- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

Postdoc in Warsaw - kernel-based method of electrophysiological source imaging

by Daniel Wójcik

https://neuroinflab.wordpress.com/jobs/ POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE: kESI – kernel-based method of electrophysiological source imaging The Neuroinformatics Laboratory (https://neuroinflab.wordpress.com/) at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (NENCKI, www.nencki.gov.pl) headed by Prof. Daniel Wójcik (http://www.neuroinf.pl/Members/danek) invites applications for a postdoctoral position (36 months starting between March 2016 and October 2016) that will be available as part of a nationally funded project (NCN OPUS). The goal of the project is to develop and implement a new technique of source localization of specific events in neural activity, such as a seizure, from multimodal imaging data, including ECoG (strip and grid electrodes), depth electrophysiological recordings, and MRI data from humans. The method will be validated with ground truth model data and tested on clinical data obtained from epilepsy patients. The fellow will build on already existing tools and techniques developed in the lab, see especially Potworowski et al. 2012 and Ness et al. 2015. Requirements: - PhD, preferred in physics/biophysics, mathematics, computer science, electrical engineering, computational neuroscience or related fields - Strong interest in brain research - Preference for people with experience in one or more of: numerical solutions of PDEs, electrodynamics, computational neuroscience, brain imaging - Advanced programming experience, Python preferred - Exceptional motivation for scientific research (demonstrated in former education record, additional courses completed, list of publications and conferences attended, previous scientific experience, references of the candidate’s thesis advisor, letter-of-intent) - Proficiency in English Application The application should contain the following documents/information: - CV including the list of publications, scholarships and awards, list of computational projects in which the candidate participated (preferably with links to the project website/publication or the candidate’s GitHub account). - Copy of PhD diploma - The applicant should arrange for two letters of recommendation to be sent directly to Prof. Wojcik and should provide contact information (email, phone) for the two referees in the cover letter. Application deadline: We are accepting applications until the position is filled Short-listed candidates with the highest score will be selected for personal or online interviews. Start date: between March 2016 and October 2016 The salary is around 5900 PLN / month (around 4200 PLN after taxes and deductions). To apply or ask for further information send email to d.wojcik(a)nencki.gov.pl -- Prof. Daniel K. Wojcik Laboratory of Neuroinformatics, Head PhD Studies, Head Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology 3 Pasteur St, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland tel: (+48 22) 5892348 fax: (+48 22) 8225342 skype: danek8317 http://dwojcik.pl/ http://neuroinflab.wordpress.com/ http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0812-9872

March 4, 2016

Summer School on Dynamic Field Theory...

by John Spencer (PSY)

Greetings Colleagues, I will be teaching a Summer School on Dynamic Field Theory from June 6-17, 2016 at the University of East Anglia. Dynamic field theory is a framework for understanding how the brain gives rise to thinking in real time, and how cognitive decisions leave memory traces that are the basis for learning and development. The Summer School will provide an overview of DFT, using a new text: Dynamic Thinking-A Primer on Dynamic Field Theory. To apply, send a 2-page CV and brief cover letter describing why you want to attend the school to: ssf.advancedtraining(a)uea.ac.uk<mailto:ssf.advancedtraining@uea.ac.uk> Additional details including information on fees can be found at http://www.dynamicfieldtheory.org/engage/ Cheers, John Spencer John P. Spencer, PhD Professor School of Psychology, Room 0.09 Lawrence Stenhouse Building, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ United Kingdom Email: j.spencer(a)uea.ac.uk<mailto:j.spencer@uea.ac.uk> School website: http://www.uea.ac.uk/psy Telephone 01603 593968 [cid:image001.png@01D09851.EF67E200] UK Top 20 (16th Complete University Guide 2015, 18th Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2015-16) UK 2nd for Student Satisfaction (National Student Survey 2015) World Top 1% (Times Higher Education World Rankings 2015-16) World Top 100 (Leiden Ranking 2015) [facebook]<http://www.facebook.com/ueaofficial> [twitter-old] <http://www.twitter.com/uniofeastanglia> [tumblr] <http://uniofeastanglia.tumblr.com/> [flickr] <http://www.flickr.com/uniofeastanglia> [linkedin] <http://www.linkedin.com/edu/school?id=12699> [youtube] <http://www.youtube.com/ueaofficial> [cid:image008.png@01CF8BB5.50024060] <http://instagram.com/uniofeastanglia>

March 4, 2016

Deadline extension | CENICS 2016 || July 24 - 28, 2016 - Nice, France

by Sandra Sendra

INVITATION: ================= The submission deadline is March 23, 2016. Please consider to contribute to and/or forward to the appropriate groups the following opportunity to submit and publish original scientific results to: - CENICS 2016, The Ninth International Conference on Advances in Circuits, Electronics and Micro-electronics Authors of selected papers will be invited to submit extended article versions to one of the IARIA Journals: http://www.iariajournals.org ================= ============== CENICS 2016 | Call for Papers =============== CALL FOR PAPERS, TUTORIALS, PANELS CENICS 2016, The Ninth International Conference on Advances in Circuits, Electronics and Micro-electronics General page: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2016/CENICS16.html Submission page: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2016/SubmitCENICS16.html Event schedule: July 24 - 28, 2016 - Nice, France Contributions: - regular papers [in the proceedings, digital library] - short papers (work in progress) [in the proceedings, digital library] - ideas: two pages [in the proceedings, digital library] - extended abstracts: two pages [in the proceedings, digital library] - posters: two pages [in the proceedings, digital library] - posters: slide only [slide-deck posted at www.iaria.org] - presentations: slide only [slide-deck posted at www.iaria.org] - demos: two pages [posted at www.iaria.org] - doctoral forum submissions: [in the proceedings, digital library] Proposals for: - mini symposia: see http://www.iaria.org/symposium.html - workshops: see http://www.iaria.org/workshop.html - tutorials: [slide-deck posed on www.iaria.org] - panels: [slide-deck posed on www.iaria.org] Submission deadline: March 23, 2016 Sponsored by IARIA, www.iaria.org Extended versions of selected papers will be published in IARIA Journals: http://www.iariajournals.org Print proceedings will be available via Curran Associates, Inc.: http://www.proceedings.com/9769.html Articles will be archived in the free access ThinkMind Digital Library: http://www.thinkmind.org The topics suggested by the conference can be discussed in term of concepts, state of the art, research, standards, implementations, running experiments, applications, and industrial case studies. Authors are invited to submit complete unpublished papers, which are not under review in any other conference or journal in the following, but not limited to, topic areas. All tracks are open to both research and industry contributions, in terms of Regular papers, Posters, Work in progress, Technical/marketing/business presentations, Demos, Tutorials, and Panels. Before submission, please check and comply with the editorial rules: http://www.iaria.org/editorialrules.html CENICS 2016 Topics (for topics and submission details: see CfP on the site) Call for Papers: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2016/CfPCENICS16.html ============================================================ Semiconductors and applications Special semiconductors; Tunable bandgap semiconductors; Piezoelectricity; Polarization; Breakdown voltage; Superconductivity; Ferromagnetism; Biocompatibility; Chemical and thermal stability; Power amplification at very high frequencies; High temperature electronics; LEDs and lasers; Photodetectors; Transistors; Piezoelectric filters Design, models and languages Languages and models for specification and design of hardware; Robust, reliable and/or safe embedded electronics; Circuits/hardware description languages; Standards related to design languages; Processor and memory design; Embedded system design; VHDL-related standards; Electronic circuits modelling; Automatic generation of models; Quantitative analysis of models; Distributed CAD systems; Collaborative design based on Internet and WWW; Electronic systems design based on WWW; System- and high-level synthesis, HW/SW codesign Signal processing circuits Signal processing; High-speed signal processing; Multi-scale signal processing and imaging; Asynchronous circuits and systems; High frequency processing; Power and signal amplifiers; Parallel processing circuits; Equalization processing; Compression, transcoding, and applied signal processing Arithmetic computational circuits Operational arithmetic circuits; Basic arithmetic operations; Modular operations; Decimal-floating point operations; Multiple-precision operations; Squaring and exponentiation; Polynomial evaluations; Periodic functions; Operational approximations; Parallel decimal operations Microelectronics Components and circuits for communications; HMIC and MMIC design; Micro-electronics; Nano-electronics; Lasers and mini-lasers; Miniature devices; Low power electronics; Nano-scale electronics materials Electronics technologies Organic optoelectronic; Implantable electronics; Wearable electronics; Low power electronics; Electronic microarray technology and applications; RF and Microwave Special circuits Programmable circuits; Design of reconfigurable micro-chips; VLSI circuits design; Low-noise circuits; Digital modulators; Micro-sensors; Micro-antennas; Thermal circuits; Reconfigurable circuits; Dynamically reconfigurable processors; Oscillators; VCOs and phased-array transmitters Consumer electronics Home-oriented electronics; Biometric circuits; Home gateway; Home theater circuitry; Game systems; Interactive and directed programming electronics; Advanced DVD and CD; Interactive and directed programming electronics Application-oriented electronics Navigation electronics; Industrial electronics; Automotive electronics; Application-oriented electronics; Telemedicine and eHealth electronics; Biochip design for health science applications; Bio-systems and miniature instruments; Biosensors and biosensor networks; Industrial measurement electronics; Industrial control electronics; Energy distribution electronics; Energy saving and conversion circuits; Indoor and outdoor light control systems; Power electronics; Avionics electronics; Railways electronics; Vehicular electronics; Embedded electronics; Process industry electronics ------------------------ CENICS 2016 Committee: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2016/ComCENICS16.html CENICS Advisory Committee Vladimir Privman, Clarkson University - Potsdam, USA Sergey Y. Yurish, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC-Barcelona), Spain Martin Horauer, University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien, Austria Adrian Muscat, University of Malta, Malta CENICS 2016 Research/Industry Chairs Ravi M. Yadahalli, S G Balekundri Institute of Technology, Belagavi, Karnataka, India CENICS 2016 Industry Liaison Chairs Falk Salewski, Muenster University of Applied Sciences, Germany CENICS 2016 Publicity Chair Sandra Sendra Compte, Universidad Polit�cnica de Valencia, Spain CENICS 2016 Special Area Chairs Formalisms Peeter Ellervee, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia Application-oriented Josu Etxaniz Mara�on, University of the Basque Country / Universidad del Pa�s Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea - Bilbao, Spain Sensors Yulong Zhao, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China ==============

March 4, 2016

Postdoctoral position in Theoretical Neuroscience

by Yashar Ahmadian

POSITION: Yashar Ahmadian's Theoretical Neuroscience group at University of Oregon, in Eugene, Oregon, is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to work on developing theoretical models of information processing in animal brains and statistical methods for analyzing high-dimensional neural and behavioral datasets. The position is available immediately, and provides a competitive annual salary and benefits. RESEARCH TOPIC: The driving questions behind our research are: How do large neuronal populations, particularly in sensory cerebral cortex, process inputs and adapt to their statistical structure on multiple time scales? What is the role of these networks' intrinsic dynamics in sensory processing, and the role of horizontal and feedback connections in shaping this dynamics? What general computations can be performed by partially random connectivity, not designed or learned for specific tasks? In the pursuit of these aims we use techniques and concepts from statistical physics, machine learning, random matrix theory, and statistics. We will also develop new statistical methods for uncovering structure in high-dimensional neural data (Calcium-imaging, multi-electrode recordings, EEG). We collaborate closely with experimental labs in systems and cognitive neuroscience in the Institute of Neuroscience at University of Oregon, and some of the projects will involve hands on analysis of experimental data. For more information, please visit: http://uoneuro.uoregon.edu/ahmadian/index.php http://www.neuro.uoregon.edu/ ENVIRONMENT: Our group is young and dynamic. We are affiliated with the Biology and Mathematics departments and the Institute of Neuroscience at the University of Oregon. The Institute of Neuroscience is a closely knit community with lots of cross-talk between computational, systems and cognitive neuroscientists. Eugene is a culturally diverse city, with a beautiful and pristine surrounding geography. Situated in the Willamette valley, we are minutes away from the lush Oregon rain forests and hot springs, an hour away from the Cascade mountain range, and also an hour from the Pacific ocean. QUALIFICATIONS: selection criteria include strong mathematical/analytical skills, programming experience, familiarity with computational neuroscience and/or machine learning, and past research accomplishments. Applicants must have a Ph.D. in a quantitative discipline, e.g. physics, engineering, math, machine learning or statistics. Previous experience with neurobiology or a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience is advantageous but not required. APPLICATION: Applicants should submit a statement of research interests (1-2 pages), a current CV, and the names and contacts of 2-3 references. Questions and application material should be emailed to Yashar Ahmadian (yashar(at)uoregon.edu) Application review will begin on March 4 and continue until the position is filled.

March 4, 2016

Human Brain Project workshop on Neurorobotics @ Biorob2016 - Call for Contributions

by Falotico Egidio

Dear colleagues (with advance apologies for any cross-postings), We invite submissions for oral or poster presentations at the Huma Brain Project workshop on Neurorobotics that will be organized on June 26th, at the sixth IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics BioRob 2016, in Singapore. http://sssa.bioroboticsinstitute.it/workshops/biorob2016 Prospective authors should submit the extended abstract (one A4 page, in PDF format) by March 30th, 2016 . Notification of acceptance will be received no later than April 8th. For submission please refer to the following link: http://sssa.bioroboticsinstitute.it/workshops/biorob2016/HBPPaperSubmission… ABSTRACT Neurorobotics is already an established branch of robotics that in the last years, taking advantage from an increase in the accessibility of existing neuroscientific data and knowledge, allowed building robotic systems that can exhibit robustness, adaptability and several features of the human intelligence. Reciprocally, significant developments in robotics and machine learning put robotics in the service of neuroscience as experimental platforms or test-beds of brain models. In the last years, advanced insights and the increasing availability of cheap processing power has led Neurorobotics to follow two tracks of research with different goals and methods: The first track focuses on neuro-inspired computing paradigms that mimic nervous system functions based on Spiking Neural Networks. This does not only foster our understanding of biological systems but also contributes to future technical applications in artificial systems. In the past, limited processing power and the lack of appropriate models and tools shifted the focus of research far away from biological neural networks. Recently a number of projects like the US BRAIN Initiative and the Human Brain Project have taken up the challenge by combining efforts from the fields of neuroscience and computer science to enable the large scale modeling and simulation of biological neural networks with billions of spiking neurons. The second track, extending the theory of classical artificial neural networks, mostly relies on simpler neuron models but integrate them in novel network architectures. These networks are extensively used in robotics, allowing mimicking the function of some brain areas in order to reproduce complex behaviors with a reduced computational cost. This workshop seeks to present and discuss advances in neuroscientific models for cognition and new perspectives in control for robotic applications based on both biologically-inspired and artificial neural networks. The final goal is to bring together researchers from both robotics and neuroscience in order to explore how to maximize the progress at the multidisciplinary frontier evaluating the advantages of both tracks of the Neurorobotics research. TOPICS OF INTEREST - Bio-inspired sensory-motor coordination and adaptive control - Active perception - Neurocontrollers - Self-organization and sensory-motor mapping - Predictive behaviour - Bio-inspired learning robots - Robot imitation and learning by demonstration - Memory-based algorithms - Cognitive behaviours in robots - Reservoir computing - Deep learning - Neuromorphic computing for robotics KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Giorgio Metta (Italian Institute of Technology, Italy) - The use of motor invariants can improve action discrimination Tomohiro Shibata (Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan) Functional Robotic Assistance of Human Motor Learning Ruediger Dillman (Research Center for Information Technology, Germany) - Modelling Cortical Sensor-Motor Control Functionalities with a Spiking Neural-Robot Control Simulator Sunil L. Kukreja (National University of Singapore, Singapore) Integration of Neuromorphic Tactile Perception with Haptic Feedback in a Virtual and Augmented Reality World for Advanced Robotic Control Best Regards, Egidio Falotico, Cecilia Laschi (The BioRobotics Institite,Scuola Superiore SantAnna , Italy) Florian Röhrbein, Florian Walter (Technical University of Munich, Germany) Organizers

March 3, 2016

Faculty position in Image and Vision Computing at Edinburgh

by Barbara Webb

Applications are invited for a Lecturer to join the Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour, part of the School of Informatics, at The University of Edinburgh. For an exceptional candidate, appointment to the position of Senior Lecturer or Reader will be considered. Closing date for applications, 21st March 2016, via form available here: https://www.vacancies.ed.ac.uk/pls/corehrrecruit/erq_jobspec_version_4.disp… The Institute carries out research in Machine Vision, Graphics, and Robotics. It also has substantial cross links to the Institute of Adaptive and Neural Computation. Candidates with an interest in the computational neuroscience of vision, machine learning, or the application of computer vision to robotics are particularly encouraged to apply; but applications in any area of Image and Vision computing will be considered. The School of Informatics plays a leading role in the EPRSC Centres for Doctoral Training in Robotics and Autonomous Systems, and in Data Science, with opportunities for the appointee to supervise PhD students from the Centres (and from other sources). In partnership with Heriot Watt University, we have recently established the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, with substantial infrastructure funding for robotic platforms and supporting facilities. The University of Edinburgh is also one of the five joint venture partner universities in the UK's Alan Turing Institute for Data Science; this gives rise to opportunities to interact with PhD students, research fellows and senior researchers within the Turing Institute. In addition, there are many opportunities to interact with other parts of the University and beyond in order to further the candidate's research agenda. The successful candidate will have a PhD; experience as an established researcher in Image and Vision Computing; enthusiasm to undertake original research including leading a research group; ability to engage with undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and academic supervision; ability to be involved in enhancing eLearning and on-line teaching initiatives. The post is full time and open ended and is available from 4th January 2017. Informal enquiries should be directed to Professor Barbara Webb, Director of the Institute for Perception, Action and Behaviour: B.Webb(a)ed.ac.uk -- The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

March 3, 2016

postdoc position in reinforcement learning & sleep

by Benoît Girard

Position description The goal of the post-doc will be to investigate the bridges to be established between the alternation of online & offline processes in reinforcement learning, and the replay processes observed in sleep and resting conditions of animals. The developed models will aim at simulating behavioral and neurophysiological data. We are looking for highly motivated candidates with a strong academic record. A background in computational neuroscience or machine learning is required. We specifically seek candidates with significant experience in reinforcement learning. Programming skills in modern C++ and python are expected. Context The DREAM European project (http://www.robotsthatdream.eu/) is focused on thebootstrap of a developmental process allowing a robot to learn about its environment and the objects it contains. DREAM is a project of the FET call (Future and Emerging Technologies) on « Knowing, doing, being: cognition beyond problem solving ». The position proposed here contributes to the DREAM workpackage dedicated to cross fertilization with neuroscience. Thanks to active collaborations with experimentalists, there will be access to fresh animal data. The position will be located in the Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics (ISIR, http://www.isir.upmc.fr) Paris, France. ISIR belongs to the UPMC-Sorbonne Universités which is among the top ranked French universities. ISIR is located in the center of Paris, at walking distance from other academic institutions (Ecole Normale Supérieure, La Sorbonne, Collège de France, etc.), and from famous monuments (Notre Dame, Le Panthéon, etc.). Speaking or understanding french is not required. To apply Applicants should send a CV, letter of motivation (max 2 pages), and 2-3 letters of reference via e-mail to benoit.girard(a)upmc.fr, with [DREAM post-doc] in the subject of the mail. Review of applicants will begin immediately, and will continue until the position is filled. The earliest start date is July 2016. Fiche_poste_post-doc_WP5.pages

March 3, 2016

Open positions in research, data science, and machine learning at Spotify

by Zachary Nichols

Spotify is seeking talented researchers and engineers to work on a variety of questions in an open, collaborative environment. Positions include data scientists and engineers with strong software skills, as well as individuals with some software ability who are strong at research design, statistical hypothesis testing, or who have strong domain expertise in relevant areas (such as the psychophysics of audio perception or behavioral modeling). Your work will involve novel research in areas like content recommendation, personalization, optimization, predictive user modeling, and large-scale experiments. You will work with a diverse team to bring research ideas from initial hypotheses, to well-designed experiments, to implementations that can scale to millions of people and billions of data points. Above all, your work will impact the way the world experiences music. The open positions span this process, including: *Research Lead* (New York, NY) *Data Scientist* (New York, NY and Stockholm, Sweden) *Machine Learning Engineer* (New York, NY and Boston, MA) *Data Engineer* (New York, NY and Boston, MA) We also have summer internships available in New York and Boston for undergraduate or graduate students. For more information, or to apply, please see www.spotify.com/jobs/ We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

March 2, 2016

Post-Doc Position Bioinformatics in Marseille, France: Large-scale brain modeling and machine learning Neurodegenerative Diseases

by OTTEN Lisa

Bioinformatician Neurodegenerative diseases post-Doc position Large-scale brain modeling and machine learning A rare 2-year postdoc position opportunity for a creative & innovative Bioinformatician with a desire to play a key role in the exciting field of neurodegenerative diseases and aging. The Bioinformatician will be based in Marseille (Timone University Hospital Campus) and will have the exciting challenge of combining data mining & modelling algorithms that will direct the future of neurodegenerative disorders treatments. This is a role operating on the forefront of science that will reward the individual through job satisfaction, both career & personal development opportunities. The position is for 1 year starting now, renewable for another year and with a salary commensurate with experience. Working with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, imaging specialists, biologists, engineers, physicists and software engineers, the Bioinformatician will work on parameter inference for connectome-based large-scale brain network models (see The Virtual Brain http://www.thevirtualbrain.org<http://www.thevirtualbrain.org/>) (leader V Jirsa) applied to clinical brain imaging data (EEG, MEG, fMRI) (leader M Guye) and systems biology (leader C Nguyen). In particular, the project will involve the application and evaluation of common Bayesian estimation techniques such as Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo and variational schemes to high-dimensional time-series models of brain activity. Finally, the on-site high-performance cluster will be used to evaluate models on large datasets comprising groups of patients. Minimum Qualifications & Experience: Doctoral degree in the field of computer science, physics, engineering or related fields, ideally with specialization in bio-informatics or computational neuroscience. Good communication skills in English, both oral and written. In particular candidates should be capable of presenting technical information and data to non-experts in a clear and concise manner Desirable Qualifications & Experience: Candidates should be comfortable working with machine learning techniques and programming in a data-friendly language such as MATLAB, Python, R, Julia etc. Experience with nonlinear dynamical systems and signal processing, which play a large role in model construction and preprocessing, are valued but not required. The project is proposed by the Federation Hospitalo-Universitaire DHUNE and funded by Aix-Marseille University A*MIDEX. To learn more about this fascinating role send your CV and covering letter to: Prof Olivier Blin, DHUNE Coordination, Clinical Pharmacology, Timone Hospital, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5. Email: olivier.blin(a)ap-hm.fr Kind regards, Lisa Otten

March 2, 2016

Call for Submissions: Doctoral Symposium on Foundations and Applications of Self-* Systems (FAS*W)

by Jan-Philipp Steghöfer

**************************************************************************** FAS*W 2016 (SASO and ICCAC) Call For Doctoral Symposium Submissions Doctoral Symposium on Foundations and Applications of Self-* Systems (FAS*W) Augsburg, Germany, September 12 & 16, 2016 http://fasstar2016.informatik.uni-augsburg.de/ http://iccac2016.se.rit.edu/ http://uni-augsburg.de/saso2016 @SASO2016Conf **************************************************************************** Foundations and Applications of Self* Systems (FAS*) is the umbrella for two closely related but independent conferences, the International Conference on Self-Adaptive and Self-Organizing Systems (SASO) and the International Conference on Cloud and Autonomic Computing (ICCAC). The FAS* Doctoral Symposium provides an international forum for PhD Students working in research areas addressed by FAS*. In this forum, PhD students will get unique opportunities to subject their research to the scrutiny of external experts, gain experience in the presentation of research, connect to peers and experts addressing similar problems, and get advice from a panel of internationally leading researchers. Different from the technical tracks of the conference, the FAS* Doctoral Symposium focuses on the specific needs of young researchers at the beginning of their career. As such, particular emphasis will be placed on a critical and constructive feedback that shall help participants to successfully conclude their PhD studies. PhD students working in any area addressed by the FAS* conferences are invited to submit a Doctoral Symposium paper in which they describe the key motivation and objectives of their research project, and reflect on the methodology as well as the current status of their PhD studies. Complementing the thematic focus of FAS*, we particularly solicit contributions in the following areas: * Engineering of self-organizing and self-adaptive systems We solicit theoretical and applied works addressing fundamental principles underlying self-organizing systems, as well as methods that allow to quantify, model and reproduce the self-* characteristics of complex systems in biological, social, physical and technical systems. Examples include mechanisms underlying distributed decision- making and collective intelligence, software engineering challenges in self-adaptive systems, as well as general application of self-* principles in the engineering of technical systems. * Complex Cyber-physical and socio-technical systems We welcome contributions that apply self-* principles to address challenges in the design of complex cyber- physical and socio-technical systems. Particular examples include smart grid infrastructures, sensor networks, opportunistic networking scenarios, as well as large-scale social information systems. Works addressing challenges such as the security, privacy and anonymity of users, or mechanisms to prevent censorship, manipulation or unfairness in socio-technical systems are especially welcome. We further solicit works on socio- technical and socio-economic challenges in P2P systems, such as the design of incentive, trust and reputation mechanisms. * Self-* approaches in Massive-Scale Decentralized Systems Works in this area use self-* approaches to address challenges in the design and operation of massive scale decentralized systems. Examples include Peer-to-Peer technologies, as well as overlay topology management schemes. We are further interested in decentralized data mining and machine learning approaches, as well as decentralized approaches to monitor, model and adapt distributed systems. Works using self-* principles to address the inherent challenges in the design of massive-scale systems with unreliable and heterogeneous are of particular interest. * Autonomic Computing Systems Here we are interested in all works addressing the self-configuration, self-optimization and self-adaptation of cloud computing services, data centers and general distributed computing systems. Examples for questions addressed in this area include the monitoring and modeling of cloud services, the design of efficient resource allocation mechanisms, the application of data mining and machine learning techniques to analyze and predict the behavior of technical systems, as well as the characterization of distributed computing workloads. * Application of Self-* in Robotics and Spatial Computing Finally, we welcome contributions using self-* principles in the areas of robotics, swarm robotics and spatial computing. Here, examples for works of interest include environmental modeling and perception, machine vision, and self-adaptation mechanisms in robotics, distributed coordination and collective intelligence in multi- robot systems, as well as novel paradigms for the programming of autonomous, spatially distributed entities. --------------------------- Submission Instructions --------------------------- Submissions should have a length of max. six pages and be formatted according to the IEEE Computer Society Press proceedings style guide. Authors should submit their papers using the EasyChair installation of the main conference, which is available at: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=saso2016 Please note that only single-author submissions are accepted, which focus on the topic of the doctoral work. The name of the supervisor (« supervised by ... ») should be clearly marked below the author’s name in the paper. Submissions should further adhere to the following structure: * Motivation: motivate the open problem that you want to address and briefly summarize existing approaches along with their deficiencies. * Objectives: describe the key objectives of your PhD project and argue how achieving them will solve the open problem outlined in the motivation. * Methodology: outline what methodology you will adopt to meet the objectives of your project. Clearly state on what existing works your work will build. * Research Plan: describe what preliminary results – if any – you have already achieved and summarize your plans for future work. Please add a rough schedule that allows to judge whether your research plan is feasible. Authors of accepted papers shall prepare a final, camera ready version of the paper, taking into account all feedback from reviewers, and formatted according to the IEEE Computer Society Press proceedings style guide. Doctoral Symposium papers will be advertised in the final program, and will be submitted to IEEE Xplore as part of the SASO proceedings. Papers will also be made available in the IEEE Digital Library. -------------------- Review Process -------------------- Each submission will be reviewed by at least two Doctoral Symposium experts (see list below) that cover the different areas of interest of the conference. Submissions will be evaluated based on their relevance to FAS*, the motivation and quality of the proposed research, as well as the suitability of the chosen methodology. Authors of accepted papers will have different opportunities to present their project at the conference. Besides a full presentation during the PhD Symposium session, an “Elevator Pitch Session” will be organized during the main conference, where authors get the chance to briefly showcase their research. In addition, the Best Doctoral Symposium paper will be selected and the award will be presented during the main conference. Finally, selected authors will have the additional chance to present their work via a poster in the poster session of the main conference. --------------------------- Invited Talk --------------------------- To be announced --------------------------- Doctoral Symposium Experts --------------------------- * Ozalp Babaoglu – University of Bologna, IT * Jacob Beal – BBN Technologies, USA * Kurt Geihs – Universitaet Kassel, DE * Tom Holvoet – KU Leuven, BE * Manish Parashar – Rutgers University, USA * Jeremy Pitt – Imperial College London, UK * Mark Jelasity – University of Szeged, HU * Burkhard Stiller – University of Zurich, CH * Giuseppe Valetto – Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, IT * Salim Hariri – University of Arizona, USA * Simon Dobson – University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK * Antonio Bucchiarone - Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, IT To be completed --------------------------- Important Dates --------------------------- Abstract Submission due: May 29, 2016 Paper Submission due: June 12, 2016 Notifications due: July 10, 2016 Camera ready version due: July 24, 2016 Conference date: September 12-16, 2016 --------------------------- Contact Information --------------------------- For any further information, please contact the Doctoral Symposium chairs: Pradeep Murukannaiah Department of Computer Scienc North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA pmuruka(a)ncsu.edu http://www4.ncsu.edu/~pmuruka/ Dr. Ingo Scholtes Chair of Systems Design ETH Zurich CH-8092 Zurich Switzerland ischoltes(a)ethz.ch http://www.ingoscholtes.net

March 1, 2016