From t.heskes at science.ru.nl Tue Jun 5 04:13:59 2007 From: t.heskes at science.ru.nl (Tom Heskes) Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:13:59 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Neurocomputing volume 70 (issues 13-15) Message-ID: <46651B47.4010508@science.ru.nl> Neurocomputing volume 70 (issues 13-15) ------- SPECIAL PAPERS (Selected papers from the 3rd International Conference on Development and Learning, edited by Gedeon De?k, Marni Stewart Bartlett and Tony Jebara) New trends in Cognitive Science: Integrative approaches to learning and development (editorial) Gedeon O. De?k, Marni Stewart Bartlett and Tony Jebara A unified model of early word learning: Integrating statistical and social cues Chen Yu and Dana H. Ballard To each his own: The caregiver's role in a computational model of gaze following Christof Teuscher and Jochen Triesch Affordances, effectivities, and assisted imitation: Caregivers and the directing of attention Patricia Zukow-Goldring and Michael A. Arbib EEG evidence for mirror neuron activity during the observation of human and robot actions: Toward an analysis of the human qualities of interactive robots Lindsay M. Oberman, Joseph P. McCleery, Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Jaime A. Pineda Information maximization in face processing Marian Stewart Bartlett Visual object concept discovery: Observations in congenitally blind children, and a computational approach Jake V. Bouvrie and Pawan Sinha Unique association between self-occlusion and double-touching towards binding vision and touch Yuichiro Yoshikawa, Koh Hosoda and Minoru Asada Segmentation of textures defined on flat vs. layered surfaces using neural networks: Comparison of 2D vs. 3D representations Sejong Oh and Yoonsuck Choe A probabilistic model of eye movements in concept formation Jonathan D. Nelson and Garrison W. Cottrell A model of Frame and Verb Compliance in language acquisition Rutvik Desai Towards a construction-based framework for development of language, event perception and social cognition: Insights from grounded robotics and simulation Peter Ford Dominey ------- SPECIAL PAPERS (Time series prediction competition: the CATS benchmark, edited by Amaury Lendasse, Erkki Oja, Olli Simula and Michel Verleysen) Time series prediction competition: The CATS benchmark (editorial) Amaury Lendasse, Erkki Oja, Olli Simula and Michel Verleysen CATS benchmark time series prediction by Kalman smoother with cross-validated noise density Simo S?rkk?, Aki Vehtari and Jouko Lampinen Time series prediction with recurrent neural networks trained by a hybrid PSO?EA algorithm Xindi Cai, Nian Zhang, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy and Donald C. Wunsch II Time series prediction of the CATS benchmark using Fourier bandpass filters and competitive associative nets Shuichi Kurogi, Miho Sawa and Takamasa Ueno Symmetric-embedding prediction of the CATS benchmark P.F. Verdes, P.M. Granitto, M.I. Sz?liga, A. R?bola and H.A. Ceccatto Time series prediction with ensemble models applied to the CATS benchmark J?rg D. Wichard and Maciej Ogorza?ek TVCAR models for forecasting Federico Palacios-Gonz?lez Time series prediction with a weighted bidirectional multi-stream extended Kalman filter Xiao Hu, Danil V. Prokhorov and Donald C. Wunsch II Forecasting the CATS benchmark with the Double Vector Quantization method Geoffroy Simon, John A. Lee, Marie Cottrell and Michel Verleysen Multigrid-based fuzzy systems for time series prediction: CATS competition L.J. Herrera, H. Pomares, I. Rojas, A. Guill?n, J. Gonz?lez, M. Awad and A. Herrera Time series prediction using chaotic neural networks on the CATS benchmark Igor Beliaev and Robert Kozma ------- REGULAR PAPERS On linear separability of data sets in feature space Degang Chen, Qiang He and Xizhao Wang A project neural network for solving degenerate convex quadratic program Xiaoping Xue and Wei Bian Nonlinear system identification with recurrent neural networks and dead-zone Kalman filter algorithm Jos? de Jes?s Rubio and Wen Yu Multi-program approach for simulating recorded extracellular signals generated by neurons coupled to microelectrode arrays Paolo Massobrio, Giuseppe Massobrio and Sergio Martinoia Exponential synchronization of stochastic perturbed chaotic delayed neural networks Yonghui Sun, Jinde Cao and Zidong Wang New criteria of global exponential stability for a class of generalized neural networks with time-varying delays Huaguang Zhang and Gang Wang Global exponential stability of delayed cellular neural networks with impulses Yonghui Xia, Jinde Cao and Sui Sun Cheng An entropy-based quantum neuro-fuzzy inference system for classification applications Cheng-Jian Lin, I-Fang Chung and Cheng-Hung Chen Periodic solution for nonautonomous bidirectional associative memory neural networks with impulses Zhanji Gui, Xiao-Song Yang and Weigao Ge Incremental support vector machines and their geometrical analyses Kazushi Ikeda and Takemasa Yamasaki Robust exponential stability analysis of neural networks with multiple time delays Zhanshan Wang, Huaguang Zhang and Wen Yu Hysteretic Hopfield network with dynamic tunneling for crossbar switch and N-queens problem P. Thangavel and D. Gladis A self-organizing map of sigma?pi units Cornelius Weber and Stefan Wermter ------- BRIEF PAPERS A novel hysteretic chaotic neural network and its applications Xiangdong Liu and Chunbo Xiu Comments and further improvements on ?New LMI conditions for delay-dependent asymptotic stability of delayed Hopfield neural networks? Xuyang Lou and Baotong Cui Two-dimensional nearest neighbor discriminant analysis Xipeng Qiu and Lide Wu Recurrent network simulations of two types of non-concentric retinal ganglion cells Wang-Qiang Niu and Jing-Qi Yuan Training T-S norm neural networks to refine weights for fuzzy if?then rules Xi-Zhao Wang, Chun-Ru Dong and Tie-Gang Fan Statistical criteria for early-stopping of support vector machines Tatyana V. Bandos, Gustavo Camps-Valls and Emilio Soria-Olivas Liquid state machine and its separation ability as function of electrical parameters of cell Grzegorz M. Wojcik and Wieslaw A. Kaminski Stability analysis of a discrete Hopfield neural network with delay Eric C.C. Tsang, S.S. Qiu and Daniel S. Yeung Optimal solution to crossbar packet-switch problems using a sequential binary Hopfield neural network Sancho Salcedo-Sanz and Jose A. Portilla-Figueras ------- JOURNAL SITE: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/neucom SCIENCE DIRECT: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09252312 From hakwan at gmail.com Tue Jun 5 06:32:55 2007 From: hakwan at gmail.com (Hakwan Lau) Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 11:32:55 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: postdoc in Columbia, New York - opportunity to learn fMRI Message-ID: <93cbd6830706050332r10629d72mb83508906be5bda8@mail.gmail.com> Opening for Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA. We are looking for a candidate with (or expecting) a doctorate in the computational or vision sciences to join a new research group, to focus on the study of neural computation and the higher cognitive aspects of perception, such as attention, confidence judgements and conscious awareness. The projects would involve developing original computational models and testing them with neuroimaging, and therefore the ideal candidate should be familiar with Bayesian learning models, decision theory, and/or some mathematical aspects of signal detection theory. Although the candidate must also be interested in conducting experiments, a background in empirical research is only desirable but not required. We have unrestricted access to excellent local facilities including fMRI (with concurrent EEG), and TMS. Training and support staff would be provided if necessary. The candidate would also be given the freedom to pursuit original research and to interact with the greater community of Bayesian theoreticians and vision scientists in Manhattan. We have funding for 3 years' time. The position is available from September 2007, and selection will take place as soon as applications are received, and will continue until the suitable candidate is found. Please direct inquires to Hakwan Lau ( hakwan at gmail.com, http://hakwan.googlepages.com/). Interested applicants please send a CV and contact information for 2-3 referees. Columbia University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply. -- Hakwan Lau, D.Phil http://hakwan.googlepages.com/ -- Hakwan Lau, D.Phil http://hakwan.googlepages.com/ From hiro at brain.riken.jp Sun Jun 3 20:50:15 2007 From: hiro at brain.riken.jp (hiroyuki nakahara) Date: Mon, 04 Jun 2007 09:50:15 +0900 Subject: Connectionists: Positions available at RIKEN Brain Science Institute Message-ID: <20070604094321.44CA.HIRO@brain.riken.jp> Dear Connectionists, Applications are invited for several opening positions for both postdoctoral and predoctoral researchers to work at the Laboratory for Integrated Theoretical Neuroscience (Lab Head: Hiro Nakahara), RIKEN Brain Science Institute. We seek enthusiastic and well-qualified individuals to join our research activities, in particular on the following topics: 1. Computational modeling of mechanisms of decision making and motivated behavior, e.g. using reinforcement and statistical learning, and decision theory. 2. Experiments in psychophysics and fMRI to study the above as well as topics in neuroeconomics and neural decoding. 3. Computation, coding and dynamics of neural populations and local neural circuits 4. Theory and analytical tools for a new era of massive neuroscience data in experiments (e.g. from multiunit recording, calcium imaging and fMRI). * Please refer to http://www.itn.brain.riken.jp for details of our research and available positions. For most of the research conducted by our laboratory, a strong theoretical background is expected, though for studies in psychophysics and fMRI experiments this requirement can be relaxed. Good computer programming skills are also expected. The successful applicants will be expected to conduct independent research as well as work closely in a team; thus, a good balance of independence and collegiality is required. Good communication skills are also essential. The RIKEN Brain Science Institute is located near Tokyo, Japan (working language is English). Starting salaries will be commensurate with relevant ability and experience. Subsequent contracts, including revised salaries, will be determined and renewed annually, upon review, for up to five years. Please send your application to itninfo at brain.riken.jp with the following, (1) a cover letter specifying the job opportunity you are interested in, (2) curriculum vitae including publications list, (3) research statement describing your past achievements and future interests, (4) the names and contact information of two or three references with a brief description of your relationship to each reference, and (5) (optional) any additional information you think might be useful (e.g. additional skills and background, general interests, and so on). Hiro Nakahara Lab for Integrated Theoretical Neuroscience RIKEN Brain Science Institute http://www.itn.brain.riken.jp From jose.millan at jrc.it Mon Jun 4 20:21:18 2007 From: jose.millan at jrc.it (Jose del R. Millan) Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2007 17:21:18 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: Call for Participation: BCI Meets Robotics Message-ID: <45C0D42800003FB1@cheetah-1.jrc.it> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ BCI Meets Robotics: Challenging Issues in Brain-Computer Interaction and Shared Control http://www.maia-project.org/workshop-2007.php November, 19-20, 2007 KU Leuven, Belgium Last years have witnessed advances in Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI), but how far is this new field from controlling robotics devices? The goal of the workshop is to introduce recent advances in brain-computer interfaces on the one hand, and on shared control and task recognition on the other. This workshop will give a new perspective on how humans and men cooperate to fulfill a challenging task. The concept of adaptive shared autonomy will be introduced and its relevance for BCI applications will be illustrated. The presentations will consist of a series of invited talks and poster presentations. Also, the European MAIA project will report their achievements in non-invasive brain-controlled wheelchairs. Posters will be selected depending on relevance to the workshop topic, quality, and novelty. Abstract Submission --------------------------- Please send a one-page abstract (including figures and references, no less than 200 words) to workshop at maia-project.org Posters will be selected depending on relevance to the workshop topic, quality, and novelty. Important Dates ---------------------- Deadline for abstract submission: September 21, 2007 Notification of acceptance: October 5, 2007 Deadline for early registration: October 26, 2007 Conference dates: November 19-20, 2007 Organizing Committee ------------------------------ Prof. Jos? del R. Mill?n, IDIAP Research Institute, Martigny, Switzerland (co-chair) Prof. Marnix Nuttin, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (co-chair) Prof. Maria Grazia Marciani, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy Dr. Sara Gonzalez Andino, Geneva University Hospital, Switzerland Prof. Fabio Babiloni, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Italy Ac.Prof. Kimmo kaski, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland Registration ---------------- The registration fee is: - 60 EUR for early registration (October 26, 2007) - 120 EUR from October 27th to November 11th - 180 EUR onsite registration Registration includes coffee breaks and workshop material. Sponsors ---------------- The workshop is organized by the EU's 6th Framework Programme MAIA project (http://www.maia-project.org). ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ -- Prof. Dr. Jos? del R. Mill?n IDIAP Research Institute Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) IDIAP. Rue du Simplon 4. 1920 Martigny. Switzerland Tel: +41-27-7217.770 Fax: +41-27-7217.712 jose.millan at idiap.ch From y.demiris at imperial.ac.uk Tue Jun 5 09:50:20 2007 From: y.demiris at imperial.ac.uk (Yiannis Demiris) Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2007 14:50:20 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: IEEE ICDL 2007 Call for Participation Message-ID: Dear colleagues, please find below the call for participation for the 2007 IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning, taking place at Imperial College London, 11-13 July 2007. More details and updates at http://www.icdl07.org/ With best wishes, Yiannis -- Dr Yiannis Demiris, Lecturer, Intelligent Systems and Networks Group, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2BT, UK Tel: +44(0)2075946300, Fax: +44(0)2075946274 http://www.iis.ee.ic.ac.uk/yiannis -------- CALL FOR PARTICIPATION IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL-2007) Imperial College London, 11-13 July 2007 Program, registration and accommodation details at http://www.icdl07.org Development and Learning are fundamental properties of any cognitive system, whether natural or artificial, and have attracted the attention of psychologists, neuroscientists, roboticists and artificial intelligence researchers. The International Conference on Development and Learning strives to bring together this interdisciplinary audience to encourage understanding and cross-fertilization of ideas from the different disciplines. Now in its 6th year, ICDL 2007 will have the theme of "Assisting Development" to encourage participants to consider the application of their research to the conceptualization, design and implementation of systems that can assist development. Topics of interest include (but are not restricted to): * General Principles of Development and Learning in Humans and Robots * Neural, Behavioral and Computational Plasticity * Biologically Inspired Mental Architectures for Development * Embodied Cognition: Foundations and Applications * Social Development in Humans and Robots * Language Development and Learning * Dynamic Systems Approaches * Emergence of Structures through Development * Development of Perceptual and Motor Systems * Models of Developmental Disorders * Architectures and software/hardware platforms for assisting development. Invited Speakers We are delighted to confirm the participation of the following keynote speakers: Professor Kerstin Dautenhahn, University of Hertfordshire, UK Professor Atsushi Iriki, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Japan Professor Mark Johnson, Birkbeck, University of London, UK Professor Thomas R. Shultz, McGill University, Canada Call for participation We invite interested participants to join us in discussing these issues at Imperial College London, between 11 and 13 of July 2007. Program, Registration and accommodation details can be found at http://www.icdl07.org Important dates: Early registration & accommodation at Imperial deadline: June 12, 2007 Conference: 11-13 July 2007 The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society and the euCognition network. For further information, see www.icdl07.org or contact the organizers below: Chair Dr Yiannis Demiris Department of EEE, Imperial College London y.demiris at imperial.ac.uk http://www.iis.ee.ic.ac.uk/yiannis Program chairs Prof. Denis Mareschal School of Psychology Birkbeck College University of London d.mareschal at bbk.ac.uk http://www.bbk.ac.uk/psyc/staff/academic/dmareschal Prof. Brian Scassellati Dept. of Computer Science Yale University scaz at cs.yale.edu http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/scaz/ Prof. John Weng Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering Michigan State University weng at cse.msu.edu http://www.cse.msu.edu/~weng/ From terry at salk.edu Wed Jun 6 15:55:51 2007 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Wed, 06 Jun 2007 12:55:51 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: NEURAL COMPUTATION - July 2007 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Neural Computation - Contents - Volume 19, Number 7 - July 1, 2007 Article Estimating information rates with confidence intervals in neural spike trains Jonathon Shlens, Matthew B. Kennel, Henry Abarbanel, and E.J. Chichilnisky Letters Generation of Synthetic Spike Trains with Defined Pairwise Correlations Ernst Niebur Input-Driven Oscillations in Networks with Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurons with Dynamic Synapses Stan Gielen, Daniele Marinazzo, and Bert Kappen Extracting Number-Selective Responses from Coherent Oscillations In a Computer Model Jeremy A. Miller and Garrett T. Kenyon Selectivity and Stability via Dendritic Nonlinearity Kenji Morita, Masato Okada, and Kazuyuki Aihara Filtering of Spatial Bias and Noise Inputs by Spatially Structured Neural Networks Naoki Masuda, Masato Okada, and Kazuyuki Aihara Imposing Biological Constraints onto an Abstract Neocortical Attractor Network ModelChristopher Johansson and Anders Lansner Combining Reconstruction and Discrimination with Class-Specific Sparse Coding Stephan Hasler, Heiko Wersing, and Edgar Körner SVDD-Based Pattern Denoising Jooyoung Park, Daesung Kang, Jongho Kim, James T. Kwok, and Ivor W. Tsang Feature Selection via Coalitional Game Theory Shay Cohen, Gideon Dror, and Eytan Ruppin Outliers Detection in Multivariate Time Series by Independent Component Analysis Roberto Baragona and Francesco Battaglia ON-LINE - http://neco.mitpress.org/ SUBSCRIPTIONS - 2007 - VOLUME 19 - 12 ISSUES Electronic only USA Canada* Others USA Canada* Student/Retired $60 $63.60 $114 $54 $57.24 Individual $100 $106.00 $154 $90 $95.40 Institution $782 $828.92 $836 $704 $746.24 * includes 6% GST MIT Press Journals, 238 Main Street, Suite 500, Cambridge, MA 02142-9902. Tel: (617) 253-2889 FAX: (617) 577-1545 journals-orders at mit.edu http://mitpressjournals.org/neuralcomp ----- From cgunay at emory.edu Fri Jun 8 14:44:20 2007 From: cgunay at emory.edu (Cengiz Gunay) Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2007 14:44:20 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Connectionists: Workshop on Physiology Database and Analysis Software at CNS*2007 Message-ID: DEVELOPING DATABASES AND ANALYSIS SOFTWARE FOR ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY: DESIGN, APPLICATION, AND VISUALIZATION 9am-5pm on Thursday July 12th, 2007. No pre-registration necessary. In conjunction with: Computational Neuroscience Meeting CNS*2007 July 8th - 12th 2007, Toronto, Canada http://www.cnsorg.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please forward to interested colleagues. Please bookmark the following address for more information and results of the workshop: http://www.biology.emory.edu/research/Prinz/Tomasz/cns_workshop INVITED TALKS: Peter Andrews - Chronux open source Matlab platform for neural signal processing. Cengiz Gunay - Neural database analysis with Pandora's Toolbox in Matlab. Adam Taylor - Mapping from model neuron parameters to functional output. William Lytton - Data mining algorithms in spike-wave detection and seizure classification. Jean-Marc Fellous - Discovering spatio-temporal spike patterns in multi-trial and multi-unit recordings. Gloster Aaron - The search for organization in the activity of neuronal networks. Padraig Gleeson - Using NeuroML and neuroConstruct to build neuronal network models for multiple simulators. Tom Morse - NeuronDB and ModelDB: accessing, validating and reusing published results. Horatiu Voicu - Time saving technique for developing and maintaining user interfaces by sending messages. SCOPE: Recording and simulation in electrophysiology result in ever growing amounts of data, making it harder for conventional manual sorting and analysis methods to keep pace. The amount of electrophysiological data is increasing as more channels can be sampled and recording quality improves, while rapid advances in computing speed and capacity (e.g., in grid computing) have enabled researchers to generate massive amounts of simulation data in very short times. As a result, the need for automated analysis tools and database systems has become widespread. This workshop aims to bring researchers interested in developing and using such tools. Its purpose is twofold: encouraging transfer of knowledge among software developers, and providing a review of available technologies for potential users. Following contributed talks, there will be a discussion session on one or more of the topics of database interfaces, query sytems, and/or platforms. SPECIFIC AIMS: - dialogue between software designers - sharing common software routines and approaches - sharing computational approaches to solving problems relating to electrophysiologic data analysis - sharing data - discussion of funding opportunities for developing software tools - choosing the right platform: C/C++, Java, LabVIEW, Matlab, Igor ORGANIZERS: Cengiz Gunay (1), Tomasz G. Smolinski (1), William W. Lytton (2) (1) Dept. of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, U.S.A. (2) Depts of Physiology/Pharmacology and Neurology, State University of NY - Downstate, Brooklyn, NY 11203, U.S.A. Sincerely, Workshop organizers Cengiz Gunay, Tomasz Smolinski, and William Lytton Email: cgunay at emory.edu From ted.carnevale at yale.edu Thu Jun 14 18:51:33 2007 From: ted.carnevale at yale.edu (Ted Carnevale) Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:51:33 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: NEURON 6.0.1 now available Message-ID: <4671C675.60303@yale.edu> The latest standard release of NEURON is version 6.0.1, which is now available from http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/install/install.html This contains many performance improvements and bug fixes, plus new features for parallel simulation, and offers full access from Python to hoc. For more information see https://www.neuron.yale.edu/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=3088 --Ted From vcu at cs.stir.ac.uk Sat Jun 9 04:55:39 2007 From: vcu at cs.stir.ac.uk (Vassilis Cutsuridis) Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2007 09:55:39 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Workshop on Cortical Microcircuits: Structure, Function and Theory at CNS*2007 Message-ID: <001301c7aa73$f3eac9c0$6ffd998b@cs.ad.stir.ac.uk> CORTICAL MICROCIRCUITS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND THEORY 8:30am-12:30pm on Thursday July 12th, 2007 in Bahen Building. In conjunction with: Computational Neuroscience Meeting CNS*2007 July 8th - 12th 2007, Toronto, Canada http://www.cnsorg.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please forward to interested colleagues. INVITED TALKS: > Dr. Stefan Rotter, Relating Structure and Dynamics of Neocortical Networks > Dr. Hide Cateau, Interplay between a phase response curve and an activity-dependent rewiring rule of neurons leads to wireless clustering > Mr. Martin Spacek, Accounting for network states in cortex: are pairwise correlations sufficient? > Dr. Imre Vida, Synaptic propertis of interneuron networks promote gamma oscillations in cortical circuits > Dr. Paolo Di Prodi, A working memory model with three factor learning > Dr. Markus Butz, Modelling structural plasticity > Dr. Lynsey McCabe, Shaping STDP curve by interneuron and CA2+ dynamics SCOPE: To understand how perception, action, learning and memory work, we need to gather data from multiple levels of complexity and from various brain states (normal and diseased). We need to identify the neuronal groups involved in these functions, identify their different types of neurons, draw detailed circuit diagrams, determine the forms of synaptic transmission and plasticity between different neurons and study the dynamics of the cortical microcircuits at the cellular and synaptic level that comprise these neuronal groups. Mathematical and computer models are then essential in exploring how these microcircuits can account for a given function. The goal of the present workshop is to bring together experts from experimental and computational neuroscience in order to review some of the ongoing experimental and theoretical research concerning cortical microcircuits with particular emphasis on the functional roles of the various inhibitory interneurons in the pertinent information processing. SPECIFIC AIMS: > Microcircuit architectures (neocortex, hippocampus, sensory and motor systems) > Cross-comparison of architectures from different brain areas > Identified functionality of specific microcircuits > Identified functionality of specific neuronal types > Plasticity and learning ORGANIZERS: Vassilis Cutsuridis (1), Bruce P. Graham (1) (1) Dept. of Computing Science and Mathematics, University of Stirling, Stirling, U.K. Sincerely, Workshop organizers Vassilis Cutsuridis, Bruce P. Graham Email: vcu at cs.stir.ac.uk, b.graham at cs.stir.ac.uk -- The University of Stirling is a university established in Scotland by charter at Stirling, FK9 4LA. Privileged/Confidential Information may be contained in this message. 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From girolami at dcs.gla.ac.uk Wed Jun 6 03:40:41 2007 From: girolami at dcs.gla.ac.uk (Mark Girolami) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2007 08:40:41 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Workshop on Practical Inference Methods for Mechanistic Modelling of Biological Systems Message-ID: -------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PARTICIPATION ------------------------- PASCAL Workshop on Practical Inference Methods for Mechanistic Modelling of Biological Systems Website: http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/pimms This is the third workshop of the PASCAL Thematic Programme 'Learning in Computational and Systems Biology' and will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 18th to 19th September 2007. The workshop will be co-located with CMSB2007, Computational Methods in Systems Biology http://conferences.inf.ed.ac.uk/cmsb07/ ------------------------- SCOPE: Within the context of Systems Biology there is a growing requirement for the development of mechanistic models to support reasoning about the structures of biochemical pathways. In addition to defining such models, a means of objectively assessing the validity of competing hypotheses regarding pathway structures based on experimental data and prior knowledge is essential. As the models themselves will have been identified from experimental observations for which there is significant variability it is advisable to adopt a consistent grammar for scientific reasoning that will take account of this uncertainty. The Bayesian perspective is highly appropriate to enable consistent reasoning over mechanistic models of biological systems. However, given the intractable nature of the integrals required for an analytical Bayesian solution we are required to turn to Markov chain Monte Carlo or other approximating techniques to perform system identification and model-based reasoning. Practical solutions to these problems are critical to the utility and realism of systems biology models. The goal of this workshop will be to explore the main methodological and technical issues associated with performing Bayesian inference over mechanistic biochemical pathway models. It will bring together experts in systems biology, statistical inference and machine learning through the PASCAL network. ------------------------- INVITED SPEAKERS: Andrew Millar, Lorenz Wernisch, Dirk Husmeier & Julio Vera Gonzalez ------------------------- PROGRAM COMMITTEE: Mark Girolami, Simon Rogers, Magnus Rattray, Neil Lawrence, Florence d'Alche, Guido Sanguinetti ------------------------- CALL FOR PAPERS: One page abstracts of contributed papers should be sent by email to: pimms at dcs.gla.ac.uk by 9am GMT July 6th. Notification of acceptance will be sent out on the morning of July 13th. ------------------------- Information on arrivals, accommodation, and registration: see http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/pimms Location: Department of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk -------------------------------------------------------- Professor M.A. Girolami FIET Department of Computing Science University of Glasgow Glasgow G12 8QQ Scotland UK Tel : +44 (0)141 330 8628 Fax: +44 (0)141 330 8627 email : girolami at dcs.gla.ac.uk web: http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~girolami ---------------------------------------------------------- From feifeili at CS.Princeton.EDU Wed Jun 6 10:48:20 2007 From: feifeili at CS.Princeton.EDU (Fei-Fei Li) Date: Wed, 06 Jun 2007 10:48:20 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: JOB OPENING: postdoc position at Princeton Vision Lab Message-ID: <4666C934.4050201@cs.princeton.edu> POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN COMPUTER VISION, VISION LAB, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY Start date: Aug 1, 2007 PI: Fei-Fei Li We have a postdoc position open in the Princeton Vision Lab (http://vision.cs.princeton.edu) headed by Prof. Fei-Fei Li. This offer is sponsored by a multi-partner U.S. grant focusing on solving challenging object and scene level recognition problems in real-world environments. The top 4 reasons to come and work with us on this exciting project are: 4. The successful candidate will have an opportunity to interact with world class researchers in machine learning, computer vision, computer graphics, mathematics, neuroscience, etc. 3. The successful candidate will conduct research on fundamental and high impact problems in high level visual recognition. 2. The Vision Lab at Princeton offers an intensely creative and friendly intellectual environment. Our research is highly interdisciplinary. Current projects in the lab range from machine learning, computer vision, to cognitive and computational neuroscience, all focusing on various problems in high-level visual recognition. 1. Princeton township is one of the most popular cultural and art centers in the greater New York and Philadelphia areas. Most importantly, it offers some of the best ice creams one could find in ? uh, anywhere except Italy. The successful candidate is expected to start the position in early fall (preferably August 1) of 2007. Salary is competitive. He/She should have a strong background in computer vision and machine learning, a track record of publications in top computer vision conferences and journals, strong programming skills and a good taste in ice cream. Applications must be sent by email to Prof. Fei-Fei Li (feifeili at cs.princeton.edu), including a CV, a list of publications, names of 3 references and a brief research statement (1-2 pages). --------------------------------------------- Li, Fei-Fei Ph.D. (publish under L. Fei-Fei) Assistant Professor Computer Science Dept. Princeton University 35 Olden St. Princeton, NJ 08540 Tel: (609)258-8130 Office: Room 211, CS Building Website: http://vision.cs.princeton.edu --------------------------------------------- From Randy.OReilly at colorado.edu Sun Jun 10 03:05:04 2007 From: Randy.OReilly at colorado.edu (Randall C. O'Reilly) Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2007 01:05:04 -0600 Subject: Connectionists: CCNC 2007 Call-for-Abstracts Message-ID: <200706100105.04259.Randy.OReilly@colorado.edu> ~ Call-for-Abstracts ~ 3RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTATIONAL COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE www.ccnconference.org To be held in conjunction with the 2007 SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE CONFERENCE, November 3-7, 200 at the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA. * CONFERENCE DATES: Thu-Fri November 1 & 2, 2007 The inaugural CCNC 2005 meeting held prior to Society for Neuroscience (SfN) in Washington, DC was a great success, with approximately 250 attendees, 60 presented posters, and strongly positive reviews. For 2006, we went to Houston for the much smaller Psychonomics meeting and still had over 100 attendees and almost 50 posters. In future years, we still plan to continue to rotate among different neuroscience and psychology meetings. ____________________________________________________________________________ * DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS: Friday, July 13, 2007 Abstracts are to be submitted online via the website: www.ccnconference.org. Notice will be given by early June when the online submission form becomes operational. As in past years, there will be two categories of submissions: -Poster only -Poster, plus short talk (15 min) to highlight the poster Abstracts should be limited to 250 words. Women and underrepresented minorities are especially encouraged to apply. Reviewing for posters will be inclusive and only to ensure appropriateness to the meeting. Short talks will be selected on the basis of research quality, relevance to conference theme, and expected accessibility in a talk format. Abstracts not selected for short talks will still be accepted as posters as long as they meet appropriateness criteria. * NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE: Approx. August 15, 2007. __________________________________________________________________________ Program: * 2007 Keynote Speakers: Alex Pouget, University of Rochester Read Montague, Baylor College of Medicine * 3 Symposia, each including a mixture of modelers and non-modelers and focused on a common theme or issue: ** Use of computational and cognitive models in functional brain-imaging Moderator: Todd Braver, Washington University - St. Louis ** Sequential structure learning Moderator: TBA ** Hippocampal neurogenesis in learning and memory Moderator: Janet Wiles, University of Queensland * Approximately 12 short talks will be chosen featuring selected posters * Poster sessions ____________________________________________________________________________ 2007 Planning Committee: Suzanna Becker, McMaster University Jonathan Cohen, Princeton University Nathaniel Daw, New York University David Noelle, University of California, Merced Maximilian Riesenhuber, Georgetown University Medical Center Randall O'Reilly, University of Colorado, Boulder (ex officio) Executive Organizer: Thomas Hazy, University of Colorado, Boulder For more information and to sign up for the mailing list visit: www.ccnconference.org From mail at mkaiser.de Mon Jun 11 09:57:19 2007 From: mail at mkaiser.de (Marcus Kaiser) Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2007 15:57:19 +0200 (MEST) Subject: Connectionists: Papers: balanced network activity without inhibition; network reconstruction from local features; simulated robustness of cortical networks Message-ID: <200706111357.l5BDvJwf022148@post.webmailer.de> Dear colleagues, I want to advertise our following three papers that deal with (1) how network topology alone can lead to balanced network activity that neither dies out nor spreads through the whole network. This model does not involve inhibitory nodes and might thus be applicable to the global network level of connections between columns, areas, and area clusters. (2) how to reconstruct cortical networks from local features of the individual nodes. These include both topological features as well as spatial features (e.g., the metric distance between nodes). Whereas we show the application to structural networks, the approach might be useful for reconstructing functional networks from incomplete data. (3) simulations that show that the cortical network structure is robust against random elimination of nodes or edges but quickly falls apart for targeted attack of critical components. This feature is shared with benchmark scale-free networks but not with small-world or rewired benchmark networks. This structural robustness against lesions might underlie the varying extent of functional deficits in lesion patients. Abstracts and links to the articles are: (1) Criticality of spreading dynamics in hierarchical cluster networks without inhibition Marcus Kaiser, Matthias G?rner, Claus C Hilgetag New Journal of Physics 9:110, May 2007 An essential requirement for the representation of functional patterns in complex neural networks, such as the mammalian cerebral cortex, is the existence of stable network activations within a limited critical range. In this range, the activity of neural populations in the network persists between the extremes of quickly dying out, or activating the whole network. The nerve fibre network of the mammalian cerebral cortex possesses a modular organization extending across several levels of organization. Using a basic spreading model without inhibition, we investigated how functional activations of nodes propagate through such a hierarchically clustered network. The simulations demonstrated that persistent and scalable activations could be produced in clustered networks, but not in random networks of the same size. Moreover, the parameter range yielding critical activations was substantially larger in hierarchical cluster networks than in small-world networks of the same size. ! These findings indicate that a hierarchical cluster architecture may provide the structural basis for the stable and diverse functional patterns observed in cortical networks. http://stacks.iop.org/1367-2630/9/110 (2) Predicting the connectivity of primate cortical networks from topological and spatial node properties Luciano da F Costa, Marcus Kaiser, Claus C. Hilgetag BMC Systems Biology 1:16, 8 March 2007 The organization of the connectivity between mammalian cortical areas has become a major subject of study, because of its important role in scaffolding the macroscopic aspects of animal behavior and intelligence. In this study we present a computational reconstruction approach to the problem of network organization, by considering the topological and spatial features of each area in the primate cerebral cortex as subsidy for the reconstruction of the global cortical network connectivity. Starting with all areas being disconnected, pairs of areas with similar sets of features are linked together, in an attempt to recover the original network structure. Inferring primate cortical connectivity from the properties of the nodes, remarkably good reconstructions of the global network organization could be obtained, with the topological features allowing slightly superior accuracy to the spatial ones. Analogous reconstruction attempts for the C. elegans neuronal network resulted in! substantially poorer recovery, indicating that cortical area interconnections are relatively stronger related to the considered topological and spatial properties than neuronal projections in the nematode. The close relationship between area-based features and global connectivity may hint on developmental rules and constraints for cortical networks. Particularly, differences between the predictions from topological and spatial properties, together with the poorer recovery resulting from spatial properties, indicate that the organization of cortical networks is not entirely determined by spatial constraints. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1752-0509/1/16/abstract (3) Simulation of Robustness against Lesions of Cortical Networks Marcus Kaiser, Robert Martin, Peter Andras, Malcolm P. Young European Journal of Neuroscience 25:3185-3192, May 2007 Structure entails function and thus a structural description of the brain will help to understand its function and may provide insights into many properties of brain systems, from their robustness and recovery from damage, to their dynamics and even their evolution. Advances in the analysis of complex networks provide useful new approaches to understanding structural and functional properties of brain networks. Structural properties of networks recently described allow their characterization as small-world, random (exponential) and scale-free. They complement the set of other properties that have been explored in the context of brain connectivity, such as topology, hodology, clustering, and hierarchical organization. Here we apply new network analysis methods to cortical inter-areal connectivity networks for the cat and macaque brains. We compare these corticocortical fibre networks to benchmark rewired, small-world, scale-free and random networks, using two analysis strateg! ies, in which we measure the effects of the removal of nodes and connections on the structural properties of the cortical networks. The brain networks' structural decay is in most respects similar to that of scale-free networks. The results implicate highly connected hub-nodes and bottleneck connections as structural basis for some of the conditional robustness of brain systems. This informs the understanding of the development of brain networks' connectivity. http://arxiv.org/abs/0704.0392v1 Regards, Marcus -- Marcus Kaiser, Ph.D. RCUK Academic Fellow School of Computing Science Newcastle University Claremont Tower Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, U.K. Phone: +44 191 222 8161 Fax: +44 191 222 8232 http://www.biological-networks.org/ From guido.nolte at first.fraunhofer.de Thu Jun 14 06:42:34 2007 From: guido.nolte at first.fraunhofer.de (Guido Nolte) Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:42:34 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Workshop, Berlin, data analysis, June 28-29 Message-ID: <46711B9A.7030901@first.fraunhofer.de> Dear colleagues, We would like to announce a two-day workshop in Berlin-Adlershof on June 28-29 on methods of data analysis in Computational Neuroscience and Brain Computer Interfaces. The main focus is time series analysis of EEG data. Admission is free, but please register. You can find details on this Website: http://ida.first.fraunhofer.de/projects/pascal_workshop/pascal_workshop.html Best regards, Guido Nolte From renaud.jolivet at epfl.ch Thu Jun 14 07:54:58 2007 From: renaud.jolivet at epfl.ch (Renaud Jolivet) Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 13:54:58 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Announcement of International Symposium on Hot Topics in Neuroscience at EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland Message-ID: <46712C92.2010707@epfl.ch> Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce the 2nd Annual EPFL Life Sciences Symposium "Neuroscience: Molecules, Systems, and Diseases" August 29 -- 31, 2007 in Lausanne, Switzerland Organized by the EPFL School of Life Sciences http://sv.epfl.ch and coordinated by the Brain Mind Institute http://bmi.epfl.ch Location: EPFL Campus, Auditorium SG1 in building SG http://plan.epfl.ch/index.html?alias=SG&view=36 Topics and Confirmed Speakers: 1. Synapses and Networks : Thomas S?dhof, Rob Malenka, Misha Tsodyks, Jon Kaas 2. Neurodegeneration : Frank LaFerla, Ted Dawson 3. Genes and Psychiatry : Michael Meaney, Christina Alberini, Ahmad Hariri, Jean-Louis Mandel 4. Sensory Perception : Keiji Tanaka, Charles Gilbert, Ranulfo Romo 5. Consciousness : Steven Laureys, Larry Weiskrantz, Shaun Gallagher For more information see: http://lifesciences2007.epfl.ch Contact: brain_mind at epfl.ch On behalf of the scientific committee, Pierre Magistretti Co-director Brain Mind Institute -- Renaud Jolivet PhD Neuroscience, MSc Physics, EPFL EPFL Brain Mind Institute Station 15 CH-1015 Lausanne URL: http://icwww.epfl.ch/~rjolivet Tel: +41 21 693 1652 From rsun at rpi.edu Sun Jun 17 15:24:16 2007 From: rsun at rpi.edu (Professor Ron Sun) Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2007 15:24:16 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: Call for Participation: IJCNN 2007 in Orlando, Florida Message-ID: 2007 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks Orlando, Florida August 12-17, 2007 See the program details at: http://www.ijcnn2007.org We invite participation to the 2007 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN 2007), sponsored by the International Neural Network Society and co- sponsored by the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society. It is the premier event in the field of neural networks. It covers all topics in neural network theories and applications. IJCNN 2007 will feature plenary speakers, special sessions, moderated panel discussions, pre-conference tutorials, post-conference workshops, regular technical sessions, poster sessions, and social functions. For further information. see: http://www.ijcnn2007.org (click on "technical program", "plenary speakers", etc.) General Chair: Jennie Si Arizona State University Program Chair: Ron Sun Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ======================================================== Professor Ron Sun Cognitive Science Department Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 110 Eighth Street, Carnegie 302A Troy, NY 12180, USA phone: 518-276-3409 fax: 518-276-3017 email: rsun at rpi.edu web: http://www.cogsci.rpi.edu/~rsun ======================================================= From mseeger at gmail.com Tue Jun 19 03:33:47 2007 From: mseeger at gmail.com (Matthias Seeger) Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 09:33:47 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Matlab MEX code for low rank Cholesky updates/downdates Message-ID: <43c7cd3f0706190033g6f5c5ba7l83f9e9629cf33878@mail.gmail.com> Dear colleagues, I have released some software at http://www.kyb.tuebingen.mpg.de/bs/people/seeger/software.html under "Updating the Cholesky decomposition for simple changes of the system matrix". The MEX routines allow you to update/downdate a Cholesky factor after rank-1 changes to the system matrix. This is a core primitive in most codes for sequential Bayesian inference or variational approximate inference with continuous variables (SBL(RVM), VB, EP, IVM, SPGP, ...). "core" means that most of the running time is spent there. The code is numerically equivalent to LINPACK routines, but faster. It is certainly way more efficient than Matlab's notorious cholupdate. Details are in a TR which is linked from there. Why would you want to use this code? - (Sparse) Gaussian process inference, like the IVM (Lawrence, Seeger, Herbrich, NIPS 2001) - Approximate inference in non-Gaussian linear models (Tipping's RVM; Girolami's variational; Variational Bayes; EP (Seeger, Steinke, Tsuda, AISTATS 2007)) - Kalman Filters, ... - In fact: every time you are tempted to use the Sherman-Morrison-Woodbury formula explicitly (just don't!) BTW: If you have downloaded an earlier version of this code, please do an update. The new code is much more stable, and much faster. Finally: If you are more into C++ and do not like to use Matlab anyway: this code is also part of the LHOTSE toolbox from version 0.13 on (StMatrix::cholUpdRk1, StMatrix::cholDndRk1, StMatrix::cholUpdExch). LHOTSE is fairly easy to get into if you know C++, gives you the "Matlab feeling" without the pains, but I did not get around yet to write a manual. Obtain it at http://www.kyb.tuebingen.mpg.de/bs/people/seeger/lhotse/ Regards, -- Matthias Seeger Tel.: ++49-7071-601583 Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics http://www.kyb.tuebingen.mpg.de/bs/people/seeger P.O. Box: 21 69, 72012 Tuebingen, Germany From H.Bowman at kent.ac.uk Fri Jun 15 07:22:51 2007 From: H.Bowman at kent.ac.uk (H. Bowman) Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 12:22:51 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: advertising academic Fellowship Message-ID: <4672768B.9070807@kent.ac.uk> ====================================================================== Academic Fellowship in Cognitive Science and Robotics in the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems at Kent and the Computing Laboratory at Kent ====================================================================== The Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems (CCNCS) at Kent is seeking to appoint an Academic Fellow in Cognitive Science and Robotics, which is funded by Research Councils UK. The CCNCS is a cross-disciplinary research initiative at the junction of Cognitive Psychology and the Computational Sciences, which brings together a broad spectrum of techniques spanning a number of disciplines, including behavioural and electrophysiological experimentation, the construction of computational models and development of cognitive systems. The successful candidate will join the Computing Laboratory arm of the CCNCS. The CCNCS contains a number of ongoing research programmes including, an exploration of salience sensitive control in humans and artificial systems; development activities focused on human computer interaction and affective computing; empirical and computational studies of emotions, attention and addictive behaviour; investigations of face recognition and forensic imaging; methods for analysing EEG data (such as ICA); language research focused on cross-linguistic and morphological influences; and theoretical and applied memory research. The Centre also offers a broad spectrum of supporting infrastructure including, electrophysiological and physiological recording equipment, a robotics laboratory, and state of the art human computer interaction technology. The following are relevant websites, + The CCNCS: http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/projects/cncs. + Howard Bowman (Director of the CCNCS): http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/people/staff/hb5. The appointment is at the postdoctoral level. Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the research, a suitable candidate could have studied in any of the following areas: Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Electronics or Physics. Most importantly, though, we seek an applicant who is open to cross-disciplinary influences. The following skills are all relevant to the position; please note: due to the diverse nature of this skill set, candidates should by no means expect to possess all these capabilities. + Experience of electrophysiological recording techniques: EEG and ERP. + Knowledge of robotics. + Research expertise in human computer interaction. + A background in experimental research. + Experience of computational modelling of cognition using neural networks, connectionism or symbolic approaches. The Centre is particularly keen to progress its research programme in electrophysiological recording. We would welcome applications from candidates who are able to bring existing research funding, although candidates with relevant qualifications and experience will also be considered. Candidates who already have, or have been promised, a permanent position are considered to have achieved the aims of the Academic Fellowship Scheme and are not able to apply. Further details of the scheme are available at http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/acfellow/. The Academic Fellowship appointment is for three years and will lead to a permanent academic position in the Computing Laboratory at the end of the three-year period, subject to satisfactory completion of probation. Potential applicants are encouraged to contact Professor Howard Bowman, H.Bowman at kent.ac.uk, for an informal discussion. General information about the Computing Laboratory is available at http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/. Further particulars for the position are available at the following web-site, http://www.kent.ac.uk/jobs/academic/304.html. Closing date for the receipt of applications: 12 noon, Friday 6 July 2007. Interviews are likely to be held during the week beginning 30 July 2007. From L.Berthouze at sussex.ac.uk Fri Jun 15 16:50:30 2007 From: L.Berthouze at sussex.ac.uk (Luc Berthouze) Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 21:50:30 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: 2nd CFP for Epigenetic Robotics 2007 (Extended Deadline) Message-ID: <6EF90709-DF48-4A97-8744-59354DE5485A@sussex.ac.uk> Call for Papers: Epigenetic Robotics 2007 (Extended Deadline) 5-7 November 2007, Piscataway, NJ, USA Seventh International Conference on Epigenetic Robotics: Modeling Cognitive Development in Robotic Systems http://www.epigenetic-robotics.org Email: epirob07 at epigenetic-robotics.org Location: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA *Extended* Submission Deadline: 1 August 2007 Keynote Speakers: Hod Lipson Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Computing & Information Science, Cornell University, USA Daniel Messinger Department of Psychology, University of Miami, USA Carolyn Rovee-Collier and Peter Gerhardstein (co-presenter) Department of Psychology, Rutgers, NJ, USA (Rovee-Collier) Department of Psychology, Binghamton University-SUNY, NY, USA (Gerhardstein) Conference Themes: In the past 6 years, the Epigenetic Robotics annual conference has established itself as a unique place where original interdisciplinary research from developmental sciences, neuroscience, biology, cognitive robotics, and artificial intelligence is being presented. Epigenetic systems, either natural or artificial, share a prolonged developmental process through which varied and complex cognitive and perceptual structures emerge as a result of the interaction of an embodied system with a physical and social environment. Epigenetic robotics has goals including: (1) understanding biological systems by the interdisciplinary integration of social and engineering sciences and (2) enabling robots and other artificial systems to autonomously develop skills for new environments (instead of programming them to solve problems in fixed environments). Psychological theory and empirical evidence is being used to inform epigenetic robotic models, and these models can be used as theoretical tools to make experimental predictions in developmental psychology. Epigenetic Robotics themes include, but are not limited to: * The development of emotion, imitation, synchrony processing, intersubjectivity, joint attention, intentionality, non-verbal and verbal communication, sensorimotor schemata, shared meaning and symbolic reference, social learning, social relationships, social cognition ("mind reading", "theory of mind"); * The scope and limits of maturation, the mechanisms of open-ended development; * The mechanisms of stage formation and stage transitions; * The epistemological foundations of using robots to study development; * The role of motivations, emotions, and value systems in development; * Interaction between innate structure, ongoing developing structure, and experience; * The interplay between embodiment, learning biases and environment; * The differences between learning and development; * Algorithms for self-supervision, autonomous exploration, representation making, and methods for evolving new representations during ontogeny; * Using robots as theoretical tools (e.g., to make predictions) in experiments with children; * Using robots in applied settings (e.g., autism therapy) with children; * Architectures for autonomous development; * Robots that can undergo morphological changes and how they can be used to study the interplay between cognitive and morphological development; Important Dates: 1 August 2007: Deadline for submission of papers & posters 12 Sept 2007: Notification of acceptance of papers & posters 12 Oct 2007: Deadline for camera ready papers 5-7 Nov 2007: EpiRob07 @ Rutgers Modes of Submission: (1) Regular Submission (8-page max). After review, regular submissions will either be accepted or rejected (no revision as short papers or posters). Regular submissions will be allocated 8 pages in the Proceedings. (2) Abstract Submission (1-page max). After review, selected authors will be invited to present a poster. Abstract submissions will be allocated 1 page in the Proceedings. Submission instructions will be available from the EpiRob website: http://www.epigenetic-robotics.org Related Events: IROS (Intelligent Robots and Systems) http://www.crim.ncsu.edu/iros2007 29 October - 2 November 2007 (San Diego) Organizing Committee: Christian Balkenius (Lund University, Sweden) Luc Berthouze (University of Sussex, UK) Hideki Kozima (NICT, Japan) Michael Littman (Rutgers, USA) Christopher G. Prince (University of Minnesota Duluth, USA) Program Committee: Pierre Andry (ENSEA, France) Minoru Asada (Osaka University, Japan) Christian Balkenius (Cognitive Science, Lund University, Sweden) Mark Bickhard (Lehigh University, USA) Alexander Bernardino (Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa, Portugal) Luc Berthouze (University of Sussex, UK) Nadia Berthouze (University College London, UK) Aude Billard (EPFL, Switzerland) Lola Canamero (University of Hertfordshire, UK) Robert Clowes (University of Sussex, UK) Kerstin Dautenhahn (University of Hertfordshire, UK) Yiannis Demiris (Imperial College, UK) Luciano Fadiga (University of Ferrara, Italy) Simone Fiori (Universit? Politecnica delle Marche, Italy) Paul Fitzpatrick (CSAIL, MIT, USA) Philippe Gaussier (Universite de Cergy-Pointoise & ENSEA, France) Lakshmi Gogate (SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn, USA) Rod Grupen (University of Massachusetts, USA) George Hollich (Purdue University, USA) Fr?d?ric Kaplan (EPFL, Switzerland) Benjamin Kuipers (University of Texas, USA) Hideki Kozima (NICT, Japan) Max Lungarella (University of Tokyo, Japan) Lisa Meeden (Swarthmore college, USA) Giorgio Metta (LIRA-Lab, Genoa, Italy) Jacqueline Nadel (CNRS, France) Yukie Nagai (NICT, Japan) Chrystopher Nehaniv (University of Hertfordshire, UK) Pierre-Yves Oudeyer (Sony Computer Science Laboratory, Paris, France) Rolf Pfeifer (University of Zurich, Switzerland) Christopher G. Prince (University of Minnesota Duluth, USA) Arnaud Revel (CNRS, ENSEA, University of Cergy Pontoise, France) Brian Scassellati (Yale University, USA) Matthew Schlesinger (Southern Illinois University, USA) Sylvain Sirois (Manchester University, UK) Michael Spratling (Birkbeck College, UK) Georgi Stojanov (SS Cyril and Methodius University, Macedonia) Gert Westermann (Oxford Brookes University, UK) Tom Ziemke (University of Skovde, Sweden) For questions or more information, please contact: epirob07 at epigenetic-robotics.org From Wael.El-deredy at manchester.ac.uk Wed Jun 20 04:04:45 2007 From: Wael.El-deredy at manchester.ac.uk (Wael El-deredy) Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 10:04:45 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoc in Probabilistic models of preference Message-ID: <20070620100445109.00000001240@MS-0015C5584337> Postdoc in Probabilistic models of preference A postdoctoral post in applied mathematics, sponsored by Unilever Corporate Research, is available for 16 months to develop, implement and evaluate a probabilistic model for collaborative filtering and personalisation. The project involves close interaction with the industrial sponsors. You will be part of a team implementing and evaluating a live experiment in personalised recommendations. You will develop and test statistical data analysis algorithms for user modelling and collaborative filtering and interact with the software design team. You will present research findings, write research reports and prepare material for publication. You will undertake occasional teaching and/or curricular activities as required. Expertise in probabilistic models, Bayesian inference, and statistical data analysis are essential, and experience in software development, preferably in MATLAB, are desirable. Salary ?25,889 p.a. Informal enquiries Dr Wael El-Deredy Tel. +44 (0) 161 275 2566 Email: Wael.El-Deredy at Manchester.ac.uk Further particulars an application form http://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/employment/jobs/research/vacancy/?ref=118559 Closing date: 25/06/2007 Reference: MHS/155/07 From derdogmus at ieee.org Thu Jun 21 13:23:17 2007 From: derdogmus at ieee.org (Deniz Erdogmus) Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 10:23:17 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoc position in brain computer interface research Message-ID: <467AB405.3010402@ieee.org> Postdoctoral Research Associate Position Topic: EEG signal processing and brain computer interfaces Location: Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA A postdoctoral research associate position is available for a highly qualified candidate starting as early as September 1st, 2007 at the Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. Specifically, the postdoc will be working jointly at the Adaptive Systems Laboratory (ADSYL) and the Point-of-Care Laboratory (POCL) under the supervision of Drs. Misha Pavel and Deniz Erdogmus. The successful candidate will exhibit superior theoretical skills in machine learning and signal processing as well as technical skills to install, maintain, and operate the EEG-based brain interface experimental setup. Previous experience with the BCI2000 and/or Presentation softwares is a plus. Strong background in Bayesian reasoning and sequential state estimation are also of primary importance to this position. This associate is expected to communicate and collaborate with our academic and industry partners on a regular basis. Other duties include assisting with the advising of graduate students, preparation of scientific papers, and providing assistance with the submission of grant proposals. It is expected that the initial term of the position will be for one year with competitive compensation. The extension of the contract is contingent on continued satisfactory performance as determined by regular performance evaluations, as well as the continued availability of funds from externally funded research projects. Interested candidates should send their application materials - cover letter, CV, statement of research interests and research experience, as well as up to three selected journal publications (all concatenated in one big pdf file, please) - to Deniz Erdogmus at derdogmus at ieee.org. -- Deniz Erdogmus Assistant Professor Departments of BME and CSEE Oregon Health & Science University 20000 NW Walker Road, Beaverton, OR 97006 (Tel) 1-503-7482007, (Fax) 1-503-7481553 http://www.csee.ogi.edu/~deniz derdogmus at ieee.org From B.Kappen at science.ru.nl Mon Jun 25 11:49:16 2007 From: B.Kappen at science.ru.nl (Bert Kappen) Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:49:16 +0200 (CEST) Subject: Connectionists: postdoc position at SNN and Keygene Message-ID: Postdoc position available at Keygene and SNN, the Netherlands. Keygene is a biotechnology company that carries out innovative research to advance commercial plant breeding by using a number of proprietary genetic technologies and know-how. To expedite creation of new varieties by its customers, Keygenes main focus is the analysis, creation and exploitation of genetic variation. SNN is a research group at Nijmegen University dedicated to fundamental research in the areas of machine learning and computational neuroscience. Specific topics are Bayesian networks, approximate inference methods, time-series modeling, bio-informatics, expert systems, stochastic control and collaborative decision making. The group consists currently of 8 researchers and three programmers. Keygene and SNN are collaborating within the area of in silico breeding. Combining favorable alleles by crossing existing well-characterized plant lines with a minimum of efforts is a major challenge in marker-assisted crop breeding. An optimal crossing scenario has to be found that guarantees ending up with the desired combination of alleles in a single new plant line with a predefined probability. At Keygene, some initial research steps have been taken to develop algorithms that avoid calculating all possibilities but still end up with close to optimal solutions. The current project will built further on these initial methods, further improving these and enabling putting constraints on the chosen scenario, defined by demands from the breeding practice. For this novel research topic, we are looking for an ambitious and excellent postdoc quantitative genetics. The requirement for the postdoc position is a PhD and a good track record in the field of bioinformatics or machine learning. The postdoc position is full-time for a period of 3 years and will spend his time equally at both Keygene and SNN. The postdoc will be employed by Keygene as part of the Keygene postdoc program (see attached). For more information see www.snn.kun.nl/nijmegen or contact Prof. dr. H.J. Kappen (b.kappen at science.ru.nl, tlf. +31 24 3614241). -- Prof. dr. H.J. Kappen SNN Radboud University Nijmegen URL: www.snn.ru.nl/~bertk The Netherlands tel: +31 24 3614241 fax: +31 24 3541435 B.Kappen at science.ru.nl mobile: +31 6 520 78 210 From triesch at fias.uni-frankfurt.de Tue Jun 26 13:01:54 2007 From: triesch at fias.uni-frankfurt.de (Jochen Triesch) Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:01:54 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoctoral Fellow and Graduate Student Positions at FIAS Message-ID: <46814682.1050201@fias.uni-frankfurt.de> Call for Postdoctoral Fellows and Graduate Students at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies The Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, invites applications from young scientists of exceptional ability for several open Postdoctoral Positions and Graduate Student scholarships. FIAS is dedicated to fundamental research on structure formation and self-organization in complex systems. Relevant fields include Theoretical Biology, Theoretical Chemistry, Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience and Theoretical Physics. FIAS strongly encourages interdisciplinary collaboration. It cooperates with the Max Planck Institutes for Brain Research and for Biophysics in Frankfurt, the Gesellschaft f?r Schwerionenforschung (GSI Darmstadt) and various institutes at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. Additional information on FIAS can be found at the website http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de. Applicants for the postdoctoral positions are expected to have a strong theoretical background and experience with quantitative mathematical and numerical methods. Applications in the following research areas are especially invited: a) Theoretical Biology: 1) Development of new mathematical concepts for systems biology and cell biology; 2) Applications to complex systems in biology of relevance in immunology and medicine: (i) modelling adaptive immune responses, (ii) theory of neuro-immune-interactions, (iii) modelling diabetes, (iv) theory of irradiation cancer therapy, (v) magnetoreception in animals and magnetic maps. b) Theoretical Neuroscience: Modeling of functions related to perception, attention, subsystem integration, sensori-motor coupling and learning. Development of analysis tools for high-dimensional time series obtained with parallel recordings. Implementation of brain-inspired algorithms in robotic devices. Candidates should have a strong background in computational neuroscience. Experience with experimental approaches is desirable but not obligatory. c) Theoretical Chemistry: Development of new methods: Electroweak and relativistic quantum chemistry; vibronic structure theory. Application of large-scale methods and of highly accurate ab initio approaches: Fundamental symmetries and their violation, molecular chirality; material properties (optical properties, magnetic properties, ionic liquids, liquid crystals); reaction mechanisms (catalysis, ion chemistry). For more details see http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/~berger. d) Theoretical and Computational Soft Matter and Biophysics: Positions are available for simulations of ionic liquids, ferrofluids, charged hydrogels, polyelectrolytes, and the study of heterogeneous nucleation in binary colloidal systems. Experience with C/mpi and with efficient MD/MC strategies for mesoscopic and atomistic simulations are expected. We will mainly use our own simulation package ESPResSo (www.espresso.mpg.de. More details about the research environment can be found under http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/~simbio. e) Theoretical Meso-Bio-Nano-Science: The MBN theory group (see http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/~mbn) studies the structure formation and properties of a diversity of biomolecular, nano- and mesoscopic systems. This includes biological macromolecules, atomic and molecular clusters, fullerenes, nanotubes, nanofractals, endohedral objects, periodic structures, microundulators, microdroplets, instabilities in meso-bio-nano systems, optical, electric and magnetic properties. Under study are the dynamics, folding, conformational changes and fragmentation of these systems induced by collisions, fission and fusion processes, temperature variation, by exposure to external electric, magnetic, laser fields, clustering in systems of varied degrees of complexity, clustering in biological systems, on surfaces, in thin films, and in nanostructured materials. The work involves studies within the frame of quantum many-body and density functional theories, quantum and classical dynamics, electrodynamics, statistical mechanics, with a strong emphasis on theoretical-physics methods and numerical calculations. f) Theoretical Heavy-Ion Physics and Astrophysics: 1) Development of nonequilibrium dynamical models for relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Study of phase transitions in strongly interacting matter and their menifestations in heavy-ion collisions and compact stars. 2) Study of complex hadronic systems (exotic nuclei, superheavy elements) and quark-gluon plasma in terrestrial and astrophysical environments. 3) Structure of the vacuum in strong fields. The Postdoctoral Fellows will conduct research in collaboration with the FIAS Fellows, with scientists from cooperating institutions, and with Ph.D. students. The appointments are for up to three years. A tax-free scholarship of 30.000 EUR per year will be offered. Alternatively, research assistant positions in externally funded projects remunerated according to the German BAT scale may be available. Exceptionally qualified students interested in the above research areas are invited to apply for the three-year interdisciplinary Ph.D. program of the Frankfurt International Graduate School for Science (FIGSS). The students should hold a very good diploma or M.Sc. degree or an exceptional honors B.Sc. They will be supervised by scientists from FIAS and of the faculties of science at Goethe University. All courses will be held in English; a TOEFL certificate is required. A tax-free stipend of 1200 EUR per month (plus health insurance) can be offered to successful applicants. For more information see http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/figss. For interested students on the B.Sc. level a Master's program Computational Science is available, which can serve as a preparatory course for the Ph.D. program (see http://www.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/mpcs). Applicants should send a statement of research interests naming one or two of the FIAS Fellows whom they would like to interact with, a CV, and a complete list of publications to: Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Max-von-Laue-Str. 1 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany e-mail: fias at uni-frankfurt.de (for Postdoctoral applications) or figss at uni-frankfurt.de (for Graduate School applications). In addition, 1 to 3 letters of reference should be sent to the above address. The review of incoming complete applications will begin immediately. -- Jochen Triesch, Fellow Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies Web: http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/~triesch/ Tel: +49 (0)69 798-47531 Fax: +49 (0)69 798-47611 From cyril.goutte at nrc-cnrc.gc.ca Tue Jun 26 16:17:45 2007 From: cyril.goutte at nrc-cnrc.gc.ca (Cyril Goutte) Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:17:45 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: Learning Machine Translation: Call for contributions Message-ID: Call for contributions: LEARNING MACHINE TRANSLATION Following the NIPS 2006 workshop "Machine Learning for Multilingual Information Access" (http://mlia.iltevents.org/), we are preparing an edited volume on the topic of "LEARNING MACHINE TRANSLATION" to be published by MIT Press in their "NIPS Series". This volume is open to presenters and participants of the workshop but also to all researchers interested in the use of Machine Learning techniques in the context of Machine Translation. Of particular interest are the following topics: - Mining parallel corpora from the web - Exploiting comparable corpora - Word alignment - Learning parallel syntax - Paraphrase - Evaluation of Machine Translation - Adaptive Machine Translation - Learning to combine translation systems - Factored Machine Translation Other topics related to the use of Machine Learning techniques in the context of Machine Translation or related tasks would of course be welcome. In order to help us ensure the coherence of this volume, prospective authors wishing to contribute on other topics should send us (mlia (at) nrc-cnrc.gc.ca) *as soon as possible* an expression of interest, outlining their proposed contribution (max. 1 page). Submission: ----------- Contributors should submit a 15-to-20 page chapter by October 1st, 2007, to mlia (at) nrc-cnrc.gc.ca. Further information and templates will be available at: http://mlia.iltevents.org/book.html Submissions will be reviewed and comments will be sent by November 15, 2007. We are hoping to have final versions ready by the end of 2007, in order to have the volume published in 2008. Editors: -------- Cyril Goutte, National Research Council Canada Nicola Cancedda, Xerox Research Centre Europe Marc Dymetman, Xerox Research Centre Europe George Foster, National Research Council Canada -- Cyril.Goutte at nrc-cnrc.gc.ca http://iit-iti.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/ Interactive Language Technology 283, Bd. Alexandre-Tach? Institute for Information Technology Gatineau, QC K1A 0R6 National Research Council Canada From girolami at dcs.gla.ac.uk Tue Jun 26 11:58:47 2007 From: girolami at dcs.gla.ac.uk (Mark Girolami) Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:58:47 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Two Four Year Duration Research Positions Now Available References: Message-ID: The following post-doctoral research posts will be of interest to individuals with expertise in Machine Learning & Computational Biology. Informal enquiries and requests for further details should be made directly to me at the email address below. Regards Mark -------------------------------------------------------- Professor M.A. Girolami F.I.E.T EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow Department of Computing Science University of Glasgow Glasgow G12 8QQ Scotland UK Tel : +44 (0)141 330 8628 Fax: +44 (0)141 330 8627 email : girolami at dcs.gla.ac.uk web: http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~girolami ---------------------------------------------------------- Postdoctoral Research Assistants (x2), Computing Science Post 1 - Ref: 13384/DPO/A3 ?23,002 - ?25,889 Post 2 - Ref: 13385/DPO/A3 ?25,889 - 31,840 We have vacancies for two Research Assistants to work on an EPSRC funded project in the Department of Computing Science at the University of Glasgow. The Molecular Nose is an exciting, large interdisciplinary research project involving biochemistry, cell biology, engineering, chemistry, and computing science. The goal of the project is to build a multiplexed sensor platform that can assess and quantify dynamic changes in the functional state of biochemical networks in mammalian cells, and use these data to reconstruct cell network interactions and their dynamic behaviour on a systems wide level. The concept underpinning this platform is fundamentally different from existing methods used in the biological sciences to assess cell function, and similar to the Electronic Nose, where an array of sensors is trained with individual stimuli to establish a library of response patterns which subsequently are used to deconvolute complex inputs. We are looking for two highly motivated individuals with recent research experience in any of Machine Learning, Signal Processing, Bioinformatics, Systems Biology or Applied Statistics. The emphasis of this research will be on the development and application of mathematical modelling and Bayesian inferential methods to establish a computational framework for the Molecular Nose which will enable interpretation of input-output relationships and prediction of functional network behaviours in response to perturbations. These posts are for a fixed term of 48 months starting as soon as possible after 1st September 2007 and will be based at the Gilmorehill Campus of the University of Glasgow. Informal enquiries and requests for further details should be made to Professor M A Girolami email girolami at dcs.gla.ac.uk . Further details can also be found at: http://www.gla.ac.uk . Applications comprising applicant information form, cv, covering letter, list of publications names, and contact details of two academic referees should be sent to: Jacqui Brannan - Department of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ. Please quote reference number 13384/DPO/A3 or 13384/DPO/A3. Closing date: 25 July 2007. From reza at bme.jhu.edu Wed Jun 27 09:27:18 2007 From: reza at bme.jhu.edu (Reza Shadmehr) Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:27:18 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: Advances in Computational Motor Control: San Diego Message-ID: <59EB2468BB4B4ECB990C4695433EF10C@Observer> Dear colleagues: We would like to invite you to the sixth computational motor control symposium at the Society for Neuroscience conference. The symposium will take place on Friday, Nov. 2, at 1PM, at the San Diego convention center. The purpose of the meeting is to highlight new data and computational theories in motor control. This is an opportunity to meet and hear from some of the bright minds in the field. The program consists of two distinguished speakers and 10 contributed talks, selected from the submitted abstracts. This year the speakers are: Dora Angelaki, Washington University Peter Dayan, University College London We encourage you to consider submitting an abstract. The abstracts will be reviewed by a panel and ranked. The top 10 abstracts will be selected for oral presentation. We encourage oral presentation by students who have had a major role in the work described in the abstracts. More information is available here: www.bme.jhu.edu/acmc The deadline for abstract submission is September 7. Abstracts should be in a single PDF file, and should be no more than two pages in length, including figures and references. With our best wishes, Reza Shadmehr and Emo Todorov From arjen.van.ooyen at falw.vu.nl Wed Jun 27 09:42:50 2007 From: arjen.van.ooyen at falw.vu.nl (Arjen van Ooyen) Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:42:50 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoctoral Position in Theoretical Neuroscience at CNCR, Amsterdam Message-ID: <4682695A.2040702@falw.vu.nl> Applications are invited for a 3-year postdoctoral research position in the Neuroinformatics Group of the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The position is funded by a grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), Exact Sciences (EW). The project, which is a collaboration between CNCR and the Vision and Cognition Group of the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN), will investigate a novel, biologically inspired learning algorithm called attention-gated reinforcement learning (AGREL; Roelfsema and Van Ooyen, Neural Computation 17 (2005): 2176-2214). The computational power of the new learning scheme derives from two factors known to influence synaptic plasticity: a global reward-related signal and an attentional signal that is fed back from the network?s output layer to earlier processing levels. For simple deterministic categorization tasks, we have previously shown that AGREL is both biologically plausible and as powerful as the widely used but biologically implausible error-backpropagation algorithm for training artificial neural networks. The present project will explore whether AGREL can serve as a general learning algorithm in complex input-output mappings, regression tasks, and delayed and sequential decision tasks. Applicants should have a PhD degree, a strong background in machine learning, neural networks or computational neuroscience, excellent computer skills, and a good command of written and spoken English. A good general knowledge of neuroscience would be an advantage. For further information about this position, please contact Dr. Arjen van Ooyen (CNCR), arjen.van.ooyen at falw.vu.nl, or Prof. Dr. Roelfsema (NIN), p.roelfsema at nin.knaw.nl. Application letters including a CV, research experience, a short statement of research interests, and contact details of two referees should be sent by email to Dr. Arjen van Ooyen. -- Dr. Arjen van Ooyen Department of Experimental Neurophysiology Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1085 1081 HV Amsterdam The Netherlands E-mail: arjen.van.ooyen at falw.vu.nl Phone: +31.20.5987090 Fax: +31.20.5987112 Room: C454 Web: http://www.bio.vu.nl/enf/vanooyen From rogilmore at psu.edu Wed Jun 27 12:56:56 2007 From: rogilmore at psu.edu (Rick Gilmore) Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 12:56:56 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: Developmental neuroscience position @ Penn State Message-ID: POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROSCIENCE Description: The Pennsylvania State University is seeking a postdoctoral research Associate in Human Developmental Neuroscience. The position is part of a new research initiative in Human Developmental Neuroscience (HDNI) sponsored by the College of the Liberal Arts' Child Study Center with financial support from the Penn State Children, Youth, and Families Consortium. Dr. Rick Gilmore, Associate Professor of Psychology, directs the initiative. The position will involve participating in research with Dr. Gilmore (biological bases of visual and motor development), and/or with one or more of the faculty associated with this initiative (see HDNI link below for a faculty listing). Depending on the interests and expertise of the successful applicant, the position may also involve providing training or technical assistance in one or more neuroscience research methodologies to interested faculty and graduate students. The position is for two (2) years, with the possibility of a third. The start-date is negotiable, but a date on or after September 1, 2007 is preferred. Resources: Penn State has made major investments in neuroscience research infrastructure at its University Park campus. The Human Electrophysiology Facility at Penn State, a shared use research laboratory, consists of two acoustically-shielded testing chambers, each equipped with a 128-channel NetStation system for high density/impedance EEG/ERP research. A 32-channel low density/impedance system, currently configured for steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) research, is also available to investigators. Faculty affiliated with the initiative have equipment and expertise in the use of near-infrared optical tomography (NIROT), and ambulatory psycho physiological measures. In addition, we anticipate the installation of a 3T magnet dedicated to MRI-related research within the next year. Qualifications: We seek applicants with Ph.D.s in Psychology, Human Development, Neuroscience, Statistics, Computer Science, or Engineering, who have expertise in EEG, structural or functional MRI, psychophysiological, neuroendocrine, or genetic methods. Applicants should be interested in applying these techniques and in taking an interdisciplinary approach to questions concerning perceptual, cognitive, communicative, affective, social, or motor development across the life span. Application procedure: Interested candidates should send a CV, letter of interest, and 2 publications to: Dr. Rick Gilmore c/o Neuroscience Postdoc Department of Psychology 417 Moore Building The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 (814) 865-3664 rick.gilmore at psu.edu Letters of reference will be requested from finalists for the position after an initial review of qualifications. More Information: Child Study Center, http://csc.psych.psu.edu Children, Youth, and Families Consortium, http://cyfc.psu.edu HDNI Initiative, http://csc.psych.psu.edu/research/initiatives/ DevNeuro.shtml Human Electrophysiology Facility, http://www.cyfc.psu.edu/hef/ From strom at cecs.pdx.edu Thu Jun 28 10:49:15 2007 From: strom at cecs.pdx.edu (Dan Hammerstrom) Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 07:49:15 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: Nanoarch 07 Message-ID: <200706281512.l5SFCbmM023597@ehlo.cat.pdx.edu> Although this conference lies somewhat outside of the general topics of Connectionist themes, there is a growing number of people who view nano-scale circuitry as being particularly well matched to implementing large, scalable, connectionist and neural models. -- Dan ----------------------------------------------------------- The IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Nanoscale Architectures (NANOARCH '07) CALL FOR PAPERS Santa Clara, CA October 21-22, 2007 Web site: www.nanoarch.org for more information on the symposium. COLOCATED WITH IEEE INTERNATIONAL TEST CONFERENCE (www.itctestweek.org) Moore's law based scaling is rapidly approaching a "brick wall" as we enter the nanoelectronic regime. Novel silicon and non-silicon nanoelectronic devices are being developed to explicitly address this problem. Similarly, while defect and fault-tolerance techniques are designed under the assumption that a system is composed largely of correctly functioning units, this is no longer true in emerging nanoelectronics. In addition, nanoelectronics offers massive parallelism on a scale significantly beyond anything we have seen before, yet very few commercial massively parallel applications are envisioned. Also, while current computer aided design tools and methodologies can barely manage billion-transistor chips, how can trillion-device chips that nanoelectronics promises be designed? The purpose of the NANOARCH symposium is to be a forum for the presentation and discussion of novel architectures and design methodologies by considering these issues in future nanoscale implementations. The symposium seeks to build on the successes of NANOARCH 2005 and NANOARCH 2006. NANOARCH is interested in novel architectures including massively parallel, biologically inspired as well as those that are defect and fault tolerant, case studies on defect, fault and yield models, experimental reliability evaluation, validation frameworks, computer aided simulation, and design tools and emerging computational models for nanoelectronics. The symposium's topics of interest include: * Architectures for nanoelectronic digital and mixed-signal circuits and systems * Computational paradigms and programming models for nanoscale architectures * Modeling and simulation of nanoelectronic devices, circuits and system architecture * Simulation of complex systems with nanoscale computing architectures * Implementing microarchitecture concepts using nanoarchitecture building blocks * Defect and fault tolerant nanoelectronic device, circuit, and system level architectures * Manufacture testing of nanoelectronic architectures * Computer aided design tools and methodologies for nanoelectronic architectures The Program Committee invites authors to submit papers up to 8 pages in length, describing original, unpublished recent work. Clearly describe the nature of the work, explain its significance, highlight novel features, and describe its current status. Electronic submission through the symposium website is required. The submission of a paper proposal will be considered evidence that upon acceptance, the author(s) will present their paper at the symposium. Final versions of accepted papers will be included in official NANOARCH symposium proceedings IMPORTANT DEADLINE FOR NANOARCH ARE AS FOLLOWS: Submission deadline: August 6, 2007 Acceptance Notification: Sept. 7, 2007 Final version of papers: Sept. 17, 2007 NANOARCH 2007 will have an Official Symposium Proceedings Published by the IEEE. We sincerely hope you can participate in NANOARCH 2007. Once again, We look forward to your submission. Should you have any questions, please contact one of us at the following contact addresses. Sincerely, Dan Hammerstrom General Co-Chair, NANOARCH 2007 Prof. of ECE Portland State University strom at cecs.pdx.edu Ramesh Karri General Co-Chair, NANOARCH 2007 Assoc. Prof of ECE Polytechnic University rkarri at poly.edu 718 260 3596 917 363 9703 Alex Orailoglu Program Co-Chair, NANOARCH 2007 Prof of CSE Univ of Calif, San Diego alex at cs.ucsd.edu 858 534 0914 Dr. Clifford Lau Program Co-Chair, NANOARCH 2007 Institute for Defense Analysis Alexandria, VA clau at ida.org From p.geurts at ulg.ac.be Thu Jun 28 11:30:26 2007 From: p.geurts at ulg.ac.be (Pierre Geurts) Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:30:26 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: 2nd CFP Machine Learning for Systems Biology (Extended deadline) Message-ID: <1183044626.5947.88.camel@d820-pierre> ** Our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this announcement ** SUBMISSION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO JULY 6TH. **************************** Call for Papers *************************** International Workshop on Machine Learning in Systems Biology 24-25 September 2007, Evry (near Paris), France ************************************************************************ http://mlsb07.ibisc.fr Motivation Molecular biology and also all the biomedical sciences are undergoing a true revolution as a result of the emergence and growing impact of a series of new disciplines/tools sharing the ?-omics? suffix in their name. These include in particular genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics devoted respectively to the examination of the entire systems of genes, transcripts, proteins and metabolites present in a given cell or tissue type. The availability of these new, highly effective tools for biological exploration is dramatically changing the way one performs research in at least two respects. First of all, the amount of available experimental data is not at all a limiting factor any more; on the contrary, there is a plethora of it. The challenge has shifted towards identifying the relevant pieces of information given the question, and how to make sense out of it (a ?data mining? issue). Secondly, rather than to focus on components in isolation, we can now try to understand how biological systems behave as the result of the integration and interaction between the individual components that one can now monitor simultaneously (so called ?systems biology?). Taking advantage of this wealth of ?genomic? information has become a conditio sine qua non for whoever ambitions to remain competitive in molecular biology and more generally in biomedical sciences. Machine learning naturally appears as one of the main drivers of progress in this context, where most of the targets of interest deal with complex structured objects: sequences, 2D and 3D structures or interaction networks. At the same time bioinformatics and systems biology have already induced significant new developments of general interest in machine learning, for example in the context of learning with structured data, graph inference, semi-supervised learning, system identification, and novel combinations of optimization and learning algorithms. Objective The aim of this workshop is to contribute to the cross-fertilization between the research in machine learning methods and their applications to complex biological and medical questions by bringing together method developers and experimentalists. We encourage submissions bringing forward methods for discovering complex structures (e.g. interaction networks, molecule structures) and methods supporting genome-wide data analysis. A non-exhaustive list of topics suitable for this workshop: Methods Machine Learning Algorithms Bayesian Methods Data integration/fusion Feature/subspace selection Clustering Biclustering/association rules Kernel Methods Probabilistic Inference Structured output prediction Systems identification Graph inference, completion, smoothing Applications Sequence Annotation Gene Expression and post-transcriptional regulation Inference of gene regulation networks Gene Prediction and whole genome association studies Metabolic pathway modeling Signaling networks Systems biology approaches to biomarker identification Rational drug design methods Metabolic Reconstruction Protein Structure Prediction Protein Function Prediction Protein-protein interaction networks Submissions We invite to submit an extended abstract of maximum five pages, formatted according to the Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science style. Papers should be submitted online via the Easychair submission system at http://www.easychair.org/MLSB07/. The deadline for submissions is *July 6* (Extended) The accepted submissions will be edited in the proceedings of the workshop. Further information concerning the workshop can be found on the workshop web site http://mlsb07.ibisc.fr Important dates - 6 July: deadline for submissions - 24 July: response to authors - 25 August: camera-ready papers (extended abstracts) - 24-25 September: workshop Location The workshop will take place at University of Evry,in the Genopole? campus, located in Evry, at the heart of the Ile-de-France region, 25 km south of Paris. Evry has many transportation infrastructures (A6 and Francilienne highways, two RER regional train lines making it possible to reach the center of Paris in 40 minutes) and the Orly and Charles-de-Gaulle airports (15 km and 70 km away respectively). Chairs : Florence d?Alch?-Buc, IBISC CNRS FRE 2873 & Universit? d?Evry, France Louis Wehenkel, GIGA & Universit? de Li?ge, Belgique Programme Committee Florence d?Alch?-Buc (University of Evry, France) Christophe Ambroise (University of Evry, France) Laurent Br?helin (University of Montpellier, France) Vincent Frouin (CEA, France) Pierre Geurts (University of Li?ge, Belgium) Mark Girolami (University of Glasgow, UK) Samuel Kaski (University of Helsinki, Finland) Kathleen Marchal (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium) Gunnar Raetsch (Max Planck Institute,Tuebingen) Juho Rousu (University of Helsinki, Finland) C?line Rouveirol (University of Paris XIII, France) Yvan Saeys (University of Gent, Belgium) Koji Tsuda (Max Planck Institute, Tuebingen) Jacques Van Helden (Universit? Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium) Jean-Philippe Vert (Ecole des Mines, France) Louis Wehenkel (University of Li?ge, Belgium) Jean-Daniel Zucker(University of Paris XIII, France) From mark.plumbley at elec.qmul.ac.uk Fri Jun 29 12:06:29 2007 From: mark.plumbley at elec.qmul.ac.uk (Mark Plumbley) Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:06:29 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Call for Participation: ICA 2007 - Intl. Conf. on Independent Component Analysis and Signal Separation Message-ID: <3399496864F99445B051FD9556FF3B6F5A6A8A@staff-mail1.vpn.elec.qmul.ac.uk> *** CALL FOR PARTICIPATION *** ICA 2007 7th International Conference on Independent Component Analysis and Signal Separation London, UK 9-12 September 2007 www.ica2007.org www.elec.qmul.ac.uk/ica2007 We cordially invite you to participate in the 7th International Conference on Independent Component Analysis and Signal Separation (ICA 2007), to be held at Queen Mary, University of London, from Sunday 9 September to Wednesday 12 September 2007. Independent Component Analysis and Signal Separation is one of the most exciting current areas of research in statistical signal processing and unsupervised machine learning. This year the conference is organized and sponsored by the ICA Research Network, an EPSRC-funded network of researchers in over 25 UK institutions. ICA 2007 is also co-sponsored by EURASIP, IEEE UKRI EMBS Chapter, and the IET. Keynote talks will be given by Scott Makeig and Shoji Makino, with pre-conference tutorials from Remi Gribonval and Jose Principe. ICA 2007 includes oral and poster presentations of refereed papers, arranged in a single track. It will also feature the results of the first Stereo Audio Source Separation Evaluation Campaign (SASSEC). Registration is now open. For more information see the conference website at http://www.ica2007.org Dates & Deadlines Early Registration: 26 July 2007 Advanced Registration: 24 August 2007 Tutorials: 9 September 2007 Conference: 10-12 September 2007 ------- -- Dr Mark D Plumbley Centre for Digital Music Department of Electronic Engineering Queen Mary University of London Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 7518 Fax: +44 (0)20 7882 7997 Email: mark.plumbley at elec.qmul.ac.uk http://www.elec.qmul.ac.uk/people/markp/ From G.W.M.Rauterberg at tue.nl Tue Jun 26 03:34:07 2007 From: G.W.M.Rauterberg at tue.nl (Rauterberg, G.W.M.) Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:34:07 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Open position as assistant professor "intelligent algorithms" Message-ID: The Department of Industrial Design of the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e), The Netherlands is looking for an Assistant Professor ?Intelligent Algorithms? Vacancy nr. 51.050 http://www.idemployee.id.tue.nl/g.w.m.rauterberg/jobs/V51-050.doc The Department of Industrial Design (ID) of the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e), founded in 2001, is a rapidly growing department with over 430 students, both Bachelor and Master, and around 80 research staff members and about 60 lecturers. ID focuses on intelligent services, products, and related services. These a priori innovative systems enable people to interact with the environment in an optimal and flexible way. The TU/e ID engineer, who has developed a wide range of competencies during his/her education, is capable of integrating technology, user aspects, design and business/ marketing insights. While the BSc is very much practice oriented, capable to deal with and aware of relevant issues as formulated by the industry and the society at large, the MSc is closer related to ongoing research. Ambient intelligence and ambient (health) care draw special attention within TU/e and ID in particular and are considered a strategic research field This position is situated within the group Designed Intelligence (DI). This group is focused on the involvement of (new) technologies in the field of ambient intelligence and ambient care. This position of assistant professor is needed to strengthen the research theme of intelligent algorithms within this group. This theme addresses one of the key areas of ambient intelligence and therefore needs to gain more critical mass within the DI group. The profile: The aim of this position is to contribute to the education and the research program of the DI group. Therefore the candidate must have a PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or related disciplines (i.e. AI) focusing on adaptive systems, machine learning, neural networks, pattern recognition and/or user profiling. Candidate?s should have a track record of publications in top conferences and journals and should be open and interested in an industrial design environment. Strong programming skills (e.g. C or C ++) are required. Dutch language skills are not required, English is obligatory. Labor conditions: ? We offer a full time, challenging position in a new and rapidly growing Department of Industrial Design ? We offer a salary with a minimum of ? 3,060 and a maximum of ? 4,761 gross per month (salary scales 11 and 12, CAO NU (Dutch Universities)) on a full-time basis and related to relevant experience and knowledge, plus 8% holiday allowance and 3% end of the year allowance.; ? Attractive secondary labor conditions (good sport facilities, child care, etc.). Information: General information about the Department Industrial Design, candidates will find on http://w3.id.tue.nl/ About this position candidates can get more information from Prof. Dr. G.W.M Rauterberg , head of the group Designed Intelligence phone: +31 40 247 5215, email: g.w.m.rauterberg at tue.nl If you have any questions about the application procedure, please contact Jelmer Sieben, Personnel adviser phone: +31 40 247 5954, email: j.m.sieben at tue.nl Application: Candidates are kindly asked to apply by sending in a written application and curriculum vitae (incl. list of publications) to: Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e), Department of Industrial Design Attn Drs. S. van Gent, managing director Postbus 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven Or by email: j.a.c.l.braat at tue.nl Candidates are kindly requested to mention the vacancy number 51.050 Please, apply before September 1, 2007. From m.biehl at rug.nl Tue Jun 26 07:16:09 2007 From: m.biehl at rug.nl (Michael Biehl) Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 13:16:09 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: PhD position available Message-ID: <200706261316.09544.m.biehl@rug.nl> PhD position available: "Adaptive Distance Measures in Relevance Learning Vector Quantization" Intelligent Systems Group Institute for Mathematics and Computing Science University of Groningen, The Netherlands Project Description: Learning Vector Quantization (LVQ) is a family of appealing algorithms used in a variety of classification problems. An iterative training process determines from a given set of example data a set of prototypes which represent typical features and parameterize a distance based classification scheme. A key difficulty is the choice of an appropriate distance measure. Frequently, Euclidean metrics are employed without further justification, or different measures are compared in a trial-and-error approach. An appealing solution to this problem is the use of adaptive metrics. Relevance learning schemes have been proposed which assign a relevance factor to each dimension in feature space. These factors and the prototypes are updated at the same time during training. One aim of the project is a better theoretical understanding of relevance learning. To this end, we will extend our previous mathematical description of the learning dynamics and performance of LVQ. The focus of the project will be on an important extension of relevance learning that we have recently suggested: the adaptation of relevance matrices during training. Matrix Relevance Learning does not only weight single features differently, but takes into account correlations between them, as well. As a testbed for the novel class of algorithms, it will be implemented and benchmarked in practical problems of, e.g., medical data analysis, classification of bioinformatics data and image processing problems. Qualification: You hold a university degree (diploma or master of science) in Computer Science, Physics or a related discipline with an excellent academic record. You are highly interested in both, theoretical and applicational aspects of machine learning. Proficiency in English (both oral and written) and excellent communication skills are indispensible for this project. This concerns, in particular, the ability to write scientific articles and reprorts. Organization: The project will be embedded in the research group Intelligent Systems with Dr. Michael Biehl as thesis supervisor. Conditions of employment: PhD students are employed for a maximum period of four years. Salaries are according to the standard salary scale for PhD students with an estimated gross salary of 1956,- Euros per month in the first year, increasing to a monthly salary of 2502,- Euros in the fourth year. Contact information: Dr. Michael Biehl (m.biehl at rug.nl) Information about on-going research, re- and preprints etc. are available from: http://www.cs.rug.nl/~biehl Application: Initially, send a short CV including information about your academic degrees and grades, as well as a letter of motivation to Michael Biehl (preferred format: pdf or ps). The position will be open until a suitable candidate is found. NO AGENCIES From a.silver at ucl.ac.uk Tue Jun 26 11:45:57 2007 From: a.silver at ucl.ac.uk (Angus Silver) Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:45:57 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: PhD Studentship in Computational Neuroscience at University College London Message-ID: <004c01c7b809$1669aff0$350fa8c0@AngusOffice> PhD Studentship in Computational Neuroscience at University College London Applications are invited for a 3 year PhD Studentship in Computational Neuroscience in Professor Silver?s Laboratory, Department of Physiology, University College London, UK. The studentship will cover fees and provide a stipend of ?14,709 rising to ?15,453 per year. The project will explore signal processing in the cerebellum using biologically realistic network models. This will involve using an advanced software tool, neuroConstruct created in the Silver Lab, for constructing biologically realistic neural networks in 3D space (http://www.neuroConstruct.org ). Development of large scale network models will also require software development, particularly in a parallel computing environment. The successful candidate will join a multidisciplinary team of experimental biologists, physicists and computational biologists. Related papers include: Gleeson, P. Steuber, V. and Silver, R.A. (2007). neuroConstruct: A tool for modeling networks of neurons in 3D space. Neuron, 54, 219-35 Mitchell SJ, Silver RA. (2003) Shunting inhibition modulates neuronal gain during synaptic excitation. Neuron. 38, 433-45. Steuber, V., Mittmann, W., Hoebeek, F.E., Silver, R.A., De Zeeuw, C.I., Hausser, M. and De Schutter, E. (2007). Cerebellar LTD and pattern recognition by Purkinje cells. Neuron 54, 121-136. Applicants should have excellent computational skills and a good degree in mathematics, computer science, physics or biological sciences. Previous experience in neuroscience is not required but would be an advantage. Applications including a CV, the contact details of two referees and a short statement of research interests should be sent by email to Angus Silver (a.silver at ucl.ac.uk). Professor R. Angus Silver Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow and Professor of Neuroscience. Department of Physiology, University College London, Gower Street London WC1E 6BT Tel: +44 207 679 7830 Fax: +44 207 916 8522 http://www.physiol.ucl.ac.uk/research/silver_a/index.php