January 2018 - Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

University of Sussex PhD programme: 'From Sensation and Perception to Awareness'

by Miguel Maravall

Dear comp-neuro colleagues, We are inviting applications for studentships in an exciting new PhD programme at the University of Sussex, 'From Sensation and Perception to Awareness', for entry in September 2018. Could you please kindly distribute to potentially interested students? Thank you Best wishes Miguel Maravall The University of Sussex has been awarded a Leverhulme Trust grant to create a new Doctoral Scholarship Programme entitled 'From Sensation and Perception to Awareness'. This brings together researchers and doctoral students from across neuroscience, robotics, psychology and the arts. The ultimate aim of this research programme is to advance our understanding of the interactions between sensing, perception, and awareness in humans, animals, and machines. Our doctoral scholars will be immersed in an inter-disciplinary training environment including monthly seminars and an annual student-led conference on a topic related to the theme. A strong emphasis is placed on developing technical skills, and we will provide specialist training in areas such as programming and use of virtual and augmented reality. As part of this programme, Sussex will be providing fully-funded studentships for three cohorts of seven students. The first of these cohorts will start studying at Sussex in September 2018. Individual research projects are listed on the webpage linked below. Each successful applicant will receive a tax free stipend at Research Council rates (currently £14553 per annum), a Home/EU fee waiver and generous research and training costs. On completion of their PhD, our programme alumni will be eligible to apply for one of several 12 month postdoctoral research fellowships at Sussex, available only to completing Leverhulme DSP scholars. Application deadline is March 5th 2018. For further information, a listing of research projects and application instructions, please visit: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/internal/doctoralschool/funding/sussexleverhulme

Jan. 19, 2018

PhD Studentship in Computational and Systems Neuroscience (Final Deadline March 5th)

by Christopher Buckley

Just a reminder that the final deadline for PhD studentships on our project is 5th March http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/fees-and-scholarships/scholarships/view/7… The role would involve computational modelling, dynamical systems analysis and control theory so we particularly encourage candidates with a computational, physics, maths or engineering background interested in getting involved in cutting edge experimental neuroscience to apply. PhD Studentship: Distributed neural processing of self-generated visual input in a vertebrate brain. A PhD studentship in Computational and Systems Neuroscience is available in the groups of Dr Christopher L Buckley (Department of Informatics) and Prof. Leon Lagnado (School of Life Sciences) at the University of Sussex. During movement, sensory input and motor output are bound in a closed-loop: motor actions shape sensory input and sensory inputs inform future motor commands. We will characterise the neural circuits involved in the interactions between the sensory and motor systems using light-sheet microscopy to image neural activity across the brain of live zebrafish in a virtual reality environment (Nature. 2013;493: 466–468). The project will involve computational modeling and “big-data” analysis as well as experiments. Appropriate backgrounds therefore include physical and computational science as well as neuroscience. Experience with programming and a quantitative approach are essential. More information about the project is available at https://tinyurl.com/kjtxoq9. Informal enquiries can be made to Chris Buckley<http://www.christopherlbuckley.com/> (c.l.buckley(a)sussex.ac.uk<mailto:c.l.buckley@sussex.ac.uk>) or Leon Lagnado<http://www.sussex.ac.uk/lifesci/lagnadolab/> (l.lagnado(a)sussex.ac.uk<mailto:l.lagnado@sussex.ac.uk>). Sussex Neuroscience<http://www.sussex.ac.uk/sussexneuroscience> is one of the foremost centers for Neuroscience research in the UK and the University of Sussex has a beautiful campus on the outskirts of the lively South Coast town of Brighton. Application: Please apply through the post-graduate application system of the University of Sussex (http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/apply) Please include a brief statement of your scientific interests and skills/experience in the mandatory “research proposal”, including how you would imagine your role in the project (max 2 pages) and include a full CV. Indicate Dr Christopher L Buckley as your preferred advisor and clearly state the title of the studentship. When you apply, please send a copy of your application documents to c.l.buckley(a)sussex.ac.uk<mailto:c.l.buckley@sussex.ac.uk> and l.lagnado(a)sussex.ac.uk<mailto:l.lagnado@sussex.ac.uk>. Funding Notes The studentship includes a three year stipend at a standard rate (currently £14,296 per annum) and, in addition, fees at the UK/EU rate. Since the studentship only covers fees at the UK/EU rate, overseas applicants are kindly requested to state in their application how they propose to cover the difference between UK/EU and overseas fees. Deadline 5th March 2018 Christopher L Buckley Lecturer in Neural Computation University of Sussex Department of Informatics Sussex Neuroscience Falmer Brighton, UK email: c.l.buckley(a)sussex.ac.uk<mailto:c.l.buckley@sussex.ac.uk> twitter: @drclbuckley

Jan. 19, 2018

ICNR2018 - FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT & CALL FOR PAPERS, SPECIAL SESSIONS and WORKSHOPS

by Alberto Mazzoni

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We apologize if you receive multiple copies of this announcement --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The International Conference on NeuroRehabilitation (ICNR2018) Pisa, Italy October 16-20 http://www.icnr2018.org <https://mail.sssup.it/Redirect/D03C6F58/www.icnr2018.org/>info(a)icnr2018.org On behalf of all the organizers, it is our pleasure to invite you to the genuine International Conference on NeuroRehabilitation (ICNR2018) that will take place in Pisa (Italy) in October 16-20, 2018. Please, visit the website at http://www.icnr2018.org <https://mail.sssup.it/Redirect/D03C6F58/www.icnr2018.org/>. The 2018 International Conference on Neurorehabilitation will bring together researchers and students from the fields of Motor Control, Neurtotechnologies, Clinical Rehabilitation, Applied Neurophysiology, Biomedical Engineering and Neuromechanics to promote, feed and encourage a technology-based therapeutic global shift. On this occasion, ICNR2018 will be held in parallel at the same venue with The International Symposium on Wearable Robotics (WeRob2018). Please, visit the website at http://www.werob2018.org <https://mail.sssup.it/Redirect/D03C6F58/www.werob2018.org/>. We are looking forward to welcoming you in Pisa on October 2018! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *- Call for Special sessions-* ICNR2018 seeks to provide focused discussions on new topics and innovative applications of established approaches during the conference. Therefore, the organization of Special Sessions is encouraged. March 15 is the final deadline for Special Session Proposals submission. *- Call for Workshops-* ICNR2018 seeks to provide an extensive program of workshops to be held prior the conference. Proposals that address topics related to the conference theme are welcome. We invite proposals for half-day or full-day workshops. March 15 is the final deadline for Workshop Proposals submission. *- Submission of contributions-* Extended abstract (2 pages) contributions are welcome. April 15 is the final deadline for extended abstracts. All contributions will be peer reviewed. Accepted contributions will appear in Conference Proceedings. After a selection process, accepted articles will be announced to authors on June 15, 2018. *- Important Deadlines -* Special session proposal submission deadline: March 15, 2018 Workshops proposal submission deadline: March 15, 2018 Contributions submission deadline: April 15, 2018 Notification to authors: June 15, 2018 Authors registration deadline: July 1, 2018 Final version submission: July 15, 2018 Early registration: July 1, 2018 *- Registration Fees -* Early student (until July 1): 300€ Early regular (until July 1): 550€ Early Single day student (until July 1, 2018): 200€ Early Single day regular (until July 1, 2018): 300€ Student: 450€ Regular: 750€ Single day student: 300€ Single day regular: 450€ *- Confirmed Plenary speakers -* Michael Goldfard (Vanderbilt University) Maria Chiara Carrozza (SSSA) Katja Mombaur (Heidelberg University) Herman van der Kooij (University of Twente) (tentative) Oskar Aszmann (Medical University of Vienna) (tentative) Hugh Herr (MIT) (tentative) Mitsuo KAWATO (ATR) *- Logistics -* ICNR obtained special rates for accommodation with hotels nearby the conference venue. During the conference, transportation services will be facilitated between these hotels and the venue. For updated information on accommodation, trasportation and conference venue please visit our website frequently. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For further and up-to-date information, please visit the conference website: http://www.icnr2018.org <https://mail.sssup.it/Redirect/D03C6F58/www.icnr2018.org/> Prof. José L. Pons & Prof. Silvestro Micera Co-Chairs ICNR2018 http://www.ICNR2018.org <https://mail.sssup.it/Redirect/D03C6F58/www.icnr2018.org/>

Jan. 18, 2018

Cortical Codes at the EITN Paris on February 5 & 6 - registration opened

by EITN

Announcement : Workshop Cortical codes Organized by Sacha van Albada and the EITN on February 5th and 6th, at the EITN Paris. Programme and registration: https://eitnconf-050218.sciencesconf.org/ The cerebral cortex plays a key role in high-level brain functions including sensory processing, memory, attention, planning, and the internal modeling of the external world. To make sense of the wealth of experimental data available on cortical anatomy and physiology, and the relation of its activity to behavior, theoretical approaches are essential. A variety of tools are used for this purpose: bottom-up modeling starting from biological knowledge, top-down including normative approaches, investigations of the coding properties at the single-neuron and neuronal population levels, analytical work and simulations, and comparisons between healthy and disease conditions. This workshop brings together a cross-section of these theoretical approaches toward unraveling the mechanisms used by the cerebral cortex for achieving its functionality, with the goal of facilitating mutual fertilization between the various approaches. **/The registration is free however mandatory due to a limited number of seats./** Speakers:**/ /** Claudia Clopath, Cold Spring Harbor, USA Sophie Denève, ENS Paris, France Maria Sanchez-Vives, IDIBAPS Barcelona, Spain Yulia Sandamirskaya, University and ETH, Zurich, Switzerland Tatyana Sharpee, Salk Institute, La Jolla, USA (via video conference) Hamutal Slovin, Bar Ilan University, Tel Aviv, Israel Alexa Riehle, AMU, France Angela Yu, University of California San Diego, USA (via video conference) Fleur Zeldenrust, Radboud University, The Netherlands Looking forward to seeing you there ! -- The EITN Team Phone : +33 (0)1 69 82 34 39 http://www.eitn.org follow us on Twitter: @EITN_Paris

Jan. 18, 2018

2018 ACT-R Summer School and Master Class

by db30＠andrew.cmu.edu

2018 ACT-R Summer School and Master Class Carnegie Mellon University July 9-13, 2018 ACT-R is a unified theory of cognition that has been implemented in a software system called a cognitive architecture that can be used to develop computational cognitive models. It has been applied to modeling tasks that range from experimental tasks like simple reaction time and list learning, to real world tasks like driving a car and air traffic control. The 2018 ACT-R Summer School will take place at CMU in Pittsburgh from July 9-13. It consists of both a Summer School for beginning users and a Master Class for more experienced users. The Summer School will train researchers in the use of ACT-R for cognitive modeling using the ACT-R tutorial. Each day will consist of a morning theory lecture covering one or two tutorial units, an afternoon discussion session on the topics of the day, and modeling assignments which participants are expected to complete during the day and evening. The Master Class is organized in parallel with the Summer School. The Master Class offers the opportunity for ACT-R modelers to work on their own projects with guidance from experienced ACT-R researchers. There is no curriculum for the Master Class, but Master Class students are welcome to attend the Summer School lectures and discussion sessions. To provide an optimal learning environment, admission to the Summer School and Master Class will be limited. To apply for the Summer School, please email a curriculum vitae and a statement of purpose to db30(a)andrew.cmu.edu. Demonstrated experience with a modeling formalism similar to ACT-R will strengthen a Summer School application. To apply for the Master Class please email a curriculum vitae along with some information about your level of experience with ACT-R and some details on the project you expect to work on during the Master Class. Applications are due by April 15th and applicants will be notified of admission by April 30th. Admission to the Summer School and Master Class is free. Housing will be available in the CMU dormitories for approximately $60/day (single) or $40/day (shared). More information about ACT-R, including papers published by the ACT-R community, can be found on the ACT-R web site: <http://act-r.psy.cmu.edu/>. For more information on the Summer School and Master Class you can email Dan Bothell at db30(a)andrew.cmu.edu.

Jan. 17, 2018

[meetings] 2nd CFP, Special session - Hybrid Life: Approaches to integrate biological, artificial and cognitive systems, ALife 2018 (Tokyo)

by Manuel Baltieri

[Apologies for cross-posting] ********** 2nd Call for Papers ********** Special session - Hybrid Life: Approaches to integrate biological, artificial and cognitive systems https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life/ <https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life/> 2018 Artificial Life conference (ALife) Tokyo, JAPAN, 23-27 July 2018 - http://2018.alife.org/ <http://2018.alife.org/> Invited panelists: Ryota Kanai, Jun Tani (more to come). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DESCRIPTION: The main focus of ALife research is the study of natural systems with the goal of understanding what life is. More concretely, ALife defines ways to investigate processes that contribute to the formation and proliferation of living organisms. In this session we focus on three common approaches to tackle this investigation, proposing ways to integrate, extend and possibly improve them. More specifically we refer to: 1) the formalisation of the necessary properties for the definition of life, 2) the implementation of artificial agents, and 3) the study of the relation between life and cognition. For this special session we propose to start from these well-established Alife methodologies, and extend them through: a unified formal language for the description and modelling of living, as well as artificial and cognitive systems, e.g. control theory, Bayesian inference, dynamical systems theory, etc., the exploration of biological creatures enhanced by artificial systems (or artificial systems augmented with organic parts) in order to investigate the boundaries between living and nonliving organisms, and the evaluation of coupled biological-artificial systems that could shed light on the importance of interactions among systems for the study of living and cognitive organisms. This special sessions aims to invite contributions from the fields of psychology, computational neuroscience, HCI, theoretical biology, artificial intelligence, robotics and cognitive science to discuss current research on the formalisation, combination and interaction of artificial/living/cognitive systems from theoretical, modelling and implementational perspectives. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: Formalisation of life and cognition (e.g. dynamical systems theory, stochastic optimal control, Bayesian inference, etc.) Cognitive robotics Autopoiesis Life-mind continuity thesis Systems biology Origins-of-life theories with relationships to artificial and cognitive systems Animal-robot interaction Bio-inspired robotics Bio-integrated robotics Human-machine interaction Augmented cognition Sensory substitution Interactive evolutionary computation Artificial perception PANELISTS: Ryota Kanai Ryota Kanai is a neuroscientist working on the computational principles underlying consciousness and the brain, and the founder and CEO of an AI startup, Araya, Inc. in Tokyo. His goal is to create artificial consciousness using intrinsic motivation, deep neural networks, and integrated information while taking inspirations from neuroscience. He formerly led a cognitive neuroscience lab at the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. Araya Inc.: http://www.araya.org/ <http://www.araya.org/> <http://www.araya.org/>Jun Tani Jun Tani is a Full Professor at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Okinawa, Japan. He is directing the Cognitive Neurorobotics Research Unit. He has investigated the problem of embodied cognition by applying the predictive coding framework to neurorobotics experimental study for more than 20 years. His study has been summarized in his book, “Exploring Robotic Minds: Actions, Symbols, and Consciousness as Self-Organizing Dynamic Phenomena." published from Oxford Univ. Press in 2016. CNRU at OIST: https://groups.oist.jp/cnru <https://groups.oist.jp/cnru> Important Dates 19th March 2018 – Paper submission deadline 23rd April 2018 – Paper acceptance notification 21st May 2018 – Camera-ready version 23-27th July 2018 – Artificial Life conference (ALife), Tokyo, Japan Paper Submission Papers and abstracts submitted to this special sessions will be reviewed by a selected group of experts from the a-life community as well as from other areas key to our proposal, specifically chosen for this review process. If you are submitting to a special session you will be given the opportunity to select it during the submission process. Submissions to special sessions follow the same format, instructions and deadlines of regular ALife papers, as specified here http://2018.alife.org/instructions-for-authors/ <http://2018.alife.org/instructions-for-authors/>. Organizers Manuel Baltieri, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. m.baltieri(a)sussex.ac.uk <mailto:m.baltieri@sussex.ac.uk> Keisuke Suzuki, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. k.suzuki(a)sussex.ac.uk <mailto:filippo.m.bianchi@uit.no> Hiroyuki Iizuka, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan hiroyukiiizuka(a)gmail.com <mailto:hiroyukiiizuka@gmail.com> Contacts For questions, enquiries and more information please check our website https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life/ <https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life/> or get in touch with Manuel m.baltieri(a)sussex.ac.uk <mailto:m.baltieri@sussex.ac.uk>. All the best, Manuel, Keisuke, Hiro

Jan. 17, 2018

AREADNE 2018 Call for Abstracts

by John Pezaris

AREADNE 2018 Research in Encoding and Decoding of Neural Ensembles Nomikos Conference Centre, Santorini, Greece 20-24 June 2018 http://areadne.org info(a)areadne.org Dear Colleague, We are pleased to announce solicitation of abstracts for poster presentation at AREADNE 2018, 20-24 June 2018, our seventh meeting to be held at the Nomikos Conference Centre in Santorini, Greece. Continuing with the same highly successful format, AREADNE 2018 will bring scientific leaders from around the world to present their theoretical and experimental work on the functioning of neuronal ensembles. The meeting will provide an informal yet spectacular setting in which attendees can discuss their recent ideas and discoveries, with a relaxed pace that emphasizes interaction. Please see the Call for Abstracts for additional details, including links for templates, at http://areadne.org/call-for-abstracts Submissions of abstracts for poster presentations are due by 9 Feb 2018; notifications will be provided by 13 March 2018. We strongly encourage potential attendees to submit an abstract as presenters have registration priority. For information about the conference, please refer to the main web page http://areadne.org or send email to us at info(a)areadne.org. We hope to see you at AREADNE 2018! Best, - J. --- John S. Pezaris, Ph.D. AREADNE 2018 Co-Chair Harvard Medical School Massachusetts General Hospital 55 Fruit Street Boston, MA 02114, USA john(a)areadne.org jpezaris(a)gmail.com

Jan. 16, 2018

Call for Papers: Special Track on "Brain-Inspired Circuits & Architectures" @ IEEE NANO 2018 - Cork, Ireland

by Harkin, Jim

CFP: IEEE NANO 2018 Special Track on "Brain-Inspired Circuits & Architectures". http://ieeenano18.org/brain-inspired-circuits-architectures/ The call for papers is now open to the Special Track on "Brain-Inspired Circuits & Architectures". This track is intended to disseminate the research on Brain-inspired Circuits and Architectures to the Nano community and therefore is broad and includes applications. Topics of Interest include, but are not restricted to: * Neuromorphic hardware * Embedded neural systems (including FPGAs) * Brain-inspired cognitive architectures, evolutionary robotics * Self-configuring , Self-healing or Self-aware systems * Memristor based computation and learning * Novel neural hardware applications * Deep Learning Hardware * Other topics in Brain-Inspired Circuits & Architectures Submission of Abstract deadline: 28th February 2018 (Extended deadline) Notification of Acceptance : 29th March 2018 Deadline for final papers: 31st May 2018 Guidelines: http://ieeenano18.org/abstract-submission-guidelines/ Track Chair: Dr. Jim Harkin, Ulster University Track Co-Chair: Prof. Liam McDaid, Ulster University Track TPC Members Prof. Alejandro Linares-Barranco, University of Seville. Spain Prof Alice Parker, University of Southern California, USA Dr. Martin Trefzer, University of York, UK Dr. Junxiu Liu, Ulster University, UK [cid:image003.jpg@01D36D24.502F1730] Abstract Submission is now open for IEEE NANO 2018! The 18th IEEE International Conference on Nanotechnology | Cork, Ireland | 23-26 July 2018 | www.ieeenano18.org IEEE-NANO is the flagship IEEE Nanotechnology conference. The conference scope spans nanoscience and nanotechnology, from nanomaterials and nanofabrication to nanosensors, nanoactuators and nanoelectronic/nanophotonic devices. The thematic focus for this year's event is Nano-Enabled Smart Things: new materials, devices and systems that can benefit humanity through applications in communications, energy, healthcare, food and environment. The conference themes will encompass experimental contributions (e.g., materials development and integration, device fabrication, characterisation and metrology) as well as modelling and simulation. We welcome contributions from both academic and industry-based researchers. Confirmed plenary speakers for IEEE NANO 2018 already include: Prof. John A. Rogers, Northwestern University Prof. Malini Olivo, A*STAR<https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_org&hl=en&org=15632547241…> Singapore Prof. Clivia M. Sotomayor Torres, Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology This email and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee and may contain information which is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager at postmaster(a)ulster.ac.uk and delete this email immediately. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ulster University. The University's computer systems may be monitored and communications carried out on them may be recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes. Ulster University does not guarantee that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or 100% secure. Unless expressly stated in the body of a separate attachment, the text of email is not intended to form a binding contract. Correspondence to and from the University may be subject to requests for disclosure by 3rd parties under relevant legislation. The Ulster University was founded by Royal Charter in 1984 and is registered with company number RC000726 and VAT registered number GB672390524.The primary contact address for Ulster University in Northern Ireland is Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry BT52 1SA

Jan. 15, 2018

Call for Applications: Spring Course in Computational Neuroscience Paris March 19-23, 2018

by Alain Destexhe

Hi All, I am forwarding this announcement as the deadline is in a month. Sorry for those who already received it. All the best, Alain ------------ Call for Applications: Spring Course in Computational Neuroscience, Paris, March 19-23, 2018 We hereby announce the EITN Spring Course in Computational Neuroscience of March 19-23, 2018. It will be held at the European Institute of Theoretical Neuroscience (EITN) in Paris, and is organized by the Theoretical Neuroscience Group of the Human Brain Project. The main focus of the course will be to understand and design neural models at multiple scales, ranging from cellular and circuit models to large-scale brain networks. Organizers: Idan Segev (Hebrew University), Markus Diesmann (Research Center Julich), Viktor Jirsa (CNRS, Marseille), Sonja Gruen (Research Center Julich), Gaute Einevoll (NMBU), Alain Destexhe (CNRS and EITN) and Gustavo Deco (University Pompeu Fabra). The goal of the course is to teach different techniques of computational neuroscience spanning different scales: Day 1: single-neuron models (Segev) Day 2: mean-field models (Destexhe) Day 3: model comparison and validation (Gruen, Einevoll) Day 4: from local circuits to whole-brain models (Diesmann, Jirsa) Day 5: resting state and sensory processing (Deco) The students will be asked to form 5 interdisciplinary working groups on each one of these themes, and will do a short modeling project using one of the simulation packages presented at the course (Python, NEST, Brian, The Virtual Brain...) Tutorials and use cases will be provided to teach students how to use these packages. The student selection will be based on their excellence, and also based on their need to follow such a course. Experimentalists and theoreticians are welcome, a prior background in basic neuroscience is required. We request that the students come to the course with their laptop computer and have software installed, which we will identify prior to the course, to allow working on the projects and tutorials. The deadline for applications is February 15th, 2018. Applications consist of a one-page CV and a motivation letter to explain why you would like to attend this course. Applications should be sent to the EITN, at eitn(a)unic.cnrs-gif.fr

Jan. 14, 2018

[jobs] Postdoc/Senior Postdoc in Computational/Mathematical Neuroscience – A biomimetic forebrain for active touch (University of Bristol)

by Nathan Lepora

Postdoc/Senior Postdoc in Computational/Mathematical Neuroscience – A biomimetic forebrain for active touch (University of Bristol) *** closing date for applications: 1 February 2018 *** The University of Bristol invites applications for an immediate position in Computational/Mathematical Neuroscience. The successful candidate will be part of a multi-disciplinary team on the new Leverhulme-funded Leadership Award ‘A biomimetic forebrain for robot touch’, focusing on active touch. We have been awarded funds for four postdocs and a technician on a 5-year project that will apply leading robotics, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, psychology and philosophy of the brain to develop a biomimetic forebrain embodied on a 3D-printed tactile robot hand to enable human-like manipulation This application is for a Postdoctoral/Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate in Computational/Mathematical Neuroscience who will model the mammalian forebrain system for embodiment in the robots. This research position will focus on systems-level biological modelling of forebrain systems, and will complement three other postdoctoral researchers and a technician on the AI of robot touch and 3D-printed tactile robots, who together will embody the model on the robots. Our lab uses statistical/Bayesian approaches to model perception and action selection, and is interested in taking these approaches in the direction of goal-directed learning and task performance in complex environments. Although a relatively new group, we have a strong track record in publishing in both the leading Computational Neuroscience and Robotics/AI journals and conferences, including PLOS Computational Biology, Frontiers in Comp Neuro, NIPS, RSS, IEEE Trans Robotics, Soft Robotics and regularly in ICRA/IROS. Our lab has recently won the international Soft Robotics Challenge and we have a 3D-printed tactile robot hand on display in the Science Museum, London. Our group currently numbers 8 full-time members, and we will be hiring three postdocs and a technician over the next year. The project has funding until April 2022, making this an ideal position to develop a strong base for an academic career in this important research area. Applicant qualities: This application is for a postdoctoral position (Research Associate/Senior Research Associate) in Computational/Mathematical Neuroscience. We are looking for a candidate experienced in some of the following research areas, and an interest in pursuing the others: - Computation/mathematics of optimal decision making (e.g. statistical/Bayesian methods) - Models of reinforcement/goal-directed learning - Systems-level modelling of the basal ganglia and other forebrain structures - Interest in embodied computational neuroscience and embodied cognition/active perception. You will hold (or will be expected to obtain soon) a strong PhD in a discipline relevant to the project. In addition to a strong research track record you will also have a proven capability to write first author publications accepted in the leading journals of the research field. Institution The project will be based at both the Computational Neuroscience Unit (www.bristol.ac.uk/engineering/research/computational-neuroscience) at the University of Bristol and Bristol Robotics Laboratory (www.brl.ac.uk) the largest centre for multi-disciplinary robotics research in the UK. Our group also collaborates with other labs in this research area, principally at the University of Sheffield (Tony Prescott) and ISTC-CNR in Rome (Giovanni Pezzulo). The post holder will be employed by the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bristol, ranked 3rd for general Engineering in the UK (just after Oxford and Cambridge). The city of Bristol is consistently ranked as the 'best place to live' in the UK, e.g. as reported by the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39320118) Further details: It is anticipated that interviews will take place in February 2018, and the anticipated start as soon as possible thereafter. This post is full time for 2 years initially, with funds in place to extend the position until April 2022. Further information about the Leverhulme Award (http://www.lepora.com/leverhulme.htm) and the activities of the research group (www.lepora.com<http://www.lepora.com>) can be found via these links. Details and procedure to apply can be made through this link http://www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/ with reference number ACAD103059. Informal enquiries can be made to: Dr. Nathan Lepora (N.Lepora(a)bristol.ac.uk) Closing date for applications: 1 February 2018 -- Dr Nathan Lepora, Reader in Robotics & BRL lead in Tactile Robotics Dept of Engineering Maths, Merchant Venturers Building, University of Bristol Office (MVB2.50): 0117 3315169 Lab (BRL bays 2 & 3): 0117 3286171 www.lepora.com @nathanlepora @tactilerobot

Jan. 14, 2018