From jun-y at oist.jp Mon Aug 1 02:59:21 2011 From: jun-y at oist.jp (Junichiro Yoshimoto) Date: Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:59:21 +0900 Subject: Connectionists: 2nd Call for Papers: JNNS2011 Message-ID: <4E364EC9.409@oist.jp> ------------------------------------------------------------------ *** Our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this CFP *** ------------------------------------------------------------------ We would like to draw your attention to the 21st Annual Conference of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS2011), which has currently an open call for papers. The submission deadline is scheduled for October 31, 2011. We hope you can participate in this conference by submitting a paper reflecting your current research. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Annual Conference of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS2011) December 15-17, 2011 Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Web Site: http://www.jnns.org/conference/2011 The 21st Annual Conference of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS2011) will be held from December 15th to 17th at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), an international graduate university newly built on a semitropical island 1,600km southwest of Tokyo. JNNS2011 aims to provide a forum for scientists, engineers, educators, and students to discuss the latest progress and future challenges in the field of neural information processing. All presentations will be English to promote international participation. Travel support will be provided for selected student presenters. Keynote Speakers: Dr. Richard Sutton (University of Alberta) Dr. Peter Dayan (University College London) Call for Papers: JNNS2011 invites the submission of papers on substantial and original research in all aspects of neural information processing. We welcome contributions from diverse fields including neurobiology, psychology, mathematical modeling and analysis, machine learning, and information technology. The presenting author should be a member of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS) or supporting societies except presenters from overseas. An author can present only one paper but can be a non-presenting co-author of other papers. Papers should be written in English and is limited to two pages in A4 format using the LaTeX or Word template provided on the web site. Papers should be submitted through the on-line submission system (https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/JNNS2011/). The deadline is noon UTC (9 pm JST) of August 31, 2011. All submitted papers will go through reviewing for acceptance and selection for oral presentation. The result will be notified by October 20. The presenting authors of accepted papers are asked to register for attendance through the web site by October 31, 2011; otherwise, the acceptance will be cancelled. Presentation Format: All general presentations will be given in poster sessions. Selected papers will be presented in single-track oral sessions as well. Important Dates: Paper submission deadline: August 31, 2011. Notification of acceptance: October 20, 2011. Early registration deadline: October 31, 2011. JNNS Young Presenter Awards: JNNS presents Young Presenter Awards for distinguished papers presented at JNNS2011. The eligibility for the award is the first and presenting author who is a JNNS member at the age of 35 or younger (as of December 15, 2011) and has never received the award. The applicants for the award are asked to fill in the application form, which can be downloaded from the JNNS2011 official website, and submit to the JNNS2011 Secretariat. The awarding ceremony will be held as a part of the closing ceremony of JNNS2011. ? English Proofreading Service: JNNS provides an English proofreading service for young researchers to support their paper submission. More information can be found at http://www.jnns.org/confpaper/2011/index.html. Sponsor: Japanese Neural Network Society Co-Sponsor: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Supported by The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan, The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, The Japan Neuroscience Society, and The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, Information Processing Society of Japan, Japan Cognitive Science Society, The Robotics Society of Japan, Fuzzy Logic Systems Institute, and Japan Society for Fuzzy Theory and Intelligent Informatics. Organizers: Executive Chair: Kenji Doya (OIST) Program Chair: Junichiro Yoshimoto (OIST) Secretariat: Neural Computation Unit Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Kunigami, Okinawa 904-0412, Japan E-mail: jnns2011(at)oist.jp From mjose.escobar at gmail.com Mon Aug 1 11:55:43 2011 From: mjose.escobar at gmail.com (Maria Jose Escobar) Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 11:55:43 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: LACONEU2012 Summer School: Neural Coding and Natural Image Statistics Message-ID: We have the pleasure to invite Graduate and Undergraduate students to participate in: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- LACONEU 2012 II Latin American Summer School in Computational Neuroscience and Biomedical Analysis Special Topic: Neural Coding, Natural Images January 9th-13th, 2012 Valpara?so - CHILE http://www.laconeu.cl ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The principal aims of LACONEU 2012 Summer School are to disseminate and to develop Computational Neuroscience in Latin America, gathering researchers and students with common interests in the beautiful and historical city of Valparaiso, in Chile. LACONEU 2012 expects to foster a collaborative exchange between the attendees, researchers and students, based on fundamental theoretical and practical knowledge, and thus, to help the establishment of strong, long-term collaborations. The proficiencies and expertise of the Faculty participants represent an unique opportunity for this research area in Latin America. For this version of LACONEU 2012 we have selected the specific field of Neural Coding, specifically at the Retina and Cortical level, taking advantage of recent developments in sophisticated multi-electrodes recording devices, spike sorting algorithms, natural images usage, statistical theories and formal models for neural coding. The multidisciplinary study of the Neural Code uses tools based on complex biological and theoretical frameworks: neuroscience, physics, statistics, mathematics and computational approaches; bringing the understanding of how the nervous system makes sense of the environment. CONFIRMED SPEAKERS - E.J. Chichilnisky (Salk University, USA) - Tim Gollish (Max Plank Institute, Germany) - Michael Berry II (Princeton University, USA) - Peter Sterling (University of Pennsylvania, USA) - Rava da Silveira (ENS, France) - Pedro Maldonado (ICBM, Chile) - Jean Lorenceau (LENA, France) - Adrian Palacios (CINV, Chile) - Bruno Cessac (INRIA, France) - Maria-Jose Escobar (UTFSM, Chile) - Patricio Orio (CINV, Chile) - Fr?deric Alexandre (INRIA, France) - Thierry Vi?ville (INRIA, France) IMPORTANT DATES - Application submission deadline: September 30th, 2011 (visit the webpage to see the details) - Acceptance notification: October 20th, 2011. TRAVEL GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDENTS Looking forward to see you in January! ----------------------------------------- Mar?a Jos? Escobar, Ph.D. Departamento de Electr?nica Universidad T?cnica Federico Santa Mar?a, Av. Espa?a 1680, Valpara?so, Chile Of: B-318 Ph: +56-32-2 65 47 61 / Fax: +56-32-2 79 74 69 Email: mariajose.escobar at usm.cl WWW: http://www.profesores.elo.utfsm.cl/~mjescobar -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110801/5e2f4e71/attachment.html From anna.belardinelli at uni-bielefeld.de Wed Aug 3 11:07:31 2011 From: anna.belardinelli at uni-bielefeld.de (anna belardinelli) Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2011 17:07:31 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Deadline approaching: CITEC Summer School 2011, Mechanisms of attention - Call for Applications Message-ID: <25122_1312384051_ZZh0x6z1yOaFr.00_C13B3F3D-AD8B-445F-AF4F-812DA33ECAF3@uni-bielefeld.de> Apologies for multiple/cross postings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CALL FOR APPLICATIONS - CITEC Summer School 2011 Mechanisms of attention - From experimental studies to technical systems CITEC, Bielefeld University, Germany, October 3rd-8th, 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Perception and action in biological and technical systems are intimately coupled by a wealth of attentive mechanisms. These mechanisms operate at different stages of cognition, allowing salient information to be flexibly extracted and readily used. How does attention contribute to understanding of scenes, language processing, social interaction, and motor control? To gain insights in these topics, the Graduate School in ?Cognitive Interaction Technology? invites top PhD students to apply for the 2011 Summer School entitled "Mechanisms of attention - From experimental studies to technical systems". It will take place from 3rd (day of arrival) to 8th of October 2011 at Bielefeld University. The vision of CITEC is to create interactive tools that can be operated easily and intuitively - to fit future technology more seamlessly into daily human life. In order to accomplish this, such technology needs to be endowed with cognitive capabilities, and so part of CITEC's mission is the study of the fundamental architectural principles of cognitive interaction. We believe this goal can only be realized through intense interdisciplinary cooperation. The proposed summer school series aims to bring together researchers from a wide range of fields for discussion and exchange of ideas. The CITEC summer school will comprise small-group workshops on practical, experimental and theoretical topics, plenary lectures held by the invited speakers, as well as discussion groups, evening lectures and an activities program. For the afternoon courses, you may select one from the following four streams: 1. Mechanisms Of Active Exploration And Multisensory Integration; 2. Attentional Mechanisms In Language Processing And Communication: From Humans To Virtual Agents; 3. Structuring And Coordinating Attention; 4. Motion And Attention. Guest speakers: Ehud Ahissar ? Weizmann Institute of Science Dana Ballard ? University of Texas at Austin Gustavo Deco ? University Pompeu Fabra Mary Hayhoe ? University of Texas at Austin Gordon Logan ? Vanderbilt University John Tsotsos ? York University Mark Williams ? John Moores University Liverpool We hope to offer a rich curriculum, which will promote discussion across the boundaries of different branches of science. Please find details for the online application here: http://www.cit-ec.de/summerschool/application2011 Deadline for applications is the 14th August 2011 For more information, please visit: http://www.cit-ec.de/summerschool/ Prof. Dr. Thomas Schack - Head of Graduate School Cognitive Interaction Technology, Neurocognition and Action - Biomechanics Group Prof. Dr. Helge Ritter - Coordinator of the Centre of Excellence CITEC, Neuroinformatics Group Claudia Muhl - Graduate School Manager ------------------------------------------- Anna Belardinelli, phD http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/psychologie/ae/Ae01/People/Anna%20Belardinelli/ Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) http://www.cit-ec.de/index.php Universit?t Bielefeld Fakult?t f?r Psychologie und Sportwissenschaft Abteilung f?r Psychologie Postfach 10 01 31 D-33501 Bielefeld Phone: ++49 (0)521 106 - 4505 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110803/eeba5ba5/attachment.html From frank.ritter at psu.edu Tue Aug 2 22:40:10 2011 From: frank.ritter at psu.edu (Frank Ritter) Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2011 22:40:10 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: CogModel notes: ICCM12/BRIMS12/BICA12/Prizes/Books/Jobs Message-ID: This is based on the International Cognitive Modeling Conference mailing list that I maintain. I forward messages about twice a year. (this is the second one for ICCM 2012.) The first announcement is driving this email -- the schedule and web site for ICCM 2012 in Berlin are up. If you would like to be removed, please just let me know. I maintain it by hand to keep it small. cheers, Frank Ritter frank.e.ritter at gmail.com http://acs.ist.psu.edu http://www.frankritter.com 1. ICCM 2012, Berlin, Germany, 12-15 April 2012 http://www.iccm2012.com 2. ICCM 2012 tutorials call, Berlin, Germany, 12 April 2012, due 3 dec 11 http://www.iccm2012.com/tutorials/ 3. BRIMS 2012, 12-15 March 2012, submission deadline LIKELY early Jan 2012 http://www.brimsconference.org 4. Dissertation Prizes in Cognitive Science http://cognitrn.psych.indiana.edu/CogSciPrizes/index.htm 5. Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures 2011 (November 5-6, 2011), papers due by 27 july 2011 (but may have late breaking papers) http://bicasociety.org/2011/ 6. Call for Proposals for Symposia at AISB/IACAP World Congress 2012, 2-6 June 2012 Due 1 Sept 2011 http://events.cs.bham.ac.uk/turing12/ 7. Special issues of Simulation Journal, multiple deadlines http://www.scs.org/specialissues 8. New book on trust, Castelfranchi & Falcone 9. New book on modeling multi-tasking, Salvucci & Taatgen Discount code to order it 10. INNS Membership Progression Scheme 2011 11. Post-doc at U. of Melbourne on games, closing date in sept? 12. Junior Professorship for Psycho-/Neurolinguistics, closing date 8 sept 11 13. faculty position in computational linguistics at UCL, closing date 30 sep 11 14. Senior Scientist Position (hiring notice), no date given http://www.adcogsys.com/ 15. PhD student fellowship, U. of Lausaane, 15 jul 11 (but may be open) *************************************************** 1. ICCM 2012, Berlin, Germany, 12-15 April 2012 http://www.iccm2012.com The conference will be held from 13 to 15 April 2012 in Berlin at the Technische Universitat Berlin (Berlin Institute of Technology (TU/Berlin)). The conference web page is htpp://www.iccm2012.com The International Conference on Cognitive Modeling (ICCM) is the premier conference for research on computational models and computation-based theories of human behavior. ICCM is a forum for presenting, discussing, and evaluating the complete spectrum of cognitive modeling approaches, including connectionism, symbolic modeling, dynamical systems, Bayesian modeling, and cognitive architectures. ICCM includes basic and applied research, across a wide variety of domains, ranging from low-level perception and attention to higher-level problem-solving and learning. ICCM 2012 will be held in Berlin, Germany, on the campus of the Technische Universitat Berlin. The main conference will be held April 13-15, 2012 and the tutorials will be held April 12, 2012. We hope to see you in Berlin, The chairs are: "Nele Russwinkel" , "Uwe Drewitz" , "Hedderik van Rijn" , "Jeronimo Dzaak" *************************************************** 2. ICCM 2012 tutorials call, Berlin, Germany, 12 April 2012, due 3 dec 11 http://www.iccm2012.com/tutorials/ The Tutorials program at the International Conference on Cognitive Modeling (ICCM) 2012 will be held on 12 April 2012. It will provide conference participants with the opportunity to gain new insights, knowledge, and skills from a broad range of areas in the field of cognitive modeling. Tutorial topics will be presented in a taught format and are likely to range from practical guidelines to theoretical issues or software. Tutorials at ICCM have been held many times before, and this year's program will be modelled after them and after the series held at the Cognitive Science Conference. If you are interested, please see the web site for more details. *************************************************** 3. BRIMS 2012, 12-15 March 2012, submission deadline LIKELY early Jan 2012 http://www.brimsconference.org You are invited to participate in the 21st Conference on Behavior Representation in Modeling and Simulation (BRIMS), to be held at the Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island, Florida (near the Georgia / Florida border). BRIMS enables modeling and simulation research scientists, engineers, and technical communities across disciplines to meet, share ideas, identify capability gaps, discuss cutting-edge research directions, highlight promising technologies, and showcase the state-of-the-art in Department of Defense related applications. The BRIMS Conference will consist of many exciting elements in 2012, including special topic areas, technical paper sessions, special symposia/panel discussions, and government laboratory sponsor sessions. Highlights of BRIMS 2012 will include a fantastic lineup of keynote speakers spanning cognitive modeling, sociocultural modeling, and network science. The BRIMS Executive Committee invites papers, posters, demos, symposia, panel discussions, and tutorials on topics related to the representation of individuals, groups, teams and organizations in models and simulations. All submissions are peer-reviewed (see www.brimsconference.org for additional details on submission types). KEY DATES: [estimated] All submissions due: 6 Jan 2012 Tutorial Acceptance: 31 Jan 2012 Authors Notification 31 Jan 2012 Final version due: 18 Feb 2012 Tutorials: 12 March 2011 BRIMS 2010 Opens: 13 March 2011 BRIMS PROGAM COMMITTEE: William Kennedy (George Mason University) Bradley Best (Adaptive Cognitive Systems) Robert St. Amant (North Carolina State University) If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the BRIMS 2012 Conference Chair, Dr. Tiffany Jastrzembski (tiffany.jastrzembski at wpafb.af.mil). *************************************************** 4. Dissertation Prizes in Cognitive Science http://cognitrn.psych.indiana.edu/CogSciPrizes/index.htm [this is a repeat, but is new and worth attention] Call for Nominations The Robert J. Glushko Dissertation Prizes in Cognitive Science Nomination Deadline: January 15, 2011 The Cognitive Science Society and the Glushko-Samuelson Foundation seek nominations for up to five outstanding dissertation prizes in cognitive science. The goals of these prizes are to increase the prominence of cognitive science, and encourage students to engage in interdisciplinary efforts to understand minds and intelligent systems. The hope is that the prizes will recognize and honor young researchers conducting ground-breaking research in cognitive science. The eventual goal is to aid in efforts to bridge between the areas of cognitive science and create theories of general interest to the multiple fields concerned with scientifically understanding the nature of minds and intelligent systems. Promoting a unified cognitive science is consistent with the belief that understanding how minds work will require the synthesis of many different empirical methods, formal tools, and analytic theories. 2011 is the inaugural year of this annual prize. Up-to-date information on the prizes can be found at http://cognitrn.psych.indiana.edu/CogSciPrizes/index.htm . A Description of the Prizes 1) Up to five Robert J. Glushko Dissertation Prizes in Cognitive Science will be awarded annually. Each prize will be accompanied by a certificate and a $10,000 award to be used by the recipient without any constraints. Prize winners will also receive three years of complimentary membership in the Cognitive Science Society starting with the year in which they have won the prize. 2) Prize-winning dissertations are expected to transcend any one of the individual fields comprising cognitive science. They should centrally address issues of interest to multiple fields that comprise cognitive science, including: psychology, computer science, philosophy, linguistics, anthropology, neuroscience, and education. 3) Prize-winners must have received a PhD degree no more than two years before the January 15 nomination deadline. For the 2011 prizes, dissertations will be considered from individuals who received their PhD degrees during the period from January 15, 2009 to January 15, 2011. 4) The dissertation prizes are open to any student who has conducted dissertation research related to cognitive science, regardless of nationality or originating department. How to submit details are on the web site. The deadline for nominations is January 15, 2011. Awardees will be announced by April 15, 2011. *************************************************** 5. Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures 2011 (November 5-6, 2011), papers due by 27 july 2011 (but may have late breaking papers) http://bicasociety.org/2011/ Papers or abstracts are now accepted for Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures 2011 (November 5-6 in Washington DC, co-located with AAAI Fall Symposia). Submissions due by July 27th. More info at http://bicasociety.org/2011/. Please contact Alexei Samsonovich or Kamilla Johannsdottir with any questions. Venue: Holiday Inn, Arlington, VA 22203, USA Publication Venue: IOS Press, FAIA Series Format: One-track, 2-day interactive conference with intermittent paper presentations, panel discussions, exhibits, coffee breaks and 2 socials. Critical Dates - July 27th: paper or abstract submission deadline (need to use IOS Press template) - August 15th: notification of acceptance - August 29th: camera-ready papers due - November 4th, PM: workshop and reception - November 5-6: BICA 2011 CALL FOR PAPERS The challenge of creating a real-life computational equivalent of the human mind calls for our joint efforts to better understand at a computational level how natural intelligent systems develop their cognitive and learning functions. The scope of BICA 2011 includes: - BICA models of robust learning mechanisms; - models of perception, cognition and action; - emotional and social intelligence in artifacts; - vital constraints informed by neuroscience, - human-like episodic and semantic memory; - metacognition, human-like self-regulated learning, bootstrapped and meta-learning; - language acquisition and symbol grounding; - the "critical mass" for cognitive growth in a learning environment, scalability of learning; - the roadmap to solving the challenge. Confirmed speakers include Murray Shanahan, Christian Lebiere, Antonio Chella, Stuart Shapiro, Keith Downing, Brandon Minnery, David Noelle, Frank Ritter, Jeff Krichmar, David Vernon, Scott Fahlman, Amy Kruse, Art Pope, Brandon Rohrer. Submission categories are: abstracts, extended abstracts, position papers and research papers, up to 6 pages free. Information about the event, submission, format, registration, lodging, local arrangements, meals, socials, etc. can be found at http://bicasociety.org/2011/. We are looking forward to seeing you in Arlington in November, -- A.V.S. & K.R.J., BICA 2011 Chairs Second International Conference on Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures Arlington, Virginia: November 5-6 (Saturday-Sunday), 2011 With reception and a workshop on Nov 4th Sponsored by the BICA Society Co-located with AAAI Fall Symposium Series (Nov 4-6), AI Funding Seminar (Nov 3), and Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting *************************************************** 6. Call for Proposals for Symposia at AISB/IACAP World Congress 2012, 2-6 June 2012 Due 1 Sept 2011 http://events.cs.bham.ac.uk/turing12/ From: John Barnden CALL for PROPOSALS for SYMPOSIA =============================== to occur as the main content of the AISB/IACAP World Congress 2012 ============================== in honour of Alan Turing July 2nd to 6th, 2012 University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK http://events.cs.bham.ac.uk/turing12/ or http://www.aisb.org.uk/convention/aisb12/ organized by *** Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour (AISB) [http://www.aisb.org.uk/] *** International Association for Computing and Philosophy (IACAP) [http://www.ia-cap.org/] Preamble -------- AISB and IACAP are delighted to be joining forces to run the above Congress in 2012. The Congress serves both as the year's AISB Convention and the year's IACAP conference. The Congress has been inspired by a desire to honour Alan Turing and by the broad and deep significance of Turing's work to AI, to the philosophical ramifications of computing, and to philosophy and computing more generally. The Congress is one of the events forming the Alan Turing Year (http://www.mathcomp.leeds.ac.uk/turing2012/). The intent of the Congress is to stimulate a particularly rich interchange between AI and Philosophy on any areas of mutual interest, whether directly addressing Turing's own research output or not. The Congress will consist mainly of a number of collocated Symposia on specific research areas, interspersed with Congress-wide refreshment breaks, social events and invited Plenary Talks. This format borrows from the normal AISB Convention practice and the theme-session structure used in IACAP conferences. All papers other than the invited Plenaries will be given within Symposia. This format is perfect for encouraging new dialogue and collaboration both within and between research areas. Symposia are expected normally to last for one day or two days, but somewhat shorter or longer possibilities can be considered. They will probably each involve between ten and fifty participants but there are no particular limits. Symposia can include any type of event of academic benefit: talks, posters, panels, discussions, demonstrations, outreach sessions, etc. Each Symposium will be organized by its own programme committee. The committee proposes the Symposium, defines the area(s) for it, works out a structure for it, issues calls for abstracts/papers etc., manages the process of selecting submitted papers for inclusion, and compiles an electronic file on which the symposium proceedings will be based (locally produced, and not precluding publication of papers elsewhere). The Congress organizers are in charge of everything else: overall schedule, plenary talks, registration, creation of the individual symposium proceedings in print, creation of an overall electronic proceedings for the Conference, etc. Some Research Themes -------------------- Proposals for Symposia are welcomed in all areas of AI and cognitive science (as at normal AISB Conventions) and all areas of philosophy related to computing (as at normal IACAP conferences). We have identified some research areas as being especially appropriate for the Congress. These are as follows, BUT ARE IN NO WAY EXCLUSIVE: -- the fundamental nature and limits of computation -- computational theory of mind -- the nature and possibility of AI -- testing for intelligence (natural or artificial) -- consciousness (natural or artificial) -- creativity (artistic and otherwise), aesthetics, etc. -- people's attitudes towards and relationships with intelligent machines -- ethics of AI and computing in general, and how AI may ultimately affect ethics -- the philosophical nature & ramifications (e.g., for notions of person, self, agenthood, social cognition) of both intelligent software agents in cyberspace and people's virtual identities. Proposals for symposia touching on these themes will be especially welcome, but we will also very much welcome proposals in other areas relevant to AISB and/or IACAP. In particular, WE WELCOME SEQUELS to PREVIOUS AISB SYMPOSIA or IACAP THEME SESSIONS. Symposium Proposal Procedure ---------------------------- NB: -- Proposers are welcome to submit more than one proposal, or to be involved in some other way in more than one. -- Proposers need not already be members of either Society and will not be required to become members. They will of course be encouraged to join! The deadline for Symposium proposals is: *1 September 2011* .... Submitting The Proposal: -- Please visit http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=turing2012 in the role of an author and press the button "New Submission". Invited Plenary Speakers ------------------------ Four invited Plenary speakers have so far been secured, namely: COLIN ALLEN Provost Professor of Cognitive Science and of History & Philosophy of Science Department of Philosophy and Philosophy of Science Indiana University LUCIANO FLORIDI Research Chair in Philosophy of Information and UNESCO Chair of Information and Computer Ethics University of Hertfordshire, UK & Director, Information Ethics research Group and Fellow of St Cross College Oxford, UK AARON SLOMAN Honorary Professor School of Computer Science U. of Birmingham, UK STEPHEN WOLFRAM Founder and CEO Wolfram Research, Inc. http://www.stephenwolfram.com/ Congress Chairs --------------- Overall Chairs: Anthony Beavers Philosophy and Cognitive Science The University of Evansville Evansville, Indiana 47722 USA +1 812-488-2682 afbeavers at gmail.com (Tony is the President of IACAP) John Barnden School of Computer Science University of Birmingham Birmingham, B15 2TT +44 (0)121-414-3816 J.A.Barnden at cs.bham.ac.uk (John is currently Vice-Chair of AISB, and was Chair from 2003 to 2010) We expect to have selected the successful proposals by 15th September. We will be requiring the proposers of the successful proposals to put out a first call for abstracts/papers by 15th October, with a view to: :: submissions being in by 1 February 2012 :: inclusion decisions made by 1 March 2012 :: final abstract/paper versions for inclusion in proceedings delivered by 30 March 2012. (These dates are provisional and may be adjusted.) *************************************************** 7. Special issues of Simulation Journal, multiple deadlines http://www.scs.org/specialissues To: Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:20:38 -0400 From: vsim-conf at sce.carleton.ca Subject: [simu-conf] SIMULATION Journal Special Issues Dear Colleague: As a member of the Modeling and Simulation Community, you might be interested in the following upcoming call-for-papers for Special Issues to be published in http://sim.sagepub.com/ Simulation, Transactions of the Society of Modeling and Simulation International". M&S Optimization Applications in Industry and Engineering http://www.scs.org/simulation/specialissues?q=node/245 o Submission of papers due by: April 15, 2011 o Publication expected: Summer 2012 This Special Issue of the SIMULATION Journal aims to highlight academic foundations as well as real-world industrial applications focusing on lessons learned, experienced constraints, and proof of concepts and generalizability of implemented solutions. Authors of high quality, unpublished contributions to this field of Modeling and Simulation are invited to submit papers to this Special Issue. This special issue is aimed to solicit papers on the following topics of interest, but not limited to: Facility Layout Optimization Transportation Optimization Support of Environmental Science Optimization in Business Applications Optimization support in Engineering Domains (such as Biomedical, Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, and Mechanical) Activity Driven Modeling and Simulation: Theory and Applications http://www.scs.org/simulation/specialissues?q=node/133 o Submission of papers due by: April 30, 2011 o Publication expected: Spring 2012 This special issue will highlight new research that uncovers and examines aspects of activity driven modeling and simulation that cut across domains of application. Submissions for the special issue should therefore focus on theory, methods, tools, and applications that have cross-disciplinary appeal. Specific topics of interest include, but are not limited to: Numerical issues and algorithms Modeling methods and tools Parallel simulation Algorithms for and uses of novel computer architectures Fundamental theory Inter-disciplinary applications and case studies Design and refactoring of simulators to support activity based M&S Modeling and Simulation of Aeronautical Systems http://www.scs.org/simulation/specialissues?q=node/255 o Submission of papers due by: May 30, 2011 o Publication expected: Fall 2012 As a showcase for multidisciplinary research, this special issue shall bring innovative approaches in composite material behaviors, diagnostic approaches, instrumentation and sensing, implementation of flight and systems models on computers. Authors of high quality, unpublished contributions are invited to submit papers to this Special Issue for a variety of topics including, but not limited to: Simulation of Complex Aeronautical Systems Aeronautical Systems of Systems Engineering Materials for Aeronautical and Aerospace vehicles Flight control and navigation systems CAT (Clear Air Turbulence) prediction and analysis Structural Analysis of air lifting bodies Aircraft material fatigue phenomenon Flight training simulators Flight safety analysis and design Modeling Sustainability for Third Millennium http://www.scs.org/simulation/specialissues?q=node/202 o Submission of papers due by: August 1, 2011 o Publication expected: Fall 2012 This special issue aims at providing the opportunity for authors to submit original and unpublished articles on innovative ways to use Modeling and Simulation as Enabling Technology for investigating Technical, Economic, Social and Environmental sustainability of Human Enterprises. Simulation represents probably the only methodology to provide to the human race a tool for enabling control of mankind evolution; in fact historical data for understanding the situation evolution in this context could be collected just when it is too late to react. Validated, verified and accredited models represent the cornerstone for anticipating future critical situations. Multidisciplinary approaches are encouraged to properly address the framework of complex system sustainability. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: Coupling economic, social, business and environmental models for studying sustainability Interoperable simulation for combining different models addressing sustainability issues Modeling and simulation as support risks and opportunities analysis within the new reference scenario characterized by the global financial crisis Modeling social and human factors and their influence in human enterprises and activities Modeling drivers and guidelines definition for human enterprise sustainability Modeling global or local sustainability Models for estimating medium and long term sustainability Advancing Simulation Theory and Practice with Distributed Computing http://www.scs.org/simulation/specialissues?q=node/274 o Submission of papers due by: November 30, 2011 o Publication expected: Spring 2013 The pursuit of high quality simulation experimentation and optimization can require non-trivial amounts of computing power. Having access to an increased number of computers usually enables "further and faster experimentation" of the models. Distributed computing concepts such as High Performance Computing (HPC), High Throughput Computing (HTC), grid and cloud computing can provide the required computing capacity for the execution of large and complex models. Further there has been a long tradition of adopting advances in distributed computing in simulation as evidenced by contributions from the parallel and distributed simulation community. There has arguably been a recent acceleration of innovation in distributed computing tools and techniques. This special issue presents the opportunity to showcase recent research that is assimilating these new advances in simulation. This special issue therefore solicits high quality papers on both computational and theoretical studies that further the extant literature on the application of distributed computing to simulation. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: Methodologies for creation of scalable simulation models. Methodologies and algorithms associated with distributed execution of models (e.g. algorithms for task-farming and load-balancing) Theoretical issues, methodology and software architectures for large scale distributed simulations (e.g. parallel and distributed simulation, multi-agent based distributed simulation, IEEE 1516 HLA architecture, Distributed Interactive Simulation). Algorithms for parallel and distributed simulation, including time synchronization, optimistic and conservative protocols. Ubiquitous computing architectures for development and experimentation of simulation models. Collaborative model development (e.g., shared workspace, shared manipulation of models) The above special issues are still open for submission of papers. Please see the SCS web site at www.scs.org for details. If you want to propose a special issue for SIMULATION, please see SPECIAL ISSUES: Principles & Guidelines on the SCS website at: [broken URL passed to me] If you want to obtain further details about SIMULATION and SCS publications, find more information in the following Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.scs.org/upload/FAQPublications.pdf [problems/issues: contact vsim-conf-owner at sce.carleton.ca] *************************************************** 8. New book on trust, Castelfranchi & Falcone If you think that it is appropriate, please send next time the announcement of this book (long or short). It is a Cognitive Science book on a crucial topic (the theory of trust, what is trust, and how it works) with a really interdisciplinary approach, centered on cognitive modeling. TRUST THEORY A SOCIO-COGNITIVE AND COMPUTATIONAL MODEL Cristiano Castelfranchi - http://www.istc.cnr.it/ Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), Italy Rino Falcone - http://t3.istc.cnr.it/trustwiki/index.php/T3_Group_Home Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), Italy A John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., Publication CHAPTERS 1 Definitions of Trust: From Conceptual Components to the General Core Two Intertwined Notions of Trust: Trust as Attitude vs. Trust as Act A Critique of Some Significant Definitions of Trust - Gambetta: Is Trust Only About Predictability? - Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman: Is Trust Only Willingness, for Any Kind of Vulnerability? - McKnight: The Black Boxes of Trust - Marsh: Is a Mere Expectation Enough for Modeling Trust? - Yamagishi: Mixing up the Act of Trusting and the Act of Cooperating - Trust as Based on Reciprocity 26 Hardin: Trust as Encapsulated Interest - Rousseau: What Kind of Intention is 'Trust'? 2 Socio-Cognitive Model of Trust: Basic Ingredients 3 Socio-Cognitive Model of Trust: Quantitative Aspects 4 The Negative Side: Lack of Trust, Implicit Trust, Mistrust, Doubts and Diffidence 5 The Affective and Intuitive Forms of Trust: The Confidence We Inspire 6 Dynamics of Trust 7 Trust, Control and Autonomy: A Dialectic Relationship 8 The Economic Reductionism and Trust (Ir)rationality 9 The Glue of Society 10 On the Trustee's Side: Trust As Relational Capital 11 A Fuzzy Implementation for the Socio-Cognitive Approach to Trust 12 Trust and Technology 13 Concluding Remarks and Pointers *************************************************** 9. New book on modeling multi-tasking, Salvucci & Taatgen Discount code to order it at http://www.oup.com/us , enter promo code 29475 for 20% off for books in the Oxford series on cognitive models and architectures Salvucci and Taatgen: The multitasking mind Anderson: HOW CAN HUM MIND OCCUR Bach: PRINCIP OF SYNTHETIC INTELLIG Ritter:IN ORDER TO LEARN Gray:INTEGRATED MODELS OF COG SYS **************************************************************** 10. INNS Membership Progression Scheme 2011 [from the ACT-R mailing list] INNS Membership Progression Scheme 2011 The International Neural Network Society (INNS) is the organization for individuals interested in a theoretical and computational understanding of the brain/mind and applying that knowledge to develop new and more effective forms of machine intelligence. INNS was formed in 1987 by the leading scientists in the neural network field. The field of neural networks encourages interdisciplinary perspectives, and INNS' membership reflects this diversity. Members represent a variety of fields, backgrounds and level of interest. INNS has introduced a new membership category of Senior Member (SM) to recognize INNS members for their contributions, and to allow for a progression of the INNS members to a higher recognition membership status. We call for 2011 Senior Member nominations. For 2011, on-line senior membership nomination and application can be made through the website at: or alternatively, you can sent via e-mail a nomination letter and a CV of the candidate to the INNS VP for Membership, Irwin King under the Subject line: "2011 INNS Senior Membership Nomination for [Applicant's Name]", on or before July 22, 2011. Final confirmation of the 2011 Senior Members will be made by the INNS Board of Governors and appropriate announcements will then be made, at least on the INNS website, www.inns.org, and in the Tri-Society Newsletter. INNS Membership Information: As of 2011, INNS has three types of confirmed membership categories: ? Student (payment 1 year $25; 2 years $35) ? Regular member (1 year $85; 2 years $125) ? Affiliate member (1 year $30; 2 years $40) for ENNS and JNNS members only Every INNS member receives, for example: ? A reduced fee to attend the annual IJCNN conference and the biennial INNS Symposia, as well as many other INNS co-sponsored conferences worldwide ? A subscription to the Tri-Society Newsletter ? A subscription to the flagship journal Neural Networks * Participation in many special interest groups and regional chapters, etc. etc. For further information, contact: INNS VP for Membership, Irwin King *************************************************** 11. Post-doc at U. of Melbourne on games, closing date in sept? Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:09:36 +1000 From: "Florian 'Floyd' Mueller" Subject: Job: More research post opportunities in Australia To: CHI-JOBS at LISTSERV.ACM.ORG Hi, If you are interested in HCI and games, and are interested in research-only (no teaching required) posts in Melbourne, Australia, please consider the RMIT vice-chancellor fellowship (see rmit.edu.au, then click on ad), deadline in 2 days, and also the following below: Thanks, Floyd FYI: The McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme has been established to attract outstanding recent doctoral graduates to the University in areas of research priority for the university and its faculties, and in particular to recruit new researchers who have the potential to build and lead cross-disciplinary collaborative research activities inside and across faculties. The University offers a leading and lively research environment that is internationally engaged, public-spirited, and with many outstanding areas of research strength. The objectives of the scheme are to: assist the university to build an ambitious program of research activity, and [to] attract outstanding postdoctoral researchers to be part of that and to begin to build the next generation of research activity. Applicants must have graduated or have completed all the required steps to be eligible to graduate with a PhD by the closing date of 7 October 2011, from a university other than the University of Melbourne. The PhD must have been awarded in the preceding 12 months, i.e. on or after 7 October 2010. The McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships are intended for applicants who do not hold a fixed term or continuing appointment at the University of Melbourne. Applicants may be drawn from any field in which the University of Melbourne has research strength, and must have an ability to contribute to research collaborations and programs across faculties or disciplines. Applicants will be required to provide a declaration of support from the department/school in which they would be located if successful but the criteria for selection will be university-based. International applications are welcomed. The applicant must have the right to work in Australia. Permanent residency or citizenship is not a requirement. Fellowships can be awarded for fractional appointments. Assessment will take account of achievement relative to opportunity. Outcomes are expected to be communicated first week of December 2011. The Fellowships will be funded by Melbourne Research to the value of a Level A academic salary including on costs. Fellows will be employed at Level A.6 in the University Salary Band. Fellows will receive an additional $15,000 to be spent on travel and/or equipment over the term of their Fellowship. Awards will be for a maximum of three years commencing (1 January 2012) but start date may be deferred up to (30 June 2012). Funding Guidelines along with the application form and FAQ are available at the following link: http://www.research.unimelb.edu.au/rgc/grants/find/schemes/uom/mckenzie_fellowships For further information in the first instance please email: McKenzie-application at unimelb.edu.au or you may phone the Office of the Executive Director, Research - Dr David Cookson: +61 (0)3 9035 4413. Candidates should submit their application directly to mckenzie-application at unimelb.edu.au but should also cc to gwenda at unimelb.edu.au on final application. Should MSE staff seek assistance in reviewing applications from candidates, please forward to Gwenda Pittaway no later than 26 September. Any other queries may be directed to Gwenda Pittaway, gwenda at unimelb.edu.au, x44421 (MSE) Gwenda Pittaway Research Officer MERIT Research Services Depts Electrical and Electronic Engineering, CSSE and Mechanical Engineering Melbourne School of Engineering THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE Parkville campus, Victoria 3010 Australia Tel: +61 3 83444421 gwenda at unimelb.edu.au **************************************************************** 12. Junior Professorship for Psycho-/Neurolinguistics, closing date 8 sept 11 From: "Angela Schwering" Subject: Junior Professorship for Psycho-/Neurolinguistics, University of Osnabrueck Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:14:07 +0200 Junior Professorship for Psycho-/Neurolinguistics The interdisciplinary Institute of Cognitive Science of the University of Osnabruck offers a junior professorship for Psycho-/Neurolinguistics (salary level W1) to be filled as soon as possible. The contract will be initially for three years with the possibility of an extension for a further period of three years, provided the intermediate evaluation has been passed successfully. The successful applicant will represent the discipline of Neurolinguistics or Psycholinguistics within Cognitive Science with regard to both teaching and research in his or her own responsibility and will act independently also with regard to the acquisition of external research funds. The position involves research in the areas of Neuro-/Psycholinguistics. Candidates are expected to interdisciplinarily collaborate with several of the other research groups at the Institute of Cognitive Science (Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Psychology, Computational Linguistics, Neurobiopsychology, Neurocybernetics, Neuroinformatics, and Philosophy of Cognition). Furthermore, the position involves teaching with a focus on neuro- /psycholinguistic approaches in the international BSc, MSc, and PhD programs of Cognitive Science. Requirements are a doctorate in Neuro-/Psycholinguistics or closely related subject area; excellent research qualifications documented by an outstanding dissertation and publications in international reviewed journals; interest and documented experience in interdisciplinary work; thorough familiarity with linguistic theory, brain research, and experimental methods. Very good knowledge of English as well as very good teaching qualifications are required. Applicants should have completed their doctorate within the past five years. Classes taught by the successful applicant are offered to foreign and German students of the international BSc., MSc., and PhD programs ?Cognitive Science?. All classes are taught in English. Further information on the Cognitive Science programs and the Institute of Cognitive Science can be found at http://www.cogsci.uni-osnabrueck.de) Osnabruck University is an equal opportunity employer. Women are therefore particularly encouraged to apply. Disabled applicants with equivalent qualification will be treated preferentially. Candidates are invited to send their applications with the usual documentation (including CV, lists of publications and taught courses, names and addresses of three referees, and a sketch of a research program) no later than 8th September 2011 to the Director of the Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabruck, Albrechtstrasse 28, 49076 Osnabruck, Germany. **************************************************************** 13. faculty position in computational linguistics at UCL, closing date 30 sep 11 Faculty Position in Computational Linguistics Closing date: 30-Sep-2011 Further details at: https://atsv7.wcn.co.uk/search_engine/jobs.cgi?owner=5041178&ownertype=fair&jcode=1200111 **************************************************************** 14. Senior Scientist Position (hiring notice), no date given http://www.adcogsys.com/ From: To: act-r-users at act-r.psy.cmu.edu Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:29:43 -0700 Subject: [ACT-R-users] Senior Scientist Position (hiring notice) Adaptive Cognitive Systems LLC (http://www.adcogsys.com) is a stable small company, founded in 2006, seeking an exceptionally reliable and diligent senior scientist to conduct human-computer interaction research. ACS has a current contract with the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAVAIR), and ongoing collaborations with university partners, positioning ACS as a leader in the emerging cognitive modeling software domain. The work is fascinating! Requirements: -Ph.D. in Computer Science, Mathematics, Psychology, Machine Learning, Linguistics, or a related field. -Minimum 5 years experience industry experience as a senior scientist (with excellent references) -Experience in analysis of very large data sets, experimental design, and software development -Proven ability to successfully and quickly write all levels and types of funding proposals -A track record of high quality journal publications and established industry contacts -Works effectively with research assistants and research programmers -The ability to present complex technical information in a clear and concise manner -Comfortable with change, learning and novelty Bonus: -Interest in virtual environments, gaming, and artificial intelligence Responsibilities: -Performs all aspects of senior scientist research and documentation -Co-writes all levels and types of funding proposals Location: Downtown Fairhaven located in Bellingham, Washington Compensation: Salary Depends on Experience Interested applicants - please send a cover letter and CV to dlunt at adcogsys.com. Thank you, Diane Lunt Adaptive Cognitive Systems, LLC Executive Assistant 1942 Broadway Street, Suite 314 Boulder, CO 80302 Office Phone: 303-413-3472 **************************************************************** 15. PhD student fellowship, U. of Lausaane, 15 jul 11 (but may be open) From: "Marewski, Julian" To: Cc: marewski at act-r.psy.cmu.edu Subject: [ACT-R-users] Doctoral student position at the University ofLausanne Faculty for Business and Economics (HEC): Cognitive modeling of decision making processes Dear all, I seek candidates for a doctoral student position at the Department of Organizational Behavior of the Faculty for Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Since the position can start as early as the summer/fall 2011, I'd like to spread the word quickly. I would appreciate it if this email could be passed on to potentially interested students. The student will have virtually no tasks other than doing her/his research. There are no teaching obligations. Parts of the research should focus on the mathematical or computational modeling of human cognitive decision processes and/or on the cognitive mechanisms underlying bounded rationality in organizations in business, industry, and/or political contexts. Candidates with an interest in heuristic decision making and/or ACT-R modeling are especially encouraged to apply (but prior knowledge of these is not necessary.) Swiss salaries are competitive. Best wishes and many thanks, Julian The Department of Organizational Behavior of the Faculty for Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne seeks applicants for Doctoral Student Fellowship The position (60%) is to begin August 1st, 2011 or later. The contract is limited to 1 year, and can be prolonged for 2x2 years. The maximum funding period is 5 years. Successful candidates will obtain a Ph.D. in Management. The work location is Lausanne Dorigny. Job description We seek applicants to work on the cognitive modeling of decision making processes in organizations in business, industry, and/or political contexts. We expect Ph.D. candidates to publish their research in top-tier journals. The candidate is expected to devote at the very least 50% of her/his time to her/his research project, and at the very most 50% (and only if necessary) to support other research, administrative, and teaching activities. Excellent candidates will be freed as much as possible to devote their time exclusively to research. Requirements Applicants should be interested in the mathematical or computational modeling of human cognitive decision processes as well as in the cognitive mechanisms underlying bounded rationality in organizations in business, industry, and/or political contexts. Knowledge of quantitative research methods, and ideally, programming skills (e.g., MATLAB, R, ACT-R) is helpful but not required. A university degree in psychology, business, economics, mathematics, computer sciences, physics, biology, or another quantitatively-oriented discipline as well as very good English skills are required. Application materials and deadline Please submit applications by July 15th, 2011. Applications include a cover letter describing research interests and a potential thesis project, curriculum vitae, university transcripts, two letters of recommendation, previous work transcripts (if available), and up to two publications (if available). The preferred method of submission are PDF files e-mailed to the responsible professor, Julian Marewski (marewski at mpib-berlin.mpg.de). The Department of Organizational Behavior and Lausanne The Department of Organizational Behavior of the Faculty for Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne provides a stimulating, interdisciplinary research environment. We value the diversity of the expertise of the members of the department (we have Ph.D.s in business, management, psychology, and economics) as well as the diversity of the departments at the Faculty of Business and Economics. We publish in top-tier journals in different disciplines, including Science, Psychological Review, and the American Economic Review. Our department's members come from different countries, and the working language of the department is English. Located near Lake Geneva and surrounded by the Jura Mountains and the French Alps, Lausanne is a beautiful and cosmopolitan spot to live and work. We have a collegial atmosphere that makes it easy for us to carry out our research. Information about the Department of Organizational Behavior is available at http://www.hec.unil.ch/hec/recherche/unite?set_language=en&unite_id=239& cl=en . Information about the University of Lausanne's Ph.D. program can be found at http://www.hec.unil.ch/hec/doctorats/phdmanagement/why/welcome . More information about the position can be inquired directly from Julian Marewski (marewski at mpib-berlin.mpg.de and http://www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/en/staff/julian-marewski Disclaimer: This ad stills requires final official approval from the University of Lausanne. -30- From michel.verleysen at uclouvain.be Tue Aug 2 03:04:19 2011 From: michel.verleysen at uclouvain.be (Michel Verleysen) Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2011 09:04:19 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: ESANN 2012: call for papers and for special sessions Message-ID: <002f01cc50e2$66729cc0$3357d640$@verleysen@uclouvain.be> *** We apologize for possible duplicates of this message sent to distribution lists. *** ESANN 2012: European Symposium on Artificial Neural Networks, Computational Intelligence and Machine Learning Bruges, Belgium, 25 to 27 April 2012? -20th anniversary !- http://www.dice.ucl.ac.be/esann/ First announcement and call for papers and Call for proposals for special sessions ------------------------------------------ We are pleased to inform you that preliminary information about ESANN 2012 is available: see http://www.dice.ucl.ac.be/esann/.? ESANN 2012 will take place in Bruges, Belgium from 25 to 27 April 2012.? The call for papers is available at http://www.dice.ucl.ac.be/esann/index.php?pg=cfp. You will find at http://www.dice.ucl.ac.be/esann/index.php?pg=cfss a call for special session proposals.? If you are interested in organizing a special session at ESANN 2012, please send an e-mail to esann at uclouvain.be, and we will send you the guide for session organizers.? The deadline for submitting special session proposals is August 15th, 2011. ESANN 2012 builds upon a successful series of conference organized each year since 1993. ESANN has become a major scientific event in the machine learning, computational intelligence and artificial neural networks fields over the years. The conference will be organized in Bruges, one of the most beautiful medieval towns in Europe. Designated as the "Venice of the North", the city has preserved all the charms of the medieval heritage. Its centre, which is inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage list, is in itself a real open air museum. We hope to receive your submission to ESANN 2012 and to see you in Bruges next year! Sincerely yours, Michel Verleysen ==================================================== Michel Verleysen Professor - Honorary Research Director FNRS ICTEAM Institute - ELEN - Machine Learning Group Louvain School of Engineering Universit? catholique de Louvain Mail address: SST/ICTM/ELEN Maxwell Place du Levant 3, bte L5.03.02 B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium Tel: +32 10 47 25 51 - Fax: +32 10 47 25 98 E-mail: michel.verleysen at uclouvain.be Homepage: http://perso.uclouvain.be/michel.verleysen Institute: http://www.uclouvain.be/icteam Machine Learning Group: http://www.ucl.ac.be/mlg/ Doctoral School: http://www.uclouvain.be/doctoralschool-cil ==================================================== From jlam at bccn-tuebingen.de Wed Aug 3 11:17:01 2011 From: jlam at bccn-tuebingen.de (Judith Lam) Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2011 17:17:01 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: BCCN Cluster D Symposium "Multisensory perception and action" on Sept 28-29 Message-ID: <4E39666D.2010006@bccn-tuebingen.de> *%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Bernstein Cluster D Symposium, September 28 - 29: "Multisensory perception and action" %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% *We are happy to announce the second *Bernstein Symposium *of our series entitled * * *"Multisensory perception and action" * * *The symposium will take place on * * *September 28/29 * * * at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics, T?bingen Germany. * * This two-day symposium will focus on topics related to multisensory perception and action as viewed from different perspectives starting at the neural level to robotic applications. We are particularly happy with the high-quality list of confirmed speakers which include: ** *Barry Stein*, Wake Forest University, North Carolina, USA *Wei Ji Ma*, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas, USA *John van Opstal*,University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands *David Knill*, University of Rochester, New York, USA *Dana Ballard*, University of Texas, Texas, USA *Giulio Sandini*, Italian Institute of Technology, Genua, Italy **The symposium, which is*organized by Cluster D of the newly established Bernstein Center in T?bingen (http://www.bccn-tuebingen.de/research/cluster-d.html),*will start on September 28 at 2 pm**(registration opens at 1 pm)**and will end on Thursday after lunch. In addition to the talks we will also have a poster session on Wednesday late afternoon and we gladly accept suggestions for poster presentations. The registration fee is 25,- Euro. Coffeebreaks on both days and lunch on thursday will be provided. For the symposium dinner on Wednesday evening an additional fee of 30,- Euro will be charged. For registration and further details see http://www.bccn-tuebingen.de/events/bernstein-symposium-series-2011/symposium-d.html. Please register as soon as possible as we can accommodate only a limited number of participants due to space constraints. You can find out more about the series at http://www.bccn-tuebingen.de/events/bernstein-symposium-series-2011.html and about the venue at http://tuebingen.mpg.de/en/facilities/max-planck-house.html ). We look forward to seeing you in Tuebingen Marc Ernst -- -- Judith Lam Executive Coordinator Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience T?bingen http://www.bccn-tuebingen.de/about-bccn/contact.html Spemannstr. 41, 72076 T?bingen Tel: +49 7071 601 1766 Fax: +49 7071 601 1794 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110803/1aa2904e/attachment.html From hakwan at gmail.com Wed Aug 3 12:35:41 2011 From: hakwan at gmail.com (Hakwan Lau) Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2011 12:35:41 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoc / RA position in New York (Hakwan Lau Lab, Columbia University) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Our laboratory at Columbia University (Manhattan, New York City) is looking for a postdoc / research assistant with background in computational neuroscience or mathematical psychology, to help to develop models of attention and conscious perception that are driven by recent novel psychophysics findings in the laboratory. There will also be opportunity to develop experiments to directly test these models. The candidate should be interested in and familiar with some of the following topics, ideally as reflected by first-authored publications: - perceptual decision making (mathematical models and physiological basis) - the effects of noise and noise correlations in population coding and perception - visual attention - confidence ratings in psychophysical tasks - peripheral vision Interested candidates please send along a CV to Hakwan Lau (hakwan at gmail.com ) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110803/faf6d165/attachment.html From d.mareschal at bbk.ac.uk Sat Aug 6 07:10:36 2011 From: d.mareschal at bbk.ac.uk (Denis Mareschal) Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 12:10:36 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Psychological Sciences Professorial position in London Message-ID: Birkbeck College, University of London - School of Science, Department of Psychological Science (http://www.bbk.ac.uk/psychology/) Permanent, Full time Professorial position The Department of Psychological Sciences is a centre of vibrant research and teaching whose history can be traced to the beginnings of the scientific study of the subject in the UK over a century ago. We are looking for a new Professor to join our Department of Psychological Sciences, a research intensive Department that was ranked in the top 5 in the UK in the most recent research assessment exercise held in 2008. Applications are invited from candidates with specialist interests in any of the core research areas supported by the Department. These include cognitive neuroscience and computational or mathematical modelling of human behavior. Applicants must be able to demonstrate an international capability in research leadership and grant funding as well as being able to contribute to teaching. Further details can be found at https://www15.i-grasp.com/fe/tpl_birkbeckcollege01.asp?newms=jj&id=41571&aid=14046 The closing date for completed applications is 16 September 2011 Best regards, Denis Mareschal -- ================================================= Professor Denis Mareschal Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development School of Psychology Birkbeck College University of London Malet St., London WC1E 7HX, UK tel +44 (0)20 7079-0751/7631-6582 reception: 7631-6207 fax +44 (0)20 7631-6312 http://www.bbk.ac.uk/psyc/staff/academic/dmareschal Neuroconstructivism books: http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780198529910 http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780198529934 ================================================= -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110806/217cd21b/attachment-0001.html From h.jaeger at jacobs-university.de Wed Aug 3 12:50:17 2011 From: h.jaeger at jacobs-university.de (Herbert Jaeger) Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2011 18:50:17 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Postdoc/PhD Position in Neural Robot Architectures Message-ID: <4E397C49.8090907@jacobs-university.de> Jacobs University Bremen announces an immediately fillable POSTDOC/PhD RESEARCH POSITION IN NEURAL ARCHITECTURES FOR HUMANOID ROBOT CONTROL The position is created within the integrated project "Adaptive Modular Architecture for Rich Motor Skills" (AMARSi, http://www.amarsi-project.eu/), funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Program "Cognitive Systems, Interaction, Robotics". The consortium comprises ten European research groups from robotics, machine learning, computational neuroscience and behavioural neuroscience, providing a rich context for interdisciplinary research. The position is placed in the MINDS (Modeling of Intelligent Dynamical Systems) group of Herbert Jaeger (http://minds.jacobs-university.de). The contract is limited to the end of the project in March 2014, with optional extension subject to availability of funding. The salary is highly competitive. The AMARSi project investigates complex modular neurocontroller architectures for quadruped and humanoid robots, and strives to unite methods from robot engineering with insights from biological motor control. In the MINDS group, the emphasis is on the conceptual (but rigorously formalized!) design and mathematical analysis of hierarchical motor control learning architectures based on recurrent neural networks, building on starting ideas in the spirit of reservoir computing (http://www.reservoir-computing.org). Required qualifications: * a thorough and rigorous understanding of fundamental linear algebra, * familiarity with essential concepts from dynamical systems, at least on an intuitive level, * research experience in at least one of the following fields: control theory; machine learning; computational neuroscience; robotics; intelligent agent architectures; theory of complex dynamical systems, * good command of English, * interest in very interdisciplinary work. For initiating an application, please email a short statement of motivation and a CV to Herbert Jaeger (h.jaeger at jacobs-university.de). Jacobs University Bremen is an equal opportunity employer and has been certified ?Family Friendly? by the Hertie-Stiftung. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Dr. Herbert Jaeger Professor for Computational Science Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH Campus Ring 28759 Bremen, Germany Phone (+49) 421 200 3215 Fax (+49) 421 200 49 3215 email h.jaeger at jacobs-university.de http://minds.jacobs-university.de ------------------------------------------------------------------ From jenny.bizley at gmail.com Thu Aug 4 11:23:13 2011 From: jenny.bizley at gmail.com (Jenny Bizley) Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2011 16:23:13 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Post-doc position at UCL Ear Institute in auditory/multisensory neurophysiology Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, please see the advertisement below for a 3 year postdoctoral position at UCL Ear Institute, Best wishes, Jenny *UCL Ear Institute* *Research Associate Position in auditory neurophysiology * A 3-year postdoctoral research associate position, funded by the BBSRC, is available at the UCL Ear Institute to investigate the neural basis of auditory perception. Specifically, the project will examine the neural activity underlying a listener?s ability to identify signals, such as speech sounds, across varied and noisy listening conditions. Experimental work will include training animals in listening tasks and using state-of-the-art recording techniques to measure the activity of single neurons and populations of neurons in the auditory cortex of freely moving animals, whilst they discriminate speech-like sounds. These methods will be combined with reversible-inactivation methods in trained animals to identify which auditory cortical fields contribute to different aspects of auditory perception. Similar techniques will be used to investigate the conditions under which visual information can help us to ?hear better? and to examine neural activity in auditory cortex which might underlies this. The successful applicant will have a PhD in auditory neuroscience or a related discipline and will have experience in electrophysiological recordings and/or animal psychophysics. They are expected to be proficient in signal processing techniques, matlab programming and computational analysis of multi-electrode data sets. The Ear Institute (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ear) is a multi-disciplinary facility with the remit of ?*understanding hearing and fighting deafness?*. Facilities at the Ear Institute are world-class, and will enable all of the components of the project to be undertaken to a high level. The laboratory is also affiliated with UCL?s Department of Neuroscience, Pharmacology and Physiology (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/npp/) enabling the successful applicant to become part of UCL?s exceptional neuroscience community. The position is funded for three years by a BBSRC project grant and is available immediately.* *For an informal discussion please contact Dr Jennifer Bizley (email: j.bizley at ucl.ac.uk). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110804/1b320203/attachment.html From peter.koenig at uni-osnabrueck.de Fri Aug 5 04:49:04 2011 From: peter.koenig at uni-osnabrueck.de (=?utf-8?B?UGV0ZXIgS/ZuaWc=?=) Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2011 10:49:04 +0200 (CEST) Subject: Connectionists: =?utf-8?q?_PhD_Postdoc_Position_Cognitive_Science?= =?utf-8?q?_at_University_Osnabr=C3=BCck?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <64343.62.198.123.98.1312534144.squirrel@webmail.rz.uni-osnabrueck.de> Vacancy for a Researcher (Phd / Postdoc level) in the Neurobiopsychology Group at the Institute of Cognitive Science. The research group for Neurobiopsychology (Prof. Dr. Peter K?nig) has a vacancy for the position of a Researcher (Postdoc level)(Salary level according to E 13 TV-L, 100%) or Researcher (PhD level)(Salary level according to E 13 TV-L, 75%) to be filled at earliest practicable date for a duration of three years. The researcher will work within the collaborative project ?Multisite communication in the brain? (SFB 936) on processing of visual, auditory and tactile information and sensorimotor integration under natural conditions. This encompasses statistical analysis of natural stimuli, simulation of multimodal sensory systems, integration of experimental data (neuronal activity under multimodal stimulation) and implementation in autonomous systems. Furthermore, the position involves participation in teaching Cognitive Science courses with an emphasis on Neurobiopsychology. The position allows for further qualification. Candidates are expected to have a university degree (at the level of diploma/Master or PhD) and a good research record in at least one of the following areas: Computer simulation of neural systems, statistical analysis of complex systems or optimization methods as well as a good command of the English language. The University of Osnabr?ck is an equal opportunity employer. Women are therefore especially encouraged to apply and will be preferentially considered under the condition of equal qualification. Disabled candidates with equivalent qualification will be given a preference. Applications with the usual documentation should be submitted no later than 31st August, 2011 to the Director of the Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabr?ck, Albrechtstra?e 28, 49076 Osnabr?ck. Further information can be obtained from Prof. Dr. Peter K?nig, (pkoenig at uos.de). From yunfu at buffalo.edu Thu Aug 4 10:07:48 2011 From: yunfu at buffalo.edu (Yun (Raymond) Fu) Date: Thu, 04 Aug 2011 10:07:48 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: IC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship position at SUNY Buffalo In-Reply-To: <4E316E95.6060902@buffalo.edu> References: <4E316E95.6060902@buffalo.edu> Message-ID: <4E3AA7B4.2090901@buffalo.edu> PostDoc Position: IC Postdoctoral Fellowship program. See http://www.icpostdoc.org for more information. Research Area: Cognitive or computational neuroscience, Computer Vision Project Description: Applications are invited for an open Postdoctoral Fellow Research Scientist position at SUNY at Buffalo, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, in the area of computer vision, machine learning and social media analysis. Qualified candidates must have a Ph.D. in related areas with outstanding research record and experience. The grant support will be 2 to 3 years. Successful candidates will conduct basic research and interact with the principal investigator, graduate students, and collaborators. The Computer Science department at SUNY Buffalo is among the oldest CS departments nationwide with a strong focus on cognitive or computational neuroscience, computer vision, pattern recognition, smart environments, and machine learning. See http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/ for more information. Requirements: A highly qualified U.S. citizen who has recently graduated (or will be graduating by the fellowship start date) from an accredited Ph.D. program within the last five years and is interested in working as a Postdoctoral Fellow in SUNY at Buffalo, Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Salary is sufficiently competitive. If you are interested in joining this research project as a Postdoctoral Fellow, please contact: Yun (Raymond) Fu, Principal Investigator Department of Computer Science and Engineering State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo 201 Bell Hall Buffalo, NY 14260-2000, USA Ph: +1 (716) 645 2670 Email: yunfu at buffalo.edu Web: http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~yunfu/ From ted.carnevale at yale.edu Tue Aug 9 17:05:15 2011 From: ted.carnevale at yale.edu (Ted Carnevale) Date: Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:05:15 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: reminder: NEURON course at 2011 SFN meeting Message-ID: <4E41A10B.7020509@yale.edu> Registration is still open for "Using NEURON to Model Cells and Networks", the course that we will present on November 11, 2011, in Washington, DC as a satellite to the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. For information about the course and an on-line registration form, see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/dc2011/dc2011.html --Ted From ASIM.ROY at asu.edu Thu Aug 11 15:07:17 2011 From: ASIM.ROY at asu.edu (Asim Roy) Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:07:17 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: Call for Papers - Neural Networks special issue on Autonomous Learning Message-ID: Apologies for cross posting. Neural Networks Special Issue: Autonomous Learning ======================================================================== ===================== Autonomous learning is a very broad term and includes many different kinds of learning. Fundamental to all of them is some kind of a learning algorithm. Whatever the kind of learning, we generally have not been able to deploy the learning systems on a very wide scale, although there certainly are exceptions. One of the biggest challenges to wider deployment of existing learning systems comes from algorithmic control. Most of the current learning algorithms require parameters to be set individually for almost every problem to be solved. The limitations of the current learning systems, compared to biological ones, was pointed out in a 2007 National Science Foundation (USA) report (( >). Here's a part of the summary of that report: "Biological learners have the ability to learn autonomously, in an ever changing and uncertain world. This property includes the ability to generate their own supervision, select the most informative training samples, produce their own loss function, and evaluate their own performance. More importantly, it appears that biological learners can effectively produce appropriate internal representations for composable percepts -- a kind of organizational scaffold - - as part of the learning process. By contrast, virtually all current approaches to machine learning typically require a human supervisor to design the learning architecture, select the training examples, design the form of the representation of the training examples, choose the learning algorithm, set the learning parameters, decide when to stop learning, and choose the way in which the performance of the learning algorithm is evaluated. This strong dependence on human supervision is greatly retarding the development and ubiquitous deployment autonomous artificial learning systems." This special issue of Neural Networks will be on the topic of autonomous learning, focusing mainly on automation of learning methods that can avoid the kinds of dependencies highlighted in the NSF report. We invite original and unpublished research contributions on algorithms for any type of learning problem. RECOMMENDED TOPICS: Topics of interest include - but are not limited to: * Unsupervised learning systems; * Autonomous learning of reasoning; * Autonomous learning of motor control; * Autonomous control systems and free will; * Autonomous robotic systems; * Autonomy as based on internal reward and value systems and their learning and development; * Autonomous systems and the human situation * Emergent models of perception, cognition and action * Emergent cognitive architectures * Developmental and embodied models of learning SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: Prospective authors should visit http://ees.elsevier.com/neunet/ for information on paper submission. On the first page of the manuscript as well as on the cover letter, indicate clearly that the manuscript is submitted to the Neural Networks Special Issue: Autonomous Learning. Manuscripts will be peer reviewed using Neural Networks guidelines. Manuscript submission due: January 1, 2012 First review completed: April 1, 2012 Revised manuscript due: June 1, 2012 Second review completed, final decisions to authors: July 1, 2012 Final manuscript due: August 1, 2012 Guest editors: Asim Roy, Arizona State University, USA (asim.roy at asu.edu ) (Lead guest editor) John Taylor, King's College London, UK (john.g.taylor at kcl.ac.uk ) Bruno Apolloni, University of Milan, Italy (apolloni at dsi.unimi.it ) Leonid Perlovsky, Harvard University and The Air Force Research Laboratory, USA (leonid at seas.harvard.edu ) Ali Minai, University of Cincinnati, USA (minaiaa at gmail.com ) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110811/7f16e628/attachment.html From t.j.prescott at sheffield.ac.uk Mon Aug 15 11:14:10 2011 From: t.j.prescott at sheffield.ac.uk (Tony Prescott) Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:14:10 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Research Postdoc in Brain-based Humanoid Robotics Message-ID: Research Assistant/Associate Post in Brain-based Humanoid Robotics Sheffield Centre for Robotics (SCentRo), Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom A research post exists to develop brain-based controllers for humanoid robots as part of the EFAA (Experimental Functional Android Assistant) FP7 project (http://efaa.upf.edu/). Alongside our European collaborators you will assist in the development of a control architecture that will enable the humanoid robot iCub to have meaningful interactions with people. The particular role of the Sheffield group is to develop controllers for active tactile (haptic) sensing, probabilistic frameworks for sensor fusion, decision-making and planning (using models of the cortex and basal ganglia), and symbol grounding. You will have a good degree in a relevant discipline and experience of robot control, computational neuroscience or biological modelling would be an advantage. For appointment to be made at Research Associate level (Grade 7) you will also have a significant track record of independent research and hold a PhD in a relevant discipline. There will be opportunities to visit our European partners in Barcelona, Genoa, Lyon and London, to collaborate with experts in computational intelligence, computational neuroscience and humanoid robotics. The post would be particularly suitable for a candidate with substantial post-doctoral experience interested in taking a leadership role within the project, however, more junior applicants with relevant experience will also be considered. This is a full-time, fixed-term post with a start date of 1 October 2011, or as soon as possible thereafter and an end date of 31 December 2013. Salary range: Grade 6 - ?23,661 - ?27,428 per annum, Grade 7 - ?28,251 - ?35,788 per annum. For further details, and to apply, please see http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/jobs job reference UOS003131. For informal enquiries please email t.j.prescott 'at' shef.ac.uk. Further Background The Sheffield Centre for Robotics (http://www.scentro.ac.uk) is a newly-formed research hub for robotics research in the UK which encompasses research groups in two Sheffield Universities (University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University) and in disciplines ranging from Control Engineering, Computer Science, and Psychology, through to Art and Design (see http://www.scentro.ac.uk/). The Active Touch Laboratory at Sheffield (ATL at S) in the department of Psychology (http://www.shef.ac.uk/psychology/research/groups/atlas) is a leading group for research in tactile sensing in animals and robots, funded by the European Framework programme and by the UK EPSRC, and publishing widely in leading robotics and neuroscience/biology journals. The department of Psychology, in addition to being a SCentRo partner, has a 40-year track record in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Computational Neuroscience research. In the recent Research Assessment Exercise the department ranked 6th in the UK in terms of Research Power (i.e., quality _ quantity of research activity) and has been particularly commended the quality of the department's research output in the areas of neuroscience and computational modelling (see www.shef.ac.uk/psychology for further details). -- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Tony J Prescott, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK. Email:T.J.Prescott at sheffield.ac.uk Tel: (national 0114, international 44 114) 222 6547, fax: 276 6515 Web: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~abrg/people/tony/ -------------------------------------------------------------------- From z.kourtzi at bham.ac.uk Mon Aug 15 11:07:05 2011 From: z.kourtzi at bham.ac.uk (Zoe Kourtzi) Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:07:05 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: 2 positions to work on the neural basis of 3D vision Message-ID: 1 Post-doc + 1 research assistant position, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK 2 positions available to work on the neural basis of 3D vision. The projects examine the processing pathways that support 3D perception, combining psychophysics, brain imaging, modelling and computational analysis. Current projects have particular focus on the cortical representation of binocular disparity, and the integration of disparity with other depth cues. The School of Psychology has a state-of-the-art Imaging Centre (3T MRI scanner), EEG systems, TMS systems and access to screened neuropsychological patients. It is one of the UK's top research departments with excellent groups in Behavioural Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience and Vision Science. There is also potential to carry out work at 7T (Sir Peter Mansfield centre, University of Nottingham). Applicants interested in the research assistant position should have graduated relatively recently, and be interested in pursuing a longer term research career. The deadline for this position is 26th July 2011. Applicants interested in the post-doc position should have a background in Cognitive Psychology, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Engineering, Physics or a related field. Previous experience of brain imaging is highly desirable and evidence of strong programming skills and signal processing experience is essential. Informal enquiries should be addressed to Dr Andrew Welchman (a.e.welchman at bham.ac.uk) in the first instance. Applications should include a CV, brief statement of research interests, and the names of 3 referees. From z.kourtzi at bham.ac.uk Mon Aug 15 11:05:58 2011 From: z.kourtzi at bham.ac.uk (Zoe Kourtzi) Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:05:58 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Positions in visual neuroscience Message-ID: <4BFC1F62-CCB0-4AF9-BCF4-FFB9DED542E0@bham.ac.uk> Post-doc and PhD positions to work on the neural basis of visual learning and brain plasticity across the lifespan. The work combines psychophysics, multimodal brain imaging (MRI, EEG, TMS), and advanced computational analyses to understand the role of learning in shaping perceptual decisions. The work is complemented by collaborative projects on non-human primate neurophysiology and brain imaging. There are strong interdisciplinary links with Computer Science, Engineering and a number of international partners through a Marie Curie Initial Training Network that brings together researchers from across Europe. This offers exciting opportunities for advanced training, collaboration with international centres of excellence, interdisciplinary exchange and industrial secondments. For more information please check http://cnil.bham.ac.uk Candidates should have a background in Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, Computer Science, Engineering, Physics or a related field. Previous experience of brain imaging or neurophysiology is desirable and evidence of strong programming skills and signal processing experience is essential. Above all candidates should be enthusiastic to learn new techniques and to contribute to new experiments. Informal enquiries should be addressed to z.kourtzi at bham.ac.uk Applications should include a CV, brief statement of research interests, and the names of 3 referees. From t.heskes at science.ru.nl Mon Aug 15 16:16:44 2011 From: t.heskes at science.ru.nl (Tom Heskes) Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:16:44 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Neurocomputing volume 74 (issue 16) Message-ID: <4E497EAC.5010701@science.ru.nl> Neurocomputing volume 74 (issue 16) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/issue/5660-2011-999259983-3460839 ----------- SPECIAL PAPERS (Advances in ELM) Advances in extreme learning machines (ELM2010, editorial) Guang-Bin Huang, Dianhui Wang TROP-ELM: A double-regularized ELM using LARS and Tikhonov regularization Yoan Miche, Mark van Heeswijk, Patrick Bas, Olli Simula, Amaury Lendasse Fast automatic two-stage nonlinear model identification based on the extreme learning machine Jing Deng, Kang Li, George W. Irwin GPU-accelerated and parallelized ELM ensembles for large-scale regression Mark van Heeswijk, Yoan Miche, Erkki Oja, Amaury Lendasse An OS-ELM based distributed ensemble classification framework in P2P networks Yongjiao Sun, Ye Yuan, Guoren Wang XML document classification based on ELM Xiang-guo Zhao, Guoren Wang, Xin Bi, Peizhen Gong, Yuhai Zhao Combining local face image features for identity verification Beom-Seok Oh, Kar-Ann Toh, Andrew Beng Jin Teoh, Jaihie Kim Image deblurring with filters learned by extreme learning machine Liang Wang, Yaping Huang, Xiaoyue Luo, Zhe Wang, Siwei Luo Optimization approximation solution for regression problem based on extreme learning machine Yubo Yuan, Yuguang Wang, Feilong Cao A study on effectiveness of extreme learning machine Yuguang Wang, Feilong Cao, Yubo Yuan A new robust training algorithm for a class of single-hidden layer feedforward neural networks Zhihong Man, Kevin Lee, Dianhui Wang, Zhenwei Cao, Chunyan Miao MELM-GRBF: A modified version of the extreme learning machine for generalized radial basis function neural networks Francisco Fern?ndez-Navarro, C?sar Herv?s-Mart?nez, Javier Sanchez-Monedero, Pedro Antonio Guti?rrez Application of error minimized extreme learning machine for simultaneous learning of a function and its derivatives S. Balasundaram, Kapil Upper integral network with extreme learning mechanism Xizhao Wang, Aixia Chen, Huimin Feng Parameter-insensitive kernel in extreme learning for non-linear support vector regression Beno?t Fr?nay, Michel Verleysen A parallel incremental extreme SVM classifier Qing He, Changying Du, Qun Wang, Fuzhen Zhuang, Zhongzhi Shi Face recognition based on extreme learning machine Weiwei Zong, Guang-Bin Huang Testing correct model specification using extreme learning machines Jin Seo Cho, Halbert White SELM: Semi-supervised ELM with application in sparse calibrated location estimation Junfa Liu, Yiqiang Chen, Mingjie Liu, Zhongtang Zhao Predicting the probability of ice storm damages to electricity transmission facilities based on ELM and Copula function Hongming Yang, Wenjun Xu, Junhua Zhao, Dianhui Wang, Zhaoyang Dong Stable indirect adaptive neural controller for a class of nonlinear system Hai-Jun Rong, S. Suresh, Guang-She Zhao ----------- SPECIAL PAPERS (IWANN 2009) Bio-inspired systems: Computational and ambient intelligence (editorial) Francisco Sandoval, Joan Cabestany, Alberto Prieto Global and local modelling in RBF networks L.J. Herrera, H. Pomares, I. Rojas, A. Guill?n, G. Rubio, J. Urquiza Learning to collaborate in distributed environments by means of an awareness-based artificial neural network Mauricio Paletta, Pilar Herrero Class and subclass probability re-estimation to adapt a classifier in the presence of concept drift Roc?o Alaiz-Rodr?guez, Alicia Guerrero-Curieses, Jes?s Cid-Sueiro A combined measure for quantifying and qualifying the topology preservation of growing self-organizing maps Soledad Delgado, Consuelo Gonzalo, Estibaliz Martinez, Agueda Arquero Dynamic topology learning with the probabilistic self-organizing graph Ezequiel L?pez-Rubio, Esteban Jos? Palomo-Ferrer, Juan Miguel Ortiz-de-Lazcano-Lobato, Mar?a Carmen Vargas-Gonz?lez Cycle-breaking acceleration for support vector regression ?lvaro Barbero, Jos? R. Dorronsoro The effect of low number of points in clustering validation via the negentropy increment Luis F. Lago-Fern?ndez, Manuel S?nchez-Monta??s, Fernando Corbacho Analyzing human gait and posture by combining feature selection and kernel methods Albert Sam?, Cecilio Angulo, Diego Pardo, Andreu Catal?, Joan Cabestany PITAGORAS-PSP: Including domain knowledge in a multi-objective approach for protein structure prediction J.C. Calvo, J. Ortega, M. Anguita Method for prediction of protein?protein interactions in yeast using genomics/proteomics information and feature selection J.M. Urquiza, I. Rojas, H. Pomares, L.J. Herrera, J. Ortega, A. Prieto Hopfield networks for identification of delay differential equations with an application to dengue fever epidemics in Cuba Esther Garc?a-Garaluz, Miguel Atencia, Gonzalo Joya, Francisco Garc?a-Lagos, Francisco Sandoval An artificial negotiating agent modeling approach embedding dynamic offer generating and cognitive layer Arash Bahrammirzaee, Amine Chohra, Kurosh Madani ------------ JOURNAL SITE: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/neucom From david at nld.ds.mpg.de Wed Aug 17 07:41:47 2011 From: david at nld.ds.mpg.de (David Hofmann) Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:41:47 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: =?utf-8?q?*Deadline_extended*=3A_CNS_Course_G?= =?utf-8?q?=C3=B6ttingen_2011?= Message-ID: <4E4BA8FB.7030807@nld.ds.mpg.de> *Fall Course on Computational Neuroscience in G?ttingen, Germany* *Deadline for applications extended to 27th of August* COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE in G?ttingen, Germany September 19th - 23rd, 2011 organized by David Hofmann The course is intended to provide graduate students and young researchers from all parts of neuroscience with working knowledge of theoretical and computational methods in neuroscience and to acquaint them with recent developments in this field. The course includes tutorials and lectures of the following researchers: * Rainer Friedrich, Friedrich Miescher Institute, Basel * Jason Kerr, Max-Planck-Institut f?r biologische Kybernetik, T?bingen * David McAlpine, University College London * Susanne Schreiber, Humboldt Universit?t zu Berlin * Sara Solla, Northwestern University, Chicago Venue is the Department of Nonlinear Dynamics of the Max-Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Fassberg 17, D-37077 G?ttingen. A course fee of 100 Euro includes participation in the tutorials, study materials, and part of the social events. The number of participants is limited to about 30. Course language is English. To apply please fill out the application form at: http://www.bccn-goettingen.de/events-1/cns-course by August 27, 2011. Best wishes and looking forward to seeing you in G?ttingen, David Hofmann -- David Hofmann Phone: +49-(0)551-5176-417 Mobile: +49-(0)176-28275472 Homepage: http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/119797.html Max Planck Institut for Dynamics and Self-Organization Department for Nonlinear Dynamics Am Fa?berg 17, 37077 G?ttingen From kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de Tue Aug 16 11:37:01 2011 From: kirsch at bcf.uni-freiburg.de (Janina Kirsch) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:37:01 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: BC11: Final Announcement and Call for Abstracts In-Reply-To: <00f901cc4c66$7c879fe0$7596dfa0$@uni-freiburg.de> References: <001401cb0d47$5fc842b0$1f58c810$@uni-freiburg.de> <001301cbf5d3$752e1510$5f8a3f30$@uni-freiburg.de> <00f901cc4c66$7c879fe0$7596dfa0$@uni-freiburg.de> Message-ID: <005f01cc5c2a$58f254c0$0ad6fe40$@uni-freiburg.de> === Final Announcement and Call for Abstracts === BC11: Computational Neuroscience & Neurotechnology Bernstein Conference and Neurex Annual Meeting 2011 October 4-6, 2011 NOTE: Early registration & abstract submission close Aug. 23, 2011. The Bernstein Conference is the central scientific meeting of the Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience (www.nncn.de). This year, it is organized by the Bernstein Center Freiburg and will take place on October 4-6, 2011, in association with the Annual Meeting of the tri-national neuroscience network Neurex (www.neurex.org). BC11 is a single-track conference, covering all aspects of Computational Neuroscience and Neurotechnology (CN & NT). We invite the submission of abstracts for poster presentations from all relevant areas of CN & NT, including, but not limited to: - sensory processing - motor control - learning and plasticity - neural encoding and decoding - neurons, networks and dynamical systems - data analysis and machine learning - brain-related diseases, network dysfunction, intervention - neurotechnology, brain-machine interfaces The abstracts will be published in the journal Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience. Several poster prizes (500 EUR each) will be awarded. Moreover, the NeuroVision Film Contest offers two 500 EUR awards for the best visualization of neuroscience! (www.bccn-2011.uni-freiburg.de/neurovision) CONFERENCE DATE AND VENUE: October 4-6, 2011 Bernstein Center Freiburg and University of Freiburg, Germany NNCN PhD-STUDENT SYMPOSIUM: "Perspectives - beyond the PhD" October 7, 2011 Bernstein Center Freiburg, Germany For registration and abstract submission, please visit the Conference Website: http://www.bc11.de IMPORTANT DATES: Abstract submission deadline: August 23, 2011 Early registration closes: August 23, 2011 Regular registration closes: September 27, 2011 ORGANIZATION: Ulrich Egert (General Chair) Ad Aertsen, Simone Cardoso de Oliveira, Florence Dancoisne, Andreas Friedrich, Gunnar Grah, Gundel Jaeger, Bernd Wiebelt We look forward to seeing you at BC11 !! From pkoenig at uos.de Tue Aug 16 03:53:19 2011 From: pkoenig at uos.de (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Peter_K=F6nig?=) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:53:19 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: junior professorship for Psycho-/Neurolinguistics Message-ID: <4E4A21EF.6040707@uos.de> The interdisciplinary *Institute of Cognitive Science* of the University of Osnabr?ck offers a** ** *junior professorship for Psycho-/Neurolinguistics*(salary level W1) to be filled as soon as possible. The contract will be initially for three years with the possibility of an extension for a further period of three years, provided the intermediate evaluation has been passed successfully. The successful applicant will represent the discipline of Neurolinguistics or Psycholinguistics within Cognitive Science with regard to both teaching and research in his or her own responsibility and will act independently also with regard to the acquisition of external research funds. The position involves research in the areas of Neuro-/Psycholinguistics. Candidates are expected to interdisciplinarily collaborate with several of the other research groups at the Institute of Cognitive Science (Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Psychology, Computational Linguistics, Neurobiopsychology, Neurocybernetics, Neuroinformatics, and Philosophy of Cognition). Furthermore, the position involves teaching with a focus on neuro-/psycholinguistic approaches in the international BSc, MSc, and PhD programs of Cognitive Science. Requirements are a doctorate in Neuro-/Psycholinguistics or closely related subject area; excellent research qualifications documented by an outstanding dissertation and publications in international reviewed journals; interest and documented experience in interdisciplinary work; thorough familiarity with linguistic theory, brain research, and experimental methods. Very good knowledge of English as well as very good teaching qualifications are required. Applicants should have completed their doctorate within the past five years. Classes taught by the successful applicants are offered to foreign and German students of the international BSc., MSc., and PhD programs "Cognitive Science". All classes are taught in English. Further information on the Cognitive Science programs and the Institute of Cognitive Science can be found at http://www.cogsci.uni-osnabrueck.de ) Osnabr?ck University is an equal opportunity employer. Women are therefore particularly encouraged to apply. Disabled applicants with equivalent qualification will be treated preferentially. Candidates are invited to send their applications with the usual documentation (including CV, lists of publications and taught courses, names and addresses of three referees, and a sketch of a research program) no later than *8^th September 2011*to the Director of the Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabr?ck, Albrechtstra?e 28, _49076_ Osnabr?ck, Germany. -- Prof. Dr. Peter K?nig Institute of Cognitive Science University Osnabr?ck Albrechtstr. 28 49076 Osnabr?ck +49 541 969 2399 http://cogsci.uni-osnabrueck.de/~NBP/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110816/997b9559/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: smime.p7s Type: application/pkcs7-signature Size: 2512 bytes Desc: S/MIME Cryptographic Signature Url : https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110816/997b9559/smime-0001.bin From wsenn at cns.unibe.ch Wed Aug 17 16:48:21 2011 From: wsenn at cns.unibe.ch (Walter Senn) Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:48:21 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Biological Cybernetics: vol 105, issue 1 --- Table of Content Message-ID: <4E4C2915.1020705@cns.unibe.ch> Biological Cybernetics: vol 105, issue 1 --- Table of Content, with a Review on Information Theory and a Prospect on Motor Control Original papers: "A robotic model to investigate human motor control" Tommaso Lenzi, Nicola Vitiello, Joseph McIntyre, Stefano Roccella & Maria Chiara Carrozza http://www.springerlink.com/content/543u42q32872r3l8/ "Network model of chemical-sensing system inspired by mouse taste buds" Katsumi Tateno, Jun Igarashi, Yoshitaka Ohtubo, Kazuki Nakada, Tsutomu Miki & Kiyonori Yoshii http://www.springerlink.com/content/m456118n815q6637/ "Deep cerebellar neurons mirror the spinal cord?s gain to implement an inverse controller" Rodrigo Alvarez-Icaza & Kwabena Boahen http://www.springerlink.com/content/jq2k8665j2746v81/ "Delayed feedback control requires an internal forward model" Dmitry Volkinshtein & Ron Meir http://www.springerlink.com/content/w75n82h72504mp78/ Review: "An introductory review of information theory in the context of computational neuroscience" Mark D. McDonnell, Shiro Ikeda & Jonathan H. Manton http://www.springerlink.com/content/l323t6318j136803/ Prospect: "From neuron to behavior: dynamic equation-based prediction of biological processes in motor control" Silvia Daun-Gruhn & Ansgar B?schges http://www.springerlink.com/content/lln52157041727l7/ ---- Biological Cybernetics, all issues: http://www.springerlink.com/content/100465/ From alb.mazzoni at gmail.com Wed Aug 24 09:43:40 2011 From: alb.mazzoni at gmail.com (Alberto Mazzoni) Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:43:40 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: PhD position Italian Institute of Technology, Genova Message-ID: A PhD position in the field of computational neuroscience is available at the Robotics Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department of the Italian Institute of Technology in the group of prof. Stefano Panzeri. Closing Date for applications is September 23rd 2011. Interested candidates are advised contact Stefano Panzeri (stefano.panzeri at iit.it) and/or Alberto Mazzoni (alberto.mazzoni at iit.it) for further information before submitting an application. Call and details of the application procedure are available at the following link: http://www.iit.it/en/resources/calls/unige.html (Annex A4 - Theme 1.8) Research theme: Using neural network models of cortical dynamics to understand the cortical representation of sensory information. Understanding how to extract information about external correlates form neural activity is central for the understanding of brain function and for development of Brain Machine Interfaces. Recent results suggest that the cerebral cortex encodes information about the external environment in the time domain, by encoding different parameters of the external word in different frequency ranges of neural activity (Panzeri et al, TINS 2010; Quian Quiroga and Panzeri, Nature Reviews Neurosci 2009). The candidate, building on previous work from the group (Mazzoni et al PLoS Comput Biol 2009; Mazzoni et al Neuroimage 2010) will construct biophysically plausible models of cortical neural networks which capture the basic features of the functional organization of cortex. The candidate will then use these models to investigate how neural networks can encode simultaneously both the features defining the external correlates and the time variations of these features on time scales relevant for perception and behavior. The candidate should hold a degree in Physics, Mathematics, Engineering or Computer Science and have a keen interest in applying mathematical and numerical techniques to the study of brain function. The research will be will be supervised by Drs Stefano Panzeri and Alberto Mazzoni, and will be performed within the Neural Computation group led by Stefano Panzeri at the Department of Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences of the Italian Institute of Technology. Research in the Neural Computation group aims at understanding the computations made by neurons to represent, process and exchange information. Selected Recent Relevant Publications [1] Panzeri S, Brunel N, Logothetis NK, Kayser C (2010) Neural codes at multiple temporal scales in sensory cortex. Trends in Neuroscience 33: 111-120 [2] Mazzoni A, Whittingstall K, Brunel N, Logothetis NK, Panzeri S (2010) Understanding the relationships between spike rate and delta/gamma frequency bands of LFPs and EEGs using a local cortical network model. Neuroimage 52: 956?972 [3] Mazzoni A, Panzeri S, Logothetis NK, Brunel N (2008) Encoding of Naturalistic Stimuli by Local Field Potential Spectra in Networks of Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurons. PLoS Comput. Biol. 4: e1000239 [4] Quian Quiroga R, Panzeri S (2009) Extracting information from neuronal populations: information theory and decoding approaches. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10: 173-185 Location: The IIT is located in Genova, Italy, a charming seaside mediterranean city right in the middle of the beautiful Italian Riviera, with a vibrant cultural life and with a much more affordable cost of living than many other european cities. The PhD programme has a duration of 3 years. The position is supported by a PhD Studentship amounting to 16500 euros / year, and there are no tuition fees for the candidate admitted to the PhD programme. The PhD funding scheme provides successful candidates with all the means needed to perform the research, including funds for travel to conferences and collaborating European laboratories, and state of the art computing equipment. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110824/bf9bb973/attachment.html From c.hilgetag at googlemail.com Tue Aug 23 11:02:34 2011 From: c.hilgetag at googlemail.com (Claus C. Hilgetag) Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:02:34 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: 2 PhD positions in Neuroinformatics/ Computational Neuroscience in Hamburg, Germany References: <0E15C32A-CD65-49F3-A452-9C7920127C74@gmail.com> Message-ID: <01334D95-FEC0-4EFB-B4D0-A1E4D7803648@gmail.com> Two Graduate Research Positions are available immediately for a period of four years at the Institute of Computational Neuroscience of the University Medical Center Hamburg- Eppendorf, Germany in the group of Prof. Claus Hilgetag to work on a research project "Dynamics of multi-site interactions in complex brain networks". The goal of this project is to understand the functional dynamics of complex brain networks on the basis of their structural connectivity. We will use neuroinformatics approaches to compile and analyse brain connectivity data for animal model systems as well as the human brain. In complementary studies, we will model ongoing and evoked activity patterns of these systems using minimal dynamic models as well as models of coupled oscillators. This project is part of the newly established Research Center "Multi-Site Communication in the Brain" (SFB 936, www.sfb936.net) at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf of Hamburg University. The successful applicants will become part of the associated Graduate Programme (www.sfb936.net/graduate_programme). Candidates are expected to have a university degree (at the level of Master or German Diplom), and a background or strong interest in Neuroinformatics, Computational Neuroscience or Neuroscience as well as solid programming skills (e.g., Matlab/C++/Python). Successful candidates have practical research experience in at least one of the following areas: databases, computer simulations of neural systems or statistical analyses of complex systems. They also need to have a very good command of written and spoken English. Informal inquiries about the positions may be directed to Prof. Claus Hilgetag (phone: ++49.(0)40.7410.53698 or E-Mail: c.hilgetag at uke.de). The University of Hamburg seeks to increase the number of female scientists and encourages them to apply. Disabled people with equal qualifications are preferred. Please submit your CV, contact details of two references, and a short statement of your research interests to: Universit?tsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, GB Personal, Recht & Organisation, Frau Schild, Box Number: 2011-08/238, Martinistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg or electronically to: bewerbung at uke-hh.de (as a pdf-file of 2 MB max.). Applications should arrive by 12th September 2011. -- || Claus C. Hilgetag, PhD || Professor & Director | Dept. of Computational Neuroscience || University Medical Center Eppendorf | Hamburg University || www.uke.uni-hamburg.de/icns || Adjunct Associate Professor | Boston University ---- Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity. From H.Abbass at adfa.edu.au Tue Aug 23 21:51:10 2011 From: H.Abbass at adfa.edu.au (Hussein Abbass) Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:51:10 +1000 Subject: Connectionists: 2012 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks In-Reply-To: <4E497EAC.5010701@science.ru.nl> References: <4E497EAC.5010701@science.ru.nl> Message-ID: 2012 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks ====================================================== The annual International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN) will be held jointly with the IEEE International Conference on Fuzzy Systems (FUZZ-IEEE) and the IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation (IEEE CEC) as part of the 2012 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence (IEEE WCCI) http://www.ieee-wcci2012.org/, June 10-15, 2012, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia. Cross-fertilization of the three technical disciplines and newly emerging technologies is strongly encouraged. Call for Contributed Papers --------------------------- IJCNN 2012 will feature a world-class conference that aims to bring together researchers and practitioners in the field of neural networks and computational intelligence from all around the globe. Technical exchanges within the research community will encompass keynote lectures, special sessions, tutorials and workshops, panel discussions as well as poster presentations. In addition, participants will be treated to a series of social functions, receptions, and networking to establish new connections and foster everlasting friendship among fellow counterparts. The annual IJCNN covers all topics in neural networks including: Neural network theory & models Computational neuroscience Learning and adaptation Pattern recognition Cognitive models Machine vision and image processing Brain-machine interfaces Collective intelligence Neural control Hybrid systems Evolutionary neural systems Self-aware systems Neurodynamics and complex systems Data mining Neuroinformatics Sensor networks and intelligent systems Neural hardware Applications Neural network applications Computational biology Neuroengineering Bioinformatics Emerging areas Paper Submission and Inquiries ------------------------------ Prospective authors are invited to contribute high-quality papers to IJCNN 2012. All papers are to be submitted electronically through the IEEE WCCI 2012 website http://www.ieee-wcci2012.org/. For IJCNN inquiries please contact Conference Chair: Cesare Alippi at cesare.alippi at polimi.it For Program inquiries please contact Program Chair: Kate Smith-Miles at kate.smith-miles at sci.monash.edu.au General Enquires for IEEE WCCI 2012 should be sent to the General Chair: Hussein Abbass at h.abbass at adfa.edu.au Call for Special Sessions ------------------------- The IJCNN 2012 Program Committee solicits proposals for special sessions within the technical scopes of the Congress. Special sessions, to be organized by international recognized experts, aim to bring together researchers in special focused topics. Papers submitted for special sessions are to be peer-reviewed with the same criteria used for the contributed papers. Proposals should include the session title, a brief description of the scope and motivation, biographic and contact information of the organizers. Researchers interested in organizing special sessions are invited to submit formal proposal to the Special Session Chair: Brijesh Verma at b.verma at cqu.edu.au Call for Tutorials ------------------ IJCNN 2012 will also feature pre-Congress tutorials, covering fundamental and advanced neural network topics. A tutorial proposal should include title, outline, expected enrollment, and presenter/organizer biography. We invite you to submit proposals to the Tutorial Chair: Toshio Fukuda at fukuda at mein.nagoya-u.ac.jp. Call for Competitions --------------------- IJCNN 2012 will host competitions to stimulate research in neural networks, promote fair evaluations, and attract students. The proposals for new competitions should include descriptions of the problems addressed, motivations, expected impact on neural networks and machine learning, and established baselines, schedules, anticipated number of participants, and a biography of the main team members. We invite you to submit proposals to the Competitions Chair: Sung-Bae Cho at sbcho at yonsei.ac.kr From jean-pascal.pfister at eng.cam.ac.uk Wed Aug 24 06:13:46 2011 From: jean-pascal.pfister at eng.cam.ac.uk (Jean-Pascal Pfister) Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:13:46 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: PhD position at the University of Bern, Switzerland Message-ID: Applications are invited for a PhD student position in the Department of Physiology in the University of Bern (Switzerland). The position is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation grant entitled "Normative theory of synaptic plasticity across multiple time scales". The PhD student will be supervised by Jean-Pascal Pfister in the Computational Neuroscience Lab (headed by W. Senn). The aim of the project is to develop theoretical models of short-term and long-term synaptic plasticity. We are particularly interested in biologically plausible models of synaptic plasticity that are derived from first principles. The project will involve collaborations with both experimental lab (in particular the lab of R. Hahnloser , University of Zurich / ETHZ, Switzerland) and theory lab (in particular with M. Lengyel, University of Cambridge, UK). The Department of Physiology in Bern offers an ideal environment for studying Computational Neuroscience due to the presence of both experimental group (T. Nevian) as well as theory group (W. Senn). Candidates should hold a Diplom/Master degree in Physics, Mathematics, Machine learning, Computational Neuroscience or related field with a strong analytical background and demonstrate interest in theoretical neuroscience. Preference will be given to candidates with good programming skills. The position is offered for a period of three years, starting on the 1st of October 2011 at the earliest time. Salary scale is provided by the Swiss National Science Foundation (www.snf.ch). Applicants should submit (by email) a CV, a statement of research interests, 2 reference letters, marks obtained for the Diploma/Master, abstract of the Diploma/Master to Jean-Pascal Pfister (pfister at pyl.unibe.ch) before the 15th of September 2011. --------------------------------- Jean-Pascal Pfister, PhD Computational Neuroscience Lab Physiology Department, University of Bern 5 B?hlplatz, CH-3012 Bern, CH Computational and Biological Learning Lab Engineering Department, Cambridge University Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK e-mail: pfister at pyl.unibe.ch URL 1 : http://www.physio.unibe.ch/~pfister/ URL 2: http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/~jptp2/ tel: ++41 31 631 35 09 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110824/07d91d8f/attachment.html From legi at igi.tugraz.at Tue Aug 23 05:29:50 2011 From: legi at igi.tugraz.at (Legenstein Robert) Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:29:50 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: PhD Position for research on neural computation and learning in spiking memristive architectures Message-ID: <4E53730E.1030900@igi.tugraz.at> The research group of Robert Legenstein at the Graz University of Technology in Austria ( http://www.igi.tugraz.at/legi/ ) offers a *PhD position* for research on computation an learning in networks of spiking neurons, with application to neuromorphic hardware with memristive devices. The position is funded by the chist-era project PNEUMA ( short description ). The project runs for three years. The successful candidate is expected to study novel models of probabilistic computation in spiking neural networks in theory and computer simulations. See, e.g., Buesing et al., 2011 , Legenstein and Maass, 2011 , Nessler et al., 2010 for related work. Within the PNEUMA project, these models will be implemented by other project partners in neuromorphic hardware with memristive synaptic devices. Applicants should send their CV, statement of interest, and pdf's of relevant publications (e.g. master thesis) to Robert Legenstein robert.legenstein at igi.tugraz.at All applications received before September 9th, 2011, will be given full consideration, but applications will be expected until the position is filled. Robert Legenstein -- ---------------------------------------- Dr. Robert Legenstein Institut f?r Grundlagen der Informationsverarbeitung Technische Universit?t Graz Inffeldgasse 16b/I, 8010 Graz, Austria ++43/316/873-5824 ---------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110823/c0973351/attachment.html From m.denker at fz-juelich.de Tue Aug 23 12:00:43 2011 From: m.denker at fz-juelich.de (Michael Denker) Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:00:43 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: Survey "Towards Improving Workflows for Complex Electrophysiological Data" Message-ID: <4E53CEAB.90501@fz-juelich.de> Dear colleagues, we would like to invite researchers who work with electrophysiological data to take part in an anonymous survey where we investigate how scientists deal with the growing complexity of modern recording techniques, experimental designs and analysis methods. Please follow this link to participate: http://www.csn.fz-juelich.de/survey The outcomes of this survey will be made available and aim to guide discussions which target at improvements in the handling of complex data sets, facilitating interaction between experimental and computational neuroscience. Thank you for your valuable time, your input is highly appreciated! Michael Denker http://www.csn.fz-juelich.de ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDirig Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr. Achim Bachem (Vorsitzender), Dr. Ulrich Krafft (stellv. Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt, Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From taras at kowaliw.ca Fri Aug 19 15:32:13 2011 From: taras at kowaliw.ca (Kowaliw, Taras) Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:32:13 +0200 Subject: Connectionists: DevLeaNN: Call for Papers and Extended Abstracts Message-ID: <4E4EBA3D.4090805@kowaliw.ca> [Apologies for multiple postings] Call for Papers and Extended Abstracts DevLeaNN: A Workshop on Development and Learning in Artificial Neural Networks October 27 and 28, in Paris, France http://devleann.iscpif.fr DevLeaNN is a two-day workshop devoted to showcasing the current state-of-the-art at the intersection of development and learning in artificial neural network design. The purpose of DevLeaNN is to gather researchers from related streams of research to present both novel research and summaries of research portfolios. Topics include, but are not limited to: * constructive or pruning techniques / network ensembles * neural Darwinism * neuro-evolutionary techniques * reservoir computing (Echo State Networks, Liquid State Machines) * deep neural networks * artificial development / artificial embryogeny / generative and developmental techniques * genotype-to-phenotype mappings * temporal / spatial development * artificial genetic regulatory networks * neuromodulation * plasticity * knowledge representation / population coding * topological optimization We are soliciting papers and extended abstracts. Both novel research and summaries of existing research portfolios are welcome. WORKSHOP DATE AND VENUE: October 27-28, 2011 Institut des syst?mes complexes, Paris, France IMPORTANT DATES: * Paper/Extended Abstract Submission: Friday 9 September, 2011 * Paper/Extended Abstract Notification: Friday 23 September, 2011 * Workshop: Thursday 27 and Friday 28 October, 2011 INVITED SPEAKERS: * Hugues Berry (Universit? de Lyon) * Yaochu Jin (University of Surrey) * Thomas Trappenberg (Dalhousie University) For more information, or to submit or register, please visit: http://devleann.iscpif.fr Thanks for your attention, and we hope to see you in Paris! T. Kowaliw, N. Bredeche, and R. Doursat -- _____ Taras Kowaliw, Ph.D. Guest Researcher / Chercheur Post-Doctorant, Institut des Syst?mes Complexes - Paris ?le-de-France, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 57-59 rue Lhomond, 75005, Paris, France t.: +33 01 42 17 40 35 | f.: + 33 01 45 35 79 21 w.: http://kowaliw.ca | e.: taras at kowaliw.ca From jkrichma at uci.edu Wed Aug 24 12:49:16 2011 From: jkrichma at uci.edu (Jeff Krichmar) Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:49:16 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: New book on "Neuromorphic and Brain-Based Robots" Message-ID: <39459B6D-8C11-49C2-8EA8-58BDFB72E106@uci.edu> The following book may be of interest to many Connectionists: Neuromorphic and Brain-Based Robots Cambridge University Press, August 2011 Neuromorphic and brain-based robotics have enormous potential for furthering our understanding of the brain. By embodying models of the brain on robotic platforms, researchers can investigate the roots of biological intelligence and work towards the development of truly intelligent machines. This book provides a broad introduction to this ground-breaking area for researchers from a wide range of fields, from engineering to neuroscience. Case studies explore how robots are being used in current research, including a whisker system that allows a robot to sense its environment and neurally inspired navigation systems that show impressive mapping results. Looking to the future, several chapters consider the development of cognitive, or even conscious, robots that display the adaptability and intelligence of biological organisms. Finally, the ethical implications of intelligent robots are explored, from morality and Asimov?s three laws to the question of whether robots have rights. ? Case studies demonstrate how robots can be used to explore concepts in brain development, cognition and neural processing ? Coverage of philosophical issues such as machine consciousness and robot ethics provides valuable insights into directions for future research ? Mathematical treatments are avoided, allowing readers to understand the concepts and issues without wading through complex mathematics Table of Contents Part I. Introduction: 1. History and potential of neuromorphic robotics Jeffrey L. Krichmar and Hiroaki Wagatsuma Part II. Neuromorphic Robots: Biologically and Neurally Inspired Designs: 2. Robust haptic recognition by anthropomorphic hand through repetitive grasping Koh Hosoda 3. Biomimetic robots as scientific models: a view from the whisker tip Ben Mitchinson, Martin J. Pearson, Anthony G. Pipe and Tony J. Prescott 4. Sensor-rich robots driven by real-time brain circuit algorithms Andrew Felch and Richard Granger Part III. Brain-Based Robots: Architectures and Approaches: 5. RatSLAM project: robot spatial navigation Gordon Wyeth, Michael Milford, Ruth Schulz and Janet Wiles 6. Evolution of rewards and learning mechanisms in cyber rodents Eiji Uchibe and Kenji Doya 7. A neuromorphically-inspired cognitive architecture for cognitive robots Mitch Wilkes, Erdem Erdemir and Kazuhiko Kawamura 8. Autonomous visuomotor development for neuromorphic robots Zhengping Ji, Juyang Weng and Danil Prokhorov 9. Brain-inspired robots for autistic training and care Emilia I. Barakova and Loe Feijs Part IV. Philosophical and Theoretical Considerations: 10. From hardware and software to kernels and envelopes: a concept shift for robotics, developmental psychology and brain sciences Frederic Kaplan and Pierre-Yves Oudeyer 11. Can cognitive developmental robotics shift the paradigm? Minoru Asada 12. A look at the hidden side of situated cognition: a robotic study of brain-oscillation-based dynamics of instantaneous, episodic and conscious memories Hiroaki Wagatsuma 13. The case for using brain-based devices to study consciousness Jason Fleischer, Jeffrey McKinstry, David Edelman and Gerald Edelman Part V. Ethical Considerations: 14. Ethical implications of intelligent robots George A. Bekey, Patrick Lin and Keith Abney 15. Toward robot ethics through the Ethics of Autism Masayoshi Shibata Jeff Krichmar Department of Cognitive Sciences 2328 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA 92697-5100 jkrichma at uci.edu http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~jkrichma From jun-y at oist.jp Thu Aug 25 21:49:11 2011 From: jun-y at oist.jp (Junichiro Yoshimoto) Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:49:11 +0900 Subject: Connectionists: Final Call for Papers: JNNS2011 (Submission Deadline: August 31, 2011) Message-ID: <4E56FB97.9080302@oist.jp> ---------------------------------------------------------------- *** Our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this CFP *** ---------------------------------------------------------------- We would like to draw your attention to the 21st Annual Conference of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS2011). The deadline of paper submission is now approaching; it is the end of this month (August 31, 2011). Please don't miss it. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Annual Conference of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS2011) December 15-17, 2011 Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Web Site: http://www.jnns.org/conference/2011 The 21st Annual Conference of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS2011) will be held from December 15th to 17th at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), an international graduate university newly built on a semitropical island 1,600km southwest of Tokyo. JNNS2011 aims to provide a forum for scientists, engineers, educators, and students to discuss the latest progress and future challenges in the field of neural information processing. All presentations will be English to promote international participation. Keynote Speakers: Dr. Richard Sutton (University of Alberta) Dr. Peter Dayan (University College London) Call for Papers: JNNS2011 invites the submission of papers on substantial and original research in all aspects of neural information processing. We welcome contributions from diverse fields including neurobiology, psychology, mathematical modeling and analysis, machine learning, and information technology. The presenting author should be a member of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS) or supporting societies except presenters from overseas. An author can present only one paper but can be a non-presenting co-author of other papers. Papers should be written in English and is limited to two pages in A4 format using the LaTeX or Word template provided on the web site. Papers should be submitted via the on-line submission site (https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/JNNS2011). The deadline is noon UTC (9 pm JST) of August 31, 2011. All submitted papers will go through reviewing for acceptance and selection for oral presentation. The result will be notified by October 20. The presenting authors of accepted papers are asked to register for attendance through the web site (https://conv.toptour.co.jp/shop/evt/jnns2011_okinawa) by October 31, 2011; otherwise, the acceptance will be cancelled. Presentation Format: All general presentations will be given in poster sessions. Selected papers will be presented in single-track oral sessions as well. Important Dates: Paper submission deadline: August 31, 2011. Notification of acceptance: October 20, 2011. Early registration deadline: October 31, 2011. Support for students: Travel support will be available for selected student presenters. The support consists of part of traveling fee (up to JPY100,000 for students from abroad; or up to JPY50,000 for students within Japan) and free lodging in OIST Seaside house. To apply for the support, please select the appropriate option in the on-line paper submission system; and the application form will be sent from the JNNS2011 secretariat around September 15, 2011. The result of selection will be notified together with the paper acceptance notice by October 20th, 2011. All the accepted applicants are kindly asked to participate the satellite symposium ?Fun and challenges in combining theoretical and experiments neurosciences,? which will be held at OIST on Dec. 14-15, 2011. JNNS Young Presenter Awards: JNNS presents Young Presenter Awards for distinguished papers presented at JNNS2011. The eligibility for the award is the first and presenting author who is a JNNS member at the age of 35 or younger (as of December 15, 2011) and has never received the award. The applicants for the award are asked to fill in the application form, which can be downloaded from the JNNS2011 official website, and submit to the JNNS2011 Secretariat via an E-mail. The awarding ceremony will be held as a part of the closing ceremony of JNNS2011. Sponsor: Japanese Neural Network Society Co-Sponsor: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Supported by The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan, The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, The Japan Neuroscience Society, and The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, Information Processing Society of Japan, Japan Cognitive Science Society, The Robotics Society of Japan, Fuzzy Logic Systems Institute, Japan Society for Fuzzy Theory and Intelligent Informatics. Organizers: Executive Chair: Kenji Doya (OIST) Program Chair: Junichiro Yoshimoto (OIST) Secretariat: Neural Computation Unit Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Kunigami, Okinawa 904-0412, Japan E-mail: jnns2011 at oist.jp Web Site: http://www.jnns.org/conference/2011 Paper Submission Site: https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/JNNS2011 Registration Site: http://www.jnns.org/conference/2011 From scsnc at leeds.ac.uk Thu Aug 25 06:44:29 2011 From: scsnc at leeds.ac.uk (Netta Cohen) Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:44:29 +0100 (BST) Subject: Connectionists: PhD Studentships & Postdoc Fellowship in Modeling Animal Behavior In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Modeling Animal Behavior: Three PhD Studentships and One Postdoctoral Fellowship Applications are invited for a postdoctoral research fellowship and for three PhD studentships to study animal behavior. The team will have complementary expertise across biology, engineering and mathematical/computational modeling to study sensory-motor control (including sensory responses, learning and memory, and locomotion) in the nematode worm C. elegans. Candidates with an excellent track record in a relevant area of research, including but not limited to: neuroscience/neurobiology, animal behavior, physics, computer science/machine vision, electrical or mechanical engineering are encouraged to apply. Specific projects will be chosen from the scope and remit of the project, which spans 1) Mathematical/computational modeling of neural circuits and integrated neuro-mechanical control 2) Machine vision and engineering for cutting edge real time tracking of worm locomotion and offline image analysis 3) Biological experiments, including behavioral assays, imaging and optogenetics and molecular biology. For further details see http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/netta/vacancies.html. Informal enquiries: Please contact Netta Cohen (N.Cohen at Leeds.ac.uk) with a CV. From vcutsuridis at gmail.com Thu Aug 25 15:23:09 2011 From: vcutsuridis at gmail.com (Vassilis Cutsuridis) Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:23:09 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: NEW BOOK: Perception-action cycle: Models, algorithms and hardware Message-ID: Dear collegues, the following book may be of some interest to you: Perception-action cycle: Models, algorithms and hardware Springer (USA), 2011 Editors --------- Vassilis Cutsuridis, Amir Hussain, John G. Taylor Description -------------- The perception-action cycle is the circular flow of information that takes place between the organism and its environment in the course of a sensory-guided sequence of behavior towards a goal. Each action causes changes in the environment that are analyzed bottom-up through the perceptual hierarchy and lead to the processing of further action, and top-down through the executive hierarchy toward motor effectors. These actions cause new changes that are analyzed and lead to new action, and so the cycle continues. *The Perception-Action cycle: Models, Architectures and Hardware* book provides focused and easily accessible reviews of various aspects of the perception-action cycle. It is an unparalleled resource of information that will be an invaluable companion to anyone in constructing and developing models, algorithms, and hardware implementations of autonomous machines empowered with cognitive capabilities. The book is divided into three main parts. In the first part, leading computational neuroscientists present brain-inspired models of perception, attention, cognitive control, decision making, conflict resolution and monitoring, knowledge representation and reasoning, learning and memory, planning and action, and consciousness grounded in experimental data. In the second part, architectures, algorithms, and systems with cognitive capabilities and minimal guidance from the brain are discussed. These architectures, algorithms, and systems are inspired by cognitive science, computer vision, robotics, information theory, machine learning, computer agents, and artificial intelligence. In the third part, the analysis, design, and implementation of hardware systems with robust cognitive abilities from the areas of mechatronics, sensing technology, sensor fusion, smart sensor networks, control rules, controllability, stability, model/knowledge representation, and reasoning are discussed. Its Table of Contents can be found here: http://www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/9781441914514-t1.pdf?SGWID=0-0-45-1069855-p173922324 Kind regards, Vassilis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110825/9d118b30/attachment.html From acoates at cs.stanford.edu Tue Aug 30 21:40:36 2011 From: acoates at cs.stanford.edu (Adam Coates) Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:40:36 -0700 Subject: Connectionists: Call for Papers - Deep Learning and Unsupervised Feature Learning Workshop at NIPS 2011 Message-ID: Call for Papers: Deep Learning and Unsupervised Feature Learning Workshop held in conjunction with Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS 2011) December 16 or 17, 2011, Granada, Spain (This is a one-day workshop, and the date will be determined soon.) http://deeplearningworkshopnips2011.wordpress.com/ Overview ------------------------------------ In recent years, there has been a lot of interest in algorithms that learn feature representations from unlabeled data. Deep learning algorithms such as deep belief networks, sparse coding-based methods, convolutional networks, ICA methods, and deep Boltzmann machines have shown promise and have already been successfully applied to a variety of tasks in computer vision, audio processing, natural language processing, information retrieval, and robotics. In this workshop, we will bring together researchers who are interested in deep learning and unsupervised feature learning, review the recent technical progress, discuss the challenges, and identify promising future research directions. The workshop invites paper submissions that will be either presented as oral or in poster format. Through invited talks, panel discussions and presentations by the participants, this workshop attempts to address some of the more controversial topics in deep learning today, such as whether hierarchical systems are more powerful, and what principles should guide the design of objective functions used to train these models. Panel discussions will be led by the members of the organizing committee as well as by prominent representatives of the vision and neuroscience communities. The goal of this workshop is two-fold. First, we want to identify the next big challenges and propose research directions for the deep learning community. Second, we want to bridge the gap between researchers working on different (but related) fields, to leverage their expertise, and to encourage the exchange of ideas with all the other members of the NIPS community. Dates ------------------------------------ - Submission deadline: October 14, 2011 - Acceptance notification: November 11, 2011 - Workshop date: December 16 or 17, 2011 (This is a one-day workshop, and the date will be determined soon.) A tentative schedule is available at: http://deeplearningworkshopnips2011.wordpress.com/schedule Submissions ------------------------------------ We solicit submissions of unpublished research papers. Papers should be at most 8 pages (plus 1 additional page containing references only) and must satisfy the formatting instructions of the NIPS 2011 call for papers. Style files are available at http://nips.cc/PaperInformation/StyleFiles. Please note that the reviewing is double blind, so your manuscript should not contain authors? identifying information. Papers should be submitted through https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/DLUFL2011/ no later than 23:59 EST on Friday, October 14, 2011. We encourage submissions on the following and related topics: * unsupervised feature learning algorithms * deep learning algorithms * semi-supervised and transfer learning algorithms * inference and optimization * theoretical foundations of unsupervised learning * theoretical foundations of deep learning * applications of deep learning and unsupervised feature learning The best papers will be awarded by an oral presentation, all other papers will have a poster presentation accompanied by a short spotlight presentation. Organizers ------------------------------------ * Adam Coates ? Stanford University * Yoshua Bengio ? University of Montreal * Yann LeCun ? New York University * Nicolas Le Roux ? INRIA * Andrew Y. Ng ? Stanford University From ctf20 at sussex.ac.uk Fri Aug 26 19:46:53 2011 From: ctf20 at sussex.ac.uk (Chrisantha Fernando) Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2011 00:46:53 +0100 Subject: Connectionists: Evolvable Neuronal Paths: A Novel Basis for Information and Search in the Brain Message-ID: <1415218B-07B2-4BDA-B89C-BC619317E6DA@sussex.ac.uk> Dear Connectionists FYI... Published today in PLoS ONE http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0023534 Evolvable Neuronal Paths: A Novel Basis for Information and Search in the Brain Fernando C, Vasas V, Szathm?ry E, Husbands P We propose a previously unrecognized kind of informational entity in the brain that is capable of acting as the basis for unlimited hereditary variation in neuronal networks. This unit is a path of activity through a network of neurons, analogous to a path taken through a hidden Markov model. To prove in principle the capabilities of this new kind of informational substrate, we show how a population of paths can be used as the hereditary material for a neuronally implemented genetic algorithm, (the swiss-army knife of black-box optimization techniques) which we have proposed elsewhere could operate at somatic timescales in the brain. We compare this to the same genetic algorithm that uses a standard ?genetic? informational substrate, i.e. non-overlapping discrete genotypes, on a range of optimization problems. A path evolution algorithm (PEA) is defined as any algorithm that implements natural selection of paths in a network substrate. A PEA is a previously unrecognized type of natural selection that is well suited for implementation by biological neuronal networks with structural plasticity. The important similarities and differences between a standard genetic algorithm and a PEA are considered. Whilst most experiments are conducted on an abstract network model, at the conclusion of the paper a slightly more realistic neuronal implementation of a PEA is outlined based on Izhikevich spiking neurons. Finally, experimental predictions are made for the identification of such informational paths in the brain. Cheers, Chrisantha or here... http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/users/ctf20/dphil_2005/publications.htm _______________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/private/connectionists/attachments/20110826/6d07717f/attachment.html From jose at psychology.rutgers.edu Wed Aug 31 17:52:08 2011 From: jose at psychology.rutgers.edu (Stephen Jose Hanson) Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:52:08 -0400 Subject: Connectionists: RUTGERS Cognitive Neuroscience Position Message-ID: <1314827528.2204.56.camel@max> ASSISTANT PROFESSOR: The Psychology Department at Rutgers-Newark invites applications for a tenure track assistant professor position in cognitive neuroscience with expertise in fMRI methodology for the study of cognitive processes such as memory, learning, decision making, language, problem solving etc. Applicants taking a computational or developmental approach to the study of cognitive function are welcome to apply. Applicants will have access to the new Rutgers University Brain Imaging Center (RUBIC; SIEMENS 3T TRIO; http://rubic.rutgers.edu). This position requires a Ph.D. in Psychology, Neuroscience, or related field. Highest priority will be given to applicants who demonstrate excellence in teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels, provide research mentorship to students, and conduct fundable research. See our site: www.psych.rutgers.edu. Applicants should submit a vitae, statement of research and teaching interests, pre/re-prints, and 3 letters of recommendation to: cogneurosearch at psychology.rutgers.edu We will give priority to applications received by October 15, 2011 but will continue the search until the position is filled. As an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer, Rutgers-Newark actively encourages applications from minorities, women, and other underrepresented groups. -- Stephen Jos? Hanson Professor Psychology Department Rutgers University Director RUBIC (Rutgers Brain Imaging Center) Director RUMBA (Rutgers Brain/Mind Analysis-NK) Member of Cognitive Science Center (NB) Information Science, NJIT (NK) email: jose at psychology.rutgers.edu web: psychology.rutgers.edu/~jose lab: www.rumba.rutgers.edu fax: 866-434-7959 voice: 973-353-5440 x 1412 From jun-y at oist.jp Wed Aug 31 02:13:10 2011 From: jun-y at oist.jp (Junichiro Yoshimoto) Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:13:10 +0900 Subject: Connectionists: JNNS2011 - Submission Deadline Extended (September 9, 2011) Message-ID: <4E5DD0F6.7010103@oist.jp> ---------------------------------------------------------------- *** Our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this CFP *** ---------------------------------------------------------------- Due to numerous requests, the deadline of JNNS2011 paper submission has been extended. The new dealine is noon UTC of *** September 9, 2011 ***. In addition, we are very sorry that the application deadline for JNNS2011 Young Presenter Awards was wrongly announced in our website. Due to the erratum, the application deadline of JNNS2011 Young Presenter Awards has been extended to September 16, 2011. Thank you for your attention. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Annual Conference of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS2011) December 15-17, 2011 Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Web Site: http://www.jnns.org/conference/2011/ The 21st Annual Conference of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS2011) will be held from December 15th to 17th at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), an international graduate university newly built on a semitropical island 1,600km southwest of Tokyo. JNNS2011 aims to provide a forum for scientists, engineers, educators, and students to discuss the latest progress and future challenges in the field of neural information processing. All presentations will be English to promote international participation. Keynote Speakers: Dr. Richard Sutton (University of Alberta) Dr. Peter Dayan (University College London) Call for Papers: JNNS2011 invites the submission of papers on substantial and original research in all aspects of neural information processing. We welcome contributions from diverse fields including neurobiology, psychology, mathematical modeling and analysis, machine learning, and information technology. The presenting author should be a member of the Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS) or supporting societies except presenters from overseas. An author can present only one paper but can be a non-presenting co-author of other papers. Papers should be written in English and is limited to two pages in A4 format using the LaTeX or Word template provided on the web site. Papers should be submitted via the on-line submission site (https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/JNNS2011/). The deadline has been extended to noon UTC (9 pm JST) of September 9, 2011. All submitted papers will go through reviewing for acceptance and selection for oral presentation. The result will be notified by October 20. The presenting authors of accepted papers are asked to register for attendance through the web site (https://conv.toptour.co.jp/shop/evt/jnns2011_okinawa/) by October 31, 2011; otherwise, the acceptance will be cancelled. Presentation Format: All general presentations will be given in poster sessions. Selected papers will be presented in single-track oral sessions as well. Important Dates: Paper submission deadline: September 9, 2011 (Extended). Notification of acceptance: October 20, 2011. Early registration deadline: October 31, 2011. Support for students: Travel support will be available for selected student presenters. The support consists of part of traveling fee (up to JPY100,000 for students from abroad; or up to JPY50,000 for students within Japan) and free lodging in OIST Seaside house. To apply for the support, please select the appropriate option in the on-line paper submission system; and the application form will be sent from the JNNS2011 secretariat around September 15, 2011. The result of selection will be notified together with the paper acceptance notice by October 20th, 2011. All the accepted applicants are kindly asked to participate the satellite symposium ?Fun and challenges in combining theoretical and experiments neurosciences,? which will be held at OIST on Dec. 14-15, 2011. JNNS Young Presenter Awards: JNNS presents Young Presenter Awards for distinguished papers presented at JNNS2011. The eligibility for the award is the first and presenting author who is a JNNS member at the age of 35 or younger (as of December 15, 2011) and has never received the award. The applicants for the award are asked to fill in the application form, which can be downloaded from the JNNS2011 official website, and submit to the JNNS2011 Secretariat via an E-mail. The deadline is September 16, 2011. The awarding ceremony will be held as a part of the closing ceremony of JNNS2011. Sponsor: Japanese Neural Network Society Co-Sponsor: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Supported by The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan, The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, The Japan Neuroscience Society, and The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, Information Processing Society of Japan, Japan Cognitive Science Society, The Robotics Society of Japan, Fuzzy Logic Systems Institute, Japan Society for Fuzzy Theory and Intelligent Informatics. Organizers: Executive Chair: Kenji Doya (OIST) Program Chair: Junichiro Yoshimoto (OIST) Secretariat: Neural Computation Unit Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Kunigami, Okinawa 904-0412, Japan E-mail: jnns2011 at oist.jp Web Site: http://www.jnns.org/conference/2011/ Paper Submission Site: https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/JNNS2011/ Registration Site: https://conv.toptour.co.jp/shop/evt/jnns2011_okinawa/ From rsalakhu at cs.toronto.edu Wed Aug 31 19:48:55 2011 From: rsalakhu at cs.toronto.edu (Ruslan Salakhutdinov) Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:48:55 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Connectionists: CFP: NIPS 2011 workshop on Challenges in Learning Hierarchical Models: Transfer Learning and Optimization Message-ID: CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS NIPS 2011 workshop on Challenges in Learning Hierarchical Models: Transfer Learning and Optimization Melia Sierra Nevada & Melia Sol y Nieve, Sierra Nevada, Spain https://sites.google.com/site/nips2011workshop/home Important Dates: ---------------- Deadline for submissions: October 21, 2011 Notification of acceptance: October 28, 2011 Overview: ---------------- The ability to learn abstract representations that support transfer to novel but related tasks lies at the core of solving many AI related tasks, including visual object recognition, information retrieval, speech perception, and language understanding. Hierarchical models that support inferences at multiple levels have been developed and argued as among the most promising candidates for achieving such goal. An important property of these models is that they can extract complex statistical dependencies from high-dimensional sensory input and efficiently learn latent variables by re-using and combining intermediate concepts, allowing these models to generalize well across a wide variety of tasks. In the past few years, researchers across many different communities, from applied statistics to engineering, computer science and neuroscience, have proposed several hierarchical models that are capable of extracting useful, high-level structured representations. The learned representations have been shown to give promising results for solving a multitude of novel learning tasks. A few notable examples of such models include Deep Belief Networks, Deep Boltzmann Machines, sparse coding-based methods, nonparametric and parametric hierarchical Bayesian models. Despite recent successes, many existing hierarchical models are still far from being able to represent, identify and learn the wide variety of possible patterns and structure in real-world data. Existing models can not cope with new tasks for which they have not been specifically trained. Even when applied to related tasks, trained systems often display unstable behavior. Furthermore, massive volumes of training data (e.g., data transferred between tasks) and high-dimensional input spaces pose challenging questions on how to effectively train the deep hierarchical models. The recent availability of large scale datasets (like ImageNet for visual object recognition or Wall Street Journal for large vocabulary speech recognition), the continuous advances in optimization methods, and the availability of cluster computing have drastically changed the working scenario, calling for a re-assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of many existing optimization strategies. The aim of this workshop is to bring together researchers working on such hierarchical models to discuss two important challenges: the ability to perform transfer learning and the best strategies to optimize these systems on large scale problems. These problems are "large" in terms of input dimensionality (in the order of millions), number of training samples (in the order of 100 millions or more) and number of categories (in the order of several tens of thousands). Submission Instructions: ------------------------ We solicit submissions of unpublished research papers. Papers must have at most 6 pages (even in the form of extended abstracts), and must satisfy the formatting instructions of the NIPS 2011 call for papers. Submissions should include the title, authors' names, institutions and email addresses and should be sent in PDF or PS file format by email to transflearn.optim.wnips2011 at gmail.com. Submissions will be reviewed by the organizing committee on the basis of relevance, significance, technical quality, and clarity. Selected submissions may be accepted either as an oral presentation or as a poster presentation: there will be a limited number of oral presentations. We encourage submissions with a particular emphasis on: * transfer learning * one-shot learning * learning hierarchical models * scalability of hierarchical models at training and test time * deterministic and stochastic optimization for hierarchical models * parallel computing * theoretical foundations of transfer learning * applications of hierarchical models to large scale datasets Organizers ---------- Quoc V. Le, Computer Science Department, Stanford University Marc'Aurelio Ranzato, Google Inc Ruslan Salakhutdinov, Department of Statistics, University of Toronto Andrew Ng, Computer Science Department, Stanford University Josh Tenenbaum, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT https://sites.google.com/site/nips2011workshop/home