Connectionists: Cosyne 2009 - Call for Workshops

[Alex Wade]

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               Cosyne09 - CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS
                               March 2-3, 2009
                               Snowbird, Utah
               http://cosyne.org/wiki/Cosyne_09_workshops
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PROPOSAL DEADLINE: 15 Sept 2008


A series of workshops will be held after the main Cosyne meeting
(http://cosyne.org/). The goal is to provide an informal forum for the
discussion of important research questions and challenges.
Controversial issues, open problems, comparisons of competing
approaches, and alternative viewpoints are encouraged.

The overarching goal of all workshops should be the integration of
empirical and theoretical approaches, in an environment that fosters
collegial discussion and debate. Preference will be given to proposals
that differ in content, scope, and/or approach from workshops of
recent years (examples available at cosyne.org).

Relevant topics include, but are not limited to: sensory processing;
motor planning and control; multisensory integration; motivation,
reward and decision making; learning and memory; adaptation and
plasticity; neural coding; neural circuitry and network models;
dendritic processing; and methods in computational or systems
neuroscience.
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WORKSHOP DETAILS:

-- There will be 4-8 workshops/day, running in parallel.
-- Each workshop is expected to draw between 15 and 80 people.
-- The workshops will be split into morning (8:00-11:00 AM) and
afternoon (4:30-7:30 PM) sessions.
-- Workshops will be held at Snowbird, a ski resort located 30 miles
(typically less than an hour) from the Salt Lake City airport.

-- Buses from the main conference will be provided.
-- Descriptions of previous workshops may be found at
http://cosyne.org/wiki/Cosyne_09_workshops

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SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

Deadline:  September 15th, 2008

Format:    plain text only -- please no attachments
email to:  cosyne09workshops at gmail.com (Alex Huk & Adam Kohn)

Proposals should include:

- Name(s) and email address(es) of the organizers (no more than 2
organizers per session, please). A primary contact should be
designated.

-- A title.

-- A description of:
what the workshop is to address and accomplish,
why the topic is of interest,
who the targeted group of participants is.

-- Names of potential invitees, with indication of which speakers are
confirmed. Preference will be given to workshops with the most
confirmed speakers.

-- Proposed workshop length (1 or 2 days). Most workshops will be
limited to a single day. If you think your workshop needs 2 days,
please explain why.

-- A *brief* resume of the workshop organizer along with a *brief*
list of publications (about half a page total).

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WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS RESPONSIBILITIES:

--  Coordinate workshop participation and content.
--  Moderate the discussion.

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SUGGESTIONS:

Experience has shown that the best discussions during a workshop are
those that arise spontaneously. A good way to foster these is to have
short talks and long question periods (e.g. 30 + 15 minutes), and have
plenty of breaks. Also, when it comes to the number of talks, in the
words of Jerry Brown, less is more. We recommend fewer than 10 talks.

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WORKSHOP COSTS:

Detailed registration costs, etc, will be available at
http://cosyne.org/

Please note: Cosyne does NOT provide travel funding for workshop
speakers. All workshop participants are expected to pay for workshop
registration fees. Participants are encouraged to register early, in
order to qualify for discounted registration rates.  Cosyne does
provide free workshop registration for workshop organizers.

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COSYNE 2009 WORKSHOP CHAIRS:
Alex Huk (UT Austin), Adam Kohn (Yeshiva U.)

QUESTIONS:
email: cosyne09workshops at gmail.com (Alex Huk & Adam Kohn)