NATO ASI: March 5 Deadline Approaching

[John Moody]

As the March 5th application deadline is now four weeks away, I am posting this 

notice again.


                  NATO Advanced Studies Institute (ASI) on 

                       Statistics and Neural Networks

                  June 21 - July 2, 1993, Les Arcs, France

Directors:
Professor Vladimir Cherkassky, Department of Electrical Eng., University of 

Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN  55455, tel.(612)625-9597, fax (612)625-
4583, email cherkass at ee.umn.edu
Professor Jerome H. Friedman, Statistics Department, Stanford University, 

Stanford, CA 94309 tel(415)723-9329, fax(415)926-3329, email 

jhf at playfair.stanford.edu
Professor Harry Wechsler, Computer Science Department, George Mason 

University, Fairfax VA22030, tel(703)993-1533, fax(703)993-1521, email 

wechsler at gmuvax2.gmu.edu

List of invited lecturers:  I. Alexander, L. Almeida, A. Barron, A. Buja, E. 

Bienenstock, G. Carpenter, V. Cherkassky, T. Hastie, F. Fogelman, J. 

Friedman, H. Freeman, F. Girosi, S. Grossberg, J. Kittler, R. Lippmann, J. 

Moody, G. Palm, R. Tibshirani, H. Wechsler, C. Wellekens

Objective, Agenda and Participants:  Nonparametric estimation is a problem 

of fundamental importance for many applications involving pattern 

classification and discrimination. This problem has been addressed in 

Statistics, Pattern Recognition, Chaotic Systems Theory, and more recently 

in Artificial Neural Network (ANN) research. This ASI will bring together 

leading researchers from these fields to present an up-to-date review of the 

current state-of-the art, to identify fundamental concepts and trends for 

future development, to assess the relative advantages and limitations of 

statistical vs neural network techniques for various pattern recognition 

applications, and to develop a coherent framework for the joint study of 

Statistics and ANNs. Topics range from theoretical modeling and adaptive 

computational methods to empirical comparisons between statistical and 

neural network techniques. Lectures will be presented in a tutorial manner to 

benefit the participants of ASI. A two-week programme is planned, complete 

with lectures, industrial/government sessions, poster sessions and social 

events. It is expected that over seventy students (which can be researchers or 

practitioners at the post-graduate or graduate level) will attend, drawn from 

each NATO country and from Central and Eastern Europe. The proceedings 

of ASI will be published by Springer-Verlag.

Applications: Applications for participation at the ASI are sought. 

Prospective students, industrial or government participants should send a 

brief statement of what they intend to accomplish and what form their 

participation would take. Each application should include a curriculum vitae, 

with a brief summary of relevant scientific or professional accomplishments, 

and a documented statement of financial need (if funds are applied for). 

Optionally, applications may include a one page summary for making a 

short presentation at the poster session. Poster presentations focusing on 

comparative evaluation of statistical and neural network methods and 

application studies are especially sought. For junior applicants, support 

letters from senior members of the professional community familiar with the 

applicant's work would strengthen the application. Prospective participants 

from Greece, Portugal and Turkey are especially encouraged to apply.

Costs and Funding: The estimated cost of hotel accommodations and meals 

for the two-week duration of the ASI is US$1,600. In addition, participants 

from industry will be charged an industrial registration fee, not to exceed 

US$1,000. Participants representing industrial sponsors will be exempt 

from the fee. We intend to subsidize costs of participants to the maximum 

extent possible by  available funding.  Prospective participants should also 

seek support from their national scientific funding agencies. The agencies, 

such as the American NSF or the German DFG, may provide some ASI 

travel funds upon the recommendation of an ASI director. Additional funds 

exist for students from Greece, Portugal and Turkey. We are also seeking 

additional sponsorship of ASI. Every sponsor will be fully acknowledged at 

the ASI site as well as in the printed proceedings. 


Correspondence and Registration:  Applications  should be forwarded to 

Dr. Cherkassky at the above address. Applications arriving after March 5, 

1993 may not be considered. All approved applicants will be informed of the 

exact registration arrangements. Informal email inquiries can be addressed to 

Dr. Cherkassky at   nato_asi at ee.umn.edu