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Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Computational Brain Science group at Western University
by Jorn Diedrichsen Dec. 2, 2019

Dec. 2, 2019

Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Computational Brain Science group at Western University The newly formed Computational Brain Sciences Group<https://brainscan.uwo.ca/research/cores/computational_core/index.html> at Western University offers postdoctoral positions through Western’s prestigious BrainsCAN postdoctoral fellowship program<https://brainscan.uwo.ca/research/cores/computational_core/postdoctoral_and…>. Applicants should have a PhD in a computational or neuroscience-related field. Candidates with expertise in both are strongly preferred. The successful applicant will play a key role in neuroimaging and computational investigations of human brain function. They will enjoy working as part of an interdisciplinary collaborative team and will join the Brain and Mind Institute<https://www.uwo.ca/bmi/> (BMI), which is one of the leading centres in cognitive neuroscience in Canada. The BMI hosts a full range of ultra-high field, research-dedicated MRI scanners and state-of-the-art research facilities for cognitive, behavioural, and neurophysiological testing. The applicant should contact one or more potential supervisors<https://brainscan.uwo.ca/research/cores/computational_core/affiliated_labs.…> with a cover letter, a detailed CV and 2-3 referees. Review of applicants will start on Dec 15, 2019. The deadline for submitting the final proposal is Feb 1st, 2020. In brief, applicants must be no more than 6 years post-PhD and the salaries are highly competitive (55-70K per year, CDN, with additional benefits). The proposed research should fit within the broad BrainsCAN remit, which covers research that addresses fundamental questions regarding how we learn, think, move, and communicate. Jörn Diedrichsen Western Research Chair Brain Mind Institute Department of Computer Science Department of Statistics Email: jdiedric(a)uwo.ca<mailto:jdiedric@uwo.ca> Tel: 1-519-661-2111 x86994

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Postdoc in computational neuroimaging
by Vuksanovic, Vesna Dec. 2, 2019

Dec. 2, 2019

Dear List The following link contains details of a postdoc vacancy at University of Aberdeen in understanding of multi-modal MRI brain data to develop a network approach in understanding changes in brain structure and functions in patients with Alzheimer's disease: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BWR950/research-fellow Please forward the link, if you know of some potential candidates. Many thanks, Vesna The University of Aberdeen is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013683. Tha Oilthigh Obar Dheathain na charthannas clàraichte ann an Alba, Àir. SC013683.

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Dynamics Days XL: Nice, France, 24- 28 August 2020
by Mathieu Desroches Nov. 29, 2019

Nov. 29, 2019

We are pleased to invite you to the 40th Dynamics Days Europe Conference, which will be held in Nice, France, on the 24-28 August 2020. Dynamic Days Europe is a major international conferences providing a forum for developments in the applications of and theory for dynamics. The themes of the meetings include Physics, Biology, Theoretical Dynamical Systems, Complex Systems, and Numerical Methods. The list of plenary speakers include: * Sylvain Crovisier (Université Paris-Sud) * Bard Ermentrout (University of Pittsburgh) * Veronica Grieneisen (Cardiff University) * Björn Hof (IST Austria) * Chris Jones (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) * Alejandro Maass (University of Chile) * Antonio Politi (University of Aberdeen) * Katharina Schratz (Heriot-Watt University) * Anna von der Heydt (Universiteit Utrecht) * Lai-Sang Young (Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences New York University) All information regarding the conference will be published on our website https://dynamicsdays2020.univ-cotedazur.fr <https://dynamicsdays2020.univ-cotedazur.fr/> We are currently soliciting Minisymposia proposals (deadline on the 20th of December 2019), which can be submitted on our website, or by filling out this form https://dynamicsdays2020.univ-cotedazur.fr/Minisymposium_proposal/ <https://dynamicsdays2020.univ-cotedazur.fr/Minisymposium_proposal/> We invite you to follow us on Twitter @dyndays_2020, and to use the hashtag #DDaysXL. Please disseminate this advert to potential participants. We look forward to hosting you in Nice! The organising committee: Daniele Avitabile, Stéphane Barland, Mathieu Desroches, François Gautero, Sergey Nazarenko, Elisabeth Pécou

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PhD position in computational neuroscience/brain physics in Oslo Norway
by Gaute Einevoll Nov. 28, 2019

Nov. 28, 2019

PhD-position in Computational Neuroscience/Brain Physics in Oslo, Norway Applications are invited for a position as PhD Research Fellow available at the Department of Biosciences in the research group of Professors Gaute Einevoll and Marianne Fyhn at CINPLA. The position is funded by the UiO:Life Science Initiative, Convergence Environments to the project ”MultiModal Mental Models: converging approaches from genomes to mental illness and interplay with psychosocial stressors (4MENT)”<https://www.uio.no/english/research/strategic-research-areas/life-science/r…>. The successful candidate will work on model-based exploration of cortical neuron and neural network models, in particular effects of genetic variants on neural functions. The modeling work will be carried out in collaboration with statistical geneticists as well as researchers working with stem cells and brain imaging. The goal of the project is to build models for mental phenotypes that are relevant in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The candidate will work in the cross-disciplinary environment Center for Integrative Neuroplasticity (cinpla.org) a research center set up by the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Presently, CINPLA includes about twenty biologists, physicists, and computer scientists co-localised in the building of Department of Biosciences at UiO. The candidate will develop and use state-of-the-art computer simulation packages and national supercomputer resources. The fellowships will be for a period of 3 years, with no compulsory work, or for a period of 4 years, with 25 % compulsory work at the UiO:LifeScience. Anticipated start date is Winter/Spring 2020. The research fellow must take part in the Faculty’s appproved PhD program and is expected to complete the project within the set fellowship period. Requirements: * Master’s degree in physics, mathematics, or computer science. The Master thesis should preferably have been done within computational neuroscience, but also candidates with master projects in other branches of computational science may be considered. * Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system. * The candidate must have demonstrated strong skills in developing codes for scientific computing. * A good command of English is required. For more information, including on how to apply, see: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/178653/phd-research-fellowsh… Deadline for application: December 18th 2019 For questions, please contact professor Gaute T. Einevoll, gaute.einevoll(a)fys.uio.no. ********************************************** Professor Gaute T. Einevoll Faculty of Science and Technology Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1432 Aas, Norway; Department of Physics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Ph. +47-64965433, Mobile: +47-95124536 email: Gaute.Einevoll(a)nmbu.no, web: compneuro.nmbu.no, cinpla.org

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Call for Paper: [Information] Special Issue--"Advances in Mobile Gaming and Games-based Leaning" （More than 15 scholars agreed to submit）
by Blink Yu Nov. 27, 2019

Nov. 27, 2019

Special Issue: Advances in Mobile Gaming and Games-based Leaning Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2020 Website and Planned Papers:https://www.mdpi.com/journal/information/special_issues/MobileGaming… Guest Editor: Dr. Antonio Coelho Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal Dr. Carlos Vaz de Carvalho Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Instituto Polit?cnico do Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal ======================= Dear Colleagues, We cordially invite you to submit a manuscript for consideration and possible publication in a Special Issue on "Advances in Mobile Gaming and Games-based Leaning" to be published in an EI, ESCI and Scopus-indexed open access journal Information (http://www.mdpi.com/journal/information) The submission manuscript deadline is 31 January 2020. For more details, please visit the website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/information/special_issues/MobileGaming_Gamesb… You may share this invitation with your team members and colleagues; co-authors are most welcome. Please let me know within a month or as soon as possible if you and your colleagues are interested in submitting a manuscript for this special issue. If more time is needed, please feel free to tell us (information(a)mdpi.com) Your contribution would be most welcome. Information is fully open access. Open access (unlimited and free access by readers) increases publicity and promotes more frequent citations, as indicated by several studies. Open access is supported by the authors and their institutes. An Article Processing Charge (APC) of CHF 1000 currently applies to all accepted papers. You may be entitled to a discount if you have previously received a discount code or if your institute is participating in the MDPI Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP), for more information see: http://www.mdpi.com/about/ioap. For further details on the submission process, please see the instructions for authors at the journal website (http://www.mdpi.com/journal/information/instructions) We hope this topic is of interest to you and look forward to collaborating with you in the near future. Kind regards, Blink Yu Section Managing Editor --- Dear Colleagues, Education is evolving to overcome new challenges related to the unique competencies of the professionals of the future and the requirements of a new generation that is immersed in the digital media world from birth. Digital Games is one of the media that have the potential to reach these two objectives. Game-based learning is the scientific area that focuses on the development of games that are designed over specific learning objectives. From thoroughly crafted educational games to the use of gamification, the new era of the school will be digital. However, we should not forget tangential learning with the use of entertainment games. Mobile games are also leveraging a large community of gamers that relies on the specifics of mobile technology, such as ubiquity and pervasiveness. The solutions can leverage informal learning, literacy, science communication, and citizenship, among a vast area of applications. The aim of this Special Issue is to disclose the new advances in game-based learning and mobile games that can enhance the effectiveness and outreach of learning objects. Topics of interest include but are not limited to the following: Game-based learning; Serious games; Mobile games; Pervasive games; Learning models and practices with the use of games; New technologies for game-based learning: Virtual and augmented reality; New interaction devices, toys, and playthings; Simulations; 3D rendering technologies; Game engines and development tools; Location-based games; Artificial intelligence; Educational games analytics; Assessment and evaluation of educational games; User experience design; The psychology of educational games; Gender and age issues; Social and collaborative games; Security and confidentiality in educational games; Case studies in educational games; Game development for mobile devices. Dr. Antonio Coelho Dr. Carlos Vaz de Carvalho Guest Editors -- Mr. Blink Yu Managing Editor E-Mail: blink.yu(a)mdpi.com Skype: live:c91693ac8277e1f0 -- MDPI Wuhan Office No.6 Jingan Road, 430064 Wuhan, China MDPI Postfach, CH-4020 Basel, Switzerland http://www.mdpi.com -- Disclaimer: MDPI recognizes the importance of data privacy and protection. We treat personal data in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and with what the community expects of us. The information contained in this message is confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this message in error, please notify me and delete this message from your system. You may not copy this message in its entirety or in part, or disclose its contents to anyone.

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Research Fellow in Deep Reinforcement Learning for Machine Theory of Mind @ Oxford Brookes
by Fabio Cuzzolin Nov. 26, 2019

Nov. 26, 2019

The Visual Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Oxford Brookes University, led by Professor Fabio Cuzzolin, is seeking a Research Fellow in Deep Reinforcement Learning for Machine Theory of Mind, to be appointed asap, on a 30-month contract. The deadline for application is 16th December 2019. Salary: £31,866 rising annually to £34,804. The Research Fellow will lead the Lab’s efforts within the Leverhulme Trust-funded Research Project Grant “Theory of mind at the interface of neuroscience and AI”, in partnership with Prof Barbara Sahakian of the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Cambridge, a leading figure in the field of Clinical Neuropsychology and the President of the International Neuroethics Society ( https://www.bcni.psychol.cam.ac.uk/directory/barbara-sahakian) The project aims to provide machines with ‘theory of mind’ capabilities, i.e., the ability to guess the reasoning processes and intentions of other intelligent agents. It will explore the possibility of creating flexible theory of mind simulations based on the concept of reconfigurable deep networks, trained in a reinforcement learning setting, as well as refine and test new cognitive models for these functionalities in the human brain. Similarities and differences with inverse reinforcement learning will also be investigated. The Visual Artificial Intelligence Laboratory ( http://cms.brookes.ac.uk/staff/FabioCuzzolin/) is of the top research groups in the world in deep learning for action detection, and is heavily investing in the topic of predicting future behaviour and events. The team designed in 2017 the first system yet able to localise multiple actions on the image plane in real time, and our algorithms regularly compete for the best detection accuracies. Former PhD students have moved on to postdoc positions at Oxford, Stanford and ETH Zurich. The Laboratory is currently running on a budget of almost £2 million, with seven live funded projects spanning computer vision, machine learning, general AI, autonomous driving, surgical and mobile robotics, AI for healthcare, decision making and uncertainty theory. We are also significantly involved in the new £1.9 Oxford Brookes AI Incubator (AIDA), and in the University’s Ethical AI Institute. For an overview of our research themes and projects, please consult http://cms.brookes.ac.uk/staff/FabioCuzzolin/files/VAIL.pdf You will join a vibrant and fast growing team projected to comprise 25+ people in 2019-20. You will be working on a network of cutting edge 4-GPU and 8-GPU workstations. The Lab collaborates with various companies including Huawei, Leonardo, Cisco, Ocado, Cortexica and Oxbotica, and is in the process of spinning off a company in the area of action detection. We closely work with Cambridge University’s Neuroscience, as well as Oxford University’s Engineering and Computer Science Departments, and have established links with IIT Bombay, Harvard, Seoul National, the Fraunhofer Institute, and numerous other European partners. You are encouraged to contact Prof Cuzzolin at fabio.cuzzolin(a)brookes.ac.uk for more information and informal feedback on your application. To formally apply, please follow the instructions provided here: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BWZ564/research-fellow-in-reinforcement-learning…

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Director search for SCI Institute, University of Utah
by Rob MacLeod Nov. 25, 2019

Nov. 25, 2019

The University of Utah seeks applications for the Director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute <http://www.sci.utah.edu/> The University of Utah is a Carnegie Research I Institution and member of the Association of American Universities (AAU); the SCI Institute is a trans-college, research-focused partnering entity at the University of Utah consisting of faculty from 4 academic departments (School of Computing, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mathematics) and 2 colleges, students, and staff (185 current personnel). The SCI Institute’s vision is to see applied computing bring transformation across disciplines in a way that benefits the University of Utah and society at large. Its mission is to bring together excellence in diverse domains applied to multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary problems of societal importance. The Institute accomplishes these goals through the collaborative development, assembly, and/or application of applied scientific and data computing, imaging, and visualization tools. Over more than two decades, the SCI Institute <http://www.sci.utah.edu/> has established itself as an internationally recognized leader in visualization, scientific and biomedical computing, and image analysis applied to a broad range of challenging problems. For example, the SCI Institute is ranked by CSRankings (http://csrankings.org <http://csrankings.org/>) as housing the top visualization group internationally. Alongside its research goals is a passion to educate students and staff. The SCI Institute is proud to have supported over 400 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and nearly 100 undergraduates to achieve an education at the cutting-edge of research. SCI graduates move into faculty positions with universities internationally and also become innovators with companies such as Apple, Exxon Mobil, Nvidia, Google, Intel, Boston Scientific, Orthogrid, Philips Medical, and Medtronic. Additional information about the Institute and current faculty can be found at scidirectorsearch.sci.utah.edu <http://scidirectorsearch.sci.utah.edu/> For more information, please contact Rob MacLeod (macleod(a)sci.utah.edu <mailto:macleod@sci.utah.edu>)

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Postdoc position: Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH and UZH Zurich
by Hazem Toutounji Nov. 25, 2019

Nov. 25, 2019

We seek a postdoctoral researcher with deep interest in human reinforcement learning and decision-making to work on the newly funded project: *Learning and Exploration under Perceptual and Value Uncertainty* Organisms often face the challenge of navigating a world riddled with many sources of uncertainty, be it ambiguous sensory inputs or unreliable behavioral outcomes. Most existing research only considered either of these two sources of uncertainty in the contexts of perceptual decision making for the former, and reinforcement learning and value-based decision making for the latter. The goal of the project is to develop a unifying experimental and theoretical account of human adaptive behavior subject to both perceptual and value uncertainty. The post of 1-year is at the Institute of Neuroinformatics (ini.uzh.ch <http://www.ini.uzh.ch>) of the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, in close collaboration with Rafael Polania’s Decision Neuroscience Lab ( decision.ethz.ch <http://www.decision.ethz.ch>). *Preferable starting date:* February 1st, 2020. The post involves psychophysics and data-driven computational modelling. Candidates should have a PhD in cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, computational science, or a related field. Preference will be given to applicants with prior experience in designing and conducting psychophysics experiments, in addition to having strong programming (MATLAB or python), computational and statistical skills. *How to apply:* Please write to Hazem Toutounji (hazem(a)ini.ethz.ch) using the email as a cover letter, preferably before December 9th, 2019. Later applications will be considered until the post is filled. The application should include CV, list of publications and preprints, and contact information of 1-3 potential referees, in addition to a short summary (max. 300 words) of most relevant paper, describing your contribution. -- Dr. rer. nat. Hazem Toutounji Institute of Neuroinformatics University of Zurich and ETH Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland office: +41-44-635-3063 twitter: @HazemToutounji

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University of Sussex funded PhD positions: Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship Programme, “From Sensation and Perception to Awareness”
by Miguel Maravall Nov. 25, 2019

Nov. 25, 2019

Dear colleagues, We are inviting applications for our interdisciplinary Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship Programme at the University of Sussex, “From Sensation and Perception to Awareness”, for entry in September 2020. Could you please kindly distribute to interested students. Thank you Best wishes Miguel Maravall FUNDED PHD POSITIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX The University of Sussex invites applications for PhD studentship awards within its Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship Programme entitled “From Sensation and Perception to Awareness”, directed by Jamie Ward and Anil Seth. The prestigious Sussex Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholarship Programme<https://www.findaphd.com/common/clickCount.aspx?theid=3783&type=185&url=htt…> brings together doctoral researchers from different disciplines to advance our understanding of the interactions between sensing, perception, and awareness in humans, animals, and machines. The Programme will support an intake of up to NINE students starting in September 2020. PhD students will be registered within one of the participating schools (Life Sciences, Informatics, Psychology, Media Film & Music, and Brighton and Sussex Medical School). The closing date for applications is January 31st, 2020. For further details, including how to apply, see… https://www.findaphd.com/phds/program/studentships-available-from-the-unive…

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COSYNE 2020: Registration; Travel grants; Cosyne Tutorials
by Tomas Hromadka Nov. 25, 2019

Nov. 25, 2019

==================================================== Computational and Systems Neuroscience 2020 (Cosyne) MAIN MEETING 27 February - 01 March 2020 Denver, Colorado WORKSHOPS 02 March - 03 March 2020 Breckenridge, Colorado www.cosyne.org ==================================================== IMPORTANT DATES Online registration is now open. Travel grant submission is now open. Travel grant application deadlines 31 December 2019, 11.59PM PST (*Undergraduate* Travel Grant) 14 January 2020, 11.59PM PST (Other travel grants) TAs wanted for a tutorial session. ----------------------------------------------- TRAVEL GRANTS ----------------------------------------------- Applications are now open for travel grants to attend the conference. Each awardee will receive at least $500 to help offset the costs of travel, registration, and accommodations. Larger grants may be available to those traveling from outside North America. Special consideration is given to scientists who have not previously attended the meeting, under-represented minorities, students who are attending the meeting together with a mentor, undergraduate students, and authors of submitted Cosyne abstracts. We currently offer five travel grant programs for New Attendees, Presenters, Mentors, Undergraduates, and Childcare travel grants. For details on applying, see Cosyne.org -> Travel grants. ---------------------------------------------------- COSYNE TUTORIALS ---------------------------------------------------- Cosyne 2019 will host two tutorial sessions on 27 February 2020. For details on Cosyne tutorials please visit Cosyne.org -> Tutorials 20. Tutorial 1: Cosyne 2020 Tutorial session sponsored by the Simons Foundation Topic: Normative approaches to understanding neural coding and behavior Speaker: Ann Hermundstad Ann Hermundstad is a Group Leader in the Computation & Theory research core at Janelia Research Campus. She studies how the brain creates and uses adaptive sensorimotor representations to generate flexible behavior. Her lab uses a combination of theory, modeling, and data analysis to explore how neural circuits can do this efficiently and flexibly, and works in close collaboration with experimentalists to test these ideas in biological systems. *We are recruiting TAs for the tutorial session. If interested, please see Cosyne.org -> Tutorials 20 for details on how to apply.* Tutorial 2 Topic: Neurodata without Borders Tutorial NWB is a data standard for neurophysiology, providing neuroscientists with a common standard to share, archive, use, and build common analysis tools for neurophysiology data. Navigating the Allen Brain Observatory ---------------------------------------------------- COSYNE ---------------------------------------------------- The annual Cosyne meeting provides an inclusive forum for the exchange of empirical and theoretical approaches to problems in systems neuroscience, in order to understand how neural systems function. The MAIN MEETING is single-track. A set of invited talks is selected by the Executive Committee, and additional talks and posters are selected by the Program Committee, based on submitted abstracts. The WORKSHOPS feature in-depth discussion of current topics of interest, in a small group setting. For details on workshop proposals please see below or visit Cosyne.org -> Workshops. Cosyne topics include but are not limited to: neural basis of behavior, sensory and motor systems, circuitry, learning, neural coding, natural scene statistics, dendritic computation, neural basis of persistent activity, nonlinear receptive field mapping, representations of time and sequence, reward systems, decision-making, synaptic plasticity, map formation and plasticity, population coding, attention, and computation with spiking networks. This year we would like to foster increased participation from experimental groups as well as computational ones. Please circulate widely and encourage your students and postdocs to apply. COSYNE INVITED SPEAKERS Matthew Botvinick (Deepmind/Princeton) Megan Carey (Champalimaud) John Cunningham (Columbia) Gul Dolen (Hopkins) Rainer Friedrich (FMI Basel) Sam Gershman (Harvard) Lisa Giocomo (Stanford) Christopher Harvey (Harvard) Mehrdad Jazayeri (MIT) Wei Ji Ma (NYU) Hendrikje Nienborg (Tuebingen/NIH) Linda Wilbrecht (Berkeley) Marta Zlatic (Janelia) ORGANIZING COMMITTEE General Chairs: Eugenia Chiappe (Champalimaud) and Christian Machens (Champalimaud) Program Chairs: Anne-Marie Oswald (U Pittsburgh) and Srdjan Ostojic (Ecole Normale Superieure Paris) Workshop Chairs: Catherine Hartley (NYU) and Blake Richards (McGill) Undergraduate Travel Chairs: Angela Langdon (Princeton) and Robert Wilson (U Arizona) Diversity Chairs: Eva Dyer (Georgia Tech, Emory) and Eric Shea-Brown (U Washington) Publicity Chair: Adam Calhoun (Princeton) Development Chair: Michael Long (NYU) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Stephanie Palmer (U Chicago) Zachary Mainen (Champalimaud) Alexandre Pouget (U Geneva) Anthony Zador (CSHL) CONTACT meeting [at] cosyne.org ---------------------------------------------------- COSYNE MAILING LISTS ---------------------------------------------------- Please consider adding yourself to Cosyne mailing lists (groups) to receive email updates with various Cosyne-related information and join in helpful discussions. See Cosyne.org -> Mailing lists for details.

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