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DEADLINE 18th March, CfP - Special session - Hybrid Life III, ALife 2020

by Manuel Baltieri

[Apologies for cross-posting] ********** Call for Papers - Deadline 18th March ********** Special session - Hybrid Life III: Approaches to integrate biological, artificial and cognitive systems https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-iii/ <https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-iii/> 2020 Artificial Life conference (ALife) Montreal, Canada, 13-18th July 2020 - http://2020.alife.org/ <http://2020.alife.org/> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DESCRIPTION: The main focus of ALife research is the study of natural and artificial 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 Important Dates 18th March 2020 – Paper submission deadline 17th April 2020 – Paper acceptance notification 17th May 2020 – Camera-ready version 13th-18th 2020 – Artificial Life conference (ALife), Montreal, Canada Paper Submission Papers and abstracts submitted to this special sessions will be reviewed by a selected group of experts from the ALife 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. Organizers Manuel Baltieri, RIKEN Centre for Brain Science, Saitama, Japan Keisuke Suzuki, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK Hiroyuki IIzuka, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan Olaf Witkowski, Cross Labs, Tokyo, Japan Lana Sinapayen, Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Tokyo, Japan Contacts For questions, enquiries and more information please check our website https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-iii/ <https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-iii/> or get in touch with manuel.baltieri [at] riken.jp <http://riken.jp/>. All the best, -- Manuel Baltieri Postdoctoral Research Fellow Lab. for Neural Computation and Adaptation RIKEN CBS, Saitama, Japan www.manuelbaltieri.com <https://manuelbaltieri.com/> Twitter: @manuelbaltieri

March 12, 2020

US CCDC Army Research Lab: Post-doc & Research Coordinator positions available

by Kristen Flaherty

To professional or aspiring researchers, A *postdoctoral scholar *and *full-time research coordinator* position are available to work on an DoD-funded study using multimodal neuroimaging to examine the neurobehavioral dynamics of decision making in teams. The successful applicant will be actively involved in study design, neuroimaging protocol design and calibration, behavioral neuroimaging data collection and data analysis, and writing up manuscripts and publishing. Any questions or requests for more information regarding either of these positions can be directed to Dr. Lauharatanahirun at nina.lauharatanahirun.civ(a)mail.mil. *Interested individuals should submit applications via this link: * https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/ARL-R-HRED-300047. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the positions have been filled. Thank you, Nina Lauharatanahirun, PhD *U.S. Army Research Laboratory*, HRED, Future Soldier Technologies Division, Integrated Capability Enhancement Branch Email: nina.lauharatanahirun.civ(a)mail.mil

March 11, 2020

CFP Deadline Extension - 10th IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL), Valparaiso Chile

by Nicolás Navarro-Guerrero

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which has directly or indirectly affected countries how typically are well represented at the conference, we are extending the deadline submission. The health and safety of our conference participants is our top priority. Therefore, we are closely monitoring any travel advisories and governmental recommendations. Please check our website where we will post any relevant information as quickly as possible. CALL FOR PAPERS DEADLINE EXTENDED: 10th IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL) An IEEE Computational Society-sponsored conference (This is the follow-up of the previous ICDL-EpiRob conference series) 7th-10th September 2020, Valparaiso, Chile https://cdstc.gitlab.io/icdl-2020/ ==== Important Dates ==== Submission deadline: 15th March 2020 -> New deadline: 12th April 2020 Author notification: 15th May 2020 -> moved to 31st of May 2020 Camera ready due: 1st July 2020 Conference: 7th-10th September 2020 ==== Overview ==== The IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL), previously referred to as ICDL-EpiRob, is the premier gathering of professionals dedicated to the advancement of cognitive and developmental learning. As such, ICDL is a unique conference gathering researchers from computer science, robotics, psychology and developmental studies. ICDL is a highly selective annual international conference that aims to showcase and share the very best interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research on how humans and animals develop sensing, reasoning and actions. ICDL community focusses on the understanding of how biological agents take advantage of interaction with social and physical environments to develop their cognitive capabilities. Moreover, how this knowledge can be used to improve future computing and robotic systems. We invite submissions for the conference to explore, extend, and consolidate the interdisciplinary boundaries of this exciting research field. ==== Scope and Topics ==== The primary list of topics of interest includes, but not limited to: - principles and theories of development and learning; - development of skills in biological systems and robots; - nature vs nurture, developmental stages; - models on the contributions of interaction to learning; - verbal, non-verbal and multi-modal interaction; - models on active learning; - architectures for lifelong learning; - emergence of body and affordance perception; - analysis and modelling of human motion and state; - models for prediction, planning and problem solving; - models of human-human and human-robot interaction; - emergence of verbal and non-verbal communication; - epistemological foundations and philosophical issues; - robot prototyping of human and animal skills; - ethics and trust in computational intelligence and robotics; - social learning in humans, animals, and robots. ==== Submissions ==== Authors are invited to submit original and unpublished papers of six pages with the possibility of two-extra pages at a fee. Submissions are in the IEEE conference template. Submission will be selected for either oral or poster presentation based on the reviews. Accepted and presented regular six-page paper submissions will be included in the conference proceedings published by IEEE Xplore after the conference. For more information about submissions, travel grants, social events, etc. visit the conference webpage under https://cdstc.gitlab.io/icdl-2020/ ==== Organizing committee ==== General Chairs: Giulio Sandini, and Javier Ruiz-del-Solar Program and Finance Chairs: Nicolás Navarro-Guerrero, and María-José Escobar Bridge Chairs: Minoru Asada, Frédéric Alexandre, and Linda Smith Publicity Chairs: Carmelo Bastos, Maya Cakmak, Angelo Cangelosi, Yukie Nagai, and Emre Ugur Publication Chairs: Pablo Barros, and Haian Wu Tutorials and Workshops Chair: Miguel Solis Travel and Registration Awards Chair: Francisco Cruz Local chairs: Mauricio Araya Webpage Chairs: Cristóbal Nettle, and Patricio Castillo Graphics: Camila Angel Alfaro Kind regards on behalf of the Organizing Committee, -- Nicolás Navarro-Guerrero Assistant Professor Department of Engineering, and School of Culture and Society Aarhus University, Denmark E-mail: nng(a)eng.au.dk https://au.dk/en/nng@eng.au.dk https://nicolas-navarro-guerrero.github.io/ Aarhus University Finlandsgade 22, building 5125 8200 Aarhus N Denmark Tel.: +45 8715 0000 eng(a)au.dk www.eng.au.dk/en/ -- Best regards, Nicolás -- Nicolás Navarro-Guerrero https://nicolas-navarro-guerrero.github.io/

March 10, 2020

Research scientist or postdoctoral fellow in Montpellier (France)

by Anne Beuter

Application is now open for a research scientist or postdoctoral fellow in Montpellier (France) A new company is seeking a research scientist or postdoctoral fellow to work on (1) EEG data collection and analysis and (2) noninvasive brain stimulation in human subjects. CorStim SAS, a startup created in 2019 and located in Montpellier is developing a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of poststroke chronic aphasia. The candidate must have a PhD in neuroscience, neuropsychology, biomedical engineering, or in a relevant field, with experience in data collection, analysis and brain stimulation in human subjects. The position is for 1 year, renewable, with a possibility of a permanent position. The salary will be based on experience. The position is open until filled. The candidate will work in close collaboration with members from the academic, medical and private sectors. Fluent technical English is a must and speaking French is a plus. Expertise in Matlab preferred. To apply send a letter of motivation, a CV, and arrange for two letters of reference to be sent to Prof Anne Beuter : anne.beuter(a)wanadoo.fr <mailto:anne.beuter@wanadoo.fr>.

March 10, 2020

MBL Methods in Computational Neuroscience Course - deadline March 16

by Stephen A. Baccus

Applications are open for the Methods in Computational Neuroscience course at the Marine Biology Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. The course will run from August 2 to August 28, 2020, and the online application form can be found at: https://ws2.mbl.edu/studentapp/studentapp.asp?courseid=MCN The course application deadline is *March 16*. The course covers a range of topics in computational neuroscience including neuronal biophysics, neural coding & information processing, circuit dynamics, learning & memory, motor control, and cognitive processing & disease. In addition, numerous tutorials and problem sets will cover a broad range of computational and mathematical modeling methods. The course strongly emphasizes the collaboration between theory and experiment in solving neuroscience problems, and lectures will be given by a mixture of theorists and experimentalists. The final weeks of the course are primarily reserved for work on projects that students design in collaboration with the resident faculty. Further information can be found on the MCN website: http://www.mbl.edu/mcn/ 2020 Course Directors: Stephen Baccus, Stanford University Xiao Jing Wang, New York University 2020 Faculty: Larry Abbott, Columbia University Emery Brown, MIT Randy Buckner, Harvard University Dmitri Chklovskii, Simons Institute Claudia Clopath, Imperial College London Shaul Druckmann, Stanford University Uri Eden, Boston University Bard Ermentrout, U. of Pittsburgh Adrienne Fairhall, U. of Washington James Fitzgerald, Janelia Res., HHMI Loren Frank, UCSF Michale Fee, MIT Stefano Fusi, Columbia University Surya Ganguli, Stanford University Juliana Gjorgjieva, Max Planck Institute Mark Goldman, UC Davis Nancy Kopell, Boston University Eve Marder, Brandeis University Bartlett Mel, Univ. of Southern California Liam Paninski, Columbia, U. David Redish, U. Minnesota Robb Rutledge, Yale University Terry Sejnowski, Salk Institute Mike Shadlen, Columbia U. Reza Shadmehr, Johns Hopkins Univ. Sara Solla, Northwestern University Haim Sompolinsky, Hebrew University Nelson Spruston, Janelia Research Campus Josh Tenenbaum, MIT Nao Uchida, Harvard University David Van Essen, Washington University Greg Wayne, DeepMind

March 9, 2020

2nd CfP, Deadline Extension, 29th International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks ICANN 2020, Sept 15-18, Bratislava, SK

by Paolo Masulli ENNS

29th International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks ICANN 2020 https://e-nns.org/icann2020 *Bratislava, Slovakia** **15 - 18 September 2020* ============================================================ *2nd Call For Papers, Submission Deadline Extended: 31 March * The International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks (ICANN) is the annual flagship conference of the European Neural Network Society (ENNS). In 2020 the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics (FMPI), Comenius University in Bratislava, together with the Slovak Society for Cognitive Science, organize the 29th ICANN Conference from the 15th to the 18th of September 2020 in Bratislava, Slovakia. *CONFERENCE TOPICS* ICANN 2020 is a dual-track conference featuring tracks in Brain Inspired Computing and Machine Learning and Artificial Neural Networks, with strong cross-disciplinary interactions and applications. All research fields dealing with Neural Networks will be present at the conference. A non-exhaustive list of topics includes: Machine Learning: Deep Learning, Neural Network Theory, Neural Network Models, Graphical Models, Bayesian Networks, Kernel Methods, Generative Models, Information Theoretic Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Relational Learning, Dynamical Models, Recurrent Networks. Brain Inspired Computing: Cognitive models, Computational Neuroscience, Self-organisation, Reinforcement Learning, Neural Control and Planning, Hybrid Neural-Symbolic Architectures, Neural Dynamics. Neural Applications for: Bioinformatics, Biomedicine, Intelligent Robotics, Neurorobotics, Language Processing, Image Processing, Sensor Fusion, Pattern Recognition, Data Mining, Neural Agents, Brain-Computer Interaction, Neural Hardware, Evolutionary Neural Networks. *CALL FOR CONTRIBUTED SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATIONS* All scientific communications presented at ICANN 2020 will be reviewed and scientifically evaluated by a panel of experts. The conference will feature two categories of communications: - oral communications (15'+5') - poster communications Call for Special Sessions: ICANN2020 organizers cordially invite internationally recognised experts to organise Special sessions and workshops within the general scope of the conference. Special Session Proposal request should be sent to icann2020(a)fmph.uniba.sk Call for Papers: Authors willing to present original contributions in either oral or poster category may submit: - A *full paper* of about 10-12 pages to be published in Springer-Verlag Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) series with individual DOI. - An *extended abstract* of suggested 4 pages to be published in Springer-Verlag Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) series, without indexing. The number of oral slots is limited. In case the number of requested oral presentations is larger than the available slots the ICANN scientific committee will select which papers will be reassigned to a poster session. This selection will be based on the coherence of the programme and is totally independent of the category of submission. Submission of communications will be online. More details will be made available soon on the conference website: https://e-nns.org/icann2020/ *IMPORTANT DATES* *Deadline for full papers and extended abstracts submission: EXTENDED to 31 March 2020* Notification of acceptance: 31 May 2020 Camera-ready paper upload and registration opening: 15 June 2020 Deadline for early registration at discount rate: 15 June 2020 Conference dates: 15-18 September 2020 *BEST PAPER AWARDS* ENNS will sponsor a maximum of four best paper awards, two in the Brain Inspired Computing track (one poster and one oral communication) and, analogously, two in the Machine Learning Research track. All awards will be presented during the final ceremony. *TRAVEL GRANTS* The European Neural Network Society sponsors a number of Student Travel Grants covering part of the costs for attending ICANN. Details will be provided on the conference website. *ORGANISATION* General Chairs: Igor Farkaš (FMPI, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia) Ľubica Beňušková (FMPI, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia) Organising Committee Chairs: Juraj Bánovský (FMPI, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia), Alessandra Lintas (ENNS Lausanne, Switzerland) Honorary Chairs: Stefan Wermter, University in Hamburg, Germany (ENNS President) Věra Kůrková, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia (past ENNS President) Publicity Chair: Kristína Malinovská (FMPI, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia) Communication Chair: Paolo Masulli (Technical University of Denmark, ENNS)

March 9, 2020

Bilbao Neuroscience and Computational Biology workshop (BioNCB'20): 27th-29th May 2020

by Serafim Rodrigues

Dear all, We are happy to announce the 1st Bilbao Neuroscience and Computational Biology workshop (BioNCB'20) which will take place in Bilbao (Spain) at the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM) from the 27th to the 29th May 2020. This 3-day international workshop aims at presenting recent exciting advances and challenges in Neuroscience and Computational Biology: Mathematical modelling, Data Analysis and Experiments. Confirmed speakers are leading experts, which will stimulate discussions at the interface of the aforementioned subjects. *—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—* *Plenary speakers* *—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—* Karl Friston (University College London, UK) Misha Tsodyks (Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton, USA) Alain Destexhe (UNIC Lab, CNRS, France) Hugues Berry (Inria Rhône Alpes, France) Maria V Sanchez-Vives (IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain) *—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—* *Invited speakers* *—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—* Daniele Avitabile (VU Amsterdam, Netherlands) Paolo Bonifazi (Biocruces-Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain) Jesus M Cortes (Biocruces-Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain) Anda Degeratu (Universität Stuttgart, Germany) Juan Manuel Encinas (Achucarro - The Basque Center for Neuroscience, Leioa, Spain) Héctor García Martin (UC Berkeley, USA) Jordi Garcia-Ojalvo (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain) Toni Guillamon (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain) Mazahir T Hasan (Achucarro - The Basque Center for Neuroscience, Leioa, Spain) Mauricio Rincón Bonilla (BCAM, Bilbao, Spain) Nathalie Rouach (Collège de France, Paris, France) Susanne Schreiber (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany) Antonio E Teruel (Universitat de les Illes Baleares, Palma de Mallorca, Spain) Yulia Timofeeva (University of Warwick, UK) Pablo Varona (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain) *—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—* *Call for poster presentations* *—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—* We are welcoming contributions for poster presentation. We will have two 1-hour poster sessions on the first and second morning of the meeting. This will give opportunities to students, postdocs and junior colleagues to present their work, get good exposure to foster discussions early on in the meeting. *Registration and submission deadline for posters: 31 March 2020* *For more informations about poster submission and registration*, please visit the workshop's webpage: https://wp.bcamath.org/bioncb20/ We are looking forward to your contributions and to seeing you in Bilbao! *The organizing committee,* Serafim Rodrigues (BCAM), Mathieu Desroches (Inria), Elena Akhmatskaia (BCAM), Andrea Guidolin (BCAM) and Jone Uria Albizuri (BCAM).

March 7, 2020

Research assistant position in the Gershman lab at Harvard

by Sam Gershman

The Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Harvard University, led by Professor Sam Gershman, is seeking a full-time Research Assistant to work on a series of projects on longitudinal computational phenotyping. The research assistant will gain experience with all aspects of the research process, which could serve as a launch pad to graduate studies. More details here: https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search/Home/Home?partnerid=25240&siteid… Please note that due to regulations only U.S. citizens or permanent residents can be hired for this position.

March 5, 2020

Coordinator position for the Helmhotz Metadata Collaboration (HMC)

by Michael Denker

Forschungszentrum Jülich is looking for a Scientific Coordinator who will participate in setting up and coordinate the Hub Information of the Helmhotz Metadata Collaboration (HMC) at Forschungszentrum Jülich. The aim of the HMC Platform, which is currently being set up, is to develop and establish novel concepts and services to ensure that research data is enriched with metadata making it accessible and reusable for future applications. At Forschungszentrum Jülich, a Metadata Hub will be established as part of HMC, which is anchored in the Helmholtz Association`s research field of Information. More details regarding the position and the application procedure can be found here: https://www.fz-juelich.de/SharedDocs/Stellenangebote/_common/dna/2020-060-E… Application deadline is March 22 2020. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Volker Rieke Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt, Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 5, 2020

postdoc position at Jagiellonian University in Kraków

by Daniel Wójcik

A postdoctoral position is available at Jagiellonian University in Krakow for up to 36 months starting preferably on May 1st. The postdoc will work in one of two projects. The goal of the first is to develop point process models of neuronal spiking activity that could effectively describe adaptive processes including learning but also different types of modulation (e.g. brain-stem modulatory effects on visual information processing, etc.). The postdoc will develop abstract models, estimation methods, implement them in software, and use developed software and methods to analyze data from experimental partners after testing them on simulated data. The goal of the second project is building reinforcement learning models of behavior and development of estimation methods and tools. The focus is on rodent behavior in intelligent cages, such as IntelliCage or Eco-HAB, and taking into account individual and group learning aspects. The postdoc will develop abstract models, estimation methods, implement them in software, and use developed software and methods to analyze data from experimental partners after testing them on simulated data. The position is open within the group led by prof. Daniel Wójcik. The position is based in Cracow within the bioNN project but the researcher will also be a member of the distributed Warsaw-Cracow Neuroinflab, and will be expected to participate regularly in meetings in Warsaw every few weeks. More details: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/496088 http://bionn.matinf.uj.edu.pl/ Daniel Wójcik -- Prof. Daniel K. Wojcik Laboratory of Neuroinformatics, Head Graduate School, Head Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology 3 Pasteur St, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland tel: (+48 22) 5892348 fax: (+48 22) 8225342 skype: danek8317 http://neuroinflab.pl/ http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0812-9872

March 5, 2020