Graduate study in Cognitive and Neural Systems at Boston University

announce@PARK.BU.EDU announce at PARK.BU.EDU
Mon Nov 22 09:58:31 EST 1993



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         ***********************************************
         *                                             *
         *                 DEPARTMENT OF               *
         *      COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS (CNS)     *
         *              AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY           *
         *                                             *
         ***********************************************

                    Stephen Grossberg, Chairman
         Gail A. Carpenter, Director of Graduate Studies


The Boston University Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems offers 
comprehensive advanced training in the neural and computational principles, 
mechanisms, and architectures that underly human and animal behavior, 
and the application of neural network architectures to the solution of 
technological problems.

Applications for Fall, 1994 admission and financial aid are now being 
accepted for both the MA and PhD degree programs.

To obtain a brochure describing the CNS Program and a set of application
materials, write, telephone, or fax:

   Department of Cognitive & Neural Systems
   Boston University
   111 Cummington Street, Room 240
   Boston, MA 02215
   617/353-9481 (phone)
   617/353-7755 (fax)

or send via email your full name and mailing address to: 

   cns at cns.bu.edu

Applications for admission and financial aid should be received by the 
Graduate School Admissions Office no later than January 15.  Late 
applications will be considered until May 1; after that date applications 
will be considered only as special cases.

Applicants are required to submit undergraduate (and, if applicable, 
graduate) transcripts, three letters of recommendation, and Graduate
Record Examination (GRE) scores. The Advanced Test should be in the
candidate's area of departmental specialization. GRE scores may be
waived for MA candidates and, in exceptional cases, for PhD candidates,
but absence of these scores may decrease an applicant's chances for 
admission and financial aid.

Non-degree students may also enroll in CNS courses on a part-time basis.

Description of the CNS Department:

The Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems (CNS) provides advanced
training and research experience for graduate students interested in the 
neural and computational principles, mechanisms, and architectures that 
underlie human and animal behavior, and the application of neural network 
architectures to the solution of technological problems. Students are 
trained in a broad range of areas concerning cognitive and neural systems, 
including vision and image processing; speech and language understanding; 
adaptive pattern recognition; cognitive information processing; self-
organization; associative learning and long-term memory; computational
neuroscience; nerve cell biophysics; cooperative and competitive network 
dynamics and short-term memory; reinforcement, motivation, and attention; 
adaptive sensory-motor control and robotics; active vision; and biological 
rhythms; as well as the mathematical and computational methods needed to 
support advanced modeling research and applications. The CNS Department 
awards MA, PhD, and BA/MA degrees.

The CNS Department embodies a number of unique features. It has developed 
a curriculum that consists of twelve interdisciplinary graduate courses 
each of which integrates the psychological, neurobiological, mathematical, 
and computational information needed to theoretically investigate 
fundamental issues concerning mind and brain processes and the applications 
of neural networks to technology. Nine additional advanced courses, 
including research seminars, are also offered. Each course is typically 
taught once a week in the evening to make the program available to 
qualified students, including working professionals, throughout the Boston 
area. Students develop a coherent area of expertise by designing a program 
that includes courses in areas such as Biology, Computer Science, Engineering, 
Mathematics, and Psychology, in addition to courses in the CNS curriculum.

The CNS Department prepares students for thesis research with scientists 
in one of several Boston University research centers or groups, and with 
Boston-area scientists collaborating with these centers. The unit most 
closely linked to the department is the Center for Adaptive Systems (CAS). 
Students interested in neural network hardware work with researchers in 
CNS, the College of Engineering, and at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Other 
research resources include distinguished research groups in neurophysiology, 
neuroanatomy, and neuropharmacology at the Medical School and the Charles 
River campus; in sensory robotics, biomedical engineering, computer and 
systems engineering, and neuromuscular research within the Engineering 
School; in dynamical systems within the Mathematics Department; in 
theoretical computer science within the Computer Science Department; and 
in biophysics and computational physics within the Physics Department. 

In addition to its basic research and training program, the Department 
conducts a seminar series, as well as conferences and symposia, which bring 
together distinguished scientists from both experimental and theoretical 
disciplines.

1993-94 CAS MEMBERS and CNS FACULTY:

Jacob Beck                
Daniel H. Bullock
Gail A. Carpenter
Chan-Sup Chung
Michael A. Cohen 
H. Steven Colburn
Paolo Gaudiano  
Stephen Grossberg 
Frank H. Guenther         
Thomas G. Kincaid
Nancy Kopell
Ennio Mingolla
Heiko Neumann
Alan Peters
Adam Reeves
Eric L. Schwartz
Allen Waxman
Jeremy Wolfe





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