From dwang at cse.ohio-state.edu Wed Dec 1 10:35:58 2004 From: dwang at cse.ohio-state.edu (DeLiang Wang) Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2004 10:35:58 -0500 Subject: Junior faculty position available In-Reply-To: <000501c4d620$156da020$f624d6c2@maxwell.local> References: <000501c4d620$156da020$f624d6c2@maxwell.local> Message-ID: <41ADE4DE.5040907@cse.ohio-state.edu> Note that machine learning is of major interest this year - DeLiang Wang ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tenure Track Faculty Position The OSU Department of Computer Science and Engineering invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor. The department's focus areas are in artificial intelligence, graphics, networking, software engineering, and systems. Outstanding applicants in any of these areas are welcome. Of particular interest are candidates in the following fields: bioinformatics, machine learning, model checking, operating systems, and security. Women, minorities, or individuals with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply. Qualified applicants should hold or be completing a Ph.D. in computer science and engineering or a closely related field, and have a commitment to excellent research and quality teaching. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants are requested to send a curriculum vita, preferably by e-mail to: fsearch at cse.ohio-state.edu or by mail to: Faculty Search Committee Department of Computer Science and Engineering The Ohio State University 2015 Neil Avenue, DL395 Columbus, OH 43210-1277 From caroly at cns.bu.edu Thu Dec 2 10:50:19 2004 From: caroly at cns.bu.edu (Carol Jefferson) Date: Thu, 02 Dec 2004 10:50:19 -0500 Subject: CNS Graduate Programs Announcement Message-ID: <6.1.1.1.0.20041202104955.01baf3f0@cns.bu.edu> PLEASE POST ****************************************************************************** GRADUATE TRAINING IN THE DEPARTMENT OF COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS (CNS) AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY ****************************************************************************** The Boston University Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems offers comprehensive graduate training 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. The brochure may also be viewed on line at: http://www.cns.bu.edu/brochure/ and application forms at: http://www.bu.edu/cas/graduate/application.html Applications for Fall 2005 admission and financial aid are now being accepted for PhD, MA, and BA/MA degree programs. To obtain a brochure describing CNS programs and a set of application materials, write, telephone, or fax: DEPARTMENT OF COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS Boston University 677 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02215 617/353-9481 (phone) 617/353-7755 (fax) or send via email your full name and mailing address to the attention of Mr. Robin Amos at: amos 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) general test scores. GRE scores may be waived for MA candidates and, in exceptional cases, for PhD candidates, but absence of these scores will 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 and qualified undergraduates 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. The department's training and research focus on two broad questions. The first question is: How does the brain control behavior? This is a modern form of the Mind/Body Problem. The second question is: How can technology emulate biological intelligence? This question needs to be answered to develop intelligent technologies that are well suited to human societies. These goals are symbiotic because brains are unparalleled in their ability to intelligently adapt on their own to complex and novel environments. Models of how the brain accomplishes this are developed through systematic empirical, mathematical, and computational analysis in the department. Autonomous adaptation to a changing world is also needed to solve many of the outstanding problems in technology, and the biological models have inspired qualitatively new designs for applications. CNS is a world leader in developing biological models that can quantitatively simulate the dynamics of identified brain cells in identified neural circuits, and the behaviors that they control. This new level of understanding is producing comparable advances in intelligent technology. CNS is a graduate department that is devoted to the interdisciplinary training of graduate students. The department awards MA, PhD, and BA/MA degrees. Its students are trained in a broad range of areas concerning computational neuroscience, cognitive science, and neuromorphic systems. The biological training includes study of the brain mechanisms of vision and visual object recognition; audition, speech, and language understanding; recognition learning, categorization, and long-term memory; cognitive information processing; self-organization and development, navigation, planning, and spatial orientation; cooperative and competitive network dynamics and short-term memory; reinforcement and motivation; attention; adaptive sensory-motor planning, control, and robotics; biological rhythms; consciousness; mental disorders; and the mathematical and computational methods needed to support advanced modeling research and applications. Technological training includes methods and applications in image processing, multiple types of signal processing, adaptive pattern recognition and prediction, information fusion, and intelligent control and robotics. The foundation of this broad training is the unique interdisciplinary curriculum of seventeen interdisciplinary graduate courses that have been developed at CNS. Each of these courses integrates the psychological, neurobiological, mathematical, and computational information needed to theoretically investigate fundamental issues concerning mind and brain processes and the applications of artificial neural networks and hybrid systems to technology. A student's curriculum is tailored to his or her career goals with academic and research advisors. In addition to taking interdisciplinary courses within CNS, students develop important disciplinary expertise by also taking courses in departments such as biology, computer science, engineering, mathematics, and psychology. In addition to these formal courses, students work individually with one or more research advisors to learn how to carry out advanced interdisciplinary research in their chosen research areas. As a result of this breadth and depth of training, CNS students have succeeded in finding excellent jobs in both academic and technological areas after graduation. The CNS Department interacts with colleagues in several Boston University research centers, and with Boston-area scientists collaborating with these centers. The units most closely linked to the department are the Center for Adaptive Systems and the CNS Technology Laboratory. CNS is also part of a major new NSF Center of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science, and Technology (CELEST); see http://www.cns.bu.edu/CELEST. Students interested in neural network hardware can work with researchers in CNS and at the College of Engineering. In particular, CNS is part of a major ONR MURI Center for Intelligent Biomimetic Image Processing and Classification that includes colleagues who are developing neuromorphic VLSI chips. Other research resources include the campus-wide Program in Neuroscience, which unites cognitive neuroscience, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, neuropharmacology, and neural modeling across the Charles River Campus and the School of Medicine; in sensory robotics, biomedical engineering, computer and systems engineering, and neuromuscular research within the College of Engineering; in dynamical systems within the Department of Mathematics; in theoretical computer science within the Department of Computer Science; and in biophysics and computational physics within the Department of Physics. Key colleagues in these units hold joint appointments in CNS in order to expedite training and research interactions with CNS core faculty and students. In addition to its basic research and training program, the department organizes an active colloquium series, various research and seminar series, and international conferences and symposia, to bring distinguished scientists from experimental, theoretical, and technological disciplines to the department. The department is housed in its own four-story building, which includes ample space for faculty and student offices and laboratories (active perception, auditory neuroscience, computational neuroscience, visual psychophysics, speech and language, sensory-motor control, neurobotics, computer vision, and technology), as well as an auditorium, classroom, seminar rooms, a library, and a faculty-student lounge. The department has a powerful computer network for carrying out large-scale simulations of behavioral and brain models and applications. FACULTY AND RESEARCH STAFF OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS AND CENTER FOR ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS Jelle Atema Professor of Biology Director, Boston University Marine Program (BUMP) PhD, University of Michigan Sensory physiology and behavior Helen Barbas Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Sargent College PhD, Physiology/Neurophysiology, McGill University Organization of the prefrontal cortex, evolution of the neocortex Virginia Best Research Associate, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Physiology, University of Sydney, Australia Auditory processing in humans, with a focus on spatial hearing, spatial attention and speech perception Daniel H. Bullock Associate Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems, and Psychology PhD, Experimental Psychology, Stanford University Sensory-motor performance and learning, voluntary control of action, serial order and timing, cognitive development Gail A. Carpenter Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems and Mathematics Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Mathematics, University of Wisconsin, Madison Learning and memory, vision, synaptic processes, pattern recognition, remote sensing, medical database analysis, machine learning, differential equations, neural network technology transfer Michael A. Cohen Associate Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems and Computer Science PhD, Psychology, Harvard University Speech and language processing, measurement theory, neural modeling, dynamical systems, cardiovascular oscillations physiology and time series H. Steven Colburn Professor of Biomedical Engineering PhD, Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Audition, binaural interaction, auditory virtual environments, signal processing models of hearing Howard Eichenbaum Professor of Psychology PhD, Psychology, University of Michigan Neurophysiological studies of how the hippocampal system mediates declarative memory William D. Eldred III Professor of Biology PhD, University of Colorado, Health Science Center Visual neuralbiology John C. Fiala Research Assistant Professor of Biology PhD, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University Synaptic plasticity, dendrite anatomy and pathology, motor learning, robotics, neuroinformatics Jean Berko Gleason Professor of Psychology PhD, Harvard University Psycholinguistics Sucharita Gopal Professor of Geography PhD, University of California at Santa Barbara Neural networks, computational modeling of behavior, geographical information systems, fuzzy sets, and spatial cognition Stephen Grossberg Wang Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Professor of Mathematics, Psychology, and Biomedical Engineering Chairman, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems Director, Center for Adaptive Systems PhD, Mathematics, Rockefeller University Vision, audition, language, learning and memory, reward and motivation, cognition, development, sensory-motor control, mental disorders, applications Frank Guenther Associate Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University MSE, Electrical Engineering, Princeton University Speech production, speech perception, biological sensory-motor control and functional brain imaging Catherine L. Harris Associate Professor of Psychology PhD, Cognitive Science and Psychology, University of California at San Diego Visual word recognition, psycholinguistics, cognitive semantics, second language acquisition, computational models of cognition Michael E. Hasselmo Professor of Psychology Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Psychology PhD, Experimental Psychology, Oxford University Computational modeling and experimental testing of neuromodulatory mechanisms involved in encoding, retrieval and consolidation Allyn Hubbard Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering PhD, Electrical Engineering, University of Wisconsin VLSI circuit design: digital, analog, subthreshold analog, biCMOS, CMOS; information processing in neurons, neural net chips, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing chips, sonar processing chips; auditory models and experiments Thomas G. Kincaid Professor of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering PhD, Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Signal and image processing, neural networks, non-destructive testing Mark Kon Professor of Mathematics PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Neural network theory, complexity theory, wavelet theory, mathematical physics Nancy Kopell Professor of Mathematics PhD, Mathematics, University of California at Berkeley Dynamics of networks of neurons Jacqueline A. Liederman Associate Professor of Psychology PhD, Psychology, University of Rochester Dynamics of interhemispheric cooperation; prenatal correlates of neurodevelopmental disorders Siegfried Martens Research Associate, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University Learning models, pattern recognition, visualization, remote sensing, sensor fusion Ennio Mingolla Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems and Psychology PhD, Psychology, University of Connecticut Visual perception, mathematical modeling of visual processes Alfonso Nieto Castanon Research Associate, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University Speech, statistics, signal processing, computational neuroscience Joseph Perkell Adjunct Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Senior Research Scientist, Research Lab of Electronics and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Motor control of speech production Marc Pomplun Adjunct Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts, Boston PhD, Computer Science, University of Bielefeld, Germany Eye movements, visual attention, modeling of cognitive processes, human-computer interaction Adam Reeves Adjunct Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Professor of Psychology, Northeastern University PhD, Psychology, City University of New York Psychophysics, cognitive psychology, vision Kevin Reilly Research Associate, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Speech and Hearing Science, University of Washington, Seattle Speech production, sensory-motor control and learning, computational neuroscience Michele Rucci Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Scuola Superiore S.-Anna, Pisa, Italy Vision, sensory-motor control and learning, and computational neuroscience Elliot Saltzman Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, Sargent College Senior Scientist, Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT PhD, Developmental Psychology, University of Minnesota Modeling and experimental studies of human sensorimotor control and coordination of the limbs and speech articulators, focusing on issues of timing in skilled activities Fabrizio Santini Research Associate, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Computer Science, University of Florence, Italy Neuromorphic robotics, vision, neuroprocessors and large neural system simulations Robert Savoy Adjunct Associate Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Assistant in Experimental Psychology; Director, fMRI Education; Instructor Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital President, HyperVision Incorporated, Lexington, MA PhD, Experimental Psychology, Harvard University Computational neuroscience; visual psychophysics of color, form, and motion perception Teaching about functional MRI and other brain mapping methods Eric Schwartz Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems; Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering; and Anatomy and Neurobiology PhD, High Energy Physics, Columbia University Computational neuroscience, machine vision, neuroanatomy, neural modeling Robert Sekuler Adjunct Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, BioMolecular Engineering Research Center Frances and Louis H. Salvage Professor of Psychology, Brandeis University Consultant in neurosurgery, Boston Children's Hospital PhD, Psychology, Brown University Visual motion, brain imaging, relation of visual perception, memory, and movement Barbara Shinn-Cunningham Associate Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems and Biomedical Engineering PhD, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Psychoacoustics, audition, auditory localization, binaural hearing, sensorimotor adaptation, mathematical models of human performance David Somers Assistant Professor of Psychology PhD, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University Functional MRI, psychophysical, and computational investigations of visual perception and attention Chantal E. Stern Associate Professor of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Boston University Associate Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School Assistant in Neuroscience, MGH-Martinos Center, Massachusetts General Hospital PhD, Experimental Psychology, Oxford University Functional neuroimaging studies (fMRI and MEG) of learning and memory Timothy Streeter Research Associate, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems MS, Physics, University of New Hampshire MA, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University Spatial auditory perception, perceptual adaptation Malvin C. Teich Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Physics PhD, Cornell University Quantum optics and imaging, photonics, wavelets and fractal stochastic processes, biological signal processing and information transmission Lucia Vaina Professor of Biomedical Engineering Research Professor of Neurology, School of Medicine PhD, Sorbonne (France); Dres Science, National Politechnique Institute, Toulouse (France) Computational visual neuroscience, biological and computational learning, functional and structural neuroimaging Takeo Watanabe Associate Professor of Psychology PhD, Behavioral Sciences, University of Tokyo Perception of objects and motion and effects of attention on perception using psychophysics and brain imaging (f-MRI) Jeremy Wolfe Adjunct Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School Psychophysicist, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Surgery Department Director of Psychophysical Studies, Center for Clinical Cataract Research PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Visual attention, pre-attentive and attentive object representation Curtis Woodcock Professor of Geography Director, Geographic Applications, Center for Remote Sensing PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara Biophysical remote sensing, particularly of forests and natural vegetation, canopy reflectance models and their inversion, spatial modeling, and change detection; biogeography; spatial analysis; geographic information systems; digital image processing CNS DEPARTMENT COURSE OFFERINGS CAS CN500 Computational Methods in Cognitive and Neural Systems CAS CN510 Principles and Methods of Cognitive and Neural Modeling I CAS CN520 Principles and Methods of Cognitive and Neural Modeling II CAS CN530 Neural and Computational Models of Vision CAS CN540 Neural and Computational Models of Adaptive Movement Planning and Control CAS CN550 Neural and Computational Models of Recognition, Memory and Attention CAS CN560 Neural and Computational Models of Speech Perception and Production CAS CN570 Neural and Computational Models of Conditioning, Reinforcement, Motivation and Rhythm CAS CN580 Introduction to Computational Neuroscience GRS CN700 Computational and Mathematical Methods in Neural Modeling GRS CN720 Neural and Computational Models of Planning and Temporal Structure in Behavior GRS CN730 Models of Visual Perception GRS CN740 Topics in Sensory-Motor Control GRS CN750 Comparative Analysis of Learning Systems (new course) GRS CN760 Topics in Speech Perception and Recognition GRS CN780 Topics in Computational Neuroscience GRS CN810 Topics in Cognitive and Neural Systems: Visual Event Perception GRS CN811 Topics in Cognitive and Neural Systems: Visual Perception GRS CN911,912 Research in Neural Networks for Adaptive Pattern Recognition GRS CN915,916 Research in Neural Networks for Vision and Image Processing GRS CN921,922 Research in Neural Networks for Speech and Language Processing GRS CN925,926 Research in Neural Networks for Adaptive Sensory-Motor Planning and Control GRS CN931,932 Research in Neural Networks for Conditioning and Reinforcement Learning GRS CN935,936 Research in Neural Networks for Cognitive Information Processing GRS CN941,942 Research in Nonlinear Dynamics of Neural Networks GRS CN945,946 Research in Technological Applications of Neural Networks GRS CN951,952 Research in Hardware Implementations of Neural Networks CNS students also take a wide variety of courses in related departments. In addition, students participate in a weekly colloquium series, an informal lecture series, and student-run special interest groups, and attend lectures and meetings throughout the Boston area; and advanced students work in small research groups. LABORATORY AND COMPUTER FACILITIES The department is funded by fellowships, grants, and contracts from federal agencies and private foundations that support research in life sciences, mathematics, artificial intelligence, and engineering. Facilities include laboratories for experimental research and computational modeling in visual perception; audition, speech and language processing; sensory-motor control and robotics; and technology transfer. Data analysis and numerical simulations are carried out on a state-of-the-art computer network comprised of Sun workstations, Silicon Graphics workstations, Macintoshes, and PCs. A PC farm running Linux operating systems is available as a distributed computational environment. All students have access to X-terminals or UNIX workstation consoles, a selection of color systems and PCs, a network of SGI machines, and standard modeling and mathematical simulation packages such as Mathematica, VisSim, Khoros, and Matlab. The department maintains a core collection of books and journals, and has access both to the Boston University libraries and to the many other collections of the Boston Library Consortium. In addition, several specialized facilities and software are available for use. These include: Active Perception Laboratory The Active Perception Laboratory is dedicated to the investigation of the interactions between perception and behavior. Research focuses on the theoretical and computational analyses of the effects of motor behavior on sensory perception, the coupling of models of neuronal systems with robotic systems, and the design of psychophysical experiments with human subjects. The Active Perception Laboratory includes extensive computational facilities that allow the execution of large-scale simulations of neural systems. Additional facilities include instruments for the psychophysical investigation of eye movements during visual analysis, including an accurate and non-invasive eye tracker, and robotic systems for the simulation of different types of behavior. Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory The Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory in the Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems (CNS) is equipped to perform both traditional psychoacoustic experiments as well as experiments using interactive auditory virtual-reality stimuli. The laboratory contains approximately eight PCs (running Windows 98 and/or Linux), used both as workstations for students and to control laboratory equipment and run experiments. The other major equipment in the laboratory includes special-purpose signal processing and sound generating equipment from Tucker-Davis Technologies, electromagnetic head tracking systems, a two-channel spectrum analyzer, and other miscellaneous equipment for producing, measuring, analyzing, and monitoring auditory stimuli. The Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory consists of three adjacent rooms in the basement of 677 Beacon Street (the home of the CNS Department). One room houses an 8 ft. x 8 ft. single-walled sound-treated booth as well as space for students. The second room is primarily used as student workspace for developing and debugging experiments. The third space houses a robotic arm, capable of automatically positioning a small acoustic speaker anywhere on the surface of a sphere of adjustable radius, allowing automatic measurement of the signals reaching the ears of a listener for a sound source from different positions in space, including the effects of room reverberation. Computer Vision/Computational Neuroscience Laboratory The Computer Vision/Computational Neuroscience Laboratory is comprised of an electronics workshop, including a surface-mount workstation, PCD fabrication tools, and an Alterra EPLD design system; an active vision laboratory including actuators and video hardware; and systems for computer aided neuroanatomy and application of computer graphics and image processing to brain sections and MRI images. The laboratory supports research in the areas of neural modeling, computational neuroscience, computer vision and robotics. The major question being address is the nature of representation of the visual world in the brain, in terms of observable neural architectures such as topographic mapping and columnar architecture. The application of novel architectures for image processing for computer vision and robotics is also a major topic of interest. Recent work in this area has included the design and patenting of novel actuators for robotic active vision systems, the design of real-time algorithms for use in mobile robotic applications, and the design and construction of miniature autonomous vehicles using space-variant active vision design principles. Recently one such vehicle has successfully driven itself on the streets of Boston. Sensory-Motor Control Laboratory The Sensory-Motor Control Laboratory supports experimental and computational studies of sensory-motor control. A computer controlled infrared WatSmart system allows measurement of large-scale (e.g. reaching) movements, and a pressure-sensitive graphics tablet allows studies of handwriting and other fine-scale movements. A second major component is a helmet-mounted, video-based, eye-head tracking system (ISCAN Corp, 1997). The latter's camera samples eye position at 240Hz and also allows reconstruction of what subjects are attending to as they freely scan a scene under normal lighting. Thus the system affords a wide range of visuo-motor studies. The laboratory is connected to the department's extensive network of Linux and Windows workstations and Linux computational servers. Speech and Language Laboratory The Speech Laboratory includes facilities for analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog software conversion. Ariel equipment allows reliable synthesis and playback of speech waveforms. An Entropic signal-processing package provides facilities for detailed analysis, filtering, spectral construction, and formant tracking of the speech waveform. Various large databases, such as TIMIT and TIdigits, are available for testing algorithms of speech recognition. The laboratory also contains a network of Windows-based PC computers equipped with software for the analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, including region-of-interest (ROI) based analyses involving software for the parcellation of cortical and subcortical brain regions in structural MRI images. Technology Laboratory The Technology Laboratory fosters the development of neural network models derived from basic scientific research and facilitates the transition of the resulting technologies to software and applications. The Lab was established in July 2001, with a grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research: "Information Fusion for Image Analysis: Neural Models and Technology Development." Initial projects have focused on multi-level fusion and data mining in a geospatial context, in collaboration with the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing. This research and development has built on models of opponent-color visual processing, boundary contour system (BCS) and texture processing, and Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) pattern learning and recognition, as well as other models of associative learning and prediction. Other projects include collaborations with the New England Medical Center and Boston Medical Center, to develop methods for analysis of large-scale medical databases, currently to predict HIV resistance to antiretroviral therapy. Associated basic research projects are conducted within the joint context of scientific data and technological constraints. Visual Psychophysics Laboratory The Visual Psychophysics Laboratory occupies an 800-square-foot suite, including three dedicated rooms for data collection, and houses a variety of computer controlled display platforms, including Macintosh, Windows and Linux workstations. Ancillary resources for visual psychophysics include a computer-controlled video camera, stereo viewing devices, a photometer, and a variety of display-generation, data-collection, and data-analysis software. Affiliated Laboratories Affiliated CAS/CNS faculty members have additional laboratories ranging from visual and auditory psychophysics and neurophysiology, anatomy, and neuropsychology to engineering and chip design. These facilities are used in the context of faculty/student collaborations. ******************************************************************* DEPARTMENT OF COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS GRADUATE TRAINING ANNOUNCEMENT Boston University 677 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02215 Phone: 617/353-9481 Fax: 617/353-7755 Email: inquiries at cns.bu.edu Web: http://cns.bu.edu/ ******************************************************************* From Dave_Touretzky at cs.cmu.edu Fri Dec 3 02:36:13 2004 From: Dave_Touretzky at cs.cmu.edu (Dave_Touretzky@cs.cmu.edu) Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 02:36:13 -0500 Subject: Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition: doctoral training program Message-ID: <30051.1102059373@ammon.boltz.cs.cmu.edu> Graduate Training with the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition The Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition offers an interdisciplinary doctoral training program operated jointly with nine affiliated PhD programs at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Detailed information about this program is available on our web site at http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu The Center is dedicated to the study of the neural basis of cognitive processes including learning and memory, language and thought, perception, attention, and planning; to the study of the development of the neural substrate of these processes; to the study of disorders of these processes and their underlying neuropathology; and to the promotion of applications of the results of these studies to artificial intelligence, robotics, and medicine. CNBC students have access to some of the finest facilities for cognitive neuroscience research in the world: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners for functional brain imaging, neurophysiology laboratories for recording from brain slices and from anesthetized or awake, behaving animals, electron and confocal microscopes for structural imaging, high performance computing facilities including an in-house supercomputer for neural modeling and image analysis, and patient populations for neuropsychological studies. Students are admitted jointly to a home department and the CNBC Training Program. Applications are encouraged from students with interests in biology, neuroscience, psychology, engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science, statistics, or robotics. For more information about the program, and to obtain application materials, visit our web site at www.cnbc.cmu.edu, or contact us at the following address: Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition 115 Mellon Institute 4400 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Tel. (412) 268-4000. Fax: (412) 268-5060 email: cnbc-admissions at cnbc.cmu.edu Web: http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu The affiliated PhD programs at the two universities are: Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburgh Biological Sciences Mathematics Computer Science Neuroscience Computational & Statistical Psychology Learning Psychology Robotics Statistics The CNBC training faculty includes: Eric Ahrens (CMU Biology): MRI studies of the vertebrate nervous system John Anderson (CMU Psychology): models of human cognition Susan Amara (Pitt Neurobiology): neurotransmitter transport and binding German Barrionuevo (Pitt Neuroscience): hippocampus and prefrontal cortex Alison Barth (CMU Biology): molecular basis of plasticity in neocortex Marlene Behrmann (CMU Psychology): spatial representations in parietal cortex Guoqiang Bi (Pitt Neurocience): activity-dependent synaptic modification J. Patrick Card (Pitt Neuroscience): transneuronal tracing of neural circuits Pat Carpenter (CMU Psychology): mental imagery, language, and problem solving Carol Colby (Pitt Neuroscience): spatial reps. in primate parietal cortex Justin Crowley (CMU Biology): development of visual cortex Steve DeKosky (Pitt Neurobiology): neurodegenerative human disease William Eddy (CMU Statistics): analysis of fMRI data Bard Ermentrout (Pitt Mathematics): oscillations in neural systems Julie Fiez (Pitt Psychology): fMRI studies of language Neeraj Gandhi (Pitt Neuroscience): neural control of movement Chris Genovese (CMU Statistics): making inferences from scientific data Lori Holt (CMU Psychology): mechanisms of auditory and speech perception John Horn (Pitt Neurobiology): synaptic plasticity in autonomic ganglia Satish Iyengar (Pitt Statistics): spike train data analsysis Jon Johnson (Pitt Neuroscience): ligand-gated ion channels; NMDA receptor Marcel Just (CMU Psychology): visual thinking, language comprehension Karl Kandler (Pitt Neurobiology): neural development; inhibitory pathways Robert Kass (CMU Statistics): transmission of info. by collections of neurons Seog-Gi Kim (Pitt Neurobiology): technology and biophysics of fMRI Roberta Klatzky (CMU Psychology): human perception and cognition Richard Koerber (Pitt Neurobiology): devel. and plasticity of spinal networks Tai Sing Lee (CMU Comp. Sci.): primate visual cortex; computer vision Michael Lewicki (CMU Comp. Sci.): learning and representation David Lewis (Pitt Neuroscience): anatomy of frontal cortex Beatriz Luna (Pitt Pschology): developmental psychology and fMRI Brian MacWhinney (CMU Psychology): models of language acquisition Yoky Matsuoka (CMU Robotics): human motor control and motor learning James McClelland (CMU Psychology): connectionist models of cognition Nancy Minshew (Pitt Neurobiology): cognitive and neural basis of autism Tom Mitchell (CMU Comp. Sci.): machine learning with application to fMRI Bita Moghaddam (Pitt Neuroscience): prefrontal cortex and psychiatric disorders Paula Monaghan-Nichols (Pitt Neurobiology): genetic analysis of verteb. CNS devel. Carl Olson (CNBC): spatial representations in primate frontal cortex Charles Perfetti (Pitt Psychology): language and reading processes David Plaut (CMU Psychology): connectionist models of reading Michael Pogue-Geile (Pitt Psychology): development of schizophrenia Lynne Reder (CMU Psychology): models of memory and cognitive processing Erik Reichle (Pitt Psychology): attention and eye movements in reading Jonathan Rubin (Pitt Mathematics): analysis of systems of coupled neurons Walter Schneider (Pitt Psych.): fMRI, models of attention & skill acquisition Andrew Schwartz (Pitt Bioengineering): motor control, neural prostheses Susan Sesack (Pitt Neuroscience): anatomy of the dopaminergic system Greg Siegle (Pitt Psychology): emotion and cognition; cognitive modeling Dan Simons (Pitt Neurobiology): sensory physiology of the cerebral cortex Marc Sommer (Pitt Neuroscience): neural circuitry controlling eye movements Peter Strick (Pitt Neurobiology): motor control; basal ganglia and cerebellum Floh Thiels (Pitt Neurosicence): LTP and LTD in hippocampus Erik Thiessen (Pitt Psychology): child language development David Touretzky (CMU Comp. Sci.): hippocampal modeling, cognitive robotics Nathan Urban (CMU Bioogy): circuitry of the olfactory bulb Valerie Ventura (CMU Statistics): structure of neural firing patterns Mark Wheeler (Pitt Psychology): fMRI studies of memory and cognition Nick Yeung (CMU Psychology): neural mechanisms of attention Please see http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu for further details. From dirk at bioss.sari.ac.uk Fri Dec 3 12:39:58 2004 From: dirk at bioss.sari.ac.uk (Dirk Husmeier) Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 17:39:58 +0000 Subject: Postdoctoral Researcher in Computational Systems Biology Message-ID: <41B0A4EE.D943899C@bioss.ac.uk> ====================================================================== Postdoctoral Researcher in Computational Systems Biology Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS), Edinburgh, UK ====================================================================== Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS) at Edinburgh (UK) is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Computational Systems Biology, which is funded by the Scottish Environmental and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD). The objective of this project is to use machine learning and bioinformatics approaches to infer hypothetical genetic networks in potato-Eca and cattle respiratory tract-Pm interactions from gene expression microarray and proteomic data. This is an exciting opportunity to join a multidisciplinary team integrating post-genomic approaches with computational biology and probabilistic modelling to investigate the complex and dynamic exchanges of signals influencing regulatory networks and biochemical pathways in bacterial pathogen-host interactions. The team will be established as part of a SEERAD-funded initiative on systems biology and will join established research groups at three Scottish Institutions. The focus will be on two pathosystems: potato- Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica (Eca) and cattle respiratory tract- Pasteurella multocida (Pm). We are looking for a highly qualified and strongly motivated candidate with experience in machine learning, computer simulations, statistics and programming. Candidates should have a good degree in mathematics, physics, computer science, or a related discipline, and relevant postgraduate experience (PhD preferred). They should also demonstrate an active interest in molecular biology. Further information is available from http://www.bioss.sari.ac.uk/appointments/newpost1.html The appointment is for a period of 3 years and will be based at BioSS Edinburgh. Starting salary will be in the range 21,700 - 25,200. Application forms or CVs (including names of 3 referees) to: Administrative Officer, BioSS, The King's Buildings (JCMB), Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ ( betty at bioss.ac.uk). Closing date: 19 December 2004. -- Dirk Husmeier Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland (BioSS) JCMB, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, United Kingdom http://www.bioss.sari.ac.uk/~dirk From anderson at CS.ColoState.EDU Fri Dec 3 17:09:29 2004 From: anderson at CS.ColoState.EDU (Chuck Anderson) Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 15:09:29 -0700 Subject: faculty position Message-ID: <41B0E419.2070800@cs.colostate.edu> The Department of Computer Science at Colorado State University has an open tenure-track faculty position, advertised at http://www.cs.colostate.edu Our department has a strong AI group with active research in areas of interest to readers of this list including: - modeling EEG for studies of cognitive development and for brain-computer interfaces, - models of human visual system, - neural models of oscillations in hippocampus, - face recognition, - reinforcement learning, - genetic algorithms. ------------------------- Chuck Anderson Dept. of Computer Science Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado From manfred at cse.ucsc.edu Sat Dec 4 00:00:37 2004 From: manfred at cse.ucsc.edu (Manfred Warmuth) Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2004 21:00:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: ML position in Santa Cruz Message-ID: We have a Machine Learning position at Computer Science Department of the Univ. of Calif. at Santa Cruz (at the assistant, associate or full professor level). Current faculty members in related areas: Machine Learning: DAVID HELMBOLD and MANFRED WARMUTH Artificial Intelligence: BOB LEVINSON DAVID HAUSSLER was one of the main ML researchers in our department. He now has launched the new Biomolecular Engineering department at Santa Cruz There is considerable synergy for Machine Learning at Santa Cruz: - New department of Applied Math and Statistics with an emphasis on Bayesian Methods http://www.ams.ucsc.edu/ - New department of Biomolecular Engineering http://www.cbse.ucsc.edu/ - Closeness to Silicon Valley - Pretty good track record for research in Machine Learning, especially in the COLT community We are looking for people in all areas of Machine Learning that complement the existing expertise in Santa Cruz The DEADLINE for the applications is Jan 10 Contact Manfred Warmuth or David Helmbold if you have any questions David will also be at NIPS. Manfred will be traveling till the end of Dec. For details see: http://www.cse.ucsc.edu/jobs/faculty/cs/710-05.html From gary at cs.ucsd.edu Fri Dec 3 12:42:30 2004 From: gary at cs.ucsd.edu (Garrison Cottrell) Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2004 09:42:30 -0800 Subject: Predoctoral fellowships available at UCSD In-Reply-To: <200401162345.i0GNj0T11120@fast.ucsd.edu> References: <200401162345.i0GNj0T11120@fast.ucsd.edu> Message-ID: APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 14, 2005 Vision and Learning in Humans and Machines IGERT Program http://www.cse.ucsd.edu/groups/igert/ Department of Computer Science and Engineering University of California, San Diego The Vision and Learning IGERT program is pleased to announce that predoctoral training fellowships are available for incoming Ph.D. students and existing UCSD Ph.D. students. Prospective Ph.D. students must apply to a home department concurrently with applying for this fellowship. The fellowships are supported by the National Science Foundation's IGERT program (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training) and provide an annual stipend of $30,000 plus the payment of tuition and fees. The fellowship is for a twelve-month period and renewable for an additional year. NSF requires that candidates be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. The Vision and Learning IGERT program is for students who have an interdisciplinary interest in the areas of human vision, computer vision, human learning, and machine learning. Our goal is to train a new generation of scientists and engineers who are as versed in the mathematical and physical foundations of computer vision and computational learning as they are in the biological and psychological basis of natural vision and learning. Candidates from a wide range of backgrounds are invited to apply, including, but not limited to, Computer Science and Engineering, Cognitive Science, Psychology and Neuroscience. We currently have sixteen fellows and 21 faculty affiliated with the program, representing numerous academic departments and research institutes, both on and off campus. Participating Faculty include: Gary Cottrell, Computer Science and Engineering (PI) Geoff Boynton, Salk Institute (Co-PI) Virginia de Sa, Cognitive Science (Co-PI) Karen Dobkins, Psychology (Co-PI) David Kriegman, Computer Science and Engineering (Co-PI) Thomas Albright, Salk Institute Marian Stewart Bartlett, Institute for Neural Computation Serge Belongie, Computer Science and Engineering Leslie Carver, Psychology and Human Development Program Sanjoy Dasgupta, Computer Science and Engineering Gedeon Deak, Cognitive Science and Human Development Program Charles Elkan Computer Science and Engineering Ione Fine, Psychology Donald MacLeod, Psychology Javier Movellan, Institute for Neural Computation Vilayanur Ramachandran, Psychology Martin Sereno, Cognitive Science Joan Stiles, Cognitive Science and Human Development Program Emmanuel Todorov, Cognitive Science Jochen Triesch, Cognitive Science Application information is available on our web site at http://www.cse.ucsd.edu/groups/igert/2005_igert_application.htm The deadline for completed application materials, including letters of recommendation, is January 14, 2005. For more information about applying to the Vision and Learning IGERT program, please contact Andrew Kovacevic at alk at cs.ucsd.edu. From antoni.guillamon at upc.edu Fri Dec 3 13:32:51 2004 From: antoni.guillamon at upc.edu (Toni Guillamon) Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 19:32:51 +0100 Subject: Course on Mathematical Neuroscience in Barcelona, March 7-11, 2005 Message-ID: <41B0B153.4050403@upc.edu> Dear colleagues. Our apologies if you receive this message more than once. From H.Bowman at kent.ac.uk Mon Dec 6 09:02:05 2004 From: H.Bowman at kent.ac.uk (H. Bowman) Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2004 14:02:05 +0000 Subject: Advanced Fellowship in Cognitive Science at Univ of Kent Message-ID: <41B4665D.6000108@kent.ac.uk> ====================================================================== Academic Fellowship in Cognitive Science and Robotics in the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems at Kent and the Computing Laboratory at Kent ====================================================================== The Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems (CCNCS) at Kent is seeking to appoint an Advanced Fellow in Cognitive Science and Robotics, which is funded by Research Councils UK. The CCNCS is a cross-disciplinary research initiative at the junction of Cognitive Psychology and the Computational Sciences, which brings together a broad spectrum of techniques spanning a number of disciplines, including behavioural and electrophysiological experimentation, the construction of computational models and development of cognitive systems. The successful candidate will join the Computing Laboratory arm of the CCNCS. The CCNCS contains a number of ongoing research programmes including, an exploration of salience sensitive control in humans and artificial systems; development activities focused on human computer interaction and affective computing; empirical and computational studies of emotions, attention and addictive behaviour; investigations of face recognition and forensic imaging; (body-state and cognition inspired) embodied robotics research; language research focused on cross-linguistic and morphological influences; and theoretical and applied memory research. The Centre also offers a broad spectrum of supporting infrastructure including, electrophysiological and physiological recording equipment, a robotics laboratory, and state of the art human computer interaction technology. The following are relevant websites, The CCNCS: http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/projects/cncs. Howard Bowman (Director of the CCNCS): http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/people/staff/hb5. The appointment is at the postdoctoral level. Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the research, a suitable candidate could have studied in any of the following areas: Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Electronics or Physics. Most importantly, though, we seek an applicant who is open to cross-disciplinary influences. The following skills are all relevant to the position; please note: due to the diverse nature of this skill set, candidates should by no means expect to possess all these capabilities. Experience of electrophysiological recording techniques: EEG and ERP. Knowledge of robotics. Research expertise in human computer interaction. A background in experimental research. Experience of computational modelling of cognition using neural networks, connectionism or symbolic approaches. The Centre is particularly keen to progress its research programme in electrophysiological recording. We would welcome applications from candidates who are able to bring existing research funding, although candidates with relevant qualifications and experience will also be considered. Candidates who already have, or have been promised, a permanent position are considered to have achieved the aims of the Academic Fellowship Scheme and are not able to apply. Further details of the scheme are available at http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/acfellow/. The Academic Fellowship appointment is for five years and will lead to a permanent academic position in the Computing Laboratory at the end of the five-year period, subject to satisfactory completion of probation. Potential applicants are encouraged to contact the Head of Department, Professor Simon Thompson, S.J.Thompson at kent.ac.uk for an informal discussion. General information about the Computing Laboratory is available at http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/. Further particulars for the position are available at the following web-site, http://www.kent.ac.uk/registry/personnel/vacancies/research.html#r050910. Closing date for the receipt of applications: 12 noon, Friday, 10 December 2004. From cns at www.cnsorg.org Mon Dec 6 11:09:06 2004 From: cns at www.cnsorg.org (CNS) Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2004 09:09:06 -0700 Subject: FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS, CNS*2005 Message-ID: <20041206160151.M5044@www.cnsorg.org> CALL FOR PAPERS, CNS*2005: SUBMISSION DEADLINE: February 1, 2005 midnight NOTE: New submission procedure this year Fourteenth Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting CNS*2005 July 17 - July 21, 2005 Madison, Wisconsin, USA www.cnsorg.org CNS*2005 will be held in Madison Wisconsin from Saturday, July 17 to Wednesday, July 21, 2005. The main meeting will be July 17-19 followed by two days of workshops on July 20 and 21. Submissions can include experimental, model-based, as well as more abstract theoretical approaches to understanding neurobiological computation. We especially encourage research that mixes experimental and theoretical studies. We also accept papers that describe new technical approaches to theoretical and experimental issues in computational neuroscience or relevant software packages. INVITED SPEAKERS: Michael Hasselmo (Boston University) Lucia Jacobs (UC Berkeley) Gyorgy Buszaki (Rutgers University) Submissions to the meeting will take the form of a 3-page summary describing the nature and scope of the work, and outlining the main results. Details regarding formatting of submissions will be posted at www.cnsorg.org. These summaries will be reviewed by the program committee and used determine acceptance for presentation at the meeting as well as to construct the oral program. Authors will also be asked to submit a standard abstract for printing in the program book. All submissions will be acknowledged by email. THE REVIEW PROCESS Summaries will be judged and accepted for the meeting based on the clarity with which the work is described and the biological relevance of the research. For this reason authors should be careful to make the connection to biology clear. CNS strongly believes in the open exchange of ideas and we reject only a small fraction of submissions (~5%). Rejections are usually based on absence of biological relevance (e.g. pure machine learning). We will notify authors of meeting acceptance by April 1. All acceptable summaries will be reviewed by two independent referees, and the oral program of the meeting will constructed based on these reviews. Most oral presentations will be 20 minutes in length, but several papers will be selected for longer =91featured oral=92 presentations. In addition to perceived quality as an oral presentation, the novelty of the research and the diversity and coherence of the overall program will be considered. To ensure diversity, those who have given talks in the recent past will not be selected and multiple oral presentations from the same lab will be discouraged. All accepted papers not selected for oral talks may be presented during evening poster sessions. Authors will be notified of the presentation format of their papers by the end of April. PROCEEDINGS AND PUBLICATION In the past, the proceedings of the meeting were published as a special supplement to the journal Neurocomputing. The same review process was used to determine the program acceptance in the journal. This year, the proceedings of the meeting will take the form of electronic publication of all 3-page summaries of work presented at the meeting. A separate review process will be used for those electing for post-meeting journal publication. Authors wishing to submit their work for peer-reviewed publication in Neurocomputing will be required to submit complete 6-page papers by May 2nd. Manuscripts will be reviewed according to the usual standards for journal publication. Authors will notification of submission status (accept, reject, revise) and receive reviewer comments by the end of June, several weeks before the meeting. Authors will then have until September 15 to submit revised manuscripts. Final notification of acceptance based on these revisions will be sent by October 15. Detailed instructions to authors will be posted at www.cnsorg.org. -- CNS - Organization for Computational Neurosciences From bower at uthscsa.edu Tue Dec 7 15:09:30 2004 From: bower at uthscsa.edu (james Bower) Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2004 14:09:30 -0600 Subject: Spring Meeting on Realistic Modeling in Biology Message-ID: ************************************************************************** Registration is now open for WAM-BAMM*05 at http://www.WAM-BAMM.org Travel grants are available for students presenting papers through support provided by the National Institutes of Health and Mental Health The first annual meeting of the World Association of Modelers (WAM) Biologically Accurate Modeling Meeting (BAMM), in association with the second GENESIS Users Meeting GUM*05 will be held March 31st - April 2nd in beautiful San Antonio, Texas. The meeting will promote communication and collaboration between users and others involved in realistic biological modeling and is also designed to provide an introduction to other interested scientists. All computational biologists, not only those using GENESIS, or doing neural modeling, are invited to present scientific as well as technical work. Subjects considered: Modeling techniques, simulator design, modeling results, modeling inspired biological experimentation, and world modeling community coordination. THE PROGRAM The meeting will combine introductory, intermediate, and advanced tutorials in realistic modeling techniques as well as a full agenda of scientific presentations. Tutorials: David Beeman, University of Colorado Boulder: "Introduction to Realistic Neural Modeling" Michael Hines, Yale University: The NEURON simulator - Recent Developments Dieter Jaeger, Emory University: From experiment to simulation - a modeling case study using the deep cerebellar nucleus neuron. Jeremy Edgerton, Emory University: Controlling complex synaptic input patterns to single cell models without a network simulation. Avrama Blackwell, George Mason University: Modeling Calcium and Biochemical Reactions. Michael Vanier, Caltech: Constructing large networks in GENESIS. Michael Vanier, Caltech: Parameter Searching tools in GENESIS Greg Hood, CMU: Parallel (P-) GENESIS its use and applications. Sharon Crook, Arizona State University: XML for model specification Padraig Gleeson, University College London: Building 3D network models with neuroConstruct. Presented and Invited Talks: Friday and Saturday will be devoted to oral and poster presentations by meeting participants and invited speakers. For additional meeting information please visit http://www.wam-bamm.org. Important Dates: --------------- Deadline for proposed research presentations: January 15, 2005 Submission form is available on the WAM-BAMM web site: www.wam-bamm.org Student registration deadline for travel grants: February 1, 2005 Funding is available for student travel grants. (see web site). Deadline for early registration: February 1, 2005 Advanced registration $ 99 for graduate students, $ 149 for all others (30% increase after deadline) Deadline for guaranteed housing at the conference rate: March 1, 2005 The meeting will be held at the historic Menger Hotel in Downtown San Antonio, next to the Alamo and the famous San Antonio River Walk. Room rates $109 (single or double), $ 119 (3-4). Arrival date for the meeting: March 30th, 2005 The famous WAM-BAM Banquet, Rodeo, and Blue Bonnet Festival: Saturday, April 2, 2005 Depart from San Antonio: April 3, 2005 More information on WAM-BAM can be found at www.wam-bamm.org, or by contacting us at wam-bamm at wam-bamm.org. James M. Bower David Beeman -- James M. Bower Ph.D. Research Imaging Center University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio 7703 Floyd Curl Drive San Antonio, TX 78284-6240 Cajal Neuroscience Center University of Texas San Antonio Phone: 210 567 8080 Fax: 210 567 8152 From miguel at cse.ogi.edu Tue Dec 7 15:58:14 2004 From: miguel at cse.ogi.edu (Miguel A. Carreira-Perpinan) Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2004 12:58:14 -0800 Subject: PhD research assistantships in machine learning at OGI Message-ID: <16822.6502.880935.809435@turing.cse.ogi.edu> PHD RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS IN MACHINE LEARNING AT THE OREGON GRADUATE INSTITUTE *** Please forward this message to students who may be interested *** Several PhD research assistantships are available in the Adaptive Systems Laboratory (http://adsyl.cse.ogi.edu) at the OGI School of Science & Engineering. The Laboratory does research in the broad areas of machine learning, adaptive signal processing and computational neuroscience. It consists of 6 core faculty members, 3 postdocs, 7 PhD students, and several MSc students and technicians. The research interests of the core faculty are as follows: Miguel A. Carreira-Perpinan: machine learning, computational neuroscience, applications to speech processing and computer vision. http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~miguel Deniz Erdogmus: adaptive, nonlinear, and statistical signal processing, information theory, applications to biomedical engineering, communications, and control systems. http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~deniz Todd Leen: machine learning, local and mixture models, neurophysiological modeling. http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~tleen Pat Roberts (NSI): computational neuroscience. http://www.ohsu.edu/nsi/faculty/robertpa Xubo Song: image processing and analysis, statistical pattern recognition, machine learning. http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~xubosong Eric Wan: neural networks, adaptive signal processing and control. http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~ericwan The Adaptive Systems Laboratory is part of the Department of Computer Science & Electrical Engineering. Close ties exist with the nearby located Center for Spoken Language Understanding, the Center for Human Computer Communication, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering (at OGI), and the Neurological Sciences Institute and the medical school at OHSU. OGI is one of the four schools of Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). OGI is located 12 miles west of Portland, Oregon, in the heart of the Silicon Forest. Portland's extensive high-tech community, diverse cultural amenities and spectacular natural surroundings combine to make the quality of life here extraordinary. To learn more about the department, OGI, OHSU and Portland, please visit http://www.cse.ogi.edu. Applicants should have a university degree in an area such as computer science, electrical engineering, physics or mathematics, and solid mathematical and programming skills. Students with a Master's degree already completed are preferred. Background in machine learning, image/speech processing or computer vision is highly desirable. The assistantships cover tuition, a competitive stipend, and travel to research conferences. Students of any nationality may apply. To apply, please send a statement of purpose, academic transcripts (GRE and TOEFL if applicable), a CV, and a list of two references to adsyl-inquiry at cse.ogi.edu. Interviews are possible at the upcoming NIPS or AISTATS conferences. From bower at uthscsa.edu Wed Dec 8 11:32:12 2004 From: bower at uthscsa.edu (james Bower) Date: Wed, 08 Dec 2004 10:32:12 -0600 Subject: Computational Neuroscience Faculty Positions Message-ID: ************************************************************************* Tenure track Faculty Positions in Computational Neuroscience The University of Texas San Antonio The Department of Biology at the University of Texas San Antonio invites application for tenure-track/tenure positions at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor with a record of successful research on the biophysical and/or computational properties of single neurons. Preference will be given to candidates working on the structure, function, localization, regulation, and function of ion channels. We would like to specifically encourage research that involves both computational and experimental efforts. Detailed information as well as the official advertisement can be obtained from: http://www.bio.utsa.edu/facultyrec_ion.html Additional information on the growing department of Biology at UTSA can be found at: http://bio.utsa.edu/ UTSA is, of course, an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Jim Bower (P.I. new faculty development in the RCMI core) Charlie Wilson (Search Committee Chairman) -- James M. Bower Ph.D. Research Imaging Center University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio 7703 Floyd Curl Drive San Antonio, TX 78284-6240 Cajal Neuroscience Center University of Texas San Antonio Phone: 210 567 8080 Fax: 210 567 8152 From connect at schraudolph.org Thu Dec 9 04:16:38 2004 From: connect at schraudolph.org (Nic Schraudolph) Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 20:16:38 +1100 Subject: Postdoc and Ph.D. fellowships available at NICTA Message-ID: <0816D1A1-49C3-11D9-81B7-000D933C9DD8@schraudolph.org> We are looking for a postdoc and several Ph.D. students for our Advanced Nonlinear Gradient Methods (ANGie) project. ANGie will explore the potential of newly developed, highly scalable techniques for rapid online optimization with stochastic approximation of gradients, with a research agenda that includes * Machine learning algorithm development and implementation; * Mathematical and empirical analysis of convergence and stability; * Applications in adaptive signal processing (robotics, computer vision); and * Development of software tools (visual programming, algorithmic differentiation). The successful postdoctoral candidate should combine excellent programming skills (C++, Python, etc.) with a solid background in machine learning, linear algebra, and optimization, experience with scientific and numerical libraries (e.g., ATLAS), a track record in relevant research, and the ability to work independently and to lead and supervise a team of Ph.D. students. The initial appointment is for two years, with possibility of renewal.?Remuneration is internationally competitive. Doctoral candidates should have completed their undergraduate studies in a relevant field with an excellent track record, and be highly motivated to acquire the above skills in a top-notch research environment.?They will enroll in a Ph.D. program of the Australian National University (ANU), one of the world?s top 10 universities outside the United States. Both NICTA and ANU offer attractive scholarships for highly qualified Ph.D. candidates. NICTA (www.nicta.com.au) is Australia?s national center of excellence for information and communication technologies. NICTA?s Statistical Machine Learning (SML) group, located on the ANU campus in Canberra, is best known for its world-class expertise in kernel methods, and is now developing stochastic gradient methods, graphical models, and bioinformatics as additional focus areas. Canberra, the national capital, is a city of lakes, parks, trees, and bicycle paths, enjoying a sunny mountain climate less than two hours? drive from some of Australia?s finest beaches. If you are interested, and coming to NIPS, please get in touch with Alex Smola (alex.smola at nicta.com.au) to arrange a meeting there. Feel free to contact me for more information about the ANGie project. -- Dr. Nicol Schraudolph mobile: +61-404-782-061 National ICT Australia home: -2-6161-5687 RSISE, bldg. 115, room B148 work: -6125-1552 Australian National University fax: -8645 Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia http://n.schraudolph.org/ From Alain.Destexhe at iaf.cnrs-gif.fr Thu Dec 9 05:35:11 2004 From: Alain.Destexhe at iaf.cnrs-gif.fr (Alain Destexhe) Date: Thu, 09 Dec 2004 11:35:11 +0100 Subject: Advanced Course in Computational Neuroscience 2005 - first announcement Message-ID: <41B82A5F.A07AA22@iaf.cnrs-gif.fr> Dear Colleagues, Please forward the announcement for the "Advanced Course in Computational Neuroscience". This annual course was previously held in Crete (1996-1998), Trieste (1999-2001) and Obidos (2002-2004), and is now moving to Arcachon (France). Another announcement with the final list of speakers will follow in a few weeks. best wishes, Alain -- Alain Destexhe Integrative and Computational Neuroscience Unit (UNIC), CNRS, 1 Avenue de la Terrasse (BAT 33), 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France Tel: 33-1-69-82-34-35 Fax: 33-1-69-82-34-27 URL: http://cns.iaf.cnrs-gif.fr ---------------------------------------------------------- ADVANCED COURSE IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE (AN IBRO/FENS NEUROSCIENCE SCHOOL) August 1st - 26th, 2005 MUNICIPALITY OF ARCACHON, FRANCE DIRECTORS: Ad Aertsen (University of Freiburg, Germany) Peter Dayan (University College London, UK) Alain Destexhe (CNRS, Gif-sur-Yvette, France) Israel Nelken (Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel) LOCAL ORGANIZER: Gwen LeMasson (University of Bordeaux, France) The Advanced Course in Computational Neuroscience introduces students to the panoply of problems and methods of computational neuroscience, addressing issues of neural organization from sub-cellular to network and inter-areal levels. The course has two complementary parts. Mornings are devoted to lectures given by distinguished international faculty on topics across the breadth of experimental and computational neuroscience. During the rest of the day, students are given practical training in the art and practice of neural modeling, largely through the medium of their individual choice of model systems. The first week of the course introduces students to essential neurobiological concepts and to the most important techniques in modelling single cells, networks and neural systems. Students learn how to solve their research problems using software packages such as GENESIS, MATLAB, NEST, NEURON, XPP, etc. During the following three weeks the lectures cover specific brain areas and functions. Topics range from modelling single cells and subcellular processes through the simulation of simple circuits, large neuronal networks and system level models of the brain. The course ends with project presentations by the students. The Advanced Course in Computational Neuroscience is designed for advanced graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in a variety of disciplines, including neuroscience, physics, electrical engineering, computer science, mathematics and psychology. Students are expected to have a keen interest and basic background in neurobiology as well as some computer experience. Students of any nationality can apply. A maximum of 30 students will be accepted. There will be a fee of EUR 500,- per student covering costs for lodging, meals and other course expenses. Depending on funding, there will be a limited number of tuition fee waivers and travel stipends available for students who need financial help for attending the course. We specifically encourage applications from researchers who work in the developing world. We have received IBRO funding to provide full travel and fee support for 4-5 students from developing countries. These students will be selected following the normal submission procedure. Applications, including a description of the target project must be submitted electronically (see below) and should be accompanied by two letters of recommendation (also sent electronically). Applications will be assessed by a committee, with selection being based on the following criteria: the scientific quality of the candidate (CV) and of the project, the recommendation letters, and evidence that the course affords substantial benefit to the candidate's training. More information and application forms can be obtained from: http://www.neuroinf.org/courses/EUCOURSE/EU05 Please apply electronically using a web browser. Contact address: - mail: Florence Dancoisne, Center for Neural Dynamics Freiburg (CNDF) Institute of Biology III Albert-Ludwigs-University Schaenzlestrasse 1 D-79104 Freiburg, Germany - e-mail: florence at cndf.uni-freiburg.de APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 1st, 2005 DEADLINE FOR LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION: April 1st, 2005 Applicants will be notified of the results of the selection procedures by end of April 2005. INVITED FACULTY (most of them are confirmed): L Abbott (Brandeis University, USA) A Aertsen (Freiburg University, Germany) A Arieli (Weizmann Institute, Israel) N Brunel (CNRS Paris, France) P Dayan (University College London, UK) E De Schutter (University of Antwerp, Belgium) A Destexhe (CNRS Gif-sur-Yvette, France) M Diesmann (Freiburg University, Germany) Y Fregnac (CNRS Gif-sur-Yvette, France) B Grothe (University of Munchen, Germany) M Hines, (Yale University, USA) H Kuntz (Hebrew University, Israel) G Laurent (California Institute of Technology, USA) G LeMasson (University of Bordeaux, France) RR Llinas (New York University, USA) R Malach (Weizmann Institute, Israel) I Nelken (Hebrew University, Israel) M Nicolelis, Duke University, USA A Riehle (CNRS Marseille, France) J Rinzel (New York University, USA) A Roth (University College London, UK) M Rudolph (CNRS Gif-sur-Yvette, France) I Segev (Hebrew University, Israel) T Tezlaff (Freiburg University, Germany) AM Thomson (University College London, UK) AE Tobin (Emory University, USA) E Vaadia (Hebrew University, Israel) C van Vreeswijk (CNRS Paris, France) L Zhaoping (University College London, UK) From cindy at bu.edu Thu Dec 9 10:57:12 2004 From: cindy at bu.edu (Cynthia Bradford) Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 10:57:12 -0500 Subject: Neural Networks 18(1) Message-ID: <05b901c4de07$bf3d27d0$903dc580@cnspc31> NEURAL NETWORKS 18(1) Contents - Volume 18, Number 1 - 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------ EDITORIAL: A year of exciting Special Issues! NEURAL NETWORKS REFEREES USED IN 2004 ***** Psychology and Cognitive Science ***** Nonlinearity of the population activity to transparent motion Osamu Watanabe and Masayuki Kikuchi Use of non-uniform spatial blur for image comparison: Symmetry axis extraction Kunihiko Fukushima ***** Mathematical and Computational Analysis ***** Restoring partly occluded patterns: A neural network model Kunihiko Fukushimafuku Functional multi-layer perceptron: A non-linear tool for functional data analysis Fabrice Rossi and Brieuc Conan-Guez Complex-valued neural networks for nonlinear complex principal component analysis Sanjay S.P. Rattan and William W. Hsieh Composite adaptive control with locally weighted statistical learning Jun Nakanishi, Jay A. Farrell, and Stefan Schaal Function approximation on non-Euclidean spaces Pierre Courrieu CURRENT EVENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------ Electronic access: www.elsevier.com/locate/neunet/. Individuals can look up instructions, aims & scope, see news, tables of contents, etc. Those who are at institutions which subscribe to Neural Networks get access to full article text as part of the institutional subscription. Sample copies can be requested for free and back issues can be ordered through the Elsevier customer support offices: nlinfo-f at elsevier.nl usinfo-f at elsevier.com or info at elsevier.co.jp ------------------------------ INNS/ENNS/JNNS Membership includes a subscription to Neural Networks: The International (INNS), European (ENNS), and Japanese (JNNS) Neural Network Societies are associations of scientists, engineers, students, and others seeking to learn about and advance the understanding of the modeling of behavioral and brain processes, and the application of neural modeling concepts to technological problems. Membership in any of the societies includes a subscription to Neural Networks, the official journal of the societies. Application forms should be sent to all the societies you want to apply to (for example, one as a member with subscription and the other one or two as a member without subscription). The JNNS does not accept credit cards or checks; to apply to the JNNS, send in the application form and wait for instructions about remitting payment. The ENNS accepts bank orders in Swedish Crowns (SEK) or credit cards. The INNS does not invoice for payment. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Membership Type INNS ENNS JNNS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- membership with $80 (regular) SEK 660 Y 13,000 Neural Networks (plus Y 2,000 enrollment fee) $20 (student) SEK 460 Y 11,000 (plus Y 2,000 enrollment fee) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- membership without $30 SEK 200 not available Neural Networks to non-students (subscribe through another society) Y 5,000 student (plus Y 2,000 enrollment fee) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: ______________________________________________________ Title: ______________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________ Phone: ______________________________________________________ Fax: ______________________________________________________ Email: ______________________________________________________ Payment: [ ] Check or money order enclosed, payable to INNS or ENNS OR [ ] Charge my VISA or MasterCard card number _______________________________ expiration date _____________________________ INNS Membership 7600 Terrace Avenue, Ste. 203 Middleton WI 53562 USA 608 831 0584, ext. 138 (phone) 608 831 5122 (fax) srees at reesgroupinc.com http://www.inns.org ENNS Membership University of Skovde P.O. Box 408 531 28 Skovde Sweden 46 500 44 83 37 (phone) 46 500 44 83 99 (fax) enns at ida.his.se http://www.his.se/ida/enns JNNS Membership c/o Professor Shozo Yasui Kyushu Institute of Technology Graduate School of Life Science and Engineering 2-4 Hibikino, Wakamatsu-ku Kitakyushu 808-0196 Japan 81 93 695 6108 (phone and fax) jnns at brain.kyutech.ac.jp http://www.jnns.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From workshops at www.cnsorg.org Fri Dec 10 14:42:53 2004 From: workshops at www.cnsorg.org (Boris Gutkin) Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 11:42:53 -0800 Subject: CNS*05 WORKSHOPS CALL FOR PROPOSALS Message-ID: <20041210193838.M75537@www.cnsorg.org> CALL FOR PROPOSALS: CNS*2005 Workshops/Symposia 20-21 July 2005 University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. The final two days of the CNS*2005 meeting will be devoted to workshops focusing on current issues in computational neuroscience. This year we are also considering integrating outstanding workshop proposals of general interest into the main oral program as 2 hour symposia. Workshops may take the form of 1 or 2 day mini-symposia and tutorials, in addition to the traditional informal discussions. These more formal workshops will provide an excellent opportunity for short, focused meetings on topics of particular current interest. Individual organizers are largely free to define the format and content of their workshops, provided that adequate time is reserved for discussion. The organizers of a workshop should endeavor to bring together as broad a range of pertinent viewpoints as possible. Those interested in organizing a mini-symposium or tutorial are encouraged to contact the workshops organizer, Boris Gutkin at workshops at cnsorg.org as soon as possible. Detailed instructions for submitting a workshop proposal can be found at: www.cnsorg.org Descriptions of new workshops will be added as they are accepted. Information on the CNS*2005 meeting can be obtained from the CNS Website: www.cnsorg.org From alex.smola at nicta.com.au Sat Dec 11 04:43:54 2004 From: alex.smola at nicta.com.au (Alex Smola) Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 01:43:54 -0800 Subject: MLSS'05 Canberra: 15/12/04 early registration deadline In-Reply-To: <4E4CA505-2C81-11D9-9D36-000A95AB89E2@anu.edu.au> References: <4E4CA505-2C81-11D9-9D36-000A95AB89E2@anu.edu.au> Message-ID: <2BEF879D-4B59-11D9-BEE9-000A95AB89E2@nicta.com.au> * Apologies if you receive multiple copies * The early registration deadline for MLSS'05 in Canberra is approaching. Please register by December 15 in order to take advantage of the registration fees. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- MACHINE LEARNING SUMMER SCHOOL 2005 January 24 to February 05, 2005, Canberra, Australia. http://canberra05.mlss.cc ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Organized by the statistical machine learning program, National ICT Australia jointly with Australian National University, Pascal Network and Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics (Tuebingen). **** Applications are now open **** **** Deadline for early registration is Dec 15th 2004 **** **** For applications, please visit our web site **** The Summer School is intended for students and researchers alike, who are interested in Machine Learning. Its goal is to present some of the topics which are at the core of modern Learning Theory. The school will be held at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, between the 24th of January and the 5th of February, 2005. During this time, we shall present the following courses (tentative titles): - Sam Roweis, University of Toronto Sequence Learning - Thore Graepel, Microsoft Research Cambridge, Machine Learning for Games - Aapo Hyvaerinen, Helsinki University Independent Component Analysis - Matthias Franz, MPI for Biological Cybernetics Tuebingen Natural Statistics of Images - Marcus Hutter, IDSIA, Switzerland MDL and Bayesian Methods - Alex Smola and S V N Vishwanathan, National ICT Australia Graphical Models, Kernels, and Exponential Families - Terry Caelli, National ICT Australia Graph Matching Problems in Computer Vision - Douglas Aberdeen, National ICT Australia Reinforcement Learning - Markus Hegland, Australian National University Algebraic Sparse Grid Methods - Rene Vidal, John Hopkins University Generalized PCA - John Patrick, University of Sydney Natural Language processing Practical sessions by - Adam Kowalczyk, National ICT Australia Bioinformatics - Nic Schraudolph, National ICT Australia Stochastic Optimization - Olivier Chapelle, MPI for Biological Cybernetics Tuebingen Semisupervised Learning For more information please contact: mlss05 at rsise.anu.edu.au MLSS organizing committee: Manuel Davy Bernhard Schoelkopf Alex Smola Vishy Vishwanathan From kamps at in.tum.de Fri Dec 10 04:35:09 2004 From: kamps at in.tum.de (Marc de Kamps) Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 10:35:09 +0100 Subject: CFP: ICANN2005 (updated info) Message-ID: Each special session should have at least 5 presentations and a conference track about twice as many. Special session chairs will be responsible for all aspects of their sessions, including soliciting, reviewing, and selecting the papers. To ensure quality of the papers the program committee of ICANN 2005 will provide final review and approval for all sessions. Proposals to organize special sessions/tracks/workshops should include: the title and form of the proposed session (track/special session/workshop); name, affiliation, mailing address and e-mail address of the proposer(s); description of the topic of the session, not exceeding 100 words, or 1000 for tutorials. The deadline for these proposal submission is December 31, 2004, but early submissions are strongly encouraged. Proceedings of ICANN will be published in the "Lecture Notes in Computer Science" series of Springer-Verlag. Paper length is restricted to a maximum of 6 pages, including figures, but supplementary material may be published in an electronic form on a CD. Detailed author instructions will be available at the ICANN web site. Submissions will be possible by file uploading or via e-mail using postscript or PDF file attachment. Deadlines and ICANN conference calendar in 2005: * 3.01 Submission page opens * 15.02 End of submission of papers to regular sessions * 1.03 End of submission of papers to special sessions * 30.04 Acceptance/rejection notification * 15.06 Deadline for camera ready papers * 1.07 Deadline for early registration * 11.09 Tutorials - first day of the conference * 12-14.09 The main part of the conference * 15 .09 Workshops Intelligent Systems Design and Applications (ISDA 2005) conference will take place just before ICANN, 8-10.11.2004, in Wroclaw, Poland. For further information and/or contacts, send inquiries to icann05 at ibspan.waw.pl or to the ICANN 2005 Conference Secretariat Mrs. Krystyna Warzywoda Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences ul. Newelska 6, 01-447 Warszawa, Poland WWW page: www.ibspan.waw.pl/ICANN-2005 General Program Chairs: Wlodzislaw Duch, Nicholaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, duch, at server: ieee.org (or Google: Duch) Janusz Kacprzyk, System Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland, kacprzyk, at server ibspan.waw.pl (or Google: Janusz Kacprzyk) From schroedm at informatik.uni-tuebingen.de Mon Dec 13 10:48:04 2004 From: schroedm at informatik.uni-tuebingen.de (Michael Schroeder) Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2004 16:48:04 +0100 Subject: Classification Competition Message-ID: Dear collegues, we are happy to announce december 13th 2004 as the start of the - BCI Competition III - on classifying electrical brain signals in the context of brain-computer interface (BCI) systems. There are eight different data sets of five BCI groups (Albany, Berlin, Graz, Martigny, T=FCbingen, see below). For each data set there is one labeled part (training set) that can be used to calibrate analysis systems and one part for which the labels are kept secret (test set). The competition is evaluated on each data set separately according to the competitors submissions for the test set. Deadline for submissions is may 22nd 2005. Compared to past BCI Competitions, there are new challenges addressed here that are highly relevant to present BCI research: - session-to-session transfer, - small training sets, possibly solved by subject-to-subject transfer, - non-stationarity problems, - multi-class problems, and - classification of continuous EEG without trial structure. Also this BCI Competition includes for the first time ECoG data and one data set for which preprocessed features are provided for competitors that like to focus on the classification task rather than to dive into the depth of EEG analysis. For each data set the competition winner gets a chance to publish the algorithm in an article devoted to the competition that will appear in IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering. For more information please visit http://ida.first.fhg.de/projects/bci/competition_iii The competition organizers, [Albany] Gerwin Schalk, Dean Krusienski, Jonathan R. Wolpaw [Berlin] Benjamin Blankertz, Guido Dornhege, Klaus-Robert Mueller [Graz] Alois Schloegl, Bernhard Graimann, Gert Pfurtscheller [Martigny] Jose del R. Millan [T=FCbingen] Michael Schr=F6der, Thilo Hinterberger, Thomas Navin Lal, Guido Widman, Niels Birbaumer From tani at brain.riken.go.jp Tue Dec 14 08:41:14 2004 From: tani at brain.riken.go.jp (Jun Tani) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 22:41:14 +0900 Subject: A new paper on mirror system modeling and robotics experiments Message-ID: <000001c4e1e2$94d286a0$37a6a8c0@TX40> We are pleased to announce the availability of the following paper, which we hope will be of interest. J. Tani, M. Ito, and Y. Sugita "Self-organization of distributedly represented multiple behavior schemata in a mirror system: reviews of robot experiments using RNNPB", Neural Networks, Vol.17, pp.1273-1289, 2004. The preprint of the paper is available from: http://www.bdc.brain.riken.go.jp/~tani/publications.htm Abstract: The current paper reviews a connectionist model, the recurrent neural network with parametric biases (RNNPB), in which multiple behavior schemata can be learned by the network in a distributed manner. The parametric biases in the network play an essential role in both generating and recognizing behavior patterns. They act as a mirror system by means of self-organizing adequate memory structures. Three different robot experiments are reviewed: robot and user interactions; learning and generating different types of dynamic patterns; and linguistic-behavior binding. The hallmark of this study is explaining how self-organizing internal structures can contribute to generalization in learning, and diversity in behavior generation, in the proposed distributed representation scheme. Jun Tani, Ph.D Lab. for Behavior and Dynamic Cognition Brain Science Institute, RIKEN 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0198 Japan tani at brain.riken.go.jp http://www.bdc.brain.riken.go.jp/~tani Tel: +81-48-467-6467 Fax: +81-48-467-7248 From dgw at MIT.EDU Tue Dec 14 14:05:13 2004 From: dgw at MIT.EDU (David Weininger) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 14:05:13 -0500 Subject: book announcement--Shadmehr Message-ID: <2004121414051328755@outgoing.mit.edu> I thought readers of the Connectionists List might be interested in this book. For more information, please visit http://mitpress.mit.edu/0262195089/ Thank you! Best, David The Computational Neurobiology of Reaching and Pointing A Foundation for Motor Learning Reza Shadmehr and Steven P. Wise Neuroscience involves the study of the nervous system, and its topics range from genetics to inferential reasoning. At its heart, however, lies a search for understanding how the environment affects the nervous system and how the nervous system, in turn, empowers us to interact with and alter our environment. This empowerment requires motor learning. The Computational Neurobiology of Reaching and Pointing addresses the neural mechanisms of one important form of motor learning. It is intended to be used as a text by graduate students in both neuroscience and bioengineering and as a reference source by experts in neuroscience, robotics, and other disciplines. The authors integrate material from the computational, behavioral, and neural sciences of motor control that is not available in any other single source. The result is a unified, comprehensive model of reaching and pointing. The book begins with an overview of the evolution, anatomy, and physiology of the motor system, including the mechanisms for generating force and maintaining limb stability. The sections that follow, "Computing Locations and Displacements," "Skills, Adaptations, and Trajectories," and "Predictions, Decisions, and Flexibility," present a theory of sensorially guided reaching and pointing that evolves organically based on computational principles rather than a traditional structure-by-structure approach. The book also includes five appendixes that provide brief refreshers on fundamentals of biology, mathematics, physics, and neurophysiology, as well as a glossary of relevant terms. The authors have also made supplemental materials available on the Internet. These web documents provide source code for simulations, step-by-step derivations of certain mathematical formulations, and expanded explanations of some concepts available on the Internet. Reza Shadmehr is Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Steven P. Wise is a Research Biologist in the Senior Biomedical Research Service at the National Institute of Mental Health. 8 x 10, 544 pp. -- 165 illus., cloth, ISBN 0-262-19508-9 A Bradford Book Computational Neuroscience series ______________________ David Weininger Associate Publicist The MIT Press 5 Cambridge Center, 4th Floor Cambridge, MA 02142 617 253 2079 617 253 1709 fax http://mitpress.mit.edu From paul at santafe.edu Tue Dec 14 18:28:56 2004 From: paul at santafe.edu (Paul Brault) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 16:28:56 -0700 Subject: SFI Complex Systems Summer Schools 2005 Message-ID: ANNOUNCING THE SANTA FE INSTITUTE'S 2005 COMPLEX SYSTEMS SUMMER SCHOOLS Santa Fe School: June 6 - July 1, 2005. Held on the campus of St. John's College, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Administered by the Santa Fe Institute (SFI). Director: Melanie Mitchell, Portland State University and SFI. China School: July 11 to August 5, 2005 in Beijing, China. Sponsored by SFI in cooperation with The Institute of Theoretical Physics, The Academy of Mathematics and Systems Sciences, and the Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Co-directors: John Holland, University of Michigan and SFI; Chen Xiao-song, Institute for Theoretical Physics, CAS. General Description The Complex Systems Summer Schools offer an intensive four-week introduction to complex behavior in mathematical, physical, living, and social systems for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the sciences and social sciences. The schools are aimed at participants who want to obtain the background and hands-on experience that will help prepare them to do interdisciplinary research in areas related to complex systems. Applications are welcome from all countries. Participants are expected to attend either the Santa Fe or the Beijing school for the full four weeks. All activities will be conducted in English at both schools. Enrollment is limited. Each school consists of an intensive series of lectures, laboratories, and discussion sessions focusing on foundational ideas, tools, and current topics in complex systems research. These include nonlinear dynamics and pattern formation, scaling theory, information theory and computation theory, adaptation and evolution, network structure and dynamics, adaptive computation techniques, computer modeling tools, and specific applications of these core topics to various disciplines. In addition, participants will formulate and carry out team projects related to topics covered in the school. Costs Santa Fe: No tuition is charged. 100% of housing and meal costs are supported for graduate students and 50% for postdoctoral fellows (the remaining fee is $750, due at the beginning of the school). Most students will provide their own travel funding. Some travel scholarships may be available based on demonstrated need, with preference given to international students. China: No tuition is charged. 100% of housing and meal costs are supported for all participants. Most students will provide their own travel funding. Some travel scholarships may be available based on demonstrated need. Housing Housing at both schools will be in single or double occupancy dorm rooms with shared bathrooms. Computing resources will be available, including ethernet ports for student laptops. Housing and travel support for accompanying families is not available. Eligibility Applications are solicited from graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in any discipline. Some background in science and mathematics (including multi-variable calculus and linear algebra) is required. Proficiency in English is also required. Students should indicate school location preference when applying. Placements may be influenced by recent increased restrictions in U.S. foreign visitor policies. Application requirements 1. Current resume or CV. Include a clear description of your current educational or professional status, and a list of publications, if any. 2. A statement of your current research interests and comments about why you want to attend the school (suggested length: two to three pages). 3. Two letters of recommendation from scholars who know your work. 4. If you are applying to the Beijing school and English is not your first language, you must also submit evidence of English competency in order to complete your application. You can do this in one of two ways: * Request that your TOEFL scores be sent to SFI. SFI's TOEFL code is 8595. Make sure that you request your scores to be sent well in advance to ensure that your application will be complete by the January 28, 2005 deadline. * Request a third letter of recommendation from an English professor certifying your English language competency. This letter can be sent via e-mail to summerschool at santafe.edu. How to Apply Online: Our online application form allows you to submit all of your materials electronically (including a feature which allows your referees to upload letters of recommendation directly to your file). We strongly encourage you to apply online at to expedite your application. Postal Mail/Courier: Applications sent via postal mail will also be accepted. Include a cover letter providing your e-mail address and fax number, and specifying whether you wish to be considered for a travel scholarship. (This will not influence the review of your application.) Do not bind your application materials in any manner. Send application materials to: Summer Schools Santa Fe Institute 1399 Hyde Park Road Santa Fe, NM 87501 USA If applying via post, letters of recommendation may be sent separately to the address above, or included in your application package in sealed envelopes. Deadline All application materials, including letters of recommendation, must be received at SFI or electronically submitted no later than January 28, 2005. Women, minorities, and students from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply. If you have further questions about the Complex Systems Summer Schools, please e-mail summerschool at santafe.edu. From juergen at idsia.ch Tue Dec 14 06:58:58 2004 From: juergen at idsia.ch (Juergen Schmidhuber) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 12:58:58 +0100 Subject: postdoc / visitor at IDSIA, Switzerland Message-ID: <89590BEC-4DC7-11D9-BE27-000D93435DCE@idsia.ch> We have a job opening for an outstanding postdoc or visitor interested in combining LSTM recurrent networks and Hidden Markov Models for speech recognition. Salary: roughly US$ 62,310/year as of Dec 2004 Details: http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/lstm2004.html Juergen Schmidhuber Codirector IDSIA, Switzerland Prof. TU Munich, Germany Prof. SUPSI Dr. habil. http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen From vijay at physics.upenn.edu Wed Dec 15 11:28:33 2004 From: vijay at physics.upenn.edu (Vijay Balasubramanian) Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 11:28:33 -0500 Subject: postdoctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania Message-ID: <5D148AB8-4EB6-11D9-86D4-000A95BC7922@physics.upenn.edu> ===================================================== Postdoctoral Associate in Theoretical/Computational Neuroscience University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, USA ===================================================== We seek applications for a three-year postdoctoral research fellowship in Theoretical/Computational Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. Applicants will have the opportunity to work with faculty in the departments of neuroscience, psychology, machine learning and physics. The successful applicant will be involved in an effort to explore the role played by natural stimulus statistics, perception and the biophysical constraints of energy, space, and time in determining the detailed structure and function of retinal circuitry. This is a highly multi-disciplinary project involving experimental and theoretical techniques from a variety of areas. The primary sponsors of this project will be Vijay Balasubramanian (Physics, http://perception.upenn.edu/faculty/pages/balasubramanian.php), Peter Sterling (Neuroscience, http://perception.upenn.edu/faculty/pages/sterling.php) and David Brainard (Psychology, http://perception.upenn.edu/faculty/pages/brainard.php). The successful applicant will also be encouraged to think more broadly about key problems in theoretical and computational neuroscience, taking advantage of the thriving inter-disciplinary atmosphere at Penn. Research centers affiliated to this project include the Perception Center (http://perception.upenn.edu/), the Institute of Neurological Sciences ( http://www.med.upenn.edu/ins/), the Vision Research Center (http://vrc.med.upenn.edu/), and the Institute for Research in Cognitive Science (http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~ircs/) Applications should include a C.V. and statement of research interests. Please also arrange for letters from three referees. All materials should be sent to Vijay Balasubramanian (vijay at physics.upenn.edu) at the address below. The deadline is January 31, 2005. ---- Vijay Balasubramanian Merriam Term Assistant Professor of Physics 209 South 33rd Street David Rittenhouse Laboratories University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19103 From R.Bogacz at bristol.ac.uk Wed Dec 15 08:47:31 2004 From: R.Bogacz at bristol.ac.uk (Rafal Bogacz) Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 13:47:31 +0000 Subject: Two faculty and two PhD positions at Bristol Message-ID: <41C04073.2010907@bristol.ac.uk> Two tenure-track Lecturer positions (equivalent of Assistant Professor) are available in the Department of Computer Science at Bristol University. The research interests in the department include Computational Biology and Computational Neuroscience. Further information concerning these positions can be found at: http://www.bris.ac.uk/boris/jobs/ads?ID=30617 Two PhD studentships on mathematical models of decision making in the brain are also available. Further information can be found at: http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/Research/Vacancies/ Bristol University is one of the leading UK universities in the research areas connected with the above vacancies. In the recent Times Ranking the following departments were ranked as follows: Computer Science - 3rd in UK (jointly with Imperial, before Oxford) Anatomy and Physiology - 1st in UK (before Cambridge and Oxford) Bristol also has one of the largest Neuroscience communities in Europe. Further information on research at Bristol are available on following websites: Department of Computer Science: http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk Bristol Neuroscience: http://www.bris.ac.uk/neuroscience/ Mathematics, Computation and Biology Research Initiative: http://cognit.psy.bris.ac.uk/MCB/ Computational Neuroscience Unit: http://cnu.psy.bris.ac.uk/ Times UK University Ranking: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,6734,00.html From jbednar at inf.ed.ac.uk Thu Dec 16 14:32:04 2004 From: jbednar at inf.ed.ac.uk (James A. Bednar) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 19:32:04 GMT Subject: Doctoral Studentships in Neuroinformatics at Edinburgh Message-ID: <200412161932.iBGJW4TM025322@lodestar.inf.ed.ac.uk> 4-YEAR DOCTORAL TRAINING (Ph.D.) IN NEUROINFORMATICS UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH We invite applications for the EPSRC/MRC funded Ph.D. programme to the Neuroinformatics Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Edinburgh. The programme is made up of 3 themes: 1) Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience - analytical, computational and experimental study of information processing in the nervous system. 2) Neuromorphic Engineering and Robotics - Artificial sensor perception and analysis, neuromorphic modelling, mixed-mode VLSI and spiking computation, neurorobotics. 3) Simulation, Analysis, Visualisation and Data Handling - software systems and computational techniques for neuroscience and neural engineering. The 4-year programme in Neuroinformatics, established in 2002, consists of an introductory year with training in neuroscience, informatics and lab-based research projects, followed by 3 years of Ph.D. research related to one of the above subjects. The programme has a strong interdisciplinary character and is ideal for students who want to apply their skills to neuroinformatics problems. Students with a strong background in computer science, mathematics, physics or engineering are particularly welcome to apply, but motivated students with other backgrounds will also be considered. We have 12 studentships available for September 2005. Students are initially attached to the Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation in the School of Informatics, the UK's largest and highest-quality academic computer-science group. The Ph.D. project is done in collaboration with many affiliated institutes. Edinburgh has a strong research community in all of the areas listed above and leads the UK in integrating these into a coherent programme in neuroinformatics. Edinburgh has been voted as 'best place to live in Britain', and has many exciting cultural and student activities. The stipend is 12,000 pounds in the first year and in the region of 13,000 - 14,000 pounds per annum in years 2-4. Studentships cover full tuition fees and research and training costs. Full studentships are available to UK students only. Partial funding is available for EU students. Applicants who are not citizens or longstanding residents of the EU will need to find their own funding. For full application details and further information please consult the website: http://www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics Applications are welcome at any time; those received by March 15th 2005 will receive priority treatment. From jkroger at nmsu.edu Wed Dec 15 13:51:19 2004 From: jkroger at nmsu.edu (Jim Kroger) Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 11:51:19 -0700 Subject: Ph.D. Studentship in Neural Dynamics of Cognition Message-ID: <6.1.2.0.2.20041215114206.01d6f870@pop.nmsu.edu> (Apologies for multiple postings) The Mind and Brain Laboratory at NMSU is seeking graduate students at the Ph.D. and Masters level who are interested in research on the neural mechanisms underlying attention and control of attention. We are also looking at how these mechanisms operate during reasoning and other higher cognition, as well as what neural changes cause a dysfunction of executive function in depression. We have a state of the art, high-density 128-channel electrophysiology laboratory, and access to fMRI facilities at the Mind Institute in Albuquerque. Students traditionally receive full support. Please visit our laboratory website below for further information and links to application information. http://www.psych.nmsu.edu/~jkroger/lab/index.html Sincerely, Jim Kroger -------------------------------------------- Jim Kroger Department of Psychology, MSC 3452 New Mexico State University P.O. Box 30001 Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001 USA http://www.psych.nmsu.edu/~jkroger/lab/krogerpage.html Tel: (505) 646 2243 Fax: (505) 646 6212 -------------------------------------------- From mnas.ijcai05 at gmail.com Wed Dec 15 17:28:51 2004 From: mnas.ijcai05 at gmail.com (Modeling Natural Action Selection) Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 22:28:51 +0000 Subject: Preliminary Call For Papers: Modeling Natural Action Selection (at IJCAI 2005) Message-ID: Apologies for multiple postings. Please forward! ----------------------------- Preliminary Call For Papers: Modeling Natural Action Selection (at IJCAI 2005) MODELING NATURAL ACTION SELECTION an International and Interdisciplinary Workshop http://www.bath.ac.uk/comp-sci/ai/MNAS-2005/ Edinburgh, Scotland, UK over two days between July 30-August 1, 2005 In association with: The 19th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI 2005) Introduction: ------------- Action selection is an agent's continuous problem of choosing what to do next. In artificial intelligence, this problem has been addressed with strategies ranging from constructing long chains of intentions that provide provably optimal means of achieving goals to reactive or anytime algorithms that do simple lookups based solely on the external environment. But what does nature do? This multidisciplinary workshop is dedicated to advancing our understanding of the behavioral patterns and neural substrates supporting action selection in animals --- including humans. Examples of interesting topics include: o The variation of action selection strategies across species. o The variation of strategies within species across individual, social or environmental contexts. o Cognitive, neural and embodied models of decision making. We are seeking participation of researchers from either natural or artificial intelligence (NI or AI), who propose models for either human or animal behavior. We seek experts from neuroscience, psychology, and the quantitative social sciences as well as AI. We hope workshop participants will substantially advance the discipline both through presenting science and by examining and critiquing a wide variety of modeling approaches. Requirements: ------------------ We ask that all papers: o Reference or describe a model of action selection, o Reference or describe a data set derived from the actions of living animals or humans, and o Make direct comparisons between the model and biological data. All aspects of action selection are acceptable, from single task performance to evolutionary models of behavior, from individual protozoa to human societies. Our goal for the workshop is to bring together researchers using a variety of strategies for modeling with an aim to build an understanding of the currently available models, tools, advances and challenges in the field. Our ultimate goal is to create a rich synergy between AI and NI models of action selection. A similar synergy has helped advance the fields of neuroscience and neural networks over the past decade, and has resulted in a number of journals which regularly publish strong papers from both fields. Venue: --------- This workshop will take place as part of the 19th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI 2005), the world's premiere conference on AI. Participants in the workshop may wish to attend the full conference but will not be required to do so. The venue will be Edinburgh, Scotland. This will be excellent time to visit the Scottish capital just prior to the start of the famous Edinburgh International Festival, and during the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival. Participants are encouraged to plan to stay on after the workshop to enjoy the city and take advantage of these events. Workshop Format: ---------------- The workshop will be held over two days. The format will consist of o twenty minute talks with ten minute discussions, o aproximately four invited talks (pending funding applications), o poster and discussion sessions, and o dinners in town. Talks will be clustered by approach so that researchers unfamiliar with the various approaches to modeling action selection will have an opportunity to learn. We intend to allow speakers to know the speaking order well in advance so that they can coordinate their talks to maximize content and minimize repetition. Talks will be chosen from submitted papers. All papers will be peer reviewed. The number of full papers accepted, as determined by review, may exceed the number of talk slots available, in which case the remainder of accepted papers will be offered a special full-paper poster session. The maximum number of participants is limited by IJCAI to 40. If there is room for participants without full papers, a second call will be sent out in May for extended abstracts and ordinary poster submissions. Publications: ------------- IJCAI will publish a workshop proceedings for all accepted papers and abstracts. In addition, we are negotiating with international journals, e.g. Cognitive Science, to create a special issue for the best scientific papers from the workshop (as assessed by the participants.) Final negotiations will depend on the quality of papers submitted to the workshop. Workshop participants will also discuss creating a further publication (either a book or journal special issue) emphasizing the techniques and technology used by the successful modelers. Papers and Participation: ------------------------- IJCAI workshop participation is limited to 40 people. Preference will be given to those who submit papers, but other places may be available. Workshop papers should be from 4,000 to 8,000 words (or approximately normal IJCAI conference length) and submitted in the IJCAI format. For later publications the word limit may be extended. Electronic paper submission deadline: April 1, 2005 Paper Notifications sent: May 15, 2005 Camera-ready copy deadline: June 15, 2005 Paperless participant application deadline: June 15, 2005 Notice for paperless participants: June 30, 2005 IJCAI Workshop dates: July 30, 2005 - August 1, 2005 Organizing Committee: --------------------- Dr. Joanna J. Bryson Artificial models of natural Intelligence Department of Computer Science University of Bath, UK BA2 7AY http://www.cs.bath.ac.uk/~jjb Dr. Tony Prescott Adaptive Behaviour Research Group Department of Psychology University of Sheffield, UK S10 2TP http://www.shef.ac.uk/~abrg/tony/index.shtml Dr. Anil K.Seth The Neurosciences Institute 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive San Diego CA 92121, USA http://www.nsi.edu/users/seth Program Committee: ------------------ Gordon Arbuthnott, Dept of Preclinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK Orlando Avila-Garcia, Adaptive Systems Research Group, University of Hertsfordshire, UK Gianluca Baldassarre, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Italy Christian Balkenius, Cognitive Science, Lund University, Sweden Alwyn Barry, Artificial models of natural Intelligence, University of Bath, UK Bettina Berendt, Institute of Information Systems, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany Hagai Bergman, Department of Physiology, Hebrew University, Israel Rafal Bogacz, Department of Computer Science, University of Bristol, UK Driss Boussaoud, Institute for Cognitive Sciences, CNRS, France Olivier Buffet, Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering, The Australian National University, Austrailia Lola Canamera, Adaptive Systems Research Group, University of Hertsfordshire, UK Angelo Cangelosi, Artificial Intelligence and Cognition, University of Plymouth, UK Ricardo Chavarriaga, Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience, EPFL, Switzerland Rick Cooper, Cognitive Science, Birbeck (University of London), UK Frederick Crabbe, Computer Science Department, United States Naval Acadamy, USA Nathaniel Daw, Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, UK Peter Dayan, Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, UK Yiannis Demiris, Intelligent and Interactive Systems Group, Imperial College London, UK Peter Dominey, Sequential Cognition and Language Group, CNRS, France Kenji Doya, Department of Computational Neurobiology, ATR Compuational Neuroscience Laboratories, Japan Jason Fleischer, Theoretical Neurobiology, The Neurosciences Institute, USA Philippe Gaussier, Equipe Neurocybern??tique, CNRS, France Agnes Guillot, AnimatLab, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, France Kevin Gurney, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK Jim Houk, Deparment of Physiology, Northwestern University, Illinois, USA Karl F. MacDorman, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Japan Mark Humphries, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK Mark Humphrys, School of Computing, Dublin City University, Ireland Jeff Krichmar, Theoretical Neurobiology, The Neurosciences Institute, USA Brian S. Logan, Department of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, UK Will Lowe, Department of Political Science, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Jean-Arcady Meyer, AnimatLab, CNRS, France Michael North, Center for Complex Adaptive Systems, Argonne National Laboratory, USA Peter Redgrave, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK Frank Ritter, Applied Cognitive Science Lab, Penn State University Deb Roy Media Laboratory, MIT, USA David Sallach, Center for Complex Adaptive Systems, Argonne National Laboratory, USA Emmet Spier, Center for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics, Sussex University, UK Kris R. Thorisson, School of Computer Science, Reykjav??k University Myra Wilson, Computer Science, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK ----- For all questions and comments, please email the workshop at mnas.ijcai05 at gmail.com For further details, please see the webpage: http://www.bath.ac.uk/comp-sci/ai/MNAS-2005/ From P.Tino at cs.bham.ac.uk Fri Dec 17 06:46:15 2004 From: P.Tino at cs.bham.ac.uk (Peter Tino) Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2004 11:46:15 +0000 Subject: Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow in Astronomical Data Mining Message-ID: <41C2C707.4070701@cs.bham.ac.uk> (apologies if you received multiple copies of this notice) UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM, UK SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND SCHOOL OF PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY ====================================================================== Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow in Astronomical Data Mining ====================================================================== This three-year position, funded by PPARC, provides the central support for a project combining expertise from the Schools of Physics & Astronomy and Computer Science. The project aims to integrate novel and theoretically sound computational intelligence technologies, developed in the School of Computer Science, with the UK's developing Virtual Observatory, AstroGrid. The outcome will be more sophisticated tools for the automated classification, visualisation, and analysis of large astronomical data sets. Highly motivated candidates with background and publication record in machine learning, statistical pattern analysis, probabilistic modeling, data mining and information retrieval, and a keen interest in tackling real-world astronomy-related problems, are encouraged to apply. Applicants should possess good analytical, problem solving and programming skills. They should hold, or shortly expect to obtain, a PhD in Computer Science/Engineering, Statistics or a related discipline. Some background in Astrophysics is an advantage but not a requirement. Informal enquiries to Professor Xin Yao (X.Yao at cs.bham.ac.uk), Dr Peter Tino (P.Tino at cs.bham.ac.uk) and Ata Kaban (A.Kaban at cs.bham.ac.uk), or Professor Trevor Ponman (tjp at star.sr.bham.ac.uk). Starting salary 19,460 - 21,640 a year depending on experience and qualifications. The post is available immediately. Application forms (returnable by 12th January 2005) and details from Personnel Services The University of Birmingham Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK tel: +44 121 415 9000, web: www.punit.bham.ac.uk/vacancies Please quote Ref: S36842 and attach a curriculum vitae, publication list, and statement of research interests. Working towards Equal Opportunities Work-Life Balance Award Winner 2003 -- Peter Tino The University of Birmingham School of Computer Science Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK +44 121 414 8558 , fax: 414 4281 http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~pxt/ From ole.jensen at fcdonders.ru.nl Sun Dec 19 08:03:26 2004 From: ole.jensen at fcdonders.ru.nl (Ole Jensen) Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2004 14:03:26 +0100 Subject: postdoctoral position at the F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging Message-ID: <41C57C1E.4000108@fcdonders.ru.nl> POSTDOCTORAL POSITION AT THE F.C. DONDERS CENTRE FOR COGNITIVE NEUROIMAGING When neurons form memories: The role of oscillatory dynamics and synchronization Supervision: Dr. Ole Jensen Job description A postdoctoral position is available at the F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. The position is part of a VolkswagenStiftung grant exploring oscillatory brain dynamics during memory encoding and recall. In the project whole-head MEG (151-sensor CTF system) is used to investigate human cortical dynamics in various memory tasks. We also hope to combine intracranial recordings with MEG. Requirements Qualified applicants must either have either a 1) PhD related to experimental/cognitive psychology or neuroscience or 2) a PhD related to applied signal processing og biological signals. MEG or EEG experience and in particular Matlab skills are an advantage. Applicants should send a cover letter, and attach a curriculum vitae, a publication list, a description of research interests and the names of two referees who may be contacted in confidence. Conditions of employment Employment basis: Full-time, temporary for specified period. Duration of the contract: 3 years. Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from: Dr. Ole Jensen Tel: +31 (0)24 36 10884 E-mail: ole.jensen at fcdonders.ru.nl URL : http://oase.uci.ru.nl/~olejen Applications should be send to info at fcdonders.ru.nl or F.C. Donders Centre for Neuroimaging, P.O. Box 910, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Please state our reference VWOJ04 on top of your mail or letter. Deadline of application is January 15, 2005. -- Ole Jensen Principal Investigator F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging P.O. Box 9101 NL-6500 HB Nijmegen The Netherlands Office : +31 24 36 10884 MEG lab : +31 24 36 10988 Mobile : +31 62 18 57495 Fax : +31 24 36 10989 e-mail : ole.jensen at fcdonders.ru.nl URL : http://oase.uci.ru.nl/~olejen From ken at neurotheory.columbia.edu Mon Dec 20 13:54:29 2004 From: ken at neurotheory.columbia.edu (Kenneth Miller) Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 13:54:29 -0500 Subject: Columbia University Postdoctoral/Graduate Fellowships in Theoretical Neurobiology Message-ID: <1103568869.23595.11.camel@neurotheory.columbia.edu> FULL INFO: http://www.neurotheory.columbia.edu PLEASE DO NOT USE 'REPLY'; FOR MORE INFO USE ABOVE WEB SITE We are establishing a new Center for Theoretical Neuroscience at Columbia University in New York City. The co-directors are Larry Abbott http://www.brandeis.edu/projects/abbottlab/abbott_lab.html Ken Miller http://neurotheory.columbia.edu/~ken Other faculty include Ning Qian http://brahms.cpmc.columbia.edu/ Bill Bialek (visiting 1 day/week) http://www.princeton.edu/~wbialek/wbialek.html The faculty listed above will all be here by Sept. 2005, and we expect to have additional long-term visitors, research staff and faculty. Columbia has a strong research program in experimental neurobiology (http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/neurobeh/nb_phd_res_area.html) and in computational biology (http://www.c2b2.columbia.edu/). We hope to create one of the most exciting and interactive environments anywhere for bringing theoretical approaches to Neuroscience. We are accepting applications for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students in the Center. For postdoctoral fellowships, applicants should have a strong background and education in theoretical neuroscience or biology or in a quantitative field such as mathematics, theoretical or experimental physics, engineering, or computer science, and commitment to a future research career in neuroscience. Prior biological or neuroscience training is not required. TO APPLY, please send a curriculum vitae, a statement of previous research and research goals, up to three relevant publications, and have three letters of recommendation sent to us. Applications are due by Feb. 14, 2005. For graduate fellowships, apply to an existing Ph.D. program at Columbia (details on our web site). Separately, notify us that you wish to be considered for a fellowship in Theoretical Neuroscience by sending email with a letter explaining which program you've applied to, why you intend to pursue Theoretical Neuroscience in your graduate work, and what background you bring to it. Please also include a copy of your application materials, and ask your referees to send us copies of their letters. Note that the priority application deadline for most programs is either Jan. 3 or (for engineering) Dec. 15 (already past). However, later applications are also considered (and success in obtaining a Theoretical Neuroscience fellowship will likely help compensate for an application being late). Application materials may be sent by email to Alla Kerzhner, alla at neurotheory.columbia.edu; please include your name and "postdoctoral fellowship, CTN" or "graduate fellowship, CTN" in the subject line. Alternatively materials may be sent by surface mail (address on our web site). From marcus at idsia.ch Mon Dec 20 10:16:20 2004 From: marcus at idsia.ch (Marcus Hutter) Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 16:16:20 +0100 Subject: New AI book Message-ID: <0eba01c4e6a6$dc057000$63bfb0c3@idsia.local> (with apologies for multiple copies) Dear list members, I'm pleased to announce my new book: Universal Artificial Intelligence: Sequential Decisions based on Algorithmic Probability This book presents sequential decision theory from a novel algorithmic information theory perspective. While the former theory is suited for active agents in known environments, the latter is suited for passive prediction of unknown environments. The book introduces these two well-known but very different ideas and removes the limitations by unifying them to one parameter-free theory of an optimal reinforcement learning agent interacting with an arbitrary unknown world. Most if not all AI problems can easily be formulated within this theory, which reduces the conceptual problems to pure computational ones. Considered problem classes include sequence prediction, strategic games, function minimization, reinforcement and supervised learning. Formal definitions of intelligence order relations, the horizon problem and relations to other approaches to AI are discussed. One intention of this book is to excite a broader AI audience about abstract algorithmic information theory concepts, and conversely to inform theorists about exciting applications to AI. See http://www.idsia.ch/~marcus/ai/uaibook.htm for details and (small) prizes for solving open problems. Thanks for your time, Marcus ----------------------------------- Dr. Marcus Hutter, Senior Researcher, IDSIA Istituto Dalle Molle di Studi sull'Intelligenza Artificiale Galleria 2 CH-6928 Manno(Lugano) - Switzerland Phone: +41-91-6108668 Fax: +41-91-6108661 E-mail marcus at idsia.ch http://www.idsia.ch/~marcus/idsia/ P.S.1 There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary, and those who don't. P.S.2 Many bookstores guarantee shipping till Xmas. From marcus at idsia.ch Thu Dec 23 08:04:05 2004 From: marcus at idsia.ch (Marcus Hutter) Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 14:04:05 +0100 Subject: PhD/PostDoc Position Available Message-ID: <13dc01c4e8ef$e20df5d0$63bfb0c3@idsia.local> PhD / Postdoc Position Available ----------------------------------------- IDSIA, Switzerland, is seeking for one outstanding PostDoc or PhD student with excellent mathematical skills interested in reinforcement learning, algorithmic information theory, Kolmogorov complexity, Minimal Description Length (MDL), information theory and statistics, Bayesian online sequence prediction, prediction and action with expert advice, computational complexity theory, universal Solomonoff induction, universal Levin search, sequential decision theory, adaptive control theory, and/or related areas. Possible backgrounds are computer science, physics, mathematics, etc. The initial appointment will be for 2 years. Normally there will be a prolongation. The new PhD student/PostDoc will interact with Marcus Hutter and Juergen Schmidhuber and other people at IDSIA. See http://www.idsia.ch/~marcus/idsia/phdpos.htm for more information on the PhD position and http://www.idsia.ch/~marcus/idsia/postdoc.htm for more information on the PostDoc position. Applicants should submit: (i) Detailed curriculum vitae (including grades), (ii) List of three references (and their email addresses), (iii) Concise statement of their research interests (1-2 pages). (iv) Links to their thesis and/or publications. Please send all documents till end of January 2005 to: Marcus Hutter, IDSIA, Galleria 2, 6928 Manno (Lugano), Switzerland. Applications can also be submitted by email to marcus at idsia.ch (1MB max!). www pointers to ps/pdf/doc/html files are welcome. Use Firstname.Lastname.DocDescription.DocType for filename convention. Thanks for your interest Marcus Hutter, Senior researcher, IDSIA Istituto Dalle Molle di Studi sull'Intelligenza Artificiale Galleria 2 CH-6928 Manno(Lugano) - Switzerland Phone: +41-91-6108668 Fax: +41-91-6108661 E-mail marcus at idsia.ch http://www.idsia.ch/~marcus -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT IDSIA. Our research focuses on artificial neural nets, reinforcement learning, complexity and generalization issues, unsupervised learning and information theory, forecasting, artificial ants, combinatorial optimization, evolutionary computation. IDSIA is small but visible, competitive, and influential. IDSIA's algorithms hold the world records for several important operations research benchmarks (see Nature 406(6791):39-42 for an overview of artificial ant algorithms developed at IDSIA). In the "X-Lab Survey" by Business Week magazine, IDSIA was ranked in fourth place in the category "COMPUTER SCIENCE - BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED" - after the Santa Fe Institute, Stanford University, and EPFL (also in Switzerland). Its comparatively tiny size notwithstanding, IDSIA also ranked among the top ten labs worldwide in the broader category "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE". IDSIA is located near the beautiful city of Lugano in Ticino (pictures), the scenic southernmost province of Switzerland, origin of special relativity and the WWW. Milano, Italy's center of fashion and finance, is 1 hour away, Venice 3 hours. Our collaborators at CSCS (the Swiss supercomputing center) are right beneath us; we are also affiliated with the University of Lugano and SUPSI. Switzerland boasts the highest citation impact factor, the highest supercomputing capacity pc (per capita), the most Nobel prizes pc (450% of the US value), and perhaps the best chocolate. From dts at inf.ed.ac.uk Fri Dec 24 05:27:54 2004 From: dts at inf.ed.ac.uk (Don Sannella) Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 10:27:54 +0000 Subject: Studentships for PhD study in Informatics@Edinburgh Message-ID: <16843.61226.985212.149903@twirl.inf.ed.ac.uk> Studentships for PhD study in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh --------------------------- FORTY research studentships are available for: * UK students * EU students * students worldwide Many of these are full studentships, paying your tuition fees and a stipend of 12000 pounds to cover living expenses in your first year, rising in second and third years. The rest pay your fees and a contribution of 6000 pounds per year towards living expenses. Payment of fees for non-EU students is subject to successful competition for an Overseas Research Studentship. PhD students are encouraged to make contributions to teaching, for example by leading tutorial groups, and for this you can expect to earn an additional 500-1000 pounds per year. These studentships are funded from a variety of sources. New this year are five full studentships in the Schools of Informatics and Engineering & Electronics funded by Wolfson Microelectronics plc. Also new are Principal's Scholarships; these are prestigious prizes awarded to a few of the most promising new PhD students each year, which provide an extra 2000 pounds per year for living costs on top of any other funding that is offered. Informatics --------------------------- Informatics is the study of information and computation, in both natural and engineered systems. It comprises a vast range of scientific and engineering endeavour and has enormous economic and social impact. The University's School of Informatics brings together the former Departments of Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science and Computer Science, together with the Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute. The School possesses a combination of breadth and strength unparallelled elsewhere in the UK and competitive world-wide; as an intellectual endeavour it is strikingly original. The School is the only university grouping in the UK to have achieved the top 5*A rating in Computer Science in the UK government's 2001 Research Assessment Exercise round, and it is the UK's biggest research group in this area. We currently have around 215 students studying for PhD, and around 150 for MSc. PhD study --------------------------- PhD study is carried out within one of our six research Institutes: ANC: Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation CISA: Centre for Intelligent Systems and their Applications ICCS: Institute for Communicating and Collaborative Systems ICSA: Institute for Computing Systems Architecture IPAB: Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour LFCS: Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science ANC fosters the study of adaptive processes in both artificial and biological systems; two themes are the study of artificial learning systems and the analysis and modelling of brain processes. CISA undertakes basic and applied research and development in knowledge representation and reasoning. Through its applications institute AIAI, it works with others to deploy the technologies associated with this research. ICCS pursues basic research into the nature of communication among humans and between humans and machines, using text, speech and graphics, and the design of interactive dialogue systems, using computational and algorithmic approaches. ICSA seeks development of a better understanding of systems components, both hardware and software, and their integration and interaction; this involves not only improving their raw performance and cost-effectiveness, but also making them more connectable and interoperable, more reliable, more usable and more applicable. The interests of IPAB are how to link computational perception, representation, transformation and generation processes to external worlds---whether real or virtual. The mission of LFCS is to achieve a foundational understanding of problems and issues arising in computation and communication through the development of appropriate and applicable formal models and mathematical theories. Projects --------------------------- A very wide range of research projects is available for PhD study. Here is an (incomplete!) list of project areas; see http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate/phdprojects.html for some information on each of these. ANC: Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation -------------------------------------------------- Flytrap: Building a Volumetric Map of the Fly Brain Flies in Space Exploration and Visualisation of Complex Data on Demand Development of Disparity and Spatial Frequency Preference in Visual Cortex Understanding Species Differences in Visual Maps CISA: Centre for Intelligent Systems and their Applications ----------------------------------------------------------- A Proof Management Tool Automating Diagrammatic Reasoning Improving Support for Mathematics in Mechanical Theorem Provers Multi-Agent Coordination in Open Environments Game-Theoretic Analysis of Multiagent Communication The Role of Communication in Multiagent Reinforcement Learning A Computational Model of Lying Controlling Open Multiagent Systems Argumentation-Based Ontology Conflict Resolution Human/Robotic Task Achieving Team ICCS: Institute for Communicating and Collaborative Systems ----------------------------------------------------------- Probabilistic Models of Human Parsing Integrating Linguistic and Visual Processing Dynamic Bayesian Networks for Speech Recognition Probabilistic Approaches to Natural Language Generation Translation of Text to British Sign Language Robust Construction of Semantics Robust Semantic Interpretation Statistical Machine Translation for Biomedical Domains Microphone-Array Based Speech Recognition Language Models for Multiparty Conversations Hidden Speech Production Models Multimodal Information Access Head Motion Synthesis for Lifelike Conversational Agents Multi-Unit Acoustic Models for Speech Recognition Induction of Wide-Coverage Categorial Lexicon from Large Amounts of Unlabeled Text Use of Intonation in Spoken Language Generation for Human-Machine Dialogue Temporal Semantics Grammar-Driven Language Models Automated Musical Analysis Projecting Discourse Annotation from Parallel Corpora Answering Comparison Questions: What's the Difference? ICSA: Institute for Computing Systems Architecture -------------------------------------------------- Skeletal Parallel Programming Automatic Test Pattern Generation and Scan Insertion for Asynchronous Circuits Noise-Tolerant Asynchronous Circuits Data-Dependent Processing for Energy-Aware Systems Combining Model Checking and Theorem Proving Automated Synthesis of Architectures and Compilers Energy and Area Modelling for Architecture Synthesis Low-Power Multi-Threaded Architectures Reconfigurable Data-Parallel Structures for Embedded Computation LFCS: Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science ---------------------------------------------------- Engineering Electronic Proof Independence-Friendly Temporal Logic Questions on Modal mu-Calculi Concurrency in (Computational) Linguistics Archiving of Scientific Data Integrity Constraints for XML and Beyond Keys for XML Provenance in Databases Vectorizing XML Randomized Algorithms for Transportation Polytopes Complexity of Approximate Counting Algorithmic Verification of Recursive Probabilistic Systems Schema-Directed XML Publishing A Security Model for XML XML Query Languages Service-Oriented Computing for the Overlay Computer PEPA Nets: Modelling Mobile Systems Performance Modelling with Process Algebras Computational Models for Systems Biology A Logic of Computational Effects Proof Carrying Code for the Grid Security for Mobile Devices Algebraic and Logical Foundations of Formal Software Development Topological Models of Computation Constructive Set Theories and their Applications Proof Theory for Programs and Processes Type Systems for Computational Effects Mathematical Models for Concurrent and Mobile Computation Modalities for Name Generation: Logic, Proof and the Meaning of New Designing Services in Service-Oriented Architecture Combinations and Abstractions of Formal Games Links: Web Programming, Faster, Better, Cheaper Further information --------------------------- Information about graduate study, the School of Informatics, the University as a whole and the city of Edinburgh is available from: http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate/ http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/ http://www.ed.ac.uk You can email queries to our Graduate Secretary at: phd-admissions at inf.ed.ac.uk or to individual members of teaching staff. Application forms are available from: http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/postgraduate/applications/forms.html The application form should be returned before the end of March or earlier if possible. Applications for an Overseas Research Studentship must be completed by the beginning of February. From dwang at cse.ohio-state.edu Wed Dec 1 10:35:58 2004 From: dwang at cse.ohio-state.edu (DeLiang Wang) Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2004 10:35:58 -0500 Subject: Junior faculty position available In-Reply-To: <000501c4d620$156da020$f624d6c2@maxwell.local> References: <000501c4d620$156da020$f624d6c2@maxwell.local> Message-ID: <41ADE4DE.5040907@cse.ohio-state.edu> Note that machine learning is of major interest this year - DeLiang Wang ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tenure Track Faculty Position The OSU Department of Computer Science and Engineering invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor. The department's focus areas are in artificial intelligence, graphics, networking, software engineering, and systems. Outstanding applicants in any of these areas are welcome. Of particular interest are candidates in the following fields: bioinformatics, machine learning, model checking, operating systems, and security. Women, minorities, or individuals with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply. Qualified applicants should hold or be completing a Ph.D. in computer science and engineering or a closely related field, and have a commitment to excellent research and quality teaching. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants are requested to send a curriculum vita, preferably by e-mail to: fsearch at cse.ohio-state.edu or by mail to: Faculty Search Committee Department of Computer Science and Engineering The Ohio State University 2015 Neil Avenue, DL395 Columbus, OH 43210-1277 From caroly at cns.bu.edu Thu Dec 2 10:50:19 2004 From: caroly at cns.bu.edu (Carol Jefferson) Date: Thu, 02 Dec 2004 10:50:19 -0500 Subject: CNS Graduate Programs Announcement Message-ID: <6.1.1.1.0.20041202104955.01baf3f0@cns.bu.edu> PLEASE POST ****************************************************************************** GRADUATE TRAINING IN THE DEPARTMENT OF COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS (CNS) AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY ****************************************************************************** The Boston University Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems offers comprehensive graduate training 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. The brochure may also be viewed on line at: http://www.cns.bu.edu/brochure/ and application forms at: http://www.bu.edu/cas/graduate/application.html Applications for Fall 2005 admission and financial aid are now being accepted for PhD, MA, and BA/MA degree programs. To obtain a brochure describing CNS programs and a set of application materials, write, telephone, or fax: DEPARTMENT OF COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS Boston University 677 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02215 617/353-9481 (phone) 617/353-7755 (fax) or send via email your full name and mailing address to the attention of Mr. Robin Amos at: amos 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) general test scores. GRE scores may be waived for MA candidates and, in exceptional cases, for PhD candidates, but absence of these scores will 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 and qualified undergraduates 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. The department's training and research focus on two broad questions. The first question is: How does the brain control behavior? This is a modern form of the Mind/Body Problem. The second question is: How can technology emulate biological intelligence? This question needs to be answered to develop intelligent technologies that are well suited to human societies. These goals are symbiotic because brains are unparalleled in their ability to intelligently adapt on their own to complex and novel environments. Models of how the brain accomplishes this are developed through systematic empirical, mathematical, and computational analysis in the department. Autonomous adaptation to a changing world is also needed to solve many of the outstanding problems in technology, and the biological models have inspired qualitatively new designs for applications. CNS is a world leader in developing biological models that can quantitatively simulate the dynamics of identified brain cells in identified neural circuits, and the behaviors that they control. This new level of understanding is producing comparable advances in intelligent technology. CNS is a graduate department that is devoted to the interdisciplinary training of graduate students. The department awards MA, PhD, and BA/MA degrees. Its students are trained in a broad range of areas concerning computational neuroscience, cognitive science, and neuromorphic systems. The biological training includes study of the brain mechanisms of vision and visual object recognition; audition, speech, and language understanding; recognition learning, categorization, and long-term memory; cognitive information processing; self-organization and development, navigation, planning, and spatial orientation; cooperative and competitive network dynamics and short-term memory; reinforcement and motivation; attention; adaptive sensory-motor planning, control, and robotics; biological rhythms; consciousness; mental disorders; and the mathematical and computational methods needed to support advanced modeling research and applications. Technological training includes methods and applications in image processing, multiple types of signal processing, adaptive pattern recognition and prediction, information fusion, and intelligent control and robotics. The foundation of this broad training is the unique interdisciplinary curriculum of seventeen interdisciplinary graduate courses that have been developed at CNS. Each of these courses integrates the psychological, neurobiological, mathematical, and computational information needed to theoretically investigate fundamental issues concerning mind and brain processes and the applications of artificial neural networks and hybrid systems to technology. A student's curriculum is tailored to his or her career goals with academic and research advisors. In addition to taking interdisciplinary courses within CNS, students develop important disciplinary expertise by also taking courses in departments such as biology, computer science, engineering, mathematics, and psychology. In addition to these formal courses, students work individually with one or more research advisors to learn how to carry out advanced interdisciplinary research in their chosen research areas. As a result of this breadth and depth of training, CNS students have succeeded in finding excellent jobs in both academic and technological areas after graduation. The CNS Department interacts with colleagues in several Boston University research centers, and with Boston-area scientists collaborating with these centers. The units most closely linked to the department are the Center for Adaptive Systems and the CNS Technology Laboratory. CNS is also part of a major new NSF Center of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science, and Technology (CELEST); see http://www.cns.bu.edu/CELEST. Students interested in neural network hardware can work with researchers in CNS and at the College of Engineering. In particular, CNS is part of a major ONR MURI Center for Intelligent Biomimetic Image Processing and Classification that includes colleagues who are developing neuromorphic VLSI chips. Other research resources include the campus-wide Program in Neuroscience, which unites cognitive neuroscience, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, neuropharmacology, and neural modeling across the Charles River Campus and the School of Medicine; in sensory robotics, biomedical engineering, computer and systems engineering, and neuromuscular research within the College of Engineering; in dynamical systems within the Department of Mathematics; in theoretical computer science within the Department of Computer Science; and in biophysics and computational physics within the Department of Physics. Key colleagues in these units hold joint appointments in CNS in order to expedite training and research interactions with CNS core faculty and students. In addition to its basic research and training program, the department organizes an active colloquium series, various research and seminar series, and international conferences and symposia, to bring distinguished scientists from experimental, theoretical, and technological disciplines to the department. The department is housed in its own four-story building, which includes ample space for faculty and student offices and laboratories (active perception, auditory neuroscience, computational neuroscience, visual psychophysics, speech and language, sensory-motor control, neurobotics, computer vision, and technology), as well as an auditorium, classroom, seminar rooms, a library, and a faculty-student lounge. The department has a powerful computer network for carrying out large-scale simulations of behavioral and brain models and applications. FACULTY AND RESEARCH STAFF OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS AND CENTER FOR ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS Jelle Atema Professor of Biology Director, Boston University Marine Program (BUMP) PhD, University of Michigan Sensory physiology and behavior Helen Barbas Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Sargent College PhD, Physiology/Neurophysiology, McGill University Organization of the prefrontal cortex, evolution of the neocortex Virginia Best Research Associate, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Physiology, University of Sydney, Australia Auditory processing in humans, with a focus on spatial hearing, spatial attention and speech perception Daniel H. Bullock Associate Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems, and Psychology PhD, Experimental Psychology, Stanford University Sensory-motor performance and learning, voluntary control of action, serial order and timing, cognitive development Gail A. Carpenter Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems and Mathematics Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Mathematics, University of Wisconsin, Madison Learning and memory, vision, synaptic processes, pattern recognition, remote sensing, medical database analysis, machine learning, differential equations, neural network technology transfer Michael A. Cohen Associate Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems and Computer Science PhD, Psychology, Harvard University Speech and language processing, measurement theory, neural modeling, dynamical systems, cardiovascular oscillations physiology and time series H. Steven Colburn Professor of Biomedical Engineering PhD, Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Audition, binaural interaction, auditory virtual environments, signal processing models of hearing Howard Eichenbaum Professor of Psychology PhD, Psychology, University of Michigan Neurophysiological studies of how the hippocampal system mediates declarative memory William D. Eldred III Professor of Biology PhD, University of Colorado, Health Science Center Visual neuralbiology John C. Fiala Research Assistant Professor of Biology PhD, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University Synaptic plasticity, dendrite anatomy and pathology, motor learning, robotics, neuroinformatics Jean Berko Gleason Professor of Psychology PhD, Harvard University Psycholinguistics Sucharita Gopal Professor of Geography PhD, University of California at Santa Barbara Neural networks, computational modeling of behavior, geographical information systems, fuzzy sets, and spatial cognition Stephen Grossberg Wang Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Professor of Mathematics, Psychology, and Biomedical Engineering Chairman, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems Director, Center for Adaptive Systems PhD, Mathematics, Rockefeller University Vision, audition, language, learning and memory, reward and motivation, cognition, development, sensory-motor control, mental disorders, applications Frank Guenther Associate Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University MSE, Electrical Engineering, Princeton University Speech production, speech perception, biological sensory-motor control and functional brain imaging Catherine L. Harris Associate Professor of Psychology PhD, Cognitive Science and Psychology, University of California at San Diego Visual word recognition, psycholinguistics, cognitive semantics, second language acquisition, computational models of cognition Michael E. Hasselmo Professor of Psychology Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Psychology PhD, Experimental Psychology, Oxford University Computational modeling and experimental testing of neuromodulatory mechanisms involved in encoding, retrieval and consolidation Allyn Hubbard Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering PhD, Electrical Engineering, University of Wisconsin VLSI circuit design: digital, analog, subthreshold analog, biCMOS, CMOS; information processing in neurons, neural net chips, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing chips, sonar processing chips; auditory models and experiments Thomas G. Kincaid Professor of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering PhD, Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Signal and image processing, neural networks, non-destructive testing Mark Kon Professor of Mathematics PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Neural network theory, complexity theory, wavelet theory, mathematical physics Nancy Kopell Professor of Mathematics PhD, Mathematics, University of California at Berkeley Dynamics of networks of neurons Jacqueline A. Liederman Associate Professor of Psychology PhD, Psychology, University of Rochester Dynamics of interhemispheric cooperation; prenatal correlates of neurodevelopmental disorders Siegfried Martens Research Associate, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University Learning models, pattern recognition, visualization, remote sensing, sensor fusion Ennio Mingolla Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems and Psychology PhD, Psychology, University of Connecticut Visual perception, mathematical modeling of visual processes Alfonso Nieto Castanon Research Associate, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University Speech, statistics, signal processing, computational neuroscience Joseph Perkell Adjunct Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Senior Research Scientist, Research Lab of Electronics and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Motor control of speech production Marc Pomplun Adjunct Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts, Boston PhD, Computer Science, University of Bielefeld, Germany Eye movements, visual attention, modeling of cognitive processes, human-computer interaction Adam Reeves Adjunct Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Professor of Psychology, Northeastern University PhD, Psychology, City University of New York Psychophysics, cognitive psychology, vision Kevin Reilly Research Associate, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Speech and Hearing Science, University of Washington, Seattle Speech production, sensory-motor control and learning, computational neuroscience Michele Rucci Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Scuola Superiore S.-Anna, Pisa, Italy Vision, sensory-motor control and learning, and computational neuroscience Elliot Saltzman Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, Sargent College Senior Scientist, Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT PhD, Developmental Psychology, University of Minnesota Modeling and experimental studies of human sensorimotor control and coordination of the limbs and speech articulators, focusing on issues of timing in skilled activities Fabrizio Santini Research Associate, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems PhD, Computer Science, University of Florence, Italy Neuromorphic robotics, vision, neuroprocessors and large neural system simulations Robert Savoy Adjunct Associate Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Assistant in Experimental Psychology; Director, fMRI Education; Instructor Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital President, HyperVision Incorporated, Lexington, MA PhD, Experimental Psychology, Harvard University Computational neuroscience; visual psychophysics of color, form, and motion perception Teaching about functional MRI and other brain mapping methods Eric Schwartz Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems; Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering; and Anatomy and Neurobiology PhD, High Energy Physics, Columbia University Computational neuroscience, machine vision, neuroanatomy, neural modeling Robert Sekuler Adjunct Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, BioMolecular Engineering Research Center Frances and Louis H. Salvage Professor of Psychology, Brandeis University Consultant in neurosurgery, Boston Children's Hospital PhD, Psychology, Brown University Visual motion, brain imaging, relation of visual perception, memory, and movement Barbara Shinn-Cunningham Associate Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems and Biomedical Engineering PhD, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Psychoacoustics, audition, auditory localization, binaural hearing, sensorimotor adaptation, mathematical models of human performance David Somers Assistant Professor of Psychology PhD, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University Functional MRI, psychophysical, and computational investigations of visual perception and attention Chantal E. Stern Associate Professor of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Boston University Associate Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School Assistant in Neuroscience, MGH-Martinos Center, Massachusetts General Hospital PhD, Experimental Psychology, Oxford University Functional neuroimaging studies (fMRI and MEG) of learning and memory Timothy Streeter Research Associate, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems MS, Physics, University of New Hampshire MA, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University Spatial auditory perception, perceptual adaptation Malvin C. Teich Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Physics PhD, Cornell University Quantum optics and imaging, photonics, wavelets and fractal stochastic processes, biological signal processing and information transmission Lucia Vaina Professor of Biomedical Engineering Research Professor of Neurology, School of Medicine PhD, Sorbonne (France); Dres Science, National Politechnique Institute, Toulouse (France) Computational visual neuroscience, biological and computational learning, functional and structural neuroimaging Takeo Watanabe Associate Professor of Psychology PhD, Behavioral Sciences, University of Tokyo Perception of objects and motion and effects of attention on perception using psychophysics and brain imaging (f-MRI) Jeremy Wolfe Adjunct Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School Psychophysicist, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Surgery Department Director of Psychophysical Studies, Center for Clinical Cataract Research PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Visual attention, pre-attentive and attentive object representation Curtis Woodcock Professor of Geography Director, Geographic Applications, Center for Remote Sensing PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara Biophysical remote sensing, particularly of forests and natural vegetation, canopy reflectance models and their inversion, spatial modeling, and change detection; biogeography; spatial analysis; geographic information systems; digital image processing CNS DEPARTMENT COURSE OFFERINGS CAS CN500 Computational Methods in Cognitive and Neural Systems CAS CN510 Principles and Methods of Cognitive and Neural Modeling I CAS CN520 Principles and Methods of Cognitive and Neural Modeling II CAS CN530 Neural and Computational Models of Vision CAS CN540 Neural and Computational Models of Adaptive Movement Planning and Control CAS CN550 Neural and Computational Models of Recognition, Memory and Attention CAS CN560 Neural and Computational Models of Speech Perception and Production CAS CN570 Neural and Computational Models of Conditioning, Reinforcement, Motivation and Rhythm CAS CN580 Introduction to Computational Neuroscience GRS CN700 Computational and Mathematical Methods in Neural Modeling GRS CN720 Neural and Computational Models of Planning and Temporal Structure in Behavior GRS CN730 Models of Visual Perception GRS CN740 Topics in Sensory-Motor Control GRS CN750 Comparative Analysis of Learning Systems (new course) GRS CN760 Topics in Speech Perception and Recognition GRS CN780 Topics in Computational Neuroscience GRS CN810 Topics in Cognitive and Neural Systems: Visual Event Perception GRS CN811 Topics in Cognitive and Neural Systems: Visual Perception GRS CN911,912 Research in Neural Networks for Adaptive Pattern Recognition GRS CN915,916 Research in Neural Networks for Vision and Image Processing GRS CN921,922 Research in Neural Networks for Speech and Language Processing GRS CN925,926 Research in Neural Networks for Adaptive Sensory-Motor Planning and Control GRS CN931,932 Research in Neural Networks for Conditioning and Reinforcement Learning GRS CN935,936 Research in Neural Networks for Cognitive Information Processing GRS CN941,942 Research in Nonlinear Dynamics of Neural Networks GRS CN945,946 Research in Technological Applications of Neural Networks GRS CN951,952 Research in Hardware Implementations of Neural Networks CNS students also take a wide variety of courses in related departments. In addition, students participate in a weekly colloquium series, an informal lecture series, and student-run special interest groups, and attend lectures and meetings throughout the Boston area; and advanced students work in small research groups. LABORATORY AND COMPUTER FACILITIES The department is funded by fellowships, grants, and contracts from federal agencies and private foundations that support research in life sciences, mathematics, artificial intelligence, and engineering. Facilities include laboratories for experimental research and computational modeling in visual perception; audition, speech and language processing; sensory-motor control and robotics; and technology transfer. Data analysis and numerical simulations are carried out on a state-of-the-art computer network comprised of Sun workstations, Silicon Graphics workstations, Macintoshes, and PCs. A PC farm running Linux operating systems is available as a distributed computational environment. All students have access to X-terminals or UNIX workstation consoles, a selection of color systems and PCs, a network of SGI machines, and standard modeling and mathematical simulation packages such as Mathematica, VisSim, Khoros, and Matlab. The department maintains a core collection of books and journals, and has access both to the Boston University libraries and to the many other collections of the Boston Library Consortium. In addition, several specialized facilities and software are available for use. These include: Active Perception Laboratory The Active Perception Laboratory is dedicated to the investigation of the interactions between perception and behavior. Research focuses on the theoretical and computational analyses of the effects of motor behavior on sensory perception, the coupling of models of neuronal systems with robotic systems, and the design of psychophysical experiments with human subjects. The Active Perception Laboratory includes extensive computational facilities that allow the execution of large-scale simulations of neural systems. Additional facilities include instruments for the psychophysical investigation of eye movements during visual analysis, including an accurate and non-invasive eye tracker, and robotic systems for the simulation of different types of behavior. Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory The Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory in the Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems (CNS) is equipped to perform both traditional psychoacoustic experiments as well as experiments using interactive auditory virtual-reality stimuli. The laboratory contains approximately eight PCs (running Windows 98 and/or Linux), used both as workstations for students and to control laboratory equipment and run experiments. The other major equipment in the laboratory includes special-purpose signal processing and sound generating equipment from Tucker-Davis Technologies, electromagnetic head tracking systems, a two-channel spectrum analyzer, and other miscellaneous equipment for producing, measuring, analyzing, and monitoring auditory stimuli. The Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory consists of three adjacent rooms in the basement of 677 Beacon Street (the home of the CNS Department). One room houses an 8 ft. x 8 ft. single-walled sound-treated booth as well as space for students. The second room is primarily used as student workspace for developing and debugging experiments. The third space houses a robotic arm, capable of automatically positioning a small acoustic speaker anywhere on the surface of a sphere of adjustable radius, allowing automatic measurement of the signals reaching the ears of a listener for a sound source from different positions in space, including the effects of room reverberation. Computer Vision/Computational Neuroscience Laboratory The Computer Vision/Computational Neuroscience Laboratory is comprised of an electronics workshop, including a surface-mount workstation, PCD fabrication tools, and an Alterra EPLD design system; an active vision laboratory including actuators and video hardware; and systems for computer aided neuroanatomy and application of computer graphics and image processing to brain sections and MRI images. The laboratory supports research in the areas of neural modeling, computational neuroscience, computer vision and robotics. The major question being address is the nature of representation of the visual world in the brain, in terms of observable neural architectures such as topographic mapping and columnar architecture. The application of novel architectures for image processing for computer vision and robotics is also a major topic of interest. Recent work in this area has included the design and patenting of novel actuators for robotic active vision systems, the design of real-time algorithms for use in mobile robotic applications, and the design and construction of miniature autonomous vehicles using space-variant active vision design principles. Recently one such vehicle has successfully driven itself on the streets of Boston. Sensory-Motor Control Laboratory The Sensory-Motor Control Laboratory supports experimental and computational studies of sensory-motor control. A computer controlled infrared WatSmart system allows measurement of large-scale (e.g. reaching) movements, and a pressure-sensitive graphics tablet allows studies of handwriting and other fine-scale movements. A second major component is a helmet-mounted, video-based, eye-head tracking system (ISCAN Corp, 1997). The latter's camera samples eye position at 240Hz and also allows reconstruction of what subjects are attending to as they freely scan a scene under normal lighting. Thus the system affords a wide range of visuo-motor studies. The laboratory is connected to the department's extensive network of Linux and Windows workstations and Linux computational servers. Speech and Language Laboratory The Speech Laboratory includes facilities for analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog software conversion. Ariel equipment allows reliable synthesis and playback of speech waveforms. An Entropic signal-processing package provides facilities for detailed analysis, filtering, spectral construction, and formant tracking of the speech waveform. Various large databases, such as TIMIT and TIdigits, are available for testing algorithms of speech recognition. The laboratory also contains a network of Windows-based PC computers equipped with software for the analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, including region-of-interest (ROI) based analyses involving software for the parcellation of cortical and subcortical brain regions in structural MRI images. Technology Laboratory The Technology Laboratory fosters the development of neural network models derived from basic scientific research and facilitates the transition of the resulting technologies to software and applications. The Lab was established in July 2001, with a grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research: "Information Fusion for Image Analysis: Neural Models and Technology Development." Initial projects have focused on multi-level fusion and data mining in a geospatial context, in collaboration with the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing. This research and development has built on models of opponent-color visual processing, boundary contour system (BCS) and texture processing, and Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) pattern learning and recognition, as well as other models of associative learning and prediction. Other projects include collaborations with the New England Medical Center and Boston Medical Center, to develop methods for analysis of large-scale medical databases, currently to predict HIV resistance to antiretroviral therapy. Associated basic research projects are conducted within the joint context of scientific data and technological constraints. Visual Psychophysics Laboratory The Visual Psychophysics Laboratory occupies an 800-square-foot suite, including three dedicated rooms for data collection, and houses a variety of computer controlled display platforms, including Macintosh, Windows and Linux workstations. Ancillary resources for visual psychophysics include a computer-controlled video camera, stereo viewing devices, a photometer, and a variety of display-generation, data-collection, and data-analysis software. Affiliated Laboratories Affiliated CAS/CNS faculty members have additional laboratories ranging from visual and auditory psychophysics and neurophysiology, anatomy, and neuropsychology to engineering and chip design. These facilities are used in the context of faculty/student collaborations. ******************************************************************* DEPARTMENT OF COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS GRADUATE TRAINING ANNOUNCEMENT Boston University 677 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02215 Phone: 617/353-9481 Fax: 617/353-7755 Email: inquiries at cns.bu.edu Web: http://cns.bu.edu/ ******************************************************************* From Dave_Touretzky at cs.cmu.edu Fri Dec 3 02:36:13 2004 From: Dave_Touretzky at cs.cmu.edu (Dave_Touretzky@cs.cmu.edu) Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 02:36:13 -0500 Subject: Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition: doctoral training program Message-ID: <30051.1102059373@ammon.boltz.cs.cmu.edu> Graduate Training with the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition The Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition offers an interdisciplinary doctoral training program operated jointly with nine affiliated PhD programs at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Detailed information about this program is available on our web site at http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu The Center is dedicated to the study of the neural basis of cognitive processes including learning and memory, language and thought, perception, attention, and planning; to the study of the development of the neural substrate of these processes; to the study of disorders of these processes and their underlying neuropathology; and to the promotion of applications of the results of these studies to artificial intelligence, robotics, and medicine. CNBC students have access to some of the finest facilities for cognitive neuroscience research in the world: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners for functional brain imaging, neurophysiology laboratories for recording from brain slices and from anesthetized or awake, behaving animals, electron and confocal microscopes for structural imaging, high performance computing facilities including an in-house supercomputer for neural modeling and image analysis, and patient populations for neuropsychological studies. Students are admitted jointly to a home department and the CNBC Training Program. Applications are encouraged from students with interests in biology, neuroscience, psychology, engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science, statistics, or robotics. For more information about the program, and to obtain application materials, visit our web site at www.cnbc.cmu.edu, or contact us at the following address: Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition 115 Mellon Institute 4400 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Tel. (412) 268-4000. Fax: (412) 268-5060 email: cnbc-admissions at cnbc.cmu.edu Web: http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu The affiliated PhD programs at the two universities are: Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburgh Biological Sciences Mathematics Computer Science Neuroscience Computational & Statistical Psychology Learning Psychology Robotics Statistics The CNBC training faculty includes: Eric Ahrens (CMU Biology): MRI studies of the vertebrate nervous system John Anderson (CMU Psychology): models of human cognition Susan Amara (Pitt Neurobiology): neurotransmitter transport and binding German Barrionuevo (Pitt Neuroscience): hippocampus and prefrontal cortex Alison Barth (CMU Biology): molecular basis of plasticity in neocortex Marlene Behrmann (CMU Psychology): spatial representations in parietal cortex Guoqiang Bi (Pitt Neurocience): activity-dependent synaptic modification J. Patrick Card (Pitt Neuroscience): transneuronal tracing of neural circuits Pat Carpenter (CMU Psychology): mental imagery, language, and problem solving Carol Colby (Pitt Neuroscience): spatial reps. in primate parietal cortex Justin Crowley (CMU Biology): development of visual cortex Steve DeKosky (Pitt Neurobiology): neurodegenerative human disease William Eddy (CMU Statistics): analysis of fMRI data Bard Ermentrout (Pitt Mathematics): oscillations in neural systems Julie Fiez (Pitt Psychology): fMRI studies of language Neeraj Gandhi (Pitt Neuroscience): neural control of movement Chris Genovese (CMU Statistics): making inferences from scientific data Lori Holt (CMU Psychology): mechanisms of auditory and speech perception John Horn (Pitt Neurobiology): synaptic plasticity in autonomic ganglia Satish Iyengar (Pitt Statistics): spike train data analsysis Jon Johnson (Pitt Neuroscience): ligand-gated ion channels; NMDA receptor Marcel Just (CMU Psychology): visual thinking, language comprehension Karl Kandler (Pitt Neurobiology): neural development; inhibitory pathways Robert Kass (CMU Statistics): transmission of info. by collections of neurons Seog-Gi Kim (Pitt Neurobiology): technology and biophysics of fMRI Roberta Klatzky (CMU Psychology): human perception and cognition Richard Koerber (Pitt Neurobiology): devel. and plasticity of spinal networks Tai Sing Lee (CMU Comp. Sci.): primate visual cortex; computer vision Michael Lewicki (CMU Comp. Sci.): learning and representation David Lewis (Pitt Neuroscience): anatomy of frontal cortex Beatriz Luna (Pitt Pschology): developmental psychology and fMRI Brian MacWhinney (CMU Psychology): models of language acquisition Yoky Matsuoka (CMU Robotics): human motor control and motor learning James McClelland (CMU Psychology): connectionist models of cognition Nancy Minshew (Pitt Neurobiology): cognitive and neural basis of autism Tom Mitchell (CMU Comp. Sci.): machine learning with application to fMRI Bita Moghaddam (Pitt Neuroscience): prefrontal cortex and psychiatric disorders Paula Monaghan-Nichols (Pitt Neurobiology): genetic analysis of verteb. CNS devel. Carl Olson (CNBC): spatial representations in primate frontal cortex Charles Perfetti (Pitt Psychology): language and reading processes David Plaut (CMU Psychology): connectionist models of reading Michael Pogue-Geile (Pitt Psychology): development of schizophrenia Lynne Reder (CMU Psychology): models of memory and cognitive processing Erik Reichle (Pitt Psychology): attention and eye movements in reading Jonathan Rubin (Pitt Mathematics): analysis of systems of coupled neurons Walter Schneider (Pitt Psych.): fMRI, models of attention & skill acquisition Andrew Schwartz (Pitt Bioengineering): motor control, neural prostheses Susan Sesack (Pitt Neuroscience): anatomy of the dopaminergic system Greg Siegle (Pitt Psychology): emotion and cognition; cognitive modeling Dan Simons (Pitt Neurobiology): sensory physiology of the cerebral cortex Marc Sommer (Pitt Neuroscience): neural circuitry controlling eye movements Peter Strick (Pitt Neurobiology): motor control; basal ganglia and cerebellum Floh Thiels (Pitt Neurosicence): LTP and LTD in hippocampus Erik Thiessen (Pitt Psychology): child language development David Touretzky (CMU Comp. Sci.): hippocampal modeling, cognitive robotics Nathan Urban (CMU Bioogy): circuitry of the olfactory bulb Valerie Ventura (CMU Statistics): structure of neural firing patterns Mark Wheeler (Pitt Psychology): fMRI studies of memory and cognition Nick Yeung (CMU Psychology): neural mechanisms of attention Please see http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu for further details. From dirk at bioss.sari.ac.uk Fri Dec 3 12:39:58 2004 From: dirk at bioss.sari.ac.uk (Dirk Husmeier) Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 17:39:58 +0000 Subject: Postdoctoral Researcher in Computational Systems Biology Message-ID: <41B0A4EE.D943899C@bioss.ac.uk> ====================================================================== Postdoctoral Researcher in Computational Systems Biology Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS), Edinburgh, UK ====================================================================== Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS) at Edinburgh (UK) is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Computational Systems Biology, which is funded by the Scottish Environmental and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD). The objective of this project is to use machine learning and bioinformatics approaches to infer hypothetical genetic networks in potato-Eca and cattle respiratory tract-Pm interactions from gene expression microarray and proteomic data. This is an exciting opportunity to join a multidisciplinary team integrating post-genomic approaches with computational biology and probabilistic modelling to investigate the complex and dynamic exchanges of signals influencing regulatory networks and biochemical pathways in bacterial pathogen-host interactions. The team will be established as part of a SEERAD-funded initiative on systems biology and will join established research groups at three Scottish Institutions. The focus will be on two pathosystems: potato- Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica (Eca) and cattle respiratory tract- Pasteurella multocida (Pm). We are looking for a highly qualified and strongly motivated candidate with experience in machine learning, computer simulations, statistics and programming. Candidates should have a good degree in mathematics, physics, computer science, or a related discipline, and relevant postgraduate experience (PhD preferred). They should also demonstrate an active interest in molecular biology. Further information is available from http://www.bioss.sari.ac.uk/appointments/newpost1.html The appointment is for a period of 3 years and will be based at BioSS Edinburgh. Starting salary will be in the range 21,700 - 25,200. Application forms or CVs (including names of 3 referees) to: Administrative Officer, BioSS, The King's Buildings (JCMB), Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ ( betty at bioss.ac.uk). Closing date: 19 December 2004. -- Dirk Husmeier Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland (BioSS) JCMB, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, United Kingdom http://www.bioss.sari.ac.uk/~dirk From anderson at CS.ColoState.EDU Fri Dec 3 17:09:29 2004 From: anderson at CS.ColoState.EDU (Chuck Anderson) Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 15:09:29 -0700 Subject: faculty position Message-ID: <41B0E419.2070800@cs.colostate.edu> The Department of Computer Science at Colorado State University has an open tenure-track faculty position, advertised at http://www.cs.colostate.edu Our department has a strong AI group with active research in areas of interest to readers of this list including: - modeling EEG for studies of cognitive development and for brain-computer interfaces, - models of human visual system, - neural models of oscillations in hippocampus, - face recognition, - reinforcement learning, - genetic algorithms. ------------------------- Chuck Anderson Dept. of Computer Science Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado From manfred at cse.ucsc.edu Sat Dec 4 00:00:37 2004 From: manfred at cse.ucsc.edu (Manfred Warmuth) Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2004 21:00:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: ML position in Santa Cruz Message-ID: We have a Machine Learning position at Computer Science Department of the Univ. of Calif. at Santa Cruz (at the assistant, associate or full professor level). Current faculty members in related areas: Machine Learning: DAVID HELMBOLD and MANFRED WARMUTH Artificial Intelligence: BOB LEVINSON DAVID HAUSSLER was one of the main ML researchers in our department. He now has launched the new Biomolecular Engineering department at Santa Cruz There is considerable synergy for Machine Learning at Santa Cruz: - New department of Applied Math and Statistics with an emphasis on Bayesian Methods http://www.ams.ucsc.edu/ - New department of Biomolecular Engineering http://www.cbse.ucsc.edu/ - Closeness to Silicon Valley - Pretty good track record for research in Machine Learning, especially in the COLT community We are looking for people in all areas of Machine Learning that complement the existing expertise in Santa Cruz The DEADLINE for the applications is Jan 10 Contact Manfred Warmuth or David Helmbold if you have any questions David will also be at NIPS. Manfred will be traveling till the end of Dec. For details see: http://www.cse.ucsc.edu/jobs/faculty/cs/710-05.html From gary at cs.ucsd.edu Fri Dec 3 12:42:30 2004 From: gary at cs.ucsd.edu (Garrison Cottrell) Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2004 09:42:30 -0800 Subject: Predoctoral fellowships available at UCSD In-Reply-To: <200401162345.i0GNj0T11120@fast.ucsd.edu> References: <200401162345.i0GNj0T11120@fast.ucsd.edu> Message-ID: APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 14, 2005 Vision and Learning in Humans and Machines IGERT Program http://www.cse.ucsd.edu/groups/igert/ Department of Computer Science and Engineering University of California, San Diego The Vision and Learning IGERT program is pleased to announce that predoctoral training fellowships are available for incoming Ph.D. students and existing UCSD Ph.D. students. Prospective Ph.D. students must apply to a home department concurrently with applying for this fellowship. The fellowships are supported by the National Science Foundation's IGERT program (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training) and provide an annual stipend of $30,000 plus the payment of tuition and fees. The fellowship is for a twelve-month period and renewable for an additional year. NSF requires that candidates be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. The Vision and Learning IGERT program is for students who have an interdisciplinary interest in the areas of human vision, computer vision, human learning, and machine learning. Our goal is to train a new generation of scientists and engineers who are as versed in the mathematical and physical foundations of computer vision and computational learning as they are in the biological and psychological basis of natural vision and learning. Candidates from a wide range of backgrounds are invited to apply, including, but not limited to, Computer Science and Engineering, Cognitive Science, Psychology and Neuroscience. We currently have sixteen fellows and 21 faculty affiliated with the program, representing numerous academic departments and research institutes, both on and off campus. Participating Faculty include: Gary Cottrell, Computer Science and Engineering (PI) Geoff Boynton, Salk Institute (Co-PI) Virginia de Sa, Cognitive Science (Co-PI) Karen Dobkins, Psychology (Co-PI) David Kriegman, Computer Science and Engineering (Co-PI) Thomas Albright, Salk Institute Marian Stewart Bartlett, Institute for Neural Computation Serge Belongie, Computer Science and Engineering Leslie Carver, Psychology and Human Development Program Sanjoy Dasgupta, Computer Science and Engineering Gedeon Deak, Cognitive Science and Human Development Program Charles Elkan Computer Science and Engineering Ione Fine, Psychology Donald MacLeod, Psychology Javier Movellan, Institute for Neural Computation Vilayanur Ramachandran, Psychology Martin Sereno, Cognitive Science Joan Stiles, Cognitive Science and Human Development Program Emmanuel Todorov, Cognitive Science Jochen Triesch, Cognitive Science Application information is available on our web site at http://www.cse.ucsd.edu/groups/igert/2005_igert_application.htm The deadline for completed application materials, including letters of recommendation, is January 14, 2005. For more information about applying to the Vision and Learning IGERT program, please contact Andrew Kovacevic at alk at cs.ucsd.edu. From antoni.guillamon at upc.edu Fri Dec 3 13:32:51 2004 From: antoni.guillamon at upc.edu (Toni Guillamon) Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 19:32:51 +0100 Subject: Course on Mathematical Neuroscience in Barcelona, March 7-11, 2005 Message-ID: <41B0B153.4050403@upc.edu> Dear colleagues. Our apologies if you receive this message more than once. From H.Bowman at kent.ac.uk Mon Dec 6 09:02:05 2004 From: H.Bowman at kent.ac.uk (H. Bowman) Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2004 14:02:05 +0000 Subject: Advanced Fellowship in Cognitive Science at Univ of Kent Message-ID: <41B4665D.6000108@kent.ac.uk> ====================================================================== Academic Fellowship in Cognitive Science and Robotics in the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems at Kent and the Computing Laboratory at Kent ====================================================================== The Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems (CCNCS) at Kent is seeking to appoint an Advanced Fellow in Cognitive Science and Robotics, which is funded by Research Councils UK. The CCNCS is a cross-disciplinary research initiative at the junction of Cognitive Psychology and the Computational Sciences, which brings together a broad spectrum of techniques spanning a number of disciplines, including behavioural and electrophysiological experimentation, the construction of computational models and development of cognitive systems. The successful candidate will join the Computing Laboratory arm of the CCNCS. The CCNCS contains a number of ongoing research programmes including, an exploration of salience sensitive control in humans and artificial systems; development activities focused on human computer interaction and affective computing; empirical and computational studies of emotions, attention and addictive behaviour; investigations of face recognition and forensic imaging; (body-state and cognition inspired) embodied robotics research; language research focused on cross-linguistic and morphological influences; and theoretical and applied memory research. The Centre also offers a broad spectrum of supporting infrastructure including, electrophysiological and physiological recording equipment, a robotics laboratory, and state of the art human computer interaction technology. The following are relevant websites, The CCNCS: http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/projects/cncs. Howard Bowman (Director of the CCNCS): http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/people/staff/hb5. The appointment is at the postdoctoral level. Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the research, a suitable candidate could have studied in any of the following areas: Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Electronics or Physics. Most importantly, though, we seek an applicant who is open to cross-disciplinary influences. The following skills are all relevant to the position; please note: due to the diverse nature of this skill set, candidates should by no means expect to possess all these capabilities. Experience of electrophysiological recording techniques: EEG and ERP. Knowledge of robotics. Research expertise in human computer interaction. A background in experimental research. Experience of computational modelling of cognition using neural networks, connectionism or symbolic approaches. The Centre is particularly keen to progress its research programme in electrophysiological recording. We would welcome applications from candidates who are able to bring existing research funding, although candidates with relevant qualifications and experience will also be considered. Candidates who already have, or have been promised, a permanent position are considered to have achieved the aims of the Academic Fellowship Scheme and are not able to apply. Further details of the scheme are available at http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/acfellow/. The Academic Fellowship appointment is for five years and will lead to a permanent academic position in the Computing Laboratory at the end of the five-year period, subject to satisfactory completion of probation. Potential applicants are encouraged to contact the Head of Department, Professor Simon Thompson, S.J.Thompson at kent.ac.uk for an informal discussion. General information about the Computing Laboratory is available at http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/. Further particulars for the position are available at the following web-site, http://www.kent.ac.uk/registry/personnel/vacancies/research.html#r050910. Closing date for the receipt of applications: 12 noon, Friday, 10 December 2004. From cns at www.cnsorg.org Mon Dec 6 11:09:06 2004 From: cns at www.cnsorg.org (CNS) Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2004 09:09:06 -0700 Subject: FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS, CNS*2005 Message-ID: <20041206160151.M5044@www.cnsorg.org> CALL FOR PAPERS, CNS*2005: SUBMISSION DEADLINE: February 1, 2005 midnight NOTE: New submission procedure this year Fourteenth Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting CNS*2005 July 17 - July 21, 2005 Madison, Wisconsin, USA www.cnsorg.org CNS*2005 will be held in Madison Wisconsin from Saturday, July 17 to Wednesday, July 21, 2005. The main meeting will be July 17-19 followed by two days of workshops on July 20 and 21. Submissions can include experimental, model-based, as well as more abstract theoretical approaches to understanding neurobiological computation. We especially encourage research that mixes experimental and theoretical studies. We also accept papers that describe new technical approaches to theoretical and experimental issues in computational neuroscience or relevant software packages. INVITED SPEAKERS: Michael Hasselmo (Boston University) Lucia Jacobs (UC Berkeley) Gyorgy Buszaki (Rutgers University) Submissions to the meeting will take the form of a 3-page summary describing the nature and scope of the work, and outlining the main results. Details regarding formatting of submissions will be posted at www.cnsorg.org. These summaries will be reviewed by the program committee and used determine acceptance for presentation at the meeting as well as to construct the oral program. Authors will also be asked to submit a standard abstract for printing in the program book. All submissions will be acknowledged by email. THE REVIEW PROCESS Summaries will be judged and accepted for the meeting based on the clarity with which the work is described and the biological relevance of the research. For this reason authors should be careful to make the connection to biology clear. CNS strongly believes in the open exchange of ideas and we reject only a small fraction of submissions (~5%). Rejections are usually based on absence of biological relevance (e.g. pure machine learning). We will notify authors of meeting acceptance by April 1. All acceptable summaries will be reviewed by two independent referees, and the oral program of the meeting will constructed based on these reviews. Most oral presentations will be 20 minutes in length, but several papers will be selected for longer =91featured oral=92 presentations. In addition to perceived quality as an oral presentation, the novelty of the research and the diversity and coherence of the overall program will be considered. To ensure diversity, those who have given talks in the recent past will not be selected and multiple oral presentations from the same lab will be discouraged. All accepted papers not selected for oral talks may be presented during evening poster sessions. Authors will be notified of the presentation format of their papers by the end of April. PROCEEDINGS AND PUBLICATION In the past, the proceedings of the meeting were published as a special supplement to the journal Neurocomputing. The same review process was used to determine the program acceptance in the journal. This year, the proceedings of the meeting will take the form of electronic publication of all 3-page summaries of work presented at the meeting. A separate review process will be used for those electing for post-meeting journal publication. Authors wishing to submit their work for peer-reviewed publication in Neurocomputing will be required to submit complete 6-page papers by May 2nd. Manuscripts will be reviewed according to the usual standards for journal publication. Authors will notification of submission status (accept, reject, revise) and receive reviewer comments by the end of June, several weeks before the meeting. Authors will then have until September 15 to submit revised manuscripts. Final notification of acceptance based on these revisions will be sent by October 15. Detailed instructions to authors will be posted at www.cnsorg.org. -- CNS - Organization for Computational Neurosciences From bower at uthscsa.edu Tue Dec 7 15:09:30 2004 From: bower at uthscsa.edu (james Bower) Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2004 14:09:30 -0600 Subject: Spring Meeting on Realistic Modeling in Biology Message-ID: ************************************************************************** Registration is now open for WAM-BAMM*05 at http://www.WAM-BAMM.org Travel grants are available for students presenting papers through support provided by the National Institutes of Health and Mental Health The first annual meeting of the World Association of Modelers (WAM) Biologically Accurate Modeling Meeting (BAMM), in association with the second GENESIS Users Meeting GUM*05 will be held March 31st - April 2nd in beautiful San Antonio, Texas. The meeting will promote communication and collaboration between users and others involved in realistic biological modeling and is also designed to provide an introduction to other interested scientists. All computational biologists, not only those using GENESIS, or doing neural modeling, are invited to present scientific as well as technical work. Subjects considered: Modeling techniques, simulator design, modeling results, modeling inspired biological experimentation, and world modeling community coordination. THE PROGRAM The meeting will combine introductory, intermediate, and advanced tutorials in realistic modeling techniques as well as a full agenda of scientific presentations. Tutorials: David Beeman, University of Colorado Boulder: "Introduction to Realistic Neural Modeling" Michael Hines, Yale University: The NEURON simulator - Recent Developments Dieter Jaeger, Emory University: From experiment to simulation - a modeling case study using the deep cerebellar nucleus neuron. Jeremy Edgerton, Emory University: Controlling complex synaptic input patterns to single cell models without a network simulation. Avrama Blackwell, George Mason University: Modeling Calcium and Biochemical Reactions. Michael Vanier, Caltech: Constructing large networks in GENESIS. Michael Vanier, Caltech: Parameter Searching tools in GENESIS Greg Hood, CMU: Parallel (P-) GENESIS its use and applications. Sharon Crook, Arizona State University: XML for model specification Padraig Gleeson, University College London: Building 3D network models with neuroConstruct. Presented and Invited Talks: Friday and Saturday will be devoted to oral and poster presentations by meeting participants and invited speakers. For additional meeting information please visit http://www.wam-bamm.org. Important Dates: --------------- Deadline for proposed research presentations: January 15, 2005 Submission form is available on the WAM-BAMM web site: www.wam-bamm.org Student registration deadline for travel grants: February 1, 2005 Funding is available for student travel grants. (see web site). Deadline for early registration: February 1, 2005 Advanced registration $ 99 for graduate students, $ 149 for all others (30% increase after deadline) Deadline for guaranteed housing at the conference rate: March 1, 2005 The meeting will be held at the historic Menger Hotel in Downtown San Antonio, next to the Alamo and the famous San Antonio River Walk. Room rates $109 (single or double), $ 119 (3-4). Arrival date for the meeting: March 30th, 2005 The famous WAM-BAM Banquet, Rodeo, and Blue Bonnet Festival: Saturday, April 2, 2005 Depart from San Antonio: April 3, 2005 More information on WAM-BAM can be found at www.wam-bamm.org, or by contacting us at wam-bamm at wam-bamm.org. James M. Bower David Beeman -- James M. Bower Ph.D. Research Imaging Center University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio 7703 Floyd Curl Drive San Antonio, TX 78284-6240 Cajal Neuroscience Center University of Texas San Antonio Phone: 210 567 8080 Fax: 210 567 8152 From miguel at cse.ogi.edu Tue Dec 7 15:58:14 2004 From: miguel at cse.ogi.edu (Miguel A. Carreira-Perpinan) Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2004 12:58:14 -0800 Subject: PhD research assistantships in machine learning at OGI Message-ID: <16822.6502.880935.809435@turing.cse.ogi.edu> PHD RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS IN MACHINE LEARNING AT THE OREGON GRADUATE INSTITUTE *** Please forward this message to students who may be interested *** Several PhD research assistantships are available in the Adaptive Systems Laboratory (http://adsyl.cse.ogi.edu) at the OGI School of Science & Engineering. The Laboratory does research in the broad areas of machine learning, adaptive signal processing and computational neuroscience. It consists of 6 core faculty members, 3 postdocs, 7 PhD students, and several MSc students and technicians. The research interests of the core faculty are as follows: Miguel A. Carreira-Perpinan: machine learning, computational neuroscience, applications to speech processing and computer vision. http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~miguel Deniz Erdogmus: adaptive, nonlinear, and statistical signal processing, information theory, applications to biomedical engineering, communications, and control systems. http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~deniz Todd Leen: machine learning, local and mixture models, neurophysiological modeling. http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~tleen Pat Roberts (NSI): computational neuroscience. http://www.ohsu.edu/nsi/faculty/robertpa Xubo Song: image processing and analysis, statistical pattern recognition, machine learning. http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~xubosong Eric Wan: neural networks, adaptive signal processing and control. http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~ericwan The Adaptive Systems Laboratory is part of the Department of Computer Science & Electrical Engineering. Close ties exist with the nearby located Center for Spoken Language Understanding, the Center for Human Computer Communication, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering (at OGI), and the Neurological Sciences Institute and the medical school at OHSU. OGI is one of the four schools of Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). OGI is located 12 miles west of Portland, Oregon, in the heart of the Silicon Forest. Portland's extensive high-tech community, diverse cultural amenities and spectacular natural surroundings combine to make the quality of life here extraordinary. To learn more about the department, OGI, OHSU and Portland, please visit http://www.cse.ogi.edu. Applicants should have a university degree in an area such as computer science, electrical engineering, physics or mathematics, and solid mathematical and programming skills. Students with a Master's degree already completed are preferred. Background in machine learning, image/speech processing or computer vision is highly desirable. The assistantships cover tuition, a competitive stipend, and travel to research conferences. Students of any nationality may apply. To apply, please send a statement of purpose, academic transcripts (GRE and TOEFL if applicable), a CV, and a list of two references to adsyl-inquiry at cse.ogi.edu. Interviews are possible at the upcoming NIPS or AISTATS conferences. From bower at uthscsa.edu Wed Dec 8 11:32:12 2004 From: bower at uthscsa.edu (james Bower) Date: Wed, 08 Dec 2004 10:32:12 -0600 Subject: Computational Neuroscience Faculty Positions Message-ID: ************************************************************************* Tenure track Faculty Positions in Computational Neuroscience The University of Texas San Antonio The Department of Biology at the University of Texas San Antonio invites application for tenure-track/tenure positions at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor with a record of successful research on the biophysical and/or computational properties of single neurons. Preference will be given to candidates working on the structure, function, localization, regulation, and function of ion channels. We would like to specifically encourage research that involves both computational and experimental efforts. Detailed information as well as the official advertisement can be obtained from: http://www.bio.utsa.edu/facultyrec_ion.html Additional information on the growing department of Biology at UTSA can be found at: http://bio.utsa.edu/ UTSA is, of course, an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Jim Bower (P.I. new faculty development in the RCMI core) Charlie Wilson (Search Committee Chairman) -- James M. Bower Ph.D. Research Imaging Center University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio 7703 Floyd Curl Drive San Antonio, TX 78284-6240 Cajal Neuroscience Center University of Texas San Antonio Phone: 210 567 8080 Fax: 210 567 8152 From connect at schraudolph.org Thu Dec 9 04:16:38 2004 From: connect at schraudolph.org (Nic Schraudolph) Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 20:16:38 +1100 Subject: Postdoc and Ph.D. fellowships available at NICTA Message-ID: <0816D1A1-49C3-11D9-81B7-000D933C9DD8@schraudolph.org> We are looking for a postdoc and several Ph.D. students for our Advanced Nonlinear Gradient Methods (ANGie) project. ANGie will explore the potential of newly developed, highly scalable techniques for rapid online optimization with stochastic approximation of gradients, with a research agenda that includes * Machine learning algorithm development and implementation; * Mathematical and empirical analysis of convergence and stability; * Applications in adaptive signal processing (robotics, computer vision); and * Development of software tools (visual programming, algorithmic differentiation). The successful postdoctoral candidate should combine excellent programming skills (C++, Python, etc.) with a solid background in machine learning, linear algebra, and optimization, experience with scientific and numerical libraries (e.g., ATLAS), a track record in relevant research, and the ability to work independently and to lead and supervise a team of Ph.D. students. The initial appointment is for two years, with possibility of renewal.?Remuneration is internationally competitive. Doctoral candidates should have completed their undergraduate studies in a relevant field with an excellent track record, and be highly motivated to acquire the above skills in a top-notch research environment.?They will enroll in a Ph.D. program of the Australian National University (ANU), one of the world?s top 10 universities outside the United States. Both NICTA and ANU offer attractive scholarships for highly qualified Ph.D. candidates. NICTA (www.nicta.com.au) is Australia?s national center of excellence for information and communication technologies. NICTA?s Statistical Machine Learning (SML) group, located on the ANU campus in Canberra, is best known for its world-class expertise in kernel methods, and is now developing stochastic gradient methods, graphical models, and bioinformatics as additional focus areas. Canberra, the national capital, is a city of lakes, parks, trees, and bicycle paths, enjoying a sunny mountain climate less than two hours? drive from some of Australia?s finest beaches. If you are interested, and coming to NIPS, please get in touch with Alex Smola (alex.smola at nicta.com.au) to arrange a meeting there. Feel free to contact me for more information about the ANGie project. -- Dr. Nicol Schraudolph mobile: +61-404-782-061 National ICT Australia home: -2-6161-5687 RSISE, bldg. 115, room B148 work: -6125-1552 Australian National University fax: -8645 Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia http://n.schraudolph.org/ From Alain.Destexhe at iaf.cnrs-gif.fr Thu Dec 9 05:35:11 2004 From: Alain.Destexhe at iaf.cnrs-gif.fr (Alain Destexhe) Date: Thu, 09 Dec 2004 11:35:11 +0100 Subject: Advanced Course in Computational Neuroscience 2005 - first announcement Message-ID: <41B82A5F.A07AA22@iaf.cnrs-gif.fr> Dear Colleagues, Please forward the announcement for the "Advanced Course in Computational Neuroscience". This annual course was previously held in Crete (1996-1998), Trieste (1999-2001) and Obidos (2002-2004), and is now moving to Arcachon (France). Another announcement with the final list of speakers will follow in a few weeks. best wishes, Alain -- Alain Destexhe Integrative and Computational Neuroscience Unit (UNIC), CNRS, 1 Avenue de la Terrasse (BAT 33), 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France Tel: 33-1-69-82-34-35 Fax: 33-1-69-82-34-27 URL: http://cns.iaf.cnrs-gif.fr ---------------------------------------------------------- ADVANCED COURSE IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE (AN IBRO/FENS NEUROSCIENCE SCHOOL) August 1st - 26th, 2005 MUNICIPALITY OF ARCACHON, FRANCE DIRECTORS: Ad Aertsen (University of Freiburg, Germany) Peter Dayan (University College London, UK) Alain Destexhe (CNRS, Gif-sur-Yvette, France) Israel Nelken (Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel) LOCAL ORGANIZER: Gwen LeMasson (University of Bordeaux, France) The Advanced Course in Computational Neuroscience introduces students to the panoply of problems and methods of computational neuroscience, addressing issues of neural organization from sub-cellular to network and inter-areal levels. The course has two complementary parts. Mornings are devoted to lectures given by distinguished international faculty on topics across the breadth of experimental and computational neuroscience. During the rest of the day, students are given practical training in the art and practice of neural modeling, largely through the medium of their individual choice of model systems. The first week of the course introduces students to essential neurobiological concepts and to the most important techniques in modelling single cells, networks and neural systems. Students learn how to solve their research problems using software packages such as GENESIS, MATLAB, NEST, NEURON, XPP, etc. During the following three weeks the lectures cover specific brain areas and functions. Topics range from modelling single cells and subcellular processes through the simulation of simple circuits, large neuronal networks and system level models of the brain. The course ends with project presentations by the students. The Advanced Course in Computational Neuroscience is designed for advanced graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in a variety of disciplines, including neuroscience, physics, electrical engineering, computer science, mathematics and psychology. Students are expected to have a keen interest and basic background in neurobiology as well as some computer experience. Students of any nationality can apply. A maximum of 30 students will be accepted. There will be a fee of EUR 500,- per student covering costs for lodging, meals and other course expenses. Depending on funding, there will be a limited number of tuition fee waivers and travel stipends available for students who need financial help for attending the course. We specifically encourage applications from researchers who work in the developing world. We have received IBRO funding to provide full travel and fee support for 4-5 students from developing countries. These students will be selected following the normal submission procedure. Applications, including a description of the target project must be submitted electronically (see below) and should be accompanied by two letters of recommendation (also sent electronically). Applications will be assessed by a committee, with selection being based on the following criteria: the scientific quality of the candidate (CV) and of the project, the recommendation letters, and evidence that the course affords substantial benefit to the candidate's training. More information and application forms can be obtained from: http://www.neuroinf.org/courses/EUCOURSE/EU05 Please apply electronically using a web browser. Contact address: - mail: Florence Dancoisne, Center for Neural Dynamics Freiburg (CNDF) Institute of Biology III Albert-Ludwigs-University Schaenzlestrasse 1 D-79104 Freiburg, Germany - e-mail: florence at cndf.uni-freiburg.de APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 1st, 2005 DEADLINE FOR LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION: April 1st, 2005 Applicants will be notified of the results of the selection procedures by end of April 2005. INVITED FACULTY (most of them are confirmed): L Abbott (Brandeis University, USA) A Aertsen (Freiburg University, Germany) A Arieli (Weizmann Institute, Israel) N Brunel (CNRS Paris, France) P Dayan (University College London, UK) E De Schutter (University of Antwerp, Belgium) A Destexhe (CNRS Gif-sur-Yvette, France) M Diesmann (Freiburg University, Germany) Y Fregnac (CNRS Gif-sur-Yvette, France) B Grothe (University of Munchen, Germany) M Hines, (Yale University, USA) H Kuntz (Hebrew University, Israel) G Laurent (California Institute of Technology, USA) G LeMasson (University of Bordeaux, France) RR Llinas (New York University, USA) R Malach (Weizmann Institute, Israel) I Nelken (Hebrew University, Israel) M Nicolelis, Duke University, USA A Riehle (CNRS Marseille, France) J Rinzel (New York University, USA) A Roth (University College London, UK) M Rudolph (CNRS Gif-sur-Yvette, France) I Segev (Hebrew University, Israel) T Tezlaff (Freiburg University, Germany) AM Thomson (University College London, UK) AE Tobin (Emory University, USA) E Vaadia (Hebrew University, Israel) C van Vreeswijk (CNRS Paris, France) L Zhaoping (University College London, UK) From cindy at bu.edu Thu Dec 9 10:57:12 2004 From: cindy at bu.edu (Cynthia Bradford) Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 10:57:12 -0500 Subject: Neural Networks 18(1) Message-ID: <05b901c4de07$bf3d27d0$903dc580@cnspc31> NEURAL NETWORKS 18(1) Contents - Volume 18, Number 1 - 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------ EDITORIAL: A year of exciting Special Issues! NEURAL NETWORKS REFEREES USED IN 2004 ***** Psychology and Cognitive Science ***** Nonlinearity of the population activity to transparent motion Osamu Watanabe and Masayuki Kikuchi Use of non-uniform spatial blur for image comparison: Symmetry axis extraction Kunihiko Fukushima ***** Mathematical and Computational Analysis ***** Restoring partly occluded patterns: A neural network model Kunihiko Fukushimafuku Functional multi-layer perceptron: A non-linear tool for functional data analysis Fabrice Rossi and Brieuc Conan-Guez Complex-valued neural networks for nonlinear complex principal component analysis Sanjay S.P. Rattan and William W. Hsieh Composite adaptive control with locally weighted statistical learning Jun Nakanishi, Jay A. Farrell, and Stefan Schaal Function approximation on non-Euclidean spaces Pierre Courrieu CURRENT EVENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------ Electronic access: www.elsevier.com/locate/neunet/. Individuals can look up instructions, aims & scope, see news, tables of contents, etc. Those who are at institutions which subscribe to Neural Networks get access to full article text as part of the institutional subscription. Sample copies can be requested for free and back issues can be ordered through the Elsevier customer support offices: nlinfo-f at elsevier.nl usinfo-f at elsevier.com or info at elsevier.co.jp ------------------------------ INNS/ENNS/JNNS Membership includes a subscription to Neural Networks: The International (INNS), European (ENNS), and Japanese (JNNS) Neural Network Societies are associations of scientists, engineers, students, and others seeking to learn about and advance the understanding of the modeling of behavioral and brain processes, and the application of neural modeling concepts to technological problems. Membership in any of the societies includes a subscription to Neural Networks, the official journal of the societies. Application forms should be sent to all the societies you want to apply to (for example, one as a member with subscription and the other one or two as a member without subscription). The JNNS does not accept credit cards or checks; to apply to the JNNS, send in the application form and wait for instructions about remitting payment. The ENNS accepts bank orders in Swedish Crowns (SEK) or credit cards. The INNS does not invoice for payment. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Membership Type INNS ENNS JNNS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- membership with $80 (regular) SEK 660 Y 13,000 Neural Networks (plus Y 2,000 enrollment fee) $20 (student) SEK 460 Y 11,000 (plus Y 2,000 enrollment fee) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- membership without $30 SEK 200 not available Neural Networks to non-students (subscribe through another society) Y 5,000 student (plus Y 2,000 enrollment fee) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: ______________________________________________________ Title: ______________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________ Phone: ______________________________________________________ Fax: ______________________________________________________ Email: ______________________________________________________ Payment: [ ] Check or money order enclosed, payable to INNS or ENNS OR [ ] Charge my VISA or MasterCard card number _______________________________ expiration date _____________________________ INNS Membership 7600 Terrace Avenue, Ste. 203 Middleton WI 53562 USA 608 831 0584, ext. 138 (phone) 608 831 5122 (fax) srees at reesgroupinc.com http://www.inns.org ENNS Membership University of Skovde P.O. Box 408 531 28 Skovde Sweden 46 500 44 83 37 (phone) 46 500 44 83 99 (fax) enns at ida.his.se http://www.his.se/ida/enns JNNS Membership c/o Professor Shozo Yasui Kyushu Institute of Technology Graduate School of Life Science and Engineering 2-4 Hibikino, Wakamatsu-ku Kitakyushu 808-0196 Japan 81 93 695 6108 (phone and fax) jnns at brain.kyutech.ac.jp http://www.jnns.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From workshops at www.cnsorg.org Fri Dec 10 14:42:53 2004 From: workshops at www.cnsorg.org (Boris Gutkin) Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 11:42:53 -0800 Subject: CNS*05 WORKSHOPS CALL FOR PROPOSALS Message-ID: <20041210193838.M75537@www.cnsorg.org> CALL FOR PROPOSALS: CNS*2005 Workshops/Symposia 20-21 July 2005 University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. The final two days of the CNS*2005 meeting will be devoted to workshops focusing on current issues in computational neuroscience. This year we are also considering integrating outstanding workshop proposals of general interest into the main oral program as 2 hour symposia. Workshops may take the form of 1 or 2 day mini-symposia and tutorials, in addition to the traditional informal discussions. These more formal workshops will provide an excellent opportunity for short, focused meetings on topics of particular current interest. Individual organizers are largely free to define the format and content of their workshops, provided that adequate time is reserved for discussion. The organizers of a workshop should endeavor to bring together as broad a range of pertinent viewpoints as possible. Those interested in organizing a mini-symposium or tutorial are encouraged to contact the workshops organizer, Boris Gutkin at workshops at cnsorg.org as soon as possible. Detailed instructions for submitting a workshop proposal can be found at: www.cnsorg.org Descriptions of new workshops will be added as they are accepted. Information on the CNS*2005 meeting can be obtained from the CNS Website: www.cnsorg.org From alex.smola at nicta.com.au Sat Dec 11 04:43:54 2004 From: alex.smola at nicta.com.au (Alex Smola) Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 01:43:54 -0800 Subject: MLSS'05 Canberra: 15/12/04 early registration deadline In-Reply-To: <4E4CA505-2C81-11D9-9D36-000A95AB89E2@anu.edu.au> References: <4E4CA505-2C81-11D9-9D36-000A95AB89E2@anu.edu.au> Message-ID: <2BEF879D-4B59-11D9-BEE9-000A95AB89E2@nicta.com.au> * Apologies if you receive multiple copies * The early registration deadline for MLSS'05 in Canberra is approaching. Please register by December 15 in order to take advantage of the registration fees. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- MACHINE LEARNING SUMMER SCHOOL 2005 January 24 to February 05, 2005, Canberra, Australia. http://canberra05.mlss.cc ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Organized by the statistical machine learning program, National ICT Australia jointly with Australian National University, Pascal Network and Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics (Tuebingen). **** Applications are now open **** **** Deadline for early registration is Dec 15th 2004 **** **** For applications, please visit our web site **** The Summer School is intended for students and researchers alike, who are interested in Machine Learning. Its goal is to present some of the topics which are at the core of modern Learning Theory. The school will be held at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, between the 24th of January and the 5th of February, 2005. During this time, we shall present the following courses (tentative titles): - Sam Roweis, University of Toronto Sequence Learning - Thore Graepel, Microsoft Research Cambridge, Machine Learning for Games - Aapo Hyvaerinen, Helsinki University Independent Component Analysis - Matthias Franz, MPI for Biological Cybernetics Tuebingen Natural Statistics of Images - Marcus Hutter, IDSIA, Switzerland MDL and Bayesian Methods - Alex Smola and S V N Vishwanathan, National ICT Australia Graphical Models, Kernels, and Exponential Families - Terry Caelli, National ICT Australia Graph Matching Problems in Computer Vision - Douglas Aberdeen, National ICT Australia Reinforcement Learning - Markus Hegland, Australian National University Algebraic Sparse Grid Methods - Rene Vidal, John Hopkins University Generalized PCA - John Patrick, University of Sydney Natural Language processing Practical sessions by - Adam Kowalczyk, National ICT Australia Bioinformatics - Nic Schraudolph, National ICT Australia Stochastic Optimization - Olivier Chapelle, MPI for Biological Cybernetics Tuebingen Semisupervised Learning For more information please contact: mlss05 at rsise.anu.edu.au MLSS organizing committee: Manuel Davy Bernhard Schoelkopf Alex Smola Vishy Vishwanathan From kamps at in.tum.de Fri Dec 10 04:35:09 2004 From: kamps at in.tum.de (Marc de Kamps) Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 10:35:09 +0100 Subject: CFP: ICANN2005 (updated info) Message-ID: Each special session should have at least 5 presentations and a conference track about twice as many. Special session chairs will be responsible for all aspects of their sessions, including soliciting, reviewing, and selecting the papers. To ensure quality of the papers the program committee of ICANN 2005 will provide final review and approval for all sessions. Proposals to organize special sessions/tracks/workshops should include: the title and form of the proposed session (track/special session/workshop); name, affiliation, mailing address and e-mail address of the proposer(s); description of the topic of the session, not exceeding 100 words, or 1000 for tutorials. The deadline for these proposal submission is December 31, 2004, but early submissions are strongly encouraged. Proceedings of ICANN will be published in the "Lecture Notes in Computer Science" series of Springer-Verlag. Paper length is restricted to a maximum of 6 pages, including figures, but supplementary material may be published in an electronic form on a CD. Detailed author instructions will be available at the ICANN web site. Submissions will be possible by file uploading or via e-mail using postscript or PDF file attachment. Deadlines and ICANN conference calendar in 2005: * 3.01 Submission page opens * 15.02 End of submission of papers to regular sessions * 1.03 End of submission of papers to special sessions * 30.04 Acceptance/rejection notification * 15.06 Deadline for camera ready papers * 1.07 Deadline for early registration * 11.09 Tutorials - first day of the conference * 12-14.09 The main part of the conference * 15 .09 Workshops Intelligent Systems Design and Applications (ISDA 2005) conference will take place just before ICANN, 8-10.11.2004, in Wroclaw, Poland. For further information and/or contacts, send inquiries to icann05 at ibspan.waw.pl or to the ICANN 2005 Conference Secretariat Mrs. Krystyna Warzywoda Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences ul. Newelska 6, 01-447 Warszawa, Poland WWW page: www.ibspan.waw.pl/ICANN-2005 General Program Chairs: Wlodzislaw Duch, Nicholaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, duch, at server: ieee.org (or Google: Duch) Janusz Kacprzyk, System Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland, kacprzyk, at server ibspan.waw.pl (or Google: Janusz Kacprzyk) From schroedm at informatik.uni-tuebingen.de Mon Dec 13 10:48:04 2004 From: schroedm at informatik.uni-tuebingen.de (Michael Schroeder) Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2004 16:48:04 +0100 Subject: Classification Competition Message-ID: Dear collegues, we are happy to announce december 13th 2004 as the start of the - BCI Competition III - on classifying electrical brain signals in the context of brain-computer interface (BCI) systems. There are eight different data sets of five BCI groups (Albany, Berlin, Graz, Martigny, T=FCbingen, see below). For each data set there is one labeled part (training set) that can be used to calibrate analysis systems and one part for which the labels are kept secret (test set). The competition is evaluated on each data set separately according to the competitors submissions for the test set. Deadline for submissions is may 22nd 2005. Compared to past BCI Competitions, there are new challenges addressed here that are highly relevant to present BCI research: - session-to-session transfer, - small training sets, possibly solved by subject-to-subject transfer, - non-stationarity problems, - multi-class problems, and - classification of continuous EEG without trial structure. Also this BCI Competition includes for the first time ECoG data and one data set for which preprocessed features are provided for competitors that like to focus on the classification task rather than to dive into the depth of EEG analysis. For each data set the competition winner gets a chance to publish the algorithm in an article devoted to the competition that will appear in IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering. For more information please visit http://ida.first.fhg.de/projects/bci/competition_iii The competition organizers, [Albany] Gerwin Schalk, Dean Krusienski, Jonathan R. Wolpaw [Berlin] Benjamin Blankertz, Guido Dornhege, Klaus-Robert Mueller [Graz] Alois Schloegl, Bernhard Graimann, Gert Pfurtscheller [Martigny] Jose del R. Millan [T=FCbingen] Michael Schr=F6der, Thilo Hinterberger, Thomas Navin Lal, Guido Widman, Niels Birbaumer From tani at brain.riken.go.jp Tue Dec 14 08:41:14 2004 From: tani at brain.riken.go.jp (Jun Tani) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 22:41:14 +0900 Subject: A new paper on mirror system modeling and robotics experiments Message-ID: <000001c4e1e2$94d286a0$37a6a8c0@TX40> We are pleased to announce the availability of the following paper, which we hope will be of interest. J. Tani, M. Ito, and Y. Sugita "Self-organization of distributedly represented multiple behavior schemata in a mirror system: reviews of robot experiments using RNNPB", Neural Networks, Vol.17, pp.1273-1289, 2004. The preprint of the paper is available from: http://www.bdc.brain.riken.go.jp/~tani/publications.htm Abstract: The current paper reviews a connectionist model, the recurrent neural network with parametric biases (RNNPB), in which multiple behavior schemata can be learned by the network in a distributed manner. The parametric biases in the network play an essential role in both generating and recognizing behavior patterns. They act as a mirror system by means of self-organizing adequate memory structures. Three different robot experiments are reviewed: robot and user interactions; learning and generating different types of dynamic patterns; and linguistic-behavior binding. The hallmark of this study is explaining how self-organizing internal structures can contribute to generalization in learning, and diversity in behavior generation, in the proposed distributed representation scheme. Jun Tani, Ph.D Lab. for Behavior and Dynamic Cognition Brain Science Institute, RIKEN 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0198 Japan tani at brain.riken.go.jp http://www.bdc.brain.riken.go.jp/~tani Tel: +81-48-467-6467 Fax: +81-48-467-7248 From dgw at MIT.EDU Tue Dec 14 14:05:13 2004 From: dgw at MIT.EDU (David Weininger) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 14:05:13 -0500 Subject: book announcement--Shadmehr Message-ID: <2004121414051328755@outgoing.mit.edu> I thought readers of the Connectionists List might be interested in this book. For more information, please visit http://mitpress.mit.edu/0262195089/ Thank you! Best, David The Computational Neurobiology of Reaching and Pointing A Foundation for Motor Learning Reza Shadmehr and Steven P. Wise Neuroscience involves the study of the nervous system, and its topics range from genetics to inferential reasoning. At its heart, however, lies a search for understanding how the environment affects the nervous system and how the nervous system, in turn, empowers us to interact with and alter our environment. This empowerment requires motor learning. The Computational Neurobiology of Reaching and Pointing addresses the neural mechanisms of one important form of motor learning. It is intended to be used as a text by graduate students in both neuroscience and bioengineering and as a reference source by experts in neuroscience, robotics, and other disciplines. The authors integrate material from the computational, behavioral, and neural sciences of motor control that is not available in any other single source. The result is a unified, comprehensive model of reaching and pointing. The book begins with an overview of the evolution, anatomy, and physiology of the motor system, including the mechanisms for generating force and maintaining limb stability. The sections that follow, "Computing Locations and Displacements," "Skills, Adaptations, and Trajectories," and "Predictions, Decisions, and Flexibility," present a theory of sensorially guided reaching and pointing that evolves organically based on computational principles rather than a traditional structure-by-structure approach. The book also includes five appendixes that provide brief refreshers on fundamentals of biology, mathematics, physics, and neurophysiology, as well as a glossary of relevant terms. The authors have also made supplemental materials available on the Internet. These web documents provide source code for simulations, step-by-step derivations of certain mathematical formulations, and expanded explanations of some concepts available on the Internet. Reza Shadmehr is Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Steven P. Wise is a Research Biologist in the Senior Biomedical Research Service at the National Institute of Mental Health. 8 x 10, 544 pp. -- 165 illus., cloth, ISBN 0-262-19508-9 A Bradford Book Computational Neuroscience series ______________________ David Weininger Associate Publicist The MIT Press 5 Cambridge Center, 4th Floor Cambridge, MA 02142 617 253 2079 617 253 1709 fax http://mitpress.mit.edu From paul at santafe.edu Tue Dec 14 18:28:56 2004 From: paul at santafe.edu (Paul Brault) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 16:28:56 -0700 Subject: SFI Complex Systems Summer Schools 2005 Message-ID: ANNOUNCING THE SANTA FE INSTITUTE'S 2005 COMPLEX SYSTEMS SUMMER SCHOOLS Santa Fe School: June 6 - July 1, 2005. Held on the campus of St. John's College, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Administered by the Santa Fe Institute (SFI). Director: Melanie Mitchell, Portland State University and SFI. China School: July 11 to August 5, 2005 in Beijing, China. Sponsored by SFI in cooperation with The Institute of Theoretical Physics, The Academy of Mathematics and Systems Sciences, and the Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Co-directors: John Holland, University of Michigan and SFI; Chen Xiao-song, Institute for Theoretical Physics, CAS. General Description The Complex Systems Summer Schools offer an intensive four-week introduction to complex behavior in mathematical, physical, living, and social systems for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the sciences and social sciences. The schools are aimed at participants who want to obtain the background and hands-on experience that will help prepare them to do interdisciplinary research in areas related to complex systems. Applications are welcome from all countries. Participants are expected to attend either the Santa Fe or the Beijing school for the full four weeks. All activities will be conducted in English at both schools. Enrollment is limited. Each school consists of an intensive series of lectures, laboratories, and discussion sessions focusing on foundational ideas, tools, and current topics in complex systems research. These include nonlinear dynamics and pattern formation, scaling theory, information theory and computation theory, adaptation and evolution, network structure and dynamics, adaptive computation techniques, computer modeling tools, and specific applications of these core topics to various disciplines. In addition, participants will formulate and carry out team projects related to topics covered in the school. Costs Santa Fe: No tuition is charged. 100% of housing and meal costs are supported for graduate students and 50% for postdoctoral fellows (the remaining fee is $750, due at the beginning of the school). Most students will provide their own travel funding. Some travel scholarships may be available based on demonstrated need, with preference given to international students. China: No tuition is charged. 100% of housing and meal costs are supported for all participants. Most students will provide their own travel funding. Some travel scholarships may be available based on demonstrated need. Housing Housing at both schools will be in single or double occupancy dorm rooms with shared bathrooms. Computing resources will be available, including ethernet ports for student laptops. Housing and travel support for accompanying families is not available. Eligibility Applications are solicited from graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in any discipline. Some background in science and mathematics (including multi-variable calculus and linear algebra) is required. Proficiency in English is also required. Students should indicate school location preference when applying. Placements may be influenced by recent increased restrictions in U.S. foreign visitor policies. Application requirements 1. Current resume or CV. Include a clear description of your current educational or professional status, and a list of publications, if any. 2. A statement of your current research interests and comments about why you want to attend the school (suggested length: two to three pages). 3. Two letters of recommendation from scholars who know your work. 4. If you are applying to the Beijing school and English is not your first language, you must also submit evidence of English competency in order to complete your application. You can do this in one of two ways: * Request that your TOEFL scores be sent to SFI. SFI's TOEFL code is 8595. Make sure that you request your scores to be sent well in advance to ensure that your application will be complete by the January 28, 2005 deadline. * Request a third letter of recommendation from an English professor certifying your English language competency. This letter can be sent via e-mail to summerschool at santafe.edu. How to Apply Online: Our online application form allows you to submit all of your materials electronically (including a feature which allows your referees to upload letters of recommendation directly to your file). We strongly encourage you to apply online at to expedite your application. Postal Mail/Courier: Applications sent via postal mail will also be accepted. Include a cover letter providing your e-mail address and fax number, and specifying whether you wish to be considered for a travel scholarship. (This will not influence the review of your application.) Do not bind your application materials in any manner. Send application materials to: Summer Schools Santa Fe Institute 1399 Hyde Park Road Santa Fe, NM 87501 USA If applying via post, letters of recommendation may be sent separately to the address above, or included in your application package in sealed envelopes. Deadline All application materials, including letters of recommendation, must be received at SFI or electronically submitted no later than January 28, 2005. Women, minorities, and students from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply. If you have further questions about the Complex Systems Summer Schools, please e-mail summerschool at santafe.edu. From juergen at idsia.ch Tue Dec 14 06:58:58 2004 From: juergen at idsia.ch (Juergen Schmidhuber) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 12:58:58 +0100 Subject: postdoc / visitor at IDSIA, Switzerland Message-ID: <89590BEC-4DC7-11D9-BE27-000D93435DCE@idsia.ch> We have a job opening for an outstanding postdoc or visitor interested in combining LSTM recurrent networks and Hidden Markov Models for speech recognition. Salary: roughly US$ 62,310/year as of Dec 2004 Details: http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/lstm2004.html Juergen Schmidhuber Codirector IDSIA, Switzerland Prof. TU Munich, Germany Prof. SUPSI Dr. habil. http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen From vijay at physics.upenn.edu Wed Dec 15 11:28:33 2004 From: vijay at physics.upenn.edu (Vijay Balasubramanian) Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 11:28:33 -0500 Subject: postdoctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania Message-ID: <5D148AB8-4EB6-11D9-86D4-000A95BC7922@physics.upenn.edu> ===================================================== Postdoctoral Associate in Theoretical/Computational Neuroscience University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, USA ===================================================== We seek applications for a three-year postdoctoral research fellowship in Theoretical/Computational Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. Applicants will have the opportunity to work with faculty in the departments of neuroscience, psychology, machine learning and physics. The successful applicant will be involved in an effort to explore the role played by natural stimulus statistics, perception and the biophysical constraints of energy, space, and time in determining the detailed structure and function of retinal circuitry. This is a highly multi-disciplinary project involving experimental and theoretical techniques from a variety of areas. The primary sponsors of this project will be Vijay Balasubramanian (Physics, http://perception.upenn.edu/faculty/pages/balasubramanian.php), Peter Sterling (Neuroscience, http://perception.upenn.edu/faculty/pages/sterling.php) and David Brainard (Psychology, http://perception.upenn.edu/faculty/pages/brainard.php). The successful applicant will also be encouraged to think more broadly about key problems in theoretical and computational neuroscience, taking advantage of the thriving inter-disciplinary atmosphere at Penn. Research centers affiliated to this project include the Perception Center (http://perception.upenn.edu/), the Institute of Neurological Sciences ( http://www.med.upenn.edu/ins/), the Vision Research Center (http://vrc.med.upenn.edu/), and the Institute for Research in Cognitive Science (http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~ircs/) Applications should include a C.V. and statement of research interests. Please also arrange for letters from three referees. All materials should be sent to Vijay Balasubramanian (vijay at physics.upenn.edu) at the address below. The deadline is January 31, 2005. ---- Vijay Balasubramanian Merriam Term Assistant Professor of Physics 209 South 33rd Street David Rittenhouse Laboratories University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19103 From R.Bogacz at bristol.ac.uk Wed Dec 15 08:47:31 2004 From: R.Bogacz at bristol.ac.uk (Rafal Bogacz) Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 13:47:31 +0000 Subject: Two faculty and two PhD positions at Bristol Message-ID: <41C04073.2010907@bristol.ac.uk> Two tenure-track Lecturer positions (equivalent of Assistant Professor) are available in the Department of Computer Science at Bristol University. The research interests in the department include Computational Biology and Computational Neuroscience. Further information concerning these positions can be found at: http://www.bris.ac.uk/boris/jobs/ads?ID=30617 Two PhD studentships on mathematical models of decision making in the brain are also available. Further information can be found at: http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/Research/Vacancies/ Bristol University is one of the leading UK universities in the research areas connected with the above vacancies. In the recent Times Ranking the following departments were ranked as follows: Computer Science - 3rd in UK (jointly with Imperial, before Oxford) Anatomy and Physiology - 1st in UK (before Cambridge and Oxford) Bristol also has one of the largest Neuroscience communities in Europe. Further information on research at Bristol are available on following websites: Department of Computer Science: http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk Bristol Neuroscience: http://www.bris.ac.uk/neuroscience/ Mathematics, Computation and Biology Research Initiative: http://cognit.psy.bris.ac.uk/MCB/ Computational Neuroscience Unit: http://cnu.psy.bris.ac.uk/ Times UK University Ranking: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,6734,00.html From jbednar at inf.ed.ac.uk Thu Dec 16 14:32:04 2004 From: jbednar at inf.ed.ac.uk (James A. Bednar) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 19:32:04 GMT Subject: Doctoral Studentships in Neuroinformatics at Edinburgh Message-ID: <200412161932.iBGJW4TM025322@lodestar.inf.ed.ac.uk> 4-YEAR DOCTORAL TRAINING (Ph.D.) IN NEUROINFORMATICS UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH We invite applications for the EPSRC/MRC funded Ph.D. programme to the Neuroinformatics Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Edinburgh. The programme is made up of 3 themes: 1) Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience - analytical, computational and experimental study of information processing in the nervous system. 2) Neuromorphic Engineering and Robotics - Artificial sensor perception and analysis, neuromorphic modelling, mixed-mode VLSI and spiking computation, neurorobotics. 3) Simulation, Analysis, Visualisation and Data Handling - software systems and computational techniques for neuroscience and neural engineering. The 4-year programme in Neuroinformatics, established in 2002, consists of an introductory year with training in neuroscience, informatics and lab-based research projects, followed by 3 years of Ph.D. research related to one of the above subjects. The programme has a strong interdisciplinary character and is ideal for students who want to apply their skills to neuroinformatics problems. Students with a strong background in computer science, mathematics, physics or engineering are particularly welcome to apply, but motivated students with other backgrounds will also be considered. We have 12 studentships available for September 2005. Students are initially attached to the Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation in the School of Informatics, the UK's largest and highest-quality academic computer-science group. The Ph.D. project is done in collaboration with many affiliated institutes. Edinburgh has a strong research community in all of the areas listed above and leads the UK in integrating these into a coherent programme in neuroinformatics. Edinburgh has been voted as 'best place to live in Britain', and has many exciting cultural and student activities. The stipend is 12,000 pounds in the first year and in the region of 13,000 - 14,000 pounds per annum in years 2-4. Studentships cover full tuition fees and research and training costs. Full studentships are available to UK students only. Partial funding is available for EU students. Applicants who are not citizens or longstanding residents of the EU will need to find their own funding. For full application details and further information please consult the website: http://www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics Applications are welcome at any time; those received by March 15th 2005 will receive priority treatment. From jkroger at nmsu.edu Wed Dec 15 13:51:19 2004 From: jkroger at nmsu.edu (Jim Kroger) Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 11:51:19 -0700 Subject: Ph.D. Studentship in Neural Dynamics of Cognition Message-ID: <6.1.2.0.2.20041215114206.01d6f870@pop.nmsu.edu> (Apologies for multiple postings) The Mind and Brain Laboratory at NMSU is seeking graduate students at the Ph.D. and Masters level who are interested in research on the neural mechanisms underlying attention and control of attention. We are also looking at how these mechanisms operate during reasoning and other higher cognition, as well as what neural changes cause a dysfunction of executive function in depression. We have a state of the art, high-density 128-channel electrophysiology laboratory, and access to fMRI facilities at the Mind Institute in Albuquerque. Students traditionally receive full support. Please visit our laboratory website below for further information and links to application information. http://www.psych.nmsu.edu/~jkroger/lab/index.html Sincerely, Jim Kroger -------------------------------------------- Jim Kroger Department of Psychology, MSC 3452 New Mexico State University P.O. Box 30001 Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001 USA http://www.psych.nmsu.edu/~jkroger/lab/krogerpage.html Tel: (505) 646 2243 Fax: (505) 646 6212 -------------------------------------------- From mnas.ijcai05 at gmail.com Wed Dec 15 17:28:51 2004 From: mnas.ijcai05 at gmail.com (Modeling Natural Action Selection) Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 22:28:51 +0000 Subject: Preliminary Call For Papers: Modeling Natural Action Selection (at IJCAI 2005) Message-ID: Apologies for multiple postings. Please forward! ----------------------------- Preliminary Call For Papers: Modeling Natural Action Selection (at IJCAI 2005) MODELING NATURAL ACTION SELECTION an International and Interdisciplinary Workshop http://www.bath.ac.uk/comp-sci/ai/MNAS-2005/ Edinburgh, Scotland, UK over two days between July 30-August 1, 2005 In association with: The 19th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI 2005) Introduction: ------------- Action selection is an agent's continuous problem of choosing what to do next. In artificial intelligence, this problem has been addressed with strategies ranging from constructing long chains of intentions that provide provably optimal means of achieving goals to reactive or anytime algorithms that do simple lookups based solely on the external environment. But what does nature do? This multidisciplinary workshop is dedicated to advancing our understanding of the behavioral patterns and neural substrates supporting action selection in animals --- including humans. Examples of interesting topics include: o The variation of action selection strategies across species. o The variation of strategies within species across individual, social or environmental contexts. o Cognitive, neural and embodied models of decision making. We are seeking participation of researchers from either natural or artificial intelligence (NI or AI), who propose models for either human or animal behavior. We seek experts from neuroscience, psychology, and the quantitative social sciences as well as AI. We hope workshop participants will substantially advance the discipline both through presenting science and by examining and critiquing a wide variety of modeling approaches. Requirements: ------------------ We ask that all papers: o Reference or describe a model of action selection, o Reference or describe a data set derived from the actions of living animals or humans, and o Make direct comparisons between the model and biological data. All aspects of action selection are acceptable, from single task performance to evolutionary models of behavior, from individual protozoa to human societies. Our goal for the workshop is to bring together researchers using a variety of strategies for modeling with an aim to build an understanding of the currently available models, tools, advances and challenges in the field. Our ultimate goal is to create a rich synergy between AI and NI models of action selection. A similar synergy has helped advance the fields of neuroscience and neural networks over the past decade, and has resulted in a number of journals which regularly publish strong papers from both fields. Venue: --------- This workshop will take place as part of the 19th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI 2005), the world's premiere conference on AI. Participants in the workshop may wish to attend the full conference but will not be required to do so. The venue will be Edinburgh, Scotland. This will be excellent time to visit the Scottish capital just prior to the start of the famous Edinburgh International Festival, and during the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival. Participants are encouraged to plan to stay on after the workshop to enjoy the city and take advantage of these events. Workshop Format: ---------------- The workshop will be held over two days. The format will consist of o twenty minute talks with ten minute discussions, o aproximately four invited talks (pending funding applications), o poster and discussion sessions, and o dinners in town. Talks will be clustered by approach so that researchers unfamiliar with the various approaches to modeling action selection will have an opportunity to learn. We intend to allow speakers to know the speaking order well in advance so that they can coordinate their talks to maximize content and minimize repetition. Talks will be chosen from submitted papers. All papers will be peer reviewed. The number of full papers accepted, as determined by review, may exceed the number of talk slots available, in which case the remainder of accepted papers will be offered a special full-paper poster session. The maximum number of participants is limited by IJCAI to 40. If there is room for participants without full papers, a second call will be sent out in May for extended abstracts and ordinary poster submissions. Publications: ------------- IJCAI will publish a workshop proceedings for all accepted papers and abstracts. In addition, we are negotiating with international journals, e.g. Cognitive Science, to create a special issue for the best scientific papers from the workshop (as assessed by the participants.) Final negotiations will depend on the quality of papers submitted to the workshop. Workshop participants will also discuss creating a further publication (either a book or journal special issue) emphasizing the techniques and technology used by the successful modelers. Papers and Participation: ------------------------- IJCAI workshop participation is limited to 40 people. Preference will be given to those who submit papers, but other places may be available. Workshop papers should be from 4,000 to 8,000 words (or approximately normal IJCAI conference length) and submitted in the IJCAI format. For later publications the word limit may be extended. Electronic paper submission deadline: April 1, 2005 Paper Notifications sent: May 15, 2005 Camera-ready copy deadline: June 15, 2005 Paperless participant application deadline: June 15, 2005 Notice for paperless participants: June 30, 2005 IJCAI Workshop dates: July 30, 2005 - August 1, 2005 Organizing Committee: --------------------- Dr. Joanna J. Bryson Artificial models of natural Intelligence Department of Computer Science University of Bath, UK BA2 7AY http://www.cs.bath.ac.uk/~jjb Dr. Tony Prescott Adaptive Behaviour Research Group Department of Psychology University of Sheffield, UK S10 2TP http://www.shef.ac.uk/~abrg/tony/index.shtml Dr. Anil K.Seth The Neurosciences Institute 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive San Diego CA 92121, USA http://www.nsi.edu/users/seth Program Committee: ------------------ Gordon Arbuthnott, Dept of Preclinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK Orlando Avila-Garcia, Adaptive Systems Research Group, University of Hertsfordshire, UK Gianluca Baldassarre, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Italy Christian Balkenius, Cognitive Science, Lund University, Sweden Alwyn Barry, Artificial models of natural Intelligence, University of Bath, UK Bettina Berendt, Institute of Information Systems, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany Hagai Bergman, Department of Physiology, Hebrew University, Israel Rafal Bogacz, Department of Computer Science, University of Bristol, UK Driss Boussaoud, Institute for Cognitive Sciences, CNRS, France Olivier Buffet, Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering, The Australian National University, Austrailia Lola Canamera, Adaptive Systems Research Group, University of Hertsfordshire, UK Angelo Cangelosi, Artificial Intelligence and Cognition, University of Plymouth, UK Ricardo Chavarriaga, Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience, EPFL, Switzerland Rick Cooper, Cognitive Science, Birbeck (University of London), UK Frederick Crabbe, Computer Science Department, United States Naval Acadamy, USA Nathaniel Daw, Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, UK Peter Dayan, Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, UK Yiannis Demiris, Intelligent and Interactive Systems Group, Imperial College London, UK Peter Dominey, Sequential Cognition and Language Group, CNRS, France Kenji Doya, Department of Computational Neurobiology, ATR Compuational Neuroscience Laboratories, Japan Jason Fleischer, Theoretical Neurobiology, The Neurosciences Institute, USA Philippe Gaussier, Equipe Neurocybern??tique, CNRS, France Agnes Guillot, AnimatLab, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, France Kevin Gurney, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK Jim Houk, Deparment of Physiology, Northwestern University, Illinois, USA Karl F. MacDorman, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Japan Mark Humphries, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK Mark Humphrys, School of Computing, Dublin City University, Ireland Jeff Krichmar, Theoretical Neurobiology, The Neurosciences Institute, USA Brian S. Logan, Department of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, UK Will Lowe, Department of Political Science, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Jean-Arcady Meyer, AnimatLab, CNRS, France Michael North, Center for Complex Adaptive Systems, Argonne National Laboratory, USA Peter Redgrave, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK Frank Ritter, Applied Cognitive Science Lab, Penn State University Deb Roy Media Laboratory, MIT, USA David Sallach, Center for Complex Adaptive Systems, Argonne National Laboratory, USA Emmet Spier, Center for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics, Sussex University, UK Kris R. Thorisson, School of Computer Science, Reykjav??k University Myra Wilson, Computer Science, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK ----- For all questions and comments, please email the workshop at mnas.ijcai05 at gmail.com For further details, please see the webpage: http://www.bath.ac.uk/comp-sci/ai/MNAS-2005/ From P.Tino at cs.bham.ac.uk Fri Dec 17 06:46:15 2004 From: P.Tino at cs.bham.ac.uk (Peter Tino) Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2004 11:46:15 +0000 Subject: Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow in Astronomical Data Mining Message-ID: <41C2C707.4070701@cs.bham.ac.uk> (apologies if you received multiple copies of this notice) UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM, UK SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND SCHOOL OF PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY ====================================================================== Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow in Astronomical Data Mining ====================================================================== This three-year position, funded by PPARC, provides the central support for a project combining expertise from the Schools of Physics & Astronomy and Computer Science. The project aims to integrate novel and theoretically sound computational intelligence technologies, developed in the School of Computer Science, with the UK's developing Virtual Observatory, AstroGrid. The outcome will be more sophisticated tools for the automated classification, visualisation, and analysis of large astronomical data sets. Highly motivated candidates with background and publication record in machine learning, statistical pattern analysis, probabilistic modeling, data mining and information retrieval, and a keen interest in tackling real-world astronomy-related problems, are encouraged to apply. Applicants should possess good analytical, problem solving and programming skills. They should hold, or shortly expect to obtain, a PhD in Computer Science/Engineering, Statistics or a related discipline. Some background in Astrophysics is an advantage but not a requirement. Informal enquiries to Professor Xin Yao (X.Yao at cs.bham.ac.uk), Dr Peter Tino (P.Tino at cs.bham.ac.uk) and Ata Kaban (A.Kaban at cs.bham.ac.uk), or Professor Trevor Ponman (tjp at star.sr.bham.ac.uk). Starting salary 19,460 - 21,640 a year depending on experience and qualifications. The post is available immediately. Application forms (returnable by 12th January 2005) and details from Personnel Services The University of Birmingham Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK tel: +44 121 415 9000, web: www.punit.bham.ac.uk/vacancies Please quote Ref: S36842 and attach a curriculum vitae, publication list, and statement of research interests. Working towards Equal Opportunities Work-Life Balance Award Winner 2003 -- Peter Tino The University of Birmingham School of Computer Science Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK +44 121 414 8558 , fax: 414 4281 http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~pxt/ From ole.jensen at fcdonders.ru.nl Sun Dec 19 08:03:26 2004 From: ole.jensen at fcdonders.ru.nl (Ole Jensen) Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2004 14:03:26 +0100 Subject: postdoctoral position at the F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging Message-ID: <41C57C1E.4000108@fcdonders.ru.nl> POSTDOCTORAL POSITION AT THE F.C. DONDERS CENTRE FOR COGNITIVE NEUROIMAGING When neurons form memories: The role of oscillatory dynamics and synchronization Supervision: Dr. Ole Jensen Job description A postdoctoral position is available at the F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. The position is part of a VolkswagenStiftung grant exploring oscillatory brain dynamics during memory encoding and recall. In the project whole-head MEG (151-sensor CTF system) is used to investigate human cortical dynamics in various memory tasks. We also hope to combine intracranial recordings with MEG. Requirements Qualified applicants must either have either a 1) PhD related to experimental/cognitive psychology or neuroscience or 2) a PhD related to applied signal processing og biological signals. MEG or EEG experience and in particular Matlab skills are an advantage. Applicants should send a cover letter, and attach a curriculum vitae, a publication list, a description of research interests and the names of two referees who may be contacted in confidence. Conditions of employment Employment basis: Full-time, temporary for specified period. Duration of the contract: 3 years. Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from: Dr. Ole Jensen Tel: +31 (0)24 36 10884 E-mail: ole.jensen at fcdonders.ru.nl URL : http://oase.uci.ru.nl/~olejen Applications should be send to info at fcdonders.ru.nl or F.C. Donders Centre for Neuroimaging, P.O. Box 910, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Please state our reference VWOJ04 on top of your mail or letter. Deadline of application is January 15, 2005. -- Ole Jensen Principal Investigator F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging P.O. Box 9101 NL-6500 HB Nijmegen The Netherlands Office : +31 24 36 10884 MEG lab : +31 24 36 10988 Mobile : +31 62 18 57495 Fax : +31 24 36 10989 e-mail : ole.jensen at fcdonders.ru.nl URL : http://oase.uci.ru.nl/~olejen From ken at neurotheory.columbia.edu Mon Dec 20 13:54:29 2004 From: ken at neurotheory.columbia.edu (Kenneth Miller) Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 13:54:29 -0500 Subject: Columbia University Postdoctoral/Graduate Fellowships in Theoretical Neurobiology Message-ID: <1103568869.23595.11.camel@neurotheory.columbia.edu> FULL INFO: http://www.neurotheory.columbia.edu PLEASE DO NOT USE 'REPLY'; FOR MORE INFO USE ABOVE WEB SITE We are establishing a new Center for Theoretical Neuroscience at Columbia University in New York City. The co-directors are Larry Abbott http://www.brandeis.edu/projects/abbottlab/abbott_lab.html Ken Miller http://neurotheory.columbia.edu/~ken Other faculty include Ning Qian http://brahms.cpmc.columbia.edu/ Bill Bialek (visiting 1 day/week) http://www.princeton.edu/~wbialek/wbialek.html The faculty listed above will all be here by Sept. 2005, and we expect to have additional long-term visitors, research staff and faculty. Columbia has a strong research program in experimental neurobiology (http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/neurobeh/nb_phd_res_area.html) and in computational biology (http://www.c2b2.columbia.edu/). We hope to create one of the most exciting and interactive environments anywhere for bringing theoretical approaches to Neuroscience. We are accepting applications for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students in the Center. For postdoctoral fellowships, applicants should have a strong background and education in theoretical neuroscience or biology or in a quantitative field such as mathematics, theoretical or experimental physics, engineering, or computer science, and commitment to a future research career in neuroscience. Prior biological or neuroscience training is not required. TO APPLY, please send a curriculum vitae, a statement of previous research and research goals, up to three relevant publications, and have three letters of recommendation sent to us. Applications are due by Feb. 14, 2005. For graduate fellowships, apply to an existing Ph.D. program at Columbia (details on our web site). Separately, notify us that you wish to be considered for a fellowship in Theoretical Neuroscience by sending email with a letter explaining which program you've applied to, why you intend to pursue Theoretical Neuroscience in your graduate work, and what background you bring to it. Please also include a copy of your application materials, and ask your referees to send us copies of their letters. Note that the priority application deadline for most programs is either Jan. 3 or (for engineering) Dec. 15 (already past). However, later applications are also considered (and success in obtaining a Theoretical Neuroscience fellowship will likely help compensate for an application being late). Application materials may be sent by email to Alla Kerzhner, alla at neurotheory.columbia.edu; please include your name and "postdoctoral fellowship, CTN" or "graduate fellowship, CTN" in the subject line. Alternatively materials may be sent by surface mail (address on our web site). From marcus at idsia.ch Mon Dec 20 10:16:20 2004 From: marcus at idsia.ch (Marcus Hutter) Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 16:16:20 +0100 Subject: New AI book Message-ID: <0eba01c4e6a6$dc057000$63bfb0c3@idsia.local> (with apologies for multiple copies) Dear list members, I'm pleased to announce my new book: Universal Artificial Intelligence: Sequential Decisions based on Algorithmic Probability This book presents sequential decision theory from a novel algorithmic information theory perspective. While the former theory is suited for active agents in known environments, the latter is suited for passive prediction of unknown environments. The book introduces these two well-known but very different ideas and removes the limitations by unifying them to one parameter-free theory of an optimal reinforcement learning agent interacting with an arbitrary unknown world. Most if not all AI problems can easily be formulated within this theory, which reduces the conceptual problems to pure computational ones. Considered problem classes include sequence prediction, strategic games, function minimization, reinforcement and supervised learning. Formal definitions of intelligence order relations, the horizon problem and relations to other approaches to AI are discussed. One intention of this book is to excite a broader AI audience about abstract algorithmic information theory concepts, and conversely to inform theorists about exciting applications to AI. See http://www.idsia.ch/~marcus/ai/uaibook.htm for details and (small) prizes for solving open problems. Thanks for your time, Marcus ----------------------------------- Dr. Marcus Hutter, Senior Researcher, IDSIA Istituto Dalle Molle di Studi sull'Intelligenza Artificiale Galleria 2 CH-6928 Manno(Lugano) - Switzerland Phone: +41-91-6108668 Fax: +41-91-6108661 E-mail marcus at idsia.ch http://www.idsia.ch/~marcus/idsia/ P.S.1 There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary, and those who don't. P.S.2 Many bookstores guarantee shipping till Xmas. From marcus at idsia.ch Thu Dec 23 08:04:05 2004 From: marcus at idsia.ch (Marcus Hutter) Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 14:04:05 +0100 Subject: PhD/PostDoc Position Available Message-ID: <13dc01c4e8ef$e20df5d0$63bfb0c3@idsia.local> PhD / Postdoc Position Available ----------------------------------------- IDSIA, Switzerland, is seeking for one outstanding PostDoc or PhD student with excellent mathematical skills interested in reinforcement learning, algorithmic information theory, Kolmogorov complexity, Minimal Description Length (MDL), information theory and statistics, Bayesian online sequence prediction, prediction and action with expert advice, computational complexity theory, universal Solomonoff induction, universal Levin search, sequential decision theory, adaptive control theory, and/or related areas. Possible backgrounds are computer science, physics, mathematics, etc. The initial appointment will be for 2 years. Normally there will be a prolongation. The new PhD student/PostDoc will interact with Marcus Hutter and Juergen Schmidhuber and other people at IDSIA. See http://www.idsia.ch/~marcus/idsia/phdpos.htm for more information on the PhD position and http://www.idsia.ch/~marcus/idsia/postdoc.htm for more information on the PostDoc position. Applicants should submit: (i) Detailed curriculum vitae (including grades), (ii) List of three references (and their email addresses), (iii) Concise statement of their research interests (1-2 pages). (iv) Links to their thesis and/or publications. Please send all documents till end of January 2005 to: Marcus Hutter, IDSIA, Galleria 2, 6928 Manno (Lugano), Switzerland. Applications can also be submitted by email to marcus at idsia.ch (1MB max!). www pointers to ps/pdf/doc/html files are welcome. Use Firstname.Lastname.DocDescription.DocType for filename convention. Thanks for your interest Marcus Hutter, Senior researcher, IDSIA Istituto Dalle Molle di Studi sull'Intelligenza Artificiale Galleria 2 CH-6928 Manno(Lugano) - Switzerland Phone: +41-91-6108668 Fax: +41-91-6108661 E-mail marcus at idsia.ch http://www.idsia.ch/~marcus -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT IDSIA. Our research focuses on artificial neural nets, reinforcement learning, complexity and generalization issues, unsupervised learning and information theory, forecasting, artificial ants, combinatorial optimization, evolutionary computation. IDSIA is small but visible, competitive, and influential. IDSIA's algorithms hold the world records for several important operations research benchmarks (see Nature 406(6791):39-42 for an overview of artificial ant algorithms developed at IDSIA). In the "X-Lab Survey" by Business Week magazine, IDSIA was ranked in fourth place in the category "COMPUTER SCIENCE - BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED" - after the Santa Fe Institute, Stanford University, and EPFL (also in Switzerland). Its comparatively tiny size notwithstanding, IDSIA also ranked among the top ten labs worldwide in the broader category "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE". IDSIA is located near the beautiful city of Lugano in Ticino (pictures), the scenic southernmost province of Switzerland, origin of special relativity and the WWW. Milano, Italy's center of fashion and finance, is 1 hour away, Venice 3 hours. Our collaborators at CSCS (the Swiss supercomputing center) are right beneath us; we are also affiliated with the University of Lugano and SUPSI. Switzerland boasts the highest citation impact factor, the highest supercomputing capacity pc (per capita), the most Nobel prizes pc (450% of the US value), and perhaps the best chocolate. From dts at inf.ed.ac.uk Fri Dec 24 05:27:54 2004 From: dts at inf.ed.ac.uk (Don Sannella) Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 10:27:54 +0000 Subject: Studentships for PhD study in Informatics@Edinburgh Message-ID: <16843.61226.985212.149903@twirl.inf.ed.ac.uk> Studentships for PhD study in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh --------------------------- FORTY research studentships are available for: * UK students * EU students * students worldwide Many of these are full studentships, paying your tuition fees and a stipend of 12000 pounds to cover living expenses in your first year, rising in second and third years. The rest pay your fees and a contribution of 6000 pounds per year towards living expenses. Payment of fees for non-EU students is subject to successful competition for an Overseas Research Studentship. PhD students are encouraged to make contributions to teaching, for example by leading tutorial groups, and for this you can expect to earn an additional 500-1000 pounds per year. These studentships are funded from a variety of sources. New this year are five full studentships in the Schools of Informatics and Engineering & Electronics funded by Wolfson Microelectronics plc. Also new are Principal's Scholarships; these are prestigious prizes awarded to a few of the most promising new PhD students each year, which provide an extra 2000 pounds per year for living costs on top of any other funding that is offered. Informatics --------------------------- Informatics is the study of information and computation, in both natural and engineered systems. It comprises a vast range of scientific and engineering endeavour and has enormous economic and social impact. The University's School of Informatics brings together the former Departments of Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science and Computer Science, together with the Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute. The School possesses a combination of breadth and strength unparallelled elsewhere in the UK and competitive world-wide; as an intellectual endeavour it is strikingly original. The School is the only university grouping in the UK to have achieved the top 5*A rating in Computer Science in the UK government's 2001 Research Assessment Exercise round, and it is the UK's biggest research group in this area. We currently have around 215 students studying for PhD, and around 150 for MSc. PhD study --------------------------- PhD study is carried out within one of our six research Institutes: ANC: Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation CISA: Centre for Intelligent Systems and their Applications ICCS: Institute for Communicating and Collaborative Systems ICSA: Institute for Computing Systems Architecture IPAB: Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour LFCS: Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science ANC fosters the study of adaptive processes in both artificial and biological systems; two themes are the study of artificial learning systems and the analysis and modelling of brain processes. CISA undertakes basic and applied research and development in knowledge representation and reasoning. Through its applications institute AIAI, it works with others to deploy the technologies associated with this research. ICCS pursues basic research into the nature of communication among humans and between humans and machines, using text, speech and graphics, and the design of interactive dialogue systems, using computational and algorithmic approaches. ICSA seeks development of a better understanding of systems components, both hardware and software, and their integration and interaction; this involves not only improving their raw performance and cost-effectiveness, but also making them more connectable and interoperable, more reliable, more usable and more applicable. The interests of IPAB are how to link computational perception, representation, transformation and generation processes to external worlds---whether real or virtual. The mission of LFCS is to achieve a foundational understanding of problems and issues arising in computation and communication through the development of appropriate and applicable formal models and mathematical theories. Projects --------------------------- A very wide range of research projects is available for PhD study. Here is an (incomplete!) list of project areas; see http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate/phdprojects.html for some information on each of these. ANC: Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation -------------------------------------------------- Flytrap: Building a Volumetric Map of the Fly Brain Flies in Space Exploration and Visualisation of Complex Data on Demand Development of Disparity and Spatial Frequency Preference in Visual Cortex Understanding Species Differences in Visual Maps CISA: Centre for Intelligent Systems and their Applications ----------------------------------------------------------- A Proof Management Tool Automating Diagrammatic Reasoning Improving Support for Mathematics in Mechanical Theorem Provers Multi-Agent Coordination in Open Environments Game-Theoretic Analysis of Multiagent Communication The Role of Communication in Multiagent Reinforcement Learning A Computational Model of Lying Controlling Open Multiagent Systems Argumentation-Based Ontology Conflict Resolution Human/Robotic Task Achieving Team ICCS: Institute for Communicating and Collaborative Systems ----------------------------------------------------------- Probabilistic Models of Human Parsing Integrating Linguistic and Visual Processing Dynamic Bayesian Networks for Speech Recognition Probabilistic Approaches to Natural Language Generation Translation of Text to British Sign Language Robust Construction of Semantics Robust Semantic Interpretation Statistical Machine Translation for Biomedical Domains Microphone-Array Based Speech Recognition Language Models for Multiparty Conversations Hidden Speech Production Models Multimodal Information Access Head Motion Synthesis for Lifelike Conversational Agents Multi-Unit Acoustic Models for Speech Recognition Induction of Wide-Coverage Categorial Lexicon from Large Amounts of Unlabeled Text Use of Intonation in Spoken Language Generation for Human-Machine Dialogue Temporal Semantics Grammar-Driven Language Models Automated Musical Analysis Projecting Discourse Annotation from Parallel Corpora Answering Comparison Questions: What's the Difference? ICSA: Institute for Computing Systems Architecture -------------------------------------------------- Skeletal Parallel Programming Automatic Test Pattern Generation and Scan Insertion for Asynchronous Circuits Noise-Tolerant Asynchronous Circuits Data-Dependent Processing for Energy-Aware Systems Combining Model Checking and Theorem Proving Automated Synthesis of Architectures and Compilers Energy and Area Modelling for Architecture Synthesis Low-Power Multi-Threaded Architectures Reconfigurable Data-Parallel Structures for Embedded Computation LFCS: Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science ---------------------------------------------------- Engineering Electronic Proof Independence-Friendly Temporal Logic Questions on Modal mu-Calculi Concurrency in (Computational) Linguistics Archiving of Scientific Data Integrity Constraints for XML and Beyond Keys for XML Provenance in Databases Vectorizing XML Randomized Algorithms for Transportation Polytopes Complexity of Approximate Counting Algorithmic Verification of Recursive Probabilistic Systems Schema-Directed XML Publishing A Security Model for XML XML Query Languages Service-Oriented Computing for the Overlay Computer PEPA Nets: Modelling Mobile Systems Performance Modelling with Process Algebras Computational Models for Systems Biology A Logic of Computational Effects Proof Carrying Code for the Grid Security for Mobile Devices Algebraic and Logical Foundations of Formal Software Development Topological Models of Computation Constructive Set Theories and their Applications Proof Theory for Programs and Processes Type Systems for Computational Effects Mathematical Models for Concurrent and Mobile Computation Modalities for Name Generation: Logic, Proof and the Meaning of New Designing Services in Service-Oriented Architecture Combinations and Abstractions of Formal Games Links: Web Programming, Faster, Better, Cheaper Further information --------------------------- Information about graduate study, the School of Informatics, the University as a whole and the city of Edinburgh is available from: http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate/ http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/ http://www.ed.ac.uk You can email queries to our Graduate Secretary at: phd-admissions at inf.ed.ac.uk or to individual members of teaching staff. Application forms are available from: http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/postgraduate/applications/forms.html The application form should be returned before the end of March or earlier if possible. Applications for an Overseas Research Studentship must be completed by the beginning of February.