[ACT-R-users] CogModel notes: ICCM16/BICA16/travel support/Post-docs
Frank Ritter
fer2 at psu.edu
Sun Jun 5 18:59:18 EDT 2016
The ICCM 2016 announcements drive this email (it will be at Penn
State, 3-6 Aug 2016, still hope you can come!).
* We have student travel support for US students
(please apply!)
* We have our tutorial program up
* Early registration is due 6 July 2016
There are also several timely announcements in this issue about BICA
2016, post-docs (3 in our lab), and fellowships. Also note that our
college will be hiring in the fall in HCI and security at least.
If you would like to be removed, please just let me know. I maintain
it by hand to keep it small.
[Hypertext version available at
http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/iccm-mailing-jun2016.html
**************** Table of Contents ****************
1. ICCM Student travel stipends (10 places)
http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/stipend-application
2. ICCM 2016 registration is open
http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/registration
3. ICCM 2016 Tutorial program
http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/tutorials
4. BICA 2016 Late Breaking abstracts, due 10 Jun 16
http://bica2016.bicasociety.org
5. Fellowship to IITSEC conference, Dec 2016, due 20 Jun 16
http://www.iitsec.org/education/studentsandteachers
6. Symposium on Multitasking, 23 Jun 16, Gronigen, NL
http://www.iccm2015.org/multitask
** Jobs **
7. Postdocs in cognitive tutors, PSU
https://psu.jobs/job/63941 (1 starts Aug16 and one Dec16)
8. Postdoc in linguistics and computational social science, PSU
https://psu.jobs/job/58861
9. CIFAR grant for young faculty
http://www.cifar.ca/global-scholars
10. 2 year post-doc fellowship + TT appointment, Carleton U
11. Post-doc grant writing opportunity at ARL
http://sites.nationalacademies.org/pga/rap
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1. ICCM Student travel stipends (10 places)
http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/stipend-application
Student travel stipends are available! You can learn more and apply here.
http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/stipend-application
Applicants need to be at a US university or be US citizens. These are
sponsored by NSF. We still have some room.
****************************************************************
2. ICCM 2016 registration is open
http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/registration
Registration is open. Early registration due 6 Jul 16
http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/registration
****************************************************************
3. ICCM 2016 Tutorial program
http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/tutorials
The ICCM 2016 tutorial program is available at
http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/tutorials
T1: Stream: A Toolkit for Developing High-Precision Experiments
T2: ACT-R Phi - ACT-R and a Physiological Model
T3: Distributed Adaptive Control: A Theory of the Mind, Brain, Body
Nexus
T4: Tools for Cognitive Modeling: tasks for universal access,
exploring parameter spaces, analyzing the persuasiveness of the best-found fit
----------------
Tutorial 1: 9-1230
Stream: A Toolkit for Developing High-Precision Experiments
Brad Wyble - Assistant Prof of Psychology, PSU (http://wyblelab.com)
Gregory Wade - PhD Student, U of Deleware
Creating behavioral experiments with carefully rendered stimuli and
highly precise timing requires a specialized style of programming that
interacts directly with computer hardware, including keyboard, and
sound and video drivers. To facilitate the development of such
experiments, we have created the Stream Toolkit, a freely available
toolkit that builds on Matlab and Psychtoolbox to allow rapid
development of high-precision experimental procedures that involve
multiple modalities (e.g. visual, auditory and parallel-port output;
keyboard, eye tracking, & mouse input).
The toolkit allows users to assemble an experimental procedure by
preloading stimuli and then using events to control their timing with
high precision. During the experiment itself, all stimuli and
responses are recorded with timestamps at the ms level and stored in a
data structure that ensures no information will be lost. For novice
programmers, Stream provides a framework that is familiar to
behavioral scientists and is a good way to extend programming
skills. For advanced programmers, Stream accelerates the development
of complex experiments (e.g. involving eye tracking, EEG, and
realtime, user-responsive stimuli).
Attendees will be introduced to Stream through tutorials that guide
them through experimental procedures with open-ended exercises. In the
afternoon attendees will be invited to create experiments of their own
design, with hands-on guidance and troubleshooting from Stream's
designers.
----------------
Tutorial 2: 9-1230
ACT-R Phi - ACT-R and a Physiological Model
Chris Dancy - Assistant Prof, Bucknell (www.bucknell.edu/x105042.xml)
W Andrew Pruett - Instructor, U of Mississippi Medical Center
The mind is embodied, physically and chemically, receiving and passing
information to the body in myriad physiological feedback loops. The
mind-body interface induces connections between different cognitive
functions, and is an integral part of cognition. Understanding how
physiological and cognitive mechanisms interact to result in behavior
will need to involve exploring the representative and systematic ways
we can connect systems on the physiological and cognitive levels.
As physiological sensors continue to become cheaper, more pervasive,
and more accurate, computational cognitive modelers will have a unique
opportunity to predict and explain human behavior using process models
with representations on both the physiological and cognitive
levels. This shift will result in models that more realistically
operate over longer periods of time, allowing modelers access to more
mechanistic models and predictions of behaviors given moderators like
sleep deprivation, caffeine, or stress.
In the first hour, we will discuss physiological and cognitive
processes, and interactions between systems at these levels, that are
useful for modeling and simulating behavior on both the physiological
and cognitive levels. We will use two representative systems (HumMod
and ACT-R) as well as an integrated version of the two systems
(ACT-R/Phi) to ground the discussed connections and interactions to a
computational system. Tutees will then have two hours to build a
hybrid computational physio-cognitive model, run the model in a
simulated experiment, and interpret the predicted physiological and
cognitive output against existing behavioral data.
----------------
Tutorial 3: 14-1730
Distributed Adaptive Control: A Theory of the Mind, Brain, Body Nexus
Paul Verschure - U Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona
http://specs.upf.edu/people/paul-fmj-verschure
This tutorial introduces the Distributed Adaptive Control (DAC), a
theory of the design principles underlying the Mind, Brain, Body Nexus
(MBBN) that has been developed over the last 20 years. DAC assumes
that the brain maintains stability between an embodied agent, its
internal state and its environment through action. It postulates that
in order to act, or know how, the brain has to answer 5 fundamental
questions: why, what, where, when and who? Thus the function of the
brain is to continuously solve the so-called H5W problem with H
standing for the How an agent acts in the world. The DAC theory is
expressed as a neural-based architecture implemented in robots and
organized in two complementary structures: layers and columns. The
organizational layers are called: reactive, adaptive and contextual,
and its columnar organization defines the processing of states of the
world, the self and the generation of action. DAC has been shown to be
both rational in a Bayesian sense while epistemically autonomous. In
addition, it has been mapped to the main brain structures in an effort
to validate its specific predictions.
After an overview of the key elements of DAC, the mapping of its key
assumptions towards the invertebrate and mammalian brain is
described. The general overview of DAC's explanation of MBBN is
combined with examples of application scenarios in which DAC has been
validated, including mobile and humanoid robots, neuro-rehabilitation
and the large-scale interactive space Ada. In this tutorial we will
provide the elements necessary to implement an autonomous control
system based on the DAC architecture and we will explore how the
different layers of DAC contribute to solve a foraging task.
----------------
Tutorial 4: 14-1730
Tools for Cognitive Modeling: Developing tasks for universal access by
models and human participants, exploring a massive parameter space to
find the best fit of model to data, and analyzing the persuasiveness
of the best-found fit.
Vladislav "Dan" Veksler - ARO
The aim of this tutorial is to walk participants through much of the
cognitive modeling research cycle, from experiment/simulation
development, to parameter exploration for finding the best fit of
model predictions to empirical results, to determining the
persuasiveness of the found fit (vis-a-vis Roberts & Pashler, "How
persuasive is a good fit?"). This tutorial will provide hands-on
experience with (1) STAP -- a technology that enables reuse of task
software for human participants in lab, online, and on mobile devices,
and computational participants regardless of computational framework
and programming language; (2) mindmodeling.org -- a free online
parallel computing resource for exploring large parameter spaces; and
(3) Model Flexibility Analysis -- a method for estimating model
complexity/flexibility.
****************************************************************
4. BICA 2016 Late Breaking abstracts, due 10 Jun 16
http://bica2016.bicasociety.org
The BICA 2016 (http://bica2016.bicasociety.org) still needs more
papers/participants (abstracts are OK), and the current deadline is
10 Jun. It will be held in NYC.
****************************************************************
5. Fellowship to IITSEC conference, Dec 2016, due 20 Jun 16
http://www.iitsec.org/education/studentsandteachers
By way of introduction, my name is Brent Smith and I am the Chair for
the RADM Fred Lewis Postgraduate Scholarship program. This is our 26th
year in providing these scholarships as part of the
Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference
(I/ITSEC). I/ITSEC is one of the largest and most respected
conferences on modeling, simulation, and educational
technologies. Scholarships are offered at a Master level in the amount
$5k, and at a Doctoral level in the amount of $10k.
The scholarships are offered to stimulate student interest and
university participation in preparing individuals for leadership in
the Modeling & Simulation, Training and Education communities. By
investing in our future workforce, the RADM Fred Lewis Scholarships
encourage expansion of the I/ITSEC community and promote innovation
through direct investment in our community's future leaders. The
scholarship recipient(s) will attend I/ITSEC '16 (28 Nov - 2 Dec 16)
at the expense of the I/ITSEC organization, where he or she will be
recognized, view the latest in simulation, training and education
technologies and meet leading figures from Government, Industry and
Academia associated with this community.
Please help me pass the word to your student body, as we like to have
a diverse pool of candidates from which to choose. All pertinent
application information can be found at . The deadline for
applications this year is 20 Jun and awardees will be notified by 5
Aug. Funds will be made available in time for the fall term.
Thank you for your support. If there is any additional information
desired, feel free to contact me directly. Sincerely,
Brent Smith
I/ITSEC 2016 Scholarship Chair
Engineering & Computer Simulations
11825 High Tech Ave., Suite 250
Orlando FL 32817
Office: (407) 823-9991 x305 | Cell: (407) 497-7340
brents at ecsorl.com | www.iitsec.org
****************************************************************
6. Symposium on Multitasking, 23 Jun 16, Gronigen, NL
http://www.iccm2015.org/multitask
We would like to invite you to join our symposium on Multitasking here
in Groningen, NL, on 23 Jun 16.
Multitasking becomes ever more pervasive in everyday life. It is
therefore important to have a better understanding of how the human
brain processes multiple tasks. This can help us predict whether any
given combination of tasks go well together. Furthermore it is
important to know the nature of choice in multitasking: when do people
choose to take on a secondary task, or decide to switch from one task
to another. A better understanding can help to improve human-computer
interaction, and to make people aware of how they can improve their
own multitasking.
The symposium features a series of talks by international experts in
the field and will be concluded with a panel-discussion around the
question of what we have learned from research on multitasking and
interruptions so far.
Registration is free and open until 16 Jun.
For more information go to http://www.iccm2015.org/multitask or send
an email to S.K.Mehlhorn at rug.nl.
We are looking forward to seeing you at the symposium!
Katja Mehlhorn & Niels Taatgen
****************************************************************
7. Postdocs in cognitive tutors, PSU
https://psu.jobs/job/63941 (1 position Aug16 and one Dec16)
[One is funding in hand, one is selected but not yet funded-fer]
A postdoctoral scholar position is available in the College of IST at
PSU. This position will build tutors (http://acs.ist.psu.edu/d2p) to
understand learning about maintenance and other procedural skills.
The applicant should have, or be scheduled to complete, a PhD in
psychology, CS, IE, or a related field by the time the employment
starts. Candidates should have technical skills to maintain and
extend the tutoring system in Ruby and an interest in learning theory
and modeling. Programming skills include: Ruby, Java, Lisp, ACT-R, r
or related languages. Relevant knowledge include how to run studies,
statistical analyses (regression preferred over anova), and writing.
The work would include extending and maintaining a tutoring language
and associated tutors, helping to build new tutors, testing the tutors
through usability and learning studies, and presenting the results in
a variety of forms.
Postdoctoral scholar appointments are full-time, 12-month, non-tenure
positions, with 2-3 years renewal dependent upon performance and funds
availability. To apply, electronically submit a cover letter
describing qualifications, a CV and contact information from three
professional references. Review of applicants is ongoing and the
position will begin when a suitable candidate is selected.
Queries to frank.ritter at psu.edu. Please let me know when you apply.
****************************************************************
8. Postdoc in linguistics and computational social science, PSU
https://psu.jobs/job/58861
Postdoc position @ Applied Cognitive Science Lab, College of
Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State.
We have begun new, NSF-funded research in the areas of linguistics and
computational social science. Generally, we seek to model cognitive
processes using large-scale datasets and experimentation. Our recent
core contributions have been in psycholinguistic models of
natural-language dialogue and in decision making. Our work in
cognitive science is fueled by advances in computing. In turn, we
translate progress in cognitive science to contributions in computer
science.
We are looking for a postdoc with training in one or more of the
following areas:
* cognitive science (e.g., computational psycholinguistics and
data-driven modeling),
* deep connectionist representations, and
* natural language processing and information retrieval.
While the successful applicant is likely to focus on some areas,
strong practical computational skills and a research interest in
cognition or linguistics are required. Duties will include
contributing to a project that combines crowd-sourcing and natural
language processing to curate a dataset for peace research. Beyond
that, the post-doc is primarily expected to build a strong research
agenda, but may also collaborate in the graduate students' projects
and teach. The initial appointment would be for one year and is
renewable. Applicants should have a PhD in a relevant area (or be in
the final stages of obtaining one) and a strong record of
publications.
Please direct inquiries to David Reitter, reitter at psu.edu.
Job ad and formal applications (after contact by e-mail):
https://psu.jobs/job/58861
****************************************************************
9. CIFAR grant for young faculty
http://www.cifar.ca/global-scholars
[closed, but recurring, next call, Winter 2017]
Subject: Connectionists: CIFAR grant for young faculty
CIFAR invites outstanding early-career researchers to join one of nine
research programs which address some of the most complex challenges
facing the world today. The CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars program
provides funding and support to help you build your research network
and develop essential skills at this important time in your career.
As a CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar, you'll receive:
A two-year appointment to a CIFAR research program
$100k CDN in undesignated research support
Specialized leadership and communications training
Scholars are appointed to a research program, becoming part of a
global network of leading researchers pursuing answers to some of the
most difficult challenges facing the world today. You'll forge new
collaborations with mentors and colleagues from diverse
disciplines. Experts will help you hone your leadership and
communication skills to prepare you to be an influential leader within
academia and beyond.
For more information: http://www.cifar.ca/global-scholars
-- Yoshua Bengio
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10. 2 year post-doc fellowship + TT appointment, Carleton U
2 year post-doctoral fellowship ($70k/year) + tenure track appointment
at Carleton U in Ottawa, Canada
The Creative Interactions Lab in the School of Information Technology
at Carleton U is interested in sponsoring an individual for a Banting
Postdoctoral Fellowship. This is a highly competitive award, designed
for candidates who are almost ready to apply for a Faculty position,
to build capacity at the university. As such, Carleton will offer a
tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor to
successful Banting awardees after the 2 year term of the postdoctoral
fellowship.
The Creative Interactions Lab focuses on novel interactions
techniques, specifically with deformable user interactions, with a
recent focus on accessibility and health care. We are most interested
in human computer interaction candidates who have expertise or
interests in deformation interaction techniques, shape shifting,
tangible user interfaces, health care and/or accessibility.
The Banting fellowship is a 2 year position with an annual salary of
$70k.
Applications will be subject to an internal adjudication process
before any application is forwarded.
Deadlines
- Initial expressions of interest: 20 Jun
- Candidate name must be confirmed by: 30 Jun
- Internal submission process (by invitation only): 13 Jul
- Full application to the sponsor (by invitation only): 21 Sep
Eligibility
Applicants to the 2016-17 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program
must fulfill or have fulfilled all degree requirements for a PhD
between September 21, 2013 and September 30, 2017 (inclusively), and
before the start date of their award. Canadian citizens, permanent
residents of Canada and foreign citizens are eligible to apply. Note:
although recent PhD graduates are eligible to apply, due to the
competitive nature of the program, preference is given to candidates
who have already held a postdoctoral fellowship.
Applying
Initial expressions of interest should be sent to Dr. Audrey Girouard
at audrey.girouard at carleton.ca. Include your CV, a sentence stating
your eligibility, a brief research statement outlining your research
interests, and names and contact information of two senior academics
willing to give more information. An email with CV attachment will
suffice.
****************************************************************
11. Post-doc grant writing opportunity at ARL
http://sites.nationalacademies.org/pga/rap
I'm Dan Cassenti, a research psychologist with the U.S. Army Res Lab
at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. I recently discovered that there is a
possible opening for a post-doctoral associate under my advisorship at
ARL with either the National Research Council or Oak Ridge Associated
Universities programs. For more information on the post-doctoral
program, please see the following web site:
http://sites.nationalacademies.org/pga/rap . The solicitations on this
web site cover both the NRC and ORAU programs. The benefits include a
competitive salary, moving expenses, health insurance options, and a
travel budget.
I am looking for candidates who have or are close to receiving a
Ph.D. and have both empirical and computational modeling background in
one or more of the following areas: executive function, decision
making, knowledge representation, linguistics, mental workload, or
working memory. The project (which will require a proposal for funding
developed jointly with the candidate and myself) will involve the
analysis of intelligence information for the generation of
networks. Please contact me at daniel.n.cassenti.civ at mail.mil if
you're interested. Also, if you know someone who could benefit from
this note, please forward on. Thanks in advance for your help!
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-30-
If you have read this far, try out this new take of who's on 1st
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLE7zsJk4AI
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