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Open post-doctoral position in Theoretical Neuroscience - INS, Marseille, France

by Irene Yujnovsky

Post-doctoral position in the Theoretical Neuroscience Group - INS, Marseille, France *Summary* The Theoretical Neuroscience Group (Head: Viktor Jirsa) is seeking to fill a post-doctoral position in the context of the project EPINOV to work on statistical & dynamical modeling of seizure propagation using personalized brain modeling and neuroinformatics approaches on a cohort of hundreds of epilepsy patients. EPINOV is one of 10 large-scale projects selected in the 3rd round of French scientific excellence program «RHU» managed by the National Research Agency (ANR). The aim of the EPINOV project is to significantly improve presurgical interpretation, guide surgical strategies and translate computational tools into clinical routine of personalized medicine. We use individual MRI scans to reconstruct brain anatomy and connectivity, which are combined with a neural mass model and fit using the Bayesian modeling software Stan to individuals’ intracranial electrophysiology data (stereotactic EEG), validated by clinical data from other modalities, such as MEG, fMRI, and semiology. *Responsibilities* • Scale up statistical models “vertically” to handle more data and higher resolution anatomy, using model comparison techniques to evaluate the advantage of different model structures • Scale out models “horizontally”, performing coherent, reliable inference across a large cohort of patients using dedicated, on-site HPC resources • Develop routines to evaluate and visualize inference results, making them amenable to clinical interpretation • Integrate developed code into existing code bases and pipelines *Qualification*** • Highly motivated to work on an interdisciplinary project and collaborate with the various members of the consortium. • PhD degree in computational neuroscience, mathematical or statistical modeling, machine learning or equivalent level of knowledge. • Significant, demonstrable experience in data fitting (Bayesian modeling, Dynamical Causal Modeling (DCM), Monte Carlo, etc) will be highly appreciated. • Experience with working in a Linux/HPC environment • Programming in a numerically oriented language (R, Python, MATLAB) • Familiarity with Git, unit testing, Docker/VMs is a plus *The Theoretical Neuroscience group*** We are a multi-national team interested in understanding the mechanisms underlying the spatiotemporal organization of large-scale brain networks. Our work comprises mathematical and computational modeling of large-scale network dynamics and human brain imaging data, the development of neuroinformatics tools for studying large-scale brain networks applied to concrete functions, dysfunctions (epilepsy, dementia) and aging. *Terms of salary and employment*** A 12-month renewable contract will be established. Salary will depend on the diploma and experience. Operating language in the laboratory is English. Applications including a cover letter, curriculum vitae and the names of two referees should be sent by September 30th 2017 to: Dr. Irene Yujnovsky at irene.yujnovsky(a)univ-amu.fr <mailto:irene.yujnovsky@univ-amu.fr> More information about the INS and the Theoretical Neurosciences Group can be found at: http://ins.univ-amu.fr <http://ins.univ-amu.fr/> --

Sept. 13, 2017

[INNS-BDDL 2018] Call for Papers

by Teng Teck Hou

[Apologies for cross-postings] ########################################################### CALL FOR PAPERS The 3rd INNS Conference on Big Data and Deep Learning 2018 April 17-19, 2018, Bali, Indonesia Homepage: http://www.innsbigdata2018.org #######################Description:###################### The International Neural Network Society (INNS) is the premiere organization for individuals interested in a theoretical and computational understanding of the brain 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. Researchers and colleagues who work in the area of big data and machine learning, we are happy to announce "The 3 rd INNS Conference on Big Data and Deep Learning 2018 (INNS BDDL 2018) will be held on April 18 – 19, 2018 in Sanur – Bali, Indonesia. The aim of this conference is to create a valuable and important forum for scientists and engineers throughout the world to present the latest research findings and idea at the forefront of Big Data and Deep Learning. Accepted papers will be published by Elsevier, Scopus indexed. Several papers will be selected for possible publication in top journals. The conference will feature a comprehensive technical program with technical tracks on: Track 1: Big Data Track 2: Big Data Algorithms Track 3: Deep Learning Track 4: Application Areas ####################Important Dates################################# * Tutorial and workshop proposals (Submission) 30 September 2017 * Tutorial and workshop proposals (Decision) 7 October 2017 * Paper submission 1 December 2017 * Decision notification 8 January 2018 * Camera-ready submission 2 February 2018 * Conference 17 - 19 April 2018 ################################################################### #########################Keynote Speakers########################## * Geoffrey I. Webb, Monash University, Australia * Kay Chen Tan, City University, Hong Kong ################################################################### #################### Organizing committees ############### General chairs Seiichi Ozawa, Kobe University, Japan Ah-Hwee Tan, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Program Chairs Plamen P. Angelov, Lancaster University, UK Asim Roy, Arizona State University, USA Mahardhika Pratama, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Valeri Mladenov, Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria Petia Koprinkova-Hristova, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria Petia Georgieva, University of Aveiro, Portugal Honorary Board Mohammad Nuh, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia Joni Hermana, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia Heru Setyawan, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia Local Committee Chairs Dieky Adzkiya, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia Advisory Board Yew-Soon Ong, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Robert Kozma, University of Memphis, USA Sankar K. Pal, Indian Statistical Institute, India Haibo He, University of Rhode Island, USA Witold Pedrycz, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada Leszek Rutkowski, Czestochowa University of Technology, Poland Nikola Kasabov, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand Fernando Gomide, University of Campinas, Brazil Marley Vellasco, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Yoonsuck Choe, Texas A&M University Minho Lee, Kyungpook National University, South Korea Bao-Liang Lu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China Irwin King, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Tutorials/Workshop Chairs Igor Skrjanc, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Sundaram Suresh, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Noor Akhmad Setiawan, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia Poster Sessions Chairs Eko Setiadji, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia Agus Salim, La Trobe University, Australia Ali Ridho Barakbah, Politeknik Elektronika Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia Special Sessions Chairs Justin Wang, La Trobe University, Australia Yongping Pan, National University of Singapore, Singapore Alfian Futhul Hadi, Universitas Jember, Indonesia Panel Chairs Sreenatha Anavatti, University of New South Wales, Australia Mukesh Prasad, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia Achmad Affandi, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia Awards Chairs Tapabrata Ray, University of New South Wales, Australia Dejan Dovzan, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Richard J. Oentaryo, McLaren Applied Technologies, Singapore Publication Chairs Edwin Lughofer, Johannes Kepler University, Austria Jose Antonio Iglesias, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain Moamar Sayed?Mouchaweh, Institute Mines Telecom Lille Douai, France Publicity Chair Simone Scardapane, Sapienza University, Italy Teng Teck Hou, Singapore Management University, Singapore Kurnianingsih, Politeknik Negeri Semarang, Indonesia International Liaison Chairs Yun Sing Koh, University of Auckland, New Zealand Deepak Puthal, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Wirawan, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia Webmaster Mohamad Abdul Hady, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia Andri Ashfahani, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia Choiru Za’in, La Trobe University, Australia ########################################################## ###### Topics and Areas include, but not limited to the following###### >>BIG DATA Autonomous, online, incremental learning in big data High dimensional data, feature selection, feature transformation for big data Scalable algorithms for big data Big data analytics Data stream analytics Parallel & distributed computing for big data analytics (cloud, map-reduce, etc.) Online learning Online multimedia/stream/text analytics Link and graph mining Big data and cloud computing, large scale stream processing on the cloud Big data and collective intelligence/collaborative learning Big data and hybrid systems Big data and self-aware systems Big data and infrastructure Big data visualization >>Big Data Algorithm Neuromorphic hardware for scalable machine learning Evolving systems for big data analytics Evolutionary systems and big data Fuzzy systems and big data Cognitive modelling and big data Probabilistic approach for big data Concept drift detection for big data Granular computing for big data Transfer learning for big data >>Deep Learning Deep belief network Convolutional neural network Long short term memory Deep network architecture Deep autoencoder Deep stacked network Deep learning for natural language processing Deep learning for machine vision Evolving deep network Transfer learning in deep learning Online deep learning >>Application Areas Banking and Securities Communications, Media and Entertainment Healthcare Providers Education Manufacturing & Natural Resources Government Insurances Retail & Wholesale Trade Transportation Energy & Utilities, Etc. ############################################################################ ##########################Sponsoring Organizations################# * INNS - International Neural Network Society * MTC - Mechatronic Technology Center, Institut Tecknologi Sepuluh Nopember ################################################################ Previous INNS Conference: INNS 2016 in Thessaloniki, Greece INNS 2015 in San Francisco, USA

Sept. 12, 2017

Postdoc Position in ENIMGA-Sleep Working Group

by Masoud Tahmasian

Postdoc Position in ENIMGA-Sleep Working Group ENIGMA-Sleep Working Group has an opening for a post-doctoral position to study brain structure and function in insomnia. The post is based at the Institute of Medical Science and Technology (IMSAT), Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. The Institute has a Sleep Laboratory with wireless polysomnography equipment, access to a 3T MRI scan, High resolution EEG, TMS with Neuronavigation system, Psychophysics labs as well as clinical studies facilities. Title of project: Structural and functional maladaptation in insomnia disorder Supervisior: Dr. Masoud Tahmasian MD PhD, Prof. Mojtaba Zarei MD PhD FRCP(UK) The ENIGMA consortium brings together many researchers to understand brain structure, function, and pathophysiology of disease, based on neuroimaging and genetic data. ENIGMA members are multi-disciplinary scientists from all over the world with research projects on neuroscience, clinical psychiatry, and genetics. The ENIGMA-Sleep Group is a recently launched group lead by Dr. Masoud Tahmasian and Prof. Mojtaba Zarei from the Institute of Medical Science & Technology (IMSAT), Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. The collaborating teams from across the globe endeavor to join knowledge, experience and vision to address important questions in sleep physiology and its disorders using cutting edge brain imaging techniques and relating them with clinical and laboratory investigations. IMSAT was approved by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, and established in 2016. It is one of the fastest growing multidisciplinary research Institute in Iran with well-trained and experienced faculty members from science, engineering and medicine. Our fields of expertise include medical imaging, image processing, clinical trials, wearable technologies, brain stimulation engineering, auditory technology, control engineering, and biomedical technology. There is a wide range of facilities for research at IMSAT including, but not limited to, MRI, EEG, Polysomnography, and actigraphy. There is also a dedicated high performance server for various data analysis. Eligibility: Applicants must have a PhD degree in medical science, neuroscience or engineering with a minimum of one-year research experience in an overseas University. The funding is only available to Iranian nationals. Duration: One year, with possibility to extend for the second year upon successful progression Salary: The successful applicant will be hired by the University with funding support already secured at the rank of assistant professor. Interested individuals should send their CV to m_tahmasian(a)sbu.ac.ir

Sept. 12, 2017

NEURON course at SFN 2017 meeting

by Ted Carnevale

Space is still available for the NEURON course at this year's meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. If you're a lab director trying to decide whether to add computational modeling to your research program, a grad student or postdoc who is just getting started in modeling, or an established NEURON user who wants to find out what the latest advances are, this one-day course is for you! It starts with a practical introduction that reviews basic concepts and presents a workflow for building and using models of cells and networks, and moves on to topics that include how to speed up simulations, using Python with NEURON, and modeling reactive diffusion with the RxD class. For more information and the registration form, see https://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/dc2017/dc2017.html --Ted

Sept. 11, 2017

Lecturer in Computer Science (Biological computation - including computational neuroscience)

by Peter Andras

Lecturer in Computer Science Keele University - School of Computing and Mathematics Salary: £33,943 to £39,324 p.a. Grade 7a Hours: Full Time Contract Type: Permanent Closes: 20th September 2017 Job Ref: KU00000544 Keele University is renowned for its exciting approach to higher education, innovative research, beautiful campus, strong community spirit and excellent student experience. With a turnover in excess of £134 million, over 10,000 students and a total staff of approximately 2000, the University provides high quality teaching across a wide range of academic and vocational subjects and promotes world-class research. Further information can be found at <http://www.keele.ac.uk/> http://www.keele.ac.uk. This post represents an exciting opportunity for an ambitious individual to join a team of staff in Keele Universitys Faculty of Natural Sciences. The Faculty is responsible for research and teaching in many areas of computer science, mathematics, and the physical and biological sciences. Applications are welcome from dynamic and enthusiastic individuals committed to high quality teaching and research in any relevant field of Computer Science (e.g. software engineering, security, human-computer interaction, biological computation, machine learning, formal methods, distributed systems but not restricted to these particular fields), and who have interests that complement our existing research strengths while broadening the scope of our teaching expertise. The lectureship post is part of continued growth and expansion of computer science at Keele, which presents many new opportunities for the development of synergies in both teaching and research. Candidates will be expected to develop an active research programme that both complements and extends our existing research profile in Computer Science. Candidates are also expected to develop research collaborations with colleagues at Keele and elsewhere in strategic research areas of the University, such as smart energy, big data or ageing research. Details of the research carried out in Computer Science at Keele can be found at: <http://www.keele.ac.uk/scm/research/compsci/> http://www.keele.ac.uk/scm/research/compsci/ The successful candidate will have a PhD in an appropriate area of Computer Science (or be very close to completion of his/her PhD) and will have a strong commitment to delivering high quality undergraduate teaching, including supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate research projects and the development and delivery of new modules. The post-holder will have the skills, enthusiasm and flexibility for teaching across a wide range of computer science topics and will also contribute to recruitment activities and administrative duties within our Computer Science programmes. Informal enquires can be made to Professor Peter Andras on 01782 733412 or <mailto:p.andras@keele.ac.uk> p.andras(a)keele.ac.uk Keele University is committed to the principles of the Athena SWAN charter, and values equality and diversity across our workforce. We strive to ensure that our workforce is representative of broader society, and therefore, we would actively welcome applications from women for this role. For full post details and online application form please visit: <http://www.keele.ac.uk/vacancies> www.keele.ac.uk/vacancies Or follow the link: people.keele.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?VACANCY_ID%3 d061051EnUQ <https://people.keele.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?VAC ANCY_ID%3d061051EnUQ&WVID=0493472Nsk&LANG=USA> &WVID=0493472Nsk&LANG=USA Interviews will be held on: 18th October 2017 --- Professor Peter Andras Professor of Computer Science and Informatics Director of Postgraduate Research, Faculty of Natural Sciences Head of Computing Division, School of Computing and Mathematics Keele University Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG UK Tel. +44-1782-733412 Fax. +44-1782-734268 E-mail: <mailto:p.andras@keele.ac.uk> p.andras(a)keele.ac.uk Web: <http://www.scm.keele.ac.uk/staff/p_andras/> www.scm.keele.ac.uk/staff/p_andras/

Sept. 11, 2017

Energy Efficient Neural Code in Individual Neurons and Brain Circuits

by Yu, Yuguo

In collaboration with Frontiers in Neuroscience, section Neuroenergetics, Nutrition and Brain Health, we are organizing a Research Topic titled "Energy Efficient Neural Code in Individual Neurons and Brain Circuits", hosted by Yuguo Yu, Satish Iyengar. As host editor, I would like to encourage you to contribute to this topic. Please find more information about Research Topics below, including the publishing fees that apply. You can also visit the homepage we have created on the Frontiers website, which defines the focus of the topic, and where all published articles will appear. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.frontiersin.org_Neu… Please note the submission deadline for this Research Topic: Oct 28, 2017 With your agreement to take part, I would request you submit an abstract in advance of any manuscript submission you choose to make (deadline identified at the homepage above). As I am using the Frontiers system to manage this topic, please first indicate your decision to participate by clicking on one of the following links. AGREE to Participate https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.frontiersin.org_Acc… DECLINE to Participate https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.frontiersin.org_Dec… Let me know if you have any questions about my Research Topic. I look forward to hearing from you soon. With best regards, Yuguo Yu Guest Associate Editor, Neuroenergetics, Nutrition and Brain Health www.frontiersin.org<http://www.frontiersin.org/> Frontiers | Peer Reviewed Articles - Open Access Journals<http://www.frontiersin.org/> www.frontiersin.org Open-access publisher of peer-reviewed scientific articles across the entire spectrum of academia. Research network for academics to stay up-to-date with the latest ... ABOUT FRONTIERS RESEARCH TOPICS Founded by scientists in 2007, Frontiers is a community-rooted open-access publisher, driving innovations in peer review, article-level metrics and research networking. The "Frontiers in" journal series hosts 54 journals covering more than 350 academic specialties, with a network of over 200,000 leading researchers worldwide. Frontiers is a registered member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.oaspa.org_member_Fr… ) and was recognized by the ALPSP Award for Innovation in Publishing in 2014. The idea behind a Frontiers Research Topic is to create a comprehensive collection of peer-reviewed articles that address a specific theme of research, as well as a forum for discussion and debate. Contributions can be articles describing original research, methods, hypothesis & theory, opinions, and more. Please see the relevant journal for a full list of accepted article types. Frontiers will also compile an e-book, as soon as all contributing articles are published, that can be used as educational material, be sent to foundations that fund your research, to journalists and press agencies, or to your professional network. E-books are free to read and download. Once published, your articles will be free to access for all readers, indexed in relevant repositories, and as an author in Frontiers, you retain the copyright to your own papers and figures. FRONTIERS PUBLISHING FEES Manuscripts accepted for publication are subject to publishing fees, which vary depending on the article type. Research Topic A type articles receive a discount on publishing fees; please see here for a full fee table, and further relevant FAQs: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.frontiersin.org_abo… .=

Sept. 11, 2017

Software Development Engineer position on Brain Computer Interfaces at Inria, France

by Maureen Clerc

Dear colleagues, Please take note and circulate the following job offer. With apologies for multiple postings. Maureen Clerc ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ S oftware Development Engineer position available at Inria Sophia Antipolis, France Summary Inria Sophia Antipolis is seeking to a fill software development engineer position to work on Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI). The P300-speller BCI application developed at Inria Sophia Antipolis allows severely disabled patients to communicate using brain activity, measured through electroencephalography (EEG). It has shown excellent performance when tested extensively with 20 patients at Nice CHU. However it still requires some improvements to meet patients' expectations. This project, funded by patient associations, aims to bring BCI out of the lab, and deploy it to its end-users. Responsibilities • Analyze existing software. • Reduce dependencies on third-party libraries. • Automatize installation and calibration. • Study portability onto tablet. • Make application adaptable to users' needs. Qualification • Highly motivated to work on a translational project in Brain Computer Interfaces. • Masters degree in computer science or equivalent degree of knowledge. • Significant, demonstrable experience (at least four years) in C/C++ programming. • Experience with working in a Linux environment. • Familiarity with version management (Git, mercurial), compilers and compiling systems (cmake). • Familiarity with EEG and BCI would be appreciated. • Knowledge of graphical interfaces and visualization (OpenGL, Qt, Gtk) would be appreciated. Work environment Inria is a research institute dedicated to numerical sciences. In Sophia Antipolis (20 km from Nice), the Athena team develops methodology for non-invasive imaging of the Central Nervous System. In particular, it hosts a full-fledged Electroencephalography laboratory and investigates Brain-Computer Interfaces, in the context of the Inria Project-Lab bci-lift. Software development is organized within a development team including other software engineers and researchers, following agile development principles. Terms of salary and employment A 15-month renewable contract will be established. Salary will depend on diploma and experience. Applications including a cover letter, curriculum vitae and the names of two referees should be sent by September 30th 2017 to: Dr. Maureen Clerc at maureen.clerc(a)inria.fr More information about Inria and the Athena team can be found at: https://team.inria.fr/athena/

Sept. 8, 2017

Postdoctoral position in Camouflage Pattern Design and Eye-Tracking Experimentation

by Leslie Osborne

Postdoctoral position in Camouflage Pattern Design and Eye-Tracking Experimentation Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA Type: RESEARCH Position: FULL-TIME POST-DOCTORAL SCHOLAR Description: A position for a postdoctoral fellow in computational vision in biological systems is available to study visual camouflage in the Hanlon Lab at MBL, in collaboration with groups at UC Irvine (C. Chubb) and NTHU (C.C. Chiao) and the University of Chicago (S. Palmer and L. Osborne). The goal of the 3-year study is to develop a generative model of successful camouflage patterning and edge design, both at rest and in motion. Camouflage patterns will be inspired by natural animal behaviors, particularly in cephalopods - octopus, cuttlefish, squid – marine fishes, and insects. The postdoc will be involved in the statistical analysis of natural images and artists’ camouflage designs. Our approach is to use gaze tracking during visual search to define metrics of camouflage success and, complementarily, to measure the statistics of image features that draw human gaze. Visual stimuli for search tasks will be taken from natural image and video databases in the Hanlon and Palmer laboratories and artworks created by students at the Rhode Island School of Design. Human gaze tracking data will be collected and analyzed in the Osborne laboratory. The fellow may participate in data collection from live animals and human subjects, but the primary focus will be image and gaze data analysis. Education and Experience: The ideal candidate will have a background in computational analysis or computer vision, and a Ph.D. in computational biology (e.g. neuroscience, cognitive science, animal behavior), physics, computer science, or a related field. Programming experience in MATLAB is highly desirable. Experience in image and video analysis, and programming experience in Python or C, are also desirable. Previous experience in visual psychophysics is not required, but would be helpful. Environment: The Hanlon Laboratory is part of the Eugene Bell Center at the Marine Biology Laboratory. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago. Utilizing unique and highly tractable marine and aquatic model organisms, high throughput and comparative genetic approaches, novel imaging technologies and the latest advances in data-intensive computational analysis, scientists in the Bell Center, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Chicago and the Argonne National Laboratory, are providing answers to some of the most fundamental and intriguing questions in biology. The candidate will interact closely with: (i) the team at MBL (the PI and lab personnel); (ii) faculty collaborators at University of Chicago and UC Irvine; (iii) the summer neurobiology and imaging community at MBL; and (iv) art students and faculty at the Rhode Island School of Design. Duration: This position is for 2.5 years. Desired start date is 1 November 2017 or as soon thereafter as feasible. Web link to MBL job listing: https://mbl.simplehire.com/postings/search <https://mbl.simplehire.com/postings/search> Questions: Send inquiries to Roger Hanlon rhanlon(a)mbl.edu <mailto:rhanlon@mbl.edu> Stephanie Palmer sepalmer(a)uchicago.edu <mailto:sepalmer@uchicago.edu> Leslie Osborne osborne(a)uchicago.edu <mailto:osborne@uchicago.edu> Application: The application comprises a cover letter, CV, a 1-2 page description of past research experience, the contact information for 3 references. Follow links at https://mbl.simplehire.com/postings/search <https://mbl.simplehire.com/postings/search> to upload application materials. EEO Statement: MBL supports individuals in reaching their full potential by offering equal employment opportunities and an environment that actively values diversity. MBL complies with all applicable laws concerning hiring and employment practices and is firmly committed to maintaining a workplace free from discrimination by age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, genetic predisposition, national origin, military status, race, religion, or sexual orientation. MBL requires all newly-hired staff to undergo a background check. Background checks are conducted after a conditional offer of employment has been accepted by the applicant. Leslie C. Osborne, Ph.D. Department of Neurobiology Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy The University of Chicago 947 East 58th St. P415 Chicago IL 60637 osborne(a)uchicago.edu +1 773-834-7989

Sept. 7, 2017

Postdoc Position Available - Human Intracranial Electrophysiology

by Woolnough, Oscar

Postdoctoral Research Positions Available One postdoctoral research position is available at the NeuroImaging and Electrophysiology Lab (www.tandonlab.org) in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. This position is funded by a recently awarded BRAIN Initiative U01 grant for which Dr. Tandon is the PI. The project uses electrocorticographic (ECoG) recordings on a large cohort (n=80) to evaluate psycho-linguistic models of reading and speech production with the goal being to create network level representation of language. Collaborators on the project with whom the post-doc will work closely are Nathan Crone (Hopkins), Greg Hickok (UCI), Stanislas Dehaene (College de France), Xaq Pitkow (Baylor) and Josh Breier (UT Houston). Project Description: This is a close multi center collaboration that brings together investigators with established track records in intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings, neuroscience of language and computational neuroscience to better understand the uniquely human behavior of reading and producing language. More details about the U01 grant are online at NIH Reporter. The post-doc will benefit from a close interaction with several experts in the fields of reading, semantics, and speech production. Post-doc Responsibilities: The selected individual is expected to be a highly motivated, team player that has the passion to study cognitive processes using direct recordings in humans. He or she will be responsible for 1) optimizing and refining paradigms for use in the project, 2) data collection in the epilepsy monitoring unit and in the MRI scanner, 3) ECoG data analysis using analysis pipelines existent in the lab and via the development of innovative strategies, and 4) data presentation at conferences, manuscript and grant writing. Requirements: The selected individual must have a Ph.D. in one or more of the following - neuroscience, psychology, cognitive science, mathematics, electrical engineering or computer science. Previous experience in neural time series data analysis or functional imaging studies of reading or speech production is highly desirable. Crucial is the ability to independently code in either or all of the following – MATLAB, R or Python. Given the multiple unpredictable variables and privacy issues around data collection in human patients, the individual must possess high ethical and professionalism standards, be able to adapt to a changing environment, reorganize schedules dynamically, and work with tight deadlines. The individual must possess the ability to work effectively independently, yet collaborate effectively on projects with multiple investigators. A strong publication record and excellent prior academic credentials are highly desirable. If you are interested, you can email us at nitin.tandon(a)uth.tmc.edu or call us at (713) 500-5475.

Sept. 7, 2017

[publication and call for dialog] IEEE CIS Newsletter on Cognitive and Developmental Systems, 14(1), 2017

by Pierre-Yves Oudeyer

Dear colleagues, I am happy to announce the release of the latest issue of the IEEE CIS Newsletter on Cognitive and Developmental Systems (open access). This is a biannual newsletter addressing the sciences of developmental and cognitive processes in natural and artificial organisms, from humans to robots, at the crossroads of cognitive science, developmental psychology, artificial intelligence and neuroscience. It is available at: http://goo.gl/dyrg6s Featuring dialog: === "Exploring Robotic Minds by Predictive Coding Principle" == Dialog initiated by Jun Tani with responses from: Andy Clark, Doug Blank, James Marshall, Lisa Meeden, Stephane Doncieux, Giovanni Pezzulo, Martin Butz, Ezgi Kayhan, Johan Kwisthout and Karl Friston == Topic: The idea that the brain is pro-actively making predictions of the future at multiple levels of hierarchy has become a central topic to explain human intelligence and to design general artificial intelligence systems. This dialog discusses whether hierarchical predictive coding enables a paradigm shift in development robotics and AI. In particular, the dialog reviews the importance of various complementary mechanisms to predictive coding, which happen to be right now very actively researched in artificial intelligence: intrinsic motivation and curiosity, multi-goal learning, developmental stages (also called curriculum learning in machine learning), and the role of self-organization. They also underline several major challenges that need to be addressed for general artificial intelligence in autonomous robots, and that current research in deep learning fails to address: 1) the problem of the poverty of stimulus: autonomous robots, like humans, have access to only little data as they have to collect it themselves with severe time and space constraints; 2) the problem of information sampling: which experiments/observations to make to improve one’s world model. Finally, they also discuss the issue of how these mechanisms arise in infants and participate to their development. Call for new dialog: === "One Developmental Cognitive Architecture to Rule Them All?" == Dialog initiated by Matthias Rolf, Lorijn Zaadnoordijk, Johan Kwisthout == This new dialog asks whether and how it would be useful both epistemologically and in practice to aim towards the development of a “standard integrated cognitive architecture”, akin to “standard models” in physics. In par- ticular, they ask this question in the context of understanding development in infants, and of building developmental architectures, thus addressing the issue of architectures that not only learn, but that are adaptive themselves. Those of you interested in reacting to this dialog initiation are welcome to sub- mit a response by November 30th, 2017. The length of each response must be between 600 and 800 words including references (contact pierre-yves.oudeyer(a)inria.fr) Let me remind you that all issues of the newsletter are all open-access and available at: http://icdl-epirob.org/cdsnl I wish you a stimulating reading! Best regards, Pierre-Yves Oudeyer, Editor of the IEEE CIS Newsletter on Cognitive and Developmental Systems Chair of the IEEE CIS AMD Technical Committee on Cognitive and Developmental Systems Research director, Inria Head of Flowers project-team Inria and Ensta ParisTech, France http://www.pyoudeyer.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/pyoudeyer and Fabien Benureau Assistant Editor Inria Mnemosyne team http://fabien.benureau.com

Sept. 7, 2017