'd like to inform you about a new book dealing with the 'curse of dimensionality' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Intensive Methods in Control and Signal Processing The Curse of Dimensionality --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K. Warwick, University of Reading, England M. K?rny, Institute of Info. Theory, Prague, Czech Republic (Eds.) 0-8176-3989-6 * 1997 * $69.95 * Hardcover * 320 pages * 47 Illustrations For further information and ordering please visit the page: http://www.birkhauser.com/cgi-win/ISBN/0-8176-3989-6/ ********************************************************************** Jiri Rojicek Ji?? Roj??ek (in Win CP 1250) rojicek at utia.cas.cz http://www.utia.cas.cz/AS_dept/rojicek/ tel: +420 - 2 - 66052310 **********************************************************************  From ollis at nucleus.hut.fi Wed Mar 19 08:13:25 1997 From: ollis at nucleus.hut.fi (Olli Simula) Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 15:13:25 +0200 Subject: ICONIP'97 Special Session on System Monitoring, Modeling, and Analysis Message-ID: <332FE675.47D5@nucleus.hut.fi> ICONIP'97, The Fourth International Conference on Neural Information Processing, November 24-28, 1997. Dunedin/Queenstown, New Zealand Special Session on System Monitoring, Modeling, and Analysis CALL FOR PAPERS Adaptive and intelligent systems based on neural computation and related techniques have successfully been applied in the analysis of various complex processes. This is due to the inherent learning capability of neural networks which is superior in analyzing systems that cannot be modeled analytically. In addition to various fields of engineering, like pattern recognition, industrial process monitoring, and telecommunications, practical applications include information retrieval, data analysis, and financial applications. A special session devoted to these areas of neural computation will be organized at ICONIP'97. The scope of the special session covers neural networks methods and related techniques as well as applications in the following areas: - monitoring, modeling, and analysis, of complex industrial processes - telecommunications applications, including resource management and optimization - data analysis and fusion, including financial applications - time series modeling and forecasting Prospective authors are invited to submit papers to the special session on any area of neural techniques on system monitoring, modeling, and analysis including, but not limited to the topics listed above. The submissions must be received by May 30, 1997. Please, send five copies of your manuscript to Prof. Olli Simula, Special Session Organizer Helsinki University of Technology, Laboratory of Computer and Information Science, Rakentajanaukio 2 C, FIN-02150 Espoo, Finland. More detailed instructions for manuscript submission procedure can be found at WWW, on the special session home page: http://nucleus.hut.fi/ICONIP97/ssmonitor/ For the most up-to-date information about ICONIP'97, please browse the conference home page: http://divcom.otago.ac.nz:800/com/infosci/kel/iconip97.htm Important dates: Papers due: May 30, 1997 Notification of acceptance: July 20, 1997 Final camera-ready papers due: August 20, 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------  From Paul.Vitanyi at cwi.nl Wed Mar 19 09:37:35 1997 From: Paul.Vitanyi at cwi.nl (Paul.Vitanyi@cwi.nl) Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 15:37:35 +0100 Subject: Book Announcement: 2nd Edition Li-Vitanyi on Kolmogorov Complexity Message-ID: <9703191437.AA16825=paulv@gnoe.cwi.nl> Ming Li and Paul Vitanyi, AN INTRODUCTION TO KOLMOGOROV COMPLEXITY AND ITS APPLICATIONS, REVISED AND EXPANDED SECOND EDITION, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1997, xx+637 pp, 41 illus. Hardcover \$49.95/ISBN 0-387-94868-6 (Graduate Texts in Computer Science Series) After four years and two printings the second edition has now appeared. During the preparation the book has been out of stock for a year. In interaction with many readers and teachers of courses and seminars, all reported errors and problems have been corrected. The book is revised and expanded by about 90 pages. The price has been *lowered* by over $9. See the web page "http://www.cwi.nl/~paulv/kolmogorov.html". From parodi at cptsu2.univ-mrs.fr Wed Mar 19 11:09:48 1997 From: parodi at cptsu2.univ-mrs.fr (Olivier Parodi) Date: Wed, 19 Mar 97 17:09:48 +0100 Subject: Cargese Summer School, 2d Announcement Message-ID: <9703191609.AA10605@cptsu2.univ-mrs.fr> SUMMER SCHOOL on NEURONAL INFORMATION PROCESSING : FROM BIOLOGICAL DATA TO MODELLING AND APPLICATIONS Cargese -- Corse du Sud (France) June 30 -- July 12, 1997 organized at the INSTITUT D'ETUDES SCIENTIFIQUES DE CARGESE CNRS (UMS 820) Universite de Nice-Sophia Antipolis - Universite de Corte F 20130 CARGESE Sponsored by Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique DGA-DRET (French Ministry of Defence) Conseil Executif de la Corse THEME In the past ten years, statistical mechanics and dynamics of neuronal automata have been extensively studied. Most of the work has been based on over-simplified models of neurons. Recent developments in Neurosciences have, however, considerably modified our knowledge of both the operating modes of neurons and information processing in the cortex. Multi-unit recordings have allowed precise temporal correlations to be detected, within temporal windows of the order of 1 ms. Simultaneously, oscillations corresponding to a quasi-periodic spike-firing, synchronized over several visual cortical areas, have been observed with anaesthesied cats and with monkeys. Last but not least, recent work on the neuronal operating modes have emphasized the role played by the dendritic arborization. These developments have led to considerable interest for coding scheme relying on precise spatio-temporal patterns both from the theoretical and experimental points of view. This prompts us to consider, for information processing, new models which would proceed, e.g., from a synchronous detection of correlated spike firing, and could be particularly robust against noise. Such models might bring about original technical applications for information processing and control. Further developments in this field may be of major importance for our understanding of the basic mechanisms of perception and cognition. They should also lead to new concepts in applications directed towards artificial perception and pattern recognition. Up to now, artificial systems for pattern recognition are far from reaching the standards of human vision. Systems based on a temporal coding by spikes may now be expected to bring about major improvements in this field. The aim of the school is to provide students and people engaged in both applied and basic research with state of the art in every relevant field (Neurosciences, Physics, Mathematics, Information and Control Theory) and to encourage further interdisciplinary and international exchanges. LECTURES Pr. Ad Aertsen (Freiburg am Brisgau) - Dynamic organization of cortical activity. Pr. P. Combe (Marseille) - Learning: a geometrical approach. Pr. J. Demongeot (Grenoble) - Dynamics of modular architectures. Pr. L. van Hemmen (Munchen) - Coding by spikes. Pr. J. Herault (Grenoble) - Information processing in retina. Pr. J. Hertz (Copenhague) - Temporal coding and learning. Pr. A. Holley (Lyon) - Information processing in the mammalian olfactory system. Dr. R. Lestienne (Paris) - Temporal coding with and without clocks. Pr. C. von der Malsburg (Bochum) - The importance of neural synchrony in the visual system. Dr. C. Masson (Paris) - From complex signals to adapted behavior: the example of a small olfactory brain. Dr. J. P. Nadal (Paris) - Information theory and neuronal architecture. Dr. O. Parodi (Marseille) - Temporal coding and correlation detection. Dr. P. Roelfsema (Frankfurt) - Oscillations in the visual cortex of mammalians. Pr. S. A. Solla (ATT) - Dynamics of on-line learning processes. Dr. T. Schanze & Prof. R. Eckhorn (Marburg): Neural mechanisms of visual feature binding and separation investigated with microelectrodes and models. OFFICIAL LANGUAGES The official languages of the School are English and French. Lectures will given in English. DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL Olivier PARODI, Centre de Physique Theorique CNRS-Luminy, case 907, F 13288 MARSEILLE CEDEX 09, France Tel. (33) 4 91 26 95 30 Fax (33) 4 91 26 95 53 e-mail parodi at cpt.univ-mrs.fr REGISTRATION FEES Students: free CNRS and members of CNRS institutes: free University: 1500 FF Industry: 2500 FF ACCOMMODATION GRANTS 1 - The School is sponsored by the Formation Permanente du CNRS, which can support accomodation expenses of at least 16 CNRS participants. 2 - The Organizing Committee will consider grants for students and young participants. PRACTICAL INFORMATION The school will be held at the Institut d'Etudes Scientifiques de Cargese. Lectures and Seminars will be given from 9 am to 12:30 pm and from 4 to 7:15 pm.(except on Sunday) from July 1 to 11 included. All participants are expected to arrive on June 30 and leave on July 12. TRAVEL : Cargese is located approximatively 60 kms North of Ajaccio. The best way to get to Cargese is to reach Ajaccio. You are asked to make your own travelling arrangements. However, in order to reduce the cost of your travel, two groups will be organized on regular flights between Paris and Ajaccio and Marseille and Ajaccio on June 30 and July 12 (approx. 1200-1400 FF for a Paris- Ajaccio return ticket). We also consider renting buses for the Ajaccio-Cargese and return journeys. Details will be sent later. ACCOMODATION : The Institute is located 2 km south of the village, on the sea shore. On working days, lunches will be served at the Institute (800 FF for the session, including refreshment and coffe breaks). There are various housing possibilities: - shared room at the Institute or in apartments in the village - 1920 FF (per person for the session) - single room in shared apartments in the village - 2640 FF for the session - rented apartment in the village for your family - 270 to 500 FF per day - hotels in the village - 250 to 400 FF per person per day - camping on the grounds of the Institute - 20 FF per person per day. You have to bring your own equipment, showers are at your disposal. Breakfast will be served at the Institute for people staying on the grounds. WARNING: There are no banks nor cash machines in Cargese and credit cards are not accepted everywhere. Think to bring enough French cash before leaving Paris, Marseille or Ajaccio. NOTE : We cannot provide accomodation before or after the dates of the School. POSTER SESSION : One or several poster sessions will be organized. Participants are encouraged to prepare posters on their own work. REGISTRATION : You have to fill the enclosed application and return it by e-mail to cargese at cpt.univ-mrs.fr BEFORE MARCH 31, 1997 with, if necessary, a letter justifying your grant request. The School will accept up to 50 students, including those supported by the Formation Permanente of CNRS. In case of over-demand, participants will be selected by the Scientific Committee, with a balance between junior and senior students, and a preference for students carrying an active research in the field. ------------------ http://cpt.univ-mrs.fr/Cargese ----------------------  From terry at salk.edu Thu Mar 20 01:58:53 1997 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 22:58:53 -0800 (PST) Subject: NEURAL COMPUTATION 9:3 Message-ID: <199703200658.WAA27040@helmholtz.salk.edu> Neural Computation - Contents Volume 9, Number 3 - April 1, 1997 Article A Neuro-Mimetic Dynamic Scheduling Algorithm for Control: Analysis and Applications Harpreet S. Kwatra, Francis J. Doyle III, Ilya A. Rybak, and James S. Schwaber Notes Conductance-Based Integrate and Fire Models Alain Destexhe A Simple Model of Transmitter Release and Facilitation Richard Bertram Functional Periodic Intracortical Couplings Induced by Structured Lateral Inhibition in a Linear Cortical Network S. P. Sabatini, G. M. Bisio and L. Raffo Letters Possible Roles of Spontaneous Waves and Dendritic Growth for Retinal Receptive Field Development Pierre-Yves Burgi and Norberto M. Grzywacz Singularities in Primate Orientation Maps K. Obermayer and G. G. Blasdel Topographic Receptive Fields and Patterned Lateral Interaction in a Self-Organizing Model of the Primary Visual Cortex Joseph Sirosh and Risto Miikkulainen The Formation of Topographic Maps that Maximize the Average Mutual Information of the Output Responses to Noiseless Input Signals Marc M. Van Hulle Self-Organization of Firing Activities in Monkey's Motor Cortex: Trajectory Computation from Spike Signals Siming Lin, Jennie Si, and A. B. Schwartz Hyperparameter Selection for Self-Organizing Maps Akio Utsugi Supervised Networks Which Self-Organize Class Outputs Ramesh R. Sarukkai How Well Can We Estimate the Information Carried in Neuronal Responses from Limited Samples? David Golomb, John Hertz, Stefano Panzeri, Alessandro Treves and Barry Richmond Covariance Learning of Correlated Patterns in Competitive Networks Ali A. Minai A Mobile Robot that Learns its Place Sageev Oore, Geoffrey E. Hinton, and Gregory Dudek ----- ABSTRACTS - http://www-mitpress.mit.edu/jrnls-catalog/neural.html SUBSCRIPTIONS - 1997 - VOLUME 9 - 8 ISSUES ______ $50 Student and Retired ______ $78 Individual ______ $250 Institution Add $28 for postage and handling outside USA (+7% GST for Canada). (Back issues from Volumes 1-8 are regularly available for $28 each to institutions and $14 each for individuals Add $5 for postage per issue outside USA (+7% GST for Canada) mitpress-orders at mit.edu MIT Press Journals, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. Tel: (617) 253-2889 FAX: (617) 258-6779 -----  From jordan at psyche.mit.edu Thu Mar 20 15:58:03 1997 From: jordan at psyche.mit.edu (Michael Jordan) Date: Thu, 20 Mar 97 15:58:03 EST Subject: Call for Workshop Proposals---NIPS*97 Message-ID: <9703202058.AA02744@psyche.mit.edu> CALL FOR PROPOSALS NIPS*97 Post Conference Workshops December 5 and 6, 1997 Breckenridge, Colorado Following the regular program of the Neural Information Processing Systems 1997 conference, workshops on current topics in neural information processing will be held on December 5 and 6, 1997, in Breckenridge, Colorado. Proposals by qualified individuals interested in chairing one of these workshops are solicited. Past topics have included: Active Learning, Architectural Issues, Attention, Audition, Bayesian Analysis, Bayesian Networks, Benchmarking, Computational Complexity, Computational Molecular Biology, Control, Neuroscience, Genetic Algorithms, Grammars, Hybrid HMM/ANN Systems, Implementations, Music, Neural Hardware, Network Dynamics, Neurophysiology, On-Line Learning, Optimization, Recurrent Nets, Robot Learning, Rule Extraction, Self-Organization, Sensory Biophysics, Signal Processing, Symbolic Dynamics, Speech, Time Series, Topological Maps, and Vision. The goal of the workshops is to provide an informal forum for researchers to discuss important issues of current interest. There will be two workshop sessions a day, for a total of six hours, with free time in between for ongoing individual exchange or outdoor activities. Concrete open and/or controversial issues are encouraged and preferred as workshop topics. Representation of alternative viewpoints and panel-style discussions are particularly encouraged. Workshop organizers will have responsibilities including: 1) coordinating workshop participation and content, which involves arranging short informal presentations by experts working in an area, arranging for expert commentators to sit on a discussion panel and formulating a set of discussion topics, etc. 2) moderating or leading the discussion and reporting its high points, findings, and conclusions to the group during evening plenary sessions 3) writing a brief summary and/or coordinating submitted material for post-conference electronic dissemination. Submission Instructions ----------------------- Interested parties should submit via e-mail a short proposal for a workshop of interest by May 20, 1997. Proposals should include a title, a description of what the workshop is to address and accomplish, the proposed length of the workshop (one day or two days), the planned format (mini-conference, panel discussion, or group discussion, combinations of the above, etc), and the proposed number of speakers. Where possible, please also indicate potential invitees (particularly for panel discussions). Please note that this year we are looking for fewer "mini-conference" workshops and greater variety of workshop formats. The time allotted to workshops is six hours each day, in two sessions of three hours each. We strongly encourage that the organizers reserve a significant portion of time for open discussion. The proposal should motivate why the topic is of interest or controversial, why it should be discussed and who the targeted group of participants is. In addition, please send a brief resume of the prospective workshop chair, a list of publications, and evidence of scholarship in the field of interest. Submissions should include contact name, address, e-mail address, phone number and fax number if available. Proposals should be mailed electronically to mpp at watson.ibm.com. All proposals must be RECEIVED by May 20, 1997. If e-mail is unavailable, mail so as to arrive by the deadline to: NIPS*97 Workshops c/o Steven J. Nowlan Motorola, Lexicus Division 3145 Porter Drive Palo Alto, CA 94304 Questions may be addressed to either of the Workshop Co-Chairs: Steven J. Nowlan Richard Zemel Motorola, Lexicus Division University of Arizona steven at lexicus.mot.com zemel at aruba.ccit.arizona.edu PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MAY 20, 1997 -Please Post-  From gp at stat.Duke.EDU Fri Mar 21 13:01:37 1997 From: gp at stat.Duke.EDU (Giovanni Parmigiani) Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 13:01:37 -0500 (EST) Subject: MODELING WORKSHOP: CALL FOR POSTERS Message-ID: <199703211801.NAA03870@boninsegna.isds.duke.edu> ====================================================================== CALL FOR POSTERS -- CALL FOR TRAVEL FUNDING APPLICATIONS ====================================================================== ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WORKSHOP ON STOCHASTIC MODEL BUILDING AND VARIABLE SELECTION ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Duke university, Durham, NC, October 9-10, 1997 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GOALS OF THE WORKSHOP Advances in statistical methodology and computing are opening opportunities for statistical analysis and modeling of complex data sets. In this endeavor, it is becoming increasingly common to use computer-based tools for guiding the initial specification of the main features of statistical models. Recently, a new generation of stochastic algorithms has been emerging as an important augmentation to traditional deterministic strategies. Examples include stochastic search methods for variable selection, graphical models, selection of variable transformations and interactions, wavelet thresholding, ARMA modeling, CART, MARS, neural networks, data mining and more. The goal of the workshop is to promote interaction between researchers involved in diverse aspects of this field. PROGRAM The program of the Workshop will include both talks and poster presentations. The talks will be invited, and will be organized in 5 or 6 sessions, each including 2 or 3 related presentations. Ample time will be allowed for floor discussion. No parallel sessions will be planned, to encourage interaction among participants with different interests and background. The meeting will run from Thursday morning October 9 to Friday afternoon, October 10, 1997. A poster session open to contributors will take place the evening of October 9, and will also provide a venue for further informal interaction. Further details about the Workshop are available at the www site http://www.isds.duke.edu/conferences/GP97/vs97.html The site will be updated as soon as more detailed information about the program and participants becomes available. This Workshop is part of STATISTICS WEEK 1997 at Duke University. Participants may be interested in the other meetings: * THE 1997 NBER/NSF TIME SERIES SEMINAR (Oct 10-11) * WORSKHOP ON WAVELETS AND STATISTICS (Oct 12-13) Further details are available at http://www.isds.duke.edu/conferences/fall97.html CALL FOR POSTERS We are actively seeking presentations for the poster session. These are some of the relevant topics for discussion at the workshop: Stochastic versus deterministic search for variable selection. Modelling, elicitation and calibration issues. Graphical models, causal modelling, large data bases, visualization, data-mining and other topics in artificial intelligence. Selection of transformations and interactions, generalized linear models, generalized additive models, neural networks. Model choice and variable selection issues in clustering and hierarchical models. Partition models. Stochastic CART and MARS. Computing issues and algorithms. MCMC Jump diffusion. Bayes factors and marginal model probability calculations. Stochastic annealing. Case studies from any field of applications. Decision analysis and utility in variable selection and modelling problems. Modelling the cost of variables. Computing algorithms. Time Series and Wavelets REGISTRATION AND TRAVEL SUPPORT The Workshop organizers have applied for an NSF Group Travel Grant for participants from the USA to attend the Workshop. Interactive registration and grant application forms are available at the www site http://www.isds.duke.edu/conferences/GP97/vs97.html PROCEEDINGS A World Wide Web version of the proceedings of the Workshop will be created at the ISDS www site. Papers will be made available as soon as the link information is sent to us. Instructions for submission are posted on the workshop site. We look forward to seeing you at the Workshop. The Organizing Committee: John Geweke, Giovanni Parmigiani (Chair) Mike West The Program Committee: David Draper, John Geweke, David Madigan, Giovanni Parmigiani, Mike West  From jordan at psyche.mit.edu Fri Mar 21 13:09:29 1997 From: jordan at psyche.mit.edu (Michael Jordan) Date: Fri, 21 Mar 97 13:09:29 EST Subject: erratum Message-ID: <9703211809.AA08679@psyche.mit.edu> In the NIPS*97 Call for Workshop Proposals that was posted earlier this week, there was an error. Proposals should be sent via email to: steven at lexicus.mot.com and not to mpp at watson.ibm.com as stated erroneously in the Call. Mike Jordan  From jose at kreizler.rutgers.edu Sat Mar 22 06:08:47 1997 From: jose at kreizler.rutgers.edu (Stephen Jose Hanson) Date: Sat, 22 Mar 1997 06:08:47 -0500 Subject: Graduate Students: New programs Message-ID: <3333BDBF.16E1@kreizler.rutgers.edu> PLEASE REPOST... The Department of Psychology of Rutgers University-Newark Campus is immediately soliciting Graduate Student Candidates in the area of COGNITIVE SCIENCE. Highly Competitive (18-20k$) Graduate RESEARCH Assistantships are available for students to bridge from Computer Science or EE to Psychology or specifically in areas of Cognitive Science. The new program in Psychology will include new tracks in COGNITIVE AND PERCEPTUAL SYSTEMS; EMOTION & ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR SYSTEMS and COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE: Relevant interest areas are in Connectionist Modeling, Cognitive modeling, Intelligent Tutoring systems, Learning systems, Distance learning, or Multimedia systems. Research opportunites exist across Psychology-Rutgers, NJ Center for Multimedia Research and Center for Compuational Neuroscience (with CMBN). Please send as soon as possible your applications to Professor Stephen Jos Hanson, Chair, Department of Psychology, 101 Warren Street, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102. Email inquires can be made to jose at psychology.rutgers.edu. PLEASE REPOST... Stephen Jose Hanson Professor & Chair Department of Psychology Rutgers University Newark, NJ 07102 email: jose at psychology.rutgers.edu voice: 201-648-5095 fax: 201-648-1171  From harnad at cogsci.soton.ac.uk Sat Mar 22 11:26:01 1997 From: harnad at cogsci.soton.ac.uk (Stevan Harnad) Date: Sat, 22 Mar 97 16:26:01 GMT Subject: Psyc: Call for Papers Message-ID: <970.9703221626@cogsci.ecs.soton.ac.uk> PSYCOLOQUY CALL FOR PAPERS PSYCOLOQUY is a refereed electronic journal (ISSN 1055-0143) sponsored on an experimental basis by the American Psychological Association and currently estimated to reach a readership of 50,000. PSYCOLOQUY publishes reports of new ideas and findings on which the author wishes to solicit rapid peer feedback, international and interdisciplinary ("Scholarly Skywriting"), in all areas of psychology and its related fields (biobehavioral science, cognitive science, neuroscience, social science, etc.). All contributions are refereed. All target articles, commentaries and responses must have (1) a short abstract (up to 100 words for target articles, shorter for commentaries and responses), (2) an indexable title, (3) the authors' full name(s), institutional address(es) and URL(s). In addition, for target articles only: (4) 6-8 indexable keywords, (5) a separate statement of the authors' rationale for soliciting commentary (e.g., why would commentary be useful and of interest to the field? what kind of commentary do you expect to elicit?) and (6) a list of potential commentators (with their email addresses). All paragraphs should be numbered in articles, commentaries and responses (see format of already published articles in the PSYCOLOQUY archive; line length should be < 80 characters, no hyphenation). It is strongly recommended that all figures be designed so as to be screen-readable ascii. If this is not possible, the provisional solution is the less desirable hybrid one of submitting them as .gif .jpeg .tiff or postscript files (or in some other universally available format) to be printed out locally by readers to supplement the screen-readable text of the article. PSYCOLOQUY also publishes multiple reviews of books in any of the above fields; these should normally be the same length as commentaries, but longer reviews will be considered as well. Book authors should submit a 500-line self-contained Precis of their book, in the format of a target article; if accepted, this will be published in PSYCOLOQUY together with a formal Call for Reviews (of the book, not the Precis). The author's publisher must agree in advance to furnish review copies to the reviewers selected. Authors of accepted manuscripts assign to PSYCOLOQUY the right to publish and distribute their text electronically and to archive and make it permanently retrievable electronically, but they retain the copyright, and after it has appeared in PSYCOLOQUY authors may republish their text in any way they wish -- electronic or print -- as long as they clearly acknowledge PSYCOLOQUY as its original locus of publication. However, except in very special cases, agreed upon in advance, contributions that have already been published or are being considered for publication elsewhere are not eligible to be considered for publication in PSYCOLOQUY, Please submit all material to psyc at pucc.princeton.edu http://www.princeton.edu/~harnad/psyc.html http://cogsci.soton.ac.uk/psyc ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad/Psycoloquy ftp://cogsci.soton.ac.uk/pub/harnad/Psycoloquy gopher://gopher.princeton.edu/11/.libraries/.pujournals news:sci.psychology.journals.psycoloquy ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CRITERIA FOR ACCEPTANCE: To be eligible for publication, a PSYCOLOQUY target article should not only have sufficient conceptual rigor, empirical grounding, and clarity of style, but should also offer a clear rationale for soliciting Commentary. That rationale should be provided in the author's covering letter, together with a list of suggested commentators. A target article can be (i) the report and discussion of empirical research; (ii) an theoretical article that formally models or systematizes a body of research; or (iii) a novel interpretation, synthesis, or critique of existing experimental or theoretical work. Rrticles dealing with social or philosophical aspects of the behavioral and brain sciences are also eligible.. The service of Open Peer Commentary will be primarily devoted to original unpublished manuscripts. However, a recently published book whose contents meet the standards outlined above may also be eligible for Commentary. In such a Multiple Book Review, a comprehensive, 500-line precis by the author is published in advance of the commentaries and the author's response. In rare special cases, Commentary will also be extended to a position paper or an already published article dealing with particularly influential or controversial research. Submission of an article implies that it has not been published or is not being considered for publication elsewhere. Multiple book reviews and previously published articles appear by invitation only. The Associateship and professional readership of PSYCOLOQUY are encouraged to nominate current topics and authors for Commentary. In all the categories described, the decisive consideration for eligibility will be the desirability of Commentary for the submitted material. Controversially simpliciter is not a sufficient criterion for soliciting Commentary: a paper may be controversial simply because it is wrong or weak. Nor is the mere presence of interdisciplinary aspects sufficient: general cybernetic and "organismic" disquisitions are not appropriate for PSYCOLOQUY. Some appropriate rationales for seeking Open Peer Commentary would be that: (1) the material bears in a significant way on some current controversial issues in behavioral and brain sciences; (2) its findings substantively contradict some well-established aspects of current research and theory; (3) it criticizes the findings, practices, or principles of an accepted or influential line of work; (4) it unifies a substantial amount of disparate research; (5) it has important cross-disciplinary ramifications; (6) it introduces an innovative methodology or formalism for consideration by proponents of the established forms; (7) it meaningfully integrates a body of brain and behavioral data; (8) it places a hitherto dissociated area of research into an evolutionary or ecological perspective; etc. In order to assure communication with potential commentators (and readers) from other PSYCOLOQUY specialty areas, all technical terminology must be clearly defined or simplified, and specialized concepts must be fully described. NOTE TO COMMENTATORS: The purpose of the Open Peer Commentary service is to provide a concentrated constructive interaction between author and commentators on a topic judged to be of broad significance to the biobehavioral science community. Commentators should provide substantive criticism, interpretation, and elaboration as well as any pertinent complementary or supplementary material, such as illustrations; all original data will be refereed in order to assure the archival validity of PSYCOLOQUY commentaries. Commentaries and articles should be free of hyperbole and remarks ad hominem. STYLE AND FORMAT FOR ARTICLES AND COMMENTARIES TARGET ARTICLES: should not exceed 500 lines (~4500 words); commentaries should not exceed 200 lines (1800 words), including references. Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation should be consistent within each article and commentary and should follow the style recommended in the latest edition of A Manual of Style, The University of Chicago Press. It may be helpful to examine a recent issue of PSYCOLOQUY. All submissions must include an indexable title, followed by the authors' names in the form preferred for publication, full institutional addresses and electronic mail addresses, a 100-word abstract, and 6-12 keywords. Tables and diagrams should be made screen-readable wherever possible (if unavoidable, printable postscript files may contain the graphics separately). All paragraphs should be numbered, consecutively. No line should exceed 72 characters, and a blank line should separate paragraphs. REFERENCES: Bibliographic citations in the text must include the author's last name and the date of publication and may include page references. Complete bibliographic information for each citation should be included in the list of references. Examples of correct style are: Brown(1973); (Brown 1973); Brown 1973; 1978); (Brown 1973; Jones 1976); (Brown & Jones 1978); (Brown et al. 1978). References should be typed on a separate sheet in alphabetical order in the style of the following examples. Do not abbreviate journal titles. Kupfermann, I. & Weiss, K. (1978) The command neuron concept. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 1:3-39. Dunn, J. (1976) How far do early differences in mother-child relations affect later developments? In: Growing point in ethology, ed. P. P. G. Bateson & R. A. Hinde, Cambridge University Press. Bateson, P. P. G. & Hinde, R. A., eds. (1978) Growing points in ethology, Cambridge University Press. EDITING: PSYCOLOQUY reserves the right to edit and proof all articles and commentaries accepted for publication. Authors of articles will be given the opportunity to review the copy-edited draft. Commentators will be asked to review copy-editing only when changes have been substantial. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prof. Stevan Harnad psyc at pucc.princeton.edu Editor, Psycoloquy phone: +44 1703 594-583 fax: +44 1703 593-281 Department of Psychology http://cogsci.soton.ac.uk/psyc University of Southampton http://www.princeton.edu/~harnad/psyc.html Highfield, Southampton ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad/Psycoloquy SO17 1BJ UNITED KINGDOM ftp://cogsci.soton.ac.uk/pub/harnad/Psycoloquy news:sci.psychology.journals.psycoloquy gopher://gopher.princeton.edu/11/.libraries/.pujournals Sponsored by the American Psychological Association (APA)  From Friedrich.Leisch at ci.tuwien.ac.at Mon Mar 24 07:11:56 1997 From: Friedrich.Leisch at ci.tuwien.ac.at (Friedrich Leisch) Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 13:11:56 +0100 Subject: CALL FOR PAPERS Message-ID: <199703241211.NAA22194@galadriel.ci.tuwien.ac.at> CALL FOR PAPERS Special Section on Fusion of Neural Nets, Fuzzy Systems and Genetic Algorithms in Industrial Applications in the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. There is a tremendous interest in the theory and applications of computational intelligence using neural nets,fuzzy systems and genetic algorithms in many fields including Engineering Science and Business.This new field have united scientists and engineers in the development of theory and applications of computational techniques . Fortunately neural nets, fuzzy systems and genetic algoriths are not competitive but synergistic in nature where each respective technique enhances the capability of the other. This special issue is devoted to the fusion of neural nets, fuzzy systems and genetic algorithms in solving complex problems in the field of industrial electronics. Topics include but are not limited to: FUSION OF (any two techniques or more) Neural nets Fuzzy systems Genetic algorithms Chaos theory in solving engineering problems in the area of industrial electronics PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATIONS OF Theory of fusion Robust working models of the techniques This special issue on the fusion of neural nets,fuzzy systems and genetic algorithms in INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS will be useful for engineers, scientists and managers who wish to improve their productivity by using the state of the art. This special volume will bring together a fairly representative sample of applications of computational intelligence from scientists and engineers working as team from all around the world. Prospective authors are requested to submit six copies of the completed manuscript to the guest editor by 15 APRIL 1997. Guest Editor L.C.Jain Director Knowledge-Based Intelligent Engineering Systems School of Physics & Electronic Systems Engineering University of South Australia The Levels Campus,Adelaide,SA,5095 Australia  From jagota at cse.ucsc.edu Mon Mar 24 11:44:41 1997 From: jagota at cse.ucsc.edu (Arun Jagota) Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 08:44:41 -0800 Subject: NCS print version Message-ID: <199703241644.IAA08088@arapaho.cse.ucsc.edu> Dear Connectionists: Neural Computing Surveys has signed an agreement with Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (LEA) to publish a print version of NCS, starting 1998. Annually, four print issues will be published. The electronic version will continue to be published, in the form announced earlier. Accepted papers will appear in the electronic version immediately upon acceptance and in the print version, with some time lag, in the approximate order of acceptance. Both versions will allow authors to reuse their work without permission, but with appropriate credit. For subscription information on the print version, contact jagota at cse.ucsc.edu For submission and other information about NCS, visit http://www.icsi.berkeley.edu/~jagota/NCS or http://www.dcs.rhbnc.ac.uk/NCS/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Arun Jagota Robert R. Kidd Managing Editor Vice-President, Editorial Neural Computing Surveys Lawrence Erlbaum Associates  From dld at cs.monash.edu.au Mon Mar 24 22:46:07 1997 From: dld at cs.monash.edu.au (David L Dowe) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 14:46:07 +1100 Subject: CFPs, Complexity and information-theoretic approaches to biology Message-ID: <199703250346.OAA02690@dec11.cs.monash.edu.au> The Call For Papers (CFPs) below is on the WWW at http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~dld/PSB-3/PSB-3.Info.CFPs.html . CFPs: Complexity and information-theoretic approaches to biology ---------------------------------------------------------- This is the Call For Papers for the 3rd Pacific Symposium on BioComputing (PSB-3, 1998) conference stream on "Complexity and information-theoretic approaches to biology". PSB-98 will be held from 5-9 January, 1998, in Hawaii, at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua on Maui. Stream Organisers: David L. Dowe and Klaus Prank. Specific technical area to be covered by this stream: Kolmogorov (1965) and Chaitin (1966) studied the notions of complexity and randomness, with Solomonoff (1964), Wallace (1968) and Rissanen (1978) applying these to problems of statistical and inferential learning and to prediction. The methods of Solomonoff, Wallace and Rissanen have respectively come to be known as Algorithmic Probability (ALP), Minimum Message Length (MML) and Minimum Description Length (MDL). All of these methods relate to information theory, and can also be thought of in terms of Shannon's information theory, and can also be thought of in terms of Boltzmann's thermo-dynamic entropy. An MDL/MML perspective has been suggested by a number of authors in the context of approximating unknown functions with some parametric approximation scheme (such as a neural network). The designated measure to optimize under this scheme combines an estimate of the cost of misfit with an estimate of the cost of describing the parametric approximation (Akaike 1973, Rissanen 1978, Barron and Barron 1988). This stream invites all original papers of a biological nature which use notions of information and/or complexity, with no strong preference as to what specific nature. Such work has been done in problems of, e.g., protein folding and DNA string alignment. As we shortly describe in some detail, such work has also been done in the analysis of temporal dynamics in biology such as neural spike trains and endocrine (hormonal) time series analysis using the MDL principle in the context of neural networks and context-free grammar complexity. To elaborate on one of the relevant topics above, in the last couple of years or so, there has been a major focus on the aspect of timing in biological information processing ranging from fields such as neuroscience to endocrinology. The latest work on information processing at the single-cell level using computational as well as experimental approaches reveals previously unimagined complexity and dynamism. Timing in biological information processing on the single-cell level as well as on the systems level has been studied by signal-processing and information-theoretic approaches in particular in the field of neuroscience (see for an overview: Rieke et al. 1996). Using such approaches to the understanding of temporal complexity in biological information transfer, the maximum information rates and the precision of spike timing to the understanding of temporal complexity in biological information transfer, the maximum information rates and the precision of spike timing could be revealed by computational methods (Mainen and Sejnowski, 1995; Gabbiani and Koch 1996; Gabbiani et al., 1996). The examples given above are examples of some possible biological application domains. We invite and solicit papers in all areas of (computational) biology which make use of ALP, MDL, MML and/or other notions of information and complexity. In problems of prediction, as well as using "yes"/"no" predictions, we would encourage the authors to consider also using probabilistic prediction, where the score assigned to a probabilistic prediction is given according to the negative logarithm of the stated probability of the event. List of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) re PSB-98 : ----------------------------------------------------- Q1. How can my paper be included in PSB's hardbound proceedings? PSB publishes peer-reviewed full papers in an archival proceedings. Each accepted paper will be allocated 12 pages in the proceedings volume. Paper authors are required to register (and pay) for the conference by the time they submit their camera-ready copy, or the paper will not be published. Q2. How does a PSB publication compare to a journal publication? PSB papers are strenuously peer reviewed, and must report significant original material. PSB expects to be included in Indicus Medicus, Medline and other indexing services starting this year. All accepted full papers will be indexed just as if they had appeared in a journal. It is too early to assess the impact of a PSB paper quantitatively, but we will take every action we can to improve the visibility and significance of PSB publication. Q3. If I do not want to submit a full paper to PSB, but wish to participate? Authors who do not wish to submit a full paper are welcome to submit one page abstracts, which will be distributed at the meeting separately from the archival proceedings, and are also welcome to display standard or computer-interactive posters. Q4. What are the paper submission deadlines? Papers will be due July 14, although session chairs can to adjust this deadline at their discretion. Results will be announced August 22, and camera ready copy will be due September 22. Poster abstracts will be accepted until October 1, and on a space available basis after that. Poster space is limited, especially for interactive posters that require computer or network access. Q5. Where should I send my submission? All full papers must be submitted to the central PSB address so that we can track the manuscripts. Physical submittors should send five copies of their paper to: PSB-98 c/o Section on Medical Informatics Stanford University Medical School, MSOB X215 Stanford, CA 94305-5479 USA Electronic submission of papers is welcome. Format requirements for electronic submission will be available on the web page (http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/psb) or from Russ Altman (altman at smi.stanford.edu). Electronic papers will be submitted directly to Dr. Altman. We prefer that all one page abstracts be submitted electronically. Please send them to us in plain ascii text or as a Microsoft Word file. If this is impossible, please contact Dr. Altman as soon as possible. Q6. How can I obtain travel support to come to PSB? We have been able to offer partial travel support to many PSB attendees in the past, including most authors of accepted full papers who request support. However, due to our sponsoring agencies' schedules, we are unable to offer travel awards before the registration (and payment) deadlines for authors. We recognize that this is inconvenient, and we are doing our best to rectify the situation. NO ONE IS GUARANTEED TRAVEL SUPPORT. Travel support applications will be available on our web site (see Q7). Q7. How can I get more information about the meeting? Check our web page: http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/psb or send email to the conference chair: hunter at nlm.nih.gov More information about the "Complexity and information-theoretic approaches to biology" stream is available on the WWW at http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~dld/PSB-3/PSB-3.Info.CFPs.html . This page was put together by Dr. David Dowe, Dept. of Computer Science, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3168, Australia e-mail: dld at cs.monash.edu.au Fax: +61 3 9905-5146 and Dr. Klaus Prank, Abteilung Klinische Endokrinologie Medizinische Hochschule Hannover Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1 D-30623 Hannover Germany e-mail: ndxdpran at rrzn-serv.de Tel.: +49 (511) 532-3827 Fax.: +49 (511) 532-3825  From marco at McCulloch.ing.UNIFI.IT Mon Mar 24 12:13:34 1997 From: marco at McCulloch.ing.UNIFI.IT (Marco Gori) Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 18:13:34 +0100 Subject: Summer School info (corrected) Message-ID: <9703241713.AA02495@McCulloch.ing.UNIFI.IT> I'd like to post the announcement of the international school on ``adaptive processing of sequences,'' which will be held in Vietri sul Mare (Salerno, IT) next September. Please, don't hesitate to ask any eventual editing of this message so as to make it suitable for connectionist news. Thank you in advance. Best regards, -- Marco Gori. ================================================================================================== Marco Gori Email: marco at mcculloch.ing.unifi.it WWW: http://www-dsi.ing.unifi.it/neural Universita' di Siena Universita' di Firenze V. Roma, 56 - Siena (Italy) V. S. Marta, 3 - 50139 Firenze (Italy) Voice: +39 577 26-36-04; Fax: +39 577 26-36-02 Voice: +39 55 479-6265; Fax: +39 55 479-6363 ================================================================================================== ================================ CAIANIELLO SUMMER SCHOOL on Adaptive Processing of Sequences ================================ Vietri sul Mare, Salerno (Italy) 6-14 September 1997 Directors C.L. Giles and M. Gori Lectures -------------------------------------------------------------------------- C.L. Giles (NEC, USA) M. Gori (Siena Univ. IT) A.C. Tsoi (Wollongong Univ. Aus) P. Baldi (Caltech, USA) Y. Bengio (Montreal Univ. CA) P. Frasconi (Florence Univ. IT) H. Bourlard (IDIAP, CH) H. Siegelmann (Technion Univ. Israel) P. Gallinari (Curie Univ. FR) Z. Ghahramani (Toronto Univ. CA) B.A. Pearlmutter (Salk Ins., USA) E. Wan (Oregon Inst. USA) M. Mozer (Colorado Univ. USA) A. Sperduti (Pisa Univ. IT) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Objectives This summer school is intended to provide a unified view of different techniques for processing temporal information that rely hardly on learning. The topics of the school include architectures (e.g., recurrent networks, Markovian models), optimization algorithms (e.g., gradient-based, EM-based), theoretical results, integration with symbolic systems, and applications (control, speech recognition, time series analysis) related to sequence processing tasks. Sponsors AI*IA (Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence) CNR (Italian Scientific Research Council) IEEE Neural Networks Council (Italian RIG) IIASS (International Institute for Advanced Scientific Studies) SIREN (Italian Neural Networks Society) University of Salerno University of Siena General Information This is the second Summer School dedicated to the memory of Prof. E.R. Caianiello. Prof. M. Marinaro (Univ. of Salerno and IIASS) and Prof. M. Jordan (MIT, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences) are the organizers and advisors of this cycle of schools. The first school was organized last year in Erice (Italy) on graphical models by M. Jordan and D. Heckerman. People wishing to attend the school should send an e-mail to Prof. Marco Gori (marco at mcculloch.ing.unifi.it) and then send the written application to: Prof. Maria Marinaro - IIASS "Eduardo R. Caianiello" via Pellegrino, 19 - 84019 Vietri sul Mare (SA) Italy, Tel: +39 89 761167 - Fax: +39 89 761189 They should specify: 1) date and place of birth together with present nationality; 2) degree and other academic qualifications; 3) present position and place work. Young researchers with little experience should include a letter of recommendation from the head of their research group or from a senior scientist, active in the field. The total fee, which includes full board and lodging (arranged by the school), is $1000 US. Thanks to the generosity of the sponsoring Institutions, partial support can be granted to some deserving students who need financial help. Requests to this effect must be specified and justified in the application letter. Closing date for application: June 15th, 1997 More information can be found at http://www.ing.unisi.it/DII/research/neural/SUMMER_SCHOOL  From jbower at bbb.caltech.edu Tue Mar 25 11:48:27 1997 From: jbower at bbb.caltech.edu (James M. Bower) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 08:48:27 -0800 Subject: Journal of Computational Neuroscience Message-ID: The Journal of Computational Neuroscience ============================================================== Volume 4, Issue 1, 1997 How Neural Interactions Form Neural Responses in the Salamander Retina; Jeff Teeters, Adam Jacobs and Frank Werblin 5 Flexibility and Repeatability of Finger Movements During Typing: Analysis of Multiple Degrees of Freedom; John F. Soechting and Martha Flanders 29 The Calculation of Frequency-Shift Functions for Chains of Coupled Oscillators, with Application to a Network Model of the Lamprey Locomotor Pattern Generator; Thelma L. Williams and Graham Bowtell 47 Traveling Waves and the Processing of Weakly Tuned Inputs in a Cortical Network Module; Rani Ben-Yishai, David Hansel and Haim Sompolinsky 57 Learning Navigational Maps Through Potentiation and Modulation of Hippocampal Place Cells; Wulfram Gerstner and L.F. Abbott 79 ============================================================== Volume 4, Issue 2, 1997 Oscillatory Mechanisms in Pairs of Neurons Connected with Fast Inhibitory Synapses; Peter F. Rowat and Allen I. Selverston 103 Synchronous Bursting Can Arise from Mutual Excitation, Even When Individual Cells are not Endogenous Bursters; Peter F. Rowat and Allen I. Selverston 129 Simulation of Gamma Rhythms in Networks of Interneurons and Pyramidal Cells; Roger D. Traub, John G.R. Jeffreys and Miles A. Whittington 141 How Does the Crayfish Swimmeret System Work? Insights from Nearest-Neighbor Coupled Oscillator Models; Frances K. Skinner, Nancy Kopell and Brian Mulloney 151 The Role of Axonal Delay in the Synchronization of Networks of Coupled Cortical Oscillators; S.M. Crook, G.B. Ermentrout, M.C. Vanier and J.M. Bower 161 The Role of Inhibition in an Associative Memory Model of the Olfactory Bulb; Ofer Hendin, David Horn and Misha V. Tsodyks 173 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Subscription and other information about the Journal of Computational Neuroscience is available from: http://www.bbb.caltech.edu/JCNS *************************************** James M. Bower Division of Biology Mail code: 216-76 Caltech Pasadena, CA 91125 (818) 395-6817 (818) 795-2088 FAX WWW addresses for: laboratory http://www.bbb.caltech.edu/bowerlab GENESIS: http://www.bbb.caltech.edu/GENESIS science education reform http://www.caltech.edu/~capsi J. Computational Neuroscience http://www.bbb.caltech.edu/JCNS/ CNS*97 meeting http://www.bbb.caltech.edu/cns97/cns97.html  From omlinc at cs.rpi.edu Tue Mar 25 11:41:19 1997 From: omlinc at cs.rpi.edu (C Omlin) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 11:41:19 -0500 (EST) Subject: comment on recent paper by Maas and Orponen Message-ID: <199703251641.LAA20047@colossus.cs.rpi.edu> In their recent paper "On the Effect of Analog Noise in Discrete-Time Analog Computations" Wolfgang Maas and Pekka Orponen discuss the stable encoding of deterministic finite-state automata in recurrent neural networks with sigmoidal discriminant functions. This problem has previously been discussed in the literature: P. Frasconi, M. Gori, M. Maggini, G. Soda, "A Unified Approach for Integrating Explicit Knowledge and Learning by Example in Recurrent Networks", IJCNN'91 Proceedings, Vol. 1, p. 811, 1991. P. Frasconi, M. Gori, M. Maggini, G. Soda, "Unified Integration of Explicit Rules and Learning by Example in Recurrent Networks", IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, Vol. 6, No, 6, 1994. P. Frasconi, M. Gori, G. Soda, "Injecting Nondeterministic Finite State Automata into Recurrent Networks", Technical Report, Dipartimento di Sistemi e Informatica, Universita di Firenze, Italy, 1993. P. Frasconi, M. Gori, M. Maggini, G. Soda, "Representation of Finite State Automata in Recurrent Radial Basis Function Networks", Machine Learning, Vol. 23, No. 1. p. 5-32, 1996. C.W. Omlin, C.L. Giles, "Stable Encoding of Large Finite-State Automata in Recurrent Neural Networks with Sigmoid Discriminants" Neural Computation, Vol. 8, No. 7, p. 675-696, 1996. (This paper discusses scaling issues for neural DFA encodings.) C.W. Omlin, C.L. Giles, "Constructing Deterministic Finite-State Automata in Recurrent Neural Networks", Journal of the ACM, Vol. 43, No. 6, p. 937-972, 1996. (This paper discusses the theoretical foundations for encoding DFAs in second-order recurrent neural networks, and also shows that encodings can be made stable in the presence of noise. It also contains a table summarizing various encoding methods and the required resources (neurons/weights), and restrictions on weight values and fan-in/out.) Best regards, Christian Omlin ------------------------------------------------------------------- Christian W. Omlin, Ph.D. Phone (518) 273-0504 Adaptive Computing Technologies E-mail: omlinc at cs.rpi.edu 201 River Street, Suite 37 Troy, NY 12180 URL: http://www.neci.nj.nec.com/homepages/omlin/omlin.html -------------------------------------------------------------------  From Leslie.Smith at ee.ed.ac.uk Tue Mar 25 08:54:41 1997 From: Leslie.Smith at ee.ed.ac.uk (Leslie S Smith) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 13:54:41 GMT Subject: European Workshop on Neuromorphic Systems: final CFP Message-ID: <199703251354.NAA20318@forbes.ee.ed.ac.uk> EWNS: 1st European Workshop on Neuromorphic Systems --------------------------------------------------- Final Call for Papers --------------------- 29-31 August 1997, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland Organisers: Centre for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience University of Stirling and Department of Electrical Engineering University of Edinburgh Neuromorphic systems are implementations in silicon of sensory and neural systems whose architecture and design are based on neurobiology. This growing area proffers exciting possibilities such as sensory systems which can compete with human senses and pattern recognition systems that can run in real-time. The area is at the intersection of many disciplines: neurophysiology, computer science and electrical engineering. Papers are requested in the following areas: Design issues in sensorineural neuromorphic systems: auditory, visual, olfactory, proprioception, sensorimotor systems. Designs for silicon implementations of neural systems. Papers not exceeding 8 A4 pages are requested: please send 3 copies. These should be sent to Dr. Leslie Smith Department of Computing Science University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA Scotland email: lss at cs.stir.ac.uk FAX (44) 1786 464551 We also propose to hold a number of discussion sessions on some of the questions above. Short position papers (less than 4 pages) are requested. Key Dates --------- Submission Deadline: Mon 7th April 1997 Notification of Acceptance: June 2nd 1997 World Scientific will be publishing a book based on this conference. Applications are invited from UK Ph.D. students to cover the cost of travel and registration. Please contact Dr. Leslie Smith. Full information is on the WWW at http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/~lss/Neuromorphic/Info1.html ___________________________________________________________________________ Registration form: Full name Full postal address Telephone number Fax number email address Registration fee: UKpounds 100 _____ (includes lunches and coffees and copy of proceedings) Conference Dinner UKpounds 25 _____ Accommodation required: 28 August UKpounds 17.02 _____ 29 August UKpounds 17.02 _____ 30 August UKpounds 17.02 _____ 31 August UKpounds 17.02 _____ 1 September UKpounds 17.02 _____ Total _____ Cheques should be made payable to the University of Stirling. Eurocheques are acceptable. Unfortunately the University does not take credit cards. Please send form with remittance to Dr. Leslie Smith, Department of Computing Science and Mathematics, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA Scotland, UK.  From dyyeung at cs.ust.hk Tue Mar 25 03:16:36 1997 From: dyyeung at cs.ust.hk (Dit-Yan Yeung) Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 16:16:36 +0800 (HKT) Subject: TANC-97 Call for Participation Message-ID: <199703250816.QAA06075@cssu35.cs.ust.hk> Call for Participation TANC-97 Hong Kong International Workshop on Theoretical Aspects of Neural Computation: A Multidisciplinary Perspective May 26-28, 1997 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Over the past decade or so, neural computation has emerged as a research area with active involvement by researchers from a number of different disciplines, including computer science, engineering, mathematics, neurobiology, physics, and statistics. Interdisciplinary collaboration and exchange of ideas has often led us to address research issues in this area from different perspectives. Consequently, some interesting new paradigms and results have become available to the field and have contributed significantly to the strengthening of its theoretical foundations. This workshop, to be held in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology located at the scenic Clear Water Bay, is intended to bring together researchers from different disciplines to review the current status of neural computation research. In particular, theoretical studies of the following themes will be given special emphasis: NEUROSCIENCE, COMPUTATIONAL AND MATHEMATICAL, and STATISTICAL PHYSICS. While the focus of this workshop is on theoretical aspects, the impact of recent theoretical advances to applications and the novel application of theoretical results to real-world problems will also be covered. Moreover, as an important objective of the workshop, future research directions and topics that have strong interdisciplinary nature will be explored. The workshop papers will be published as a book by Springer-Verlag after the workshop. Technical Program ----------------- The workshop will feature several keynote presentations and invited papers by leading researchers: KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: Shun-ichi Amari (RIKEN, Japan), Haim Sompolinsky (Hebrew University, Israel). INVITED SPEAKERS: Chris van den Broeck (LUC, Belgium), Peter Dayan (MIT, USA), Aike Guo (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China), John Hertz (NORDITA, Denmark), Jenq-Neng Hwang (University of Washington, USA), Jong-Hoon Oh (POSTECH, Korea), Manfred Opper (Wuerzburg, Germany), Juergen Schmidhuber (IDSIA, Switzerland), Sebastian Seung (Bell Labs, USA), Sara Solla (AT&T Research, USA), Lei Xu (Chinese University of Hong Kong). In addition to keynote and invited papers, there will also be a number of submitted papers. All oral and poster presentations will be scheduled in a single track with no parallel sessions to facilitate interdisciplinary interaction. To facilitate further discussions with other workshop participants, authors of oral presentations will be highly encouraged to put up posters in the poster session and be present there. A detailed technical program is attached separately. Student Posters --------------- To encourage research postgraduate students to participate in this workshop and to give informal presentations of their ongoing research, some bulletin boards will be reserved for student posters during the poster session. To be considered for a poster presentation, a summary of no more than 500 words should be submitted to the workshop secretariat by April 15. Electronic submissions are acceptable. Notification of acceptance will be sent by electronic mail by the end of April. Registration immediately after receiving the notification letter will receive the same discount rate as other student participants who register on or before April 15. Social Functions ---------------- A reception for all workshop participants will be held in the morning of day 1 (May 26). The workshop banquet will be held in the evening of day 2 (May 27). In addition, a post-workshop excursion will be arranged on day 4 (May 29). Tickets for the excursion will be sold separately. Registration ------------ Please complete the registration form attached and mail it back with payment to: TANC-97 Secretariat Department of Physics Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong Fax: +852-2358-1652; E-mail: tanc97 at usthk.ust.hk WWW: http://www.cs.ust.hk/conferences/TANC97 Registration before April 15 can enjoy the discount rates. Useful Information for Overseas Participants -------------------------------------------- [Transportation] The most convenient way to come to the university campus from the Hong Kong International Airport is by taxi. You may take a taxi outside the arrival hall of the airport. The journey takes about half an hour and costs about HK$100. Ask the taxi driver to stop at the main extrance, and request the guard to direct the taxi to the Visitor Centre. [Accommodation] The Visitor Centre of the university is equipped with standard hotel facilities. [Climate] In late May, the temperature is typically around 27C (81F) and the relative humidity is about 80%, with occasional mist and rain showers. Have sweaters and showerproof jackets ready. [Visa] In view of the political transition in 1997, you are advised to check with your local British embassy about your visa. Normally, visitors from most countries can enter Hong Kong without a visa for periods varying from seven days to one year, depending on their nationalities. [Exchange rate] One US dollar is roughly equal to 7.8 Hong Kong dollars. [Hong Kong 1997] This is a great opportunity to visit Hong Kong as the workshop will be held shortly before Hong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region of China starting from July 1, 1997. [More information] For more information about Hong Kong, you may visit the Web site of the Hong Kong Tourist Association (http://www.hkta.org/). Also, remember to pick up a tourist package before you exit the passport control in the Hong Kong International Airport. Organizing Committee -------------------- Kwok-Ping Chan (University of Hong Kong), Lai-Wan Chan (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Irwin King (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Zhaoping Li (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), Franklin Shin (Hong Kong Polytechnic University), Michael K.Y. Wong (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) [Chairman], and Dit-Yan Yeung (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology). !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TANC-97 WORKSHOP REGISTRATION FORM ******************************************************************************** Section A (for all participants) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Name: _________________________________________________________ Title: _____ (surname/family name/last name) (given name/first name) Professional affiliation: ___________________________________________________ Mailing address: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ E-mail address: _____________________ Fax number: _________________________ Registration fee: ___________________ Before 15 April 1997 After 15 April 1997 ++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++ Regular HK$1,200 HK$1,400 Student HK$ 500 HK$ 600 (Regular registration includes banquet and post-workshop proceedings.) ******************************************************************************** Section B (for paper presenters only) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If you have special equipment needs other than an overhead projector for your presentation, please provide details below: ******************************************************************************** Section C (for overseas participants only) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Number of accompanying persons (besides you): _________ Room reservation in the Visitor Centre of HKUST: __ Single (HK$410 per night for 1 person) __ Double (HK$550 per night for 2 persons) __ Apartment (HK$760 per night for 4 persons) Check-in date: _________ Check-out date: ________ Number of nights: _____ X Room charge per night: _____ = Total charge: _____ ******************************************************************************** Please mail the completed registration form with payment to: TANC-97 Secretariat Department of Physics Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Water Bay, Kowloon Hong Kong Payment must be made by money order or bank draft in Hong Kong currency drawable from banks in Hong Kong. Money orders and bank drafts must be made payable to "Hong Kong University of Science and Technology". Receipts will be available for collection at the workshop.  From pekka at dcs.ed.ac.uk Wed Mar 26 06:19:13 1997 From: pekka at dcs.ed.ac.uk (Pekka Orponen) Date: Wed, 26 Mar 1997 11:19:13 +0000 (GMT) Subject: comment on recent paper by Maas and Orponen In-Reply-To: <199703251641.LAA20047@colossus.cs.rpi.edu> Message-ID: Dear connectionists: In a recent message to this list, C. Omlin mentions a result of ours about implementing finite state automata in sigmoidal neural nets, and lists a number of related papers. We are familiar with the work listed, at least the journal papers, and it is cited in our paper (at least in the full version; some references may have been omitted for lack of space from the NIPS version). The difference is that we wanted a _noise-tolerant_ simulation of automata in sigmoidal _first-order_ networks. The result is really simple, and is included in the paper only because we could not find a source for it in the literature. As far as I recall, the simulations of Frasconi et al. don't pay attention to the noise tolerance requirement, and those of Omlin et al. use higher-order networks. Regards, Pekka Orponen  From charles.bruce at yale.edu Wed Mar 26 09:59:52 1997 From: charles.bruce at yale.edu (Charles Bruce) Date: Wed, 26 Mar 1997 09:59:52 -0500 Subject: Postdoctoral Position from 3/1/97 Message-ID: Postdoctoral Position Integrative Neurophysiology A postdoctoral NIMH fellowship is available immediately to study the neurophysiological basis of sensorimotor and cognitive processing in monkey neocortex. Cortical organization and function are studied using single- and multiple-neuron recording, microstimulation and reversible inactivation of small cortical regions, interneuronal correlations of spike trains, ect. applied during performance of sensorimotor and mnemonic tasks. The frontal eye field, supplementary eye field, and related cortical association areas are investigated with the ultimate purpose of developing realistic computational model of the network of cortical areas that underlie sensory, motor, and cognitive integration. Experience in neurophysiological, computational, or behavioral neuroscience is desired. US citizenship or permanent resident status required for NIMH fellowships. Send CV and names of two references to: Charles Bruce, Ph.D. Section of Neurobiology Yale University School of Medicine 333 Cedar St Rm 303C SHM PO Box 208001 New Haven, CT 06520-8001 Phone: (203) 737-2727 Fax: (203) 785-5263 Email: charles.bruce at yale.edu http://info.med.yale.edu/neurobio/bruce/bruce.html  From ken at nagano.is.hosei.ac.jp Thu Mar 27 02:18:32 1997 From: ken at nagano.is.hosei.ac.jp (Ken-ichiro Miura) Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 16:18:32 +0900 Subject: ICONIP'97:special session Message-ID: <333A1F48.C39@nagano.is.hosei.ac.jp> ICONIP'97, The Fourth International Conference on Neural Information Processing, November 24-28, 1997. Dunedin/Queenstown, New Zealand Special Session on Spatio-temporal Information Processings in the Brain CALL FOR PAPERS Recently spatio-temporal aspects have been recognized to be very important in order to understand the neural information processing mechanisms in the brain. The importance lies not only in the sensory systems such as the visual system, the auditory system etc. but also in the higher order systems like memory and learning. Many works from the aspects are now being done. A special session devoted to these works will be organized at ICONIP'97. The scope of the special session covers computational theories, neural network models, physiological studies and psychological studies which are related to spatio-temporal information processings in the brain. Prospective authors are invited to submit papers to the special session. (Traveling expenses and conference fee are not supplied.) The submissions must be received by May 30, 1997, Please send five copies of your manuscript to Prof. Takashi Nagano, Special Session Organizer Dept. of Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, Hosei University 3-7-2 Kajino-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184, JAPAN For the most up-to-data information about ICONIP'97, please browse the conference home page: http://divcom.otago.ac.nz:800/com/infosci/kel/iconip97.htm Important dates: Paper due: May 30, 1997 Notification of acceptance: July 20, 1997 Final camera-ready papers due: August 20, 1997 Manuscript format: Papers must be written in English on A4-format white paper with one inch margins on all four sides, in two column format, on not more than 4 pages, single-spaced, in Times or similar font of 10 points, and printed on one side of the page only. -- ------------------------------------------------ Takashi Nagano Dept. of Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, Hosei University 3-7-2 Kajino-cho, Koganei, Tokyo JAPAN Tel +81-423-87-6350 Fax +81-423-87-6350 mailto:nagano at nagano.is.hosei.ac.jp ------------------------------------------------  From matteo at cns.nyu.edu Mon Mar 31 00:20:54 1997 From: matteo at cns.nyu.edu (Matteo Carandini) Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 00:20:54 -0500 Subject: Model of orientation selectivity Message-ID: A MATLAB package is now available that implements a simple recurrent model of orientation selectivity in the primary visual cortex. It can be run in seconds on a personal computer, and allows one to observe the responses of recurrent models to a variety of visual stimuli. The model is described in the attached abstract. The address for downloads is http://cns.nyu.edu/home/matteo/v1ori.html. PREDICTIONS OF A RECURRENT MODEL OF ORIENTATION SELECTIVITY Matteo Carandini and Dario L. Ringach Vision Research, submitted (1996) Recurrent models of orientation selectivity in the visual cortex postulate that an initially broad tuning given by the pattern of geniculate afferents is substantially sharpened by intracortical feedback. We show that these models can be tested on the basis of their predicted responses to certain visual stimuli, without the need for pharmacological or physiological manipulations. First, we consider a detailed recurrent model proposed by Somers, Nelson and Sur (1995) and show that it can be simplified to a single equation: a center-surround feedback filter in the orientation domain. Then, we explore the responses of the simplified model to stimuli containing two or more orientations. We find that the model exhibits peculiar responses to stimuli containing two orientations, such as plaids or crosses: if the component orientations differ by less than 45 degrees the model cannot distinguish between them; if the orientations differ by more than 45 degrees the model overestimates their angle by as much as 30 degrees. Moreover, the model cannot signal the presence of three orientations separated by 60 degrees (it responds as if there were only two orientations), and the addition of two-dimensional visual noise to an oriented stimulus results in strong spurious responses at the orthogonal orientation. We argue that the effects of attraction and repulsion between orientations and the emergence of responses at off-optimal orientations are common to a wide class of feedback models of orientation selectivity. These models could thus be tested by measuring the visual responses of cortical neurons to stimuli containing multiple orientations. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Matteo Carandini http://cns.nyu.edu/home/matteo Howard Hughes Medical Institute Center for Neural Science New York University 4 Washington Place #809 New York, NY 10003