CALL FOR PAPERS

[Keith McDuffee]

CALL FOR PAPERS 
and
FINAL INVITED PROGRAM 

SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS 
May 27-30, 1998 

Sponsored by Boston University's
Center for Adaptive Systems
and 
Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems
with financial support from DARPA and ONR 


How Does the Brain Control Behavior?

How Can Technology Emulate Biological Intelligence? 

The conference will include invited lectures and contributed lectures
and posters by experts on the biology and technology of how the brain
and other intelligent systems adapt to a changing world. The
conference is aimed at researchers and students of computational
neuroscience, connectionist cognitive science, artificial neural
networks, neuromorphic engineering, and artificial intelligence.

A single oral or poster session enables all presented work to be
highly visible.

Abstract submissions encourage submissions of the latest results. 

Costs are kept at a minimum without compromising the quality of
meeting handouts and social events.

Although Memorial Day falls on Saturday, May 30, it is observed on
Monday, May 25, 1998.


CONFIRMED INVITED SPEAKERS

TUTORIALS

Wednesday, May 27, 1998:

Larry Abbott, Short-term synaptic plasticity: Mathematical
   description and computational function
George Cybenko, Understanding Q-learning and other adaptive 
   learning methods 
Ennio Mingolla, Neural models of biological vision 
Alex Pentland, Visual recognition of people and their behavior 

Each tutorial is 90 minutes long.


KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Stephen Grossberg, Adaptive resonance theory: From biology to technology 
Ken Nakayama, Psychological studies of visual attention 


INVITED SPEAKERS

Thursday, May 28, 1998:

Azriel Rosenfeld, Understanding object motion 
Takeo Kanade, Computational sensors: Further progress 
Tomaso Poggio, Sparse representations for learning 
Gail Carpenter, Applications of ART neural networks
Rodney Brooks, Experiments in developmental models for a neurally
   controlled humanoid robot
Lee Feldkamp, Recurrent networks: Promise and practice

Friday, May 29, 1998: 

J. Anthony Movshon, Contrast gain control in the visual cortex
Hugh Wilson, Global processes at intermediate levels of form vision 
Mel Goodale, Biological teleassistance: Perception and action in
   the human visual system 
Ken Stevens, The categorical representation of speech and its
   traces in acoustics and articulation 
Carol Fowler, Production-perception links in speech 
Frank Guenther, A theoretical framework for speech acquisition
   and production 

Saturday, May 30, 1998:

Howard Eichenbaum, The hippocampus and mechanisms of declarative memory 
Earl Miller, Neural mechanisms for working memory and cognition 
Bruce McNaughton, Neuronal population dynamics and the
   interpretation of dreams 
Richard Thompson, The cerebellar circuitry essential for classical 
   conditioning of discrete behavioral responses 
Daniel Bullock, Cortical control of arm movements 
Andrew Barto, Reinforcement learning applied to large-scale
   dynamic optimization problems  


There will be contributed oral and poster sessions on each day 
of the conference. 


CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Contributors are requested to list a first and second choice from
among the topics below in their cover letter, and to say whether it is
biological (B) or technological (T) work, when they submit their
abstract, as described below.

* vision 		     * spatial mapping and navigation 
* object recognition 	     * neural circuit models 
* image understanding 	     * neural system models 
* audition 		     * mathematics of neural systems 
* speech and language        * robotics 
* unsupervised learning      * hybrid systems (fuzzy, evolutionary, digital)
* supervised learning        * neuromorphic VLSI 
* reinforcement and emotion  * industrial applications 
* sensory-motor control      * other 
* cognition, planning, and 
  attention  

Example: first choice: vision (T); second choice: neural system models (B).


Contributed Abstracts must be received, in English, by January 31,
1998. Notification of acceptance will be given by February 28, 1998. 
A meeting registration fee of $45 for regular attendees and $30 for
students must accompany each Abstract. See Registration Information
for details. The fee will be returned if the Abstract is not accepted
for presentation and publication in the meeting proceedings. Registration 
fees of accepted abstracts will be returned on request only until 
April 15, 1998.
 
Each Abstract should fit on one 8.5" x 11" white page with 1" margins
on all sides, single-column format, single-spaced, Times Roman or
similar font of 10 points or larger, printed on one side of the page
only. Fax submissions will not be accepted. Abstract title, author
name(s), affiliation(s), mailing, and email address(es) should begin
each Abstract. An accompanying cover letter should include: Full title
of Abstract; corresponding author and presenting author name, address,
telephone, fax, and email address; and preference for oral or poster
presentation. (Talks will be 15 minutes long. Posters will be up for a
full day. Overhead, slide, and VCR facilities will be available for
talks.)  Abstracts which do not meet these requirements or which are
submitted with insufficient funds will be returned. The original and 3
copies of each Abstract should be sent to: Cynthia Bradford, Boston
University, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems, 677 Beacon
Street, Boston, MA 02215.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Early registration is recommended.  To
register, please fill out the registration form below.  Student
registrations must be accompanied by a letter of verification from a
department chairperson or faculty/research advisor. If accompanied by
an Abstract or if paying by check, mail to the address above.  If
paying by credit card, mail as above, or fax to (617) 353-7755, or
email to cindy at cns.bu.edu. The registration fee will help to pay for a
reception, 6 coffee breaks, and the meeting proceedings.

STUDENT FELLOWSHIPS: Fellowships for PhD candidates and postdoctoral
fellows are available to cover meeting travel and living costs. The
deadline to apply for fellowship support is January 31, 1998. Applicants
will be notified by February 28, 1998. Each application should include 
the applicant's CV, including name; mailing address; email address; 
current student status; faculty or PhD research advisor's name, address, 
and email address; relevant courses and other educational data; and a 
list of research articles. A letter from the listed faculty or PhD advisor 
on official institutional stationery should accompany the application and 
summarize how the candidate may benefit from the meeting. Students who also 
submit an Abstract need to include the registration fee with their
Abstract. Reimbursement checks will be distributed after the meeting.


REGISTRATION FORM 

Second International Conference on Cognitive and Neural Systems 

Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems
Boston University 
677 Beacon Street 
Boston, Massachusetts 02215 
Tutorials: May 27, 1998 
Meeting: May 28-30, 1998 
FAX: (617) 353-7755 

(Please Type or Print) 

Mr/Ms/Dr/Prof: _____________________________________________________

Name: ______________________________________________________________

Affiliation: _______________________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________________________

City, State, Postal Code: __________________________________________

Phone and Fax: _____________________________________________________

Email: _____________________________________________________________


The conference registration fee includes the meeting program,
reception, two coffee breaks each day, and meeting proceedings. 
The tutorial registration fee includes tutorial notes and two 
coffee breaks.


CHECK ONE:

(  )  $70 Conference plus Tutorial (Regular) 
(  )  $30 Conference Only (Student) 
(  )  $45 Conference plus Tutorial (Student)  
(  )  $25 Tutorial Only (Regular) 
(  )  $45 Conference Only (Regular) 
(  )  $15 Tutorial Only (Student) 


METHOD OF PAYMENT (please fax or mail):

[   ] Enclosed is a check made payable to "Boston University". 
      Checks must be made payable in US dollars and issued by 
      a US correspondent bank. Each registrant is responsible 
      for any and all bank charges.

[   ] I wish to pay my fees by credit card 
      (MasterCard, Visa, or Discover Card only).

Name as it appears on the card: _____________________________________

Type of card: _______________________________________________________

Account number: _____________________________________________________

Expiration date: ____________________________________________________

Signature: __________________________________________________________






Keith McDuffee
keithm at cns.bu.edu