Conference Announcement & Call for Papers

[Jim Patton]

3rd IMACS/IEEE International Multiconference on Circuits, Systems,
Communications and Computers

Athens, Greece, JULY 4-8, 1999

Special Session on Control in Biological Systems

Session Organizer: Dr. Kamran Iqbal 


Biological systems comprise all living organism, in particular the vertebrates.
There has been a growing interest in the study of such systems since the early
work of Sherington (The integrative action of the nervous system,1906) .
Control in biological systems takes many forms, e.g., control of voluntary
movements, control of gait and posture, control of muscle tension and joint
stiffness, control of temperature, control of blood pressure, control of
respiratory system, etc. Biological control is exerted through commands
originating in the central nervous system, and is assisted by spinal reflexes
and a low level motor servo. The neuro-physiological controller can be termed
as autonomous, self-organizing, self-evolving, and hierarchical. 

Biological systems are distinguished by their complex and diverse nature.
Presence of nonlinear dynamics, multiple degrees-of-freedom, inter-segmental
couplings, controller and actuator redundancies, multiple levels of feedback,
finite feedback delays, and the distributed nature of parameters makes
modelling of biological systems a daunting task. The complexity inherent in
biological control systems has long challenged the researchers and often
precluded the use of many a powerful tools otherwise available to control
theorists. New and exciting additions to systems theory have often evolved from
study of biological systems, e.g., artificial neural networks.

The proposed session aims to explore the control issues relevant to the
biological systems. A non-exhaustive list of topics includes the following:
physiological and neuro-muscular system modeling, musculo-skeletal models,
biokinematics, biodynamics, biomechanics, motor control, motor learning,
neurological control of muscle activity, skeltomotor reflexes, control of limb
movement, control of posture and locomotion, control of skilled movements,
control of manipulative abilities, control of blood pressure,
respiratory/ventilatory control, biomedical applications of automatic control,
functional electrical and functional neuromuscular stimulation, evolutionary
approaches in biological systems, trajectory control of movements,
identification and computer simulation of biological systems. 

Instructions to the authors:


Please submit the following items by March 15, 1999:

#1. A one page abstract via e-mail to: k-iqbal at nwu.edu (See Sample)

#2. PDF(*.pdf) & MS Word (*.doc) file(s) for the full paper(s) via email (See
Sample)

#3. The CONSENT TO PUBLISH & TRANSFER OF COPYRIGHT FORM completed and signed
(Please download and print the Form and mail to address below):

Please Note: 
Only original papers, written in English, which have not previously been
published elsewhere will be accepted. 
Overview papers which will be very well organized and give an extended survey
of results in their topic are particularly welcome. 
For all other questions please contact k-iqbal at nwu.edu or write to:

*****************************************************************
Dr. Kamran Iqbal 
645 N. Michigan Ave
Suite 1100
Chicago, IL 60611
Ph: 312-503-6801
*****************************************************************

Benefits of Contributing to the IMAC/IEEE MultiConference 
*Have your paper published in the Proceedings that will be distributed to all
conference attendees (including you!) 
*Have your paper published in the Luxurious Books of World Scientific
(independently on the Proceedings) 
*Obtain international recognition in front of the IEEE - IMACS audience 
*Exchange knowledge with qualified industry professionals 
*Enhance your CV with two independent Publications (one in the Proceedings, one
in the Post-Conference Luxurious Books) 
*Gain recognition as a leader from your peers in the
Circuits/Systems/Communications/Computers Engineering 
*Have the opportunity to visit Greece and combine the conference with your
summer vacations in sun-drenched Greek islands.