NIPS*2003 Call for Workshop Proposals

[Sebastian Thrun]

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              CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS
Neural Information Processing Systems, Natural and Synthetic
NIPS*2003 Post-Conference Workshops, December 12 and 13, 2003
           Whistler/Blackcomb Resort, BC, Canada
                      www.nips.cc
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Following the regular program of the Neural Information
Processing Systems 2003 conference in Vancouver, BC, Canada,
workshops on various current topics in neural information
processing will be held on December 12 and 13, 2003, in
Whistler, BC, Canada.  We invite researchers interested in
chairing one of these workshops to submit workshop
proposals.

The goal of the workshops is to provide an informal forum
for researchers to discuss important research questions and
challenges.  Controversial issues, open problems, and
comparisons of competing approaches are encouraged and
preferred as workshop topics.  Representation of alternative
viewpoints and panel-style discussions are particularly
encouraged.  Workshop topics include, but are not limited
to, the following:

   Active Learning, Attention, Audition, Bayesian Networks,
   Bayesian Statistics, Benchmarking, Bioinformatics, Brain
   Imaging, Computational Complexity, Control, Genetic
   Algorithms, Graphical Models, Hippocampus and Memory,
   Human-Computer Interfaces, Hybrid Supervised/Unsupervised
   Learning, Implementations, Independent Component
   Analysis, Kernel Methods, Mean-Field Methods, Music,
   Network Dynamics, Neural Coding, Neural Plasticity,
   On-Line Learning, Optimization, Recurrent Nets, Robot
   Learning, Rule Extraction, Self-Organization, Sensory
   Biophysics, Signal Processing, Spike Timing, Support
   Vector Machines, Speech, Time Series, Topological Maps,
   and Vision.

Detailed descriptions of previous workshops may be found at
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/project/nips-6/nips2002/nips-papers.html.


There will be six hours of workshop meetings per day, split
into morning and afternoon sessions, with free time in
between for ongoing individual exchange or outdoor
activities.  Selected workshops may be invited to submit
proceedings for publication in the post-NIPS workshops
monographs series published by the MIT Press.

Workshop organizers have several responsibilities including:

 o Coordinating workshop participation and content, which
   includes arranging short informal presentations by
   experts, arranging for expert commentators to sit on a
   discussion panel, formulating a set of discussion topics,
   etc.

 o Moderating the discussion, and reporting its findings and
   conclusions to the group during evening plenary sessions

 o Writing a brief summary and/or coordinating submitted
   material for post-conference electronic dissemination.

Interested parties must submit a proposal for a workshop via
email by August 1, 2003.

Proposals should include title, description of what the
workshop is to address and accomplish, proposed workshop
length (1 or 2 days), planned format (e.g., lectures, group
discussions, panel discussion, combinations of the above,
etc.), and proposed speakers. Names of potential invitees
should be given where possible. Preference will be given to
workshops that reserve a significant portion of time for
open discussion or panel discussion, as opposed to pure
"mini-conference" format. An example format is:

 o Tutorial lecture providing background and introducing
   terminology relevant to the topic.

 o Two short lectures introducing different approaches,
   alternating with discussions after each lecture.

 o Discussion or panel presentation.

 o Short talks or panels alternating with discussion and
   question/answer sessions.

 o General discussion and wrap-up.

We suggest that organizers allocate at least 50% of the
workshop schedule to questions, discussion, and breaks.
Past experience suggests that workshops otherwise degrade
into mini-conferences as talks begin to run over.  For the
same reason, we strongly recommend that each workshop
include no more than 12 talks per day.

The proposal should motivate why the topic is of interest,
why it should be discussed, and who the targeted group of
participants is.  It also should include a brief resume of
the prospective workshop chair with a list of publications
to establish scholarship in the field.  We encourage
workshops that build, continue, or arise from one or more
workshops from previous years. Please mention any such
connections.

NIPS does not provide travel funding for workshop speakers.
In the past, some workshops have sought and received funding
from external sources to bring in outside speakers.  In
addition, the organizers of each accepted workshop can name
up to four people (six people for 2-day workshops) to
receive discounted registration for the workshop program.

Submissions should include the name, address, email address,
phone and fax numbers for all organizers.  If there is more
than one organizer, please designate one organizer as the
primary contact.

Proposals should be emailed as plain text to:

        nips-workshop-proposal at bcs.rochester.edu

Please do not use attachments, Microsoft Word, postscript,
html, or pdf files.  Questions may be addressed to:

        nips-workshop-admin at bcs.rochester.edu

Information about the main conference and the workshop
program can be found at

        http://nips.cc/

Robert A. Jacobs, University of Rochester
Satinder Singh, University of Michigan
NIPS*2003 Workshops Co-Chairs


      PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY AUGUST 1, 2003
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