Sintra Workshop on Spatiotemporal Models - CFP

[Luis B. Almeida]

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                      Announcement and Call for Papers

                            Sintra Workshop on
         Spatiotemporal Models in Biological and Artificial Systems

                   Sintra, Portugal, 6-8 November 1996

The spatial and temporal aspects of information processing present
important challenges, both in biological and in artificial
systems. Good examples of these challenges are the processing of visual
information and the roles of chaotic behavior and of synchrony in
biological systems, or the training of desired dynamical
behaviors and the representation of spatial information in artificial
systems.

The Sintra Workshop on Spatiotemporal Models in Biological and
Artificial Systems aims to foster the discussion and interchange of
ideas among researchers interested in all aspects of spatiotemporal
modelling. A non-exhaustive list of topics is

  analysis of neural patterns
  neocortical dynamics
  neural synchrony
  cortico-thalamic interactions
  cortical modules
  perception units
  sensorimotor modeling
  neural correlates of behavior
  plasticity in neuronal networks
  learning processes and rules
  spatio temporal measures
  neural network dynamics
  oscillations and chaos in neural networks
  recurrent neural networks
  robot navigation
  coupled oscillators
  coupled lattices
  cellular automata

WORKSHOP FORMAT

The size of the workshop is planned to be relatively small (around 50
people), to enhance the communication among participants. Submissions
will be subjected to an international peer review procedure, following
the standards for high quality scientific events. All accepted
submissions will be scheduled for poster presentation. The authors of
the best-rated submissions will make oral presentations, in addition
to their poster presentations. Presentation of an accepted
contribution is mandatory for participation in the workshop. There
will also be a number of presentations by renowned invited speakers.

The workshop is planned to have a duration of two and a half days,
from a wednesday afternoon through the next friday afternoon. The
participants who so desire will have the opportunity to stay the
following weekend, for sightseeing.

PAPER SUBMISSION

Submissions will consist of the full papers in their final form. Paper
revision after the review is not expected to be possible. The accepted
contributions will be published by a major scientific publisher. The
proceedings volume is planned to be distributed to the participants at
the beginning of the workshop.

The camera-ready paper format is not available yet, but a rough
indication is eight A4 pages, typed single-spaced in a 12 point font,
with 3.5 cm margins all around. Once a final agreement with the
publisher is reached, information on the camera-ready paper format
will be sent to all those who have requested it, including those in the
workshop mailing list, and will also be incorporated in the workshop's
web page (see 'Staying Informed', below).

Papers should be submitted to Dr. Jose C. Principe (see below),
before the deadline of 30 April. Dr. Principe should also be contacted
for clarifying any doubts regarding paper submission.

USEFUL DATES

The workshop will take place on 6-8 November 1996 in Sintra,
Portugal. The schedule is as follows:

Deadline for paper submission		30 April 1996
Results of paper review			31 July 1996
Workshop				6-8 November 1996

FUNDING

We have received confirmation that the Office of Naval Research
(U.S.A.) will provide partial funding for the workshop. Among other
things (e.g. funding the invited speakers), this will allow us to
partially subsidize the participants' expenses, by lowering the
registration cost.

We have also been given a grant from Fundacao Oriente (Portugal), in
the amount of 100000 Portuguese escudos (about 600 US dollars) to be
assigned to a participant from the Far East. Preference criteria for
assigning this grant will be (1) being a graduate student, and (2) the
ranking from the paper review procedure.

Funding applications have also been sent to several other
institutions. Therefore, some more funding may become available in the
future.

REGISTRATION

The authors of the accepted papers will be sent information about the
registration procedure. Registration of an author is mandatory for the
publication of the corresponding paper in the proceedings. This is
done to ensure the financial balance of the workshop.

The current estimate of the registration cost is 40000 Portuguese
escudos (about 270 US dollars) per participant. Besides the
participation in the workshop itself, this estimate includes the
proceedings, lunch on thursday and friday and coffee breaks. This
estimate already takes into account the funding from the ONR.

The cost of lodging at Hotel Tivoli Sintra will be, per night and per
person:

  Single room    9700 escudos    (about 65 US dollars)
  Double room    5450 escudos    (about 36 US dollars)

THE PLACE

Sintra is a beautiful little town, located about 20 km west of
Lisbon. It used to be a vacation place of the Portuguese aristocracy,
and has in its vicinity a number of beautiful palaces, a moor castle,
a monastery carved in the rock and other interesting spots. It is on
the edge of a small mountain that creates a microclimate with a
luxurious vegetation. Sintra has recently been designated World
Patrimonium.

The workshop will be held at the Hotel Tivoli Sintra, which is located
in the old part of Sintra. The hotel is modern, comfortable and has
good facilities for this kind of event.

STAYING INFORMED

To be included in the workshop's mailing list, send e-mail to Luis
B. Almeida (see below).

Workshop's web page:	http://aleph.inesc.pt/smbas/
Mirror:			http://www.cnel.ufl.edu/workshop.html

Come back to these web pages. They will be kept up-to-date, with the
latest information.


WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS

Chair

Fernando Lopes da Silva
Amsterdam University, The Netherlands


Technical program

Jose C. Principe
Address:	Electrical Engineering Dept.
		University of Florida
		Gainesville
		FL 32611
		USA
Phone:	+1-904-392-2662
Fax:	+1-904-392-0044
E-mail: principe at synapse.cnel.ufl.edu


Local arrangements

Luis B. Almeida
Address:	INESC
		R. Alves Redol, 9
		1000 Lisboa
		Portugal
Phone:	+351-1-3100246
Fax:	+351-1-3145843
E-mail:	luis.almeida at inesc.pt

-- 
Luis B. Almeida

INESC                     Phone: +351-1-3544607, +351-1-3100246
R. Alves Redol, 9         Fax:   +351-1-3145843
P-1000 Lisboa
Portugal

e-mail:  lba at inesc.pt   or   luis.almeida at inesc.pt