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PhD position in neuromorphic engineering - Toulouse, France
by Timothée Masquelier June 12, 2018

June 12, 2018

Beating Roger Federer: Modeling visual learning and expertise through a bioinspired neural network embedded in an electronic device Goal: PhD grant. When: starting from September 2018 (date may be flexible to some extent) Topic: How do expert tennis players, like Roger Federer for example, predict if a ball will bounce in or out the field to decide if it should be played or not? After thousands of trajectory presentations, best champions have developed extraordinary skills in such a task, but little is known on how the visual system turns selective to spatiotemporal properties of the visual stimulus (e.g., 3D position, velocity and acceleration) and learns how to make an efficient use of it. The goal of the project is to build an embedded system – based on FPGA circuits and ARM processor – an artificial neural network which would replicate – and perhaps beat – the visual and anticipatory performances of these expert players. To achieve this goal successfully, we will develop a bio-inspired neural network, based on some of the key properties of human vision: the Smart NeuroCam (GST company) will be used to reproduce the retina functioning. It triggers its message under the form of spikes, in an asynchronous way (without any concept of frame per second), responding to spatial or temporal changes in the pattern of illumination. Several kinds of pre-processing filters can be implemented in VHDL language directly in the FPGA circuits, and the output is then sent to a neural network. The artificial network will learn to use this message, applying a simple learning rule, the Spike-Timing-Dependent Plasticity (STDP). This rule allows each neuron to become selective to a particular property of the stimulus, completely autonomously and with no supervision. Several layers will be built to allow perceiving more and more complex properties of the visual scene. Once the network will be established, its performances will be assessed in different conditions of learning and compared to those of the best tennis players. The project is funded by a French National Research Agency (ANR), involving two sites and several researchers: − Robin Baurès, Benoit Cottereau, Timothée Masquelier and Simon Thorpe, CerCo, Toulouse. − Michel Paindavoine, GST, Dijon. Where: The candidate will be based at CerCo, Toulouse (France), and will make the interface with the two sites, with regular trips. The computational neuroscience part will be done at Toulouse, and electronic part at Dijon. Tasks: − Matlab (or Python) based simulations of numerical filters. These filters will be applied to the image processing from which spikes are generated and then sent to feed the neural network and STDP learning mechanism. − VHDL coding to implement these numerical filters into the FPGA circuits of the cameras − C/C++ coding of the neural network and STDP mechanism that should work on an embedded ARM processor system − Experimental tests that will allow evaluating the performance of the whole system, from spikes generation to visual properties learning of the embedded system, to predict tennis ball’s trajectories Required skills: − Strong knowledge on electronic, and openness to computational neurosciences − Knowledge in signal-image processing, and artificial neural network − Interest for multidisciplinary research − Ability to turn smoothly autonomous, once the road has been set − Ability to be at the interface of two scientific fields and two working areas − Programming with Matlab and/or Python for simulating the neural network − Programming in VHDL language for FPGA circuits − Programming in C/C++ language for porting the algorithms on ARM microprocessors − French is not a requirement if fluent in English, but willingness to learn would be beneficial Citizenship Eligibility: For security / defense reasons, an evaluation will be made of the candidates before any possible acceptation. Relevant publications for the project: − Masquelier, T., Guyonneau, R. & Thorpe S.J. (2009). Competitive STDP-Based Spike Pattern Learning. Neural Comput, 21(5),1259-1276. − Masquelier, T. & Thorpe, S.J. (2007). Unsupervised learning of visual features through spike timing dependent plasticity. PLoS Comput Biol, 3(2):e31. − Cottereau, B.R., McKee, S.P. & Norcia, A.M. (2014). Dynamics and cortical distribution of neural responses to 2D and 3D motion in human. Journal of Neurophysiology 111(3), 533-543. − SmartNeuroCam de GST : https://gsensing.eu/fr/category/sections/products Contact: Robin Baurès, PhD Associate Professor CerCo, Université Toulouse 3, CNRS CHU Purpan, Pavillon Baudot 31059 Toulouse Cedex 9 – France Office phone: 0033 (0)5 62 74 62 15 Email : robin.baures(a)cnrs.fr Pr Michel Paindavoine GlobalSensing Technologies 14, rue Pierre de Coubertin 21000 Dijon email : michel.paindavoine(a)gsensing.eu -- Timothée Masquelier - timothee.masquelier(a)cnrs.fr - http://cerco.ups-tlse.fr/~masquelier/

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POSTDOCTORAL POSITION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
by Tatiana Pasternak June 11, 2018

June 11, 2018

POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN THE NEUROSCIENCE OF PERCEPTUAL DECISIONS Postdoctoral position to study cortical circuitry underlying memory-guided perceptual decisions is available immediately in the laboratory of Dr. Tatiana Pasternak. Experimental approaches include extracellular multi-electrode recordings and inactivation of spiking and LFP activity from prefrontal and extrastriate visual cortical regions of non-human primates during complex behavioral tasks. An important component of the work is a collaboration involving computational modeling aimed at mechanisms underlying maintenance and utilization of visual information in decision-making. Preference will be given to candidates with strong quantitative background with experience in the analysis of physiological data and extracellular recordings. Applicants with strong background in related disciplines of systems neuroscience and/or computer science & engineering are welcome to apply. Experience with MATLAB/Python programming and proficient knowledge of the English language are required. The University of Rochester offers a stimulating research environment and excellent opportunities for interactions and training in cognitive neuroscience and visual science. Interested applicants should send CV and names/contact information of three references to Dr. Pasternak. Please include a cover letter detailing your current research activities, expertise and the reasons for your interest in this position. **************************************** Tatiana Pasternak, Ph.D. Professor Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Departments of Neuroscience, Brain & Cognitive Science, Biomedical Engineering, and Center for Visual Science University of Rochester https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/labs/pasternak.aspx <https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/labs/pasternak.aspx>

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IBRO Simons Computational Neuroscience Imbizo 2019 - call for applications
by Antrobus, Alexander June 11, 2018

June 11, 2018

The IBRO-Simons computational neuroscience imbizo is a summer school in computational neuroscience and machine learning, hosted each January in Cape Town, South Africa. The event is generously sponsored by the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO) and the Simons Foundation (Simons). "Imbizo" is an isiXhosa word, meaning "A gathering to share knowledge". The aim of the isiCNI is exactly this: to create an environment in which young African and international students can explore computational neuroscience together, forming strong friendships in the process. Three weeks of intensive lectures, tutorials, projects and fun! When and where? January 6th - 27th 2019 Cape Town, South Africa TO APPLY: https://imbizo.africa<https://imbizo.africa/> [http://isicni.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/img/Africagrey_trans_small.png]<https://imbizo.africa/> imbizo.africa - #isiCNI2019<https://imbizo.africa/> imbizo.africa The IBRO-Simons Computational Neuroscience Imbizo: a computational neuroscience school in Cape Town, South Africa Faculty for 2019 include: Dora Angelaki (Bayor College, Houston) Demba Ba (Harvard Uni, Boston) Sophie Denève (ENS, Paris) Adrienne Fairhall (Univ of Washington, Seattle) Peter Latham (Univ College London) Timothy Lillicrap (Google Deepmind, London) Joseph Raimondo (Univ of Cape Town) Athanassia Papoutsi (IMBB-FORTH, Hellas) Srikanth Ramaswami (EPFL, Lausanne) Blake Richards (Univ Toronto) Andrew Trevelyan (Newcastle Univ., Newcastle) Misha Tsodyks (Weizmann Inst., Rehovot) Tim Vogels (Oxford) Byron Yu (Carnegie Mellon Univ, Pittsburgh) Who should apply? The Imbizo is designed to introduce students with backgrounds in analytic fields (computer science, statistics, physics, mathematics, engineering, etc.) to the field of computational neuroscience. It will also benefit advanced experimental biologists who would like to learn more computational skills. It also provides an opportunity for students already working in computational neuroscience to do 3 weeks of intensive, focused work in a different sub-topic of the field. Students should generally be at Masters/early PhD level, and have completed at least a 2nd-year university level course in computer science, statistics, physics or mathematics. Some coding experience will also be helpful. More advanced level students (post-Docs, early career PIs) may also be accepted if they can motivate how the courses at the Imbizo could help their career. Well motivated, exceptional undergraduates will also be considered. African students are especially encouraged to apply. What does it cost? The attendance fee for the isiCNI2019 is EUR 1,100.00. Thanks to our generous sponsors, significant bursaries are available to subsidise and waiver student fees, and provide some travel bursaries. Funding will be allocated according to need and merit. Please be sure to complete the relevant section of the application. For more information, please visit https://imbizo.africa<https://imbizo.africa/> [http://isicni.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/img/Africagrey_trans_small.png]<https://imbizo.africa/> imbizo.africa - #isiCNI2019<https://imbizo.africa/> imbizo.africa The IBRO-Simons Computational Neuroscience Imbizo: a computational neuroscience school in Cape Town, South Africa Or contact isicn.imbizo[AT]gmail.com Thanks and regards IBRO-Simons Computational Neuroscience Committee 2019

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postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience at the IIT - Italy
by Stefano Panzeri June 11, 2018

June 11, 2018

A postdoctoral position is currently available at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, within the new Center for Human Technologies in Genoa, Italy. The research will be jointly supervised by Stefano Panzeri ( https://www.iit.it/people/stefano-panzeri) and Cristina Becchio ( https://www.iit.it/it/people/cristina-becchio) The aim of this project is to investigate, using both neural network models and the mathematical analysis of behavioral, psychophysical and neuroimaging data from cognitive experiments, how motor variability affects action observation and prediction in both typically developing individuals and individuals with autism. The laboratories of the two supervisors offer a wide range of interdisciplinary expertise in computational and cognitive neuroscience, including advanced analysis, neural analyses techniques, neural network modeling, motion tracking, psychophysics and neuroimaging techniques. The laboratories offer a thriving, well-funded research environment with extensive international collaborations and ample opportunities for advanced training and personal scientific growth. We seek candidates holding a PhD in a numerate or neuroscientific scientific discipline, with a solid computational background and a keen interest in neuroscience and cognition. The ideal candidate is a highly motivated and creative individual who wants to work in a dynamic, multi-disciplinary research environment and is willing to interact with both experimental and theoretical cognitive neuroscientists. The formal deadline for applications is *July 9**th** 2018*. However, interested candidates are advised to contact informally Stefano Panzeri ( stefano.panzeri(a)iit.it) *as soon as possible*. The formal application should be sent by email to *jobpost.75446(a)iit.it* <jobpost.75446(a)iit.it>, *quoting “One post-doctoral position at the interface between Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience - CB 75446 CB 75447” in the subject*. The formal application should contain the CV, a brief statement of research interests, and names and email addresses of 2 referees. Please see the following link for further details: https://www.iit.it/careers/openings/opening/767-one-post-doctoral-position-… Yours truly Stefano Panzeri

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An Electrodynamic Theory of the Brain
by Patirniche, Dinu June 11, 2018

June 11, 2018

Dear Colleagues, What is a meter? If you say a unit length, you are correct. However, the meter is not just any unit of length, but one that is relevant for you as a human. Mature humans are around 1.70m high, and walk comfortably at 1m/s. But why do we use the meter at all, when it comes to expressing events and distances encountered in the brain? A commonly held biophysical dogma says that magnetic interactions occurring among neighboring compartments of biological tissues, such as for example the different neurons in a brain, can be ignored. The typical argument used to give credit to all biophysical theories rooted in electrostatic is related to the observation that the vast majority of all electrical events within living tissues propagate are incredibly low speeds. Thus, since action potentials (APs), that is, sharp fluctuations of the electric field, are seen to propagate at speeds between 1 and 100 m/s, any dynamic induction phenomena arising due to the presence of such an event is apriorily excluded. And indeed, with meter-long sensors there is hardly any significant electrodynamics signals to be recorded. However, acknowledging that the AP is playing a decisive role in the chemical transmission cycle, we could express the AP's speed in units that are relevant to this process. Since the dendritic spine is an integral part of the chemical transmission machinery, we could introduce a new unit of length and call it the "dendritic-spine-head" to mean 1 micro-meter, or 10^-6 m. Thus, referring to the spine as an observer of the AP, this event propagates at 1,000,000 "dendritic-spine-heads"/s. From the perspective of a spine, the production of such an event is anything but a stationary phenomenon, appearing necessary to consider what an electrodynamic theory might say about the interactions between an incoming electrical pulse and a fixed spine. In following this route, I came to the conclusion that all biological organisms can be easily decomposed into a finite set of disjoint, and electrically insulated volumes, that appear to function as a set of nested highly-exotic electromagnetic antennae. If this view can be maintained, understanding brains as room-temperature quantum computers, and life as a globally coherent state within some finite reach, is inevitable. I present this theory in a preprint entitled Dynamic Aspects of Finite Architectures (http://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.20815.79527) and invite you to read, comment and share this manuscript. Best regards, Dinu Patirniche.

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Ph.D. Computational Neuroscience @University of Padova
by suweis infn June 10, 2018

June 10, 2018

Dear all, call are open for Ph.D. position in Computational Neuroscience @ the Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova (http://pnc.unipd.it/phd-neuroscience/) In particular we propose three different projects: - The Critical Brain in Action (http://pnc.unipd.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/P19_Suweis.pdf) - Controllability and Observability of Rat Brain Activity (http://pnc.unipd.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/P17_Vassanelli.pdf) - Intrinsic brain activity and sensory coding in the rodent whisker somatosensory system (http://pnc.unipd.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/P18_Vassanelli.pdf) The deadline for the application is 26 June 2018. Interested candidate can contact me suweis(a)pd.infn.it Please forward this message to collaborators and students. Thanks Samir Suweis - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Samir Suweis, Ph.D. https://impactstory.org/u/SamirSuweis <https://impactstory.org/u/SamirSuweis> @SamirSuweis Research Scientist (RTDa) LIPh Lab, Physics Department, University of Padova Tel: +39 049 827 72 51 www.pd.infn.it/~maritan/people/Samir/samir.html

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Post-doctoral research scientist position for psychophysics in audio-visual virtual reality
by Seeber, Bernhard June 8, 2018

June 8, 2018

Dear List, we are inviting applications for a post-doctoral research scientist to join our team for research on psychoacoustics in complex audio-visual virtual environments. Main responsibilities are: - Development of novel techniques for and auditory experiments in interactive audio-visual virtual reality - Development of analysis methods for behavioral responses and statistical analysis of the results - Research on binaural hearing and auditory scene analysis with normal hearing listeners - Publication in English-language scientific journals and presentations at conferences - Supervision of student projects, assistance with teaching and with raising external funding. The position is full time and will start at the earliest convenient date. Qualifications: - Successfully completed doctoral degree (PhD) in one of the following areas: psychoacoustics, audio technology, virtual reality, acoustics, multimodal interaction, signal processing, or a related area - Knowledge and experience desirable in designing and analyzing psychophysical experiments, models of the auditory system, virtual acoustics, audio signal processing, machine learning, auditory scene analysis, binaural hearing, speech perception and speech tests - Very good programming skills in Matlab, Python, or C/C++ - Excellent written and oral communication skills as well as experience with scientific publications - Interest in basic research and the development of technical systems in virtual reality - Flexibility and good interpersonal skills - Interest in supervising students, helping with teaching, and raising external funds. We offer... you the opportunity to join a dynamic, interdisciplinary team, to work with up-to-date technical equipment including an anechoic chamber hosting an audio-visual virtual reality system, and to learn about the latest methods in hearing research. As part of the DFG collaborative research center "Hearing acoustics: Perceptual principles, Algorithms and Applications" you will work closely with our project partners at the University of Oldenburg. Our close interaction with the Bernstein Centre for Computational Neuroscience Munich (www.bccn-munich.de) the Munich School of BioEngineering (www.bioengineering.tum.de) the Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences (www.gsn.uni-muenchen.de) the Hearing Research Network Munich, our extensive cooperation with industry and with scientific partners, and the numerous courses offered at TUM create an attractive environment with excellent perspectives for personal development. Please see www.aip.ei.tum.de for further information. Employment is according to the state employees salary scheme (TV-L/E13) and is initially for 1 year with the option for extension to 4 years. Women are explicitly encouraged to apply. Severely handicapped persons will be favored if they are equally qualified. In principle, the position could also be filled part-time. Munich - the city famous for the Oktoberfest, high-end cars and its unique location to the Alps - is a bustling, international and interesting place to live which offers a wide range of opportunities to engage in cultural and leisurely activities - from opera to skiing. Interested? I look forward to answering your questions on the phone (+49 89 289 28282) or by email. Please send your expressive application preferably by email no later than 30 June 2018 to: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernhard Seeber Professorship for Audio Information Processing Technical University of Munich Arcisstrasse 21 80333 Munich Germany Email: aip(a)ei.tum.de. The job advertisement can also be found at: https://portal.mytum.de/jobs/wissenschaftler/NewsArticle_20180608_072800 Kind regards, Bernhard

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Postdoc position in Geometric Methods for Deep and Reinforcement Learning at RIST
by Luigi Malagò June 7, 2018

June 7, 2018

=========================================================== *Subject*: Postdoc position in Machine Learning (1 year, renewable up to 2.5 years) *Institution*: RIST - Romanian Institute of Science and Technology, Cluj-Napoca *Keywords*: Deep Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Stochastic Optimization, Optimization over Manifolds, Information Geometry, Riemannian Geometry *Application deadline*: 30 June 2018 (applicants are encouraged to apply earlier) *Salary*: around 2190 euro net *Official announcement*: http://rist.ro/en/details/news/postdoc-positio ns-in-deep-learning-and-machine-learning.html =========================================================== Dear colleagues, the Romanian Institute of Science and Technology (RIST) has an opening for a postdoc position, in the context of the DeepRiemann project “Riemannian Optimization Methods for Deep Learning”, funded by European structural funds through the Competitiveness Operational Program (POC 2014-2020). The appointments will be for 1 year, with possible extensions up to 2.5 years. The DeepRiemann project aims at the design and analysis of novel training algorithms for Neural Networks in Deep Learning, by applying notions of Riemannian optimization and differential geometry. The task of the training a Neural Network is studied by employing tools from Optimization over Manifolds and Information Geometry, by casting the learning process to an optimization problem defined over a statistical manifold, i.e., a set of probability distributions. The project is highly interdisciplinary, with competences spanning from Machine Learning to Optimization, Deep Learning, Statistics, and Differential Geometry. The objectives of the project are multiple and include both theoretical and applied research, together with industrial activities oriented to transfer knowledge, from the institute to a startup or spin-off of the research group. The positions will be part of the new Machine Learning and Optimization group http://luigimalago.it/group.html, which performs research at the intersection of Machine Learning, Stochastic Optimization, Deep Learning, and Optimization over Manifolds, from the unifying perspective of Information Geometry. The group is one of two newly-formed groups in Machine Learning at RIST, where about 20 new postdoctoral research associates and research software developers will be hired by 2018. The official job announcement can be seen here: http://rist.ro/en/details/news/postdoc-positions-in-deep-lea rning-and-machine-learning.html Informal inquiries can be sent to Dr. Luigi Malagò <malago(a)rist.ro>, principal investigator of the DeepRiemann project. Application deadline: 30 June 2018 (applicants are encouraged to apply earlier) best regards, Luigi Malagò

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Postdoc position in computational neuroscience- University of Calgary
by Roberto C Sotero June 7, 2018

June 7, 2018

The Computational Neurophysics Lab at the University of Calgary ( www.soterolab.com) headed by Dr. Roberto C. Sotero, is looking for a talented postdoctoral fellow, interested in working in the field of computational neuroscience, specifically modeling and identifying brain networks from EEG and fMRI data, and developing model-based control methods to steer these networks from their pathological dynamics towards healthy dynamics. As an example, see our recent paper: http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.10061… The perfect candidate has a strong mathematical, physical, or engineering background (or equivalent), programming skills, and a keen interest in biological and neural systems. A PhD in the field of computational neuroscience is a plus. Applications including a CV, the statement of research interests, and the names and contact information of two references should be sent to roberto.soterodiaz(a)ucalgary.ca. Applications will be assessed as they arrive, and the position will remain open until filled. Salary will be based on University of Calgary post-doctoral rates and commensurate with experience. Best regards, Roberto C. Sotero, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Radiology Hotchkiss Brain Institute University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada www.soterolab.com roberto.soterodiaz(a)ucalgary.ca

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PhD position, University of Innsbruck (Austria)
by Antonio Rodriguez-Sanchez June 7, 2018

June 7, 2018

Ph.D. Student Position in Robot Learning or Computer Vision at U. Innsbruck The research group in Intelligent and Interactive Systems <https://iis.uibk.ac.at/>, led by Profs. Justus Piater and Antonio Rodríguez-Sánchez, has an opening for a Ph.D. student, on a university assistant position that includes minor teaching requirements. The research will be loosely aligned with ongoing research projects <https://iis.uibk.ac.at/research/projects> in the lab: deep learning in computer vision or robotics computational models of biological vision biologically-inspired computer vision robot vision and closed-loop sensorimotor interaction open-ended and intrinsically-motivated robot learning concept discovery by learning robots goal-oriented exploratory learning prediction of action effects robot skill optimization human-robot interaction and collaboration How to Apply Interested applicants should send a letter of motivation, a curriculum vitae including URLs of English-language theses and dissertations, scanned transcripts and diplomas, and contact information of at least two references in PDF to Justus.Piater(a)uibk.ac.at <mailto:Justus.Piater@uibk.ac.at>. Applications will be considered as they are received, until all positions are filled. Starting date is October 2018 or earlier. More details on https://iis.uibk.ac.at/jobs <https://iis.uibk.ac.at/jobs> Priv. Doz. Antonio Rodríguez-Sánchez, PhD Intelligent and Interactive Systems Dept. of Computer Science - Institut für Informatik University of Innsbruck - Universität Innsbruck Austria – Österreich https://iis.uibk.ac.at/public/antonio/ <https://iis.uibk.ac.at/public/antonio/>

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