From daniele.marinazzo at ugent.be Wed Nov 2 12:53:16 2011 From: daniele.marinazzo at ugent.be (Daniele Marinazzo) Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2011 17:53:16 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: NIPS2011 satellite meeting on causal graphs -- program and registration open Message-ID: Good morning, and apologies for cross posting. The program of the talks for NIPS 2011 satellite meeting on Causal Graphs - Linking brain structure to function is now complete (see below). Registrations are open, poster submissions are welcome. The full list of abstracts and all the relevant information can be found on NIPS website (http://nips.cc/SatelliteMeetings) ************************************************ Dec 11, 2011. Carmen de la Victoria, Granada NIPS 2011 satellite meeting on Causal Graphs 9.00 Registration and Breakfast Morning Session I ? Chair Miguel Angel Mu?oz 9:30 :Welcome and Local Information 9:40: Stefano Panzeri ? Causality analysis in information flow from cortical time series 10:20: Bert Kappen - The binary Garrote 10:40: Bjorn Roelstraete - Does Partial Granger Causality really eliminate the influence of exogenous inputs and latent variables? 11:00: Stefan Haufe - New methods for EEG source connectivity analysis 11:20: Coffee break Morning Session II ? Chair Jesus Cortes 11:40: Daniele Marinazzo - Causal information approach to coping with a large number of variables 12:00: Jan Kujala - Characterization of epileptogenic networks by means of Granger Causality 12:20: Daniel Chicharro - Causal effects between brain regions: existence and quantification 12:40: Shahar Jamshy - Band-limited Granger causality analysis of human electrocorticography 13:00: Karim Jerbi - Measuring long-range neuronal coupling with magnetoencephalography and intracranial EEG: From basic neuroscience to clinical applications 13:20: Lunch ? Coffee ? Poster presentation Afternoon Session I ? Chair Daniele Marinazzo 14:50: Markus Kaiser ? The human connectome 15:30: Michael Wibral - Combining interaction-latency reconstruction based on transfer entropy with graph-theoretical approaches to prune neural connectivity graphs 15:50: Jaime Gomez - Explaining the causal link between place cells and grid cells with category theory 16:10: Derin Babacan - Variational Bayesian Causal Connectivity Analysis for fMRI 16:30: Coffee break Afternoon Session II ? Chair Sebino Stramaglia 16:50: Pieter van Mierlo - Epileptogenic focus localization through functional connectivity analysis of the intracranial EEG 17:10: Christian Moewes - Brain connectivity associated with different damages of the visual system 17:30: Jesus Cortes - Reorganisation of functional networks during aging: novel insights from graph theory 17:50: Anil Seth ? Causality in neuroscience 18:30: Discussion and concluding remarks ? Chair Andrea Greve -- Daniele Marinazzo -- http://www.da.ugent.be Department of Data Analysis, Gent University Henri Dunantlaan 1, B-9000 Gent, Belgium +32 (0) 9 264 6375 -- NIPS 2011 satellite - Causal graphs: Linking brain structure to function - Granada, 11 Dec 2011 -- http://users.ugent.be/~dmarinaz/nips2011WS.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111102/2915d462/attachment.html From gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu Wed Nov 2 22:07:42 2011 From: gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu (Mark Gluck) Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2011 22:07:42 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: [REVISED] Postdoctoral & Ph.D. Student Openings in Computational Models of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders of Learning, Memory, & Decision Making Message-ID: Our lab seeks both postdoctoral fellow applicants as well as graduate Ph.D. applicants (for a Rutgers Ph.D. in "Behavioral and Neural Sciences") to work with us on integrated empirical and computational modeling studies of neurological and psychiatric disorders of learning, memory, and decision making. Current modeling/experimental programs focus on Parkinson's disease, Major Depressive Disorder, and schizophrenia as well as related modeling and experimental studies of sleep and sleep deprivation. For more information on our recent computational modeling (and downloadable simulation code), see http://www.gluck.edu/neuro_models.html as well as our general lab information page at http://www.gluck.edu All applicants (both for Ph.D. program and postdoctoral fellows) must have strong quantitative skills and extensive computer programming experience. Prior training and experience in building connectionist neural-network models is strongly advised. US Citizenship or Green Card is preferred but not required. Strong English-language writing and communication skills is essential. Rutgers University-Newark is located in New Jersey, just outside Manhattan, New York City. Information on our Ph.D. program and other neuroscience resources at Rutgers-Newark can be found at: http://www.neuroscience.newark.rutgers.edu/ For more information, please review our web sites above, and then send an email indicating if you are interested in the Ph.D. or postdoctoral lines along with a CV and summary of (1) your past experience, (2) future career goals, and (3) why you think you and our lab are a good fit, to Professor Mark A. Gluck at gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu NOTE: Please contact me ASAP if you are going to the Society for Neuroscience in Washington DC between Nov 14-16 to arrange an interview there. - Mark ___________________________________ Dr. Mark A. Gluck, Professor Director, Rutgers Memory Disorders Project Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Rutgers University 197 University Ave. Newark, New Jersey 07102 Web: http://www.gluck.edu Email: gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu Ph: (973) 353-3298 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111102/3f5abf16/attachment-0001.html From schwarzwaelder at bcos.uni-freiburg.de Thu Nov 3 06:52:29 2011 From: schwarzwaelder at bcos.uni-freiburg.de (=?ISO-8859-15?Q?Kerstin_Schwarzw=E4lder?=) Date: Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:52:29 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Over 20 positions in Computational Neuroscience in Germany - visit the Bernstein Network booth #3329 at SfN 2011! In-Reply-To: <4EB26B7E.90804@bcos.uni-freiburg.de> References: <4EB26B7E.90804@bcos.uni-freiburg.de> Message-ID: <4EB2726D.90906@bcos.uni-freiburg.de> Dear colleagues, at its booth no. 3329 at the upcoming SfN meeting in Washington D.C., the German Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience is presenting - more than 20 job offers, - more than 20 study programs, - at more than 20 locations in Germany! In addition, the booth features demos of: - EyeSeeCam - a novel head mounted camera controlled by the user's eye movements - see through someone else's eyes! Demos are scheduled for Sunday (Nov. 13) through Wednesday (Nov. 16), at 9:40 am, 1:00 pm, and 4:00 pm, additional demos can be held on request. - nuSPIC - an online application which poses the challenge to discover functions implemented (hard-wired) in spiking neural networks (SNNs) by stimulating and recording activity of neurons. In addition, we are inviting users to implement predefined mathematical/logical functions using SNNs. Both these challenges are designed to test the tacit assumptions in neuroscience that functions performed by a specific brain structure can be identified from its neural activity and connectivity, and any mathematical/logical function can be implemented using SNNs. [more information: http://nuspic.g-node.org]. Demos are scheduled for Sunday (Nov. 13) through Wednesday (Nov. 16), at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm, additional demos can be held on request. We look forward to welcoming you at booth #3329! Best regards, Kerstin Schwarzwaelder Follow the Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience on Twitter -- Dr. Kerstin Schwarzw?lder Bernstein Coordination Site of the National Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg Hansastr. 9A 79104 Freiburg Germany phone: +49 761 203 9594 fax: +49 761 203 9585 schwarzwaelder at bcos.uni-freiburg.de www.nncn.de -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111103/dbef5729/attachment.html From steve at cns.bu.edu Thu Nov 3 16:47:29 2011 From: steve at cns.bu.edu (Stephen Grossberg) Date: Thu, 3 Nov 2011 16:47:29 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: memory, planning, and control of eye movement sequences and coordination of saccades and smooth pursuit Message-ID: <46F5FB71-6693-41D2-8B0D-118F7884356B@cns.bu.edu> A great deal of brain is used for memory, planning, and control of movement sequences, including sequences of saccadic and smooth pursuit eye movements. Two recent articles, now available at http://cns.bu.edu/~steve , propose detailed neural models of how these brain systems are organized. In so doing, they propose functional roles for many brain regions and simulate how these regions may interact in real time to generate goal-oriented behaviors. A neural model of sequential movement planning and control of eye movements: Item-order-rank working memory and saccade selection by the supplementary eye fields Silver, M.R., Grossberg, S., Bullock, D., Histed, M.H., and Miller, E.K. Neural Networks, in press Abstract How does working memory store multiple spatial positions to control sequences of eye movements, particularly when the same items repeat at multiple list positions, or ranks, during the sequence? An Item-Order-Rank model of working memory shows how rank-selective representations enable storage and recall of items that repeat at arbitrary list positions. Rank-related activity has been observed in many areas including the posterior parietal cortices (PPC), prefrontal cortices (PFC) and supplementary eye fields (SEF). The model shows how rank information, originating in PPC, may support rank-sensitive PFC working memory representations and how SEF may select saccades stored in working memory. It also proposes how SEF may interact with downstream regions such as the frontal eye fields (FEF) during memory-guided sequential saccade tasks, and how the basal ganglia (BG) may control the flow of information. Model simulations reproduce behavioral, anatomical and electrophysiological data under multiple experimental paradigms, including visually- and memory-guided single and sequential saccade tasks. Simulations reproduce behavioral data during two SEF microstimulation paradigms, showing that their seemingly inconsistent findings about saccade latency can be reconciled. ******************************************************************** Neural dynamics of saccadic and smooth pursuit eye movement coordination during visual tracking of unpredictably moving targets Grossberg, S., Srihasam, K., and Bullock, D. Neural Networks, in press Abstract How does the brain coordinate saccadic and smooth pursuit eye movements to track objects that move in unpredictable directions and speeds? Saccadic eye movements rapidly foveate peripheral visual or auditory targets, and smooth pursuit eye movements keep the fovea pointed toward an attended moving target. Analyses of tracking data in monkeys and humans reveal systematic deviations from predictions of the simplest model of saccade-pursuit interactions, which would use no interactions other than common target selection and recruitment of shared motoneurons. Instead, saccadic and smooth pursuit movements cooperate to cancel errors of gaze position and velocity, and thus to maximize target visibility through time. How are these two systems coordinated to promote visual localization and identification of moving targets? How are saccades calibrated to correctly foveate a target despite its continued motion during the saccade? The neural model proposed here answers these questions. Modeled interactions encompass motion processing areas MT, MST, FPA, DLPN and NRTP; saccade planning and execution areas FEF, LIP, and SC; the saccadic generator in the brain stem; and the cerebellum. Simulations illustrate the model?s ability to functionally explain and quantitatively simulate anatomical, neurophysiological and behavioral data about coordinated saccade-pursuit tracking; -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111103/406c1f8e/attachment-0001.html From axel.hutt at inria.fr Mon Nov 7 04:07:05 2011 From: axel.hutt at inria.fr (Axel Hutt) Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2011 10:07:05 +0100 (CET) Subject: Connectionists: PhD-position in computational neuroscience at INRIA - France In-Reply-To: <1394615.423726.1318242460744.JavaMail.root@zmbs1.inria.fr> Message-ID: <1992042609.207468.1320656825312.JavaMail.root@zmbs1.inria.fr> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PhD-position in computational neuroscience at INRIA in Nancy, France ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A PhD-position in computational neuroscience is available in the INRIA-team CORTEX on modeling the thalamo-cortical feedback system in humans in the context of general anaesthesia. The work aims to reproduce experimental signals measured on the human scalp (EEG) by simulating a neural population model. The position will spring 2012 and is financed for two years (+ option for an additional year) by the ERC Starting Grant MATHANA. The optimal student holds a degree in computational science with interests in neuroscience, mathematical modeling and programming. Please send electronical applications including a CV to Axel Hutt (axel.hutt at inria.fr). -- Axel Hutt INRIA CR Nancy - Grand Est Equipe CORTEX 615, rue du Jardin Botanique 54603 Villers-les-Nancy Cedex France http://www.loria.fr/~huttaxel From lars at gatsby.ucl.ac.uk Mon Nov 7 05:03:33 2011 From: lars at gatsby.ucl.ac.uk (Lars Buesing) Date: Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:03:33 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: New paper: "Neural Dynamics as Sampling: A Model for Stochastic Computation in Recurrent Networks of Spiking Neurons" Message-ID: <1320660213.26425.7.camel@kuffler> Dear colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to a paper we recently published in PLoS Computational Biology. The paper is available at: http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002211 TITLE: Neural Dynamics as Sampling: A Model for Stochastic Computation in Recurrent Networks of Spiking Neurons AUTHORS: Buesing, L., Bill, J., Nessler, B., Maass, W. ABSTRACT: The organization of computations in networks of spiking neurons in the brain is still largely unknown, in particular in view of the inherently stochastic features of their firing activity and the experimentally observed trial-to-trial variability of neural systems in the brain. In principle there exists a powerful computational framework for stochastic computations, probabilistic inference by sampling, which can explain a large number of macroscopic experimental data in neuroscience and cognitive science. But it has turned out to be surprisingly difficult to create a link between these abstract models for stochastic computations and more detailed models of the dynamics of networks of spiking neurons. Here we create such a link, and show that under some conditions the stochastic firing activity of networks of spiking neurons can be interpreted as probabilistic inference via Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling. Since common methods for MCMC sampling in distributed systems, such as Gibbs sampling, are inconsistent with the dynamics of spiking neurons, we introduce a different approach based on non-reversible Markov chains, that is able to reflect inherent temporal processes of spiking neuronal activity through a suitable choice of random variables. We propose a neural network model and show by a rigorous theoretical analysis that its neural activity implements MCMC sampling of a given distribution, both for the case of discrete and continuous time. This provides a step towards closing the gap between abstract functional models of cortical computation and more detailed models of networks of spiking neurons. KEYWORDS: Neural dynamics, sampling, MCMC, spiking neuron models Kind regards, Lars Busing ------------- Lars Busing The Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit lars at gatsby.ucl.ac.uk From marco.baroni at unitn.it Fri Nov 4 13:43:04 2011 From: marco.baroni at unitn.it (Marco Baroni) Date: Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:43:04 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: post-doc positions available at the university of trento (linguistics, machine learning, cognitive science) Message-ID: <4EB42428.4000202@unitn.it> 3 (RENEWABLE) 2-YEAR POST-DOC POSITIONS AVAILABLE The CIMeC-CLIC laboratory of the University of Trento, an interdisciplinary group of researchers studying language and conceptualization using both computational and cognitive methods (clic.cimec.unitn.it) announces the availability of at least 3 (renewable) 2-year Post-Doc positions. The scholarships are funded by a 5-year European Research Council Starting Grant awarded to the COMPOSES (COMPositional Operations in SEmantic SPACE) project (clic.cimec.unitn.it/composes), that aims at modeling composition in distributional semantics. The project is expected to have strong impact on both theoretical and computational semantics, as well as their cognitive underpinnings. * Desired Profiles * Given the interdisciplinary nature of the project, we seek brilliant researchers with any of the following backgrounds: - Machine learning (areas of special interest: regression, regularization methods, hierarchical regression, autoencoders, curriculum learning, scaling machine learning to large multivariate and multi-level problems, dealing with very sparse data); - Psycholinguistics, experimental linguistics or cognitive science (areas of special interest: systematic judgment elicitation methods such as Likert scales or magnitude estimation, crowdsourcing, semantic processing); - Formal and/or computational semantics (areas of special interest: Montague Grammar and its derivatives, distributional semantics) Advanced programming and mathematical skills are required of candidates from machine learning. Linguists and cognitive scientists must possess at least basic programming skills and a reasonable knowledge of statistics. If you think that your background is relevant to the research program outlined on the project website (clic.cimec.unitn.it/composes) and you have good programming and quantitative skills, please do get in touch even if you do not fit any of the profiles above. All researchers are expected to have an interest in working in an interdisciplinary environment. * The Research Environment * The CLIC lab (clic.cimec.unitn.it) is a unit of the University of Trento's Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC, www.unitn.it/en/cimec), an English-speaking, interdisciplinary center for research on brain and cognition whose staff includes neuroscientists, psychologists, (computational) linguists, computer scientists and physicists. CLIC consists of researchers from the Departments of Computer Science (DISI) and Cognitive Science (DISCoF) carrying out research on a range of topics including concept acquisition, corpus-based computational semantics, combining NLP and computer vision, combining brain and corpus data to study cognition, formal semantics and theoretical linguistics. Modeling composition in distributional semantics is increasingly a focus point of CLIC, and activity in this area will grow considerably thanks to COMPOSES funds. CLIC is part of the larger network of research labs focusing on Natural Language Processing and related domains in the Trento region, that is quickly becoming one of the areas with the highest concentration of researchers in NLP and related fields anywhere in Europe. The CLIC/CIMeC laboratories are located in beautiful Rovereto, a lively town in the middle of the Alps, famous for its contemporary art museum, the quality of its wine, and the range of outdoors sport and relax opportunities it offers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rovereto * Application Information * For further information, please send an expression of interest to marco.baroni at unitn.it, attaching a CV. Positions are available immediately and open until filled. -- Marco Baroni Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC) University of Trento http://clic.cimec.unitn.it/marco From nilton at brain.riken.jp Sun Nov 6 22:34:37 2011 From: nilton at brain.riken.jp (Nilton Kamiji) Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2011 12:34:37 +0900 Subject: Connectionists: RAST for SfN 2011, also available for mobile devices (beta version)! Message-ID: Dear all, Apologies if you have received multiple copies. For the third year, we at the Laboratory for Neuroinformatics at RIKEN Brain Science Institute are pleased to announce the Related Abstract Search Tool (RAST) for SfN 2011! http://ras.ni.brain.riken.jp/SfN2011/ This time, we have also developed a web application for mobile devices such as iPad, iPhone, and Android based tablets and smartphones (beta version)! http://ras.ni.brain.riken.jp/SfN2011/mobile/htdocs The RAST allows you to search not only by providing keyword(s), but also by selecting one or multiple abstracts to search for its related abstracts. This feature may provide results focused on the user's interest. That is, abstracts related to a single abstract by means of document similarity may belong to a different research topic. However, abstracts mutually similar to multiple selected abstracts have higher chance in belonging to the similar topic. RAST also suggests possible candidates of keywords by automatically extracting major words from the list of related abstracts. You can also use these words to refine your search. Moreover, not all related abstracts will contain the provided keyword(s). These abstracts cannot be searched by the ordinary keyword search, and thus we call them "Hidden treasure". You can create a list by clicking on Add to Cart button at each abstract, where abstracts will be sorted by date and time. You can also print the list with or without the abstract body from your Printing Cart. You can restore your "Printing Cart" by saving the ID which is displayed on the top right corner. Try and find your "hidden treasures" with RAST! A quick guide is shown on the top page, and a detailed guide can be accessed by clicking on "How to use". Any comments or questions are very welcome at ras at ni.brain.riken.jp A demo will be available at the INCF booth # 3211 on Sunday, Nov. 13th afternoon. Shiro Usui ------------------------------------ Shiro USUI, Ph.D usuishiro at riken.jp Neuroinformatics Lab. RIKEN BSI 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako 351-0198 Japan Tel: +81-48-467-7491 Fax:+81-48-467-7498 Cel: +81-90-7175-0861 http://www.ni.brain.riken.jp/ http://www.neuroinf.jp ------------------------------------ From szzoli at cs.elte.hu Fri Nov 4 17:25:04 2011 From: szzoli at cs.elte.hu (Zoltan Szabo) Date: Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:25:04 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: New paper: Separation Theorem for Independent Subspace Analysis and its Consequences Message-ID: <20111104222504.09cd40c2@cs.elte.hu> Dear Connectionist-ers, We are pleased to announce our recently accepted paper in the journal of Pattern Recognition entitled 'Separation Theorem for Independent Subspace Analysis and its Consequences'. The paper could be of interest to many of you because of the following reasons: 1)As it has been demonstrated several times ICA (independent component analysis) on natural images leads to image filters that resemble to the simple cells in the V1 visual cortical area of the brain. If one uses ISA (independent subspace analysis) instead of ICA on natural images, i.e, one allows dependencies between some of the components, then ISA will provide independent subspaces that show phase- and shift-invariant properties similar to complex cells. 2)The relevance of ISA is also underpinned by several other brain related/biomedical applications including fMRI and MEG data processing, ECG and gene expression analysis, action recognition. 3)The paper concerns one of the most fundamental, long lasting open hypothesis of the ICA/ISA research. Abstract: Independent component analysis (ICA) -- the theory of mixed, independent, non-Gaussian sources -- has a central role in signal processing, computer vision and pattern recognition. One of the most fundamental conjectures of this research field is that independent subspace analysis (ISA) -- the extension of the ICA problem, where groups of sources are independent -- can be solved by traditional ICA followed by grouping the ICA components. The conjecture, called ISA separation principle, (i) has been rigorously proven for some distribution types recently, (ii) forms the basis of the state-of-the-art ISA solvers, (iii) enables one to estimate the unknown number and the dimensions of the sources efficiently, and (iv) can be extended to generalizations of the ISA task, such as different linear-, controlled-, post nonlinear-, complex valued-, partially observed problems, as well as to problems dealing with nonparametric source dynamics. Here, we shall review the advances on this field. The in press version is now available at: "http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.patcog.2011.09.007". Comments/feedbacks are also very welcome. Best, Zoltan, Barnabas ("http://nipg.inf.elte.hu/szzoli", "http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~bapoczos/") From t.heskes at science.ru.nl Mon Nov 7 15:24:13 2011 From: t.heskes at science.ru.nl (Tom Heskes) Date: Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:24:13 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Neurocomputing volume 76 (issue 1) Message-ID: <4EB83E6D.8050606@science.ru.nl> Neurocomputing volume 76 (issue 1) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/issue/271597-1-s2.0-S0925231211X00140 ----------- SPECIAL PAPERS (ISNN 2010) A brief introduction to the special issue for ISNN2010 (editorial) Liqing Zhang, James Kwok, Changshui Zhang Force field convergence map and Log-Gabor filter based multi-view ear feature extraction Heng Liu An approach for visual attention based on biquaternion and its application for ship detection in multispectral imagery Zhenghu Ding, Ying Yu, Bin Wang, Liming Zhang Gender classification by combining clothing, hair and facial component classifiers Bing Li, Xiao-Chen Lian, Bao-Liang Lu A hierarchical latent topic model based on sparse coding Wenjun Zhu, Liqing Zhang, Qianwei Bian Modelling of brain consciousness based on collaborative adaptive filters Ling Li, Yili Xia, Beth Jelfs, Jianting Cao, Danilo P. Mandic Causality analysis of neural connectivity: New tool and limitations of spectral Granger causality Sanqing Hu, Hualou Liang ----------- SPECIAL PAPERS (Advances in Web Intelligence) Special issue on advances in web intelligence (editorial) Stefan R?ger, Vijay V. Raghavan, Irwin King, Jimmy Xiangji Huang Multimodal representation, indexing, automated annotation and retrieval of image collections via non-negative matrix factorization Juan C. Caicedo, Jaafar BenAbdallah, Fabio A. Gonz?lez, Olfa Nasraoui Personalized topic-based tag recommendation Ralf Krestel, Peter Fankhauser On optimization of expertise matching with various constraints Wenbin Tang, Jie Tang, Tao Lei, Chenhao Tan, Bo Gao, Tian Li Characteristics of information diffusion in blogs, in relation to information source type Kazuhiro Kazama, Miyuki Imada, Keiichiro Kashiwagi A framework for joint community detection across multiple related networks Prakash Mandayam Comar, Pang-Ning Tan, Anil K. Jain Webspam demotion: Low complexity node aggregation methods Thomas Largillier, Sylvain Peyronnet Semi-supervised dimensionality reduction for analyzing high-dimensional data with constraints Su Yan, Sofien Bouaziz, Dongwon Lee, Jesse Barlow Topic model validation Eduardo H. Ramirez, Ramon Brena, Davide Magatti, Fabio Stella Modeling and predicting the popularity of online contents with Cox proportional hazard regression model Jong Gun Lee, Sue Moon, Kav? Salamatian ------------ JOURNAL SITE: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/neucom From morgado at uma.pt Mon Nov 7 17:55:51 2011 From: morgado at uma.pt (Morgado Dias) Date: Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:55:51 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: CFP: 10th Portuguese Conference on Automatic Control - CONTROLO'12 Message-ID: <4EB861F7.8090304@uma.pt> The following conference has one strong area of Artificial Neural Networks. A special issue of Neural Computing and Applications will be issued containing the best papers in the Neural Networks so it should be interesting to the connectionist members. Best regards, Morgado -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Researcher, It is our great pleasure to invite you to participate in the 10th Portuguese Conference on Automatic Control -- CONTROLO'12, to be held in Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal, from 16 to 18 of July 2012. The conference is organized by University of Madeira and APCA the Portuguese Association of Automatic Control which is the national member of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC). Contributions are welcome in both theoretical developments and practical implementations in all areas involving systems and control. Such topics include, but are not limited to: * Adaptive control * Aerospace control * Agricultural processes * Automotive control * Behavioral systems * Biotechnological and environmental systems * Control applications * Control architectures * Control education * Control technology, sensors and actuators * Control teaching * Control theory * Discrete-event systems * Distributed control * Emerging control technologies * Fault-tolerant control * Fuzzy and neuro-fuzzy systems * Genetic algorithms * Hardware for control systems * Hybrid systems * Industrial automation * Industrial networking * Instrumentation * Linear and nonlinear control * Manufacturing systems and scheduling * Marine control * Mechatronics * Modeling, simulation and identification * Networked Fault Tolerant Control * Neural networks * Optimal control * Process control * Real time systems architectures * Remote control (web) * Remote Laboratories in Control Education * Renewable energy * Robotics and automation * Robust control * Sensors * Smart structures control * Stochastic control * Transportation systems * Virtual Laboratories * Wireless Applications Special Session proposals are also welcome and must be received by the 1st of December. The important dates of the conference are: Submission: 1 March 2012 Notification: 1 May 2012 Camera Ready: 15 May 2012 Registration: 15 May 2012 Conference: 16-18 July 2012 The organizing committee: Morgado Dias, University of Madeira Paula Castilho, University of Madeira Gl?ria Cravo, University of Madeira Dion?sio Barros, University of Madeira Pedro Campos, University of Madeira Lina Brito, University of Madeira Eduardo Marques, University of Madeira Nuno Ferreira, University of Madeira Tiago Meireles, University of Madeira E-mail: controlo2012 at uma.pt Web Site: http://www.uma.pt/controlo2012 Poster: http://www4.uma.pt/controlo2012/files/controlo2012CFP.pdf Our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this CfP. -- Com os melhores cumprimentos, Morgado Dias *Universidade da Madeira * *Morgado Dias * Electr?nica e Telecomunica??es Pr?-Reitor da Universidade da Madeira *morgado at uma.pt* Tel.: 291-705307 *10^th CONTROLO July 2012 Funchal * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111107/023f4deb/attachment-0001.html From andrea.maesani at epfl.ch Tue Nov 8 08:01:45 2011 From: andrea.maesani at epfl.ch (Andrea Maesani) Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2011 14:01:45 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: CALL FOR PAPERS - IEEE CEC 2012 - Special Session on Evolutionary Robotics Message-ID: --------------------------------------------------------------- IEEE CEC 2012 -- Special Session on Evolutionary Robotics ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brisbane, Australia. 10-15 June, 2012 CALL FOR PAPERS General Chairs: --------------- Patricia A. Vargas (Heriot-Watt University - Scotland) Dario Floreano (EPFL - Switzerland) Phil Husbands (University of Sussex - England) Publicity and Programme Chairs: ------------------------------- Andrea Maesani (EPFL - Switzerland) Renan C. Moioli (University of Sussex - England) Website: http://lis2.epfl.ch/events/specialsessions/CEC12/ Evolutionary Robotics (ER) aims to apply evolutionary computation techniques, inspired by Darwin?s principle of selective reproduction of the fittest, to automatically design the control and/or hardware of both real and simulated autonomous robots. Having an intrinsic interdisciplinary character, ER is being employed towards the development of many fields of research, among which we can highlight neuroscience, cognitive science, evolutionary biology and robotics. Hence the objective of this special session is to assemble a set of high-quality original contributions that reflect and advance the state-of-the-art in the area of Evolutionary Robotics, with an emphasis on the cross-fertilisation between ER and the aforementioned research areas, ranging from theoretical analysis to real-life applications. Post Conference Publication: ---------------------------- Authors of best papers will be asked to contribute to a journal special issue on the topic of "Evolutionary Robotics". Paper Submission: ----------------- Submissions should follow the guidance given on the IEEE CEC 2012 conference website: http://www.ieee-wcci2012.org/ When submitting, please select : - submission to IEEE-CEC 2012 http://ieee-cis.org/conferences/cec2012/upload.php then as the main research topic the Special Session on ?Evolutionary Robotics? : S23 - Evolutionary Robotics. All submissions will be peer-reviewed with the same criteria used for other contributed papers. All accepted papers will be included and published in the conference proceedings. Topics of interest include (but are not restricted to): ------------------------------------------------------- . Evolution of robots which display minimal cognitive behaviour, learning, memory, spatial cognition, adaptation or homeostasis. . Evolution of neural controllers for robots, aimed at giving an insight to neuroscientists, evolutionary biologists or advancing control structures. . Evolution of communication, cooperation and competition, using robots as a research platform. . Co-evolution and the evolution of collective behaviour. . Evolution of morphology in close interaction with the environment, giving rise to self-reconfigurable, self-designing, self-healing, self-reproducing, humanoid and walking robots. . Evolution of robot systems aimed at real-world applications as in aerial robotics, space exploration, industry, search and rescue, robot companions, entertainment and games. . Evolution of controllers on board real robots or the real-time evolution of robot hardware. . Novel or improved algorithms for the evolution of robot systems. . The use of evolution for the artistic exploration of robot design. Important Dates: ---------------- Paper Submission: December 19, 2011 Notification of Acceptance: February 20, 2012 Camera-Ready Submission: April 02, 2012 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111108/4f9a1acf/attachment.html From raphael.ritz at incf.org Wed Nov 9 10:06:53 2011 From: raphael.ritz at incf.org (Raphael Ritz) Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:06:53 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: INCF at Neuroscience 2011 in Washington DC Message-ID: <4EBA970D.8040904@incf.org> [sorry if you receive this through multiple channels] Dear all, INCF is present at Neuroscience 2011 in Washington DC, November 12-16 at the Walter E Washington Convention Center. You are very welcome to come and visit us in *booth #3211*, located close to other neuroinformatics exhibitors (see map: http://www.incf.org/community/sfn2011/find-neuroinformatics-at-sfn-2011-map/view) As usual, we are hosting neuroinformatics demonstrations in our booth during all the exhibition days. You can find the schedule for the demos on our webpage: http://www.incf.org/community/sfn2011/demo-program. We would especially like to point out that in the afternoon of *Wednesday November 16*, following the Neuroinformatics poster session, we are hosting an open mini-hackathon in the INCF booth - all developers are welcome for discussions and on-site coding. We are also organizing the workshop"Neuroshare revisited" on *November 12, 6:30 PM - 10:00 PM* in Room 209B at the Washington Convention Center, for a discussion on the state ofNeuroshare and possible future developments. We invite data acquisition system vendors, data analysis software developers, and users to discuss the needs as well as the options for improving and facilitating access to neurophysiological data. Attendance is limited and registration is required: please email neuroshare at incf.org . You can also find us at the the SfN-sponsored *"Neuroinformatics & Genomics" Social, 6:45 PM-8:45 PM, Sunday November 13* in Renaissance 12-14. You can also follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/INCForg ); we will be posting regular updates throughout the meeting. Hope to see you in Washington! Raphael -- Dr. Raphael Ritz Scientific Officer International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility Karolinska Institutet Nobels v?g 15 A SE-171 77 Stockholm Sweden Email: raphael.ritz at incf.org Phone: +46 8 524 87017 Fax: +46 8 524 87150 web: www.incf.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111109/9f7a1894/attachment.html From ahu at cs.stir.ac.uk Wed Nov 9 18:47:02 2011 From: ahu at cs.stir.ac.uk (Dr Amir Hussain) Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2011 23:47:02 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: Call for Papers: Brain Inspired Cognitive Systems (BICS 2012), Shenyang, China, July 11-14, 2012 Message-ID: Dear friends: On behalf of the General Chair, Professor Derong Liu, we are pleased to invite you to submit your work(s) to "The 2012 International Conference on Brain Inspired Cognitive Systems (BICS 2012)" to be held in Shenyang, China, as a sequel of BICS 2004 (Scotland), BICS 2006 (Greece), BICS 2008 (Brazil), and BICS 2010 (Spain). Venue: Shenyang is the capital city of Liaoning Province with a long history and rich heritages. Shenyang was first used by the Manchu people as their capital in the 17th century and is today the biggest city in Northeastern China. Shenyang is now an important political, industrial, and cultural center, and serves as the transportation and commercial hub of Northeastern China. The city is well-known for its modern infrastructure, convenient land and air transport network, and abundant natural resources. Scope: BICS 2012 aims to provide a high-level international forum for scientists, engineers, and educators to present the state-of-the-art in brain-inspired cognitive systems research and applications in diverse fields. The symposium will feature plenary lectures given by world renowned scholars, regular sessions with broad coverage, and some special sessions focusing on popular and timely topics. Important Dates: Special session proposals deadline------------------------------- January 1, 2012 Paper submission deadline-------------------------------------- January 15, 2012 Notification of acceptance-------------------------------------------March 1, 2012 Camera-ready copy and author registration-------------------------- April 1, 2012 Paper submission & Conference Proceedings: Prospective authors are invited to submit full-length papers (6-8 pages normally and 10 pages maximum) by the submission deadline - through the online submission system (http://bics2012.mae.cuhk.edu.hk). The submission of a paper implies that the paper is original and has not been submitted under review or copyright protected elsewhere and will be presented by an author if accepted. All submitted papers will be refereed by experts in the field based on the criteria of originality, significance, quality, and clarity. The authors of accepted papers will have an opportunity to revise their papers and take consideration of the referees' comments and suggestions. All papers accepted by and presented at BICS 2012 will be published by Springer as multiple volumes of Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI) which will be indexed by EI and ISTP. Selected papers will be published in special issues of several SCI journals. BICS 2012 Sponsors: (Financial sponsors) Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences University of Stirling, Scotland Chinese University of Hong Kong University of Illinois at Chicago National Natural Science Foundation of China (Technical sponsors): IEEE Computational Intelligence Society International Neural Network Society Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behavior ICSC Interdisciplinary Research Further details about the Conference, including the on-line submission link for authors, can be found in the Conference website: http://bics2012.mae.cuhk.edu.hk/index.html -- The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2009/2010 The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159. From R.Bogacz at bristol.ac.uk Thu Nov 10 04:14:31 2011 From: R.Bogacz at bristol.ac.uk (Rafal Bogacz) Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:14:31 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: PhD programme in Neural Dynamics at Bristol Message-ID: <4EBB95F7.5060604@bristol.ac.uk> Dear Colleagues, 4-year PhD programme in Neural Dynamics at the University of Bristol is inviting applications for studentships fully funded by the Wellcome Trust. More information about the programme is available below. Best wishes, Rafal Bogacz NEURAL DYNAMICS: FROM SYNAPSES TO SYSTEMS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE Wellcome Trust 4-year PhD Studentships Why investigate neural dynamics? A vital key to comprehending the brain is to understand how the complex changes in activity occurring at all levels of neural organization give rise to normal brain function. Furthermore, understanding of normal brain activity will allow us to investigate abnormalities of neural dynamics that underlie many neurological and psychiatric disorders (e.g. epilepsy, Parkinson?s disease, schizophrenia). Understanding neural dynamics requires interdisciplinary approaches that span many neuroscience areas, but crucially, depends on integration of experimental and clinical approaches with mathematical and computational expertise. This PhD programme will train a future generation of neuroscientists who will successfully be able to combine experimental and theoretical techniques in their research. Structure of the programme First year: students will attend taught courses to gain an understanding of the biology of the nervous system and the ability to describe systems dynamics in mathematical models. Students will carry out two extended research projects, each investigating dynamics in a different neural system. Each project will be co-advised by one experimental or clinical neuroscientist and one mathematician or computer scientist. Subsequent years: Students will develop one of the initial projects into a PhD project for the remaining 3 years. Who are we looking for? Applicants will have a 1st class/2.1 degree or a Masters in a biomedical science discipline or a relevant theoretical discipline (mathematics, computer science or physics). Applicants should have some background in mathematics or computer science e.g. A-levels or application of mathematical modelling / computational methods in undergraduate research. Crucially, we are looking for talented and motivated students willing to take up the many challenges in neural dynamics and who are open to learning about new disciplines and working across different fields. Why study at Bristol? Bristol has one of the largest concentrations of neuroscientists in Europe and is a major centre for basic and clinical neuroscience. The University of Bristol is an acknowledged world leader in many key areas of neural dynamics from both an experimental and theoretical perspective: Our research spans molecular, cellular and systems levels of neuroscience. Together with experts in systems dynamics, based in the Departments of Engineering Mathematics, Mathematics, Computer Science and the Bristol Robotics Lab we can provide considerable scope for ground breaking integrative research projects. How to apply: Application process: Please apply online at http://www.bris.ac.uk/prospectus/postgraduate/2012/apply.html Please ensure you upload a CV and a covering letter outlining your own neural dynamics interests, and include two referees by 31 December 2011. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to our interview/open day on 19 January 2012. The Wellcome Trust provides a stipend and PhD registration fees at UK/EU student rate, research expenses, contribution towards travel and a contribution towards transferable-skills training. The Wellcome Trust does not pay fees at the overseas rate. For further information see http://www.bristol.ac.uk/neuroscience/postgrad/pg-phds/neural-dynamics/ or contact: Lindsey Watson, Graduate Administration Manager, Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences Graduate School (Lindsey.Watson at bris.ac.uk) From niebur at jhu.edu Thu Nov 10 15:39:24 2011 From: niebur at jhu.edu (Ernst Niebur) Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:39:24 -0500 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoctoral Fellows in the computational neuroscience lab at Johns Hopkins University Message-ID: Postdoctoral Position: Neural models of selective attention in complex visual scenes The computational neuroscience group at Johns Hopkins University is recruiting one or more postdoctoral fellows. Project: Selective attention is a central feature of all complex sensory systems. In previous work, we have introduced simple but powerful computational models of visual attention, in particular the saliency map (Itti, Koch and Niebur, IEEE-PAMI 20:1254, 1998). In this project, we develop biologically realistic computational models of mid-level vision for the understanding of mechanisms of attentional selection and perceptual organization (see e.g. Mihalas et al, PNAS 108:7583, 2011). Start date: As soon as possible. Affiliation: The computational neuroscience group is part of the Krieger Mind/Brain Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Requirements: * PhD in computational neuroscience or a closely related field preferred. However, candidates with a PhD in physics, mathematics, computer science, psychology, ... with a proven track record of creative thinking will be considered * Solid quantitative/mathematics training * Solid programming skills, preferably Matlab and/or Java * US citizens preferred * Women and members of underrepresented minorities strongly preferred Please send applications via email to niebur#at#jhu.edu, including * Complete CV including contact information, transcripts and a list of publications * Names, email addresses, and phone numbers of three references First interviews may be conducted during or shortly after the SfN meeting next week. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111110/838ca95f/attachment.html From EPNSugan at ntu.edu.sg Wed Nov 9 19:57:19 2011 From: EPNSugan at ntu.edu.sg (Ponnuthurai Nagaratnam Suganthan (Assoc Prof)) Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:57:19 +0800 Subject: Connectionists: "Ensemble Methods in Computational Intelligence" : CFP for a Special Session at WCCI 2012 Message-ID: <7085C89ACBD47E4B947F91A84B9EA9241E25625E56@EXCHANGE31.staff.main.ntu.edu.sg> Dear Connectionist Researchers, This special session has a strong focus on artificial neural networks based ensemble classifiers as the 3rd topic in the listing below. In addition, this special session especially welcomes contributions involving artificial neural networks hybridized with fuzzy and/or evolutionary algorithms Special Session Organizers P. N. Suganthan, N. R. Pal, Wenjia Wang --------------------------------------------------- "Ensemble Methods in Computational Intelligence" Call for Papers A Special Session at 2012 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence June 10 - 15, 2012, Brisbane, Australia Ensemble learning attempts to enhance the performance of systems (clustering, classification, prediction, feature selection, search, optimization, rule extraction, etc.) by using multiple models instead of using a single model. This approach is intuitively meaningful as a single model may not always be the best for solving a complex problem while multiple models are more likely to yield results better than each of the constituent models. Although in the past, ensemble methods have been mainly studied in the context of classification and time series prediction, recently they are being used in algorithms in other scenarios such as clustering, fuzzy systems, evolutionary algorithms, dimensionality reduction and so on. The aim of this special session is to bring together researchers and practitioners who are working in the overlapping fields of ensemble methods and computational intelligence. Papers dealing with theory, algorithms, analysis, and applications of ensemble of computational intelligence methods are sought for this special session. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: 1. CEC topics: Ensemble of evolutionary algorithms Parameter and operator ensembles for evolutionary algorithms Hyper-heuristics Portfolio of algorithms and multi-method search Ensemble of evolutionary algorithms for optimization scenarios such as multi-objective, combinatorial, constrained, etc. Hybridization of evolutionary algorithms with other search methods & ensemble methods 2. Fuzz-IEEE Topics: Fuzzy ensemble clustering Fuzzy ensemble classifiers and fuzzy ensemble predictors Fuzzy ensemble feature selection/dimensionality reduction Aggregation operators for fuzzy ensemble methods Rough Set based ensemble clustering and classification Type-2 Fuzzy ensemble clustering and classification 3. IJCNN Topics: Ensemble methods such as boosting, bagging, random forests, multiple classifier systems, ensemble neural networks, mixture of experts, multiple kernels, etc. Ensemble methods for regression, classification, clustering, ranking, feature selection, etc. Issues such as selection of constituent models, fusion and diversity of models in an ensemble, etc. 4. Hybridization of neuro-fuzzy-evolutionary ensemble systems 5. Applications of ensemble of computational intelligence methods in any field Paper Submission: Manuscripts should be prepared according to the standard format and page limit of regular papers specified in WCCI 2012 and submitted through the web link at WCCI 2012. Please select "Sxxx: Ensemble Methods in Computational Intelligence" as the main research topic when submitting your manuscripts. Special session papers will be treated in the same way as regular papers and included in the conference proceedings. Important Dates: For important dates such as Paper Submission deadline, Decision Notification, Final Camera-Ready Submission / Conference Registration, etc., please refer to WCCI 2012 web pages. Special Session Organizers: P. N. Suganthan, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, epnsugan at ntu.edu.sg N. R. Pal, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkatta, India, nikhil at isical.ac.in Wenjia Wang, University of East Anglia (UEA), UK, Wenjia.Wang at uea.ac.uk CONFIDENTIALITY: This email is intended solely for the person(s) named and may be confidential and/or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete it, notify us and do not copy, use, or disclose its content. Towards A Sustainable Earth: Print Only When Necessary. Thank you. From beierh at gmail.com Thu Nov 10 19:24:56 2011 From: beierh at gmail.com (Ulrik Beierholm) Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:24:56 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: PhD studentships in Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics at University of Birmingham. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The University of Birmingham has recently created the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics (CNCR) in a collaboration between the Schools of Psychology and Computer Science. http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/cncr/index.aspx A number of PhD studentships in either Psychology or Computer Science will be available within the next year, with multiple possibilities for topics within the CN-CR centre. Positions will be for 3 years and there are scholarships available for highly qualified students. There is no fixed deadline but early applications are highly encouraged. Potential research topics include visual and multisensory perception, motor control, computational vision, attention, learning and decision making, cognitive robotics and neural plasticity. There are facilities for performing psychophysics, fMRI, EEG, eye tracking as well as a world class robotics lab. The School of Psychology is one of the largest and most active psychology departments in Britain. We have an excellent reputation for teaching and research with around 800 students studying a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes. The School ranked 3rd in the UK in the recent Research Assessment Exercise, and over ?8 million of research grants and contracts are currently held. We are also a major partner in the recently opened Birmingham University Imaging Centre. Computer Science at Birmingham provide specialist teaching and conduct world-leading research in fundamental and applied computer science, artificial intelligence, optimisation, computer security, medical imaging and robotics. We are proud to deliver outstanding education that offers a range of exciting career opportunities for students from around the world, and currently boast eight members of our teaching staff in the top 1% of computer scientists worldwide. The School of Computer Science was recently ranked the 5th in the UK (Guardian University Guide 2012). For an example of our work see http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/go/irlab Refer here for details on postgraduate life at the University of Birmingham http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/psychology/study-here/postgraduate/index.aspx and how to apply: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/students/courses/postgraduate/research/psych/psychology.aspx If there any questions feel free to email me or other faculty of the CN-CR centre. Cheers, Ulrik ------------------------------------------- Ulrik Beierholm, PhD Lecturer (equiv. to Assist. Prof) in Computational Neuroscience School of Psychology, University of Birmingham http://beierholm.net From ASAHTan at ntu.edu.sg Thu Nov 10 20:24:43 2011 From: ASAHTan at ntu.edu.sg (Tan Ah Hwee (Assoc Prof)) Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:24:43 +0800 Subject: Connectionists: Research Positions in School of Computer Engineering, Nanyang Technological University Message-ID: <629B8F547581594A9B9760E372AA157717D4C92317@EXCHANGE32.staff.main.ntu.edu.sg> Research Positions: Research Fellow/Research Associate/Research Engineer Research positions are now open in the school of Computer Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) for a newly funded project in the field of biologically-inspired cognitive agents. The successful candidates will join a vibrant team of postgraduate students, research scientists and engineers in designing and implementing cognitive models for human memory systems, specifically for the representation and learning of declarative and procedural memory as well as the interaction between the distinct memory modules. Applicants for the position must satisfy the following requirement. Research Fellow 1. PhD degree in Computational Neuroscience, Cognitive Science or a related discipline. 2. Research experience with publications in the fields of cognitive modeling, machine learning, knowledge representation and intelligent agents. 3. Competency in Java/C++ programming and application prototype development. 4. Excellent communication and writing skills. Research Associate/Research Engineer 1. Good Masters/Bachelor degree in Computer Science, Cognitive Science or a related discipline. 2. Some experience with research projects in the fields of cognitive modeling, machine learning, knowledge representation and intelligent agents. 3. Excellent Java/C++ programming and application prototype development. 4. Excellent communication and writing skills. The positions are for a period of two years, subject to review and renewal annually. The commencing salary for the above post will be highly competitive and commensurate with the candidates' qualifications and experience. Suitably qualified applicants are invited to send their application on prescribed form (obtainable from http://www.ntu.edu.sg/ohr/Career/SubmitApplications/Pages/Research.aspx), a detailed CV, including a list of publications and names of three referees, and other supporting documents to Ah-Hwee Tan (asahtan at ntu.edu.sg). Email submission should use the subject heading of "Application for HML Research Position". Application will remain opened until the positions are filled. We regret that only short-listed candidates will be notified. Best regards Ah-Hwee Tan Associate Professor and Head, Division of Information Systems School of Computer Engineering | Nanyang Technological University Web: www.ntu.edu.sg/home/asahtan ________________________________ CONFIDENTIALITY: This email is intended solely for the person(s) named and may be confidential and/or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete it, notify us and do not copy, use, or disclose its content. Towards A Sustainable Earth: Print Only When Necessary. Thank you. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111110/8b622ec5/attachment-0001.html From jbednar at inf.ed.ac.uk Fri Nov 11 05:56:43 2011 From: jbednar at inf.ed.ac.uk (James A. Bednar) Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:56:43 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: 15 PhD studentships in Neuroinformatics and Computational Neuroscience Message-ID: <20156.65387.785686.464461@cortex.inf.ed.ac.uk> 2012-2013 applications for fully-funded PhD studentships at the University of Edinburgh Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) in Neuroinformatics and Computational Neuroscience are now being considered. The DTC is a world-class centre for research at the interface between neuroscience and the engineering, computational, and physical sciences. Our four-year programme is ideal for students with strong computational and analytical skills who want to employ cutting-edge methodology to advance research in neuroscience and related fields, or to apply ideas from neuroscience to computational problems. The first year consists of courses in neuroscience and informatics, as well as lab projects. This is followed by a three-year PhD project done in collaboration with one of the many departments and institutes affiliated with the DTC. Current DTC PhD topics fall into five main areas: * Computational neuroscience: Using analytical and computational models, potentially supplemented with experiments, to gain quantitative understanding of the nervous system. Many projects focus on the development and function of sensory and motor systems in animals, including neural coding, learning, and memory. * Biomedical imaging algorithms and tools: Using advanced data analysis techniques, such as machine learning and Bayesian approaches, for imaging-based diagnosis and research. * Cognitive science: Studying human cognitive processes and analysing them in computational terms. * Neuromorphic engineering: Using insights from neuroscience to help build better hardware, such as neuromorphic VLSI circuits and robots that perform robustly under natural conditions. * Software systems and applications: Using discoveries from neuroscience to develop software that can handle real-world data, such as video, audio, or speech. Other related areas of research are also encouraged. Edinburgh has a large, world-class research community in these areas and leads the UK in creating a coherent programme in neuroinformatics and computational neuroscience. Edinburgh has often been voted 'best place to live in Britain', and has many exciting cultural and student activities. Students with a strong background in computer science, mathematics, physics, or engineering are particularly encouraged to apply. Highly motivated students with other backgrounds will also be considered. 15 full studentships (including stipend of 14,215-17,326 UK pounds/year) are available to EU citizens who have been residing in the UK for the past three years (whether for work or for education); see the web site (below) for full details. Other applicants can be accepted if they provide their own funding, typically via a scholarship from their country of origin. Further information and application forms can be obtained from: http://www.anc.ed.ac.uk/dtc For full consideration for entry in September 2012, the deadline for complete applications is December 16th, 2011. -- The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336. From jlam at bccn-tuebingen.de Fri Nov 11 08:11:27 2011 From: jlam at bccn-tuebingen.de (Judith Lam) Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:11:27 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Bernstein Symposium Tuebingen "Bayesian Inference: From Spikes to Behaviour" Dec 9-10 Message-ID: <4EBD1EFF.4090902@bccn-tuebingen.de> %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *Bernstein Symposium, December 9 - 10: "Bayesian Inference: From Spikes to Behaviour"* %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% The fourth Bernstein Symposium of our series entitled: "Bayesian Inference: From Spikes to Behaviour" will take place on Dec, 9th-10th 2011. This two-days symposium organized by Cluster C of the Bernstein Center (http://www.bccn-tuebingen.de/research/cluster-c.html) will focus on different applications of Bayesian in neuroscience. It will be held at the Casino Schnarrenberg Conference Center of the University Clinics (Otfried-Mueller-Str.6, 1st Floor) and starts on December 9th at 2 p.m. and will end on Saturday, December 10th, evening. Confirmed speakers are: Michael Black, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, T?bingen, Germany Daniel Braun, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, T?bingen, Germany Opher Donchin, Ben Gurion University of Negev, Be'er Sheva, ISRAEL Dominik Endres, Eberhard Karls University of T?bingen, T?bingen, Germany Adrienne Fairhall, University of Washington, Illinois, USA Moritz Grosse-Wentrup, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, T?bingen, Germany Peter F?ldiak, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK Konrad Koerding, University of Chicago, Illinois, USA Peter Latham, University College London, London, UK Laurence Maloney, University of New York, New York, USA Aude Oliva, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts, USA Uta Noppeney, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, T?bingen, Germany Jan Peters, TU Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany Josh Tenenbaum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts, USA Additionally there will be poster sessions on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. The registration fee is 40,- Euro. For registration and further details see http://www.bccn-tuebingen.de/events/bernstein-symposium-series-2011/symposium-c.html. Please register as soon as possible as we can accommodate only a limited number of participants due to space constraints. Find more about the the series at http://www.bccn-tuebingen.de/events/bernstein-symposium-series-2011.html. We look forward to seeing you Martin Giese -- -- Judith Lam Executive Coordinator Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience T?bingen http://www.bccn-tuebingen.de/about-bccn/contact.html Spemannstr. 41, 72076 T?bingen Tel: +49 7071 601 1766 Fax: +49 7071 601 1794 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111111/192b0b2a/attachment.html From zhaoping at gatsby.ucl.ac.uk Fri Nov 11 15:42:54 2011 From: zhaoping at gatsby.ucl.ac.uk (Dr Zhaoping Li) Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:42:54 +0000 (GMT) Subject: Connectionists: Postdoctoral/Research Assistant position in Computational/Experimental Vision/Neuroscience available in University College London (UK) Message-ID: The laboratory of Zhaoping Li in University College London (UK) has such a position openning. The research interest of her lab is mainly focused on vision, using both computational and psychological methods. The lab collaborates with other researchers including those working on physiology and functional fMRI, and research projects beyond vision are also of interests. More details of the research interests are at www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/Zhaoping.Li/ We are looking for a talented individual who enjoys highest standard of research. The position is for 2 years and renewable. Interested individuals please contact Zhaoping Li at z.li at ucl.ac.uk a CV and a Statement ofr Research interests to apply. From k.gurney at sheffield.ac.uk Mon Nov 14 10:15:28 2011 From: k.gurney at sheffield.ac.uk (Kevin Gurney) Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:15:28 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: Post doc Job at University of Sheffield, UK Message-ID: The creation of this post aims to bring together two research strengths in the University of Sheffield ? computational neuroscience in Psychology and neuromorphic engineering in Automatic Control and Systems Engineering (ACSE). As part of this multidisciplinary research team, the post-holder will be responsible for porting the biologically realistic models of brain circuits developed in Professor Gurney?s lab (in Psychology) into the neuromorphic chip software environment (DAMSON) developed by Professor Allerton and Dr Richmond in ACSE. The brain models have been published in world leading journals, and DAMSON, an event driven version of C, has been developed under the EPSRC-funded BIMPA project, designing software for SpiNNaker, the largest neuromorphic chip project in the UK. The target software environment is written in Python and C, and the source code of the current brain model is in Matlab and C. While some familiarity with biologically plausible neuronal modelling would be desirable, the software engineering aspect of this project is essential. The successful applicant will have, or be in the final stages of working up to, a PhD (or have equivalent experience) in computer science or engineering, preferably containing some simulation modelling component. This position is full-time and is available immediately, tenable for 6 months, funded by the EPSRC (via the University of Sheffield ?KickStart? funding scheme). Further information and on-line application may be made via www.sheffield.ac.uk/jobs with job number UOS003604 For informal enquiries, contact: Professor Kevin Gurney on k.gurney at sheffield.ac.uk or +44 (0)114 222 6566. -- Kevin Gurney, PhD, FSB Professor of Computational Neuroscience Adaptive Behaviour Research Group Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, S10 2TP, UK http://abrg.group.shef.ac.uk/people/kevin/ ------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111114/c24c8698/attachment.html From maruyama at atr.jp Sat Nov 12 10:46:40 2011 From: maruyama at atr.jp (maruyama) Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:46:40 +0900 (JST) Subject: Connectionists: Job announcement Message-ID: <1321112800.13970.maruyama@atr.jp> ATR Neural Information Analysis Laboratories, Kyoto, Japan, have openings for researcher or research engineer positions and invite applications with strong motivations and ambitions in the research project described below. Our laboratories research on brain-machine interface (BMI), which controls actuators by estimating human movement and intension from brain activities measured noninvasively by MEG, EEG, fMRI, and NIRS. The project for which we are recruiting aims to construct a new information-communication technology to connect people and machines through engineering applications of neuroscience. More specifically, the project?s goal is to develop a BMI methodology that works well in various environments in the real world by simultaneous measurement of human behavior and brain activities and also by parallel and distributed processing of large-scale data. This project is funded by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC), Japan, until March, 2015. The project organization consists of five research institutes, and specifically ATR is the representative institute. Our institute ATR, located in western Japan, is one of the top research centers in computational neuroscience, biomedical signal processing, and robotics in the world (see http://www.cns.atr.jp/en/ for more details). The Brain Information Communication Research Lab Group (BICR) at ATR is also funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan and by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Japan. The people at ATR BICR include 81 researchers/research engineers, 30 graduate students, 9 engineers, and 15 administrative staffs. Since the establishment of the brain research group in 2003, we have published more than 180 papers in peer-reviewed international journals, which include 13 Nature, Science, Nature Neuroscience, and Neuron papers. We look forward to your applications and recommendations. Shin Ishii ATR Neural Information Analysis Laboratories, Kyoto, Japan = Job description = (1) Ambient informatics team The researcher will join a team dedicated for establishing an environment for continuous measurement and recognition of human behavior in a daily life. Here, the ?environment? includes hardware facilities, efficient network, and pattern recognition algorithms and software. The team is supported by engineers. Data measurement devices include stereo cameras, laser range finders, microphones, pyroelectric sensors, power monitors (for appliance), and bio-measurement devices (for electromyogram (EMG), heart pulse, blood pressure, perspiration, and temperature). Good proposals for additional measurement modalities will be welcomed. (2) Decoding team The researcher will join a team dedicated for developing artifact reduction and decoding algorithms for brain activities measured under real environments. Brain activity data measured in real environments would often be contaminated by non-brain signals, which must be reduced by all means for further analysis. By solving a challenging research problem of decoding of movement or intension in uncontrolled experiments, the team will develop BMI algorithms under real environments. The successful candidate should have a strong background in machine learning, information retrieval, or statistical signal processing. Excellent programming skills and experiences of large-scale data analysis will be advantageous. (3) Neurosciences team The researcher will join a team dedicated for neuroscience studies focusing on human decision making and motor control under real environments. The team?s challenging goal is to elucidate the neural bases involved in decision making and motor control, which are sufficiently robust even in the uncertain real world, by fully utilizing newly developed techniques of brain machine interface. The teams include foreign researchers and we also have collaborated closely with researchers in countries overseas. Thus, applications from abroad are particularly welcome. = Requirements = Applicants must: - have a Ph.D. (or be near completion). - have strong motivations and ambitions to take part in the research above. Also, researchers having interest in neural and human science with expertise in one or more of the following areas are welcomed: - Statistics, machine learning, parallel distributed computing, signal processing, artificial intelligence, bio-measurement and instrumentation, computer vision, statistical physics, cognitive psychology. Exceptional applicants with a master?s or equivalent degree will be considered as well. = Number of openings = Few = Employment conditions = Position : Full-time Researcher / Full-time Research Engineer Tenure : Single year based contract, renewable based on evaluation Treatment : Based on individual performance Work Location : Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan = Application materials = Please submit the following five materials to the contact address below, either in printed or electronic form: CV List of publications Reprints of 1–3 major publications Document (one or two pages in A4 or letter size) describing: - Summary of your previous research - Interests and proposal for research - Additional research skills not directly foreseeable from publications Recommendation letters from two researchers * Original documents you submit will not be returned. = Judging system = After documentary examination, we ask for presentation and interview if needed = Starting date = After February 2012 (negotiable) = Deadline for application = Opens until positions are filled. = Contact = ATR Neural Information Analysis Laboratories (Application for Researcher Position) 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan Email: dbi-info at atr.jp = Use of personal data = All personal data received will be properly managed and only be used for the purpose of recruitment. From vanessa.casagrande at bccn-berlin.de Wed Nov 16 09:50:55 2011 From: vanessa.casagrande at bccn-berlin.de (Vanessa Casagrande) Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:50:55 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Call for applications: Graduate Programs Computational Neuroscience in Berlin Message-ID: <4EC3CDCF.6030901@bccn-berlin.de> *Apologies for cross-posting* Doctoral Program "Sensory Computation in Neural Systems" and Master's Program "Computational Neuroscience" in Berlin, Germany Application deadline March 15th, 2012 Begin of Courses: October 2012 http://www.computational-neuroscience-berlin.de *Doctoral Program* The Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin and the TU Berlin invite applications for *7 fellowships* of the Research Training Group "Sensory Computation in Neural Systems" (GRK 1589/1). Doctoral candidates will develop computational methods for the study of sensory computation, focusing on time and dynamics, and apply these in experiments by combining techniques and concepts from computational neuroscience, cognitive science, machine learning, and systems neurobiology. The training group offers a structured supervision complemented by a teaching and training program. Each student will be supervised by two investigators with complementary expertise and will be associated with the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin (http://www.bccn-berlin.de/) a leading research center dedicated to the theoretical study of neural processing. Candidates are expected to hold a Masters degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject (e.g., neuroscience, cognitive science, computer science, physics, etc.) and have the required advanced mathematical background. Candidates selected in the first application step will be invited for lab visits and an interview, expected to take place in June 2012. The fellowships of 1468 ?/month (with additional children allowances if applicable) will be granted for up to three years. *Master's Program* The Master's program offers ten places per year, has a duration of 2 years and is fully taught in English. The curriculum is subdivided into ten modules, whose content includes theoretical neuroscience, advanced programming, data acquisition and computational analysis, machine learning, and modeling of experimental data, with a strong focus on a complementary theoretical and experimental training. Three lab rotations and a Master's thesis are accomplished in the second year. The aim of the program is to grant the students an interdisciplinary education and an early contact to the neurocomputational research environment. Requirements: BSc or equivalent degree, (typically in the natural sciences, in an engineering discipline, in cognitive science, or in mathematics), certificate of English proficiency, proof of sufficient mathematical knowledge (i.e. at least 24 ECTS credit points). For further information concerning the graduate programs and the application procedure, see http://www.computational-neuroscience-berlin.de or e-mail graduateprograms at bccn-berlin.de . With best regards, Vanessa Casagrande -- Dr. Vanessa Casagrande Teaching Coordinator Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin Philippstr. 13 Haus 6 10115 Berlin, Germany Phone +49 (0)30 2093 6773 Fax +49 (0)30 2093 6771 http://www.computational-neuroscience-berlin.de GRK 1589/1 Sensory Computation in Neural Systems Technische Universit?t Berlin Sekretariat FR 2-1 Franklinstr. 28/29 10587 Berlin, Germany Phone +49 (0)30 314 72006 Fax +49 (0)30 314 73121 http://www.eecs.tu-berlin.de/grk_15891 From guetig at em.mpg.de Mon Nov 14 09:25:29 2011 From: guetig at em.mpg.de (Robert Guetig) Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:25:29 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Max Planck Postdoctoral and PhD positions in Computational Neuroscience_[Scanned] Message-ID: <4EC124D9.3020000@em.mpg.de> Postdoctoral and PhD positions in Computational Neuroscience The newly formed Max Planck Research Group "Theoretical Neuroscience" headed by Robert Guetig is seeking highly motivated researchers to study information processing in spiking neuronal networks. The group is located at the Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine in Goettingen, Germany. We use analytical and numerical modeling techniques to identify the computational principles underlying spike based information processing and learning in central nervous systems and to understand how these principles are implemented by biological processes. Specifically, we focus on the role of action potential timing in subserving sensory neuronal representations and computation as well as in controlling synaptic plasticity. Open projects center around the recently developed tempotron family of spiking neuronal network models (Guetig & Sompolinsky, Nat. Neurosci. 2006) and cover a broad range of topics including mathematical analyzes of information processing in spiking neuronal networks, spike-based learning in single and multi-layer neuronal networks, sensory spike data analysis, temporal processing with short term synaptic dynamics, as well as applied development of visual and speech processing systems. The positions are available immediately. Applicants should have a strong background in physics, mathematics, computer science, computational neuroscience or a related field and a keen interest in neurobiology and systems neuroscience. Good programming skills (C, Python and/or Matlab) are important and experience with numerical simulations highly beneficial. Previous exposure to neuroscience is preferred but not required. Applications will be considered until all positions are filled. Please send your application or further questions to Robert Guetig (guetig at em.mpg.de) including a cover letter, a detailed CV (including degrees, grades and publications), a statement of research experiences and interests and the names and contact information of at least two referees. Goettingen provides a vibrant and stimulating neuroscience community with a strong background in both, experimental and computational neuroscience. The research campus includes the three Max-Planck Institutes for Biophysical Chemistry, Experimental Medicine and Dynamics and Self-Organization, the European Neuroscience Institute Goettingen, the Center for System Neuroscience (CSN), the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN) and the interdisciplinary Collaborative Research Center "Cellular Mechanisms of Sensory Processing". Graduate students can choose among a large number of PhD programs of the Goettingen Graduate School for Neurosciences and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB). The Max Planck Society is committed to employing more handicapped individuals and especially encourages them to apply From bhammer at techfak.uni-bielefeld.de Mon Nov 14 12:41:09 2011 From: bhammer at techfak.uni-bielefeld.de (Barbara Hammer) Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:41:09 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: IJCNN'12 session on Interactive Data Analysis and Visualization Message-ID: <4EC152B5.5050703@techfak.uni-bielefeld.de> * Special Session on Interactive Data Analysis and Visualization * organized by Barbara Hammer, Oliver Obst, Yasufumi Takama at IEEE International Joint Conference on Neural Networks, 10-15 June 2012, Brisbane, Australia http://www.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/~bhammer/IJCNN12/ By offering automated information extraction tools from data, machine learning has revolutionized the way in which humans can cope with electronic data volumes. The ever increasing complexity of the settings continues to pose challenges to the field: often, it is no longer possible to specify a priori a formal learning task; complex parameter choices can severely influence the outcome; and an appropriate encoding of data is not clear at all. More and more often, the human constitutes an important step in the loop to interactively decide about an appropriate learning model, model parameters, and data representation. Because of this fact, intuitive models and model parameters, and human understandable interfaces to the model and data are needed. In this frame, interesting new technologies have been developed such as high quality data visualization tools, sparse interpretable data representation and models, informed priors, active learning, and similar. This special session aims to foster research in neural learning paradigms which offer an intuitive interface to data or models and thus have the potential as parts of an interactive pipeline. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: * Data visualization and dimensionality reduction * Exploratory data analysis * Visualization of machine learning models * Compressed representation and sparse models * Prototype based techniques * Relevance learning * Interpretability of model parameters * Informed priors * Active learning * Semi-supervised learning * Multicriteria evaluation measures * Evaluation measures for unsupervised models * User Studies * Applications For more information see the IJCNN web site http://www.ieee-wcci2012.org/ -- Prof. Dr. Barbara Hammer CITEC centre of excellence Bielefeld University D-33594 Bielefeld Phone: +49 521 / 106 12115 Fax: +49 521 / 106 12181 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111114/0126d8b8/attachment.html From bowlby at bu.edu Wed Nov 16 09:52:41 2011 From: bowlby at bu.edu (Brian Bowlby) Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:52:41 -0500 Subject: Connectionists: 16th ICCNS conference: Call for Abstracts and Confirmed Invited Speakers Message-ID: <7CA63DD8-2170-4020-B251-E8CBB62B983A@bu.edu> SIXTEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS May 30 ? June 1, 2012 Boston University 677 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA http://cns.bu.edu/cns-meeting/conference.html Sponsored by the Boston University Center for Adaptive Systems, Center for Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology (CompNet), and Center of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science, and Technology (CELEST) with financial support from the National Science Foundation This interdisciplinary conference is attended each year by approximately 300 people from 30 countries around the world. As in previous years, the conference will focus on solutions to the questions: HOW DOES THE BRAIN CONTROL BEHAVIOR? HOW CAN TECHNOLOGY EMULATE BIOLOGICAL INTELLIGENCE? The conference is aimed at researchers and students of computational neuroscience, cognitive science, neural networks, neuromorphic engineering, and artificial intelligence. It includes invited lectures and contributed lectures and posters by experts on the biology and technology of how the brain and other intelligent systems adapt to a changing world. The conference is particularly interested in exploring how the brain and biologically-inspired algorithms and systems in engineering and technology can learn. Single-track oral and poster sessions enable all presented work to be highly visible. Three-hour poster sessions with no conflicting events will be held on two of the conference days. Posters will be up all day, and can also be viewed during breaks in the talk schedule. CONFIRMED INVITED SPEAKERS Martin Banks (University of California, Berkeley) Combining depth information from disparity and blur Helen Barbas (Boston University) [Plenary Speaker] Prefrontal pathways and flexible behavior Nathaniel Daw (New York University) Reinforcement learning: Beyond reinforcement Paul Glimcher (New York University) The emerging standard model of human decision-making Stephen Grossberg (Boston University) [Plenary Speaker] Social cognition: How do children learn to follow gaze, share joint attention, imitate their teachers, and use tools during social interactions? Lori Holt (Carnegie Mellon University) Using speech to listen in on auditory processing Margaret Livingstone (Harvard Medical School) Why do we have category specific domains and what good are they? Zhong-Lin Lu (Ohio State University) Functions and mechanisms of perceptual learning Christopher Pack (McGill University) Short-term plasticity of receptive fields and functional connectivity in primate visual cortex Veit Stuphorn (Johns Hopkins University) The role of the Supplementary Eye Field in value-based decision-making Jeffrey Taube (Dartmouth College) Learning and memory in the head direction cell circuit CELEST WORKSHOP ON ?BUILDING AUTONOMOUS ROBOTS? Gary Bradski (Willow Garage) Perception tools and systems for autonomous robots Stefano Fusi (Columbia University) The importance of conjunctive neural representations in high cognitive functions Jeff Krichmar (University of California, Irvine) Neuromorphic and brain-based robots Greg Snider (HP Labs) Inference and learning with dynamic fields Max Versace (Boston University) Intelligent machines or bust CALL FOR ABSTRACTS Session Topics: * vision * image understanding * audition * speech and language * unsupervised learning * supervised learning * reinforcement and emotion * sensory-motor control * cognition, planning, and attention * spatial mapping and navigation * object recognition * neural circuit models * neural system models * mathematics of neural systems * robotics * hybrid systems (fuzzy, evolutionary, digital) * neuromorphic VLSI * industrial applications * other Contributed abstracts must be received, in English, by January 31, 2012. Email notification of acceptance will be provided by February 29, 2012. A meeting registration fee must accompany each abstract. The fee will be refunded if the abstract is not accepted for presentation. Fees of accepted abstracts will be returned upon written request only until April 13, 2012. Abstracts must not exceed one 8.5"x11" page in length, with 1" margins on top, bottom, and both sides in a single-column format with a font of 10 points or larger. The title, authors, affiliations, surface, and email addresses should begin each abstract. A separate cover letter should include the abstract title; name and contact information for corresponding and presenting authors; requested preference for oral or poster presentation; and a first and second choice from the topics above, including whether it is biological (B) or technological (T) work [Example: first choice: vision (T); second choice: neural system models (B)]. Contributed talks will be 15 minutes long. Posters will be displayed for a full day. Overhead and computer projector facilities will be available for talks. Accepted abstracts will be printed in the conference proceedings volume. No extended paper will be required. Abstracts should be submitted electronically as Word files to cindy at bu.edu using the phrase ?16th ICCNS abstract submission? in the subject line or as paper hard copy (four copies of the abstract with one copy of the cover letter and the registration form) to Cynthia Bradford, Boston University, 677 Beacon Street,Boston MA 02215 USA. Fax submissions of the abstract will not be accepted. REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Early registration is recommended using the registration form below. Student registrations must be accompanied by a letter of verification from a department chairperson or faculty/research advisor. REGISTRATION FORM Sixteenth International Conference on Cognitive and Neural Systems May 30 ? June 1, 2012 Boston University 677 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA Fax: +1 617 353 7755 Mr/Ms/Dr/Prof:_____________________________________________________ Affiliation:_________________________________________________________ Address:__________________________________________________________ City, State, Postal Code:______________________________________________ Phone and Fax:_____________________________________________________ Email:____________________________________________________________ The registration fee includes a copy of the conference proceedings volume, a reception on Friday night, and 3 coffee breaks each day. CHECK ONE: ( ) $135 Conference (Regular) ( ) $85 Conference (Student) METHOD OF PAYMENT: [ ] Enclosed is a check made payable to "Boston University" Checks must be made payable in US dollars and issued by a US correspondent bank. Each registrant is responsible for any and all bank charges. [ ] I wish to pay by credit card (MasterCard, Visa, or Discover Card only) Name as it appears on the card:___________________________________________ Type of card: _____________________________ Expiration date:________________ Account number: _______________________________________________________ Signature:____________________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111116/e0988cac/attachment-0002.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: brochure.doc Type: application/msword Size: 260608 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111116/e0988cac/brochure-0001.doc -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111116/e0988cac/attachment-0003.html From jkrichma at uci.edu Wed Nov 16 19:04:41 2011 From: jkrichma at uci.edu (Jeff Krichmar) Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:04:41 -0800 Subject: Connectionists: IEEE Transactions on Autonomous Mental Development Special Issue on Biologically-Inspired Human-Robot Interactions call for papers Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, We would like to remind you that the deadline for submissions to: IEEE Transactions on Autonomous Mental Development Special Issue on Biologically-Inspired Human-Robot Interactions call for papers is coming up fast! The webpage for the special issue can be found at: http://research.microsoft.com/~zhang/IEEE-TAMD/CFP-SI-HRI.html Call for Papers As robots become more common in our daily activities, human-robot interactions and human-computer interfaces are becoming increasingly important. Despite considerable progress in this relatively new field, very few researchers have paid attention to how the brain, cognition, and underlying biological mechanisms are involved in such interactions. This call requests papers that bring together fields of study, such as cognitive architectures, computational neuroscience, developmental psychology, machine psychology, and socially affective robotics, to advance the field of human-robot interaction. A robot that shares many of the attributes of the human it is interacting with would not only result in a more sophisticated robot, but it may also cause the human to respond more naturally, and be more willing to cooperate with such a robot. Submitted papers should further the field of Human-Robot Interaction through biologically inspired algorithms or methods. Topics may include, but are not limited to: ? Brain imaging during human-robot interaction ? Neurobiologically inspired models of human-robot interaction ? Cooperative behavior and/or teamwork with robots and humans ? Emotion and empathy in robotic systems ? Gesture recognition using neural systems ? Human brain activity while interacting with robotic systems ? Human and robot shared or joint attention ? Natural language communication ? Natural vision systems ? Robot imitation of human behavior ? Socially affective robots ? Social cognition ? Space sharing and co-existence between humans and machines ? Theory of mind in robots Editors: Frederick C Harris, Jr., University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV, fredh at cse.unr.edu Jeffrey Krichmar, University of California, Irvine, Irvine CA, USA, jkrichma at uci.edu Hava Siegelmann, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA, hava at cs.umass.edu Hiroaki Wagatsuma, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu, Japan, waga at brain.kyutech.ac.jp Two kinds of submissions are possible: ? Regular papers, up to 15 double column pages. ? Correspondence papers either presenting a "perspective" that includes insights into issues of wider scope than a regular paper but without being highly computational in style or presenting concise description of recent technical results, up to 8 double column pages. Instructions for authors: http://ieee-cis.org/pubs/tamd/authors/ We are accepting submissions through Manuscript Central at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tamd-ieee (please select ? Bio-inspired human robot interaction ? as the submission type) When submitting your manuscript, please also cc jkrichma at uci.edu, fredh at cse.unr.edu, hava at cs.umass.edu, andwaga at brain.kyutech.ac.jp Timeline: December 31, 2011 ? Deadline for paper submission February 15, 2012 ? Notification April 15, 2012 ? Final version May 1, 2012 ? Electronic publication June 15, 2012 ? Printed publication Best regards, Jeff Krichmar Department of Cognitive Sciences 2328 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA 92697-5100 jkrichma at uci.edu http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~jkrichma -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111116/446ac19c/attachment.html From leibold at zi.biologie.uni-muenchen.de Thu Nov 17 11:15:16 2011 From: leibold at zi.biologie.uni-muenchen.de (Christian Leibold) Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:15:16 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Reminder to Special issue of Network on "Analysis and modeling of multicellular dynamics" Message-ID: <4EC53314.7090507@zi.biologie.uni-muenchen.de> Dear Colleagues: I would like to remind you to the call for papers from September 9th (see below). The deadline is coming close! Sincerely, Christian Leibold On 09/09/2011 09:08 AM, Christian Leibold wrote: Dear colleagues: I am pleased to announce a call for papers for a special issue of Network: Computation in Neural Systems on "Analysis and modeling of multicellular dynamics" The tremendous technological advance of neuronal recording methods over recent years has generated extensive data sets about the activities of many neurons in parallel. These data describe collective neuronal processing to a level of detail that only several years ago would have been considered impossible by many researchers. It is now possible to do multielectrode recordings of extracellular spiking from over a hundred neurons in parallel; further, two-photon microscopy allows parallel intracellular calcium imaging of even hundreds of neurons. The leading labs presently strive to bring these techniques into behaving animal research and to further increase the number of recorded single cells - and even cellular compartments. These developments pose an enormous challenge to theoretical neuroscientists. On the one hand more efficient data analysis methods are required to harvest the full potential of these recordings. On the other hand these data allow a new way of envisioning and validating computational models of neural systems. The networks in the brain now evolve from an abstract computational entity to experimentally tractable dynamical systems. The possible implications of this are significant, potentially slowly closing the gap between microcircuits and large scale signals as EEG or MRI. This special issue will cover topics on analysis techniques of multi-cellular recordings, models of neuronal networks that may aid in such analysis techniques, the cellular basis of field potentials, mechanisms underlying oscillations and synchrony, and phenomenological models of spike correlations. Submission instructions can be found at: http://informahealthcare.com/net contributions to the special issue should be marked in the submission letter accordingly Important Dates Submissions due: 30. November 2011 Revised Submissions due: 31. January 2012 Planned date of publication: June 2012 From mail at mkaiser.de Wed Nov 16 16:23:24 2011 From: mail at mkaiser.de (Marcus Kaiser) Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:23:24 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: Wellcome Trust 4-year PhD programme in Systems Neuroscience (Newcastle University) Message-ID: Dear all, our Wellcome Trust 4-year PhD programme in systems neuroscience, aimed at applicants from the physical sciences (physics, engineering, mathematics, or computer science), is now accepting applications for studentships starting in September 2012 (see below). Research areas include Neuroinformatics, Computational Neuroscience, Neuroimaging (fMRI, DTI, EEG, ECoG), Brain Connectivity, Clinical Neuroscience, Behaviour and Evolution, and Brain Dynamics (simulations and time series analysis). Strong interactions between clinical, experimental, and computational researchers are a key component of this programme. Best, Marcus Systems Neuroscience: From Networks to Behaviour - sponsored by the Wellcome Trust Programme Directors: Prof Miles Whittington, Prof Tim Griffiths and Dr Marcus Kaiser The Institute of Neuroscience at Newcastle University integrates more than 100 principal investigators across medicine, psychology, computer science, and engineering. Research in systems, cellular, computational, and behavioural neuroscience. Laboratory facilities include auditory and visual psychophysics; rodent, monkey, and human neuroimaging (EEG, fMRI, PET); TMS; optical recording, multi-electrode neurophysiology, confocal and fluorescence imaging, high-throughput computing and e-science, artificial sensory-motor devices, clinical testing, and the only brain bank for molecular changes in human brain development. The Wellcome Trust's Four-year PhD Programmes are a flagship scheme aimed at supporting the most promising students to undertake in-depth postgraduate research training. The first year combines taught courses with three laboratory rotations to broaden students' knowledge of the subject area. At the end of the first year, students will make an informed choice of their three-year PhD research project. This programme is based at Newcastle University and is aimed to provide specialised training for physical and computational scientists (e.g. physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and computer science) wishing to apply their skills to a research neuroscience career. Eligibility/Person Specification: Applicants should have, or expect to obtain, a 1st or 2:1 degree, or equivalent, in a physical sciences, engineering, mathematics or computing degree. Value of the award: Support includes a stipend for 4 years, PhD registration fees at UK/EU student rate, research expenses, general training funds and some travel costs. How to apply: You must apply through the University's online postgraduate application form (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply/ ) inserting the reference number IN044 and selecting MRes/PhD Faculty of Medical Sciences - Neuroscience (full time) as the programme of study. Only mandatory fields need to be completed (no personal statement required) and a covering letter, CV and (if English is not your first language) a copy of your English language qualifications must be attached. The covering letter must state the title of the studentship, quote the reference number IN044 and state how your interests and experience relate to the programme. The deadline for receiving applications is 16 January 2012. You should also send your covering letter and CV to Helen Stewart, Postgraduate Secretary, Institute of Neuroscience, Henry Wellcome Building, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, or by email to h.stewart at ncl.ac.uk . For more information, see http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ion/postgrad/research/wellcome/ -- Marcus Kaiser, Ph.D. Associate Professor (Reader) in Neuroinformatics 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 Visiting Professor in Neuroinformatics Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Seoul National University, Korea http://www.biological-networks.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111116/a29f8fd8/attachment.html From terry at salk.edu Thu Nov 17 16:27:32 2011 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:27:32 -0800 Subject: Connectionists: NEURAL COMPUTATION - October, 2011 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Neural Computation - Contents - Volume 23, Number 10 - October 1, 2011 ARTICLE A systematic method for configuring VLSI networks of spiking 1 neurons Emre Neftci, Elisabetta Chicca, Giacomo Indiveri, and Rodney Douglas NOTE Characterization of minimum error linear coding with sensory and neural noise Eizaburo Doi and Michael S. Lewicki LETTERS An optimal feedback control framework for grasping objects with position uncertainty Vassilios Christopoulos and Paul Schrater A General Likelihood Framework for Characterizing the Time Course of Neural Activity Michael J. Prerau, Uri T. Eden Learning a sparse code for temporal sequences using STDP and sequence compression Sean Byrnes, Anthony N. Burkitt, David B. Grayden, and Hamish Meffin Automated Parameter Estimation of the Hodgkin-Huxley Model Using the Differential Evolution Algorithm: Application to Neuromimetic Analog Integrated Circuits Laure Buhry, Filippo Rassia, Audrey Giremus, Eric Grivel, Sylvie Renaud, and Sylvain Saighi A Low-Order Model of Biological Neural Networks James Ting-Ho Lo Predicting Panel Data Binary Choice with the Gibbs Posterior Lili Yao, Wenxin Jiang and Martin A. Tanner Reproducing Kernel Banach Spaces with the l1 Norm II: Error Analysis for Regularized Least Square Regression Haizhang Zhang and Guohui Song ----- ON-LINE - http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/neco SUBSCRIPTIONS - 2011 - VOLUME 23 - 12 ISSUES USA Others Electronic only Student/Retired $67 $130 $62 Individual $118 $181 $110 Institution $986 $1,049 $882 Canada: Add 5% 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 tomas.hromadka at gmail.com Thu Nov 17 01:08:04 2011 From: tomas.hromadka at gmail.com (Tomas Hromadka) Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:08:04 -0500 Subject: Connectionists: COSYNE 2012: abstract submission closes in about a week (deadline Nov 23) Message-ID: <4EC4A4C4.6040308@gmail.com> ================================================================= Computational and Systems Neuroscience (Cosyne) MAIN MEETING WORKSHOPS Feb 23 - 26, 2012 Feb 27 - 28, 2012 Salt Lake City, Utah Snowbird Ski Resort, Utah http://www.cosyne.org ================================================================= ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Wed 23 Nov 2011 The annual Cosyne meeting provides an inclusive forum for the exchange of empirical and theoretical approaches to problems in systems neuroscience, in order to understand how neural systems function. The MAIN MEETING is single-track. A set of invited talks are selected by the Executive Committee, and additional talks and posters are selected by the Program Committee, based on submitted abstracts. The WORKSHOPS feature in-depth discussion of current topics of interest, in a small group setting. Cosyne topics include but are not limited to: neural coding, natural scene statistics, dendritic computation, neural basis of persistent activity, nonlinear receptive field mapping, representations of time and sequence, reward systems, decision-making, synaptic plasticity, map formation and plasticity, population coding, attention, and computation with spiking networks. INVITED SPEAKERS: John Assad Michael Brecht Emery Brown Nicolas Brunel Stefano Fusi Tom Griffiths Takao Hensch Zach Mainen Fred Rieke Rebecca Saxe Noam Sobel Sarah Woolley When preparing an abstract, authors should be aware that not all abstracts can be accepted for the meeting, due to space constraints. Abstracts will be selected based on the clarity with which they convey the substance, significance, and originality of the work to be presented. ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: General Chairs: Rachel Wilson (Harvard) and Jim DICarlo (MIT) Program Chairs: Nicole Rust (Penn) and Jonathan Pillow (UT Austin) Workshop Chairs: Brent Doiron (Pittsburgh) and Jess Cardin (Yale) Publicity Chair: Mark Histed (Harvard Medical School) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Anthony Zador (CSHL) Alexandre Pouget (U Rochester) Zachary Mainen (Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme) From gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu Fri Nov 18 10:27:07 2011 From: gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu (Mark A. Gluck) Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:27:07 -0500 Subject: Connectionists: Seeking Minority PhD or Postdoctoral Candidates in Cognitive Neuroscience. Deadline Jan 15th. Message-ID: We are seeking a strong minority PhD student (for our Behavioral and Neural Sciences Ph.D. program) or postdoctoral fellow for my lab to work on the cognitive neuroscience of learning, memory, and decision making, including studies of genetic bases of individual differences in cognition, functional brain imaging, research on cognitive function in Parkinson's disease, clinical depression, schizophrenia, and PTSD, along with studies of life-span changes in memory in elderly African-Americans and others. There are also additional opportunities in to work on community-education and public outreach programs within our Newark African-American Alzheimer's Awareness & Brain Health Initiative. Funding for minority candidates will come through either our NIH Minority Biomedical Research Support Center Grant or through possible supplemental funding to our NIH/NINDS Udall Center of Excellence in Parkinson's Disease grant. Note: These openings at Rutgers are for US Citizens or Green Card holders only. More information on our lab and related programs is at http://www.gluck.edu For information on our PhD program and other neuroscience resources at Rutgers-Newark (including our new NSF-funded Rutgers University Brain Imaging Center), see http://www.neuroscience.newark.rutgers.edu We are located in Newark, New Jersey, just outside (about 13 miles from) Manhattan/New York City. Please share with any under-represented minority graduating college seniors, post-bac research assistants, or graduate students seeking a postdoctoral fellowship in cognitive neuroscience for start date of fall 2012. DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: JANUARY 15th, 2012. Please send cover letter with overview of your background and career goals, along with names and emails of potential recommenders and attach your CV. Email x to gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu Thanks, Mark -- ___________________________________________ Dr. Mark A. Gluck, Professor Director, Rutgers Memory Disorders Project Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Rutgers University Phone: (973) 353-3668/3298 197 University Ave. Newark, New Jersey 07102 Email: gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu Lab: http://www.gluck.edu Memory Loss & Brain Newsletter: http://www.memorylossonline.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111118/1335e0fc/attachment.html From Johan.Suykens at esat.kuleuven.be Fri Nov 18 09:17:00 2011 From: Johan.Suykens at esat.kuleuven.be (Johan Suykens) Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:17:00 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: PhD and Postdoc positions K.U. Leuven ESAT-SCD Message-ID: <4EC668DC.9000100@esat.kuleuven.be> The research group K.U. Leuven ESAT-SCD is currently offering new PhD positions (4-years of PhD study) and Postdoc positions (1 year, extendable) within the framework of the ERC Advanced Grant A-DATADRIVE-B (PI: Johan Suykens) http://www.kuleuven.be/research/erc/suykens.html. Different research positions (PhD/postdoc) are oriented towards -1- Prior knowledge incorporation -2- Kernels and tensors -3- Modelling structured dynamical systems -4- Sparsity -5- Optimization algorithms -6- Core models and mathematical foundations -7- Next generation software tool The research group ESAT-SCD http://www.esat.kuleuven.be/scd/ at the university K.U. Leuven Belgium provides an excellent research environment being active in the broad area of mathematical engineering, including systems and control theory, neural networks and machine learning, nonlinear systems and complex networks, optimization, signal processing, bioinformatics and biomedicine. The research will be conducted under the supervision of Prof. Johan Suykens. Interested candidates having a solid mathematical background and master degree can apply for these positions by sending their CV and motivation letter to johan.suykens at esat.kuleuven.be. For further information on these positions you may contact johan.suykens at esat.kuleuven.be. From kiebel at cbs.mpg.de Fri Nov 18 10:41:13 2011 From: kiebel at cbs.mpg.de (Stefan Kiebel) Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:41:13 +0100 (CET) Subject: Connectionists: Subject: Invitation to apply for PhD scholarships In-Reply-To: <753848748.4539.1321630787105.JavaMail.root@zimbra> Message-ID: <1412096134.4543.1321630873268.JavaMail.root@zimbra> Dear colleagues, find below information about a graduate school at Max Planck institutes and the university in Leipzig, Germany. The research covers topics in systems neuroscience and computational neuroscience. Best wishes, Stefan Kiebel --- The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) on Neuroscience of Communication invites applications for PhD scholarships The IMPRS on Neuroscience of Communication offers a unique interdisciplinary graduate programme to study the functional, structural, and plastic bases of human communication through an integrative and interdisciplinary approach. Its overriding goal is to train PhD students in multidisciplinary aspects involved in communicative action. The programme draws on elaborate modern imaging techniques (7-Tesla MRI, 3-Tesla MRI, 306-channel MEG system), psychophysics and computational modeling. The IMPRS is a common program of the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, the University of Leipzig (Germany), the MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, and the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, UK. The graduate programme will start on April 1st, 2012). Successful candidates will be accepted into one of the following four modules of the school: (1) Verbal Communication: Language (2) Foundation of social cognition and emotions (3) Neuroscience: Basic and Clinical (4) Methods: Physics of neuroimaging and computational neuroscience There are two research clusters for computational neuroscience and neuroimaging methods: http://imprs-neurocom.mpg.de/application/descriptionComputationalNeuroscience http://imprs-neurocom.mpg.de/application/descriptionNeuroscienceMethods Information on content, structure, faculty of the program and how to apply can be found at: http://imprs-neurocom.mpg.de Deadline for applications is January 31st, 2012. -- Dr. Stefan Kiebel Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig, Germany Phone: ++49 341/9940-2435 Fax: ++49 341/9940-2221 http://www.cbs.mpg.de/depts/n-3/dyn From ASAHTan at ntu.edu.sg Tue Nov 22 04:09:02 2011 From: ASAHTan at ntu.edu.sg (Tan Ah Hwee (Assoc Prof)) Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:09:02 +0800 Subject: Connectionists: Research Positions at Nanyang Technological University In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <629B8F547581594A9B9760E372AA157717D52E6B95@EXCHANGE32.staff.main.ntu.edu.sg> Research Fellow/Research Associate/Research Engineer Research positions are now open for a newly funded project in the field of biologically-inspired cognitive agents. The successful candidates will join a vibrant team of postgraduate students, research scientists and engineers in designing and developing cognitive models for human memory systems, specifically on the representation and learning of declarative and procedural memory as well as the interaction between the distinct memory modules. Applicants for the position must satisfy the following requirement. Research Fellow 1. PhD degree in Computer Science, Computational Neuroscience, Cognitive Science or a related discipline. 2. Research experience with publications in the fields of cognitive modeling, machine learning, knowledge representation and intelligent agents. 3. Competency in Java/C++ programming and application prototype development. 4. Excellent communication and writing skills. Research Associate/Research Engineer 1. Good Masters/Bachelor degree in Computer Science, Cognitive Science or a related discipline. 2. Some experience with research projects in the fields of cognitive modeling, machine learning, knowledge representation and intelligent agents. 3. Excellent Java/C++ programming and application prototype development. 4. Excellent communication and writing skills. The positions are for a period of two years, subject to review and renewal annually. The commencing salary for the above post will be highly competitive and commensurate with the candidates' qualifications and experience. Suitably qualified applicants are invited to send in their application on prescribed form (obtainable from http://www.ntu.edu.sg/ohr/Career/SubmitApplications/Pages/Research.aspx), a detailed CV, including a list of publications and names of three referees, and other supporting documents to Ah-Hwee Tan (asahtan at ntu.edu.sg). Email submission should use the subject heading of "Application for HML Research Position". Application will remain opened until the positions are filled. We regret that only short-listed candidates will be notified. CONFIDENTIALITY: This email is intended solely for the person(s) named and may be confidential and/or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete it, notify us and do not copy, use, or disclose its content. Towards A Sustainable Earth: Print Only When Necessary. Thank you. From e.vasilaki at gmail.com Mon Nov 21 07:49:04 2011 From: e.vasilaki at gmail.com (Eleni Vasilaki) Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:49:04 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: PhD position, University of Sheffield, UK Message-ID: A PhD position is available in the groups of Machine Learning & Computational Biology, Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, under the supervision of Dr Eleni Vasilaki. The successful candidate will work in the field of Spiking Neural Networks and Synaptic Plasticity. This position is part of a larger European consortium, NAMASEN (http://www.namasen.net) with the participation of 12 academic and industrial partners. Details about the specific PhD position (Early Stage Researcher) can be found in the documentation of the NAMASEN web site. The position comes with very competitive salary and travel money, as well as the possibility of extended visits to the participating groups. Starting Date: 1st May 2012. Candidate Profile Applicants should have the equivalent of a UK 1st class/2.1 degree or Masters in a relevant discipline (mathematics, physics, computer science or engineering). They should be well motivated to do a PhD in the field of Computational Neuroscience and to interact with the interdisciplinary, multinational NAMASEN consortium. Eligibility criteria At the start of their fellowship, researchers may not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months, during the 3 years immediately prior to the start date of his/her appointment. In addition, candidates must NOT have worked in a research position of received research training for more than 4 years from the date obtained their undergraduate degree. Why study at Sheffield? The University of Sheffield is a member of the Russell Group of leading research-intensive universities. It was ranked 40th in the world's top 100 universities by the Global University Ranking Study 2009, and is consistently ranked amongst the top 20 universities in the United Kingdom and Europe according to The Good University Guide. In 2011, QS World University Rankings placed Sheffield as the 72nd university worldwide. The university has produced five Nobel Prize winners so far. The city of Sheffield is well connected with Manchester International Airport (1h15) and to London St Pancras (2h07). The Peak District, the first and largest of Britain's National Parks, is just five miles from Sheffield city centre. How to apply Application process: Send by email to e.vasilaki at sheffield.ac.uk a motivation letter (including your reasons for applying to this specific PhD position), a full CV, copies of transcripts and 2 to 3 names of references. Candidates that match the required profile will be continuously interviewed until the position is filled. From terry at salk.edu Sun Nov 20 19:08:14 2011 From: terry at salk.edu (Terry Sejnowski) Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:08:14 -0800 Subject: Connectionists: UCSD Computational Neuroscience Graduate Program In-Reply-To: Message-ID: UCSD GRADUATE PROGRAM IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE ***** http://neurograd.ucsd.edu/2page.php?id=doccomp Application deadline: December 1, 2011 http://neurograd.ucsd.edu/2page.php?id=gradadm ***** The goal of the Computational Neuroscience Specialization in the Neurosciences Graduate Program at UCSD is to train researchers who are equally at home measuring large-scale brain activity, analyzing the data with advanced computational techniques, and developing new models for brain development and function. Candidates from a wide range of backgrounds are invited to apply, including Biology, Psychology, Computer Science, Physics and Mathematics. The three major themes in the training program are: 1. Neurobiology of Neural Systems: Anatomy, physiology and behavior of systems of neurons. Using modern neuroanatomical, behavioral, neuropharmacological and electrophysiological techniques. Lectures, wet laboratories and computer simulations, as well as research rotations. Major new imaging and recording techniques also will be taught, including two-photon laser scanning microscopy and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). 2. Algorithms and Realizations for the Analysis of Neuronal Data: New algorithms and techniques for analyzing data obtained from physiological recording, with an emphasis on recordings from large populations of neurons with imaging and multielectrode recording techniques. New methods for the study of co-ordinated activity, such as multi-taper spectral analysis and Independent Component Analysis (ICA). 3. Neuroinformatics, Dynamics and Control of Systems of Neurons: Theoretical aspects of single cell function and emergent properties as many neurons interact among themselves and react to sensory inputs. A synthesis of approaches from mathematics and physical sciences as well as biology will be used to explore the collective properties and nonlinear dynamics of neuronal systems, as well as issues of sensory coding and motor control. ***** Participating Faculty include: * Henry Abarbanel (Physics): Nonlinear and oscillatory dynamics; modeling central pattern generators in the lobster stomatogastric ganglion. * Thomas Albright (Salk Institute): Motion processing in primate visual cortex; linking single neurons to perception; fMRI in awake, behaving monkeys. Director, Sloan Center for Theoretical Neurobiology * Darwin Berg (Neurobiology): Regulation synaptic components, assembly and localization, function and long-term stability. * Ed Callaway (Salk Institute): Neural circuits, visual perception, visual cortex Genetic tools for tracing neural pathways. * Gert Cauwenberghs (Bioengineering): Neuromorphic Engineering; analog VLSI chips; wireless recording and nanoscale instrumentation for neural systems; large-scale cortical modeling. * Sreekanth Chalasani (Salk): C. elegans: genes, networks and behavior Optical recording of olfactory processing. * Andrea Chiba (Cognitive Science): Spatial attention, associative learning, cholinergic neuromodulaiton of behavior, amygdala recordings * EJ Chichilnisky (Salk Institute): Retinal multielectrode recording; neural coding, visual perception. * Todd Coleman (Bioengineering): Brain-Machine Interfaces (BMI) * Garrison Cottrell (Computer Science and Engineering): Dynamical neural network models and learning algorithms * Virginia De Sa (Cognitive Science): Computational basis of perception and learning; multi-sensory integration and contextual influences * Mark Ellisman (Neurosciences, School of Medicine): High resolution electron and light microscopy; anatomical reconstructions. * Fred Gage (Salk Institute): Neurogenesis and models of the hippocampus; neuronal diversity, neural stem cells. * Timothy Gentner (Psychology): Birdsong learning. Neuroethology of vocal communication and audition * Robert Hecht-Nielsen (Electrical and Computer Engineering): Neural computation and the functional organization of the cerebral cortex. * Steve Hillyard (Neurosciences): EEG, perception, attention, memory, Event related potentilas, SSVEP * Harvey Karten (Neurosciences, School of Medicine): Anatomical, physiological and computational studies of the retina and optic tectum of birds and squirrels * David Kleinfeld (Physics): Active sensation in rats; properties of neuronal assemblies; optical imaging of large-scale activity. * William Kristan (Neurobiology): Computational Neuroethology; functional and developmental studies of the leech nervous system, including studies of the bending reflex and locomotion. Director, Neurosciences Graduate Program at UCSD * Herbert Levine (Physics): Nonlinear dynamics and pattern formation in physical and biological systems, including cardiac dynamics and the growth and form of bacterial colonies * Scott Makeig (Institute for Neural Computation): Analysis of cognitive event-related brain dynamics and fMRI using time-frequency and Independent Component Analysis * Javier Movellan (Institute for Neural Computation): Sensory fusion and learning algorithms for continuous stochastic systems * Mikhael Rabinovich (Institute for Nonlinear Science): Dynamical systems analysis of the stomatogastric ganglion of the lobster and the antenna lobe of insects * Pamela Reinagel (Biology): Sensory and neural coding; natural scene statistics; recordings from the visual system of cats and rodents. * John Reynolds (Salk): Visual attention, cortex, psychophysics, neurophysiology, neural modeling * Massimo Scanziani (Biology): Neural circuits in the somotosensory cortex; physiology of synaptic transmission; inhibitory mechanisms. * Terrence Sejnowski (Salk Institute/Neurobiology): Computational models and physiological studies of synaptic, neuronal and network function. * Tanya Sharpee (Salk): Statistical physics and information theory approaches to sensory processing in natural auditory and visual environments. * Gabe Silva (Bioengineering): Cellular neural engineering * Nicholas Spitzer (Neurobiology): Regulation of ionic channels and neurotransmitters in developing neurons and neural function. * Charles Stevens (Salk Institute): Synaptic physiology; theoretical models of neuroanatomical scaling. * Roger Tsien (Chemistry): Second messenger systems in neurons; development of new optical and MRI probes of neuron function, including calcium indicators and caged neurotransmitters * Jing Wang (Biology): Representation of olfactory information in the nervous system of Drosophila * Ruth Williams (Mathematics): Probabilistic analysis of stochastic systems and continuous learning algorithms * Angela Yu (Cognitive Science): Sensory processing, attentional selection, perceptual decision-making, sensorimotor integration, learning, and adaptation. ***** On-line applications: http://neurograd.ucsd.edu/2page.php?id=gradadm The deadline for completed application materials, including letters of recommendation, is December 1, 2011. ----- From leent at ohsu.edu Wed Nov 23 21:03:51 2011 From: leent at ohsu.edu (Todd Leen) Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:03:51 -0800 Subject: Connectionists: Neuroengineering / Ubiquitous Computing Faculty Position Message-ID: <4ECDA607.6080406@ohsu.edu> Neuroengineering / Ubiquitous Computing Faculty Position The Department of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University invites applications at all ranks for a faculty position in neuroengineering. The primary interest is to extend our existing program in developing technologies that allow early detection and remediation of cognitive decline, functional disability, and chronic disease through unobtrusive, continuous, in-home technologies. OHSU is at the forefront of research in the application of technology to understand aging and neurological diseases. We seek a researcher with a well-developed program in computational behavioral and predictive modeling, and optionally with experience with ubiquitous technologies, to collaborate with our group in Biomedical Engineering and with clinicians throughout OHSU. A secondary interest is applications of speech technologies to health care. The faculty member will be expected to teach courses supporting the research program and appropriate background areas such as biomedical signal processing or statistical modeling. OHSU offers a wealth of clinical collaboration possibilities, including neurology, the Layton Aging & Alzheimer?s Disease Center, the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology, and the new Center for Spatial Systems Biomedicine. We provide competitive startup and compensation packages. The appointee will be expected to maintain an independent, extramurally funded research program. Senior applicants must have demonstrated research excellence and a strong existing extramural funding portfolio. Junior applicants must show strong evidence of potential success in building a well-funded program, including participation in grant writing and experience at the postdoctoral level. The position will start September 2012. Interested individuals should submit a CV; up to three recent reprints; statements of research interests, and teaching and mentoring experience and philosophy; and the names and contact information for three references by January 31, 2012 at www.ohsujobs.com reference IRC352204. OHSU is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, minorities, disabled persons, Vietnam era and disabled veterans are encouraged to apply. OHSU is a smoke-free workplace. -- *** NOTE NEW EMAIL *** leent at ohsu.edu Todd K. Leen, Professor Dept. of Biomedical Engineering School of Medicine Oregon Health & Science University From n.yousif at imperial.ac.uk Thu Nov 24 06:05:09 2011 From: n.yousif at imperial.ac.uk (Yousif, Nada) Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:05:09 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: Research assistant / PhD student Message-ID: <02E4F09F2182184C945EC178BB45AA860D4FD2D6@icexch-m1.ic.ac.uk> post on behalf of Jorn Diedrichsen j.diedrichsen at ucl.ac.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Applications are invited for a Research Assistant in the Motor Control Group at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience under the supervision of Dr Jorn Diedrichsen. The group uses robotic equipment, brain imaging, and brain stimulation methods to study the computational and neural processes underlying human motor learning in health and disease. The post-holder will support ongoing research and will be involved in setting up and running experiments including the recruitment and testing of participants. For more information about the laboratory, please see: http://www.icn.ucl.ac.uk/motorcontrol/ The position offers the option to enrol as a part-time PhD student in the UCL PhD programme in the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences. Acceptance to the programme is conditional on academic excellence, and is neither prerequisite nor guaranteed in connection with the advertised post. The post is funded for four years in the first instance, through a grant from the James S McDonnell foundation. The start date is flexible. Closing date for applications is the 15th of January, 2012. For more information see: https://atsv7.wcn.co.uk/search_engine/jobs.cgi?SID=amNvZGU9MTIxNDk0NSZ2dF90ZW1wbGF0ZT05NjUmb3duZXI9NTA0MTE3OCZvd25lcnR5cGU9ZmFpciZicmFuZF9pZD0wJmpvYl9yZWZfY29kZT0xMjE0OTQ1JnBvc3RpbmdfY29kZT0yMjQmcmVxc2lnPTEzMjE4NzEzMTQtNTcxNzFkYWZjNDc0NDQ0YmEyYzRhZDhiMmI5NDE5NzFlMDJhMjk5MA== -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111124/ac873294/attachment-0001.html From frank.ritter at psu.edu Thu Nov 24 14:41:01 2011 From: frank.ritter at psu.edu (Frank Ritter) Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:41:01 -0500 Subject: Connectionists: CogModel notes: ICCM12/BRIMS12+SI/Misc/Jobs // for Forwarding Message-ID: [please consider sending this out to your members, or the parts that are appropriate. -FER ps. happy thanksgiving] This is based on the International Cognitive Modeling Conference mailing list that I maintain. I forward messages about twice a year. (this is the third one for ICCM 2012 though.) The first announcement is driving this email -- the deadline for papers for ICCM 2012 in Berlin is coming up. If you would like to be removed, please just let me know. I maintain it by hand to keep it small. cheers, Frank Ritter frank.e.ritter at gmail.com http://acs.ist.psu.edu http://www.frankritter.com 1. ICCM 2012, Berlin, 12-15 April 2012, due 15 dec 2011 http://www.iccm2012.com 2. ICCM 2012 tutorials call, Berlin, 12 April 2012, due 3 dec 11 http://www.iccm2012.com/tutorials/ 3. Special issue of Comp & Math Org Theory from BRIMS 2010 http://acs.ist.psu.edu/papers/kennedyRB11.pdf 4. Abstract-lite software for visualizing traces http://vm.liris.cnrs.fr:34080/abstract/lite 5. Cogsci 2011 Conference recordings http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/cogsci-2011 6. Twitter account for HCI Bibliography http://twitter.com/#!/HCIBibliography 7. ACM SigCHI survey on HCI education http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/hci_education 8. Funding Opportunities for Promoting AI Research http://tinyurl.com/aijournal5 (DEADLINE: 02:12:2011) 9. New ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems Debuts http://tiis.acm.org/ 10. Discount for book: In order to learn http://www.oup.com/us Promo CodE:30382 11. New home for the CLARION Cognitive Architecture Project & Library https://sites.google.com/site/clarioncognitivearchitecture/ 12. 2 assistant professor positions at Penn State IST http://ist.psu.edu/research/assistant-professor-of-ist 13. Postdoctoral Position in Human Robot Interaction http://www.qatar.cmu.edu/~msakr/postdoc_hri/ 14. Penn State Center for Language Science neuroscience postdoc position pirepostdoc at gmail.com, due 1 dec 2011 15. 15 PhD studentships in Neuroinformatics and Computational Neuroscience http://www.anc.ed.ac.uk/dtc 16. PhD position, Hunter College 17. Faculty Applications in Innovative Research Methods, PSU http://www.ssri.psu.edu/news/2011/a-call-for-faculty-applications-in-innovative-research-methods 18. RA position at European Centre for Soft Computing 19. Post-doc at USC with Rosenbloom 20. Faculty Positions in Psychology at UMass Lowell for Fall 2012 21. Fully funded PhD position in Groningen 22. Defense Threat Reduction Agency Post Doc Program Announcement 23. 5 Tenure Track Positions at all levels in Game Design at Northeastern U. 24. Weekly AISB opportunities bulletin (4/nov/11) (more jobs, and such) **************************************************************** 1. ICCM 2012, Berlin, Germany, 12-15 April 2012, due 15 dec 2011 http://www.iccm2012.com The conference will be held from 13 to 15 April 2012 in Berlin at the Technische Universitat Berlin (Berlin Institute of Technology (TU/Berlin)). The conference web page is htpp://www.iccm2012.com The International Conference on Cognitive Modeling (ICCM) is the premier conference for research on computational models and computation-based theories of human behavior. ICCM is a forum for presenting, discussing, and evaluating the complete spectrum of cognitive modeling approaches, including connectionism, symbolic modeling, dynamical systems, Bayesian modeling, and cognitive architectures. ICCM includes basic and applied research, across a wide variety of domains, ranging from low-level perception and attention to higher-level problem-solving and learning. ICCM 2012 will be held in Berlin, Germany, on the campus of the Technische Universitat Berlin. The main conference will be held April 13-15, 2012 and the tutorials will be held April 12, 2012. We hope to see you in Berlin, The chairs are: "Nele Russwinkel" , "Uwe Drewitz" , "Hedderik van Rijn" , "Jeronimo Dzaak" A link to the online submission system will be provided on this page starting November 21st. Three types of submissions are possible: Papers: refereed papers of up to 6 pages. If a submission is accepted to be published as a paper, the paper will be presented at the conference either as a talk or as a poster. (Due December 15, 2011) Posters: refereed poster abstracts of up to 2 pages. If accepted, the corresponding poster will be presented at the conference in a dedicated poster session. (Due February 21, 2012) Symposium Proposals: The 6 page submission for a symposium should consist of an introduction to the topic of the symposium by the organizer(s), and one extended abstract per presenter. (Due December 15, 2011) **************************************************************** 2. ICCM 2012 tutorials call, Berlin, Germany, 12 April 2012, due 3 dec 11 http://www.iccm2012.com/tutorials/ The Tutorials program at the International Conference on Cognitive Modeling (ICCM) 2012 will be held on 12 April 2012. It will provide conference participants with the opportunity to gain new insights, knowledge, and skills from a broad range of areas in the field of cognitive modeling. Tutorial topics will be presented in a taught format and are likely to range from practical guidelines to theoretical issues or software. Tutorials at ICCM have been held many times before, and this year's program will be modelled after them and after the series held at the Cognitive Science Conference. If you are interested, please see the web site for more details, or contact the tutorials chair, Frank.Ritter at psu.edu *************************************************** 3. BRIMS 2012, 12-15 March 2012, submission deadline December 14, 2011 http://www.brimsconference.org You are invited to participate in the 21st Conference on Behavior Representation in Modeling and Simulation (BRIMS), to be held at the Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island, Florida (near the Georgia / Florida border). BRIMS enables modeling and simulation research scientists, engineers, and technical communities across disciplines to meet, share ideas, identify capability gaps, discuss cutting-edge research directions, highlight promising technologies, and showcase the state-of-the-art in Department of Defense related applications. The BRIMS Conference will consist of many exciting elements in 2012, including special topic areas, technical paper sessions, special symposia/panel discussions, and government laboratory sponsor sessions. Highlights of BRIMS 2012 will include a fantastic lineup of keynote speakers spanning cognitive modeling, sociocultural modeling, and network science. The BRIMS Executive Committee invites papers, posters, demos, symposia, panel discussions, and tutorials on topics related to the representation of individuals, groups, teams and organizations in models and simulations. All submissions are peer-reviewed (see www.brimsconference.org for additional details on submission types). KEY DATES: [estimated] All submissions due: December 14, 2011 Tutorial Acceptance: 31 Jan 2012 Authors Notification 31 Jan 2012 Final version due: 18 Feb 2012 Tutorials: 12 March 2011 BRIMS 2010 Opens: 13 March 2011 BRIMS PROGAM COMMITTEE: William Kennedy (George Mason University) Bradley Best (Adaptive Cognitive Systems) Robert St. Amant (North Carolina State University) If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the BRIMS 2012 Conference Chair, Dr. Tiffany Jastrzembski (tiffany.jastrzembski at wpafb.af.mil). **************************************************************** 3. Special issue of Comp & Math Org Theory from BRIMS 2010 http://acs.ist.psu.edu/papers/kennedyRB11.pdf Kennedy, G. W., Ritter, F. E., & Best, B. J. (2011). Behavioral representation in modeling and simulation introduction to CMOT special issue--BRiMS 2010. Computational Mathematical and Organizational Theory, 17, 225-228. Four papers: Jones, R., Connors, E. S., Mossey, M. E., Hyatt, J. R., Hansen, N.J., & Endsley, M. R. (2011). Using fuzzy cognitive mapping techniques to model situation awareness for army infantry platoon leaders, Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory. Jungkunz, P. & Darken, C. J. (2011). A computational model for human eye-movements in military simulations. Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory. Moore, L. R. (2011). Cognitive model exploration and optimization: A new challenge for computer science. Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory. Mueller, S. G., Simpkins, B., Anno, G., Fallon, C. K., Price, O., & McClellan, G. E. (2011). Adapting the task-taxon-task methodology to model the impact of chemical protective gear, Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory. **************************************************************** 4. Abstract-lite software for visualizing traces http://vm.liris.cnrs.fr:34080/abstract/lite We are pleased to announce that Abstract-Lite is now available online for your free use: http://vm.liris.cnrs.fr:34080/abstract/lite Abstract-Lite offers an interactive interface to visualize your activity traces. It is a simpler version of ABSTRACT that you can freely use online. Abstract-Lite can display your traces in real time. A full documentation is available through the Help menu. Examples of traces can be seen in the blog, for instance here: http://e-ernest.blogspot.com/2011/05/ernest-103s-traces.html Abstract-Lite was developed by Pierre-Yves Ronot as part of his masters thesis. It is part of the ABSTRACT project (http://liris.cnrs.fr/abstract) and the IDEAL project (http://liris.cnrs.fr/ideal). Please, feel free to give it a try. We are very interested in comments you might have. Olivier and Pierre-Yves ____ Dr Olivier Georgeon, ANR-RPDOC fellow Laboratoire LIRIS / UMR 5205 Universite Claude Bernard Lyon1 Batiment Nautibus 8, boulevard Niels Bohr 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex Office: +33 4 72 04 63 30 Cell: +33 6 88 10 68 59 **************************************************************** 5. Cogsci 2011 Conference recordings http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/cogsci-2011 I'm writing to let you know that The Science Network has posted talks by and interviews with some famous cognitive psychologists, recorded at the 2011 conference of the Cognitive Science Society. The recordings http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/cogsci-2011 include Anjan Chatterjee, Judea Pearl (a leader in developing Bayesian nets) , Barbara Landau, Noam Chomsky, Elissa Newport, Steve Sloman, Leonard Talmy, Art Markman, and others. Similar recordings from the 2010 meeting are at: http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/cogsci-2010 **************************************************************** 6. Twitter account for HCI Bibliography http://twitter.com/#!/HCIBibliography Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:50:49 -0400 From: Gary Perlman Subject: HCI Bibliography on Twitter To: CHI-ANNOUNCEMENTS at LISTSERV.ACM.ORG To let people know when new material is added to the HCI Bibliography (http://hcibib.org), I created a Twitter account: HCIBibliography. For 2010, 46 conference proceedings and 18 journal volumes were released, so followers should expect about a tweet a week, although they would tend to come in spurts, especially at the end of the calendar year. http://twitter.com/#!/HCIBibliography Hosted by ACM SIGCHI since 1998, the HCI Bibliography is a free-access bibliography on Human-Computer Interaction, with over 60,000 records in a searchable database. HCIBIB.ORG is also one of the premier portals to high-quality information on the development of usable and accessible software and Web-based systems. **************************************************************** 7. ACM SigCHI survey on HCI education http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/hci_education Anne Bowser, Jennifer Preece and Elizabeth Churchill are looking for survey participants who consider the research and practice of Interaction Design and/or Human Computer Interaction (HCI) to be critical and central to their work. If this sounds like you, please take their survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/hci_education This survey, done for the ACM SigCHI special project on HCI education needs, is grounded in previous research. Between March and August of 2011, exploratory research was conducted with 177 survey participants and 52 interview participants. Data from this exploratory research was iteratively coded to identify overarching themes for further exploration. These themes generated the questions in the survey. The survey is broken down into five sections that are each one page in length. The first section covers traditional and emerging subjects in HCI. The second section covers topics and areas of application. Questions on design research methods and empirical research methods compose the third section. The fourth section lists five challenges to HCI Education that were identified in the exploratory research, and asks you to asses their significance. The fifth and final section deals with demographics. Survey results will be posted to http://www.sigchi.org/resources/education/2011-education-project-1 and emailed to participants who provide an email address. If you wish to be a further participant in this research, you will have the opportunity to request a follow-up interview at the end of the survey. Thanks again for your help! Elizabeth F. Churchill, VP ACM SigCHI Jenny Preece, Adjunct Chair for Education, ACM SigCHI Anne Bowser, Research Assistant, ACM SigCHI **************************************************************** 8. Funding Opportunities for Promoting AI Research http://tinyurl.com/aijournal5 (DEADLINE: 02:12:2011) ## Background ## [abridged] The operation of the Editorial Board is supported financially through an arrangement with AIJ's publisher, Elsevier. Through this arrangement, the AIJ editorial board is in the unique position of being able to make available substantial funds, (of the order of 175,000 Euros per annum), to support the promotion and dissemination of AI research. These funds are made available through a series of competitive open calls. This document relates to the fifth call for funding, with a deadline of December 2, 2011. ## What are the goals of this funding? ## In providing this funding, AIJ aims to: * promote & raise awareness of AI research & practice; * encourage the timely and widespread dissemination of AI research results, techniques, and tools; * promote interaction and exchange of ideas between AI researchers, practitioners, and students; * promote the exploitation of AI research results, techniques, and tools. We strongly encourage the submission of proposals for activities that are fundamentally new, and likely to lead to the establishment of a new research community or new direction for AI research. ## What activities will AIJ consider funding? ## Broadly speaking, any activity that achieves the goals described above. For example: * student travel scholarships for a conference or workshop; * funds for an invited speaker to present at a conference or workshop; * funds to support a web site to disseminate proceedings of an AI related conference or workshop; * start up funds for a workshop in a promising new area of research; * funding to organise a summer school on some aspect of AI. This list is absolutely not intended to be exhaustive, and we strongly encourage you to consider innovative ways in which the goals set out above can be achieved. ## What activities does AIJ prefer not to fund? ## * We prefer not to fund individuals. By preference, requests will come from organisations such as a foundation, charitable body, or the organising committee of an event. AIJ does not exclude the possibility of funding individuals, but this is likely to be exceptional. Note that AIJ will not support individual requests for travel funds. * We prefer not to fund research projects. Research projects involving staffing costs would probably not, in our view, be a cost effective use of the funds. * We won't fund duplicate activities. For example, if there is already an established, successful, and well-regarded conference in the area of X, then in all likelihood we would not provide seed funds to set up a duplicate, competitor conference. * We prefer not to fund activities where alternative sources of funding are readily available. * Activities are funded on a not-for-private-profit basis. There is no hard and fast rule about how much you can ask for: you should ask for what you need to make your activity successful. However, here are some broad principles; as ever, these are only guidelines. First, if you are applying on behalf of a large (> 80 participants), successful, and scientifically strong conference, then please bear in mind that several such conferences applied for funding for (e.g.) student travel grants and invited speakers in the December 2009 round of AIJ funding, and typically received Euro 7000 each. Although, as always, there may be exceptions to this, it may be helpful to use this amount as a guideline. Note that we would be reluctant to spend more than Euro 35K on an individual activity. Proposals may include the possibility of AIJ underwriting an activity (to an agreed limit) in the event of a loss. Finally, we urge you to investigate whether it is possible to "leverage? AIJ funding, for example by obtaining matched funding from elsewhere. In this case, the value of every euro spent by AIJ is effectively doubled, which makes for a compelling funding case. ## Important Note for Summer 2012 Events ## If you are seek funding for an event taking place in Summer 2012, then you should apply for funding under *this* call. ## How can I bid for funds? ## A proposal should contain the following sections: * What? Describe exactly what activity funding is requested for. Please note that AIJ funds specific activities. For example, "we request funds to support a conference on X? is not a specific request, while "we request travel funds to bring invited speaker X to conference Y" is a specific request. Provide any contextual information that you think is relevant. * How Much? A (high level) budget, in Euros, which: clearly states the amount requested; provides details of the use of requested funds; describes how the requested amount fits into an overall budget for the activity/event; and clearly states what will happen to funds in the event of a surplus. NB: Please give all costs in EUROS. * Why? Brief justification for funding; note that priority will be given to activities for which no alternative funds are available. Who? Describe who will benefit from the proposed activity. * When? Dates of the proposed activity, and date by which funding would be needed. * Where? Location of the proposed activity. * Contact details. Name, affiliation, contact details for the responsible party (postal address, email, telephone number, fax), web address of event if available. Proposals should under no circumstances exceed more than two pages in total. Proposals should be submitted in PDF via the EasyChair web review system at the folowing URL: http://tinyurl.com/aijournal5 ## How will proposals be evaluated? ## We anticipate issuing calls for proposals approximately two or three times per annum, with DECEMBER 2, 2011 being the deadline for this call. Further calls will be issued later ? watch the AIJ web site for details (http://www.aijd.org/). The AIJ sponsorship committee will assess proposals on the basis of: * scientific quality of proposed activities; * likely level of impact on the international AI community; * cost effectiveness/value for money. If a proposal is approved for funding, then please be aware it may take time to transfer funds: if you are bidding for funds to support an event, then we suggest your proposal should be submitted at least 6 months before the event takes place. Where a proposal is felt to have merit but is not fundable in its submitted form, we may return to bidders to discuss possible modifications; where this is felt to be necessary, we will try to do this practicably and expeditiously. A summary of successful proposals will be made publicly available on the AIJ website. **************************************************************** 9. New ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems Debuts http://tiis.acm.org/ The first issue of ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems (TiiS) (http://tiis.acm.org/) debuted in ACM's Digital Library on November 1, making it the 34th title to appear in ACM's Transactions series of well-regarded publications. TiiS publishes research on the design, realization, or evaluation of interactive systems that incorporate some form of machine intelligence. Applications include user interface technologies; recommender systems and information retrieval; automated usability testing; human-robot interaction; semantic technologies; gaming; and mobile and ubiquitous computing. The journal explores ways that artificial and human intelligence work together; challenges to usability and acceptability raised by incorporation of intelligence in interactive systems; strategies that effectively meet these challenges; and methodologies for research, design, and evaluation of interactive intelligent systems. Planned special issues will address Interaction with Smart Objects; Human Decision Making and Recommender Systems; and Interactive Computational Visual Analytics. The Editors-in-Chief are Anthony Jameson, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), and John Riedl, University of Minnesota. See the first issue's table of contents in the Digital Library at http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2030365. **************************************************************** 10. Discount for book: In order to learn http://www.oup.com/us Promo CodE:30382 In order to learn: How the Sequence of Topics Influences Learning edited by Frank E. Ritter, Josef Nerb, Erno Lehtinen and Timothy M. O'Shea Order affects the results you get: Different orders of presenting material can lead to qualitatively and quantitatively different learning outcomes. These differences occur in both natural and artificial learning systems. In Order to Learn shows how order effects are crucial in human learning, instructional design, machine learning, and both symbolic and connectionist cognitive models. Each chapter explains a different aspect of how the order in which material is presented can strongly influence what is learned by humans and theoretical models of learning in a variety of domains. In addition to data, models are provided that predict and describe order effects and analyze how and when they will occur. The introductory and concluding chapters compile suggestions for improving learning through better sequences of learning materials, including how to take advantage of order effects that encourage learning and how to avoid order effects that discourage learning. Each chapter also highlights questions that may inspire further research. Taken together, these chapters show how order effects in different areas can and do inform each other. In Order to Learn will be of interest to researchers and students in cognitive science, education, machine learning. Frank Ritter helped start the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State, and is affiliated with the psychology, computer science and engineering departments. He also helped start the International Conference on Cognitive Modeling and the tutorial series at the Cognitive Science Conference. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the Technische Universitat Chemnitz in 2005. Josef Nerb is Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Education in Freiburg, Germany, where he also serves as a Vice Dean for teaching and learning. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Freiburg and did a post-doc at the University of Waterloo, Canada, supported by an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellowship. Erno Lehtinen is Vice rector and former Dean of the School of Education at Turku University, where he is a professor of education. He is a past president of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI). Tim O'Shea is the Principal (President) of the University of Edinburgh. Previously he was Master of Birkbeck College, and professor of information technology and education at the Open University. "...a detailed book on the role of order in learning. Authors deal with the main goal of showing the relevance of the sequence of information, topics, procedures, etc. in learning. The book is very well organized and it comes from a research program involving five work groups all interested in learning, and the influence of 'order' on learning... A great effort has been put into guiding the reader through the contents of the book in a gentle and effective manner....I would suggest this book to researchers interested in the topic of learning and teaching because it develops an original and uncommon point of view that could be difficult to find in more general educational literature; it also provides a valuable resource to reflect on the role of order in learning and teaching practice."-- Paola Palladino as reviewed in Infant and Child Development July 2007 * 256 pp. 9780195178845 * Hardback * $80.00 discounted to $64.00 Promo CodE:30382 4 EAsy WAys To ordEr * Phone: 800.451.7556 * Fax: 919.677.1303 * Web: http://www.oup.com/us * Mail: Oxford University Press. Order Dept., 2001 Evans Road, Cary, NC, 27513 **************************************************************** 11. New home for the CLARION Cognitive Architecture Project & Library https://sites.google.com/site/clarioncognitivearchitecture/ From: CLARION Support Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:28:07 -0500 Subject: Announcement: New home for the CLARION Cognitive Architecture Project & the new CLARION Library, version 6.1.0.5 (beta) ATTENTION! We are very excited to announce the new home for the CLARION Cognitive Architecture Project as well as the beta release of the CLARION Library (version 6.1.0.5); an exciting new implementation of the CLARION theory. To access the new website (and download the new software release) goto https://sites.google.com/site/clarioncognitivearchitecture/ This new website is intended to serve as an update to the previous project page (hosted on Ron Sun's website). Furthermore, we have added a series of new features to help cultivate the burgeoning CLARION community (including a support forum, bug tracker, and feature request message board). Please take some time to explore the new home for the CLARION Cognitive Architecture Project. In addition, we encourage you to share this information with anyone else you think may be interest. We hope you enjoy our new website and the exciting new implementation of the CLARION Library. The CLARION Support Team clarion.support at gmail.com **************************************************************** 12. 2 assistant professor positions at Penn State IST http://ist.psu.edu/research/assistant-professor-of-ist The College of Information Sciences and Technology at The Pennsylvania State University is a college focused on multidisciplinary research and teaching for the 21st century. To learn more about our structure, vision, mission, goals, faculty and students, please go to http://ist.psu.edu. We are searching to fill multiple positions in our ranks for tenure track faculty members who will assist our college in attaining its goals in education, community, and research. We seek applicants who show clear evidence they will become premier teachers and leading scholars in their fields. Applications from those who seek to be a part of a vibrant, civil, and diverse academic community, pursue research, and teach in any areas of the information sciences are welcome. The college has strengths in six key areas including: (1) computational informatics and science, (2) organizational informatics, (3) social policy, economics and informatics, (4) human-computer interaction, (5) cognition and networked intelligent systems and (6) security, privacy and informatics. Qualified candidates are invited to send their curriculum vitae, summary of research and teaching plans, as well as the contact information of four persons who will write letters of recommendation to http://recruit.ist.psu.edu. For questions please contact: Dr. Lynette Kvasny, Faculty Search Committee Chair, 329C IST Bldg., College of Information Sciences and Technology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802-6823. Review of applications will begin on November 1 and continue until the positions are filled. Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity and the diversity of its workforce. **************************************************************** 13. Postdoctoral Position in Human Robot Interaction http://www.qatar.cmu.edu/~msakr/postdoc_hri/ Postdoctoral Position in Human Robot Interaction www.qatar.cmu.edu/~msakr/postdoc_hri The School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar invites applications for a postdoctoral fellow positions in NLP/Human Robot Interaction. The position will be based on the Qatar campus within the Qri8 Robotics lab, which includes collaboration with the Pittsburgh campus and potential travel between the two. The research will be conducted under the supervision of Prof. Majd F. Sakr. Candidates are also encouraged to explore research ideas on top and beyond the project description. The position provides significant opportunities for professional development. The project involves enhancing the nature of interactions, within a multicultural environment, with a bi-lingual Robot Receptionist. Applicants are expected to have an understanding of: ? Good math background (probability/statistics) ? Semantic language parsing and user interaction modeling ? Ability to write, maintain and debug clean code; preferably in C, C++, and Python, in a Linux enviornment Basically, most of these keywords should mean something to you: supervised/unsupervised learning, chunking and parsing, IPC/sockets, Stanford parser, named-entity detection, Linguistic Data Consortium, C++/STL/Boost, WordNet, tcpdump, netcat, anophora resolution. We want an NLP star who can do 1) the bi-lingual aspects (standard arabic, english) 2) develop the treebanks/corpora to grow and train the new version of the parsing/machine learning tools. 3) Candidate can help with culture-specific language models for semantic disambiguation and 4) Write code. This posting will stay open until filled. Early expressions of interest are encouraged. **************************************************************** 14. Penn State Center for Language Science neuroscience postdoc position pirepostdoc at gmail.com, due 1 dec 2011 The Center for Language Science (CLS) at Pennsylvania State University (http://cls.psu.edu/) invites applications for an anticipated postdoctoral position. We are seeking a candidate who has extensive language neuroscience experience, particularly with fMRI methods, and who would like to develop expertise on bilingual language processing. The position will include interaction with CLS faculty and students and the larger Penn State neuroscience community (see http://www.imaging.psu.edu and http://www.huck.psu.edu/education/neuroscience) towards developing fMRI expertise among students and faculty and creating potential collaborative projects. The successful candidate will benefit from a highly interactive group of faculty whose interests include bilingual language processing, second language acquisition in children and adults, and language contact. Applicants with interests in these topics and with an interest in extending their expertise within experimental psycholinguistics and cognitive neuroscience are particularly welcome to apply. There is no expectation that applicants will have had prior experience in research on bilingualism but previous fMRI expertise is critical. The CLS is home to a cross-disciplinary research program that includes a new NSF training program, Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE): Bilingualism, mind, and brain: An interdisciplinary program in cognitive psychology, linguistics, and cognitive neuroscience. The program provides training in research on bilingualism that includes an international perspective and that exploits opportunities for collaborative research conducted with one of our international partner sites in the UK (Bangor, Wales), Germany (Leipzig), Spain (Granada and Tarragona), The Netherlands (Nijmegen), Sweden (Lund) and China (Hong Kong and Beijing) and in conjunction with our two domestic partner sites at Haskins Labs and the VL2 Science of Learning Center at Gallaudet University. The successful postdoctoral candidate will have an opportunity to engage in collaborative research within the Center's international network. Questions about faculty research interests may be directed to relevant core training faculty: Psychology: Judith Kroll, Ping Li, Janet van Hell, and Dan Weiss; Spanish: Rena Torres Cacoullos, Giuli Dussias, Chip Gerfen, John Lipski, and Karen Miller; Linguistics: Nola Stephens; Communication Sciences and Disorders: Carol Miller; German: Carrie Jackson, Mike Putnam, and Richard Page. Administrative questions can be directed to the Director of the Center for Language Science, Judith Kroll: jfk7 at psu.edu. More information about the Center for Language Science (CLS), about the PIRE program, and faculty research programs can be found at http://cls.psu.edu or http://cls.psu.edu/PIRE. The initial appointment will be for one year, with a strong possibility of renewal for the next year. Salary and benefits follow NSF/NIH guidelines. The search is open to all eligible candidates regardless of citizenship. Applicants should send a CV, several reprints or preprints, and a statement of research interests. This statement should indicate two or more core faculty members as likely primary and secondary mentors and should describe the candidate's goals for research and training during a postdoctoral position, including previous fMRI experience and directions in which the candidate would like to develop his/her expertise in the language science of bilingualism. Applicants should also provide names of three recommenders and arrange for letters of recommendation to be sent separately. Application materials should be sent electronically to pirepostdoc at gmail.com. For fullest consideration, all materials should be received by December 1, 2011. The appointment can begin any time between February 1, 2012 and June 1, 2012. We encourage applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds. Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity and the diversity of its workforce. Judith Kroll Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Linguistics, and Women's Studies Director, Center for Language Science (http://www.cls.psu.edu) Department of Psychology Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 USA Phone in Thomas Office: 814-863-0126 E-mail: jfk7 at psu.edu **************************************************************** 15. 15 PhD studentships in Neuroinformatics and Computational Neuroscience http://www.anc.ed.ac.uk/dtc [this mailing list, comp-neuro, continues to have more interesting announcements than I think I can forward, this is just a representative announcement, albeit a large announcement.] Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:56:43 +0000 From: "James A. Bednar" Subject: [Comp-neuro] 15 PhD studentships in Neuroinformatics and Computational Neuroscience 2012-2013 applications for fully-funded PhD studentships at the University of Edinburgh Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) in Neuroinformatics and Computational Neuroscience are now being considered. The DTC is a world-class centre for research at the interface between neuroscience and the engineering, computational, and physical sciences. Our four-year programme is ideal for students with strong computational and analytical skills who want to employ cutting-edge methodology to advance research in neuroscience and related fields, or to apply ideas from neuroscience to computational problems. The first year consists of courses in neuroscience and informatics, as well as lab projects. This is followed by a three-year PhD project done in collaboration with one of the many departments and institutes affiliated with the DTC. Current DTC PhD topics fall into five main areas: * Computational neuroscience: Using analytical and computational models, potentially supplemented with experiments, to gain quantitative understanding of the nervous system. Many projects focus on the development and function of sensory and motor systems in animals, including neural coding, learning, and memory. * Biomedical imaging algorithms and tools: Using advanced data analysis techniques, such as machine learning and Bayesian approaches, for imaging-based diagnosis and research. * Cognitive science: Studying human cognitive processes and analysing them in computational terms. * Neuromorphic engineering: Using insights from neuroscience to help build better hardware, such as neuromorphic VLSI circuits and robots that perform robustly under natural conditions. * Software systems and applications: Using discoveries from neuroscience to develop software that can handle real-world data, such as video, audio, or speech. Other related areas of research are also encouraged. Edinburgh has a large, world-class research community in these areas and leads the UK in creating a coherent programme in neuroinformatics and computational neuroscience. Edinburgh has often been voted 'best place to live in Britain', and has many exciting cultural and student activities. Students with a strong background in computer science, mathematics, physics, or engineering are particularly encouraged to apply. Highly motivated students with other backgrounds will also be considered. 15 full studentships (including stipend of 14,215-17,326 UK pounds/year) are available to EU citizens who have been residing in the UK for the past three years (whether for work or for education); see the web site (below) for full details. Other applicants can be accepted if they provide their own funding, typically via a scholarship from their country of origin. Further information and application forms can be obtained from: http://www.anc.ed.ac.uk/dtc For full consideration for entry in September 2012, the deadline for complete applications is December 16th, 2011. **************************************************************** 16. PhD position, Hunter College Susan Epstein at Hunter College has a RA position available for someone doing a PhD at Hunter College in cognitive science. Find and contact her if you are interested. Susan L. Epstein Professor of Computer Science Hunter College and The Graduate Center of The City University of New York 695 Park Avenue New York, NY 10065 212-772-5210 (office) 212-772-5213 (department) **************************************************************** 17. Faculty Applications in Innovative Research Methods, PSU http://www.ssri.psu.edu/news/2011/a-call-for-faculty-applications-in-innovative-research-methods Posted on Nov 08, 2011 The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) and the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Education, Health and Human Development, and the Liberal Arts announce 3-4 open rank, tenure track positions aimed at building on Penn State's existing strengths in innovative and interdisciplinary social science research. We seek colleagues with exceptional records of interdisciplinary collaborative research whose work focuses on the development or application of novel research methodologies, including research design, measurement, data collection, and data analysis. Penn State has substantial capacity in many domains pertaining to research methods, such as quantitative analysis of human development and of demographic and social change, design, implementation and evaluation of education and preventive intervention programs, survey methods, and social network and spatial analysis. Penn State faculty are also engaged in interdisciplinary collaborations to develop new methods in such areas as the integration of biomarker and behavioral data, analysis of neuro-imaging data, and person-intensive, dynamic, and ambulatory research design, data collection, and analysis. To capitalize on these strengths and foster new synergies, we seek candidates with strong publication and external funding histories along with demonstrated teaching and graduate mentorship proficiency. Preference will be given to candidates with collaboration and leadership potential in one or more substantive areas of strength in the social and behavioral sciences at Penn State, including: (1) social and demographic change, (2) biological bases of behavior, health and development, and/or (3) prevention, intervention, and education programming for promoting development and well-being in children, youth and families. Successful candidates will join the faculty of the department within the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Education, Health and Human Development, or the Liberal Arts that provides the best fit to their research and teaching interests. We anticipate cross departmental and cross college appointments. Review of applications and nominations will begin immediately and will be accepted until the positions are filled. Women and members of under-represented groups are especially encouraged to apply. Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity and the diversity of its workforce. To apply, please send a cover letter describing research interests and experiences, curriculum vitae, names of three references and supporting materials (e.g., reprints, preprints). Email: dlp18 at psu.edu; Note: Please include Innovative Methods Search in the subject line. **************************************************************** 18. RA position at European Centre for Soft Computing Research assistant position in the Research Unit for Intelligent Data Analysis and Graphical Models at the European Centre for Soft Computing From: "Roberto Moran" To: Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:33:10 +0200 Reference: ECSC_Offer_2011_IDA_01 Type: Research Assistant Research Unit: Intelligent Data Analysis and Graphical Models Topic: Soft methods in probability and statistics Description: The candidate will engage in basic research within the field of statistics with imprecise data or the field of copulas. Additionally, the candidate will collaborate in applied projects within the field of intelligent data analysis. Required academic degree: Master (or Licenciado) in Mathematics, Statistics, or similar Requirements: * Good knowledge and interest in probability theory and statistics (preferrably also in copulas or statistics with imprecise data) * Good programming skills, experience in data mining with R, preferrably basic Latex knowledge * Fluent English (written and spoken) * good inter-personal and analytic skills, ability to concisely formulate and pursue ideas Salary: gross salary approximately 18k? Send: CV and Cover Letter to position1 at softcomputing.es Application period: 17.10.2011 - 04.12.2011 Roberto Moran Ramallal Project Management Department European Centre for Soft Computing C/ Gonzalo Gutierrez Quiros, s/n Edificio de Investigacion, 3? Planta (Campus de Mieres-Universidad de Oviedo) 33600 Mieres, Asturias Tlf +34 985 456 545 http://www.softcomputing.es/ **************************************************************** 19. Post-doc at USC with Rosenbloom from Paul Rosenbloom I'm looking for a researcher with a PhD in computer science, cognitive science, or a related discipline who is knowledgable in artificial intelligence and comfortable with both mathematics and programming to work with me at USC's Institute for Creative Technologies (http://ict.usc.edu/) on a project that is developing a new cognitive/virtual-human architecture based on graphical models. The individua should have a background and/or interest in learning about cognitive architectures, virtual humans, and graphical models. Experience in particular topics such as robotics, machine learning, speech, and natural language would also be a plus. This can be either a short-term postdoc or a more permanent research position, depending on the individual. **************************************************************** 20. Faculty Positions in Psychology at UMass Lowell for Fall 2012 Fwd: [DIV35ANNOUNCE] Faculty Positions in Psychology at UMass Lowell for Fall 2012 The Department of Psychology at UMass Lowell will have 2 new faculty positions for Fall 2012. Please encourage your friends, colleagues, and students (who will be graduating soon) to apply and please forward to those who might be interested. I have pasted the ads below as well as included them as attachment. Thanks and my apology for cross-postings. COGNITIVE OR SOCIAL COGNITION PSYCHOLOGIST & CULTURAL OR CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGIST: COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY or SOCIAL COGNITION The University of Massachusetts Lowell Department of Psychology invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant or Associate Professor rank in Cognitive Psychology or Social Cognition for September 2012. Applicants must: hold a Ph.D. in Psychology (or equivalent) at time of hire, be involved in an active program of research, and have a relevant record of publication. Preference will be given to candidates who have successful experience in: teaching, grant procurement, and the involvement of students in research. The Search Committee will begin reviewing applications immediately and continue until the position is filled. However, the position may close when an adequate number of qualified applications are received. Applications must be submitted electronically via the link at https://jobs.uml.edu (click on 'Faculty Positions' and select position title). The application must include a cover letter, vita, statements of teaching philosophy and research interests; representative reprints and teaching evaluations may be included if available. Candidates must also arrange for at least three letters of recommendation. At least one of these letters must be from an individual familiar with the candidate's research and with expertise in that area. For questions regarding status of the search, contact the chair of the search committee, Professor Ivy_Ho at uml.edu. Thank you for considering the University of Massachusetts Lowell as an employer of choice. We look forward to receiving your application. The Department has strong ties to the community of Lowell, a mid-sized city with a large and diverse immigrant population located 25 miles northwest of Boston. Information about the Department is available at www.uml.edu/psychology. CULTURAL or CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY The University of Massachusetts Lowell Department of Psychology invites applications for a faculty position at the Assistant or Associate Professor rank in Cultural or Cross-Cultural Psychology, for September 2012. Applicants must: hold a Ph.D. in Psychology (or equivalent) at time of hire, be involved in an active program of research that has a strong international focus, and have a relevant record of publication. Preference will be given to candidates who have successful experience in: teaching, grant procurement, and the involvement of students in research. The Search Committee will begin reviewing applications immediately and continue until the position is filled. However, the position may close when an adequate number of qualified applications are received. Applications must be submitted electronically via the link at https://jobs.uml.edu (click on 'Faculty Positions' and select position title). The application must include a cover letter, vita, statements of teaching philosophy and research interests; representative reprints and teaching evaluations may be included if available. Candidates must also arrange for at least three letters of recommendation. At least one of these letters must be from an individual familiar with the candidate's research and with expertise in that area. For questions regarding status of the search, contact the chair of the search committee, Professor Andrew_Hostetler at uml.edu. Thank you for considering the University of Massachusetts Lowell as an employer of choice. We look forward to receiving your application. The Department has strong ties to the community of Lowell, a mid-sized city with a large and diverse immigrant population located 25 miles northwest of Boston. Information about the Department is available at www.uml.edu/psychology. Khanh T. Dinh, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology Director, UMass Lowell - Vietnam Partnerships University of Massachusetts Lowell Department of Psychology 870 Broadway Street Lowell, MA 01854 Phone: 978-934-3916 khanh_dinh at uml.edu **************************************************************** 21. Fully funded PhD position in Groningen From: Niels Taatgen Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:18:17 +0200 To: comp-neuro at neuroinf.org Subject: [Comp-neuro] Fully funded PhD position in Groningen PhD position Cognitive Modeling group (1,0 fte) (211167) The Cognitive Modeling group is part of the ALICE research institute of the Department of Artificial Intelligence. The group has a world-class reputation in cognitive modeling, largely based on the ACT-R architecture. The PhD student will carry out his or her research within this group, but will also participate in the Graduate School of Science of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, and the School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences. Job description This project will be part of a larger 5-year project "Towards safe and productive multitasking" that is funded by the European Research Council. The project as a whole will involve several research methodologies: human experimentation, fMRI research, computational cognitive modeling and the construction of applications that support multitasking. The team for this project will consist of two PhD students, a postdoc, and the primary investigator. The PhD student's role will consist of carrying out a subset of the tasks with a focus on sequential multitasking: how do people switch from one task to another, what motivates them to do so, and what are the costs and/or benefits of multitasking. On request, we can also send you the full workplan for the ERC project. In that case, and for other questions, please contact Prof. Niels Taatgen. Qualifications A successful candidate has a Master's degree in Cognitive Science, Cognitive Neuroscience, Experimental Psychology, Artificial Intelligence or a related field, and has programming skills. Experience in running behavioral and/or fMRI experiments, or in modeling of cognition, is an advantage. Conditions of employment The University of Groningen offers a salary of ? 2,042 gross per month in the first year up to a maximum of 2,612 gross per month in the final year. The appointment is for a period of four years, which should be finished with a PhD examination. The full time appointment is temporary for 1.5 years with the perspective of prolongation for another 2.5 years. After the first year, there will be an evaluation of the feasibility of successful completion of the PhD thesis within the next three years. A training programme within the Graduate School of Science is part of the agreement. You and your supervisor will make up a plan for additional education and supervising that is specific to your needs. How to apply: Send a cover letter (with professional goals and a statement of interest), a curriculum vitae and two letters of recommendation (PDF format) to the job application portal before November 18th, 2011, although applications received after the deadline may be considered. Starting date: as soon as possible. Information For information you can contact: Prof. Niels Taatgen, n.a.taatgen at rug.nl Additional information http://www.ai.rug.nl/~niels/ http://research.ai.rug.nl/index.php/cogmod/cogmodhome Job portal: http://www.rug.nl/corporate/vacatures/jobOpportunitiesRUG **************************************************************** 22. Defense Threat Reduction Agency Post Doc Program Announcement [I think that #3 is filed, and that #* indicates another position below] Currently Department of Defense's DTRA is interested in applicants for five Post PhD Fellows positions in DTRA Basic Research Thrust Areas & Technical Writer/Graphic Designer): (1) Science of WMD Sensing and Recognition: The basic science of WMD sensing and recognition is the fundamental understanding of materials that demonstrate measurable changes when stimulated by radiation or particles from WMD in the environment. This research thrust involves exploration and exploitation of interactions between materials and various photons, molecules, nuclear radiation and/or particles. These interactions and the specific form of recognition they provide are used for subsequent generation of information that provides knowledge of the presence, identity, and/or quantity of material or energy in the environment that may be significant. (2) Cognitive and Information Science: The basic science of cognitive and information science results from the convergence of computer, information, mathematical, network, cognitive, and social science. This research thrust expands our understanding of physical and social networks and advances knowledge of adversarial intent with respect to the acquisition, proliferation, and potential use of WMD. The methods may include analytical, computational or numerical, or experimental means to integrate knowledge across disciplines and improve rapid processing of intelligence and dissemination of information. New focus area of computer science and artificial intelligence. (4) Science to Defeat WMD: Basic science to defeat WMD involves furthering the understanding of explosives, their detonation and problems associated with accessing the target WMDs. This research thrust includes the creation of new energetic molecules/materials that enhance the defeat of WMDs, the improvement of modeling, and simulation of these materials and various phenomena that affect success and estimate the impact of defeat actions, and investigation of novel methods that may yield order-of-magnitude improvements in energy and energy release rate. (5) Science to Secure WMD: Basic science to support securing WMD includes: (a) environmentally responsible innovative processes to neutralize chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive (CBRNE) materials and components; (b) discovery of revolutionary means to secure components and weapons; and (c) studies of scientific principles that lead to novel physical or other tags and methods to monitor compliance and disrupt proliferation pathways. The identification of basic phenomena that provide verifiable controls on materials and systems also helps arms control. (*) Technical writer/graphic designer to plan, analyze, and create solutions to communications problems in collaboration with team members representing a number of disciplines. The technical writer/designer will work with subject matter experts (SMEs) to determine specific content and identify goals for successful communication product development. Strategic communication tools are expected to present complex information in both print and electronic formats such that technical and non-technical end users are considered. Communications products will include, but are not limited to, technical newsletters, specialized brochures, annual reports, and web pages. Further Detail For qualified candidate, this opportunity would provide the following to a US citizen, capable of obtaining a security clearance at the Secret level, to spend one year working at DTRA (Fort Belvior): * $71,663 annual salary * $1,000 monthly living allowance * Domestic Travel allowance * Potential funding for additional academic degrees Background of Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship Program The objective of this fellowship program is to establish and sustain a long-term process through which the University Strategic Partners (USP) will develop and execute a Post- Doctoral Research Fellowship Program to address critical scientific, technology and engineering needs for reducing the threat from Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). This project will enable DTRA to utilize mission-critical expertise possessed by highly qualified faculty and graduate students (nearing completion of their degree) who hold doctoral or terminal professional degrees in relevant scientific, technical and engineering disciplines. Post-Doctoral / Masters Fellows will be selected based upon their responsive ability to enhance the joint DTRA-Strategic Partnership mission requirements. Key science and technology skills include: nuclear and radiation physics; weapons engineering; structural, electrical and mechanical engineering; broad-based nano-technological engineering and applications; weapons effects and system response technologies; physics, chemistry and biological sciences related to detection, characterization and destruction of WMD materials; medical and pharmaceutical sciences; information technology, modeling, data visualization and advanced computational sciences; social, adversarial and behavioral modeling, science and analysis. Post-Doctoral / Masters Research Fellows will be assigned to DTRA's Research and Development and subsequently detailed to perform such duties as may be required among the various agency Enterprises, Directorates and Offices which are typically reviewing research proposals and white papers. *Contact Jan Mahar Sturdevant (jbm18 at psu.edu) for more details such as the Recruitment Letter and the Application. **************************************************************** 23. 5 Tenure Track Positions at all levels in Game Design at Northeastern U. [many games are an application area for cognitive models and architectures] Northeastern University is seeking multiple tenure track faculty for positions in Game Design and Interactive Media within the College of Arts, Media and Design starting September 1, 2012. Positions will be filled at the assistant, associate or full professor rank depending on the qualifications of the candidate. Northeastern may also consider a multidisciplinary 'cluster hire' where several candidates elect to form a team which proposes an innovative and translational research direction responding to one or more of these positions. 1. Game Design/Interactive Media and Animation: Animation is fundamental to Game Design/Interactive Media to simulate the physical and kinetic properties of characters, objects and contexts in motion, in space, and in time. The simulation of environments requires sophisticated research into motion, lighting, surfaces and perspective. The simulation of characters requires creating expressive and accurate facial and body-motion qualities. This requires interdisciplinary research into physiology, kinesiology and psychology. Core features and technologies of virtually all the current top commercial game projects are based on such simulation. 2. Game Design/Interactive Media and Games Usability: Games Usability focuses on how users interact with games and media to facilitate and optimize user interface, including usability analysis, user experience, and behavioral trends. Games usability research is a specialized growth area that includes research, such as analysis of gameplay temporal data collected from real players to deduce behavioral trends (large data analysis). This area may take advantage of existing methodologies within CCIS and leverage new interdisciplinary collaborations with Psychology and the behavioral sciences. 3. Game Design/Interactive Media and Social and Cooperative Games: Social and cooperative games is a major trend in Game Design/Interactive Media whereby users are connected globally and can interact as individuals in a virtual crowd. Social and cooperative gaming is a major trend for current and future growth for the game industry, and an area that may stimulate significant research that requires interdisciplinary skills and partnership. Research and education on social and cooperative games is needed and coherent with Northeastern?s capacity for interdisciplinary work. This field could benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration with other colleges, especially the social sciences. 4. Game Design/Interactive Media and Arts Industry and Entrepreneurship: Arts Industry and Entrepreneurship is critical to harnessing the social and economic power of Game Design/Interactive Media as the future medium of social and commercial connectivity. Production management, media development and cross-discipline project opportunities are critical areas in this rapidly changing field. 5. Game Design/Interactive Media and Core Design and Development: Core Design and Development is a joint hire with the CCIS. Building on the foundation of interdisciplinary undergraduate degrees in game design and interactive media, the successful candidate will play a central role in creating innovative programmatic efforts that combine a deep knowledge of the artistic and computing disciplines, and will advance our research and educational agenda. This search has already been posted as Requisition Number 114350. Go to: http://www.northeastern.edu/camd/ or http://www.ccs.neu.edu/ Qualifications We expect successful candidates to demonstrate a strong commitment to teaching and an excellent record in research/scholarship in any of the core areas listed above. Should possess experience with applications in areas such as interactive narratives, social games, health games, mobile games, or educational games. Applicants must have a terminal degree of either a PhD in related areas, or an MFA in game design or related areas. Additional Information Northeastern University is a national research university in the heart of Boston and world leader in experiential learning. In the past few years, Northeastern University has made a major commitment to interdisciplinary education and research in select fields with the goal of achieving international leadership in these fields. The Game Design and Interactive Media program is one of the areas selected for growth and is being developed as a joint effort between the colleges of Arts, Media and Design and others including the Computer and Information Science, the College of Business Administration, and the College of Social Science and Humanities. We seek tenure track faculty members who can play a major role in shaping the research and academic goals for our programmatic efforts in Game Design and Interactive Media. In particular, we seek five hires strategically selected to project this field beyond a focus on entertainment to redefine how we receive, disseminate and interact with information in a non-linear, user-generated environment. How To Apply To apply, visit the College of Arts, Media and Design website at: http://www.northeastern.edu/camd/ and click on the Faculty Positions button. Job code: 114408 Applications should include: - Cover letter expressing interest - Applicant's CV - Research statement - Teaching statement - Names and addresses of 3-6 references Full consideration will be given to applications received by December 30, 2011 For questions about the search or to submit external references, please call the search committee co-chairs, Terrence Masson and Magy Seif El-Nasr at: 617-373-7645 or 617-373-3928, or email us at terrence.masson at gmail.com or magy at neu.edu. **************************************************************** 24. Weekly AISB opportunities bulletin (4/nov/11) [There were a large number of good things in here, and I encourage you to join AISB particlarly if you are in or have ties to the UK] From: "Koutsantoni, Katerina" To: "admin11 at aisb.org.uk" Date: Fri, 4 Nov 2011 14:50:23 +0000 Subject: Weekly AISB opportunities bulletin (4/11/11) Dear AISB members This is the AISB opportunities bulletin for 4/11/2011 ----------------------------- 1. University Lectureship in Formal and Philosophical Logic, UK (DEADLINE: 24:11:2011) 2. Scientific Junior Researchers positions related to logic, formal methods and ontologies, GERMANY 3. Two PhD student positions (including formal epistemology or logic),THE NETHERLANDS (DEADLINE: 16:11:2011) 4. PhD studentship in Social Robotics for Robot Home Companions (University of Hertfordshire), UK (DEADLINE: 14:11:2011) 5. PhD studentships at the University of Nottingham (DEADLINE: 18:01:2012) 6. W3 Professorship in Theoretical Philosophy, Konstanz (Germany) (DEADLINE: 30:11:2011) 7. 2012 INTERNATIONAL WINTER SCHOOL IN METHODS IN BIOINFORMATICS, Feb 20-24, 2012, SPAIN ----------------------------- 1. University Lectureship in Formal and Philosophical Logic, UK (DEADLINE: 24:11:2011) University Lectureship, University of Oxford, and Tutorial Fellowship in Philosophy, Pembroke College The Faculty of Philosophy and Pembroke College propose to appoint to a University Lecturership (CUF) in Philosophy, in association with a Tutorial Fellowship, with effect from 1 September 2012, or as soon as possible thereafter. The Area of Specialisation for this post is Formal and Philosophical Logic. The successful candidate must be able to provide research-led teaching and supervision in these areas at all levels, undergraduate and graduate. An interest in Philosophy of Mathematics or Philosophy of Language will be welcome, but is not required. Applications from candidates whose work complements the research and teaching of the Faculty will be especially welcome. The successful candidate will also be expected to provide teaching for the College, in the form of tutorials, on a range of introductory (i.e., first-year) and advanced (i.e., second-year and beyond) Philosophy subjects for undergraduates. Candidates should refer to the further particulars for full details of the teaching requirements for this post. Candidates should have received the degree of PhD by 1 September 2012, or at least have submitted a completed doctoral dissertation for examination by that date, but candidates who do not meet this requirement may be considered if they have attained a comparable level of publication. The successful candidate must demonstrate a research record of international standing appropriate to the stage of his or her career; the ability to deliver excellent tutorial teaching and to give lectures and classes; the ability to act as an examiner; the ability to supervise graduate students; and a willingness to undertake administration and pastoral responsibilities on behalf of both the College and the University. The combined College and University salary for this post will be on a scale from ?42,733 to ?57,431 (as from 1 August 2010) per annum. Additional College allowances are available as set out in the further particulars. The postholder will have an office in Pembroke College. Further particulars, including details of how to apply, are available here: http://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/23321/FPs_-_CUF_ at_Pembroke_Final.pdf and http://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/vacancies/university_lecturership_and_tutori al_fellowship_in_philosophy,_pembroke_college Applications must be submitted by email to the Administrator of the Philosophy Faculty no later than 12.00 noon on 24 November 2011. The University of Oxford and Pembroke College are Equal Opportunities Employers ******************************************************** 2. Scientific Junior Researchers positions related to logic, formal methods and ontologies, GERMANY http://www.informatik.uni-bremen.de/dfki-sks/vacancies/37-11_BK.pdf The DFKI research department Safe and Secure Cognitive Systems in Bremen, Germany, currently has several vacancies in projects related to logic, formal methods, and ontologies, see http://www.informatik.uni-bremen.de/dfki-sks/vacancies/37-11_BK.pdf Regards, Lutz Schroder -------------------------------------- Prof. Dr. Lutz Schroder Senior Researcher DFKI Bremen Safe and Secure Cognitive Systems Cartesium, Enrique-Schmidt-Str. 5 D-28359 Bremen phone: (+49) 421-218-64216 mail: Lutz.Schroeder at dfki.de www.dfki.de/sks/staff/lschrode ******************************************************** 3. Two PhD student positions (including formal epistemology or logic),THE NETHERLANDS http://www.rug.nl/corporate/vacatures/jobOpportunitiesRUG (DEADLINE: 16:11:2011) TWO FULLY FUNDED PhD-POSITIONS at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Deadline for applications: November 16. Applications are open for research in any of the four principal research areas of the Faculty: History of philosophy, Ethics, Theoretical philosophy, and Practical philosophy. The University of Groningen offers a salary that will range between ? 2,042 gross per month in the first year up to a maximum of ? 2,612 gross per month in the fourth year. The PhD position is for a period of four years, starting on January 1, 2012 and conditional on a positive evaluation after one year. Applications for should consist of: - An application letter with motivation - Curriculum vitae, including academic qualifications, grades, a list of publications if applicable, and the name and contact details of a referee - A research proposal (maximum 1500 words) that includes research questions, methodology and research plan. Suitable candidates have, or will soon have completed, an M.A. or an M.Sc. in philosophy, can play an active role in the research community of the Faculty of Philosophy and are fluent in English. Information about how to apply can be found at: http://www.rug.nl/corporate/vacatures/jobOpportunitiesRUG Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative center of higher education. The Faculty of Philosophy is a rich and lively community of excellent lecturers and researchers. The faculty has an excellent reputation, both in research and in teaching, and has a strong international orientation. For more information about the faculty see: http://www.rug.nl/philosophy -- Dr. J.W. Romeijn University of Groningen Faculty of Philosophy Oude Boteringestraat 52, 9712 GL, Groningen The Netherlands +31 50 3636 148 http://www.philos.rug.nl/~romeyn/index.html ******************************************************** 4. PhD studentship in Social Robotics for Robot Home Companions (University of Hertfordshire), UK (DEADLINE: 14:11:2011) Social Robotics for Robot Home Companions Adaptive Systems Research Group Science and Technology Research Institute University of Hertfordshire Human-Robot Interaction is a quickly growing research area with a number of applications in assistive technology and service robotics. The research team at University of Hertfordshire led by Prof. Dautenhahn is involved in two European projects relevant to the field of robot home companions, namely LIREC (http://lirec.eu/) and ACCOMPANY. A key research issue relevant to both projects concerns the adaptation of the robot's behaviour e.g. to the individual needs and preferences of the person. A personalized robot companion needs to know its users, and be able to adapt in long-term interaction. The PhD project will focus of the topic of social awareness and adaptation, i.e. will develop the robot's ability to interact with its users, and to learn socially by observing and analyzing the interaction. Such research is strongly inspired by biology and psychology concerning the way how humans and other animals learn from each other by observation, interaction and communication. The group has a strong track record in the area of human-robot interaction, imitation and social learning. The PhD student will develop new social learning and adaptation algorithms, as well as participate in the preparation, implementation and analysis of human-robot interaction studies. The PhD student will be part of a larger research team consisting of researchers working in the above mentioned European projects, as well as other research group members. The PhD student will have the opportunity to work with state of the art home companion robots, including the Care-O-bot(R) 3 robot. Applicants are required to have a strong first degree or Master's degree in Computer Science, Robotics or a related area relevant to the project. The applicant must have demonstrated the ability to plan, implement and document a research project (e.g. MSc or final year project) in an area relevant to this studentship. The applicant must have demonstrated significant knowledge and skills in the area of machine learning/Artificial Intelligence. An additional background in human-computer interaction, cognitive science or psychology is desirable. Excellent programming skills are essential and the ability to interface robot sensors and develop software on robots is a necessary requirement of this studentship, as well as a general interest in interdisciplinary research and willingness to collaborate with researchers from other disciplines. The ideal candidate will be self-motivated with good writing and communication skills. The PhD will be supervised by Prof. Kerstin Dautenhahn (K.Dautenhahn at herts.ac.uk), whom interested candidates are invited to contact via email in the first instance. Successful candidates are eligible for a research studentship award from the University (approximately ?13,600 per annum bursary plus the payment of the standard UK student fees). Research in Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire has been recognized as excellent by the latest Research Assessment Exercise, with 55% of the research submitted being rated as world leading or internationally excellent. The Science and Technology Research Institute provides a very stimulating environment, offering a large number of specialized and interdisciplinary seminars as well as general training opportunities. The University of Hertfordshire is situated in Hatfield, just north of London. Application forms (http://homepages.stca.herts.ac.uk/~comqvs/ApplicationFormUHStudentship.doc) should be returned to Mrs Lorraine Nicholls, Research Student Administrator, STRI, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AB, Tel: 01707 286083, l.nicholls @ herts.ac.uk. The short-listing process will begin on 14 November2011, interviews will be held early in December 2011. -- Prof. Dr. Kerstin Dautenhahn Professor of Artificial Intelligence Adaptive Systems Research Group The University of Hertfordshire, School of Computer Science College Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL10 9AB, United Kingdom URL: http://homepages.feis.herts.ac.uk/~comqkd K.Dautenhahn at herts.ac.uk Tel: +44-1707-284-333 ******************************************************** 5. PhD studentships at the University of Nottingham (DEADLINE: 18:01:2012) PhD studentships at the University of Nottingham The Digital Economy promises to transform the ways in which we work, shop, travel, learn, socialise and play. It is transforming many aspects of society, particularly with regard to technology and provides research challenges in both technical and social areas, including: Ubiquitous Computing - where millions of computers are embedded in the world around us; Location-Aware Computing - taking advantage of knowing the geographical position of these fixed or mobile computing and communications devices. Pervasive Data with a vast amount of data generated and captured on processes, products and people, the potential for gathering information from this data is huge but subject to the availability and development of algorithms and infrastructure able to cope with such vast amounts of often distributed data. Further, the processing of data is increasingly subject to privacy-protecting policies and other restrictions such as regional legislation, strengthening the need for tools which are not only functional but satisfy requirements such as transparency, privacy and personalisability. Science in Society - considering the technological, social or legal perspectives to the grand challenge associated with modelling users, their environment and the interactions between the two. We are interested in students from a wide variety of backgrounds including computer science, engineering, human factors, psychology, sociology, business, geography, social science and the arts, providing that they have an excellent first degree and can demonstrate an enthusiasm for interdisciplinary research. Would you like to be at the heart of this revolution, researching across the disciplines to explore new uses of ubiquitous and location-aware computing, creating new technologies, or studying their impact on peoples lives? The Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Nottingham is recruiting on to a unique PhD programme for the Digital Economy. Supported by RCUK and over 30 industry partners, we are training a community of over 70 PhD students to become the next generation of research leaders in this field within industry or academia. Our current industry partners include: Active Ingredient, Aerial, BBC, Blast Theory, BT, EADS Astrium, EUROCONTROL, Fhios, Guidance Monitoring, HP, HW Communications, IBM, innovITS, Leica Geosystems, Location and Timing KTN, Logica, Microsoft, Network Rail, Nokia, Nottingham Scientific, Ordnance Survey, PARC, Scott Wilson, SERCO, Sharp Labs Europe, Thales, Trinity House, TRL Technology. Our students will benefit from: A fully-funded four-year PhD programme that integrates a leading-edge research project with research training in interdisciplinary skills. A personalised pathway through this programme that enables students to gain a balance of skills across key technology areas, future applications and human and societal issues. Training in innovation and ingenuity to equip students for careers in industry, from global companies to start-ups. A three-month internship at one of our partners including BBC, BT, EADS Astrium, HP, IBM, Logica, Microsoft, Network Rail, Nokia, Ordnance Survey, PARC, Scott Wilson, Sharp Labs Europe and Thales (see list above) Regular seminars and meetings with industry representatives to develop contacts with future employers. An enhanced stipend of 15,600 per annum as well as a personal laptop. Supervision from international leaders in the associated disciplines. Use of over 3m state-of-the-art facilities including positioning and sensing testbeds and transport simulators. Career guidance support tailored to individual needs. Office and laboratory space on Nottinghams award-winning Jubilee Campus. We have funding for ten UK/Home and two UK/Home/EU students. Places are also available for those in receipt of four year independent funding/scholarships. Please note we do not have any international studentships available, so please do not enquire. Further information can be found on the Horizon Doctoral Training Centre website; www.horizon.ac.uk. Informal enquiries may be addressed to Miss E Juggins, tel: 0115 823 2316 or Email: Emma.Juggins at Nottingham.ac.uk Application forms are available from Miss E Juggins or downloadable from http://horizon.mrl.nott.ac.uk/students/how-to-apply/opportunities.html and should be returned by email with a detailed CV and a statement of research interests to Emma.Juggins at Nottingham.ac.uk. Shortlisting date: 18 January 2012. Interview date: on 1 February 2012. ******************************************************** 6. W3 Professorship in Theoretical Philosophy, Konstanz (Germany) (DEADLINE: 30:11:2011) Die Universitat Konstanz ist eine der neun Exzellenz-Universitaten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. In der Geisteswissenschaftlichen Sektion, Fachbereich Philosophie, ist zum 01.10.2012 eine W 3-Professur fur Philosophie unter besonderer Berucksichtigung der Theoretischen Philosophie zu besetzen. Die Stelleninhaberin / der Stelleninhaber soll das Fach Philosophie in Forschung und Lehre vertreten und sich in der Selbstverwaltung angemessen beteiligen. Die Lehre erfolgt im Haupt- und Nebenfachstudium des BA-, MA- und Lehramtsstudi-ums im Rahmen der bestehenden Studien- und Prufungsordnungen. In der Forschung ist eine Mitarbeit am Exzellenzcluster "Kulturelle Grundlagen von Integration" und/oder der Forschergruppe "Was ware wenn" moglich und wunschenswert. Zum Profil des Fachbereichs siehe: www.uni-konstanz.de/philosophie . Alle den Professorenstellen des Fachbereichs zugewiesenen Schwerpunkte sind systematisch gegliedert. Gleichzeitig soll jede Professorin / jeder Professor einen historischen Schwerpunkt besitzen, so dass die Geschichte der Philosophie von den Lehrenden insgesamt vertreten werden kann. Dies geschieht auch in der Absicht, eine Befassung mit der Philosophiegeschichte aus systematischer Perspektive zu fordern. Dementsprechend wird von der Stelleninhaberin / dem Stelleninhaber gewunscht, dass sie / er das Fach Philosophie und ihre / seine Schwerpunkte in der systematischen wie in der historischen Dimension vertreten kann. Die Zuweisung von Stellen fur Akademische Mitarbeiterinnen / Mitarbeiter an die Professur ist nicht vorgesehen. Besonderer Wert wird auf international hervorragende wissenschaftliche Leistungen gelegt. Vorausgesetzt werden Habilitation oder gleichwertige wissenschaftliche Leistungen im Fach Philosophie. Die Universitat bemuht sich um die Beseitigung von Nachteilen, die fur Wissenschaftlerinnen im Bereich der Hochschule bestehen. Sie strebt eine Erhohung des Anteils von Frauen in Forschung und Lehre an. Die Universitat Konstanz wurde von der Hertie-Stiftung als familiengerechte Hochschule zertifiziert. Sie setzt sich besonders fur die Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Erwerbsleben ein. Schwerbehinderte werden bei entsprechender Eignung vorrangig eingestellt. Bewerbungen mit den ublichen Unterlagen (Lebenslauf, Schriftenverzeichnis, Verzeichnis der Lehrveranstaltungen, Kopien akademischer Zeugnisse) sowie einem auszufullenden Bewerberformular (Link siehe unten) werden unter Angabe der Kennziffer 2011 / 135 bis zum 30.11.2011 an den Dekan der Geisteswissenschaftlichen Sektion der Universitat Konstanz, Herrn Prof. Dr. Thomas Hinz, Postfach 8, 78457 Konstanz, erbeten. Fur nahere Auskunfte steht Ihnen Herr Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Spohn (E-Mail: Wolfgang.Spohn at uni-konstanz.de ) gerne zur Verfugung. ******************************************************** 7. 2012 INTERNATIONAL WINTER SCHOOL IN METHODS IN BIOINFORMATICS, Feb 20-24, 2012, SPAIN http://grammars.grlmc.com/wsmbio2012/ AIM: WSMBio 2012 offers a broad and intensive series of lectures on bioinformatics at different levels. The students choose their preferred courses according to their interests and background. Instructors are top names in their respective fields. The School intends to help students initiate and foster their research career. ADDRESSED TO: Graduate (and eventually advanced undergraduate) students from around the world. Most appropriate degrees include: Computer Science, Biology and Medicine. Other students (for instance, from Mathematics or Engineering) are welcome too. The School is appropriate also for people more advanced in their career who want to keep themselves updated on developments in the field. There will be no overlap in the class schedule. COURSES AND PROFESSORS: - Dan Gusfield (U California Davis), ReCombinatorics: The Algorithmics and Combinatorics of Phylogenetic Networks with Recombination [introductory/intermediate, 8 hours] - Andrey Rzhetsky (U Chicago), Trees, Networks, and their Use in Systems Biology [introductory/ intermediate, 8 hours] - Richard Simon (US National Cancer Institute, Rockville), Development and Validation of Prognostic and Predictive Classifiers based on High-dimensional Data and their Application to Personalized Medicine [introductory/intermediate, 8 hours] - Robert Stevens (U Manchester) & James Malone (European Bioinformatics Institute, Hinxton), Bio-Ontologies [introductory/intermediate, 4 hours] - Martin Tompa (U Washington Seattle), Comparative Sequence Analysis in Molecular Biology [introductory/intermediate, 4 hours] - Alfonso Valencia (Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, Madrid), Bioinformatics Challenges for Personalized Medicine [advanced, 4 hours] - Limsoon Wong (National University of Singapore), Using Biological Networks for Protein Function Prediction, Biomarker Identification, and Other Problems in Computational Biology [introductory/ intermediate, 6 hours] - Ying Xu (U Georgia), Cancer Bioinformatics [advanced, 8 hours] - Zohar Yakhini (Agilent Laboratories, Santa Clara), Algorithmics and Statistics in the Analysis of High Throughput Molecular Measurement Data [intermediate/advanced, 6 hours] REGISTRATION: It has to be done on line at http://grammars.grlmc.com/wsmbio2012/Registration.php **************************************************************** -30- From kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de Fri Nov 25 10:03:13 2011 From: kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de (Janina Kirsch) Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:03:13 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: PhD-Position "Fear-related changes in physiology and dendritic integration of neocortical cells" at the Bernstein Center Freiburg, Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctoral Program "EuroSPIN" In-Reply-To: <007701cc8e74$a96daef0$fc490cd0$@uni-freiburg.de> References: <006401cc8e6a$9a770270$cf650750$@uni-freiburg.de> <007701cc8e74$a96daef0$fc490cd0$@uni-freiburg.de> Message-ID: <010c01ccab83$5b2c5800$11850800$@uni-freiburg.de> "Fear-related changes in physiology and dendritic integration of neocortical cells" Supervisors: Dr. Clemens Boucsein (Bernstein Center Freiburg, Germany) Prof. Ad Aertsen (Bernstein Center Freiburg, Germany) Dr. Sumantra Chattarji (NCBS, Bangalore, India) Aim of the project: After traumatic stress, strong morphological changes have been observed in several brain regions, including the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Physiological and functional consequences of these fear effects have been suggested for amygdala and hippocampus, but the impact of dendritic shrinkage of prefrontal cells has not been studied in detail, yet, even thought neuroimaging studies in stress disorder patients have implicated severe changes in that area. Our project aims at elucidating the effect of the fear-related morphological changes on signal integration and propagation in the prefrontal cortex. For that, we will characterize the alterations concerning the dendritic integration in pyramidal cells after fear conditioning, as well as the possible changes in excitability. Fear conditioning and basic neurophysiological experiments (patch-clamp recordings) will be performed with Dr. Sumantra Chattarji at NCBS in Bangalore, India, while dendritic integration will be studied with Dr. Clemens Boucsein at the Bernstein Center Freiburg, Germany, with the help of dynamic photo stimulation in acute brain slices. The functional consequences of the observed physiological changes after fear conditioning will be derived in a joint effort between the two partners. Profile of the ideal candidate: We are looking for candidates with a strong background in experimental neurophysiology, preferentially patch clamp experience, and a genuine interest in Neuroscience, who are interested in interdisciplinary research and are willing to learn and perform neurophysiology in acute brain slices. Application deadline is November 30, 2011 Please apply here: www.kth.se/eurospin From kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de Fri Nov 25 10:03:13 2011 From: kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de (Janina Kirsch) Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:03:13 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: PhD-Positions, Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctoral Program "EuroSPIN" (European Study Programme in Neuroinformatics) Message-ID: <010601ccab83$5b124050$1136c0f0$@uni-freiburg.de> Neuroinformatics combines neuroscience and informatics research to develop and apply computational tools and approaches that are essential for understanding the structure and function of the brain. The Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctoral Program "EuroSPIN" (European Study Programme in Neuroinformatics) is inviting applications from students having a solid background in mathematics, physics, computer sciences, biochemistry or neuroscience (on a master level or equivalent), in all cases with computer science skills. Documented interest in research like activities (e.g. demonstrated in the form of master thesis work, or participation in research related activities) is of large importance. Also fluency in English is requested. The four partrners below participate. They are all research leaders in the Neuroinformatics field, but they have complementary strengths. In addition, two associated partners, the Honda Research Institute and Nordita, participate. Each student will spend most of the time at two of the partner universities, and also receive a joint (or double) PhD degree following a successful completion of the studies. The mobility periods, as well as the courses a student will follow, are tailored individually based on: a) the PhD students background; b) which constellations of partners that are involved, as well as c) the specific research project. During the PhD period each student has one main supervisor from each of the two universities that grant the PhD degree. There are excellent scholarship opportunities for students accepted to an Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate programme. An employment contract will be given to all selected PhD students during the study time, which is 4 years. If you are interested, go to our webpage: www.kth.se/eurospin Deadline for Application (both EU and non-EU students): 30 Nov 2011. BCF-long-100mm-RGB.png Bernstein Center Freiburg, Germany KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden National Centre for Biological Science, India University of Edinburgh (UoE), UK -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111125/22e9b382/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 3906 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111125/22e9b382/attachment-0005.jpe From daniele.marinazzo at ugent.be Fri Nov 25 07:05:26 2011 From: daniele.marinazzo at ugent.be (Daniele Marinazzo) Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:05:26 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: postdoc position - connectivity and neuroimaging Message-ID: The MEDISIP department at Ghent University (Belgium) is seeking to fill a postdoctoral researcher position in the area of connectivity. The fellow will join a large research project situated in the context of a university-wide multidisciplinary research partnership on integrative neuroscience of behavior control. The research track is led by Daniele Marinazzo (Data Analysis) in collaboration with Stefaan Vandenberghe (Medical image processing) and Wim FIas (Experimental psychology). The research project is focused on the effects of intervention (TMS or surgery) on connectivity derived from neuroimaging (EEG, fMRI) in animals, healthy controls and neurological patients. *Applicants should have a Ph.D. related to neuroscience and a good background in image or signal processing.* The fellow is thus expected to have a strong background in experimentation, programming, data analysis, and the functioning of the human brain. Within the partnership access is provided to a human 3T MR system dedicated for neuroscience research, a small animal 7T MRI system and MR compatible TMS and EEG equipment. The fellowship will be open for two years and the starting date is flexible. Interested candidates should send a CV, motivation letter, and two (email) addresses of potential referees to Daniele Marinazzo ( Daniele.marinazzo at ugent.be). The closing date for applications is December 31th 2011. Interviews with selected candidates will take place in the first half of January 2012. -- Daniele Marinazzo -- http://www.da.ugent.be Department of Data Analysis, Gent University Henri Dunantlaan 1, B-9000 Gent, Belgium +32 (0) 9 264 6375 -- NIPS 2011 satellite - Causal graphs: Linking brain structure to function - Granada, 11 Dec 2011 -- http://users.ugent.be/~dmarinaz/nips2011WS.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111125/afb751c5/attachment.html From kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de Fri Nov 25 10:03:13 2011 From: kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de (Janina Kirsch) Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:03:13 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: PhD-Position "The role of dichotomous properties of D1 and D2 medium spiny neurons for the dynamics and function of striatum" at the Bernstein Center Freiburg, Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctoral Program "EuroSPIN" In-Reply-To: <006401cc8e6a$9a770270$cf650750$@uni-freiburg.de> References: <006401cc8e6a$9a770270$cf650750$@uni-freiburg.de> Message-ID: <010d01ccab83$5b3383f0$119a8bd0$@uni-freiburg.de> "The role of dichotomous properties of D1 and D2 medium spiny neurons for the dynamics and function of striatum" Supervisors: Dr. Arvind Kumar (Bernstein Center Freiburg, Germany) Prof. Ad Aertsen (Bernstein Center Freiburg, Germany) Prof. Gilad Silberberg (Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden) Aim of the project: The striatum is the main input station of the basal ganglia and is strongly associated with motor and cognitive functions. It is a recurrently connected network of GABAergic medium spiny neurons (MSNs), which receive strong feedforward inhibition from the fast spiking interneurons and massive excitatory afferents from various regions of the neocortex via the cortico-striatal projection neurons. Interestingly, neighboring MSNs do not share their presynaptic inputs. Recently, we have shown that this special structure of cortico-striatal projections provides optimal conditions for the representation of cortical inputs in the striatum. The MSN population in the striatum can be segregated into two types: D1 type MSNs project to the globus palidus external (indirect path) and D2 MSNs project to the globus palidus internal (direct path). Recent experiments have revealed a great degree of differences between D1 and D2 MSNs in terms of their morphology, integration properties, synaptic dynamics and connectivity. In this project we want to understand the consequences of these different neuronal, synaptic, and network properties of the two types of MSNs for the striatal activity dynamics and representation of cortical inputs. To address this question we will use a combined experimental and theoretical approach. Relevant experiments will be conducted in the lab of Prof. Gilad Silberberg (Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden). Analysis of experimental data and development of network models will be done in the lab of Dr. Arvind Kumar and Prof. Ad Aertsen (Bernstein Center Freiburg). Profile of the ideal candidate: We are looking for candidates with a strong background in Physics or Electrical Engineering and a genuine interest in Neuroscience, who are interested in interdisciplinary research and are willing to learn and perform neurophysiology in animal experiments. Application deadline is November 30, 2011 Please apply here: www.kth.se/eurospin From kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de Fri Nov 25 10:03:13 2011 From: kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de (Janina Kirsch) Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:03:13 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: PhD-Position "Higher-order correlations among spiking neurons induced by network structure " at the Bernstein Center Freiburg, Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctoral Program "EuroSPIN" Message-ID: <011101ccab83$5b4fe590$11efb0b0$@uni-freiburg.de> %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %% %% %% Higher-order correlations among spiking neurons induced by network structure %% %% %% %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Stefan Rotter (Bernstein Center Freiburg, Germany) Prof. Dr. John Hertz (NORDITA, Stockholm, Sweden) Prof. Dr. Erik Aurell (KTH, Stockholm, Sweden) Aim of the project: Nerve cells are highly sensitive to synchronous input from larger groups of neurons [1]. Which synchronous patterns are favored by a recurrent network, therefore, depends to a large degree on network structure. Recently, we were able to dissect the contribution of specific structural motifs in networks of arbitrary topology to pairwise correlations [3], based on a minimal model for networks of spiking neurons [2]. The case of higher-order correlations, however, is complicated by the fact that several different concepts to describe multi-neuron interactions are in use. The so-called log-linear model represents a generalization of the well-studied Ising model [4,5] and therefore permits one to exploit techniques from statistical physics. Models based on stochastic point processes, on the other hand, have frequently been employed as generative models in neuroscience [1,6]. These represent a suitable starting point to develop efficient methods for neuronal data analysis, because they admit a natural link to multivariate cumulants [6]. In this project, we strive to generalize our dynamical systems approach to build a concrete physical interpretation of higher-order correlations and find out which network motifs are responsible for their generation. Recent methodological developments in neuroanatomy that allow one to assess the microstructure of brain networks at an unprecedented level (?connectomics?), in fact, generate a demand for a theory of this sort. 1. Kuhn A, Aertsen A, Rotter S. Higher-order statistics of input ensembles and the response of simple model neurons. Neural Computation 15(1): 67-101, 2003 2. Hawkes AG. Point spectra of some mutually exciting point processes. J R Stat Soc Series B Methodol 33: 438-443, 1971 3. Pernice V, Staude B, Cardanobile S, Rotter S. How Structure Determines Correlations in Neuronal Networks. PLoS Computational Biology 7(5): e1002059, 2011 4. Roudi Y, Aurell E, Hertz JA. Statistical physics of pairwise probability models. Front Comput Neurosci 3: 22, 2009 5. Roudi Y, Hertz J. Mean field theory for nonequilibrium network reconstruction. Phys Rev Lett 106(4): 048702, 2011 6. Staude B, Gr?n S, Rotter S. Higher-order correlations and cumulants. In: Gr?n S, Rotter S (eds) Analysis of Parallel Spike Trains. Springer Series in Computational Neuroscience, Volume 7, 2010 Profile of the ideal candidate: We seek a statistical physicist, mathematician or computational neuroscientist who is able to perform creative research along the lines described above. The ability to interact successfully with colleagues from other disciplines, in particular from neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, will be necessary. He/she will be enrolled in the PhD program in Computational Neuroscience at the BCF (http://www.bcf.uni-freiburg.de/teaching-and-training/phd-program). We plan a joint supervision by Stefan Rotter (Freiburg), John Hertz (Copenhagen & Stockholm) and Erik Aurell (Stockholm). Application deadline is November 30, 2011 Please apply here: www.kth.se/eurospin From brody at princeton.edu Mon Nov 28 09:30:30 2011 From: brody at princeton.edu (Carlos Brody) Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:30:30 -0500 Subject: Connectionists: PhD in Neuroscience at Princeton Message-ID: <45A5A816-6D59-446D-B4BC-6228A77DEBF9@princeton.edu> Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Princeton University : Application deadline Dec 1. Dear Colleague, We'll be grateful if you get a chance to forward this email to any interested students, or post the attached brochure, announcing the Ph.D. program in Neuroscience ( http://neuroscience.princeton.edu/ PhD ) within the Princeton Neuroscience Institute ( http://neuroscience.princeton.edu ). Fall 2012 will see the fourth generation of students enrolling in this Ph.D. program. During our first 3 years, we have enrolled spectacular students, and we are again seeking the most highly motivated and creative students. Students from diverse backgrounds are particularly encouraged to apply. Innovative coursework. A key component of our Ph.D. is year-long core course, taken in the first year and inspired by Woods Hole-style advanced courses. Students in this core course learn through a combination of lectures and first-hand experimental experience using modern, advanced methods. All students, regardless of previous experience, perform their own experiments. From single neurons and patch clamp, to ChR expression and activation, to in vivo electrophysiology in behaving animals, to computational modeling, to human neurophysiology and functional MRI, this course guides and teaches students about the brain as they learn to design, perform, analyze, and critique their own experiments. Quantitative and Computational Neuroscience track. We strongly encourage students with training in quantitative fields such as physics, mathematics, computer science, or engineering to apply to our PhD program. Research in quantitative approaches to the Life Sciences is particularly strong at Princeton University, including molecular biology, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and psychology. A Quantitative and Computational Neuroscience (QCN) track exists within our neuroscience Ph.D. It teaches students with a quantitative background about neuroscience problems to which they can apply their quantitative skills. The QCN track also serves students with a biology background who wish to acquire further training in quantitative tools for the biological sciences. Please visit us at http://neuroscience.princeton.edu/PhD . Faculty and research interests. Michael Berry : Neural computation in the retina William Bialek : Interface between physics and biology Matthew Botvinick : Neural foundations of human behavior Lisa Boulanger : Neuronal functions of immune molecules Carlos Brody : Quantitative and behavioral neurophysiology Jonathan Cohen : Neural bases of cognitive control Lynn Enquist : Neurovirology Liz Gavis : Neural development in Drosophila Alan Gelperin : Learning, memory and olfaction Asif Ghazanfar : Neurobiology of primate social agents Elizabeth Gould : Neurogenesis and hippocampal function Michael Graziano : Sensorimotor integration Charles Gross : Functions of the cerebral cortex in behavior Uri Hasson : Temporal scales of neural processing Philip Holmes : Mathematical modeling Barry Jacobs : Brain monoamine neurotransmitters Sabine Kastner : Neural mechanisms for visual perception Mala Murthy : Neurophysiology of perception in Drosophila Coleen Murphy : Molecular mechanisms of aging Yael Niv : Reinforcement learning and decision making Ken Norman : Neural bases of episodic memory Daniel Osherson : How does the brain reason? David Tank : Neural circuit dynamics Samuel Wang : Dynamics and learning in neural circuits Ilana Witten: Neural circuits of learning probed with optogenetic tools yours Carlos Brody ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Carlos Brody (609) 258-7645 brody at princeton.edu Howard Hughes Medical Institute & Princeton University Director of Graduate Studies Neuroscience Program Princeton Neurosci. Inst. & Dept. of Molecular Biology 316 Schultz Lab, Washington Rd, Princeton NJ 08544 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111128/f5cb0dfb/attachment-0002.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: PrincetonNeuroPhd.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 682922 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111128/f5cb0dfb/PrincetonNeuroPhd-0001.pdf -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111128/f5cb0dfb/attachment-0003.html From c.hilgetag at googlemail.com Mon Nov 28 16:42:08 2011 From: c.hilgetag at googlemail.com (Claus C. Hilgetag) Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:42:08 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: PhD position in Neuroinformatics at University Medical Center Eppendorf, Hamburg University, Germany References: Message-ID: <12726820-EA7E-4FA9-9E18-AEE3640D35D1@gmail.com> One PhD Research Position in Neuroinformatics is available immediately for a period of three years at the Institute of Computational Neuroscience of the University Medical Center Eppendorf, Hamburg University, Germany (www.uke.de/icns). The goal of the project 'Architecture and connectivity of the cerebral cortex' is to investigate relationships between different structural parameters and the organization of nerve fiber networks in the brain, in order to reveal fundamental structural principles of the nervous system. The research will be carried out in close cooperation with the Barbas lab at Boston University, USA. The project requires systematic compilation and multivariate analyses of quantitative neuroanatomic data, eg, Hilgetag & Grant NeuroImage 51(2010), 1006, based on experimental data of our partners as well as the evaluation of literature databases. In addition, the project involves computational modeling of developmental mechanisms. Candidates for the position are expected to have a very good university degree (at the level of Master, or German Diplom), and a background in Neuroscience, Biomedicine, Computer Science, Physics or related disciplines, as well as solid programming skills (e.g., C++/Python/Matlab). Successful candidates also have practical research experience in at least one of the following areas: statistical analyses or computational modeling of complex systems. Candidates also need to have an excellent command of written and spoken English. Applications should include a CV, a statement of research motivation and interests, as well as contact details of two referees. Applications should be send by mail to: Universit?tsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, GB Personal, Recht & Organisation, Frau Schild, Kzf.: 2011-11/332, Martinistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg oder electronically (as a pdf file of max 2MB) to: bewerbung at uke-hh.de. Applications should arrive by 12 Dec 2011. Informal inquiries about the positions can be made to: Prof. Claus Hilgetag (phone: ++49.(0)40.7410.53698 or E-Mail: c.hilgetag at uke.de). The University of Hamburg seeks to increase the number of female scientists and encourages them to apply. Disabled people with equal qualifications are preferred. -- || Claus C. Hilgetag, PhD || Professor & Director | Dept. of Computational Neuroscience || University Medical Center Eppendorf | Hamburg University || www.uke.uni-hamburg.de/icns || Adjunct Associate Professor | Boston University ---- Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity. From gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu Wed Nov 30 21:48:58 2011 From: gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu (Mark A. Gluck) Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:48:58 -0500 Subject: Connectionists: Anticipated Opening for Junior Faculty in Brain Imaging/Cognitive Neuroscience at Rutgers-Newark CMBN Message-ID: RE: Anticipated Opening for Junior Faculty in Brain Imaging/Cognitive Neuroscience at Rutgers-Newark CMBN Dear Cognitive Neuroscience Friends, I'm writing to ask if you know of any strong candidates for an anticipated (but not yet formally announced or approved) forthcoming search at Rutgers-Newark's Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience (CMBN) for a tenure-track Junior Faculty position in BRAIN IMAGING/ COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE for someone who would use our new NSF-funded Rutgers Brain Imaging Center (RUBIC) and its new research-dedicated Siemens 3T TRIO magnet located on the ground floor of our Aidekman Neuroscience Center. The ideal candidate would be someone uses brain imaging to ask fundamental questions about brain function and would interact well with a diverse community of neuroscientists including molecular, systems, behavioral, and cognitive neuroscientists. The candidate would be expected to teach graduate-level courses in neuroscience and mentor Ph.D. students in our Behavioral and Neural Sciences program. Although we expect the position to be filled by someone who would use the RUBIC facility, this may include those who use imaging in combination with other methods such as animal research, behavioral genetics, and/or clinical patient studies. The RUBIC facility can also be used to do imaging studies with non-human primates. Please note that this position is in addition to another Cognitive Neuroscience faculty position open in our neighboring Rutgers-Newark Psychology Department (i.e., two positions total at Rutgers-Newark, both of which are targeted to people who would use the RUBIC brain imaging facility). For more information on neuroscience at Rutgers-Newark see http://www.neuroscience.newark.rutgers.edu. More information on our brain imaging center is at http://rubic.rutgers.edu/ Although no search has been formally announced, and no committee officially mandated, I would be grateful if you could forward this email to any potential candidates and ask them to informally contact me with a copy of their CV and Research Statement. Our hope is to begin the search in early 2012 for a possible start-date in summer/fall 2012. Thanks, Mark -- ___________________________________________ Dr. Mark A. Gluck, Professor Director, Rutgers Memory Disorders Project Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Rutgers University Phone: (973) 353-3668/3298 197 University Ave. Newark, New Jersey 07102 Email: gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu Lab: http://www.gluck.edu Memory Loss & Brain Newsletter: http://www.memorylossonline.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111130/1a34bfa0/attachment.html From Tom.Verguts at UGent.be Tue Nov 29 05:31:24 2011 From: Tom.Verguts at UGent.be (Tom Verguts) Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:31:24 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: postdoc positions Message-ID: <5B6FCD54-B9D0-4800-8FD6-809801FEC855@ugent.be> The Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, is offering two post-doctoral positions, with an earliest possible start date of 1 February 2012. Appointments are for a fixed term of three years (potentially renewable). See: http://www.ugent.be/nl/nieuwsagenda/vacatures/aap/ for the Dutch-language version of the announcements. Post 1 (Reference: PP02 2012/02/01): motor cognition We expect successful candidates to conduct research in the domain of action representation (motor cognition) and praxis, including disorders and treatment following brain damage. We expect the candidates to make a contribution to teaching, but the research component of the post is minimally 70%. Proficiency in the Dutch language is not essential. Please contact Guy Vingerhoets (guy.vingerhoets at ugent.be +32 9 331 3351) for informal enquiries. Profile - You hold the title of Doctor. You need to have defended before you can start the post; - You have conducted behavioral and/or neuroscientific research on cognitive processes; -Experience with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and/or event-related potentials (ERP) is considered an asset; - You have published in widely distributed, international peer-reviewed journals that are relevant to the field; - You have presented your work at international conferences that are relevant to the field; - You are able and willing to participate in the department's teaching program Post 2 (Reference: PP02 2012/02/2): cognitive experimental psychology / cognitive neuroscience We expect successful candidates to conduct research in the domain of cognitive experimental psychology and/or cognitive neuroscience, ideally within one or more of the department's current interests (e.g., Psycholinguistics, Cognitive Control, Executive Functions, Working Memory, Numerical Cognition, Computational Modeling; see http://expsy.ugent.be/research/). We expect the candidates to make a contribution to teaching, but the research component of the post is minimally 70%. Proficiency in the Dutch language is not essential. This post can be filled in on part-time basis. Please contact Robert Hartsuiker (robert.hartsuiker at ugent.be +32 9 264 6436) for informal enquiries. Profile - You hold the title of Doctor. You need to have defended before you can start the post; - You have conducted behavioral and/or neuroscientific research on cognitive processes; -Experience with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or event-related potentials (ERP) is considered an asset; - You have published in widely distributed, international peer-reviewed journals that are relevant to the field; - You have presented your work at international conferences that are relevant to the field; - You are able and willing to participate in the department's teaching program Deadline: Applications need to be in by 14 December 2011. Please quote the relevant reference number and indicate in your cover letter for which of the posts you are applying; send in separate applications if you wish to apply for both posts. Please send your application, including your CV and a copy of your PhD diploma (or proof of your defense date) by registered post ("aangetekende brief") to: Directie Personeel en Organisatie Universiteit Gent Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 25 9000 Gent Belgium -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111129/71f265e8/attachment.html From ubi at rmki.kfki.hu Tue Nov 29 02:28:40 2011 From: ubi at rmki.kfki.hu (Balazs Ujfalussy) Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2011 07:28:40 +0000 Subject: Connectionists: study abroad program in Budapest References: Message-ID: The Budapest Semester in Cognitive Science - http://www.bscs-us.org/ - (in short BSCS) is an undergraduate study abroad program for students from the US and other countries aimed at broadening their understanding of cognitive science from an interdisciplinary perspective. Lecturers of the Program are distinguished experts with noteworthy international research and teaching experience. The program is is affiliated with E?tv?s University of Budapest. As a background info for the classes in 2001, see http://www.bscs-us.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88&Itemid=98 Inquires are welcome: P?ter ?rdi Co-Director -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111129/319dd77e/attachment.html From wachtler at biologie.uni-muenchen.de Wed Nov 30 15:44:13 2011 From: wachtler at biologie.uni-muenchen.de (Thomas Wachtler) Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:44:13 +0100 (CET) Subject: Connectionists: G-Node Winter Course in Neural Data Analysis 2012 Message-ID: 4th G-Node Winter Course in Neural Data Analysis March 5-9, 2012 in Munich, Germany The German Neuroinformatics Node (G-Node) organizes its fourth international training course to promote state-of-the-art methods of neural data analysis among PhD students and postdocs. During 4 days the course offers hands-on experience with model-driven analysis of data from intra- and extracellular electrophysiology. We encourage applications from students/postdocs with an experimental background that want to widen their repertoire of analysis methods, as well as from students with a theoretical background that have an interest in analyzing physiological data. Faculty: Clemens Boucsein ? Albert-Ludwigs-Universit?t and Bernstein Center Freiburg Michael Denker ? Forschungszentrum J?lich Sonja Gr?n ? Forschungszentrum J?lich and RWTH Aachen Martin Nawrot ? Freie Universit?t and Bernstein Center Berlin Keywords: synaptic transmission - spike correlation analysis - spectral analysis - tuning and decoding Deadline for application: Jan 15, 2012. For more information visit http://www.g-node.org/dataanalysis-course-2012 With best regards, Sonja Gr?n (Organizer, J?lich) and Thomas Wachtler (Local Organizer, Munich) From marley at ele.puc-rio.br Tue Nov 29 20:03:44 2011 From: marley at ele.puc-rio.br (Marley Vellasco) Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:03:44 -0000 Subject: Connectionists: CFP for Special Session on Time Series Prediction at WCCI Message-ID: Dear colleagues, please find below information about a special session on Time Series Prediction at 2012 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence / International Joint Confrence on Neural Networks, that will take place in Brisbane, Australia, June 10-15, 2012. ______________________________________________________- Special Session: Time Series Prediction The 2012 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence (IEEE WCCI 2012), Brisbane, Australia IJCNN 2012 Organizers: Teresa B. Ludermir (Federal University of Pernambuco) Marley Vellasco (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro) Keywords: Time series analysis; hybrid intelligent models for time series forecasting Goals of this special session: Time series modeling and forecasting is an old discipline that comes from the classic statistical field. The past decade has witnessed a vast growth of the amount of computational intelligence methods in time series forecasting. However hybrid intelligent systems are becoming popular due to their capabilities in handling many real world complex problems, involving imprecision, uncertainty, vagueness and high-dimensionality. Hybrid intelligent techniques facilitate the use of fuzzy logic, neuro-computing, evolutionary computing and probabilistic computing in combination, leading to the concept and application of hybrid intelligent systems. This special session of IJCNN 2011 will cover all aspects of hybrid intelligent systems for time series data, particularly forecasting, classification and clustering of time series. Topics for submission include, but are not limited to: ? Time series analysis ? Time series forecasting ? New approaches and models ? Relations between classic statistical models and Computational Intelligence techniques ? Spatio-temporal data analysis and pattern recognition ? On-line time series processing with spiking neural networks ? Time series applications in industry, science and others The main subjects of interest are: ? Time series analysis ? Time series forecasting ? New approaches and models ? Relations between classic statistical models and Computational Intelligence techniques ? Time series applications in industry, science and others ? Time Series Hybrid systems, their architectures and ways of integration of individual models ? Advanced architectures of time series systems ? Methods of testing of complex time series systems, applications to challenging problems The session is not strictly limited to the above subjects. Every aspects of time series prediction are welcome. Submission guidelines Please follow the regular submission guidelines of IJCNN 2012. Select the correct special session AND notify the chairs of your submission by sending email to: tbl at cin.ufpe.br and marley at ele.puc-rio.br Program Committee (under construction) Andre Carvalho, State University of S?o Paulo Francisco Carvalho, Federal University of Pernambuco Huanhuan Chen, University of Birmingham Robert Golan, DBmind Technologies Inc. Fernando Gomide, UNICAMP Nikola Kasabov, Auckland University of Technology Jose C. Principe, University of Florida -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20111129/4c2a1911/attachment-0001.html