November 2020 - Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

GEM 2021 - Call for papers - deadline today

by Vinita Samarasinghe

The deadline to submit abstracts for the GEM 2021 workshop is today at 11:59 PM (+1 GMT). Please visit https://easychair.org/cfp/gem2021 <https://easychair.org/cfp/gem2021> to submit your abstracts for both the main workshop and the PhD Symposium. *GEM 2021 - Generative Episodic Memory: Interdisciplinary perspectives from psychology, neuroscience and philosophy* https://for2812.rub.de/gem2021 <https://for2812.rub.de/gem2021> 16-18 February 2021 The workshop will take place in virtual space and is free of charge. Abstracts for both the workshop and the PhD symposium, which will precede the workshop, are now being accepted via EasyChair https://easychair.org/cfp/gem2021 <https://easychair.org/cfp/gem2021> Keynote Speakers: Karl-Heinz Bäuml - University Regensburg, Germany Dorthe Berntsen - Aarhus University, Denmark Amy Criss - Syracuse University, USA Dorothea Debus - University of Konstanz, Germany David Huber - University of Massachusetts, USA Sarah Robins - University of Kansas, USA Call for papers The DFG-funded research consortium “FOR 2812 – Constructing scenarios of the past” https://for2812.rub.de <https://for2812.rub.de> is proud to announce a call for papers for its first workshop on generative episodic memory. We invite submissions for talks and posters https://easychair.org/cfp/gem2021 <https://easychair.org/cfp/gem2021>. Episodic memories are widely regarded as memories of personally experienced events. Early concepts about episodic memory were based on the storage model, according to which experiential content is preserved in memory and later retrieved. However, overwhelming empirical evidence suggests that the content of episodic memory is – at least to a certain degree – constructed in the act of remembering. Even though very few contemporary researchers would oppose this view of episodic memory as a generative process, it has not become the standard paradigm of empirical memory research. This is particularly true for studies of the neural correlates of episodic memory. Further hindering progress are large conceptual differences regarding episodic memory across different fields, such as neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology. This interdisciplinary workshop therefore aims to bring together researchers from all relevant fields to advance the state of the art in the research on generative episodic memory. FOR 2812 “Constructing scenarios of the past: A new framework in episodic memory” consists of 9 researchers. Seven from the Ruhr University Bochum and two from the University of Münster. The consortium adopts an interdisciplinary approach and investigates generative episodic memory from a conceptual, modeling, and experimental perspective using a common conceptual framework: scenario construction. Paper submission deadlines [GMT +1 (CET)]: Abstract submission - 30.11.2020 Notification of acceptance - 31.12.2020 Submission guidelines: Abstracts must be submitted in English and be no longer than 1 page. Submitted work must be original and unpublished. Abstracts must be submitted electronically through the GEM 2021 paper submission site on EasyChair https://easychair.org/cfp/gem2021 <https://easychair.org/cfp/gem2021>. Authors will receive confirmation of receipt of their abstracts including an ID number after submission. You can edit your submission at any time before the deadline. We will consider only the final version. Program committee: Nikolai Axmacher - Faculty of Psychology - Ruhr University Bochum Sen Cheng - Institute for Neural Computation - Ruhr University Bochum Gerald Echterhoff - Faculty of Psychology - University of Münster Albert Newen - Faculty of Philosophy - Ruhr University Bochum Ricarda Schubotz - Faculty of Psychology - University of Münster Markus Werning - Faculty of Philosophy - Ruhr University Bochum Laurenz Wiskott - Institute for Neural Computation - Ruhr University Bochum Oliver Wolf - Faculty of Psychology - Ruhr University Bochum All questions regarding the workshop should be emailed to for2812(a)rub.de <mailto:for2812@rub.de> Coordinator - Vinita Samarasinghe Secretary - Christiane Dahl Vinita Samarasinghe M.Sc., M.A. Science Manager Arbeitsgruppe Computational Neuroscience Institut für Neuroinformatik Ruhr-Universität Bochum, NB 3/26 Postfachnummer 110 Universitätstr. 150 D-44801 Bochum Tel: +49 (0)234 32 27996 Email:samarasinghe@ini.rub.de

Nov. 30, 2020

[jobs] Postdoc and internship position at AI Lab, Novaquark, Montreal (possibility for remote work)

by Pierre-Yves Oudeyer

Novaquark AI Lab, Postdoc or PhD-level internship open position Title: Intention modeling and joint attention for deep reinforcement learning agents interacting with non-expert caretakers Supervision: Jean-Christophe Baillie Team: Novaquark AI Lab, Montréal Duration: 12-36 months for postdocs, 6 months for PhD-level internships, starting early 2021. Location: in Montréal Lab, or in remote. Keywords: Deep reinforcement learning; language grounding; artificial curiosity; developmental AI; joint attention Details: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kJl851ciJj9lOU0gZ66zjkiMRLgvSgNZ/view <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kJl851ciJj9lOU0gZ66zjkiMRLgvSgNZ/view> How to apply: contact ailab(a)novaquark.com with a CV and letter of motivation.

Nov. 26, 2020

NEUROTECH Webinar: What are the hardware opportunities for neuromorphic engineering?

by Elisa Donati

We are back with the second NEUROTECH educational webinar on Neuromorphic Computing Technologies! We will have one hour of educational material followed by a panel discussion on the open challenges in the field. Please see below the details and please spread the word! ----- At the second webinar, Prof. Johannes Schemmel, Prof. Jennifer Olson Hasler, Dr. Elisa Vianello and Dr. Bert Jan Offrein will be answering the question “What are the hardware opportunities for neuromorphic engineering?”. Join us on the 1st of December at 16:00 CET. Sign up here for free: https://neurotech.iniforum.ch/educational/ <https://neurotech.iniforum.ch/educational/> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ About NEUROTECH: Our mission is to catalyse research and collaboration in NCT. Today's neuromorphic community in Europe is leading the state of the art in this domain. The community counts an increasing number of labs that work on theory, modelling, and implementation of neuromorphic computing systems. The NEUROTECH Project will create a Cartography of NCT in Europe, explore Roadmaps for its development, collect educational and information resources on NCT, and inform about upcoming and previous events. https://neurotech.iniforum.ch <https://neurotech.iniforum.ch/> NEUROTECH Educational Webinar: As part of the NEUROTECH project, the Educational Team is organizing a webinar series on neuromorphic computing technologies. The objective is to collect educational material about the field but also hold discussions with the experts about how the field started, how it evolved, where it’s going and how it’s going to shape the future industrial landscape. Follow us on LinkedIn: NEUROTECHAI and Twitter: JoinNeurotech ————————————————————————— Elisa Donati, PhD Research Fellow Institute of Neuroinformatics University of Zurich and ETH Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich E-mail: elisa(a)ini.uzh.ch, eldonati(a)ethz.ch Phone: +41 0446353061 Website: www.ini.uzh.ch/people/elisa

Nov. 25, 2020

Open positions in Computational Neuroscience and ML (Denmark / UK)

by Diego Vidaurre

Dear all, Apologies for cross-posting. Funded by an ERC grant, I have two open postdoc positions in my lab in Aarhus University in collaboration with Oxford University, to develop new methods on machine learning and Bayesian time series modelling, with application to specific problems in computational neuroscience. The deadline is on the 30th of May. The positions are initially for 1y, but the idea is to offer longer funding, for up to 5y. https://health.au.dk/en/about-health/vacant-positions/job/postdoc-in-integr… Many thanks d

Nov. 25, 2020

CFP: FLAIRS 2021 Special Track Neural Nets and Datamining, May 16-19, N Miami Beach, FL

by David B

Covid Update: FLAIRS will virtualize some or all of the conference,as necessary. FLAIRS is an interdisciplinary conference featuring a double-blind review and free tutorials, sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) www.FLAIRS-34.info May 16-19, 2021 DoubleTree Ocean Point Resort & Spa, North Miami Beach, Florida, USA Paper submission deadline: February 16, 2021 This special track will be devoted to neural networks and data mining with the aim of presenting new and important contributions in these areas. Who might be interested? Papers and contributions are encouraged for any work related to Neural Networks and Data Mining. What kind of studies will be of interest? This special track will be devoted to neural networks and data mining with the aim of presenting new and important contributions in these areas. Papers and contributions are encouraged for any work related to neural networks, data mining, or the intersection thereof. Topics of interest may include (but are in no way limited to): 1. Applications such as Pattern Recognition, Control and Process Monitoring, Biomedical Applications, Robotics, Text Mining, Diagnostic Problems, Telecommunications, Power Systems, Signal Processing; Intelligence analysis, medical and health applications, text, video, and multi-media mining, E-commerce and web data, financial data analysis, cyber security, remote sensing, earth sciences, bioinformatics, and astronomy. 2. Algorithms such as new developments in Back Propagation, RBF, SVM, Deep Learning, Ensemble Methods, Kernel Approaches; hybrid approaches such as Neural Networks/Genetic Algorithms, Neural Network/Expert Systems, Causal Nets trained with Backpropagation, and Neural Network/Fuzzy LogicApplications such as Intelligence analysis, medical and health applications, text, video, and multi-media mining, E-commerce and web data, financial data analysis, cyber security, remote sensing, earth sciences, bioinformatics, and astronomy. 3. Modeling algorithms such as hidden Markov models, decision trees, neural networks, statistical methods, or probabilistic methods; case studies in areas of application, or over different algorithms and approaches. 4. Feature extraction and selection. 5. Post-processing techniques such as visualization, summarization, or trending. 6. Preprocessing and data reduction. 7. Knowledge engineering or warehousing. Papers dealing with Cloud-based unstructured data or Cloud-based tool suites, such as Mahout or Apache Spark, are also encouraged. Track Co-Chairs: David Bisant, Central Security Svcs, bisant(a)umbc.edu Steven Gutstein, Army Research Laboratory, s.m.gutstein(a)gmail.com William Eberle, Tennessee Tech University, weberle(a)tntech.edu Submission Instructions Submitted papers must be original, and not submitted concurrently to a journal or another conference. Full oral presentation papers may be up to 6 pages, short poster presentation papers up to 4 pages, and abstract only poster presentations up to 250 words. Submissions for special tracks, workshops, tutorials, and discussion panels are also welcome. Papers must be in AAAI format, and submitted as PDF through the EasyChair conference system, which can be accessed through the main conference web site http://www.flairs-34.info/. The proceedings of FLAIRS-34 will be published by Florida Online Journals (https://journals.flvc.org/) In order for a paper to be published in the proceedings, the paper must be accompanied by at least one AUTHOR REGISTRATION. It is also expected that for a full (i.e., maximum 6-page) paper, at least one of the authors will attend the conference to present their work. In order for a poster to be presented at the conference, it must also be accompanied by an AUTHOR REGISTRATION. Organization Conference Chair: Keith Brawner, Army Research Lab, USA Roman Barták, Charles University, Czech Republic Program Co-Chairs: Eric Bell, USA Fazel Keshtkar, St John’s University, USA

Nov. 24, 2020

Closed-Loop Deep Learning with Robotics, NECO Vol 32, No 11

by Sama Daryanavard (PGR)

Dear Colleagues, In our paper we present Closed-Loop Deep Learning which combines the power of deep learning and classical control to create an efficient analogue multi-layered fast learning paradigm, for robotic navigation. At the heart of this algorithm is an error signal that arises from a reflex which is delicately used to both drive the closed loop system and train the deep learner simultaneously. Through mathematical derivation in z-space we show how to implement back-propagation in a closed-loop system. Preprint: https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.02970 Neural Computation (final version): https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/neco_a_01317?journalCode=n… Please do not hesitate to get in touch for a copy of the paper and to discuss your thoughts. Warmest Regards, Sama Daryanavard Dr Bernd Porr Biomedical Engineering Division, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.

Nov. 23, 2020

PhD programs in computational and theoretical neuroscience at the University of Washington

by Adrienne L Fairhall

Looking for PhD opportunities? Join the vibrant, collaborative theoretical/computational neuroscience community at University of Washington in Seattle! Research areas span the full spectrum of scales, mechanisms, and functions of the brain — from the cellular biophysics of computation to brainwide models of neural processing and cognition to next-generation brain/computer interfaces. The Computational Neuroscience Center <https://cneuro-web01.s.uw.edu>, directed by Adrienne Fairhall and Eric Shea-Brown, is a hub for research in mathematical and computational neuroscience, connecting researchers at the University of Washington across campus and to the extended neuroscience community in the Pacific Northwest including the Allen Institute <https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/brain-science/>. UW is home to the Center for Neurotechnology <http://www.csne-erc.org/>, a leader in BCI technologies and neuroethics, and a member of the Weill Neurohub <https://www.weillneurohub.org/>, which collaboratively links UW with researchers with the neuroscience communities at UCSF and UC Berkeley. Specialized training is available in data science through the eScience Institute <https://escience.washington.edu>. Please visit our webpage <https://cneuro-web01.s.uw.edu> to learn more about faculty research interests and our wide range of community activities. The neuroscience community at UW is interdisciplinary, and students have the freedom to work across departments. Programs of interest to students wishing to study computational neuroscience include (w/ computational faculty in bold): NEUROSCIENCE <https://grad.uw.edu/admission/find-a-program/program-detail/#!?progid=76>(Deadline Nov. 30): faculty include Nick Steinmetz, Wyeth Bair, Anitha Pasupathy, Beth Buffalo, Bing Brunton, Ione Fine, David Gire, Jeff Ojemann, Adrienne Fairhall, Eric Shea-Brown, Jeff Riffell, Steve Perlmutter, Fred Rieke, John Tuthill COMPUTER SCIENCE <https://grad.uw.edu/admission/find-a-program/program-detail/#!?progid=29> (Deadline Dec. 15): faculty include Raj Rao APPLIED MATH <https://grad.uw.edu/admission/find-a-program/program-detail/#!?progid=3> (Deadline Dec. 15): faculty include Eric Shea-Brown, Nathan Kutz, Eli Shlizerman, Bing Brunton, and Adrienne Fairhall as well as Allen Institute affiliate faculty Michael Buice and Stefan Mihalas BIOLOGY <https://grad.uw.edu/admission/find-a-program/program-detail/#!?progid=641> (Deadline December 1): faculty include Bing Brunton, David Perkel, Jeff Riffell, Tom Daniel ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING <https://grad.uw.edu/admission/find-a-program/program-detail/#!?progid=213> (Deadline Dec. 15): faculty include Chet Moritz, Amy Orsborn, Azadeh Yazdan-Shahmorad, Howard Chizeck BIOENGINEERING <https://grad.uw.edu/admission/find-a-program/program-detail/#!?progid=14> (Deadline Dec. 1): Faculty include Amy Orsborn, Azadeh Yazdan-Shahmorad, Jay Rubinstein PSYCHOLOGY <https://grad.uw.edu/admission/find-a-program/program-detail/#!?progid=97> (Deadline Dec. 1): Faculty include Sheri Mizumori, Ariel Rokem, David Gire, Ione Fine, Geoff Boynton, Eliot Brenowitz, Andrea Stocco BIOSTATISTICS <https://grad.uw.edu/admission/find-a-program/program-detail/#!?progid=177> (Deadline December 1): Faculty include Daniela Witten and Ali Shojaie PHYSICS <https://grad.uw.edu/admission/find-a-program/program-detail/#!?progid=95> (Deadline Jan 5. ): faculty include Adrienne Fairhall, Fred Rieke

Nov. 23, 2020

IEEE WIE ILS - ITALY: virtual event on Dec 15th, 2020

by Michela Chiappalone

Dear friends and colleagues, we would like to let you know about this *free of charge* virtual IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) event which will be held on December 15th 4.00PM CET. We will present two case studies of leader women in STEM and we will create awareness on mental health problems, especially arising in the research community. More information, the full speaker list and registration page can be found at this link: https://wieils-italy.eu/ IEEE WIE mission is to connect and to advance women in technology at all points in their life and career. WIE periodically organizes International Leadership Summits (ILS), providing leading-edge professional development sessions focusing on leadership, innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship that aims to inspire and advance mid-level and senior technical professionals globally. The December 15th virtual event is part of IEEE WIE International Leadership Summit (ILS) that was supposed to take place this year in Genova (Italy). Due to the pandemic, the live event has been postponed to November 2021 and further notice on it will be provided in the next months. Thank you for your kind attention and looking forward to your participation! Best regards, Michela Chiappalone & Marianna Semprini, organizers IEEE WIE ILS ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Michela Chiappalone, PhD Researcher Rehab Technologies IIT-INAIL Lab Phone : +39 010 71781743 E-mail : michela.chiappalone(a)iit.it<mailto:michela.chiappalone@iit.it> ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA Via Morego 30, 16163 Genova Site: www.iit.it<https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iit.it…>

Nov. 23, 2020

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Position in Neuroscience and Behavior

by Sébastien Hélie

Department of Psychological Sciences Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Position in Neuroscience and Behavior Date Available: August 2021 Principal Duties: Purdue University’s Department of Psychological Sciences invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Neuroscience and Behavior to begin in the Fall of 2021. The successful candidate will be expected to develop a program of nationally recognized research and teach undergraduate and graduate level courses. You can learn more about our department at our website: https://www.purdue.edu/hhs/psy/. Qualifications: The candidate must have a Ph.D. in psychology, neuroscience, or a related field and should have appropriate postdoctoral experience. Candidates should have a strong publication record, a research program with a high likelihood of obtaining external funding, and potential for teaching and mentoring excellence. We are particularly interested in candidates whose research is at the intersection of neuroscience and aging, but we will consider all candidates who conduct research in neuroscience, broadly defined. The College & University: The Department of Psychological Sciences is the largest Department in the College of HHS (http://www.purdue.edu/hhs/) which is the second largest college at Purdue. The department's graduate program in Neuroscience and Behavior was recently restructured to integrate research in human neuroscience within the program's traditional focus on (non-human) animal neuroscience. The Psychological Sciences faculty have strong connections with centers, institutes, and resources across campus, including the Life Science MRI Facility (https://www.purdue.edu/hhs/mri/) the Center for Research on Brain, Behavior, and NeuroRehabilitation (CEREBBRAL; https://www.purdue.edu/hhs/cerebbral/) the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience (PIIN; https://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/institute-for-integrative-neuroscience/) and the Center on Aging and the Life Course (CALC; https://www.purdue.edu/aging/about) Established in 1869, Purdue is Indiana’s land-grant university, a comprehensive educational and research institution and member of the American Association of Universities. The West Lafayette campus, located one hour north of Indianapolis and two hours south of downtown Chicago, has ten academic colleges with an enrollment of 44,500 students from over 133 countries. The diverse greater Lafayette/West Lafayette community (http://www.homeofpurdue.com) has a population of approximately 200,000, and a low cost of living. Application Procedure: Applications must include (1) a cover letter of interest, (2) a curriculum vitae, (3) a research statement, (4) three peer-reviewed research articles, (5) a teaching statement, and (6) a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement (see below), and 7) contact information for three references. Application materials should be submitted by January 6th, 2021 for full consideration. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled. A background check is required for employment in this position. Questions regarding the position may be sent to Dr. Julia Chester, Chair of the Search Committee (jcheste(a)purdue.edu) Interested candidates should apply to https://career8.successfactors.com/sfcareer/jobreqcareer?jobId=12135&compan…. Purdue University’s Department of Psychological Sciences is committed to advancing diversity in all areas of faculty effort including discovery, instruction, and engagement. Candidates should address at least one of these areas in the separate Diversity and Inclusion Statement, indicating their past experiences, current interests or activities, and/or future goals to promote a climate that values diversity and inclusion. Equal Opportunity: Purdue University is an EOE/AA employer. All individuals, including minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Sébastien Hélie, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences Director of CEREBBRAL -- Offices: PRCE 359 / DLR 331 Phone: (765) 496-2692 Website: http://ccn.psych.purdue.edu/ ----------------------------------------------------------------

Nov. 21, 2020

Postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience at UCSF and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

by Kirst, Christoph

The lab of Christoph Kirst<https://profiles.ucsf.edu/christoph.kirst> at UCSF<https://weill.ucsf.edu/> and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory<https://www.lbl.gov/research-areas/> is looking for a postdoctoral scholar working at the interface between theoretical neuroscience and neuromorphic computing. The project seeks to explore mechanisms underlying dynamical self-reconfiguration of neuronal networks in brains and machines. Areas of interest are broad and include adaptive processing in dynamically self-reconfiguring neuronal networks, coordination of large scale distributed computation as well as energy efficient neuromorphic hardware. A potential research direction is to explore oscillatory mechanisms to coordinate computation and implement those into neuromorphic hardware of super-conducting oscillators. The ideal candidate would be capable of creating novel ideas and frameworks for flexible analog computation in neuronal and artificial networks. Experience with computation in dynamical systems, theoretical and experimental neuroscience, machine learning, neuromorphic computing or hardware design are advantageous. Interactions between researchers at UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley and at LBNL are encouraged. Postdoctoral researchers will have access to allocations on some of the world-leading supercomputers including Cori, and Perlmutter (Berkeley/NERSC). The lab is committed to providing a diverse and inclusive environment for all scholars, and applications are especially encouraged from all underrepresented groups. Additionally, the lab is committed to the professional development of the members, making it valuable preparation for people who are interested in academic, industrial, or entrepreneurial careers. The position has no mandatory teaching or administrative duties. Excellent (written and oral) communication skills in English are required Candidates should send a CV, a statement of research experience and interests, expected date of availability, and the contact information for three references to christoph.kirst(a)ucsf.edu. Application review will proceed until the position is filled. Christoph Kirst Assistant Professor Department of Anatomy Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience University of California San Francisco Faculty Scientist Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Sandler Neuroscience Building 675 Nelson Rising Lane, Suite 514G San Francisco, 94158, CA, USA Phone: 415-502-7372 https://profiles.ucsf.edu/christoph.kirst [cid:b1051939-2ae0-4294-a389-d3100054eba7]

Nov. 21, 2020