New Laboratory Heads of RIKEN Brain Science Institute

[Shunichi Amari]

RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Japan

Applications Invited for Heads of New Laboratories

        in the "Creating the Brain" Area
 
***************
Applications are invited for heads of several new laboratories in the
"Creating the Brain" Area of RIKEN BSI.

The RIKEN Brain Science Institute was established in October 1997 to
promote three strategic research areas: "Understanding the Brain",
"Protecting the Brain" and "Creating the Brain".  The "Creating the
Brain" area aims at elucidation of the information principles in the
brain by theoretical and experimental approaches and aims to create
new information technology based on brain-style computations and
systems.  The targets include theoretical foundation of
neurocomputing, modeling of structures and functions of the brain,
their simulations, and establishment of brain-style computing systems.
The area now consists of two research groups, the "Brainway Group"
headed by Gen Matsumoto and the "Brain-Style Information Systems
Group" headed by Shun-ichi Amari.  For more information, see the web
site: http://www.brain.riken.go.jp.

BSI will establish two more research groups including several
laboratories in order to further develop activities of the creating
the brain area.  One new group is concerned with computational
cognitive neuroscience of higher-order brain functions.  It will
include laboratories which study intelligent, emergent and complex
systems, brain-style artificial intelligence, languages, logical
reasoning, symbol processing, and brain-style super-parallel
computation.  The other group is concerned with brain-style behavioral
systems and robotics.  It will include laboratories which study motor
planning, command generation, brain-style control including learnable
inner models and inverse models, mechanisms of sensorimotor
transformations and brain-style robot systems.  A new computational
neuroscience research laboratory will also be established in the
existing groups.

New heads of laboratories will be required to organize a team of 5 -
10 researchers and technical staff and be provided generous support
for five years.  A review of progress by international review
committee occurs every five years with possibility of contract
renewal.  Applications are encouraged from outside Japan as well as
inside Japan, under the condition that heads must be willing to work
at BSI full time.

Applicants interested in leading a new laboratory are invited to
submit a research proposal (of no more than 2,000 words) and a
suggested name for the laboratory.  In addition, applicants should
provide a full CV, a list of all publications with reprints of five
papers, a statement of research interests and the names and addresses
of three referees to:

Search Committee (10), RIKEN Brain Science Institute, 2-1 Hirosawa,
Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan Fax: +81-48-462-4796, e-mail:
search10 at brain.riken.go.jp Deadline: September 30, 1999