- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

Research Fellow Position in Mathematical Modelling and Feedback Control of Neural Systems

by David Grayden

Research Fellow Position in Mathematical Modelling and Feedback Control of Neural Systems Research Fellow Grade 2 (Level B) NeuroEngineering Laboratory, Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering The University of Melbourne Australia We seek a highly motivated person with expertise in neuroengineering, neural modelling, and control theory. The primary aim of this project is to devise and validate mathematical models of neural circuits and to developed closed-loop control algorithms for those circuits. In particular, the project will use experimental observations to derive and test transfer functions of afferent and efferent nerve activity for closed- loop control of inflammatory bowel disease. The mathematical modelling objective will run alongside physiological experiments to derive the transfer functions that constitute the most important aspects of the system. The research fellow will contribute to all aspects of the project, including the development of the transfer functions and the development of closed-loop control algorithms. This will involve working with physiologists to obtain the necessary neural and network parameters, constructing neuron models that match biological data, developing the control models and analysing their behaviour and parameter dependence, and implementing the algorithms to assess their effect. The person may also co-supervise PhD, MPhil and Master of Engineering students. The position is available for two years, renewable for a further two years depending on funding availability. More information and applications here: http://jobs.unimelb.edu.au/caw/en/job/886547/research-fellow Close date: 13 Oct 2015 Regards, David Professor David B. Grayden Director, Biomedical Engineering Dept of Electrical & Electronic Engineering Melbourne School of Engineering The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 Australia [cid:image001.jpg@01D0FB55.848428B0] This email and any attachments may contain personal information or information that is otherwise confidential or the subject of copyright. Any use, disclosure or copying of any part of it is prohibited. The University does not warrant that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or defects. Please check any attachments for viruses and defects before opening them. If this email is received in error please delete it and notify us by return email.

Sept. 29, 2015

2nd CFP Advanced Research on Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architecture

by Prof. Dr. Jordi Vallverdú

*2nd Call for papers:* *"Advanced Research on Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architecture"(http://www.igi-global.com/publish/call-for-papers/call-details/1900 <http://www.igi-global.com/publish/call-for-papers/call-details/1900>). To be relased in July 2016, by IGI Global. * *Deadline: January 2016.* *Anthropic Oriented Computing (AOC) lies at the intersection among sociology, neuroscience, philosophy, anthropology, psychology, and computer science. We want to establish a new domain of the Anthropic-centric oriented computing merging and attract attention of wide audience for the inter/cross/trans- disciplinary areas and approaches such as field of a: philosophy, sociology, psychology, anthropology, neurophysiology and computer science. This way we aim at initiating the discussion on the Anthropo-centric -oriented computing with several specialists from different domains of the cognitive and social sciences. To gain broader view on the problems and tackled from different angles of perspective on Artificial Consciousness, and AGI and group/crowd dynamics.* *Recommended topics include, but are not limited to:* · *Affective cognitive architectures* · *Emotional computer interface* · *Situated and embodied cognition* · *Crowdcasting, Crowdsourcing, Crowdsensing* · *Swarm cognition (swarm intelligence + distributed cognition = swarm cognition)* · *Neuro-biologically inspired systems for AI* · *Philosophical aspects of Artificial consciousness* · *Computational Psychological aspects of Affective computation* · *Computational Neuroscientific aspects of Affective computation* · *Decision making and Artificial Consciousness* · *Volunteer computing* · *Social computing* · *Collective intelligence* · *Crowd agents* · *Agent crowdmap* · *Theory-based inference* · *Logic and graphical models* · *Causal reasoning and counterfactuals* · *Foundational and technical questions in bridging logical and probabilistic models* *Inquiries: Jordi Vallverdú, jordi.vallverdu(a)uab.cat <jordi.vallverdu(a)uab.cat> * Prof. Dr. Jordi Vallverdú, B. Phil, B. Mus, M.Sci, Ph.D. Room B7/104, Philosophy Dept. UAB 08193 Bellaterra (BCN) CATALONIA ------------------- FULL CV/Publications: https://uab.academia.edu/JordiVallverdu <https://uab.academia.edu/JordiVallverd%C3%BA> ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9975-7780 ResearcherID: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/K-5536-2014 Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jordi_Vallverdu

Sept. 29, 2015

Post-doctoral position in cognitive neuroscience of learning

by Christopher Honey

A joint postdoctoral position is available in the labs of Amy Finn, Katherine Duncan, and Christopher Honey in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. We are seeking a colleague who is interested in understanding how the human brain learns new sequential structure and how this changes with development. This unique collaboration will use computational modeling and neuroimaging to characterize the roles that subcortical learning and memory systems play in the development of statistical learning. The ideal candidate will have experience in cognitive neuroscience, strong quantitative training and an interest in systems of learning and memory as well as their development. The University of Toronto, typically ranked as one of the world's top 20 research universities, is located in downtown Toronto. The city is one of the most liveable and cosmopolitan cities in the world, and has a vibrant academic and biomedical community. This full-time position with benefits is fully funded for two years with an initial appointment of one year. There is also the possibility of extending the position beyond the first two funded years by applying for outside fellowships, such as the Canadian Institute of Health Research Fellowships, which are open to international trainees. The start date is flexible. Applicants should submit a CV, brief research statement, relevant publications, and contact details for two academic references to the addresses below. Please see the posting on the Psychology Department website ( http://home.psych.utoronto.ca/Assets/Psych+Digital+Assets/Psychology/Psych+… Employment+Opportunities/pdf.pdf), and contact any address below for more information. Contact Details Amy Finn: finn(a)psych.utoronto.ca, finnlandlab.org Katherine Duncan: duncan(a)psych.utoronto.ca , duncanlab.org Christopher Honey: honey(a)psych.utoronto.ca , honeylab.org

Sept. 29, 2015

Tenure Track Faculty Position in Biological Physics

by Ralf Haefner

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Rochester invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in Biological Physics. Applicants in both theoretical and experimental areas will be considered. Applicants should have a Ph.D., an outstanding record of research, and a commitment to excellence in teaching at both the undergraduate and the graduate level. The position is anticipated to be at the Assistant Professor level, however applicants at a more senior level will also be considered. We are especially interested in candidates whose research interests might leverage the University's recent strategic initiative in Interdisciplinary Data Science. However strong applications in any area of biological physics are encouraged. Each candidate should submit a letter of application, a curriculum vita including a list of publications, and a description of research and teaching plans. The candidate should arrange for four letters of recommendation to be sent in support of their application. Further instructions for applying to this search may be found at: https://www.rochester.edu/faculty-recruiting <https://www.rochester.edu/faculty-recruiting> To receive the fullest consideration, applicants are encouraged to apply by November 15. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled. The University of Rochester has a strong commitment to diversity and actively encourages applications from candidates from groups underrepresented in higher education. The University of Rochester is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and encourages applicants from members of minority groups and women. All applications are considered without regard to race, sex, religious or national origin. Salary will be competitive. EOE Minorities / Females / Protected Veterans / Disabled

Sept. 29, 2015

Multiple postdocs and RA positions in artificial consciousness based upon the integrated information theory

by Ryota Kanai

Advertisement: 4 Postdoctoral and/or RA positions at Araya Brain Imaging, Tokyo, Japan. Four postdoctoral positions (or RA positions) are available to work on a JST (Japan Science and Technology) funded CREST research project on “Towards constructing artificial consciousness based on the integrated information theory (IIT)” (PIs: Kanai, Kawanabe and Maekawa, Co-PIs: Tsuchiya and Oizumi), which will run for 5.5 years from Oct 2015. The initial appointment will be for one year, with renewal based upon satisfactory performance and evaluation. Salary will be commensurate with experience. We are looking for young researchers (i.e., RAs, late-stage candidates for MSc or PhD degrees, or postdoctoral fellows) whose main research interest is the neuronal basis of consciousness, artificial intelligence, and/or the integrated information theory (IIT) of consciousness. There are 4 main projects: 1. Evolving artificial intelligent systems in complex game environments 2. Constructing systems with flexible sensory, cognitive and motor capability using deep neural networks (DNN) 3. Evaluation of integrated information in artificial systems 4. Empirical tests of IIT in real neural systems You will be employed at Araya Brain Imaging (CEO: Kanai) in Japan for all projects, but the actual location of work depends on the project. Projects 1 and 2 will mainly take place within Araya Brain Imaging in Tokyo, Japan, whereas Projects 3 and 4 will be conducted at Monash University, Australia. All projects will be supervised by Ryota Kanai (Araya), Naotsugu Tsuchiya (Monash) and Masafumi Oizumi (Monash and RIKEN, Japan). Researchers in all projects are expected to travel between Japan and Australia frequently (at least twice a year) to maximise interactions within the team. For each project, the exact requirement for experience and skills differ, but excellent programming and mathematical skills (especially familiarity in advanced statistics, machine learning and information theory) will be essential in all projects. Research Assistants are expected to learn those skills upon appointment. Excellence in written and oral English communication skills, as supported by objective publication recorded, is essential for postdoctoral applicants. Most importantly the enthusiasm to solve consciousness is mandatory. Araya Brain Imaging is a rapidly growing start-up located in Tokyo. While being a private company, our priority is the quality in research that drives innovation in neurotechnology. Many of the Araya members have been trained abroad (UK and US) and we are aiming to build an international hub for artificial consciousness. www.araya.org/eng Monash University, one of the eight top universities in Australia (G8), is forming a strong cluster of consciousness researchers, ranging from philosophers, neurophysiologists, and psychologists with excellent cognitive neuroscience tools available (simultaneous EEG & fMRI experiments and EEG/TMS & fMRI experiments at Monash Brain Imaging facility, which hosts a research-only MRI scanner, EEG, TMS and eye tracking. http://mbi.monash.edu.au/) Interested candidates are encouraged to send a CV, statement of research accomplishments and interests, PDF copies of representative publications, and contact information for 2 reference letters to: Please contact Yoshiko Tan (postdoc(a)araya.org) for questions and application. Application review will begin immediately and continue until the positions are filled. Best wishes, Ryota Kanai CEO of Araya Brain Imaging

Sept. 28, 2015

10th European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology

by Stephen Coombes

========== ECMTB/SMB 2016 - www.ecmtb2016.org<http://www.ecmtb2016.org> ========== ========== Call for Minisymposium proposals - deadline, 18 Dec 2015 ========== 10th European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology The joint meeting of the European Society for Mathematical and Theoretical Biology (ESMTB) and the annual meeting of the Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB) will be held in Nottingham, 11-15 July 2016. We now invite proposals for minisymposia at the interface of mathematics and biology, including all areas of the life and medical sciences. Minisymposia will be held in two-hour blocks, consisting of 4 talks of 30 minutes each (including time for questions and changing speakers). Please fill in the form at www.ecmtb2016.org/submissions/<http://www.ecmtb2016.org/submissions/> to submit your minisymposium proposal. Following submission, the minisymposium proposer will receive a unique link which they should forward to each speaker, in order to register and submit their individual abstracts. Minisymposium proposers are encouraged to consider geographical and gender diversity when selecting speakers. Submission of abstracts for contributed talks and posters will open in due course, with a deadline of 14 Feb 2016. Please note: The first submission associated with your email address will create a user account, and a password will be emailed to that email address. Each registered user may make a maximum of two submissions to ECMTB 2016 (one as a minisymposium organiser; one for a minisymposium talk, contributed talk or poster). =========== Confirmed plenary speakers include: ============ Ruth Baker (University of Oxford, UK) Sander van Doorn (University of Groningen, Netherlands) Julia Gog (University of Cambridge, UK) Leah Keshet (University of British Columbia, Canada) Johan van de Koppel (Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research) Hisashi Ohtsuki (Kanagawa, Japan) Johan Paulsson (Harvard University, USA) and John Rinzel (NYU, USA) - SMB Winfree Prize lecture ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== best wishes, Markus Owen (Chair of the Local Organising Committee, ECMTB/SMB 2016) Local Organising Committee: Markus Owen, Daniele Avitabile, Leah Band, Bindi Brook, Stephen Coombes, Etienne Farcot, John King, Reuben O'Dea, Ruediger Thul, Jonathan Wattis Scientific Committee: Linda Allen, Ellen Baake, Jim Cushing, Andreas Deutsch, Odo Diekmann, Susanne Ditlevsen, Stephen Eglen, Amina Eladdadi, Yoh Iwasa, Eva Kisdi, Santiago Schnell, Artie Sherman, Jonathan Sherratt, Vitaly Volpert This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system, you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation.

Sept. 28, 2015

4th Winter Q-Bio Mtg in HAWAII Feb. 2016 ***Abstract submission deadline NOV. 10, 2015***

by Santamaria, Cookie

THE FOURTH ANNUAL WINTER Q-BIO MEETING Quantitative Biology on the Hawaiian Islands February 15-18, 2016 http://w-qbio.org/ The Winter q-bio meeting brings together scientists and engineers who are interested in all areas of q-bio. Technology is driving revolutionary changes in biology. Systems Biology has arisen as the deduction of interaction networks from -omics data generated in the wake of remarkable technological achievements. Likewise, DNA synthesis technologies are driving the development of Synthetic Biology, whereby engineered circuitry and even entire genomes can be reconstituted from chemical building blocks. These two emerging areas have catalyzed the growth of Quantitative Biology, whereby the central goal is the deduction of quantitative principles that can be used to construct predictive models for biological phenomena. The venue for 2016 is the Sheraton Waikiki<http://www.sheraton-waikiki.com/>, which is located in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. The resort is known for its breathtaking oceanfront views, a first-of-its-kind recently opened "Superpool" and many award-winning dining venues. This year we will select contributed talks from the submitted abstracts to be presented with the invited talks during the plenary sessions. Contributed talks will also be selected for parallel breakout sessions that commence in the late afternoon. 2016 CONFIRMED SPEAKERS: Nathalie Balaban — Hebrew University Karen Carniol — Cell Hana El-Samad — UCSF James Ferrell — Stanford Justin Gallivan — DARPA Susan Golden — UCSD Jeff Hasty — UCSD Evonne Kaplan-Liss — Stony Brook Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz — NIH X. Shirley Liu — Harvard Katie Pollard — UCSF Bryan Ray — Science Jonathan Weissman — UCSF Lingchong You — Duke CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS: Jeff Hasty, University of California, San Diego Galit Lahav, Harvard University Wendell Lim, University of California, San Francisco Gurol Suel, University of California, San Diego Olga Troyanskaya, Princeton & Simons Center for Data Analysis Lev Tsimring, University of California, San Diego ***REGISTRATION OPENS SOON! *** Registration fee covers conference venue, registration reception, banquet, coffee & snacks. EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION ($700 / $475 Student) DEADLINE: Sunday, December 20, 2015 REGULAR REGISTRATION ($800 / $575 Student) DEADLINE: Sunday, January 31, 2016 LATE REGISTRATION ($875 / $650 Student) After Sunday, January 31, 2016 REGISTRATION WILL BE AVAILABLE AT: http://w-qbio.org/ HOTEL: A block of rooms has been reserved for registered conference participants at the Sheraton Waikiki<http://www.sheraton-waikiki.com/> at a negotiated rate starting at $229 per night plus tax. We have also reserved a block of rooms at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani<http://www.princess-kaiulani.com/> (just one block east and across the street from the Sheraton Waikiki) at a negotiated rate starting at $160 per night plus tax. The rooms will be available soon on a first-come, first-served basis, so book early! CONTRIBUTED TALKS: If you wish to present your work at the conference, either as an oral talk or a poster, you must submit an abstract through the conference website by the November 10th deadline. Abstract guidelines and submission information at: http://www.w-qbio.org/submit-abstract/ ABSTRACT DEADLINE: Tuesday, November 10, 2015 Abstract guidelines and submission information at: http://www.w-qbio.org/submit-abstract/ We encourage you to forward this message to any colleagues who may be interested in taking part in this exciting event. Questions should be emailed to: coordinator(a)w-qbio.org<mailto:coordinator@w-qbio.org> SPONSORED BY: ACS Synthetic Biology UC San Diego BioCircuits Institute and the San Diego Center for Systems Biology UC San Diego Divisions of Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, q-bio, and Engineering

Sept. 28, 2015

Release of NEST 2.8.0

by Jochen Martin Eppler

Dear NEST users, NEST 2.8.0 is distributed under the GNU General Public License version 2 (or later). This version marks the completion of our development efforts during the HBP ramp up phase and consists of 290 repository checkins by 25 developers since 2.6.0. The most notable changes are: * The new connection framework introduced in NEST 2.6.0 can now handle parameter arrays for the 'all-to-all' and 'one-to-one' rules. * A new propagator for integrate-and-fire neurons correctly handles the case where membrane and synapse time constants are similar or the same. * Better documentation and much extended examples for PyNEST improve the discoverability of NEST's features. All users are encouraged to upgrade and adapt their simulation scripts to the changes in the user interface at this point in time to benefit from the improvements in the new version. For a full list of changes and download links, see https://github.com/nest/nest-simulator/releases/tag/v2.8.0 IMPORTANT: some of the defaults in NEST changed. You might have to adapt your scripts accordingly. See the release notes for details. Best regards, Jochen! -- Dr. Jochen Martin Eppler Phone: +49 2461 61-9471 ---------------------------------- Simulation Laboratory Neuroscience Jülich Supercomputing Centre Institute for Advanced Simulation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt, Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sept. 27, 2015

Open position: Software Developer in Neuroinformatics

by Thomas Wachtler

At the German Neuroinformatics Node (G-Node, http://www.g-node.org) Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, a full-time position is available to join the G-Node team in developing neuroinformatics solutions for data management in neurophysiology. Variety and complexity of data in this field challenge large-scale data access, consistent storage and efficient data analysis. G-Node is interacting closely with research labs to address these challenges with state of the art neuroinformatics methods, including tools and formats for data annotation, management, and sharing. G-Node is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and is part of the Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience (http://nncn.de) and national node of the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility (INCF, http://incf.org) The position involves working in a small team of developers within a lively neuroscience environment, with ample opportunities for bridging between neuroscience research and neuroinformatics. Tasks include contributing to the development and enhancement of G-Node formats, tools and services (http://www.g-node.org/tools-and-services, https://github.com/G-Node) working closely with neuroscience laboratories that use, or plan to use, neuroinformatics solutions. Candidates should have excellent programming skills, preferably in Python and C++ or Java, the ability to work in a team, and a strong interest in the development of novel open-source solutions for neuroscience. Experience in fields of relevance, such as semantic web technologies, relational databases, web development, scientific software and analysis, experimental or computational neuroscience, would be beneficial. The position is available immediately, salary level is according to TV-L, duration is one year with possibility of extension. Individuals with disabilities will be given preference in case of equal qualification. Applications by women are specifically encouraged. Applications should include CV, statement of experience and motivation, and names of referees. Informal inquiries prior to application are welcome. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Applications should be sent, preferably as single pdf file by email, to Thomas Wachtler <wachtler(a)bio.lmu.de> -- Dr. Thomas Wachtler <wachtler(a)bio.lmu.de> Scientific Director German Neuroinformatics Node Department Biology II Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Grosshaderner Str. 2 82152 Planegg-Martinsried Germany

Sept. 26, 2015

Postdoctoral Position in Brain Mapping / Computational Neuroscience

by Stepanyants, Armen

The Neurogeometry Lab of Prof. Armen Stepanyants at the Department of Physics, in collaboration with the BIG-DATAbase group of Prof. Mirek Riedewald at the College of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University, Boston, invite applicants for a postdoctoral position in Brain Mapping / Computational Neuroscience to begin in the fall of 2015. The successful candidate will work on an NIH sponsored project to develop algorithms and software tools for large-scale automated reconstruction of neurons from stacks of light microscopy images. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in mathematics, physics, electrical engineering, computer science, or related quantitative disciplines. Track record of experience in image processing, as well as excellent programming skills in Java and MatLab are essential. Knowledge of computer vision and machine learning algorithms is a plus. To apply, please send (1) a CV, including a list of publications, (2) a summary of prior research accomplishments, and (3) names and contact information of three reference providers by email to Prof. Armen Stepanyants, a.stepanyants(a)neu.edu<mailto:a.stepanyants@neu.edu>. The position is available immediately, and applications will be accepted until the position is filled. The initial appointment is for one year with the possibility of renewal on a yearly basis. Northeastern is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Title IX Employer. More information can be found at the Neurogeometry Lab website, www.neurogeometry.net<http://www.neurogeometry.net>. Armen Stepanyants Associate Professor Department of Physics and Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Complex Systems Northeastern University 110 Forsyth St., Boston, MA 02115 Phone: (617) 373-2944 Fax: (617) 373-2943 http://www.neurogeometry.net/

Sept. 25, 2015

News for Brain States: Characterization and Neuromodulation by DBS‏

by neuro girl

****News for Brain States: Characterization and Neuromodulation by DBS**** Abstract submission ends Sunday, September 27, 2015 at midnight EST. Registration is now open but space is limited. Please register now to secure your spot. Registration includes breakfast, coffee breaks and lunch. Information for submission and registration can be found at http://bit.ly/1JVElkf and https://dbs.veomed.net/. The Brain States: Characterization and Neuromodulation by DBS conference will take place on November 11-13, 2015 in Cologne, Germany. This is an interdisciplinary meeting with leading experts in academia and medicine who will present physiological, computational and clinical approaches to the brain dynamics and brain mechanics of complex functional networks in the brain. Transformations of the neurodynamic operations of the brain between the normal to the pathological state will be explored using multivariate data analysis (EEG, MEG, DBS, etc…). Special attention will be given to next-generation approaches which allow the collaboration of clinical practice and science to advance the field from principles of organization to the causal control of function. ********************************************************************************* Brain States: Characterization and Neuromodulation by DBS November 11-13, 2015 Cologne, Germany ******************************************************************************** We are proud to present a unique combination of internationally renowned speakers in an intimate setting which encourages open discussion. You are cordially invited to participate. Confirmed Speakers: Hagai Bergman (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Peter Brown (University of Oxford) Stephan Chabardes (University Hospital Grenoble) Alain Destexhe (CNRS) Emad N. Eskandar (Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School) Martijn Figee (University of Amsterdam) John J. Foxe (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) Marc Goodfellow (University of Exeter) Anthony A. Grace (University of Pittsburgh) Rowshanak Hashemiyoon (University Hospital of Cologne) Jens Haueisen (Technische Universität Ilmenau) Viktor Jirsa (Aix-Marseille Université /CNRS) Jens Kuhn (University Hospital Cologne) Klaus Lehnertz (University of Bonn) Andres Lozano (University of Toronto) Cameron McIntyre (Case Western Reserve University) Christoph M. Michel (University of Geneva) Urs Ribary (Simon Fraser University) Günter Schiepek (Paracelsus Medical University) Wolf Singer (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research) Dimitri van de Ville (University of Geneva) Veerle Visser-Vandewalle (University Hospital of Cologne) Jürgen Voges (Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg) Looking forward to seeing you in Cologne! With kind regards, Row Hashemiyoon Rowshanak Hashemiyoon, PhD Chief, Behavioral Neurophysiology and Computational Neuroscience Klinik für Stereotaxie und Funktionelle Neurochirurgie Universitätsklinikum Köln Kerpener Str. 62 D - 50937 Köln Email: row.hashemiyoon(a)uk-koeln.de http://www.uk-koeln.de/de/stereotaxie

Sept. 25, 2015

Sainsbury Wellcome Centre Fellowships

by Peter Dayan

Under the Directorship of Professor John O’Keefe, the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour (SWC) will bring together world-leading scientists to investigate how brain circuits process information to create the neural representations that guide behaviour. Developed through the vision and partnership of the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the Wellcome Trust, and with substantial investment from these partners, the mission of SWC is to transform understanding of brain function. The Centre, located within UCL and close to its main campus in central London, is being structured to foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, enquiry and excellence. SWC scientists will use the latest advances in molecular and cellular biology, imaging, electrophysiology and behavioural techniques and enjoy an unparalleled research environment offering state-of-the-art research laboratories, cutting-edge scientific equipment, technologically-advanced prototyping and fabrication laboratories and custom in-house high-performance computing facilities. Commencing research operations in early 2016, SWC will comprise 12 highly interdisciplinary experimental research groups accommodated in a new, purpose-designed, seven-storey building. The Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit has relocated to the new building, facilitating broad and deep collaborations in data analysis and computational modelling. Scientists joining SWC will become part of UCL Neuroscience which brings together over 450 principal investigators offering extensive opportunities for interaction and collaboration. Formal teaching commitments will be minimal allowing scientists to focus on research. The Centre invites applications for SWC Senior and Principal Research Fellowships from outstanding, innovative, highly-motivated collaborative scientists with backgrounds in neuroscience as well as related physical and biological sciences. It is particularly interested in scientists wishing to extend the boundaries of technological development in areas such as high- density electrophysiological probes, telemetry, optical recording, molecular and genetic tools, new anatomical mapping techniques, and the use of virtual reality and other novel behavioural approaches such as video image analysis. Competitive salaries, tailored research space and generous relocation and recruitment packages, including research support, will be offered. Shortlisted fellowship candidates will be invited to a residential recruitment symposium scheduled for 18-20 November 2015. For further details, please visit: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/swc/opportunities Expressions of interest in senior academic positions are also welcome and may be addressed to the Centre Director or Centre Manager. Contact details are available on the web pages.

Sept. 24, 2015

Call for applications: travel grants for advanced PhD students, the 2016 ELSC Annual Retreat

by Yoram Burak

Dear Colleagues, Please distribute this to graduate students who might be interested. Sincerely, Yoram Burak --- The 2016 ELSC Annual Retreat January 24-26, Kibbutz Ein Gedi, Israel The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences at the Hebrew University offers competitive scholarships to support the travel and accommodation of 20 outstanding advanced international Ph.D. students to present their work in our annual retreat. These scholarship are offered for the first time this year. ELSC is a multidisciplinary neuroscience center. Our retreat thus covers the whole spectrum of brain research, including computational, molecular, cognitive, and systems neuroscience. The ELSC retreat is an optimal venue for advanced Ph.D. students to present their work and receive expert feedback. The program includes talks by our advanced graduate students, and plenary speakers: Fred Wolf (MPI for Dynamics and Self Organization, Göttingen), Ilana Witten (Princeton University), and Serge Domoulin (Utrecht University). Candidates are requested to send their CV, a letter of intent, and a recommendation letter to BRAIN(a)ELSC.huji.ac.il by November 1st, 2015. Awardees will be announced no later than November 15th. See also: http://elsc.huji.ac.il/content/travel-grants-elsc-retreat ---

Sept. 24, 2015

Three postdoctoral positions in computational and systems olfactory neuroscience in Pittsburgh

by Nathan Urban

Drs. Bard Ermentrout and Nathan Urban of the University of Pittsburgh, (Departments of Mathematics and Neurobiology) and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition invite applications for three postdoctoral positions for a NSF-funded BRAIN initiative project focused on the experimental and computational analysis of odor-driven navigation. (See NSF press release: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=136333&org=NSF&from=news and http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1555862&HistoricalAwards=fa… ) This three year project involves investigators at six institutions and is focused on analysis of how olfactory cues are used to guide navigation behavior in a number of species. Both behavioral strategies and brain mechanisms will be evaluated. The Pittsburgh group will combine experimental and computational approaches and will integrate detailed measurement and analysis of mouse behavior with simultaneous measurements of neural activity. We seek candidates with expertise in: Neurophysiology especially in vivo recording Automated behavioral analysis Computational models of brain networks The successful candidate will have a PhD or equivalent degree in neuroscience, applied math, engineering, computer science or a related discipline. Successful candidates will have a track record of publications and experience in experimental and/or computational neuroscience. Postdocs will be expected to participate in ongoing collaborations with other groups in Pittsburgh and in other locations, especially the other members of this project team. Postdocs in the lab will have the opportunity to present their work at national and international meetings and to take advantage of many opportunities for professional development.. Applicants can contact Dr. Urban via e-mail at nurban(a)pitt.edu and/ or Dr Ermentrout at bard(a)pitt.edu and should apply via: *https://goo.gl/HkhtY5 <https://goo.gl/HkhtY5>.Nathan Urban, Ph.D.Vice Provost for Special Projects829 Cathedral of LearningProfessor and Associate Chair - Department of Neurobiologyhttp://www.neurobio.pitt.edu/ <http://www.neurobio.pitt.edu/>Co-Director Center for the Neural basis of Cognitionwww.cnbc.cmu.edu <http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu/>Associate Director Pittsburgh Brain Institutehttp://www.braininstitute.pitt.edu/ <http://www.braininstitute.pitt.edu/>E1440 BSTWR200 Lothrop StreetUniversity of PittsburghPittsburgh, PA 15213Phone: 412-648-3396nurban(a)pitt.edu <nurban(a)pitt.edu> *

Sept. 23, 2015

Announcing the first NESTML community workshop

by Jochen Martin Eppler

Announcing the first community workshop on NESTML, the novel modelling language to create neuron models for the NEST simulator for spiking neuronal networks (nest-simulator.org) Abstract ^^^^^^^^ Currently, neuron and synapse models in NEST are written as C++ classes. These classes implement the simulator API for updating the neuronal dynamics, sending and receiving events, and auxiliary tasks such as initialization, recording of internal variables, calibration and handling of parameters. As the model code is hand-written and often created by copy and paste, this method is prone to errors and hinders the programmatic re-use of components such as neuronal dynamics, post-synaptic responses and synaptic plasticity mechanisms. Moreover, as many neuroscientists are not experts in C++, the process of creating models is often seen as complicated and in many cases the resulting model implementations are not optimal with respect to performance, consistency and testability. To ease writing models for NEST and improve the general quality of the code, we have created the NEST Modelling Language. NESTML comprises a language specification to describe neuron models in terms of neuroscience concepts and a set of tools to generate efficient C++ code for NEST from this description. During the workshop, we will give a general introduction to model creation for NEST and an in-depth introduction to the concepts and application of NESTML. In hands-on sessions the participants have the opportunity to write their own models in NESTML with the assistance of experienced tutors. The feedback collected in a dedicated session will be used to shape the future design and development of NESTML. Target Audience ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The workshop aims at students and researchers in computational neuroscience who want to create their own neuron models in NEST. Some understanding of programming and experience with one of the simulators NEST, NEURON, or Brian will be helpful, but are not strictly required. Location and date ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The workshop will take place at the Chair of Software Engineering (se-rwth.de) of RWTH Aachen University from Monday, December 7 to Wednesday, December 9, 2015. Details and registration Workshop attendance is possible free of charge. However, in order to be able to plan rooms, lunches and coffee breaks, we require registration. For details and enrolment, visit www.fz-juelich.de/ias/jsc/nestml-ws. With best regards, Jochen! -- Dr. Jochen Martin Eppler Phone: +49 2461 61-9471 ---------------------------------- Simulation Laboratory Neuroscience Jülich Supercomputing Centre Institute for Advanced Simulation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt, Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sept. 23, 2015

Postdoc position in Computational Neuroscience

by Curtu, Rodica

Postdoctoral Position in Computational Neuroscience Position Description: A postdoctoral position in Computational Neuroscience is available in the Human Brain Research Laboratory at The University of Iowa (HBRL; http://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/Labs/hbrl-neurosurgery/index.html) The appointment is funded through the Mathematics Department but the work will be conducted in the HBRL. The initial appointment is for 12 months, renewable for another year subject to satisfactory progress, and potentially longer depending on funding. The position is available immediately and the salary is commensurate with experience. The postdoctoral scholar will work under the guidance of Dr. Rodica Curtu (Mathematics) and Dr. Kirill Nourski (Neurosurgery) on a project studying the neural mechanisms of auditory perceptual representation and perceptual switching (http://homepage.math.uiowa.edu/~rcurtu and http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/dept_primary_apr.aspx?appointment=Neurosurger… ).The project involves collection of human electrocorticography (ECoG) recordings, signal processing and modern data-driven analytics, and dynamical systems modeling. HBRL is a multidisciplinary and collaborative research environment administered by the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Iowa, College of Medicine. The lab covers a broad range of research interests in auditory processing, neuroeconomics, sensory-motor integration, and visual processing. The Department of Mathematics has an active, vibrant Mathematical Biology/Computational Neuroscience research group with established interdisciplinary collaborations both within and outside the University of Iowa. Qualifications: The successful candidate should have a PhD or equivalent degree in Neuroscience, Cognitive Sciences, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline. Applicants should have substantial expertise with at least one programming language (preferably Matlab) and be able to conduct research both independently and as part of a team. Good written and oral communications skills are required. Knowledge in signal processing and/or dynamical systems is highly desirable. Particularly, experience in modeling complex neural systems or experience in analyzing data from large-scale electrophysiological recordings will be appreciated. Evidence of research productivity is also considered an asset. How to apply: Complete application forms should be submitted at https://jobs.uiowa.edu/postdoc/view/2459 (jobs.uiowa.edu; requisition # 2459), and include: 1) a CV including education, research experience and a list of publications 2) a 1-2 page statement of prior research experience and accomplishments 3) a 1-2 page statement of future research interests and objectives 4) the names and contact information of 2 individuals who can provide reference letters. For questions, applicants can write to: Dr. Curtu at rodica-curtu(a)uiowa.edu or Dr. Nourski at kirill-nourski(a)uiowa.edu The University of Iowa is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

Sept. 23, 2015

CFP: FLAIRS 2016 , Key Largo, Florida

by bisant＠umbc.edu

CALL FOR PAPERS FLAIRS 2016, Florida Artificial Intelligence Research Symposium Special Tracks on Data mining and Special Track on Cyber Security Key Largo, Florida http://www.flairs-29.info/ Paper submission deadline: November 16, 2015. Notifications: January 18, 2016. Camera ready version due: February 22, 2016. FLAIRS is an interdisciplinary artificial intelligence conference which especially encourages novel ideas and which features a double-blind review process. Data Mining Track This special track will be devoted to data mining with the aim of presenting new and important contributions in this area. Papers and contributions are encouraged for any work related to Data Mining. Topics of interest may include (but are in no way limited to): 1. Applications such as Intelligence analysis, medical and health applications, text, video, and multi-media mining, E-commerce and web data, financial data analysis, cyber security, remote sensing, earth sciences, bioinformatics, and astronomy. 2. Modeling algorithms such as hidden Markov models, decision trees, neural networks, statistical methods, or probabilistic methods; case studies in areas of application, or over different algorithms and approaches. 3. Feature extraction and selection. 4. Post-processing techniques such as visualization, summarization, or trending. 5. Preprocessing and data reduction. 6. Knowledge engineering or warehousing. Papers dealing with Cloud-based unstructured data or Cloud-based tool suites, such as Mahout or Apache Spark, are also encouraged. Cyber-Security Track Original high quality papers are sought for leading edge research and applications relating to the application of AI and Cyber Security. Topics of interest may include but are not limited to: · Machine Learning for Intrusion Detection Systems · NLP for text analysis in Cyber Security · Video and CCTV semantic analysis for terrorist or criminal action detection · AI & Biometrics, Internet of Things, and Cloud Computing security · AI & SCADA systems, Network Systems, and Embedded Systems security · Formal and theoretical approaches of intelligent security in WSNs · Legal and policy issues in intelligent security · Integrity, privacy, authentication and access control · Intelligent secure systems in multimedia databases · Social networks security · Intelligent incident response techniques in network and communication systems · Risk analysis and intelligent management · Virtual Private Networks intelligent security · Automated reasoning techniques of incidents and evidence analysis · Evidentiary aspects of digital forensics · Collaborative intelligent investigation · Intelligent systems in management, storage and reassembly · Steganography, watermarking, and forensic techniques in multimedia content processing · Lightweight security techniques · Intelligent Large-scale investigations and Big Data · Innovative non-repudiation techniques · Intelligent vulnerability analysis and assessment · Attacks tracking · Data hiding, tamper detection and recovery techniques · Security of e- healthcare systems and applications Note: We invite original papers (i.e. work not previously submitted, in submission, or to be submitted to another conference during the reviewing process). Submission Guidelines Interested authors should format their papers according to AAAI formatting guidelines. The papers should be original work (i.e., not submitted, in submission, or submitted to another conference while in review). Papers should not exceed 6 pages (or 4 pages for short paper, to be presented as a poster) and are due by November 16, 2015. For FLAIRS-29, the 2016 conference, the reviewing is a double blind process. Author names and affiliations should be Xd out on submitted papers to provide double-blind reviewing. Papers must be submitted as PDF through the EasyChair conference system, which can be accessed through the main conference web site (http://www.flairs-29.info/) Note: do not use a fake name for your EasyChair login - your EasyChair account information is hidden from reviewers. Authors should indicate the Data Mining special track for submissions. The proceedings of FLAIRS will be published by the AAAI. Authors of accepted papers will be required to sign a form transferring copyright of their contribution to AAAI. FLAIRS requires that there be at least one full author registration per paper.

Sept. 22, 2015

Fwd: Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Position in Neurodegeneration

by Sharmila Venugopal

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Postdoctoral Research Position Department of Integrated Biology and Physiology, UCLA A two year Postdoctoral position is available immediately to study the changes in synaptic and membrane properties in brainstem sensory neurons, interneurons and motoneurons in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We use methods that include electrophysiology, pharmacology, molecular biology and computational modeling to understand the mechanisms underlying the disease process. The successful applicant should have a solid background and publication record in using brain slice patch-clamp methodology and/or Computational Neuroscience and be willing to collaborate with an interdisciplinary team. Expertise in systems biology approaches is also desirable. Please send your CV and 1-2 references to: Dr. Sharmila Venugopal (vsharmila(a)g.ucla.edu <https://mail.mednet.ucla.edu/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=Cp9PAbfQ8hjH3yo9m6P6kT5EHJ…>) Department of Integrated Biology and Physiology University of California Los Angeles

Sept. 22, 2015

Postdoctoral positions in computational Neuroscience -- Poirazi lab, Crete

by Yiota Poirazi

Could you please advertise these postdoctoral positions in my lab through the NeuroInfo-Comp-Neuro mailing list*?* Thank you very much in advance, Yiota Poirazi ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Description:* We are looking for highly motivated candidates to fill 1-2 postdoctoral positions in the laboratory of Panayiota Poirazi at IMBB-FORTH in Crete, Greece. The positions are funded by the ERC starting grant dEMORY, whose goal is to characterize the role of dendrites in learning and memory processes so as to formulate a unifying theory regarding their contribution in memory formation across brain regions and abstraction levels. This will be achieved via the development of computational models at different abstraction levels in the hippocampus the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. By manipulating the biophysical, anatomical and plasticity properties of dendrites and tracking the effect on memory, the project aims to infer the key rules by which these thin structures shape mnemonic processes. These rules will then form the basis for deducing theoretical abstractions of trainable neurons with dendrites.The project has been running since 2012 and has already produced a number of outcomes, which can be found at the following web sites: www.demory.gr <http://www.demory.gr>, www.dendrites.gr <http://www.dendrites.gr> *Qualifications:* The ideal candidate should have expertise in computational neuroscience, preferably but not necessarily in biophysical modelling, and a deep interest in neural/dendritic computations, learning and memory. *To apply: **_ Application deadline: October 20^th , 2015 (applications will be continuously screened until the positions are filled)._* The position(s) will be available for 2 years, as of November 1st, 2015.*_ _*Salary: 28,000-36,000 Euro (including benefits), depending on experience and career stage. Candidates should send a *resume and two (2) reference letters* to *poirazi[at]imbb.forth.gr*. If possible, recommendations should be sent by the referees. *__* *__* <http://www.dendrites.gr>*THE POIRAZI LAB* The Computational Biology Laboratory <http://www.imbb.forth.gr/people/poirazi/>at IMBB-FORTH performs research that is at the forefront of Computational Neuroscience and places special emphasis on understanding the role of dendrites in information processing and storage. Outcomes of the lab have significantly influenced the field of dendritic computations by providing key predictions that were later verified experimentally. For her contributions to Neuroscience Dr. Poirazi received several awards including the EMBO Young Investigator award, two Marie Curie fellowships, a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), membership to the Young Academy of Europe and the Young Scientist Community of the World Economic Forum etc. Yiota Poirazi is currently the Chair of FENS-Kavli Network of excellence, a prestigious network of 30 outstanding Neuroscientists whose goal is to shape the future of Neuroscience in Europe and beyond. -- Panayiota Poirazi, Ph.D. Director of Research Computational Biology Laboratory Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) Foundation of Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH) Vassilika Vouton, P.O.Box 1385 GR 711 10 Heraklion, Crete, GREECE Tel: +30 2810 391139 Fax: +30 2810 391101 Εmail: poirazi(a)imbb.forth.gr http://www.dendrites.gr Chair, FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence http://www.fens.org/Outreach/FENS-Kavli-Network-of-Excellence/

Sept. 22, 2015

International Symposium on Prediction and Decision Making 2015

by Kenji Doya

We are pleased to announce the second International Symposium on Prediction and Decision Making. The program and abstracts are available from the web site: https://groups.oist.jp/ncu/international-symposium-prediction-and-decision-… Poster abstract deadline: September 30th Registration deadline: October 16th **** International Symposium on Prediction and Decision Making 2015 Date: October 31st - November 1st (Sat-Sun), 2015 Venue: Koshiba Hall, The University of Tokyo Special Lecture: Wolfram Schultz (University of Cambridge) Neural Circuit for Decision Making: Robert Malenka (Standord University) Anatol Kreitzer (University of California,San Francisco) Bernard Balleine (University of Sydney) Catharine Winstanley (University of British Columbia) Katsuyuki Kaneda (Kanazawa University) Takayuki Teramoto (Kyushu University) Social and Affective Decision Making: Toshio Yamagishi (Tamagawa University) John O’Doherty (California Institute of Technology) Masahiko Haruno (NICT CiNet) Satoshi Umeda (Keio University) Takafumi Minamimoto (National Institute of Radiological Sciences) Hitoshi Okamoto (RIKEN) Model-based Decision Making: Nathaniel Daw (New york University) Masamichi Sakagami (Tamagawa University) A.David Redish (University of Minnesota) David Foster (Johns Hopkins University) Sophie Deneve (ENS) Akihiro Funamizu (OIST) Yu Ohmura (Hokkaido University) Akio Namiki (Chiba University) Computational Psychiatry: Read Montague (Virginia Tech) Mitsuo Kawato (ATR) Mathias Pessiglione (ICM Brain & Spine Institute) Michael J. Frank (Brown University) Hidehiko Takahashi (Kyoto University) Sponsored by Prediction and Decision Making Project, MEXT. http://decisions.jp/english ---- Kenji Doya <doya(a)oist.jp> Neural Computation Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan Phone: +81-98-966-8594; Fax: +81-98-966-2891 https://groups.oist.jp/ncu

Sept. 22, 2015

NEURAL COMPUTATION - October 1, 2015

by Terry Sejnowski

Neural Computation - Volume 27, Number 10 - October 1, 2015 Available online for download now: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/neco/27/10 ----- Review Indefinite Proximity Learning - a Review Frank-Michael Schleif, Peter Tino Article Understanding Emergent Dynamics: Using a Collective Activity Coordinate of a Neural Network to Recognize Time-varying Patterns John Hopfield Note A Note on Entropy Estimation Thomas Schuermann Letters Recurrent Neural Network Approach Based on the Integral Representation of the Drazin Inverse Predrag S. Stanimirovic, Ivan S. Zivkovic, and Yimin Wei Visual Categorization With Random Projection Rosa Arriaga, David Rutter, Maya Cakmak, and Santosh Vempala Accuracy and Efficiency in Fixed-point Neural ODE Solvers Michael Hopkins, Steve Furber A Simple Label Switching Algorithm for Semi-supervised Structural SVMs P. Balamurugan , Shirish Shevade, and S. Sundararajan Multi-View Bayesian Correlated Component Analysis Simon Kamronn, Andreas Trier Poulsen, and Lars Kai Hansen Linear Methods for Efficient and Fast Separation of Two Sources Recorded With a Single Microphone Saurabh Bhargava, Florian Blaettler, Sepp Kollmorgen, Shih-Chii Liu, and Richard H.R. Hahnloser ------------ ON-LINE -- http://www.mitpressjournals.org/neuralcomp SUBSCRIPTIONS - 2015 - VOLUME 27 - 12 ISSUES Student/Retired $75 Individual $134 Institution $1,075 MIT Press Journals, One Rogers Street, Cambridge, MA 02142-1209 Tel: (617) 253-2889 FAX: (617) 577-1545 journals-cs(a)mit.edu ------------

Sept. 21, 2015

ECML PKDD 2016 call for journal track papers

by Olana Missura

We invite submissions for the journal track of the European Conference on Machine Learning and Principles and Practice of Knowledge Discovery in Databases (ECMLPKDD) 2016. The conference provides an international forum for the discussion of the latest high-quality research results in all areas related to machine learning, data mining, and knowledge discovery. The conference will take place in Riva Del Garda, Italy, September 19-23, 2016. This edition will feature a full day of plenary presentations---for papers of general interest to the whole community---and two days of parallel sessions. All accepted papers will be presented both orally and as posters. What papers are eligible for the journal track? Papers on all topics related to machine learning, knowledge discovery, and data mining are invited. However, given the special nature of the journal track, only papers that satisfy the quality criteria of journal papers and at the same time lend themselves to conference talks will be considered. This implies that journal versions of previously published conference papers, or survey papers will not be considered for the special issue. Papers that do not fall into the eligible category may be rejected without formal reviews but can of course be resubmitted as regular papers. Authors are encouraged to adhere to the best practices of Reproducible Research (RR), by making available data and software tools for reproducing the results reported in their papers. For the sake of persistence and proper authorship attribution, we require the use of standard repository hosting services such as http://dataverse.org, http://mldata.org, http://openml.org, etc. for data sets, and http://mloss.org, https://bitbucket.org, https://github.com, etc. for source code. Authors who submit their work to the special ECMLPKDD issues of the journals commit themselves to present their results at the ECMLPKDD 2016 conference in case of acceptance. How to submit? To submit to this track, authors have to make a journal submission to either the Springer Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery journal or the Springer Machine Learning journal, and indicate that the submission is for the “ECMLPKDD 2016" special issue. It is recommended that submitted papers do not exceed 20 pages including references and appendices, formatted in the Springer journal slyle (svjour3,smallcondensed). This is a soft limit, but if a submission exceeds the limit, please provide a brief justification regarding the length in the cover letter. Authors are required to include a cover letter containing a short summary of their contribution (2 pages max), where they address the following questions: 1. What is the main claim of the paper? Why is this an important contribution to the machine learning/data mining literature? 2. What is the evidence provided to support claims? Be precise. 3. What papers by other authors make the most closely related contributions, and how is the paper related to them? 4. Who are the most appropriate reviewers for the paper? Authors are encouraged to suggest up to four candidate reviewers (especially if external to the Guest Editorial Board), including a brief motivation for each suggestion. What is the reviewing process? The journal track allows continuous submissions from the end of September 2015 to March 2016. We expect two cutoffs per month on which we distribute papers to reviewers with the first one being the 27th of September 2015 and the last one being the 30th of March 2016. For papers accepted without revisions we strive for a turn around time of two months. This means that we should be able to include all of those submissions in the special issue. However, in the last years there has often been the need for revisions and we therefore recommend to submit papers as early as possible. Contact You can contact the Journal Track Chairs at jt_chairs(a)ecmlpkdd2016.org.

Sept. 21, 2015

CFP 1st International Conference on Complex Information Systems - COMPLEXIS 2016

by Calendar Sites

CALL FOR PAPERS 1st International Conference on Complex Information Systems COMPLEXIS 2016 Website: www.complexis.org April 22 24, 2016 Rome, Italy <http://www.complexis.org/Glossary.aspx#RP> <http://www.complexis.org/Glossary.aspx#RP> Regular Papers Paper Submission: December 1, 2015 Authors Notification: January 28, 2016 Camera Ready and Registration: February 12, 2016 <http://www.complexis.org/Glossary.aspx#PP> <http://www.complexis.org/Glossary.aspx#PP> Position Papers Paper Submission: January 5, 2016 Authors Notification: February 5, 2016 Camera Ready and Registration: February 19, 2016 Workshops Workshop Proposal: November 9, 2015 Special Sessions Special Session Proposal: November 18, 2015 Tutorials, Demos and Panel Proposals December 14, 2015 Sponsored by: INSTICC Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication INSTICC is Member of: OMG Object Management Group FIPA - The Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents WfMC Workflow Management Coalition Logistics Partner: SCITEVENTS Science and Technology Events COMPLEXIS The International Conference on Complex Information Systems, aims at becoming a yearly meeting place for presenting and discussing innovative views on all aspects of Complex Information Systems, in different areas such as Informatics, Telecommunications, Computational Intelligence, Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Social Sciences. Information is pervasive in many areas of human activity perhaps all and complexity is a characteristic of current Exabyte-sized, highly connected and hyper dimensional, information systems. COMPLEXIS 2016 is expected to provide an overview of the state of the art as well as upcoming trends, and to promote discussion about the potential of new methodologies, technologies and application areas of complex information systems, in the academic and corporate world. KEYNOTE LECTURES <http://www.complexis.org/KeynoteSpeakers.aspx#1> Peter Sloot, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands; Complexity Institute Singapore, Singapore; ITMO St. Petersburg, Russian Federation PUBLICATIONS All accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings, under an ISBN reference, on paper and on CD-ROM support. SCITEPRESS is a member of CrossRef ( <http://www.crossref.org/> http://www.crossref.org/) and every paper is given a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). All papers presented at the conference venue will be available at the <http://www.scitepress.org/DigitalLibrary/Default.aspx> SCITEPRESS Digital Library . A short list of papers presented at the conference venue will be selected for publication of extended and revised versions in a special issue of <http://www.ronpub.com/index.php/journals/ojbd> Open Journal of Big Data (OJBD) . A short list of papers presented at the conference venue will be selected for publication of extended and revised versions in a special issue of <http://www.igi-global.com/journal/international-journal-organizational-coll ective-intelligence/1140> International Journal of Organizational and Collective Intelligence. A short list of papers presented at the conference venue will be selected for publication of extended and revised versions in a special issue of <http://www.journals.elsevier.com/future-generation-computer-systems/> Future Generation Computer Systems Journal. A short list of papers presented at the conference venue will be selected for publication of extended and revised versions in a <http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-network-and-computer-applicatio ns/> Journal of Network and Computer Application. The proceedings will be submitted for indexation by Thomson Reuters Conference Proceedings Citation Index (ISI), INSPEC, DBLP, EI (Elsevier Index) and Scopus. AWARDS The awards will be announced and bestowed at the conference closing session. Please check the website for further information: http://www.complexis.org/BestPaperAward.aspx COMPLEXIS CONFERENCE CHAIR Victor Chang, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom PROGRAM CO-CHAIRS Víctor Méndez Muñoz, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, UAB, Spain Oleg Gusikhin, Ford Research & Adv. Engineering, United States CONFERENCE AREAS: Each of these topic areas is expanded below but the sub-topics list is not exhaustive. Papers may address one or more of the listed sub-topics, although authors should not feel limited by them. Unlisted but related sub-topics are also acceptable, provided they fit in one of the following main topic areas: 1. COMPLEXITY IN INFORMATICS, AUTOMATION AND NETWORKING 2. COMPLEXITY IN BIOLOGY AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING 3. COMPLEXITY IN COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE 4. COMPLEXITY IN SOCIAL SCIENCES AREA 1: COMPLEXITY IN INFORMATICS, AUTOMATION AND NETWORKING * Complexity Theory * Chaos Theory and Applications * Quantum Computing * Information and Entropy * Simulation and Modeling * Automation, Control and Robotics * Connected Vehicles * Complex Networks * Internet and the Semantic Web * Big Data Analytics * Usability of Complex Information Systems AREA 2: COMPLEXITY IN BIOLOGY AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING * Complex Biomedical Systems and Signals * Bioinformatics * Computational Biology * Biological and Biomedical Data Mining * Ontology Engineering * Biomedical Signal Processing * Biomedical Imaging and Data Visualization * Health Systems Complexity * Artificial Life * Population Models AREA 3: COMPLEXITY IN COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE * Complex Adaptive Systems * Evolutionary Computing * Neuro-fuzzy Systems * Self-Organizing Systems * Deep Learning * Non-Linear Dynamics * Decision Making under Uncertainty * Knowledge-Based Systems * Intelligent Multi-agent Systems AREA 4: COMPLEXITY IN SOCIAL SCIENCES * Social Networks * Linguistic and Cognitive Systems * Complexity Management * Data-Driven Models * Visualization * Cultural Models * Multi-Agent Systems * Economic Complexity * Information Systems * Security, Privacy and Trust PROGRAM COMMITTEE <http://www.complexis.org/ProgramCommittee.aspx> http://www.complexis.org/ProgramCommittee.aspx Please check further details at the conference website: http://www.complexis.org/ COMPLEXIS Secretariat Address: Av. D. Manuel I, 27A, 2º esq. 2910-595 Setúbal - Portugal Tel.: +351 265 520 184 Fax: +351 265 520 186 e-mail: <mailto:%20complexis.secretariat@insticc.org> complexis.secretariat(a)insticc.org

Sept. 21, 2015

Faculty Position in Biophysics including Neurophysics

by Ralf Wessel

Biological/Biomedical Physics The Department of Physics in the School of Arts and Sciences announces a tenure-track faculty opening at the assistant professor level in Experimental Biological/Biomedical Physics. We are seeking a candidate who will enhance activities within the Physics Department and develop connections with other Arts and Sciences, Engineering School, and Medical School Departments. The duties of the position will include, but are not limited to, teaching and advising students, conducting original research and publishing the results, and participating in departmental and university service. A PhD in Physics or in a closely related field is required, along with an undergraduate degree in Physics and the ability to teach a range of traditional undergraduate physics courses in addition to specialized courses. Candidates are sought who have highly visible research achievements and who have a strong aptitude for teaching and mentoring students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The appointment will begin Fall 2016. Information on our department can be found at http://www.physics.wustl.edu. Applications should consist of the following: cover letter, current resume including publication record, statement of research interests and plans (up to 5 pages), statement of teaching interests and approach (up to 3 pages), and names and complete contact information (including email addresses) of three references. Application materials must be submitted electronically by email as a single file in editable (e.g. not password protected) PDF format to biophysicssearch(a)physics.wustl.edu. For full consideration applications should be submitted on or before November 1, 2015. -- **************************************************** Ralf Wessel, Associate Professor of Physics Washington University in St. Louis http://www.physics.wustl.edu/people/wessel_ralf http://neuroscience.wustl.edu/ ****************************************************

Sept. 18, 2015

Re: [Comp-neuro] PhD Position - Florida International University

by Jorge Riera Diaz

Could you please advertise this PhD position through the NeuroInf-Comp-Neuro mailing list? Thanks in advance! Jorge _____________________________________________ From: Jorge Riera Diaz Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 11:31 AM To: 'comp-neuro-bounces(a)neuroinf.org' Subject: PhD Position - Florida International University PhD Position Neuronal Mass Dynamics lab (https://nmd.fiu.edu/) Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University Description: We are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate to investigate the mechanisms underlying the Cortical Spreading Depression (CSD). CSD is a disorder of the brain characterized by a transient but complete loss of neuronal function and a complete breakdown in ionic homeostasis in affected brain areas. This disturbance spreads at speeds of 2-7mm/min across the brain. Despite efforts, the propagative agent the CSD wave remains controversial. Goal: The goal of the current research project is to develop a solid bridge between a comprehensive computational model and intracranial data (i.e. VSDI, LFP/MUA, LDF, and IOS) obtained from rats during induced-CSD propagation. The computational model, consisting of partial differential equations (PDEs) that describe voltage dynamics, electro-diffusion of ions and osmotic water flow in the central nervous system, as well as the numerical algorithm to integrate it, will be developed in collaboration with Dr. Yoichiro Mori at the University of Minnesota. Obtaining experimental data and developing algorithms for statistical inference on certain model parameters will constitute the core of the PhD thesis. Data from this study will be used to evaluate mechanisms and principles underlying the genesis of the LFPs, as well as the nature of the EEG and MEG current sources. Qualifications: The ideal candidate should have an interdisciplinary research background with experience in computational neuroscience, biophysical modeling and MATLAB programming. Background in experimental neurophysiology is desirable. Candidates with a MSc in Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computational Neuroscience or related field will have preferences. This PhD position is supported by NSF funds. As part of this grant, the PhD student will be able to enjoy Summer Internships at the Department of Mathematics of the University of Minnesota. Position should start on summer 2016. However, there might be chances to expedite the entire recruitment process in order to start PhD-related activities on spring 2016. Stipend: $25,000 Tuition: Waived Don't miss this unique opportunity to perform high quality research surrounded by an excellent tropical environment, with incredible attractions and unexpected wonders in the Miami-Dade County. Extra opportunities are available for those interested in scuba diving and beach-related activities. Please, send your Resume to: Jorge Riera, PhD Associate Professor Dept. Biomedical Engineering Florida International University Miami, FL 33174 Tel: 305 348 4948 Email: jrieradi(a)fiu.edu<mailto:jrieradi@fiu.edu>

Sept. 18, 2015

Neuroinformatician Blog

by Mohammed Iftekhar

Dear All Neuroinformatician I found Neuroinformatician blog <http://neuroinfos.blogspot.in/p/neuroinformatics-tools.html> i.e http://neuroinfos.blogspot.in/p/neuroinformatics-tools.html which share software ,jobs,events,seminars,conferences,videos and many more resources which is use full for all Neuroscience professional scientist.I found this is very much use full for neuroscience group . so I am sharing the link with all neuroscience community .kindly share this blog information and share information from your side through this blog this can be made popular with the neuroscience professional and make neuroscience research success full. Thanks & Regards -- *Mohammed Iftekhar* *M: 07259699189* *E: iftubip(a)gmail.com <iftubip(a)gmail.com>*

Sept. 18, 2015

Academic faculty positions at Imperial College London.

by Simon Schultz

Dear all, There is an open hiring round in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London. I would particularly like to encourage strong applications in translational neurotechnology. New hires would be invited to join the Centre for Neurotechnology (http://www.imperial.ac.uk/neurotechnology) The Centre for Neurotechnology hosts the EPSRC CDT in Neurotechnology for Life and Health (offering at least 12 fully funded 4-year PhD studentships per annum), as well as providing access to state of the art equipment and infrastructure for research at the interface between neuroscience and engineering. Best wishes, Simon Schultz -- Simon R Schultz BSc BE ME(Res) DPhil FIET FRMS Reader in Neurotechnology & Royal Society Industry Fellow Neural Coding Laboratory: http://www.schultzlab.org Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK Director, Imperial College London Centre for Neurotechnology http://www.imperial.ac.uk/neurotechnology Administrator: Dr Kate Hobson, Phone: +44 207 594 5101 ** *Imperial College London*- Department of Bioengineering *Location:* City Of London *Salary:* £46,410 to £57,020 Per annum *Hours:* Full Time *Contract Type:* Permanent *Placed on:* 17th September 2015 *Closes:* 4th December 2015 *Job Ref:* EN20150321FH ** *Lecturer salary range £46,410 to £51,720 per annum* *Senior Lecturer minimum salary £57,020 per annum* Due to rapid growth and the strategic importance of the discipline of bioengineering at Imperial College London, the Department of Bioengineering wishes to appoint up to three new members of academic staff at Lecturer or Senior Lecturer grade. As part of the development of the Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Research Hub <http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/n…>within one of the areas identified for growth. We are looking for candidates in the following fields of translational Bioengineering; .Neural Engineering; .Regenerative Medicine; .Synthetic Biology; .Musculoskeletal Bioengineering; .Cardiovascular Engineering; .Cancer Technology; and .Magnetic Resonance Imaging as applied to any of the areas above. Candidates should have an advanced degree (PhD or equivalent) in an appropriate science or engineering discipline and will have demonstrated an ability to generate and execute research at an internationally-leading level. Experience of teaching at all levels is also required. For an informal discussion please contact the Head of Department, Professor Anthony Bull: email a.bull(a)imperial.ac.uk or telephone 020 7594 5186. Our preferred method of application is online via our website at the following link: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/employment(select "Job Search" and enter the job reference no.*EN20150321FH*). Please complete and upload the application form as directed. *As a requirement please submit up to 2 page documentation specifying your Research Vision Statement. Please identify on application which research area your application applies to.* /Imperial Managers lead by example./ <http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/hr/procedures/support/opportunities/expectations> *Interviews will take place during January 2016* /Committed to equality and valuing diversity. We are also an Athena SWAN Silver Award winner, a Stonewall Diversity Champion, a Two Ticks Employer, and are working in partnership with GIRES to promote respect for trans people/

Sept. 18, 2015

Faculty Positions in Applied Mathematics at Northwestern University

by Hermann Riecke

Northwestern's Department of Engineering Science and Applied Mathematics is seeking to fill two tenure-track faculty positions in Applied Mathematics (starting date Sep 1, 2016). For details, please see http://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/applied-math/job-opportunities.html Hermann Riecke

Sept. 17, 2015

new MATLAB toolbox for Multivariate Transfer Entropy: MuTE

by Alessandro Montalto

Dear all, I am very pleased to announce the availability of my brand new MATLAB toolbox to detect directed dynamical influences among time series. This new open source software implements four entropy estimators in both uniform and non-uniform embedding approaches. MuTE can perform analyses running some or all methods in parallel sessions. The user should only set the parameters related to the kind of analysis and the specific method/s chosen to assess the directed dynamical influences. For further explanations about the methods and how to set MuTE, please visit the website http://mutetoolbox.guru/ where you can also find the link to the paper that describes MuTE and the link to download it at the following address: http://mutetoolbox.guru/downloads/ Subscribe to the newsletter if you want to be kept updated about future updates of MuTE or follow the toolbox improvements through - twitter: https://twitter.com/mutetoolbox - facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mutetoolbox Best regards, Alessandro Montalto

Sept. 16, 2015

NEUROMOD: submission deadline extended (final call)

by Jaime Ibánez Pereda

Apologies for multiple postings ************************************************************ Dear colleagues, After numerous requests, the submission deadline for NEUROMOD'2015 has been extended until "September 25, 2015". Below you can find the details of the Symposium. *CALL FOR PAPERS* “Symposium on Neuromodulation-based Approaches for Neural Rehabilitation -NEUROMOD 2015” (http://www.neurotechnix.org/neuromod.aspx) In conjunction with the Neurotechnix conference, November 16-17, 2015, Lisbon. *IMPORTANT DATES:* Paper Submission: Extended to September 25th, 2015 Authors Notification: October 6, 2015 Camera Ready and Registration: October 13, 2015 *DETAILS:* Neuromodulation is a rapidly-growing field, encompassing the application of targeted electrical/chemical/biological stimuli to the nervous system in order to improve function and quality of life. At present, an increasing number of implantable and non-invasive techniques are being proposed and made available to the clinicians, to stimulate CNS plasticity and foster recovery from motor, neurological and psychiatric disorders. Advancing in the field of neuromodulation represents challenges to build accurate neurophysiological models, understanding mechanisms of neuromodulation at cellular and systems levels, defining optimal engineering methodologies, and developing clinical application to treat patients. This session provides an opportunity for researchers/engineers/clinicians to present and discuss novel neurorehabilitation paradigms based on neuromodulation targeted at the spinal and/or supraspinal level. Top quality papers at NEUROMOD will be eligible for inclusion in the post-congress IOP journal of best papers or even for the best-paper award to be presented at the main congress, NEUROTECHNIX. *SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:*Authors should submit either a complete paper or a two-page abstract. The link to upload your contribution is: http://www.neurotechnix.org/NEUROMOD.aspx. *ORGANIZERS*: Stefano Piazza, Neural Rehabilitation Group, CSIC, Spain Jaime Ibáñez, Neural Rehabilitation Group, CSIC, Spain Julian Taylor, HNP Toledo, Spain and Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research, United Kingdom

Sept. 16, 2015

Job posting - Research Assistant/Data Analyst | Stanford University School of Medicine

by Manish Saggar

[Apologies for cross-posting] The Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR) in the department of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine is seeking a full-time Research Assistant (Non-Clinical) to help with analyzing large-scale neuroimaging (fMRI/NIRS/EEG) and behavioral datasets from both healthy and patient populations. Responsibilities will include:-Developing software/scripts to implement algorithms for data control, data preprocessing/analysis, database management and coordinating data-sharing initiatives-Developing/running machine learning algorithms to better understand high-dimensional datasets-Assisting in analyzing research data using specific fMRI Neuroimaging programs and/or software (e.g., FSL, AFNI). -Helping with designing and developing novel neuroimaging paradigms for data collection-Collecting new neuroimaging/behavioral data Applicants should have:-B.S. (or higher) in electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, computer science, or other related scientific fields-Strong programming skills in Python, Matlab, or similar languages.-Experience with data science related projects-Prior research experience (preferred)-Experience with UNIX Operating systems (e.g., Linux, Mac OSX) and shell scripting (preferred) General Info: -The applicant will work closely with the team of faculty, post-docs, and research coordinators to track project progress, meet deadlines, anticipate project needs and communicate with project collaborators outside of the lab, train and supervise undergraduate students to assist with data processing, and train other staff as needed. -May require extended or unusual work hours based on research requirements and business needs. Salary and Anticipated Start Date: -Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience/educational qualifications. Anticipated Start Date is immediate. Application details: - Please email Manish Saggar (saggar(a)stanford.edu) to apply, please include a CV including the names of 3 references with your inquiry.

Sept. 16, 2015

Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Position in Neurodegeneration

by Sharmila Venugopal

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Postdoctoral Research Position Department of Integrated Biology and Physiology, UCLA A two year Postdoctoral position is available to study the changes in synaptic and membrane properties in brainstem sensory neurons, interneurons and motoneurons in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We use methods that include electrophysiology, pharmacology, molecular biology and computational modeling to understand the mechanisms underlying the disease process. The successful applicant should have a solid background and publication record in using brain slice patch-clamp methodology and be willing to collaborate with an interdisciplinary team. Please send your CV and 1-2 references to: Dr. Sharmila Venugopal (vsharmila(a)g.ucla.edu <https://mail.mednet.ucla.edu/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=Cp9PAbfQ8hjH3yo9m6P6kT5EHJ…>) Department of Integrated Biology and Physiology University of California Los Angeles

Sept. 15, 2015

Research Assistant in Neuro-imaging Technology

by Wong-Lin, Kongfatt

The Functional Brain Mapping (FBM) facility at the Intelligent Systems Research Centre (ISRC), Ulster University, has an available 2-year fixed term Research Assistant in Neuro-imaging Technology post. Duties and responsibilities of the successful postholder will include conducting periodic tests, maintenance of magnetoencephalography (MEG) system, and management of patients while ensuring their safety. S/he will assist with the supervision of health and safety, risk management, and standard operating procedures pertaining to all activities in the FBM facility. Interested applicants are welcomed to apply at: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ALX092/research-assistant-in-neuro-imaging-techno… Please note that the closing date is on the 30th September 2015. All applicants should hold a degree in bio-medical engineering, medical physics, neuroscience, psychology, medicine, biomedical sciences or a closely related discipline, or a higher degree in the same or related subjects. Applicants are expected to be trained in the fundamentals and applications of MEG technology, and have clinical experience in a MEG lab used as part of a neurophysiology clinic. Successful applicants will be based primarily at the FBM facility at the ISRC with opportunities to interact with other related research teams and clinicians. ------ Dr. KongFatt Wong-Lin Intelligent Systems Research Centre, School of Computing and Intelligent Systems, Faculty of Computing and Engineering, Ulster University, UK ________________________________ This email and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee and may contain information which is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager at postmaster(a)ulster.ac.uk and delete this email immediately. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ulster University. The University's computer systems may be monitored and communications carried out on them may be recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes. Ulster University does not guarantee that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or 100% secure. Unless expressly stated in the body of a separate attachment, the text of email is not intended to form a binding contract. Correspondence to and from the University may be subject to requests for disclosure by 3rd parties under relevant legislation. The University of Ulster was founded by Royal Charter in 1984 and is registered with company number RC000726 and VAT registered number GB672390524.The primary contact address for Ulster University in Northern Ireland is Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry BT52 1SA

Sept. 15, 2015

FINAL Call for Papers (EXTENDED deadline till 1 Oct 2015): 7th International Conference on Brain Inspired Cognitive Systems (BICS), 11-13 Dec 2015, Hefei, China

by Dr Amir Hussain

On popular demand, the paper submission DEADLINE has been EXTENDED till 12:00 GMT, 1ST OCTOBER 2015 - for details, see the BICS'2015 (Final) Call for Papers below (with ISI-SCI journal ONLY conference proceedings!) With apologies for any cross-postings, please help circulate this final CFP to friends and colleagues. Thank you in advance. BICS'2015 CFP website: http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/events/bics2015/cfp_e.html (ALL papers accepted (after a rigorous peer-review process) for presentation at the Conference will be published in the leading ISI-SCI indexed Springer journal: Cognitive Computation (http://springer.com/12559) as a multi-part Special Issue! - for more details, see the conference website, and below) Introduction to BICS'2015: The seventh 2015 International Conference on Brain Inspired Cognitive Systems (BICS 2015) will be held on December 11-13, 2015, in Hefei, Anhui, China, as a sequel of BICS 2004 - 2013. The first BICS 2004 was held in Stirling, Scotland, UK and the last BICS 2013 was held in Beijing, China, 9-13 June 2013 (http://www.conference123.org/bics2013/) The aim of BICS 2015 is to provide a high-level international forum for scientists, engineers, and educators to present the state-of-the-art of brain inspired cognitive systems research and applications in diverse fields. The conference will feature plenary lectures given by world renowned scholars, regular sessions with broad coverage, and special sessions focusing on popular and timely topics. Proceedings Information: BICS 2015 will be unique in that there will be no conference proceedings. ALL accepted papers will be published (following a rigorous peer review process) in the leading ISI-SCI indexed Springer journal: Cognitive Computation (http://springer.com/12559) as a multi-part Special Issue. Conference Location The conference will be held in Anhui University in Hefei, China. Hefei, formerly known as Hofei, Luzhou, or Luchow, is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province in Eastern China. Hefei Xinqiao International Airport provides scheduled passenger service to major airports in China and international cities as well. Hefei plays an important role in scientific research in China. It has seven national laboratories, second only to Beijing. We would be delighted to welcome you to Hefei in December. For more details on the venue, including travel information, see: http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/events/bics2015/venue_e.html Important Dates (Final Call for Papers) Full paper submission: EXTENDED TILL 1 October 2015 (1200 GMT) First notification: 31 October 2015 Conference Dates: 11-13 December 2015 Revised/final manuscripts due: 31 December 2015 BICS'2015 Issue Publication Date: early 2016 Paper Submission: All prospective authors are invited to submit full-length papers (10-15 pages maximum) through the online Springer submission system (selecting the BICS2015 Special Issue), with a covering letter indicating the paper is being submitted for BICS'2015 (hhttp://www.editorialmanager.com/cogn/ <http://www.editorialmanager.com/cogn/>) - please indicate the relevant BICS Symposium name (see topics list on the Conference website). The submission of a paper implies that the paper is original and has not been submitted under review or copyright protected elsewhere. The authors of accepted papers will have an opportunity to revise their papers. If the paper is accepted, at least one of the authors listed on the paper (or his/her representative) must attend the conference and present the paper. On behalf of: BICS'2015 General co-Chairs: Professor Amir Hussain (University of Stirling, Scotland, UK) and Professor Bin Luo (Anhui University, China) and BICS'2015 Organizing Committee ( http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/events/bics2015/committee_e.html ) For any enquiries, please email: ahu(a)cs.stir.ac.uk or luobin(a)ahu.edu.cn -- The University is ranked in the QS World Rankings of the top 5% of universities in the world (QS World University Rankings, 2014) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

Sept. 15, 2015

SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS

by Roman Poznanski

SPECIAL ISSUE ON RETINAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING MOTION PERCEPTION IN VERTEBRATES JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE NEUROSCIENCE This call for papers is dedicated to the work of Vaxim Maximov on the general theme of retinal direction selectivity in vertebrates. All papers are welcome that describes neurophysiology and neural modelling of retinal circuitries underlying motion perception. Some suggestions: 1. Can asymmetry be justified based on anatomical studies showing less inhibitory synapses between SAC and DSGC in the null direction? 2. Is endoplasmic reticulum as a source of calcium heterogeneity underlying DS in SAC? 3. Is calcium bias to somatofugal motion due to intrinsic properties of SAC or is calcium bias in centrifugal motion caused by presynaptic delay in glutamate receptor activation induced calcium? 4. Are SACs are connected asymmetrically to DSGCs: those pointing in the null direction deliver inhibition; those pointing in the preferred direction do not? 5. Is intracellular calcium signal and not the membrane potential (voltage) directionally selective? 6. Direction-selective circuitry in the fish visual system – properties of direction selective units in retina and tectum opticum. 7. Properties of direction selective units in accessory optic systems of lower vertebrates. 8. Modeling of receptive fields of retinal detectors underlying motion perception in fish. Some of the contributing papers for the special issue include: 1. Amane Koizumi, Satoru Moritoh and Roman R. Poznanski (2015) Can heterogeneity of intracellular calcium dynamics underlie directional selectivity in starburst amacrine cells? 2. Ehud Pinsky, Opher Donchin and Ronen Segev (2015) Pharmacological study of direction selectivity in the archer fish retina. 3. Ilija Damjanović (2015) Direction-selective units in goldfish retina and tectum opticum – review and new aspects. 4. Elena M. Maximova, Pavel V. Maximov, Ilija Damjanović, Alexey T. Aliper and Vadim V. Maximov (2015) Color properties of the motion detectors projecting to the goldfish tectum: III. Color-opponent interactions in the receptive field. 5. Vladimir A. Bastakov, Elena Kiseleva, Oleg Yu. Orlov (2015) Direction-selective units in the frog’s nucleus of basal optic root. SUBMISSION 30 September 2015 Contact: Dr. Illija Damjanović, damjanov(a)iitp.ru<mailto:damjanov@iitp.ru> ------- Roman R. Poznanski Professor Laboratory of Biological Modeling The Rockefeller University 1230 York Avenue New York, NY 10065-6399 Office: (212) 327-7646 E-mail: rpoznanski(a)rockefeller.edu http://romanpoznanski.blogspot.com and Chief-Editor, Journal of Integrative Neuroscience http://www.worldscinet.com/jin/mkt/editorial.shtml

Sept. 15, 2015

2nd Monash Brain Function Workshop --- Multi-modal approaches to understand brain functions

by Naotsugu Tsuchiya

2nd Monash Brain Function Workshop --- Multi-modal approaches to understand brain functions Date: Dec 14 (Mon) 2015, 8:50 to 17:00 Venue: Monash Biomedical Imaging facility Overview The goal of this workshop is to offer an opportunity for neuroscientists from different backgrounds to interact and exchange ideas. Specifically, we encourage participation of neuroscientists who are interested in understanding neural systems involved in perception and behaviour, and those who combine multiple methodologies, such as electrophysiology, advanced signal processing, computational modelling and cognitive neuroscience. Note that from Tuesday (Dec 15) the SCiNDU workshop will take place in Brisbane; the Monday workshop will end in time to catch flights from Melbourne to Brisbane. Registration: $50 AUD ($25 AUD for students & postdocs or those who are affiliated with ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function) - Deadline for poster abstracts and early registration: To be announced - Registration - [to be opened soon!] Organizers: Nao Tsuchiya, Nic Price, Alex Fornito, Jeroen van Boxtel, Gary Egan (Monash University) Contact: for questions about this event, please contact Nao Tsuchiya ( naotsugu.tsuchiya(a)monash.edu) Keynote Speakers: Peter Dayan (computational neuroscience, - UCL, UK) Zhaoping Li (computational neuroscience, psychophysics - UCL, UK) Speakers: 1. Lucy Palmer (Florey Institute, Neurophysiology) 2. Andrew Zalesky (University of Melbourne, Neuroimaging/Connectome) 3. Masafumi Oizumi (RIKEN BSI, Japan & Monash University, Computational Neuroscience) 4. Peter Bossarts (University of Melbourne, Neuroeconomics) 5. Pascal Molenberghs (Monash University, Social Neuroscience) 6. Jennifer Windt (Monash University, Philosophy/Cognitive Neuroscience) or 7. Maureen Hagan (Monash University, physiology, Neurophysiology) Supported by Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nao (Naotsugu) Tsuchiya, Ph.D. 1. Associate Professor - School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Biomedical and Psychological Sciences, Monash University - Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University 2. ARC Future Fellow homepage: http://users.monash.edu.au/~naotsugt/Tsuchiya_Labs_Homepage

Sept. 15, 2015

SFN 2015 Meeting Workshop: Parallel computing resource

by Ted Carnevale

Find out how to use the Neuroscience Gateway Portal (NSG, http://www.nsgportal.org/) to gain free and easy access to parallel computers for your modeling and data analysis projects. NSG, an NSF-supported resource, already has GENESIS, MOOSE, NEST, NEURON, PyNN, and the Freesurfer software suite already installed and ready for use. The workshop will be held from 9 AM to noon on Saturday, October 17, at a location in downtown Chicago that will be announced to workshop registrants. It will include a hands-on exercise that shows how easy it is to use NSG in your own research. The course agenda is available from http://www.nsgportal.org/workshop.html For more information or to sign up, see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/nsg2015/nsg2015.html or contact Ted Carnevale [ted dot carnevale at yale dot edu] or Amit Majumdar [majumdar at sdsc dot edu]

Sept. 14, 2015

PhD candidate on the development of novel machine learning methods for genetics.

by Bahram YoosefiZonooz

Dear All, I would like to bring to your attention an opening for a Ph.D. candidate position in Machine Learning group led by Prof. dr. H.J. (Bert) Kappen at the Donders institute of the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. For more details: see below, and http://www.ru.nl/donders/jobs/vm/phd-position/ http://www.snn.ru.nl/v2/ SNN Machine Learning group at the Donders institute of the Radboud University, is looking for a PhD candidate for the project titled 'GenoMiX: Utilizing crossbred information to accelerate genetic progress'. The project is implemented jointly with the The Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre of Wageningen UR, and is part of the STW Breed4Food partnership program (www.wageningenur.nl/vacancies-breed4food <http://www.wageningenur.nl/vacancies-breed4food>). The SNN Machine learning group of Prof. Kappen, where the PhD candidate will be hosted, focuses on algorithmic developments in machine learning and Bayesian statistics. See www.snn.ru.nl and *www.snn.ru.nl/~bertk <http://www.snn.ru.nl/~bertk>*. The project is co-supervised by Dr. Kees Albers of the Dept. of Human Genetics, RadboudUMC and Dept. of Molecular Development Biology, also at the Radboud University. The research group of Dr. Kees Albers combines Bayesian statistical modelling with experimental cellular models to identify disease-causing mutations from DNA sequencing data and functional genomics data. *Requirements* Candidates are expected to cooperate in a multidisciplinary team and should be keen on mobility, between the research groups and Breed4Food partners. Good communication skills and fluency in English is expected from all candidates. *Conditions of employment* We offer challenging position in an inspiring multidisciplinary and international environment. You will be part of a research team involving multiple universities. You are expected to spend time at different locations to ensure that you benefit from the partners involved in your project. You will actively engage in meetings organised by the Breed4Food consortium. The proposed start is in the autumn of 2015. As a PhD candidate, you will be offered a fulltime position for 4 years, after which you should have completed your PhD thesis and individual training plan. The salary for a PhD candidate starts at € 2.125,- gross per month in the first year and extends to a maximum of € 2.717,- gross per month in the fourth year (in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities). *Contract type*: Temporary, Onbekend Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from: Prof. Dr Bert Kappen (+31 24 36414241, b.kappen(a)science.ru.nl) or Dr Kees Albers (+31 24 36 67325;kees.albers(a)radboudumc.nl)

Sept. 14, 2015

NEURON course at SFN 2015 meeting

by Ted Carnevale

A few seats remain available for the NEURON course at this year's meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, but you'll have to act quickly because the registration deadline is Friday, Oct. 2. If you're a lab director trying to decide whether to add computational modeling to your research program, a grad student or postdoc who is just getting started in modeling, or an established NEURON user who wants to find out what the latest advances are, this one-day course is for you! It starts with a practical introduction that reviews basic concepts and presents a workflow for building and using models of cells and networks, and moves on to topics that include how to speed up simulations, using Python with NEURON, and modeling reactive diffusion with the RxD class. For more information and the registration form, see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/chi2015/chi2015.html --Ted

Sept. 14, 2015

Re: [Comp-neuro] CFP: German - Japanese Workshop on Adaptive BCIs@Kyoto 2015, 28-29 Oct.

by Shigeyuki Oba

German - Japanese Workshop on Adaptive BCIs@Kyoto 2015, 28-29 Oct. See http://ishiilab.jp/bci/ for detail. Dear colleagues, Upon several requests, we extended the due date for poster presentation for the upcoming Workshop on Adaptive Brain Computer Interfaces. Important dates: Submittion of poster abstract: 1st October, 2015. (EXTENDED) Registration for participants: 1st October, 2015. Workshop: 28th--29th October, 2015. Contact information: Web: http://ishiilab.jp/bci/ E-mail: adaptive-bci-2015[at]googlegroups.com Best Wishes, Klaus-Robert Müller and Shigeyuki Oba ----- Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce the upcoming Workshop on Adaptive BCIs. Since the advent of the technology, Brain-Computer Interfacing (BCI) aims to reliably translate recorded brain signals, e.g., EEG, into control commands for a computer. Although there have been great improvements over the last decades, current BCIs are still scarcely used outside laboratories. One major limitation preventing the prevalence of this promising technology into everyday life of, e.g., patients, is the lack of robustness and reliability. Adaptive BCIs compensate for changes encountered in real-world environments and are robust against nonstationarity (i) induced by external causes such as a change in the experimental environment or artifactual noise sources and (ii) internal causes, namely fluctuations of brain states e.g. slow ones due to fatigue or brisk ones caused by distraction of the subject. Co-adaptivity is an important ingredient of such systems, since in a ever-changing environment, it is not only the machine that needs to adapt to changes in signal statistics, it is also the user who has to adapt his strategies in order to cope with fluctuations in background noise and sensory input. This workshop presents recent developments in the field and aims at providing tools for neuroscientists and practitioners that enable them to go beyond restricted laboratory paradigms and study the brain while the subject is interacting with his/her natural environment. The workshop consists of 13 invited talks and a poster session. The poster session will allow participants to interact and present their own ideas and findings on from theoretical to practical aspects of BCI studies. Confirmed speakers: A. Cichocki (Riken, Japan) S. Fazli (Korea University, Korea) M. Kawanabe (ATR, Japan) P-J. Kindermans (TU Berlin, Germany) K-R. Müller (TU Berlin, Germany) S. Nishimoto (Osaka University, Japan) W. Samek (Fraunhofer HHI, Germany) M. Sugiyama (Univ. of Tokyo, Japan) J. Hirayama (ATR, Japan) R. Fukuma (Osaka University, Japan) J. Fujiki (Fukuoka University, Japan) S. Oba (Kyoto University, Japan) M. Cuturi (Kyoto University, Japan) We are also calling for poster presentations. The title and abstract will be published via Frontiers publishing system. Participation fee is not required. Important dates: Submittion of poster abstract: 1st October, 2015. Registration for participants: 1st October, 2015. Workshop: 28th--29th October, 2015. 2015-09-01 12:47 GMT+09:00 Shigeyuki Oba <oba(a)i.kyoto-u.ac.jp>: > German - Japanese Workshop on Adaptive BCIs@Kyoto 2015, 28-29 Oct. > See http://ishiilab.jp/bci/ for detail. > > > Dear Colleagues, > > We are pleased to announce the upcoming Workshop on Adaptive BCIs. > > > Since the advent of the technology, Brain-Computer Interfacing (BCI) > aims to reliably translate recorded brain signals, e.g., EEG, into > control commands for a computer. Although there have been great > improvements over the last decades, current BCIs are still scarcely > used outside laboratories. One major limitation preventing the > prevalence of this promising technology into everyday life of, e.g., > patients, is the lack of robustness and reliability. > Adaptive BCIs compensate for changes encountered in real-world > environments and are robust against nonstationarity (i) induced by > external causes such as a change in the experimental environment or > artifactual noise sources and (ii) internal causes, namely > fluctuations of brain states e.g. slow ones due to fatigue or brisk > ones caused by distraction of the subject. Co-adaptivity is an > important ingredient of such systems, since in a ever-changing > environment, it is not only the machine that needs to adapt to changes > in signal statistics, it is also the user who has to adapt his > strategies in order to cope with fluctuations in background noise and > sensory input. > This workshop presents recent developments in the field and aims at > providing tools for neuroscientists and practitioners that enable them > to go beyond restricted laboratory paradigms and study the brain while > the subject is interacting with his/her natural environment. > The workshop consists of 13 invited talks and a poster session. The > poster session will allow participants to interact and present their > own ideas and findings on from theoretical to practical aspects of BCI > studies. > > > Confirmed speakers: > A. Cichocki (Riken, Japan) > S. Fazli (Korea University, Korea) > M. Kawanabe (ATR, Japan) > P-J. Kindermans (TU Berlin, Germany) > K-R. Müller (TU Berlin, Germany) > S. Nishimoto (Osaka University, Japan) > W. Samek (Fraunhofer HHI, Germany) > M. Sugiyama (Univ. of Tokyo, Japan) > J. Hirayama (ATR, Japan) > R. Fukuma (Osaka University, Japan) > J. Fujiki (Fukuoka University, Japan) > S. Oba (Kyoto University, Japan) > M. Cuturi (Kyoto University, Japan) > > > We are also calling for poster presentations. The title and abstract > will be published via Frontiers publishing system. > > Participation fee is not required. > > Important dates: > Submittion of poster abstract: 15th September, 2015. > Registration for participants: 1st October, 2015. > > Contact information: > Web: http://ishiilab.jp/bci/ > E-mail: adaptive-bci-2015[at]googlegroups.com > Best Wishes, > > Klaus-Robert Müller and Shigeyuki Oba > > > -- > ----- > Shigeyuki Oba > Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University > oba(a)i.kyoto-u.ac.jp > http://ishiilab.jp/member/oba -- ----- Shigeyuki Oba Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University oba(a)i.kyoto-u.ac.jp http://ishiilab.jp/member/oba

Sept. 14, 2015

Open Postdoc Position in Computational Neuroscience/ Data Analytics

by Prof Sonja Gruen

The Statistical Neuroscience lab of Prof. Sonja Grün at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Computational and Systems Neuroscience (INM-6) and the Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), Research Centre Juelich, invites applications for a postdoctoral positions for research in computational neuroscience / data analytics. The lab works on concepts to understand network processing in the cortex based on models and experimental functional data. The approaches range from development of statistical methods, analysis of electrophysiological data, integration of data into network models, and the development of neuroinformatics tools. The group interacts intensely with other groups in the INM and the Supercomputing Center, but is also pursuing intense collaborations with external, experimental groups that record functional data in relation to complex behavior. The group contributes its expertise in advanced data analysis and neuroinformatics to the European Human Brain Project (HBP). For more details and online application see <http://www.fz-juelich.de/SharedDocs/Stellenangebote/_common/dna/2015-194-EN…>http://www.fz-juelich.de/SharedDocs/Stellenangebote/_common/dna/2015-194-EN…, Reference number: 2015-194 -- Prof. Dr. Sonja Gruen Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6) Computational and Systems Neuroscience Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6) Theoretical Neuroscience Juelich Research Centre and JARA Juelich, Germany and Theoretical Systems Neurobiology RWTH Aachen University Aachen, Germany tel. +49-(0)2461-61-4748 (secr), -9302, -9460 (fax) mob. +49-(0)175-2972436 s.gruen(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:s.gruen@fz-juelich.de> www.csn.fz-juelich.de<http://www.csn.fz-juelich.de> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt, Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sept. 14, 2015

1st CfP: ACHI 2016 || April 24 - 28, 2016 - Venice, Italy

by Cristina Pascual

INVITATION: ================= Please consider to contribute to and/or forward to the appropriate groups the following opportunity to submit and publish original scientific results to: - ACHI 2016, The Ninth International Conference on Advances in Computer-Human Interactions The submission deadline is December 8, 2015. Authors of selected papers will be invited to submit extended article versions to one of the IARIA Journals: http://www.iariajournals.org ================= ============== ACHI 2016 | Call for Papers =============== CALL FOR PAPERS, TUTORIALS, PANELS ACHI 2016, The Ninth International Conference on Advances in Computer-Human Interactions General page: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2016/ACHI16.html Submission page: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2016/SubmitACHI16.html Event schedule: April 24 - 28, 2016 - Venice, Italy 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: December 8, 2015 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 ACHI 2016 Topics (for topics and submission details: see CfP on the site) Call for Papers: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2016/CfPACHI16.html ============================================================ INTER: Interfaces Graphical user interfaces; Intelligent user interfaces; Adaptive user interfaces; Multi-modal user interfaces; Context-based interfaces; Virtual reality and 3D interfaces; Speech and natural language interfaces; Interfaces for collaborative systems; Interfaces for restricted environments; Internationalization and reflections of culture on interface design; Interfaces for disadvantaged users; Interface specification and design; Interface prototyping; Interface testing; Interface evaluation; Interface generators and other tools for developing interfaces; Data visualization; Visualization techniques; Interactive visualization OUI: Organic user interfaces Interface-oriented materials and devices; Physical and digital representation; Sensing and display technologies; Rollable and foldable displays with tactile properties; Skin-based input; Analog input interaction design; Flexible display technologies; Functional-based display forms; Flexible-computing and curve computer interactions; 3D continuous display interfaces HAPTIC: Haptic interfaces Fundamental of haptic interactions; Tangible user interfaces; Bidirectional information flow ; Haptography; Haptic feedback and control; Bodyware (embedded sensors; flexible structures, associative memories, actuation and power systems); Magnetic levitation haptic interfaces; Kinetic motion-based interaction; Kinetic motion and haptic design; Mindware (learning, adaptation, head-hand coordination, bimanual coordination; discovering affordance, interaction and imitation); Language of motion / Gesture annotation; Interfaces with kinetic properties; Sensor actuator design, development and evaluation; Linear haptic display; Fingertip haptic display; Pen based force display; High bandwidth force display; Quality of experience model for haptic interactions; Haptics rendering; SYSTEMS: Interactive systems Highly interactive systems; Intelligent agents and systems; Adaptive systems; Context-aware systems; Multi-user multi-interface systems; Collaborative systems; Computer-supported cooperative work; Distributed information spaces; Communicators and advisory systems; Interaction through wireless communication networks DEVICES: Interaction devices General input and output devices; Virtual reality input and output devices; Interaction devices for immersive environments; Shareable devices and services; Mobile devices and services; Pervasive devices and services; Small displays; Very large displays; Tangible user interfaces; Wearable computing; Interaction devices for disadvantaged users; Interaction devices for computer games DESIGN & EVAL: Interaction & interface design & evaluation Interface metaphors; Interaction styles; Interaction paradigms; Requirements specification methods and tools; Analysis methods and tools; Design methods and tools; Evaluation paradigms; Evaluation methods and tools; Evaluation frameworks; Scenarios; Task analysis; Conceptual design; Physical design; Information architecture; Information design for websites; Guidelines and heuristics; Experience design; Environmental design; Ethnography; Contextual design; Service design; MODELS: Principles, theories, and models Cognitive models; Conceptual models; Mental models; Frameworks for cognition; Model-based design of interactive systems; Formal methods in human-computer interaction USER: User modeling and user focus Usability and user experience goals; User testing; User modeling; User profiling; Predictive models (e.g., for user delay prediction); Human perceptible thresholds; User support systems; Psychological foundations for designing interactive system; Human information processing; Digital human modeling; Engineering psychology; Ergonomics; Hearing and haptics; Affective computing PARADIGMS: Traditional and emerging paradigms Interaction paradigms; Mobile computing; Wearable computing; Location-aware computing; Context-aware computing; Ubiquitous computing; Pervasive computing; Transparent computing; Attentive environments; Virtual reality; Augmented reality and tangible bits; Immersive environments; Human-based computation; Visual languages and environments; End-user programming; Hypermedia advances and applications; New visions of human-computer interaction ACCESS: Usability and universal accessibility Interaction and interface design for people with disabilities; Interaction and interface design for the young and the elderly; Universal access and usability; Usability engineering; Usability testing and evaluation; Usability and internationalization HUM-ROBOTS: Human-robot interaction Fundamentals of human-robot cooperation; Cognitive models of human-robot interaction; Adaptable autonomy and knowledge exchange; Autonomy and trust; Awareness and monitoring of humans; Task allocation and coordination; Human guided robot learning; User evaluations of robot performance; Metrics for human-robot interaction; Long-term interaction robotics; Health and personal care robotics; Social Robotics; Multi-modal human-robot communication; Robot intermediaries; Experiments and applications HUM- AGENTS: Agents and human interaction Principles of agent-to-human interaction; Models for human-agent interaction; Social persuasion in human-agent interaction; Designing for human-agent interaction; Socially intelligent agents and the human in the loop; Agents for human-human interaction; Agent-based human-computer-interaction; Human cooperation and agent-based interaction; Human interaction with autonomous agents Agent-based human-robot interaction; Human and artificial agents emotional interaction SOCIAL: Social aspects of human-computer interaction Societal implications of human-computer interactions; Social computing and software Online communities Weblogs and other community building tools Online support for discovery and creativity; Tool support for discovery and innovation Expressive and attentive interfaces and environments Affective aspects of human-computer interaction Emotional design GAMES: Computer games and gaming Computer game technology; Computer game engineering; Foundations of computer game design and development; Development processes and supporting tools; Management aspects of computer game development; Architectures and frameworks for computer games; Game-based training and simulation; Serious games; Multi-user games; Online games; Online gaming; Game theories; Audio, video and text in digital games; New computer games and case studies; Performance improvements in computer games; Social impact of games and gaming EDUCATION: Human-computer interaction in education and training Interactive systems for education and training; Online and communications support for education and training; Interfaces, interactions and systems for distance education; Software tools for courseware development and delivery; Collaborative systems for teaching, studying and learning; Handheld mobile devices for education and training; Advisory and recommendation systems Techniques and tools for information localization, retrieval & storage; Web annotation systems; Case studies and applications MED APPS: Applications in medicine Interactive systems for medical applications; Interactive systems for telemedicine; Interactive systems for telehealth; Interactive systems for telepathology; Interactive systems for telecardiology; Interactive systems for telesurgery; Interactive personal medical devices; Digital imagery and visualization frameworks; Role of colors and color imaging in medicine; Multidimensional projections with application to medicine; Data mining and image retrieval techniques for medical applications; Imaging interfaces and navigation; Internet imaging localization, retrieval and archiving; Video techniques for medical images; Internet support for remote medicine; Computer-controlled communications for medical applications; Medical informatics; Software and devices for patient monitoring; Interactive software for therapy and recovery TELECONF: Teleconferencing Fundamentals for teleconferencing; Platforms for teleconferencing; Devices for teleconferencing; Videoconferencing, Web Conferencing; Performance in teleconference applications; Real-time aspects in teleconferencing; Privacy and security in teleconference applications; QoS/SLA for teleconferencing applications; Teleconferencing services; Business models for teleconferencing APPLICATIONS: Other domain applications Interactive interfaces and systems for scientific applications; Interactive interfaces and systems for engineering applications; Interactive interfaces and systems for business applications; Interactive interfaces and systems for activities in arts & humanities; Interactive interfaces and systems for scientific research; Other applications of interactive interfaces and systems ------------------------ ACHI 2016 Committee: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2016/ComACHI16.html =================

Sept. 11, 2015

Phd Student Neuroinformatics

by Sharon Crook

A PhD Research Assistantship is available in the Laboratory for Computational Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics with Dr. Sharon Crook and Dr. Rick Gerkin at Arizona State University. We seek a student interested in research on reproducible computational neuroscience. Through the Arizona State University Interdisciplinary PhD in Neuroscience (https://neuroscience.asu.edu) this student will help develop tools to encode, exchange and validate neuron and circuit models against experimental data in collaboration with an international team of researchers working in this area. Experience with Python programming and version control systems is desired. Contact Dr. Sharon Crook at sharon.crook(a)asu.edu for more information about how to apply. Sharon Crook Associate Professor of Mathematics, Statistics and Life Sciences Arizona State University Vice President, Organization for Computational Neuroscience http://neuroml.org

Sept. 10, 2015

Research Associate in Computational Neuroimaging and Data Analytics

by Wong-Lin, Kongfatt

Applications are invited for the following post: Research Associate at the University of Ulster A major aim of this one-year research project is to make use of a combination of computational neuroimaging, data analytics and cloud/high-performance computing to analyse heterogeneous data, extract patterns and predict dementia. The types of data include brain imaging, biological, medical and lifestyle datasets. This timely, exciting and high-impact project is available in Ulster University's Computer Science Research Institute and is tenable in the Faculty of Computing and Engineering at the Magee campus. The project is in collaboration with Queen's University Belfast, the Clinical Translational Research and Innovation Centre (C-TRIC), and two computing/tech companies. The successful applicant will utilize knowledge in computational neuroscience/neuroimaging, data analytics, mathematical/statistical modelling and cloud/high-performance computing in the research. The postholder will join a growing multidisciplinary research team, embedded within a wider health analytics network, and will benefit from the expertise of Ulster's computational neuroscience/neuroimaging and intelligence and data analytics. Our Ulster's Intelligent Systems Research Centre has recently upgraded its computing facilities to enable state-of-the-art data analytics research. The postholder will be trained with a unique and highly sought set of skills that combine brain imaging analysis with data analytics. S/he will have the opportunity to interact with other biomedical/translational/clinical researchers in the team, and learn about advanced software development, knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship. In particular, the postholder will interact regularly with the Northern Ireland Integrated Health Analytics Centre. All applicants should hold or about to obtain a Ph.D. degree in Computing, Engineering, Computational Neuroscience, Computational Sciences, Neuroscience, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, or a related discipline. Applicants must be highly motivated and willing to pursue research and develop skills and knowledge across disciplines. The application process for the post is opened with a closing date for applications on the 30th September 2015, and interviews will be held shortly after. The successful applicant is expected to start sometime in October 2015. Further details can be found at: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ALX095/research-associate-in-health-analytics/ We prefer to issue and receive applications via our on-line recruitment website at www.ulster.ac.uk/jobs If you wish to discuss further regarding this post or the research project, please contact: Dr. KongFatt Wong-Lin, tel: +44 028 7167 5320, e-mail: k.wong-lin(a)ulster.ac.uk ________________________________ This email and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee and may contain information which is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager at postmaster(a)ulster.ac.uk and delete this email immediately. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ulster University. The University's computer systems may be monitored and communications carried out on them may be recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes. Ulster University does not guarantee that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or 100% secure. Unless expressly stated in the body of a separate attachment, the text of email is not intended to form a binding contract. Correspondence to and from the University may be subject to requests for disclosure by 3rd parties under relevant legislation. The University of Ulster was founded by Royal Charter in 1984 and is registered with company number RC000726 and VAT registered number GB672390524.The primary contact address for Ulster University in Northern Ireland is Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry BT52 1SA

Sept. 10, 2015

Postdoctoral position in analyzing and modeling dendritic morphology and growth

by Erik De Schutter

A postdoctoral researcher or staff scientist position is available in the Computational Neuroscience Unit <https://groups.oist.jp/cnu> of Prof. Erik De Schutter at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University <http://www.oist.jp/>, Japan. We are looking for a postdoc with a (computational) neuroscience background to study the morphology and growth of neuronal dendrites in the olivocerebellar system. We investigate this from the perspective of neuron populations and consider the relations between neighboring dendrites explicitly (Context-aware modeling of neuronal morphologies <http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnana.2014.00092/abstract>). Depending on experience and interest the focus of the research can be analysis of in vivo and EM data and/or modeling the growth of forests of dendrites. You will collaborate with scientists at OIST and abroad in addition to the daily interaction with other researchers and students in the lab who are working on cerebellar modeling projects, analyzing cerebellar recordings or developing software. We offer attractive financial and working conditions in an English language graduate university that emphasizes interdisciplinary research, located on the beautiful subtropical island of Okinawa. Send curriculum vitae, a summary of research interests and experience, and the names of three referees to Prof. Erik De Schutter at erik(a)oist.jp Prof. Erik De Schutter Computational Neuroscience Unit Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-Son Okinawa 904-0495 JAPAN phone: +81-98-966-8727 fax: +81-98-966-8718 erik(a)oist.jp http://groups.oist.jp/cnu

Sept. 10, 2015

Postdoctoral Scholar Position in the Neuromorphic Machine Intelligence Lab, UC Irvine

by Emre Neftci

A Postdoctoral Scholar position is available, contingent upon funding, in the field of Neuromorphic Engineering and Machine Learning within the Department of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. The research involves developing spiking neural network models of neural sampling and on-line learning for digital neuromorphic hardware. The applicant will work closely with neuromorphic engineers and computational neuroscientists. The applicant will be involved in various aspects of research involving neural modeling, machine learning, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. Requirements - The candidate must have a Ph.D. in Cognitive Sciences, Physics, Neuroscience, Computer Science, or Engineering and expertise in computational neuroscience and/or machine learning with strong programming skills. The candidate should have a working knowledge of spiking neural networks, synaptic plasticity and other neurobiological learning rules. Knowledge with the C/C++ and the CUDA programming environment on Linux and Windows systems is desirable and experience in deep learning is a plus. This position is full-time and includes benefits. Salary is commensurate with experience. Application Procedure - Please submit a letter of interest, CV, and the names of two-three references at: https://recruit.ap.uci.edu/apply/JPF03105 The University of California, Irvine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer advancing inclusive excellence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination policy. Learn More: More information about this recruitment: http://www.cogsci.uci.edu/employment.php Requirements: - Documents: - Cover Letter (Optional) - Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V. - References: - 2-5 references required (contact information only) -- Emre Neftci, PhD (ETH Zurich), Assistant Professor, Neuromorphic Machine Intelligence Lab (http://nmi-lab.org/) Department of Cognitive Sciences, 2308 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway Building, UC Irvine 92697-5100

Sept. 10, 2015

Faculty Positions in Theory and the Biological Sciences at the Graduate Center

by Asohan Amarasingham

Dear Colleagues, Please make note of the following faculty search for theorists working in biology, at the CUNY Graduate Center. Best regards, Asohan Amarasingham Biology Program and Initiative for the Theoretical Sciences The Graduate Center, City University of New York http://gc.cuny.edu/biology and http://www.gc.cuny.edu/Page-Elements/Academics-Research-Centers-Initiatives… The Graduate Center of the City University of New York has launched an Initiative for the Theoretical Sciences (ITS), with the goal of building a multidisciplinary community of faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students, and visitors, all united by their interest in the mathematical description of nature. In the current academic year, we are searching for faculty members whose research interests are focused on the phenomena of life, but whose methods and style are grounded in the traditions of theoretical physics and applied mathematics. Applications will be considered across the full range of biological topics, from the dynamics of single molecules to the behavior of animal groups; we are especially interested in candidates whose interests transcend historical boundaries among the subfields of biology. Appointments will be made through the PhD program in Biology, with affiliations to other doctoral Programs possible (e.g. Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science), as appropriate. Positions are available at all academic ranks, although it is the preference of the Graduate Center to make appointments with tenure (Associate Professor and above). Applicants are expected to demonstrate an outstanding record of independent research accomplishment and creativity, as well as an interest in mentoring and community building. In particular, faculty recruited in this search will play a crucial role in the further development of ITS, across the full range of intellectual opportunities for theory in the natural sciences. Applicants should submit CV, a research statement, and three reference letters to Prof. Laurel A. Eckhardt, Search Chair, through the City University Employment online portal (cuny.jobs), and entering the Job ID “13244” under “What.” CUNY is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from groups underrepresented in the scientific community.

Sept. 9, 2015

Postdoctoral position in Computational/Mathematical Neuroscience at the Toronto Western Research Institute/UHN

by Jeremie Lefebvre

Dear colleagues, The recently established computational neuroscience and non-linear dynamics research group at the Toronto Western Research Institute, headed by Jérémie Lefebvre, has an opening for a postdoctoral fellowship, focusing on the behavior of driven cortical networks, neural oscillations and the dynamics of neurological disorders. More information about the lab can be found here<https://sites.google.com/site/lefebvresynclab/> and here<http://www.uhnres.utoronto.ca/researchers/profile.php?lookup=63509>. Applicants must possess, or be close to submitting, a PhD in Physics/Applied Mathematics/Engineering/Neuroscience with an academic record of scientific excellence, research expertise and demonstrating strong interest in computational neuroscience and mathematical biology. Strong skills in computer programming (C, Matlab, Python,etc), modeling and data analysis are expected. Knowledge in neuroscience, imaging, signal processing and and/or dynamical systems would be also be seen as assets. The initial appointment is for 12 months, renewable for another year, and potentially longer depending on funding. Salary is competitive, and the start date is negotiable. The lab is set in the Krembil Discovery Tower, a state-of-the-art research and clinical center built in 2013, and located next to the Toronto Western Hospital and affiliated to the University Health Network, a hub of clinical and research facilities located in the heart of Toronto, Canada. The UHN is Canada's largest research hospital and has a proud history of innovative research and important discoveries. As such, successful candidates will be immersed in a highly interdisciplinary environment that stimulates the synergy between computational, experimental and clinical approaches. Close collaboration with the University of Toronto (notably via the Department of Mathematics) further enhances the range of research/collaboration prospects. To learn more about research at UHN, please click here<http://www.uhn.ca/Research>. Applications packages, consisting of: 1. one letter of motivation, 2. a one page statement of research interests, 3. an up-to-date CV with publications and finally 4. The contact information for two letters of references (to be solicited at a later stage) should be uploaded directly on the UHN recruitment portal (see below). It is mandatory that all applications go through the UHN submission system. Deadline is October 1st, 2015. Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview. UHN posting and application link<https://www.recruitingsite.com/csbsites/uhncareers/JobDescription.asp?SiteI…> (Job Posting #762714) Regards, Jeremie Lefebvre

Sept. 9, 2015

Postdoctoral Position in Computational and Systems Neuroscience

by Escabi, Monty

Dear Colleagues We have a postdoctoral postion available in computational and systems neuroscience. Details of the position can be found at http://escabilab.uconn.edu/2015/08/13/postdoctoral-position-in-computationa… and are also posted below. Please share this information with anyone who may be interested. Thanks very much! Monty _\\|//_ (' O-O ') ---------------------------ooO-(_)-Ooo-------------- Monty A. Escabi, Ph.D. Associate Professor University of Connecticut Electrical & Computer Engineering Biomedical Engineering 371 Fairfield Way, Unit 4157 Storrs, CT 06269-4157 ---------------------------------------------------------- Postdoctoral Position in Computational and Systems Neuroscience Position: The Physiological Acoustics Lab (http://escabilab.uconn.edu) at the University of Connecituct seeks applicants for a postdoctoral position in systems and computational neuroscience. We are seeking applicants that can lead a project on coding of natural sound statistics in the auditory midbrain and cortex of awake animals. The primary appointment will be in Biomedical Engineering, but the work will be conducted in collaboration with Psychology department (Statistical Neuroscience Lab, http://stevenson.lab.uconn.edu; Sensory Perception and Neuroscience Lab, http://read.lab.uconn.edu) and Electrical and Computer Engineering. Qualifications: A PhD in Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computational Neuroscience or related field is required. The ideal candidate will have an interdisciplinary research background in computational and systems neuroscience with prior research experience in awake animal neurophysiology. A strong computational background in neural data analysis is desirable, particularly modeling complex neural systems and analyzing datasets from large-scale multi-channel neural recordings. Background in acoustic signal processing, sound recognition, and machine learning are also desirable. Appointment: The position is funded through an R01 and is available immediately. Salaries follow NIH post-doctoral scale and are based on experience. Applicants should email “escabi at engr dot uconn dot edu” a single PDF file containing: 1) a resume including past research experience and published work 2) a one page statement of prior research experience 3) a one page statement of future research interests and objectives 4) the names of at least two individuals who can provide reference letters.

Sept. 9, 2015

COSYNE 2016: Meeting Announcement and Call for Abstracts

by Tomas Hromadka

==================================================== Computational and Systems Neuroscience 2016 (Cosyne) MAIN MEETING Feb 25 - Feb 28, 2016 Salt Lake City, Utah WORKSHOPS Feb 29 - Mar 01, 2016 Snowbird Ski Resort, Utah www.cosyne.org ==================================================== 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 are 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. Cosyne topics include but are not limited to: 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. IMPORTANT DATES: Abstract submission opens: 05 October 2015 Abstract submission deadline: 13 November 2015 CONFIRMED SPEAKERS: Blaise Aguera y Arcas (Google) Marisa Carrasco (NYU) Edward Chang (UCSF) Greg DeAngelis (Rochester) Mark Goldman (UC Davis) Richard Mooney (Duke) Mala Murthy (Princeton) Peggy Series (Edinburgh) Reza Shadmehr (Johns Hopkins) Paul Smolensky (Johns Hopkins) Leslie Vosshall (Rockefeller) When preparing an abstract, authors should be aware that not all abstracts can be accepted for the meeting, due to space constraints. Abstracts will be selected based on the clarity with which they convey the substance, significance, and originality of the work to be presented. ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: General Chairs: Maria Geffen (U Penn) and Konrad Körding (Northwestern) Program Chairs: Megan Carey (Champalimaud) and Emilio Salinas (Wake Forest) Workshop Chairs: Claudia Clopath (Imperial College) and Alfonso Renart (Champalimaud) Publicity Chair: Xaq Pitkow (Rice) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Anne Churchland (CSHL) Zachary Mainen (Champalimaud) Alexandre Pouget (U Geneva) Anthony Zador (CSHL) CONTACT cosyne.meeting [at] gmail.com

Sept. 9, 2015

Postdoc positions in modeling stochastic spiking neural networks in São Paulo State, Brazil

by Antonio C. Roque

The Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics (NeuroMat, http://neuromat.numec.prp.usp.br/ ), hosted by the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and funded by FAPESP (Sao Paulo Research Foundation, http://www.fapesp.br/en/) is offering several postdoctoral fellowships for recent PhDs with outstanding research potential. The research will involve collaborations with mathematicians, computer scientists, physicists and neuroscientists associated to NeuroMat. We seek candidates capable to develop independent research in mathematical and/or computational modeling of stochastic spiking neural networks. Candidates are required to have at least one of the profiles below: - A strong background in probability theory with emphasis on stochastic processes or alternatively in statistics with emphasis on statistical model selection. Previous knowledge of rigorous statistical mechanics, random graphs or stochastic modeling in biosciences will be favorably considered. - A strong mathematical and/or computational background and experience with computers and programming. Previous experience with development and/or simulation of neural brain models, complex networks and parallel computing will be favorably considered. The initial appointment is for two years, with a possible extension to up to four years, conditional on research progress. Salary is competitive at international level, and fellows benefit from extra funds for travel and research expenses plus limited support for relocation expenses. Application instructions Applicants should complete and submit the application form at http://neuromat.numec.prp.usp.br/postdoc-form. The following documents and information are requested (please see the form for further details): - Summary of the Curriculum vitae. Please follow the FAPESP format; see www.fapesp.br/en/6351 for instructions. - List of publications, with links to those available online. - Pointers to other research related output, such as software, web pages, and so forth. Candidates should be willing to send copies of publications, if requested. - A summary of your research plan for the next 2 years, up to 5 pages length. It should explicitly address its place in the framework of the NeuroMat mission and research program ( http://neuromat.numec.prp.usp.br/scientific_project) - Any further information deemed relevant to the application. In addition to the above, we require at least 2 recommendation letters. Those should be mailed by the recommenders directly to postdoc-appl(a)numec.prp.usp.br. Candidates are encouraged to apply at their earliest convenience. Two independent evaluation rounds are planned: 1. On October 12, 2015. 2. On November 16, 2015. Appointments are expected to be effective within 2 to 6 months after evaluation date. Remark Approved candidates will be requested to expand their five-page research plan to a full two-year proposal. For the implementation of the fellowships, those proposals, together with all the application material received, will be submitted to FAPESP for final approval. -- Dr. Antonio C. Roque Professor Associado Departamento de Fisica FFCLRP, Universidade de Sao Paulo 14040-901 Ribeirao Preto-SP Brazil - Brasil E-mails: antonior(a)ffclrp.usp.br aroquesilva(a)gmail.com URL: www.sisne.org Tels: +55 16 3315-3768 (sala/office); +55 16 3315-3859 (lab) FAX: +55 16 3315-4887

Sept. 9, 2015

Early Bird Registration Ends Today!!

by neuro girl

Dear Colleagues, Just a reminder that early birds registration ends today!Registration includes breakfast, coffee breaks and lunch. Please note: registration will be limited to encourage open discussion. The Brain States: Characterization and Neuromodulation by DBS will take place on November 11-13, 2015 in Cologne, Germany. This is an interdisciplinary meeting with leading experts in academia and medicine who will present physiological, computational and clinical approaches to the brain dynamics and brain mechanics of complex functional networks in the brain. Transformations of the neurodynamic operations of the brain between the normal to the pathological state will be explored using multivariate data analysis (EEG, MEG, DBS, etc…). Special attention will be given to next-generation approaches which allow the collaboration of clinical practice and science to advance the field from principles of organization to the causal control of function. Brain States: Characterization and Neuromodulation by DBS November 11-13, 2015 Cologne, Germany http://bit.ly/1JVElkf https://dbs.veomed.net/. Confirmed Speakers:Hagai Bergman (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Peter Brown (University of Oxford) Stephan Chabardes (University Hospital Grenoble) Alain Destexhe (CNRS) Emad N. Eskandar (Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School) John J. Foxe (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) Marc Goodfellow (University of Exeter) Anthony A. Grace (University of Pittsburgh) Rowshanak Hashemiyoon (University Hospital of Cologne) Jens Haueisen (Technische Universität Ilmenau) Viktor Jirsa (Aix-Marseille Université /CNRS) Jens Kuhn (University Hospital Cologne) Fernando Lopes da Silva (University of Amsterdam) Andres Lozano (University of Toronto) Cameron McIntyre (Case Western Reserve University) Christoph M. Michel (University of Geneva) Urs Ribary (Simon Fraser University) Günter Schiepek (Paracelsus Medical University) Wolf Singer (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research) Dimitri van de Ville (University of Geneva) Veerle Visser-Vandewalle (University Hospital of Cologne) Jürgen Voges (Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg) Looking forward to seeing you in Cologne! With kind regards, Row Hashemiyoon Rowshanak Hashemiyoon, PhD Chief, Behavioral Neurophysiology and Computational Neuroscience Klinik für Stereotaxie und Funktionelle Neurochirurgie Universitätsklinikum Köln Kerpener Str. 62 D - 50937 Köln Email: row.hashemiyoon(a)uk-koeln.de http://www.uk-koeln.de/de/stereotaxie

Sept. 9, 2015

SCiNDU abstract deadline Oct 16th

by Geoffrey Goodhill

SCiNDU: SYSTEMS AND COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE DOWN UNDER qbi.uq.edu.au/scindu<http://qbi.uq.edu.au/scindu> December 15-17th, 2015, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Deadline for abstracts and early registration is Oct 16th 2015. Early bird registration fees: AU$250 (Full), AU$125 (Student). Accommodation is available if required in a residential college at the University of Queensland for AU$85/night. This conference will bring together international leaders in understanding the computational principles underlying how neural circuits decode sensory information, make decisions, and learn from experience. Abstract submissions for poster presentation are welcome. Some abstracts will be selected for short talks. Confirmed speakers include: Ehsan Arabzadeh (ANU) Mark Bear (MIT) Michael Breakspear (QIMR) Allen Cheung (QBI) Yang Dan (UC Berkeley) Peter Dayan (UCL) Geoffrey Goodhill (QBI) Zach Mainen (Champalimaud) Jason Mattingley (QBI) Linda Richards (QBI) Peter Robinson (Sydney) Marcello Rosa (Monash) Pankaj Sah (QBI) Mandyam Srinivasan (QBI) Greg Stuart (ANU) Stephen Williams (QBI) Li Zhaoping (UCL) The conference will commence mid-afternoon on Dec 15th and finish at 4pm on Dec 17th. On Dec 15th at 10am the main conference will be preceded by a choice of 3-hour tutorials (tutorial registration AU$50): Mark Bear: Experience-dependent synaptic plasticity Peter Dayan: Neural reinforcement learning Jason Mattingley: Brain stimulation, attention and plasticity Li Zhaoping: Vision, efficient coding and salience We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Queensland Brain Institute and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function. Professor Geoffrey J Goodhill Queensland Brain Institute and School of Mathematics & Physics University of Queensland St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia Email: g.goodhill(a)uq.edu.au<mailto:g.goodhill@uq.edu.au> http://www.qbi.uq.edu.au/professor-geoffrey-goodhill

Sept. 9, 2015

Postdoc positions in Computational Neuroscience/Psychiatry

by Murray, John

The lab of Dr. John Murray at Yale University (http://murraylab.yale.edu) invites applications for postdoctoral positions for research in computational neuroscience. Successful candidates are expected to play an active and independent role in one of our research areas. Our work focuses on understanding the mechanisms of neural dynamics and cognitive function. We also apply computational insights from models to advance the study of brain disorders such as schizophrenia, in a framework for Computational Psychiatry. Our group leverages theoretical and computational modeling of neural circuits, as well as analysis of neural data. We emphasize close collaboration with experimental laboratories using a variety of techniques. Lab members will benefit from the rich intellectual environment at Yale, with exposure to cutting-edge experimental neuroscience and quantitative approaches to biology, through venues such as the Swartz Program in Theoretical Neurobiology<https://medicine.yale.edu/neurobiology/swartz/>. Potential research topics include: — Cortical microcircuitry supporting cognitive computations, e.g. roles of interneurons — Dynamics and structure-function relationships in large-scale brain networks — Neural circuit dysfunction in psychiatric disorders — Neural data analysis, ranging from single-neuron recordings to human neuroimaging, in close collaboration with experimentalists Candidates with a Ph.D. in neuroscience or physical sciences, and with a strong background and interest in quantitative approaches to neurobiology or psychiatry, are especially encouraged to apply. Please email Dr. Murray (john.murray(a)yale.edu<mailto:john.murray@yale.edu>) with the following: (1) a CV, (2) a brief (less than 1 page) statement of research interests and how they may fit with those of the lab, and (3) contact information (email and phone) for three references. Informal inquiries are welcome. John D. Murray ----------------------------------------------- Assistant Professor Department of Psychiatry Yale University School of Medicine murraylab.yale.edu<http://murraylab.yale.edu> -----------------------------------------------

Sept. 8, 2015

Fwd: [CN-CR] lecturer position in computational neuroscience, at CNCR, Uni Bham, UK

by Chris Miall

Please see link below for 1-year teaching opportunity. Chris Miall Sent from my iPad > > we have an open teaching-focused lecturer position in computational neuroscience and modelling. > We would be very grateful if you could forward the link to potentially interested candidates at this and other institutions. > > https://atsv7.wcn.co.uk/search_engine/jobs.cgi?amNvZGU9MTQ4ODU2OSZ2dF90ZW1w… > > Many thanks and Best wishes > Uta > > > _______________________________________________ > cn-cr mailing list > cn-cr(a)cs.bham.ac.uk > https://mailman.cs.bham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/cn-cr

Sept. 8, 2015

Recruiting Postdocs in Theoretical / Computational Neuroscience

by Zylberberg, Joel L

Hi All, Several postdoctoral positions in theoretical/computational neuroscience are available in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics (PBio) at the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus, located in Aurora Colorado. The successful candidate(s) will work under the supervision of Dr. Joel Zylberberg to understand how the brain functions so robustly, despite the high levels of variability in the activities of its component neurons. This work will involve the development of mathematical /computational models of neural computation and/or neural communication that can be tested using experimental data. The PBio department has strengths in olfaction, audition, decision-making, motor control, cardiac pacemaking, and development, providing a rich scientific environment. Dr. Zylberberg also has on-going collaborations with retinal and hippocampal physiologists, providing additional opportunities for theory-experiment interaction. Requirements: Applicants should have (or soon be completing) a Ph.D. in either neuroscience, or in a quantitative discipline like applied mathematics, physics, computer science, electrical engineering, etc. The ideal candidate is a highly motivated problem solver with strong programming skills, previous experience in theoretical / computational neuroscience, and a deep desire to understand the principles underlying the functioning of the nervous system. Excellent communication skills are a must. Applicants should email Dr. Zylberberg (joel(dot)zylberberg(at)ucdenver.edu) with the following (please provide these in .pdf format): 1. C.V. including a list of publications, research experience, and education 2. A 1-2 page summary of previous research accomplishments 3. A 1-2 page description of future research goals and interests 4. Names and contact information for 2-3 people who can provide letters of reference Applications will be reviewed as they arrive. For more information about the PBio department, please visit our website at medschool.ucdenver.edu/physiology. __ Joel Zylberberg Assistant Professor Department of Physiology and Biophysics University of Colorado School of Medicine Aurora, CO ~the neuroscience is theoretical, but the fun is real

Sept. 8, 2015

Researcher Position, Machine Learning for User Modelling and HRI, Personal Robotics Lab, Imperial College London

by Demiris, Yiannis

Dear colleagues, a research position (either at PhD-candidate or postdoctoral levels) in machine learning for user-modelling and human-robot Interaction are available at the Personal Robotics Laboratory of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London. Successful applicants will work under the supervision of Dr Yiannis Demiris (www.demiris.info<http://www.demiris.info/>) in the context of the new EU H2020 project PAL (Personal Assistants for healthy Lifestyle, 2015-2019), which aims to develop personalised robotic systems and avatars to assist diabetic (T1DM) children and their caregivers. The PAL position are available from 1st of October 2015 until the end of the project at the end of Feb 2019 subject to renewal. Applicants should have an excellent background in mathematics, machine learning and software engineering, and should be committed to applying their research to real systems interacting with people in challenging environments. The positions offer an excellent working environment in one of the world's top research universities, in one of the most exciting cities in the world. The Department of Electrical and Electrical Engineering at Imperial was ranked as the top EE department in the UK in the recent REF 2014, while its Personal Robotics Laboratory offers an energetic, friendly intellectual environment with state of the art facilities http://www.imperial.ac.uk/PersonalRobotics For further information and links to application material: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/personalrobotics/join_us With best wishes, Yiannis ---- Dr Yiannis Demiris, FIET, FBCS, FRSS Reader (Associate Professor) in Personal Robotics, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Rm 1014, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2BT, UK Tel: +44-(0)2075946300, Fax: +44-(0)2075946274 http://www.iis.ee.ic.ac.uk/yiannis Lab: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/PersonalRobotics

Sept. 8, 2015

Workshop announcement: Supercomputing for Neuroscientists (Juelich, 3.11.2015)

by Abigail Morrison

Supercomputing for Neuroscientists - How High-Performance Computing can help your neuroscience projects Date: 3 November 2015 Venue: Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany Registration deadline: 25 October 2015 This workshop aims at bringing neuroscientists interested in using HPC technology for their projects together with experts from the Jülich Supercomputing Centre’s Simulation Laboratory Neuroscience<www.fz-juelich.de:ias:jsc:slns> whose main goal is to bridge the gap between Computational Neuroscience and HPC. The workshop is primarily intended for PIs whose affiliation is in Germany and who may therefore apply for computing time on the Jülich supercomputers through the national GCS and NIC calls<http://www.fz-juelich.de/ias/jsc/EN/Expertise/Supercomputers/ComputingTime/…>, it will also touch on how European supercomputing resources, including those of Jülich, may be accessed by PIs from outside of Germany through the European PRACE access schemes<http://www.prace-ri.eu/hpc-access>. For detailed information on the workshop and registration, please visit: www.fz-juelich.de/ias/jsc/scn<www.fz-juelich.de:ias:jsc:scn> Organizer: SimLab Neuroscience (slns(a)fz-juelich.de) -- Prof. Dr. Abigail Morrison Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6) Functional Neural Circuits Group Jülich Research Center http://www.fz-juelich.de/inm/inm-6/ Office: +49 2461 61-9805 Fax # : +49 2461 61-9460 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt, Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sept. 7, 2015

Postdoc positions (Wolpert lab, University of Cambridge)

by Daniel Wolpert

A Postdoc position is available in the Computational and Biological Learning Group, University of Cambridge to work on theoretical and/or experimental approaches to human sensorimotor control. The project is led by Professor Daniel Wolpert and involves investigating the processes involved in sensorimotor decision-making, learning, integration and control. Further details on http://www.wolpertlab.com <http://www.wolpertlab.com/> Closing date Sept 23rd

Sept. 7, 2015

CFP: MLINI 2015 - 5th NIPS Workshop on Machine Learning and Interpretation in Neuroimaging: Beyond the Scanner (corrected version)

by Irina Rish

Call for Papers MLINI 2015 - 5th NIPS Workshop on Machine Learning and Interpretation in Neuroimaging: Beyond the Scanner https://sites.google.com/site/mliniworkshop2015/ December 11-12, 2015, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Submission deadline: Monday, October 12th, 2015 Workshop Overview: ----------------------- MLINI workshop focuses on machine learning approaches in neuroscience, neuroimaging, with an extension to behavioral experiments and psychology. This year, our focus is specifically on "Going Beyond the Scanner", which includes making inferences about mental states of a subject from ''cheaper'' (as opposed to fMRI) behavioral data such as subject's speech and/or text, audio, video, EEG and signals collected from various wearable devices. We believe that machine learning has a prominent role in shaping how questions in neuroscience are framed, and that the machine-learning mind set is now entering modern psychology and behavioral studies. It is also equally important that practical applications in these fields motivate a rapidly evolving line or research in the machine learning community. In parallel, there is an intense interest in learning more about brain function in the context of rich naturalistic environments and scenes. Efforts to go beyond highly specific paradigms that pinpoint a single function, towards schemes for measuring the interaction with natural and more varied scene are made. In this context, many controversies and open questions exist. The goal of the workshop is to pinpoint the most pressing issues and common challenges across the fields, and to sketch future directions and open questions in the light of novel methodology. The proposed workshop is aimed at offering a forum that joins machine learning, neuroscience, and psychology community, and should facilitate formulating and discussing the issues at their interface. Motivated by the previous workshops in this series, MLINI ‘11, MLINI’12, and MLINI’13, we will center this workshop around invited talks and a panel discussion. Triggered by the discussions, this year we plan to adapt the workshop topics to a less traditional scope neuroimaging scope and investigate the role of behavioral models and psychology, including topics such as psycholinguistics. Open questions and possible topics for contribution include, but are not limited to, the following: - How can we move towards more naturalistic stimuli, tasks and paradigms in neuroimaging and neuro-signal analysis? - What kind of mental states can be inferred from cheaper and easier to collect data sources (as an alternative to fMRI), such as text, speech, audio, video, EEG, and wearable devices? - How can we leave the lab when acquiring neuroimaging data, towards exploiting mobile acquisition (EEG and NIRS)? - What type of features should be extracted from naturalistic stimuli such as text, voice, etc., to detect specific mental states and/or mental disorders? - How can we combine traditional neuroimaging with naturalistic data collected from a subject or group of subjects? - In general, can we characterize situations when multivariate predictive analysis (MVPA) and inference methods are better suited for brain imaging analysis than more traditional techniques? - Given recent advances of deep learning in image analysis and other applications, a natural question to ask is whether neuroimaging analysis can benefit from such approaches? - How well can functional networks and dynamical models capture the brain activity, and when using network and dynamics information is superior to standard task-based brain activations? Workshop Format: -------------------------- In this two-day workshop we will explore perspectives and novel methodology at the interface of Machine Learning, Inference, Neuroimaging and Neuroscience. We aim to bring researchers from machine learning and neuroscience community together, in order to discuss open questions, identify the core points for a number of the controversial issues, and eventually propose approaches to solving those issues. Each session will be opened by several invited talks, and an in depth discussion. This will be followed by original contributions. Original contributions will also be presented and discussed during a poster session. The workshop will end with a panel discussion, during which we will address specific questions, and invited speakers will open each segment with a brief presentation of their opinion. Paper Submission: -------------------------- We seek for submission of original (previously unpublished) research papers. The length of the submitted papers should not exceed 8 pages in Springer format, excluding the references (LaTeX2e style files are available on the workshop page). Submission of previously published work is possible as well, but the authors are required to mention this explicitly. Previously published work can be presented at the workshop, but will not be included into the workshop proceedings (which are considered peer-reviewed publications of novel contributions). Moreover, the authors are welcome to present their novel work but choose to opt out of the workshop proceedings in case they have alternative publication plans. Important dates: -------------------------- - October 12, 2014 - paper submission - October 26, 2014 - notification of acceptance/rejection - December 11-12, 2014 - Workshop at Montreal, Quebec, Canada , following the NIPS conference Organizing Committee: -------------------------- Guillermo Cecchi (IBM T.J. Watson Research Center) Kai-min Kevin Chang (Language Technologies Institute, Carnegie Mellon University) Moritz Grosse-Wentrup (Max Plank Institute for Intelligent Systems) Georg Langs (Medical University of Vienna, CSAIL, MIT) Brian Murphy (Machine Learning Department, Carngie Mellon University) *Irina Rish (IBM T.J. Watson Research Center) - main contact Leila Wehbe (University of California, Berkeley)

Sept. 6, 2015

Call for Abstracts: NIPS Workshop on Statistical Methods for Understanding Neural Systems

by Jascha Sohl-Dickstein

NIPS WORKSHOP 2015 CALL FOR ABSTRACTS Statistical Methods for Understanding Neural Systems Friday, December 11th, 2015 Montreal, Canada -------- Organizers: Allie Fletcher Jakob Macke Ryan Adams Jascha Sohl-Dickstein -------- Overview: Recent advances in neural recording technologies, including calcium imaging and high-density electrode arrays, have made it possible to simultaneously record neural activity from large populations of neurons for extended periods of time. These developments promise unprecedented insights into the collective dynamics of neural populations and thereby the underpinnings of brain-like computation. However, this new large-scale regime for neural data brings significant methodological challenges. This workshop seeks to explore the statistical methods and theoretical tools that will be necessary to study these data, build new models of neural dynamics, and increase our understanding of the underlying computation. We have invited researchers across a range of disciplines in statistics, applied physics, machine learning, and both theoretical and experimental neuroscience, with the goal of fostering interdisciplinary insights. We hope that active discussions among these groups can set in motion new collaborations and facilitate future breakthroughs on fundamental research problems. Call for Papers We invite high quality submissions of extended abstracts on topics including, but not limited to, the following fundamental questions: How can we deal with incomplete data in a principled manner? In most experimental settings, even advanced neural recording methods can only sample a small fraction of all neurons that might be involved in a task, and the observations are often indirect and noisy. As a result, many recordings are from neurons that receive inputs from neurons that are not themselves directly observed, at least not over the same time period. How can we deal with this `missing data' problem in a principled manner? How does this sparsity of recordings influence what we can and cannot infer about neural dynamics and mechanisms? How can we incorporate existing models of neural dynamics into neural data analysis? Theoretical neuroscientists have intensely studied neural population dynamics for decades, resulting in a plethora of models of neural population dynamics. However, most analysis methods for neural data do not directly incorporate any models of neural dynamics, but rather build on generic methods for dimensionality reduction or time-series modelling. How can we incorporate existing models of neural dynamics? Conversely, how can we design neural data analysis methods such that they explicitly constrain models of neural dynamics? What synergies are there between analyzing biological and artificial neural systems? The rise of ‘deep learning’ methods has shown that hard computational problems can be solved by machine learning algorithms that are built by cascading many nonlinear units. Although artificial neural systems are fully observable, it has proven challenging to provide a theoretical understanding of how they solve computational problems and which features of a neural network are critical for its performance. While such ‘deep networks’ differ from biological neural networks in many ways, they provide an interesting testing ground for evaluating strategies for understanding neural processing systems. Are there synergies between analysis methods for analyzing biological and artificial neural systems? Has the resurgence of deep learning resulted in new hypotheses or strategies for trying to understand biological neural networks? Confirmed Speakers: Matthias Bethge Mitya Chklovskii John Cunningham Surya Ganguli Neil Lawrence Guillermo Sapiro Tatyana Sharpee Richard Zemel Workshop Website: h <http://users.soe.ucsc.edu/%7Eafletcher/hdnips2013.html> ttps://users.soe.ucsc.edu/~afletcher/neuralsysnips.html <https://users.soe.ucsc.edu/%7Eafletcher/neuralsysnips.html> Email : smnips2015(a)rctn.org Submission details: Submissions should be in the NIPS_2015 format ( http://nips.cc/Conferences/2015/PaperInformation/StyleFiles) with a maximum of four pages, not including references. Submissions will be considered both for poster and oral presentation. Submit at https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/SMN2015/Protected/Author/ or via the link on the workshop website. Important dates: Submission deadline: 10 October, 2015 11:59 PM PDT (UTC -7 hours) Acceptance notification: 24 October, 2015

Sept. 4, 2015

Call for Participation: Bernstein Conference Satellite Workshop "In Vitro Neuronal Networks from 2D to 3D, " Sept. 14, 2015, Heidelberg, Germany

by Tanskanen Jarno

Bernstein Conference Satellite Workshop no. 8 ** In Vitro Neuronal Networks from 2D to 3D ** September 14, 2015, 9:00 - 18:30 Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Neue Universität Universitätsplatz, Grabengasse 3-5, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany More Information and Registration http://www.bernstein-conference.de/ The program and workshop abstract as a pdf: http://goo.gl/D1hwou Welcome! Jari Hyttinen and Jarno Tanskanen Computational Biophysics and Imaging Group Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering Tampere University of Technology, BioMediTech Finland --- P R O G R A M Welcome & Introduction to 3D in Vitro Technologies - Case: 3DNeuroN Jari Hyttinen, Tampere University of Technology * Session 1: 3D and Controlled Culturing of Neuronal Networks 3D Neural Networks in Engineered Hydrogel Matrices Nicolas Broguiere, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Forming Neuron Networks with Controlled Topology in 2D and 3D Janos Vörös, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich * Session 2: Neuronal-astrocytic Networks and their Modeling Role of Astrocytes in Formation of Functional Neuronal Networks in Vitro Susanna Narkilahti, University of Tampere Computational Modeling of Neuronal-astrocytic Networks Kerstin Lenk, Tampere University of Technology * Session 3: Technology Signal Acquisition and Measurement System for Neural Networks in Vitro Peter Husar, Ilmenau University of Technology Technology and Material Developments for 3D Multielectrode Arrays Heike Bartsch, Ilmenau University of Technology Microbioreactor Designs with Integrated 3D MEA Devices for Cultivation of Neuronal Cells Andreas Schober, Ilmenau University of Technology * Session 4: Stimulation, Analysis, and 3D Network Modeling Investigation of Cultured Neuronal Networks and their Dynamics Induced by Novel Stimulation Paradigms Peter Husar, Fraunhofer IDMT Signal Analysis Methods for Neuronal Microelectrode Array Data Jarno Tanskanen, Tampere University of Technology Computational Modeling from 2D to 3D Networks Kerstin Lenk, Tampere University of Technology * Panel Discussion: From 2D to 3D * Closing of the Workshop Jari Hyttinen, Tampere University of Technology ****

Sept. 4, 2015

CFP: MLINI 2015 - 5th NIPS Workshop on Machine Learning and Interpretation in Neuroimaging: Beyond the Scanner

by Irina Rish

Call for Papers MLINI 2015 - 5th NIPS Workshop on Machine Learning and Interpretation in Neuroimaging: Beyond the Scanner https://sites.google.com/site/mliniworkshop2015/ December 11-12, 2015, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Submission deadline: Monday, October 12th, 2015 Workshop Overview: ----------------------- MLINI workshop focuses on machine learning approaches in neuroscience, neuroimaging, with an extension to behavioral experiments and psychology. This year, our focus is specifically on "Going Beyond the Scanner", which includes making inferences about mental states of a subject from ''cheaper'' (as opposed to fMRI) behavioral data such as subject's speech and/or text, audio, video, EEG and signals collected from various wearable devices. We believe that machine learning has a prominent role in shaping how questions in neuroscience are framed, and that the machine-learning mind set is now entering modern psychology and behavioral studies. It is also equally important that practical applications in these fields motivate a rapidly evolving line or research in the machine learning community. In parallel, there is an intense interest in learning more about brain function in the context of rich naturalistic environments and scenes. Efforts to go beyond highly specific paradigms that pinpoint a single function, towards schemes for measuring the interaction with natural and more varied scene are made. In this context, many controversies and open questions exist. The goal of the workshop is to pinpoint the most pressing issues and common challenges across the fields, and to sketch future directions and open questions in the light of novel methodology. The proposed workshop is aimed at offering a forum that joins machine learning, neuroscience, and psychology community, and should facilitate formulating and discussing the issues at their interface. Motivated by the previous workshops in this series, MLINI ‘11, MLINI’12, and MLINI’13, we will center this workshop around invited talks and a panel discussion. Triggered by the discussions, this year we plan to adapt the workshop topics to a less traditional scope neuroimaging scope and investigate the role of behavioral models and psychology, including topics such as psycholinguistics. Open questions and possible topics for contribution include, but are not limited to, the following: - How can we move towards more naturalistic stimuli, tasks and paradigms in neuroimaging and neuro-signal analysis? - What kind of mental states can be inferred from cheaper and easier to collect data sources (as an alternative to fMRI), such as text, speech, audio, video, EEG, and wearable devices? - How can we leave the lab when acquiring neuroimaging data, towards exploiting mobile acquisition (EEG and NIRS)? - What type of features should be extracted from naturalistic stimuli such as text, voice, etc., to detect specific mental states and/or mental disorders? - How can we combine traditional neuroimaging with naturalistic data collected from a subject or group of subjects? - In general, can we characterize situations when multivariate predictive analysis (MVPA) and inference methods are better suited for brain imaging analysis than more traditional techniques? - Given recent advances of deep learning in image analysis and other applications, a natural question to ask is whether neuroimaging analysis can benefit from such approaches? - How well can functional networks and dynamical models capture the brain activity, and when using network and dynamics information is superior to standard task-based brain activations? Workshop Format: -------------------------- In this two-day workshop we will explore perspectives and novel methodology at the interface of Machine Learning, Inference, Neuroimaging and Neuroscience. We aim to bring researchers from machine learning and neuroscience community together, in order to discuss open questions, identify the core points for a number of the controversial issues, and eventually propose approaches to solving those issues. Each session will be opened by several invited talks, and an in depth discussion. This will be followed by original contributions. Original contributions will also be presented and discussed during a poster session. The workshop will end with a panel discussion, during which we will address specific questions, and invited speakers will open each segment with a brief presentation of their opinion. Paper Submission: -------------------------- We seek for submission of original (previously unpublished) research papers. The length of the submitted papers should not exceed 8 pages in Springer format, excluding the references (LaTeX2e style files are available on the workshop page). Submission of previously published work is possible as well, but the authors are required to mention this explicitly. Previously published work can be presented at the workshop, but will not be included into the workshop proceedings (which are considered peer-reviewed publications of novel contributions). Moreover, the authors are welcome to present their novel work but choose to opt out of the workshop proceedings in case they have alternative publication plans. Important dates: -------------------------- - October 12, 2014 - paper submission - October 26, 2014 - notification of acceptance/rejection - December 11-12, 2014 - Workshop at Montreal, Quebec, Canada , following the NIPS conference Organizing Committee: -------------------------- Guillermo Cecchi (IBM T.J. Watson Research Center) Kai-min Kevin Chang (Language Technologies Institute, Carnegie Mellon University) Georg Langs (Medical University of Vienna, CSAIL, MIT) Brian Murphy (Machine Learning Department, Carngie Mellon University) *Irina Rish (IBM T.J. Watson Research Center) - main contact Leila Wehbe (University of California, Berkeley)

Sept. 4, 2015

The ReScience journal

by Nicolas P. Rougier

Following our "Long journey into reproducible computational neuroscience" (http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fncom.2015.00030/full) it's our great pleasure to announce the creation of "ReScience" which is a peer-reviewed journal that targets computational research and encourages the explicit replication of already published research, promoting new and open-source implementations in order to ensure that the original research is reproducible. To achieve such a goal, the whole editing chain is radically different from any other traditional scientific journal. ReScience lives on GitHub where each new implementation is made available together with comments, explanations and tests. Each submission takes the form of a pull request that is publicly reviewed and tested in order to guarantee that any researcher can re-use it. Students are strongly encourage to submit to ReScience. Even if the publishing model is a bit different from other academic journals, this will give them a first experience at peer-reviewed publishing where they have to use a rigorous and scientific approach. • More on the journal website: https://github.com/ReScience/ReScience/wiki • Current issue: https://github.com/ReScience/ReScience/wiki/Current-Issue • FAQ: https://github.com/ReScience/ReScience/wiki/Frequently-Asked-Questions • Follow us on twitter (@ReScienceEds): https://twitter.com/rescienceeds And if you're familiar with Git and GitHub, you can also become a reviewer: just contact us. Konrad Hinsen & Nicolas Rougier

Sept. 4, 2015

CFP: 1st International Workshop on Big Data Analytics for Healthcare and Well-being

by Youssef Iraqi

Apologies if you receive multiple copies of this message. ________________________________________________________________ CALL FOR PAPERS 1st International Workshop on Big Data Analytics for Healthcare and Well-being 2016 January 18, 2016, Hong Kong, China http://kecidev.kaist.ac.kr/bigcomp2016/workshop/ In conjunction with the 3rd International Conference on Big Data and Smart Computing (BigComp) 2016 http://conf2016.bigcomputing.org/main/ Purpose and Scope Healthcare and well-being is an important area of research in many countries as one of the emerging application domains for both big data and smart computing. This workshop aims to create opportunities to share on-going works and enhance collaboration among healthcare researchers related to big data or data science, and to foster new innovations of big data and smart computing in the areas of mobile healthcare, smart homes, digital cities, innovations in healthcare and sensing devices, and other related areas. Prospective authors are cordially invited to submit their original contributions covering completed or ongoing work related to the area of big data analytics for healthcare and well-being. The topics include but are not limited to: - Smart health and big data - Data mining, graph mining and data science for healthcare - Big data analytics and social media for healthcare - Smart devices and hardware for healthcare - Smart location-based services for healthcare - Models and tools for smart computing in healthcare - Innovations in healthcare and sensing devices - Security and privacy for big data in healthcare - Cloud and grid computing for healthcare - Standards for big data in healthcare PAPER SUBMISSION Perspective authors are invited to submit their papers, up to 8 pages each, in the IEEE paper template. Papers must be formatted in PDF according to the IEEE two-column format for conference proceedings and submitted through EasyChair, http://www.easychair.org/. The direct link for paper submission is https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=bigdata4healthcare IMPORTANT DATES Paper Submission Due: September 30, 2015 (23:59, HKT) Notification of Acceptance: November 15, 2015 Camera ready Papers: December 13, 2015 Workshop: January 18, 2016 ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE Workshop Chairs: Youssef Iraqi, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Khalifa University, UAE Ho-Jin Choi, School of Computing, KAIST, Korea Min Song, Dept. of Library & Information, Yonsei University, Korea TPC Members: Ae Ran Kim, College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Korea Amjad Gawanmeh, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Khalifa University, UAE Byeong-Soo Jeong, Dept. of Computer Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Korea Changseok Bae, SW.Content Research Laboratory, ETRI, Korea Ahsan Khandoker, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Khalifa University, UAE Hani Saleh, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Khalifa University, UAE Gwan-Su Yi, Dept. of Bio & Brain Engineering, KAIST, Korea Harish Bhaskar, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Khalifa University, UAE Hyeoun-Ae Park, College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Korea Kyuchang Kang, SW.Content Research Laboratory, ETRI, Korea Tae-Min Song, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, Korea Yong-Ik Yoon, Dept. of Multimedia Science, SookMyung Women’s University, Korea Yu-Chae Jung, Dept. of Multimedia Science, SookMyung Women’s University, Korea Nan Xiang, Dept. of Computer Science, Chongqing University of Technology, China Lingyun Zhu, Dept. of Internet of Things, Chongqing University of Technology, China Yong Wang, Dept. of Network Engineering, Chongqing University of Technology, China Dr. Youssef Iraqi Associate Professor Electrical and Computer Engineering Department [cid:logo.gif] PO Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, UAE T +971 (0)2 501 8323 F +971 (0)2 447 2441 Youssef.Iraqi(a)kustar.ac.ae [cid:twitter.jpg]<https://twitter.com/KhalifaUni> [cid:fb.jpg] <https://www.facebook.com/KhalifaUniversity> [cid:youtube.jpg] <http://www.youtube.com/user/KhalifaUniversity> [cid:instagram.jpg] <http://instagram.com/khalifauni> [cid:linkedin.jpg] <https://www.linkedin.com/company/khalifa-university-?trk=biz-companies-cym> [cid:slogan.png]

Sept. 3, 2015

Job posting: 5 PhD Positions in the Dutch Research Consortium 'Language in Interaction'

by Lorenz, C.M.

Job posting: 5 PhD Positions in the Dutch Research Consortium 'Language in Interaction' We are looking for highly motivated PhD candidates to enrich a unique consortium of researchers that aims to unravel the neurocognitive mechanisms of language at multiple levels. The goal is to understand both the universality and the variability of the human language faculty from genes to behaviour. The Netherlands has an outstanding track record in the language sciences. This research consortium sponsored by a large grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific research (NWO) brings together many of the excellent research groups in the Netherlands with a research programme on the foundations of language. The research team consists of 43 Principal Investigators. In addition to the excellence in the domain of language and related relevant fields of cognition, our consortium provides state-of-the-art research facilities and a research team with ample experience in the complex research methods that will be invoked to address the scientific questions at the highest level of methodological sophistication. These include methods from genetics, neuroimaging, computational modelling, and patient-related research. This consortium realizes both quality and critical mass for studying human language at a scale not easily found anywhere else. Currently, the consortium advertises five PhD positions for a period of 4 years. These positions provide the opportunity for conducting world-class research as a member of an interdisciplinary team. Maximum salary: €2,717 gross/month Closing date for application: 04 October 2015, 23:59 CET For more information on the PhD positions and how to apply:https://www.languageininteraction.nl/ThirdCallGeneral.html

Sept. 3, 2015

SAC2016 - NeuroComputing Track - Paper submission DEADLINE EXTEDED

by Falotico Egidio

Dear Community, The paper submission deadline of SAC2016 conference has been extended to September 21. Please consider to submit a contribution to the NeuroComputing track. ============================== NeuroComputing Track - Call For Papers ============================== The NeuroComputing Track has been proposed as a track of the Symposium on applied Computing (SAC2016) that will be held in Pisa from 4 to 8 April 2016. The ACM Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC) has been a primary gathering forum for applied computer scientists, computer engineers, software engineers, and application developers from around the world. SAC 2016 is sponsored by the ACM Special Interest Group on Applied Computing (SIGAPP). ============================== TRACK AIM The development of computation models of the nervous system and neural processes has risen at a rapid pace. Developing neuro-inspired computing paradigms that mimic nervous system function fosters our model understanding of the biological system and targets technical applications in artificial systems. Today, combined efforts in the fields of the neuroscience and computer science in interdisciplinary research projects like the Human Brain Project enable the simulation of spiking biological neural networks with millions of neurons. In order to deal with the complexity and scaling of such networks a new generation of appropriate tool is needed to simulate the neural network in real-time. Neuromorphic hardware and supercomputers are the ideal candidates on the hardware side, and on the software side tools should ease the development and support the researcher during the evaluation by offering a toolchain for the implementation and simulation. The aim of the ACM Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC) Track on NeuroComputing is to gather innovative works related to the application of computational techniques for the brain simulation, as well as the system software, middleware, interactive computational steering and visualization support necessary to create and simulate multi-scale brain models and to address the hard-scaling challenges of whole brain modelling. ============================== TRACK WEBSITE http://sssa.bioroboticsinstitute.it/tracks/sac2016 ============================== TOPICS OF INTEREST - Neuromorphic hardware - Large scale simulation of NN - Brain visualization tools - Neuro imaging software - Spiking neural networks - Bio-inspired learning mechanisms - Software applications for real-time neural network simulation - Software applications for real-time brain-body simulation - High performance computing for neural simulation - Neural simulators ============================== IMPORTANT DATES September 21, 2015 : Paper submission extended November 13, 2015 : Acceptance notification December 11, 2015 : Camera-ready submission ============================== TRACK CHAIRS Cecilia Laschi, The BioRobotics Institut,e Scuola Superiore SantAnna Pisa, Italy Egidio Falotico, The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore SantAnna Pisa, Italy Florian Röhrbein, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany Marc-Oliver Gewaltig, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland Paul Levi, Research Center for Information Technology,Karlsruhe, Germany Stefan Ulbrich Research Center for Information Technology,Karlsruhe, Germany -- Egidio Falotico Computer Scientist PhD in BioRobotics PhD in Cognitive Science The BioRobotics Institute Polo Sant'Anna Valdera - Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna Viale Rinaldo Piaggio, 34 - 56025 - Pontedera (PI) - Italy Phone: +39 050 883 457 e-mail: e.falotico(a)sssup.it

Sept. 2, 2015

Call for abstracts: Bounded optimality and rational metareasoning workshop @ NIPS

by Sam Gershman

We are pleased to announce a NIPS workshop on bounded optimality and rational metareasoning, which will take place in Montreal, Canada on December 11, 2015. This workshop brings together computer scientists working on bounded optimality and metareasoning with psychologists and neuroscientists reverse-engineering the computational principles that make the human brain incredibly resource-efficient. The goal of this workshop is to synthesize these different perspectives on bounded optimality, to promote interdisciplinary interactions and cross-fertilization, and to identify directions for future research. We invite abstract submissions, due October 28: https://sites.google.com/site/boundedoptimalityworkshop/call-for-abstracts Tentative schedule: https://sites.google.com/site/boundedoptimalityworkshop/home Sam Gershman Assistant Professor Department of Psychology and Center for Brain Science Harvard University http://gershmanlab.webfactional.com/index.html

Sept. 2, 2015

COSYNE 2016: Call for workshop proposals

by Tomas Hromadka

==================================================== Computational and Systems Neuroscience 2016 (Cosyne) MAIN MEETING Feb 25 - Feb 28, 2016 Salt Lake City, Utah WORKSHOPS Feb 29 - Mar 1, 2016 Snowbird Ski Resort, Utah www.cosyne.org ==================================================== ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- PROPOSAL DEADLINE: 31 October, 2015. PRE-PROPOSALS: In an effort to coordinate submissions, the organizers are encouraged to submit a pre-proposal by October 1st, 2015. Pre-proposals will be shared among submitters. Pre-proposals are requested but not required. The organizers may submit the full proposal by its deadline. A series of workshops will be held after the main Cosyne meeting (www.cosyne.org) The goal is to provide an informal forum for the discussion of important research questions and challenges. Controversial issues, open problems, comparisons of competing approaches, and alternative viewpoints are encouraged. The overarching goal of all workshops should be the integration of empirical and theoretical approaches, in an environment that fosters collegial discussion and debate. Preference will be given to proposals that differ substantially in content, scope, and/or approach from workshops of recent years (examples available at http://www.cosyne.org/c/index.php?title=Workshops) Relevant topics include, but are not limited to: sensory processing; motor planning and control; functional neural circuits; motivation, reward and decision making; learning and memory; adaptation and plasticity; neural coding; neural circuitry and network models; and methods in computational or systems neuroscience. Please note that in an effort to reduce the overlap between workshops, speakers are strongly discouraged from presenting talks at more than one workshop. WORKSHOP DETAILS: - There will be 4-8 workshops/day, running in parallel. - Each workshop is expected to draw between 15 and 80 people. - The workshops will be split into morning (8:00-11:00 AM) and afternoon (4:30-7:30 PM) sessions. - Workshops will be held at Snowbird, a ski resort located 30 miles (typically less than an hour) from the Salt Lake City airport. Buses from the main conference will be provided. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Deadline for pre-proposals: 01 October, 2015 Deadline for proposals: 31 October, 2015 Format: plain text only -- please no attachments email to: cosyne16workshops(a)gmail.com (Claudia Clopath, Alfonso Renart) PRE-PROPOSALS should include: - Name(s) and email address(es) of the organizers (no more than 2 organizers per session, please). A primary contact should be designated. - A title. - A brief description of 1) what the workshop will address and accomplish, 2) why the topic is of interest, 3) who is the targeted group of participants. - Names of potential invitees, with indication of confirmed speakers. Preference will be given to workshops with the most confirmed speakers. - Proposed workshop length (1 or 2 days). Most workshops will be limited to a single day. If you think your workshop needs 2 days, please explain why. - A brief resume of the workshop organizer along with a short list of workshop-relevant publications (about half a page total). PROPOSALS should include the list of confirmed speakers in addition to components required for a pre-proposal. Workshop organizer responsibilities include coordinating workshop participation and content, scheduling all speakers and submitting a final schedule for the workshop program, and moderating the discussion. Organizers can be speakers but need not speak depending on scheduling constraints. SUGGESTIONS: Experience has shown that the best discussions during a workshop are those that arise spontaneously. A good way to foster these is to have short talks and long question periods (e.g. 30+15 minutes), and have plenty of breaks. We recommend fewer than 10 talks. WORKSHOP COSTS: Detailed registration costs, etc, will be available at www.cosyne.org. Please note: Cosyne does NOT provide travel funding for workshop speakers. All workshop speakers are expected to pay for workshop registration fees. Participants are encouraged to register early, in order to qualify for discounted registration rates. One complementary (free) organizer registration is provided per workshop. For workshops with 2 organizers, the free registration can be given to one of the organizers or split evenly between them. COSYNE 2016 WORKSHOP CHAIRS: Claudia Clopath (Imperial College London) and Alfonso Renart (Champalimaud Center Lisbon). QUESTIONS: email: cosyne16workshops(a)gmail.com

Sept. 2, 2015

Postdoc

by Pestilli, Franco

Dear Community, We are looking for a talented individual to work on a large-scale neuroimaging project funded by the Indiana CTSI<https://www.indianactsi.org/>. The project aims at applying cutting-edge neuroimaging and connectomics methods (Pestilli et al., Nature Methods 2014<http://www.nature.com/nmeth/journal/v11/n10/abs/nmeth.3098.html>; Mišić et al., Neuron 2015<http://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273(15)00474-2>) on the latest generation of data from Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center<http://iadc.medicine.iu.edu/>. The project is a collaboration between groups at Indiana <https://www.indiana.edu/> University Bloomington<https://www.indiana.edu/> (Franco Pestilli and Olaf Sporns), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis (Andrew Saykin, Li Shen, and Yu-Chien, Wu) and Purdue University, Lafayette (Joaquin Goñi). The team has strong expertise in aging and Alzheimer’s disease, imaging genetics, network science, magnetic resonance imaging measurements and computational modeling. The ideal candidate will have a PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Neuroscience, Informatics or Cognitive Science. Strong programming skills (e.g., in Python, MATLAB, or C/C++) and previous background in neuroimaging, computational modeling, or machine learning will be highly valued. The project will involve developing and publishing software products as well as contributing to ongoing software projects such as: https://francopestilli.github.io/life and https://sites.google.com/site/bctnet/. Preference will be given to candidates demonstrating successful productivity by means of scientific articles and software publishing. Interested candidates should send CV, statement of research interests, and names of three references to Dr. Franco Pestilli franpest(a)indiana.edu<mailto:franpest@indiana.edu>. Review of the applications will start immediately and continue until the position is filled. Dr. Pestilli and Professor Sporns will be available at SfN in Chicago for informal meetings with potential candidates. Indiana University is an equal employment and affirmative action employer and a provider of ADA services. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ethnicity, color, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status. Best regards, Franco Franco Pestilli, PhD Assistant Professor Psychology<http://psych.indiana.edu/>, Neuroscience<http://www.indiana.edu/~neurosci/> and Cognitive Science<http://www.cogs.indiana.edu/> Indiana Network Science Institute<http://iuni.iu.edu/> 𝞇 Indiana University, Bloomington<http://www.iub.edu/>, IN 47405<http://goo.gl/0uVOc8> francopestilli.com<http://www.francopestilli.com/> | franpest(a)indiana.edu<mailto:franpest@indiana.edu> Phone: +1 (812) 856 9967

Sept. 1, 2015

open positions in machine learning and computational neuroscience

by Turaga, Srinivas C

The Turaga Lab is looking for exceptional postdoctoral researchers and programmers (and graduate students!) for research at the intersection of machine learning and neuroscience. https://www.janelia.org/lab/turaga-lab With recent technological advances in 3d electron microscopy, optogenetics and large-scale chronic in vivo neural imaging, it is now possible to measure and perturb the activity of large populations of neurons, and to map their connectivity. These new data can be used understand how the structure of a neural circuit gives rise to its function. Our lab develops machine learning algorithms to map neural connectivity, and statistical models to characterize neural activity and to relate activity to connectivity. We have pioneered the use of deep-learning based machine learning algorithms to map neural connectivity from 3d electron microscopic images of brain tissue, and we are now working to improve these methods. This involves solving interesting new problems in structured prediction, active learning and unsupervised learning at an unprecedented scale (imagine working with labeled training datasets with 10^9 examples in a 10^6 dimensional feature space and wanting to achieve accuracies of 99.999%!). We are also developing novel statistical methods to analyze large-scale calcium imaging datasets. This is with an eye towards combining such large-scale activity measurements with structural connectomes in order to relate neural activity to neural connectivity with statistical and mechanistic models. HHMI's Janelia Research Campus is a unique, world-class research community near Washington, D.C. dedicated to understanding the function of neural circuits and developing synergistic imaging technology. Our highly collaborative structure is designed to support interdisciplinary work in small lab groups. We seek candidates who are comfortable with risk and are able to think independently to develop novel approaches. Applicants should have a strong quantitative background with degrees or expertise in machine learning, computational neuroscience, applied mathematics, physics or related discipline. Excellent collaborative programming skills in Python, C/C++, Java or similar languages are essential. To apply, please send a CV and names and addresses of 2-3 references by email to Dr. Srini Turaga, turagas(a)janelia.hhmi.org.

Sept. 1, 2015

SFN 2015 Workshop: high performance computing via Neuroscience Gateway

by Ted Carnevale

What: Workshop on the Neuroscience Gateway Portal (NSG, http://www.nsgportal.org) When: 9AM - Noon on Saturday, October 17, 2015. Registration deadline: Friday, October 2, 2015. Where: Downtown Chicago (exact location announced to registrants) Speakers: Amit Majumdar, Subha Sivagnanam, Padraig Gleeson, Simon Rothmeier, Ted Carnevale, Alex Peyser, Hannah Bos. Agenda: Downloadable from http://www.nsgportal.org/workshop.html Why: If you have, or plan to start, a research project that involves computationally intensive modeling or data analysis, you should know about NSG. NSG is being developed with support from NSF to make it easy for neuroscientists to use high performance computing (HPC) resources in their research. Some of NSG's advantages: * Quick and easy account application and approval. * Free computing time. No cost to your account budget! * Simple user interface for uploading data, running simulations or data analysis tasks, and downloading results * Installed software includes MOOSE, GENESIS 3, NEST, NEURON, PyNN, the Freesurfer Software Suite, and the Virtual Brain Empirical Data Pipeline For more information or to sign up, see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/nsg2015/nsg2015.html or contact Ted Carnevale [ted dot carnevale at yale dot edu] or Amit Majumdar [majumdar at sdsc dot edu]

Sept. 1, 2015

Postdoctoral position in Pattern Recognition, Machine Learning and Computer Vision for the analysis of retinal electrophysiology in response to visual stimulation, with specific expertise in deep learning and sparse learning BC: 71326 - 71327

by Diego Sona

Postdoctoral position in Pattern Recognition, Machine Learning and Computer Vision for the analysis of retinal electrophysiology in response to visual stimulation, with specific expertise in deep learning and sparse learning BC: 71326 - 71327 Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – IIT – was established by the Italian government to promote technological development and training in the scientific and technological field. Toward this end, IIT is implementing a detailed scientific program, which comprises integration across fundamental research and application. IIT’s research endeavour focuses on high-tech and innovation, representing the forefront of technology with possible application from medicine to industry, computer science, robotics, life sciences and nano-biotechnologies. One postdoctoral position in Computer Vision, Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning is available in the department of Pattern Analysis and Computer Vision (PAVIS) at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) ,Genova, Italy. PAVIS department has consolidated expertise in image processing, computer vision, pattern recognition and machine learning and aims at studying and designing intelligent systems for the analysis and understanding of real-world problems. PAVIS focuses in particular on activities related, but not limited, to surveillance and security, biomedical imaging, and bioinformatics. Project Description The research position is funded by the European project “RENVISION - Retina-inspired ENcoding for advanced VISION tasks” (http://www.renvision-fp7.eu/ <http://www.renvision-fp7.eu/>). The overall aim of the project is to achieve a comprehensive understanding of how the retina encodes complex visual scenes, and to use such insights to develop new computational models of retina and toapply them to high-level computer vision tasks, such as scene categorization and action recognition. The project is highly interdisciplinary, including neuro-engineering, electrophysiology, high-resolution microscopy imaging, computational modelling, data analysis, machine learning and computer vision. RENVISION is funded by the European Commission FP7 Future Emerging Technologies programme, under contract n. 600847. Description of the research The candidate will design novel methodologies and algorithms based on pattern recognition and machine learning techniques, aiming at analysing electrophysiological recordings in response to visual stimulation of retina. The main objective of the research is the discovery/determination of representative and/or discriminative features in retina coding allowing for high-level vision tasks, such as scene categorization and action recognition. To this purpose, deep learning, sparse and dictionary learning approaches are to be considered. Experience and Qualifications We are seeking a self-motivated individual with the ability to take day-to-day responsibility for the progress of the proposed work. The ideal candidate will have a PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, Electronic Engineering or a closely-related discipline, with competences on machine learning/pattern recognition/computer vision, coupled with a keen interest in neuroscience and biological data processing and analysis. Expertise in deep learning, compressive sensing, and/or dictionary learning is in general preferred. Experience in spiking networks or retinal function will be appreciated while not being a discriminating factor. A strong programming skill is required. Annual salary will depend on research experience and qualification. Closing Date The initial deadline for applications is September 7th , 2015, however please note that the search will continue until appropriate candidates have been identified. How to apply Completed application forms along with a curriculum listing all publications (possibly including pdfs of the most representative ones), names of 2 referees and a research statement (describing previous research experience and outlining its relevance to the above topics) should be sent by email to Prof. Vittorio Murino vittorio.murino(a)iit.it <mailto:vittorio.murino@iit.it> and/or Diego Sona diego.sona(a)iit.it <mailto:diego.sona@iit.it>, quoting PAVIS-PD 71327 – 71326 as reference number. For informal enquiries please write to Prof. Vittorio Murino vittorio.murino(a)iit.it <mailto:vittorio.murino@iit.it> or Diego Sona diego.sona(a)iit.it <mailto:diego.sona@iit.it>. In order to comply with Italian law (art. 23 of Privacy Law of the Italian Legislative Decree n. 196/03), the candidate is kindly asked to give his/her consent to allow Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia to process his/her personal data. We inform you that the information you provide will be solely used for the purpose of evaluating and selecting candidates in order to meet the requirements of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. Your data will be processed by Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, with its headquarters in Genoa, Via Morego 30, acting as the Data Holder, using computer and paper-based means, observing the rules on the protection of personal data, including those relating to the security of data, and they will not be communicated to thirds. Please also note that, pursuant to art.7 of Legislative Decree 196/2003, you may exercise your rights at any time as a party concerned by contacting the Data Holder. Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia is an Equal Opportunity Employer that actively seeks diversity in its workforce Diego Sona --------------------------------------------------------- Pattern Analysis & Computer Vision (PAVIS) Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) Via Morego 30, 16163, Genova, Italy Phone: +39 010 71781 819 E-mail: diego.sona(a)iit.it www.iit.it/pavis.html ---------------------------------------------------------

Aug. 31, 2015

Postdoc/PhD Position in Recurrent Neural Network Architectures

by Herbert Jaeger

The department of Computer Science at Jacobs University Bremen (http://www.jacobs-university.de) announces a POSTDOC / PHD RESEARCH POSITION IN MACHINE LEARNING / NEURAL NETWORKS / INTELLIGENT AGENT ARCHITECTURES (full-time, very competitive salary, 3 years, start December 1, 2015 or later) the MINDS research group of Herbert Jaeger (http://minds.jacobs-university.de) The position is created in the European Horizon 2020 integrated project "Neural Computing Architectures in Advanced Monolithic 3D-VLSI Nano-Technologies" (NeuRAM3). The project aim of NeuRAM3 is to design and fabricate a large-scale, highly configurable neuromorphic microchip. Based on spiking, recurrent neural dynamics, the microchip is similar in some ways to IBM's recent TrueNorth neurochip (http://www.research.ibm.com/articles/brain-chip.shtml) However, our project aims significantly further than TrueNorth, and IBM is one of the consortium partners. In particular, novel 3-dimensional chip manufacturing technologies will enable a much more complex and much more flexibly configurable on-chip neural architecture. Within this setting, the MINDS group develops *neural learning algorithms and architectures* which are tailored to the novel opportunities afforded by a 3-dimensional, spiking microchip. This line of research will be carried out in close collaboration with a consortium partner from computational neuroscience (Institute of Neuroinformatics, University Zurich and ETH Zurich). Currently in machine learning approaches of deep learning are attracting much attention. In several ways the research in the MINDS group is *complementary to deep learning*. The latter is grounded in high-precision gradient descent methods for training and can devour extremely large training datasets to learn extremely complex tasks. The price paid is very long training times and a lack of online adaptability. In contrast, *we aim for very fast (even instantaneous) learning, online adaptability and extensibility, robustness against noise and computations with low numerical accuracy*. Such properties will be crucial for the algorithms running on next-generation chipsets for mobile devices – and they are also crucial for biological neural systems. The background philosophy of this research is framed by reservoir computing (http://minds.jacobs-university.de/ESNresearch) and conceptors (http://minds.jacobs-university.de/conceptors) Eligible candidates must have a mindset inclined toward mathematical modeling, fluency in English, plus a solid background in at least one of the following areas: • dynamical systems theory, • signal processing and control, • machine learning, • computational neuroscience, • intelligent agent architectures. Details about the position and the NeuRAM3 project will be gladly supplied by Herbert Jaeger (h.jaeger(a)jacobs-university.de) upon request. Please submit applications by email to Herbert Jaeger. Applicants passing an initial screening will be asked to supply two letters of reference. Applications will be processed as long as the job announmcent is posted online at http://minds.jacobs-university.de/jobs. *Jacobs University Bremen* is Germany's only private university with a full range of academic programs from the natural and social sciences and engineering. Its student body is one of the most international conceivable: more than 100 nations are joined on our beautiful campus. Within its young history of only a little more than 10 years, Jacobs University has climbed to the top in many disciplines in Germany's most important university ranking (http://www.che-ranking.de/cms/?getObject=613&getLang=en) The language on campus is English. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Dr. Herbert Jaeger Professor of Computational Science Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH Campus Ring 28759 Bremen, Germany Phone (+49) 421 200 3215 Fax (+49) 421 200 49 3215 email h.jaeger(a)jacobs-university.de http://minds.jacobs-university.de ------------------------------------------------------------------

Aug. 31, 2015

Update 2: 2016 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence (IEEE WCCI 2016)

by IEEE WCCI 2016

Dear Colleague, Below please find some updated information about 2016 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence (IEEE WCCI 2016). 2016 IEEE World Congress on Computational IntelligenceVancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, Canada 25-29 July 2016 www.wcci2016.org*---------------~*******~-------------------* * Paper Submission is now OPEN* *---------------~*******~-------------------* IEEE WCCI 2016 paper submission is now OPEN. All papers should be submitted through the IEEE WCCI 2016 online submission system before the deadline of 15 January 2016. Click here for more information: http://www.wcci2016.org/submission.php *-----~*******~------* * Speakers* *-----~*******~------* World renowned computer scientist and computational theorist, Chair Professor at Harvard University, 2010 Turing Award winner, Professor Leslie Valiant will deliver a keynote at IEEE WCCI 2016. The 2016 IEEE Frank Rosenblatt Award winner, Professor Ronald R. Yager (IEEE Fellow), will receive his award and deliver a keynote at IEEE WCCI 2016. The 2016 IEEE CIS Evolutionary Computation Pioneer Award winner and 2015 IEEE Frank Rosenblatt Award winner, Professor Marco Dorigo (IEEE Fellow), will receive his award and deliver a keynote at IEEE WCCI 2016. *---------~*******~---------* * Best Paper Awards* *---------~*******~---------* IEEE WCCI 2016 will present the Best Overall Paper Awards and the Best Student Paper Awards to recognize outstanding papers published in each of the three conference proceedings (IJCNN 2016, FUZZ-IEEE 2016, IEEE CEC 2016). The awards will be judged by an Awards Committee and the recipient of each award will be given a certificate of the award and a cash prize to be presented during the conference banquet at IEEE WCCI 2016. *--------~****~--------* * Travel Grants* *--------~****~--------* The IEEE Computational Intelligence Society (IEEE CIS) will offer a limited number of travel grants for - Students (undergraduate or graduate students, from any country) - Professional researchers from developing countries who are presenting one or more papers at IEEE WCCI 2016. Click here for more information:http://www.wcci2016.org/sponsors.php *---------~****~---------* * Important Dates* *---------~****~---------* - Special Session & Workshop Proposals Deadline: 15 November 2015 - Competition & Tutorial Proposals Deadline: 15 December 2015 - *Paper Submission Deadline: 15 January 2016* - Paper Acceptance Notification Date: 15 March 2016 - Final Paper Submission & Early Registration Deadline: 15 April 2016 - IEEE WCCI 2016: 25-29 July 2016 For more information on the congress, please visit: [www.wcci2016.org] www.wcci2016.org *Alternatively we can also be reached on the following social media platforms:* - https://www.facebook.com/wcci2016; - https://twitter.com/wcci2016; - http://www.weibo.com/wcci2016; - http://t.qq.com/wcci2016 We look forward to welcoming you in Vancouver next year! Best wishes, Kay Chen Tan and Gary G. Yen 2016 IEEE WCCI General Co-Chairs

Aug. 31, 2015

Re: [Comp-neuro] Registration and Abstract submission Brain States Conference

by Bias Watch

Brain States: Characterization and Neuromodulation by DBS Organizers: Rowshanak Hashemiyoon, Veerle Visser-Vandewalle Invited speaker gender ratio: 0 Females / 22 Males Estimated* base rate of females in the field: 20% BiasWatchNeuro rating: 0 out of 3 *Method of estimation: NIH RePORTER with text keyword “DBS”, count number of female first PIs in first 25 results for more information: www.biaswatchneuro.com > From: neuro girl <neurogirl(a)hotmail.com> > > Subject: [Comp-neuro] Registration and Abstract submission Brain States > Conference > > Date: August 27, 2015 3:15:33 AM EDT > > To: "comp-neuro(a)neuroinf.org" <comp-neuro(a)neuroinf.org> > > > > Dear All, > > > > Registration and abstract submission are now open! > > > > Brain States: Characterization and Neuromodulation by DBS > > November 11-13, 2015 in Cologne, Germany. > > > > Interdisciplinary contributions to the study of brain mechanics have > greatly advanced our theories of the neurodynamic operations employed by > the brain. Although the brain exhibits continuous ongoing activity, > variation in the spatiotemporal patterns of activation observed across > different brain regions during rest versus active processing provides > valuable information about functional connectivity and strategies for > information processing. > > > > This conference will explore the most up-to-date theories of normal > brain function and how these processes may be altered to produce > pathological states. Furthermore, it will explore the models and methods > used to describe the proposed neural strategies subserving these different > brain states. > > > > Our list of confirmed speakers include: > > Hagai Bergman (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) > > Peter Brown (University of Oxford) > > Stephan Chabardes (University Hospital Grenoble) > > Alain Destexhe (CNRS) > > Emad N. Eskandar (Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School) > > John J. Foxe (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) > > Marc Goodfellow (University of Exeter) > > Anthony A. Grace (University of Pittsburgh) > > Rowshanak Hashemiyoon (University Hospital of Cologne) > > Jens Haueisen (Technische Universität Ilmenau) > > Viktor Jirsa (Aix-Marseille Université /CNRS) > > Jens Kuhn (University Hospital Cologne) > > Fernando Lopes da Silva (University of Amsterdam) > > Andres Lozano (University of Toronto) > > Cameron McIntyre (Case Western Reserve University) > > Christoph M. Michel (University of Geneva) > > Bart Nuttin (KU Leuven) > > Urs Ribary (Simon Fraser University) > > Günter Schiepek (Paracelsus Medical University) > > Wolf Singer (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research) > > Dimitri van de Ville (University of Geneva) > > Veerle Visser-Vandewalle (University Hospital of Cologne) > > Jürgen Voges (Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg) > > We are intentionally limiting attendance in order to ensure a collegial > atmosphere with excellent discussion. > > > > More information can be found on these websites http://bit.ly/1JVElkf > and https://dbs.veomed.net/. > > > > Hope to see you in Cologne! > > > > > > With kind regards, > > Row Hashemiyoon > > > > Rowshanak Hashemiyoon, PhD > > Chief, Behavioral Neurophysiology and Computational Neuroscience > > Klinik für Stereotaxie und Funktionelle Neurochirurgie > > Universitätsklinikum Köln > > Kerpener Str. 62 > > D - 50937 Köln > > Email: row.hashemiyoon(a)uk-koeln.de<mailto:row.hashemiyoon@uk-koeln.de> > > http://www.uk-koeln.de/de/stereotaxie > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Comp-neuro mailing list > > Comp-neuro(a)neuroinf.org > > http://www.neuroinf.org/mailman/listinfo/comp-neuro > >

Aug. 29, 2015

Senior lectureship in computer science (machine learning / biocomputation)

by Steuber, Volker

Senior Lecturer in Computer Science School of Computer Science University of Hertfordshire Hatfield, Hertfordshire UK Salary: £37,394 to £47,328 per annum depending on skills and experience FTE: Full time position Duration of contract: Permanent Closing date: 10 September 2015 Applications are invited for a post of Senior Lecturer in the School of Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the School's teaching and curriculum development activities, and to strengthen its research activities. We are looking to recruit specifically computer scientists with specialist interests in data science or machine learning related to biocomputation (including computational neuroscience), with the flexibility to teach across mainstream topics in computer science. The School has an international reputation for teaching and research, with 58 academic staff, 20 adjunct lecturer staff, and 65 research students and postdoctoral research staff. With a history going back to 1958, the School teaches one of the largest cohorts of undergraduate students in the UK, and also delivers a thriving online computer science degree programme. The University of Hertfordshire is situated in Hatfield, in the green belt just north of London. The person appointed will be expected to contribute to learning and teaching relevant to core computer science topics, participate in curriculum review and development, design and develop new modules, and supervise student projects at all levels. The appointee will strengthen the research culture in the School by pursuing research as part of a larger research team, seeking external funding, publishing papers, supervising research students, and participating in commercial activity as appropriate. Preference will be given to candidates who can contribute to teaching and research in databases or machine learning. You must hold a PhD (or equivalent) in a relevant subject, possess excellent communication skills in English and the ability to teach at undergraduate and postgraduate level. It is desirable that candidates have a track record of publication, external research funding, collaboration across disciplines, experience of different types of assessment and higher education quality assurance. They should also have the ability to play a role in the routine running of the School of Computer Science. The University is required to meet UKVI visa regulations. Applicants who do not currently have the right to work in the UK will have to satisfy UKVI regulations before they can be appointed. Application should be made through http://www.herts.ac.uk/contact-us/jobs-and-vacancies/academic-vacancies (reference 012476). For informal enquiries contact Prof William Clocksin (Dean of School, w.clocksin(a)herts.ac.uk) or Dr Volker Steuber (Head of the Biocomputation Research Group, v.steuber(a)herts.ac.uk)

Aug. 28, 2015

Postdoctoral Position at The Rockefeller University

by George Reeke

Postdoctoral position in Computational Neuroscience A postdoctoral position supported by the BRAIN initiative is available at The Rockefeller University under the guidance of George Reeke in collaboration with Charles Gilbert and Winrich Freiwald. The overall project will study cortical mechanisms of object recognition and more specifically the influence of top-down task-and attentional influences on cortical dynamics and perceptual learning in areas of the visual cortical pathway. The computational work will involve developing and running large-scale spiking models of cortical regions studied in the overall project, with the goal of developing an accurate theoretical understanding of the phenomena observed in the experimental research. The successful candidate should, ideally, have a Ph.D. in a relevant area of neuroscience with a strong knowledge of mammalian visual systems and neuronal systems modeling. The candidate will be expected to develop suitable software to supplement the available tools as needed and will be able to work both independently and as part of a team. Interested individuals should send a c.v. and the names of three references to Dr. George Reeke (reeke(a)rockefeller.edu) with a subject line "Computational Neuroscience postdoc position". The position is available immediately, and applications will be accepted until the position is filled. The Rockefeller University is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Minorities/Women/Disabled/Veterans.

Aug. 27, 2015

Postdoctoral positions in Systems/Computational neuroscience [Univ Pittsburgh]

by Nathan Urban

The lab of Dr. Nathan Urban, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Neurobiology and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition invites applications for two postdoctoral positions for projects on the analysis of olfactory system function and circuitry. Projects involve measuring of neural activity in vivo or in vitro using physiological and imaging approaches (whole cell patch clamp and calcium imaging in vitro and 2-photon imaging and physiology in vivo). We seek both experimentalists and computational neuroscientists interested in exploring the following topics in rodent model systems: The mechanisms and role of biophysical and circuit-level neuronal diversity Connections between biophysical and statistical models of neurons Sensory coding in control mice and in disease models Successful candidates will have a track record of publications and experience in experimental and/or computational neuroscience. Interests must be aligned with the broad interests of the lab and successful applicants will be expected to participate in ongoing collaborations with other groups in Pittsburgh and in other locations. Postdocs in the lab will have the opportunity to present their work at national and international meetings. Through mentoring and by creating opportunities for independent projects, postdocs will be in an excellent position to develop towards independent career objectives. Applicants can contact Dr. Urban via e-mail at nurban(a)pitt.edu and should apply via: http://goo.gl/forms/27qj1SJxw4 Qualifications: The successful candidate should have a PhD or equivalent degree in neuroscience, engineering, computer science or a related discipline. Clear evidence of research productivity and ability to work on collaborative projects is also essential. Feel free to forward to interested colleagues. ___________________________________________ Nathan Urban, Ph.D. Vice Provost for Special Projects 829 Cathedral of Learning Professor and Associate Chair - Department of Neurobiology http://www.neurobio.pitt.edu/ Co-Director Center for the Neural basis of Cognition www.cnbc.cmu.edu Associate Director Pittsburgh Brain Institute http://www.braininstitute.pitt.edu/ E1440 BSTWR 200 Lothrop Street University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Phone: 412-648-3396 nurban(a)pitt.edu

Aug. 27, 2015

Registration and Abstract submission Brain States Conference

by neuro girl

Dear All, Registration and abstract submission are now open! Brain States: Characterization and Neuromodulation by DBS November 11-13, 2015 in Cologne, Germany. Interdisciplinary contributions to the study of brain mechanics have greatly advanced our theories of the neurodynamic operations employed by the brain. Although the brain exhibits continuous ongoing activity, variation in the spatiotemporal patterns of activation observed across different brain regions during rest versus active processing provides valuable information about functional connectivity and strategies for information processing. This conference will explore the most up-to-date theories of normal brain function and how these processes may be altered to produce pathological states. Furthermore, it will explore the models and methods used to describe the proposed neural strategies subserving these different brain states. Our list of confirmed speakers include: Hagai Bergman (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Peter Brown (University of Oxford) Stephan Chabardes (University Hospital Grenoble) Alain Destexhe (CNRS) Emad N. Eskandar (Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School) John J. Foxe (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) Marc Goodfellow (University of Exeter) Anthony A. Grace (University of Pittsburgh) Rowshanak Hashemiyoon (University Hospital of Cologne) Jens Haueisen (Technische Universität Ilmenau) Viktor Jirsa (Aix-Marseille Université /CNRS) Jens Kuhn (University Hospital Cologne) Fernando Lopes da Silva (University of Amsterdam) Andres Lozano (University of Toronto) Cameron McIntyre (Case Western Reserve University) Christoph M. Michel (University of Geneva) Bart Nuttin (KU Leuven) Urs Ribary (Simon Fraser University) Günter Schiepek (Paracelsus Medical University) Wolf Singer (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research) Dimitri van de Ville (University of Geneva) Veerle Visser-Vandewalle (University Hospital of Cologne) Jürgen Voges (Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg) We are intentionally limiting attendance in order to ensure a collegial atmosphere with excellent discussion. More information can be found on these websites http://bit.ly/1JVElkf and https://dbs.veomed.net/. Hope to see you in Cologne! With kind regards, Row Hashemiyoon Rowshanak Hashemiyoon, PhD Chief, Behavioral Neurophysiology and Computational Neuroscience Klinik für Stereotaxie und Funktionelle Neurochirurgie Universitätsklinikum Köln Kerpener Str. 62 D - 50937 Köln Email: row.hashemiyoon(a)uk-koeln.de<mailto:row.hashemiyoon@uk-koeln.de> http://www.uk-koeln.de/de/stereotaxie

Aug. 27, 2015

PhD Position in Deep Learning & Visual Neuroscience

by Paul Zhutovsky

Hi there, we at EyeQuant, a visual neuroscience / machine learning startup based in Berlin have teamed up with a Marie Curie training network to offer a fully salaried PhD candidate position at the rapidly advancing intersection of Deep Learning, Computer Vision and Visual Neuroscience, starting as soon as possible. This is a really unique opportunity to obtain a PhD through a prestigious programme while working with and at a successful technology software startup, enabling you to simultaneously advance your career prospects both inside and outside of academia. Your supervisor and PI will be neuroscientist and EyeQuant co-founder Prof. Dr. Peter König, who is the Director of the Institute of Cognitive Science and Head of the Neurobiopsychology Lab at the University of Osnabrück, Germany. You will be based in EyeQuant’s Berlin HQ, with regular trips to our Lab in Osnabrück. You can find more details and next steps here: http://www.eyequant.com/#!/jobs Please note that in order to be eligible for the MARIE SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE grant, you must not have carried out your main research activity for more than 12 months in Germany in the previous 36 months.

Aug. 27, 2015

Postdoctoral position in dendritic modelling, Poirazi lab, Crete

by Yiota Poirazi

Can you please post this job opening in my lab to the list? Thank you! Yiota Poirazi ----------------------------------------- 1-2 Postdoctoral positions funded by the* ERC Starting Grant dEMORY <http://www.demory.gr/>*will be available as of* October 1st 2015* (the start date is flexible) at IMBB-FORTH <http://www.imbb.forth.gr/> in Crete, in the lab of Dr. *Panayiota Poirazi*. <http://www.dendrites.gr/> *Indicative application deadline: September 25th, 2015 (applications will be continuously screened until the positions are filled).* · Available for 2 years, with a *yearly *salary of 30,000-36,000 € (with benefits), depending on experience and career stage. · *Requirements: *Expertise in computational neuroscience, preferably in compartmental modeling and neural/dendritic computations. *THE PROJECT: Dissecting the Role of Dendrites in Memory* While memory is a function that has attracted the interest of the scientific community for several years, little is known about the rules underlying memory formation in the brain. Until recently, the single neuron was considered the main processing unit of the brain and memories were believed to be stored exclusively through plasticity modifications that take place in the synapses, the connecting sites between neurons. Over the last decade however, emerging evidence suggests that the neuron is no longer the key processing unit of the brain. The dendrites of individual neurons, which were thought as merely passive devices that allow neuronal communication, are currently the no 1 candidate for this role. The goal of this work is to characterize the role of dendrites in learning and memory processes so as to formulate a unifying theory regarding their contribution in memory formation across brain regions and abstraction levels. This will be achieved via the development of computational models that start at the single cell level and expand to the microcircuit and the network level, while varying in their degree of biophysical detail. Models will express a distinct memory function, specific to the region they belong to: the hippocampus the prefrontal cortex or the amygdala. By manipulating the biophysical, anatomical and plasticity properties of dendrites and tracking the effect on memory, the project aims to infer the key rules by which these thin structures shape mnemonic processes. These rules will then form the basis for deducing theoretical abstractions of trainable neurons with dendrites. The project has been running since 2012 and has already produced a number of outcomes which can be found at the following web sites: *www.demory.gr* <http://www.demory.gr/>*, * *www.dendrites.gr* <http://www.dendrites.gr/> *IMBB-FORTH* The Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas <http://www.forth.gr/> (FORTH) is one of the top European Research Centers. It has ranked 1st in terms of high impact publications in Greece and 12th in the number of FP7 grants in Europe. It should be noted that since the establishment of the ERC grant scheme in 2007, a total of 39 awards have been made to scientists working in Greek Institutions and 11 of them are located in Institutes of FORTH. The Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology <http://www.imbb.forth.gr/> (IMBB) at FORTH is the top Biological Institute in Greece, in terms of high quality personnel, publications, infrastructure and competitive grants. IMBB-FORTH is located in Heraklion, one of the most ancient and historical Greek cities, on the picturesque island of Crete. Crete, the homeland of major artists, such as El Greco and Nikos Kazantzakis, impressively combines the outstanding geophysical variety (forests, mountains, gorges, and beaches) with its rich history of thousands of years, resulting in the well-known Cretan culture and cuisine. *THE POIRAZI LAB* The Computational Biology Laboratory <http://www.imbb.forth.gr/people/poirazi/> at IMBB-FORTH performs research that is at the forefront of Computational Neuroscience. The work of Dr. Poirazi led to several high impact publications, some of which have shaped the field of dendritic computations. Her work received prestigious awards, including the EMBO Young Investigator Award in 2005, 2 Marie Curie Fellowships, a scientist-of-the year award in Greece in 2012, a European Research Council (ERC) starting grant in 2012, a nomination by EMBO to AcademiaNet—portal for outstanding female scientists in Europe (2013), and the "Manolis Christofides" Young Cypriot Investigator award in 2014. She is named Young Scientist of the World Economic Forum for its Annual Meeting of the New Champions in 2014 and 2015. She is a member of the Young Academy of Europe since 2015 and currently the Chair of the FENS-KAVLI Network of Excellence <http://www.fens.org/Outreach/FENS-Kavli-Network-of-Excellence/> whose aim is to promote Neuroscience research and science policy in Europe and beyond. *TO APPLY:* Candidates that match the required profile will be continuously interviewed until the positions are filled. Candidates should send a *resume and two (2) reference letters* to *poirazi[at]imbb.forth.gr <http://imbb.forth.gr/>*. If possible, recommendations should be sent by the referees. -- Panayiota Poirazi, Ph.D. Research Director Computational Biology Laboratory Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) Foundation of Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH) Vassilika Vouton, P.O.Box 1385, GR 70013, Heraklion, Crete GREECE Tel: +30 2810 391139 Fax: +30 2810 391101 Εmail: poirazi(a)imbb.forth.gr Lab site: www.dendrites.gr Chair, FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence <http://www.fens.org/Outreach/FENS-Kavli-Network-of-Excellence/>

Aug. 27, 2015

Interdisciplinary post-doctoral position in cognitive neuroscience

by Schurger Lab

Brain-behavior forecasting: Neural antecedents of spontaneous self-initiated movement and the forecasting of behavior from brain activity Interdisciplinary post-doctoral position in cognitive neuroscience Starting date: Spring 2016 or Fall 2016 Duration: 2 years (renewable for one additional year) The French Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) invites applications for a post-doctoral position in the Cognitive Neuroimaging Group, at the NeuroSpin Research Center near Paris, France, as part of the research team of Dr. Aaron Schurger. The Schurger lab focuses on understanding how decisions are made and actions initiated spontaneously, without an external sensory cue, and how time series of neural activity (now) can be used to forecast behavior (seconds or minutes from now). We pursue this research using a combination of behavioral experiments, neuroimaging, computational modeling, time-series analyses, and machine learning techniques. We are particularly interested in attracting applicants from meteorology, macroeconomics, machine learning, statistics and other disciplines that involve a mastery of time series analysis, statistical learning, forecasting, and/or forecast verification. Applicants should have a obtained a PhD in a relevant discipline prior to the starting date, and should have strong skills in at least some of the following areas: computer programming (MatLab, Python, C, C++), statistics, signal processing, computational, mathematical, and/or neural network modeling, statistical learning / machine learning / mutivariate pattern classification, time series analysis, forecasting. Resources available at NeuroSpin include Siemens 3T and 7T MRI scanners; high-density EEG (EGI Inc.); Elekta NeuroMag 306-channel MEG (allowing for the simultaneous recording of EEG); eye tracking (available for MRI, MEG, and behavioral experiments); an in-house team of experts in signal processing and statistical learning; a dedicated staff handling subject recruitment, scheduling, and payment; various Nespresso devices; and proximity to Paris. The salary is competitive, being aligned with that offered by Marie Curie fellowships. Applicants should send a CV, letter of motivation (max 2 pages), and a list of three references via e-mail to aaron.schurger(a)gmail.com. Review of applicants will begin immediately, and will continue until the positions are filled. The NeuroSpin Research Center is located on the campus of the CEA-Saclay, near Orsay, about 18 km southwest of Paris. For more information on the NeuroSpin Research Center and the Cognitive Neuroimaging Group: http://www-centre-saclay.cea.fr/fr/Visite-guidee-de-NeuroSpin http://meg-france.in2p3.fr/_lesCentres/Neurospin_en.php http://www-dsv.cea.fr/en/institutes/institute-of-biomedical-imaging-i2bm/de… http://www.unicog.org/pm/pmwiki.php -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aug. 26, 2015

Re: [Comp-neuro] Two postdoc positions in behavioral neurophsyiology

by Nicho

*Postdoctoral Position in Large-scale Neuronal Ensemble Recordings in Sensori-motor Cortices in Behaving Marmosets* A postdoctoral position is available starting in the fall of 2015 to characterize the spatio-temporal organization of sensori-motor cortical activity at multiple spatial scales associated with upper limb movements of behaving marmosets.This project involves high density multi-electrode array recordings as well as calcium fluorescence imaging from motor and somatosensory cortical sites in marmosets performing natural arm and hand movements.Facilities include a fully equipped electrophysiological laboratory with three 128-channel acquisition systems for multi-electrode recording and stimulation, calcium fluorescence imaging microscopes, and a camera-based, motion capture system.Expertise in multi-site, behavioral electrophysiology and/or calcium imaging is preferred.A strong mathematical, computational, or engineering background is also desirable.Applicants should send a CV and names and addresses of two or three references to Dr. Nicholas Hatsopoulos, Department of Organismal Biology, University of Chicago, 1027 East 57^th Street, Chicago, IL 60637 or by e-mail to nicho(a)uchicago.edu <mailto:nicho@uchicago.edu>. *Postdoctoral Position in Multi-Electrode Cortical Recording in Behaving Animals* A postdoctoral position is available starting in the winter of 2016 to investigate the neural basis of visuo-motor behavior.This project involves high density multi-electrode array recordings from motor and premotor cortical sites in monkeys performing complex arm and hand movements.Experiments seek to understand how large neuronal ensembles (single units and local field potentials) encode different aspects of these movements.These experiments also seek to develop decoding algorithms for possible application in brain-machine interfaces.Facilities include a fully equipped electrophysiological laboratory with three 128-channel acquisition systems, a two-link exoskeletal robot, and a camera-based, motion capture system. Expertise in multi-electrode, behavioral electrophysiology is preferred.A strong mathematical, computational, or engineering background is also desirable.Applicants should send a CV and names and addresses of two or three references to Dr. Nicholas Hatsopoulos, Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, University of Chicago, 1027 East 57^th Street, Chicago, IL 60637 or by e-mail to nicho(a)uchicago.edu <mailto:nicho@uchicago.edu>.

Aug. 25, 2015

Faculty Position in the Computational Neuroscience of Perception and/or Action

by Ila Fiete

*Faculty Position in the Computational Neuroscience of Perception and/or Action* The Center for Perceptual Systems at The University of Texas at Austin is currently inviting applications for a full-time appointment at the Assistant Professor level. The expected employment date is September 1, 2016. We are particularly interested in candidates who will be able to establish a strong research program in the computational and experimental science of perception or perception and action. Candidates must have a Ph.D. or equivalent from an accredited institution and a demonstrated ability to pursue an independent research program. The successful candidate will hold an appointment in an appropriate university department (e.g., Psychology, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Integrative Biology), will be expected to develop and maintain an extramurally funded research program, will be expected to participate in teaching activities at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, and will exhibit a commitment to service. For more information about the Center for Perceptual Systems see http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/cps/. (FRD: 6267) *Applicant Instructions:* Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest, current curriculum vita, representative scholarly publications, statement of research interests, evidence of excellence in teaching to: apply.interfolio.com/30070 <http://apply.interfolio.com/30070>. You should also have a minimum of three referees submit letters of recommendation to: apply.interfolio.com/30070 <http://apply.interfolio.com/30070>. Applications will be considered beginning November 1, 2015 and will continue to be reviewed until the position has been filled. Proof of conferred degree and a background check will be conducted on selected applicants. Position funding is pending final budgetary approval. Questions can be directed to the chair of the search committee, Dr. Wilson Geisler atw.geisler(a)utexas.edu <mailto:w.geisler@utexas.edu>. The University of Texas at Austin and the Department of Psychology strongly value multiculturalism and diversity. -- Ila Fiete Associate Professor Department of Neuroscience | Center for Learning and Memory The University of Texas at Austin http://clm.utexas.edu/fietelab/

Aug. 25, 2015

NEURAL COMPUTATION - September 1, 2015

by Terry Sejnowski

Neural Computation - Volume 27, Number 9 - September 1, 2015 Available online for download now: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/neco/27/9 ----- Article Extracting Low-dimensional Latent Structure From Time Series in the Presence of Delays Karthik C. Lakshmanan, Patrick T Sadtler, Elizabeth C Tyler-Kabara, Aaron P Batista, and Byron M. Yu Note Is First-Order Vector Autoregressive Model Optimal for fMRI Data? Chee-Ming Ting, Abd-Krim Seghouane, Muhammad Usman Khalid, and Sh-Hussain Salleh Letters A Novel Reconstruction Framework for Time Encoded Signals with Integrate-and-fire Neurons Dorian Florescu, Daniel Coca Online Direct Density-Ratio Estimation Applied to Inlier-based Outlier Detection Marthinus Christoffel du Plessis, Hiroaki Shiino, and Masashi Sugiyama Relations Among Some Low Rank Subspace Recovery Models Hongyang Zhang, Zhouchen Lin, Chao Zhang, and Junbin Gao A Fast Algorithm for Learning Overcomplete Dictionary for Sparse Representation Based on Proximal Operators Zhenni Li, Shuxue Ding, and Yujie Li Fusion of Scores in a Detection Context Based on Alpha Integration Antonio Soriano, Luis Vergara, Bouziane Ahmed, and Addisson Salazar ------------ ON-LINE -- http://www.mitpressjournals.org/neuralcomp SUBSCRIPTIONS - 2015 - VOLUME 27 - 12 ISSUES Student/Retired $75 Individual $134 Institution $1,075 MIT Press Journals, One Rogers Street, Cambridge, MA 02142-1209 Tel: (617) 253-2889 FAX: (617) 577-1545 journals-cs(a)mit.edu ------------

Aug. 24, 2015

Postdoctoral position in dendritic modelling at the Poirazi lab, in Crete, Greece.

by Yiota Poirazi

Apologies for multiple postings. ----------------------------------------- 1-2 Postdoctoral positions funded by the* ERC Starting Grant dEMORY <http://www.demory.gr>*will be available as of* October 1st 2015* (the start date is flexible) at IMBB-FORTH <http://www.imbb.forth.gr> in Crete, in the lab of Dr. *Panayiota Poirazi*. <http://www.dendrites.gr> * Indicative application deadline: September 25th, 2015 (applications will be continuously screened until the positions are filled).* · Available for 2 years, with a *yearly *salary of 30,000-36,000 € (with benefits), depending on experience and career stage. · *Requirements: *Expertise in computational neuroscience, preferably in compartmental modeling and neural/dendritic computations. *THE PROJECT: Dissecting the Role of Dendrites in Memory* While memory is a function that has attracted the interest of the scientific community for several years, little is known about the rules underlying memory formation in the brain. Until recently, the single neuron was considered the main processing unit of the brain and memories were believed to be stored exclusively through plasticity modifications that take place in the synapses, the connecting sites between neurons. Over the last decade however, emerging evidence suggests that the neuron is no longer the key processing unit of the brain. The dendrites of individual neurons, which were thought as merely passive devices that allow neuronal communication, are currently the no 1 candidate for this role. The goal of this work is to characterize the role of dendrites in learning and memory processes so as to formulate a unifying theory regarding their contribution in memory formation across brain regions and abstraction levels. This will be achieved via the development of computational models that start at the single cell level and expand to the microcircuit and the network level, while varying in their degree of biophysical detail. Models will express a distinct memory function, specific to the region they belong to: the hippocampus the prefrontal cortex or the amygdala. By manipulating the biophysical, anatomical and plasticity properties of dendrites and tracking the effect on memory, the project aims to infer the key rules by which these thin structures shape mnemonic processes. These rules will then form the basis for deducing theoretical abstractions of trainable neurons with dendrites. The project has been running since 2012 and has already produced a number of outcomes which can be found at the following web sites: *www.demory.gr* <http://www.demory.gr>*, * *www.dendrites.gr* <http://www.dendrites.gr> *IMBB-FORTH* The Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas <http://www.forth.gr> (FORTH) is one of the top European Research Centers. It has ranked 1st in terms of high impact publications in Greece and 12th in the number of FP7 grants in Europe. It should be noted that since the establishment of the ERC grant scheme in 2007, a total of 39 awards have been made to scientists working in Greek Institutions and 11 of them are located in Institutes of FORTH. The Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology <http://www.imbb.forth.gr> (IMBB) at FORTH is the top Biological Institute in Greece, in terms of high quality personnel, publications, infrastructure and competitive grants. IMBB-FORTH is located in Heraklion, one of the most ancient and historical Greek cities, on the picturesque island of Crete. Crete, the homeland of major artists, such as El Greco and Nikos Kazantzakis, impressively combines the outstanding geophysical variety (forests, mountains, gorges, and beaches) with its rich history of thousands of years, resulting in the well-known Cretan culture and cuisine. *THE POIRAZI LAB* The Computational Biology Laboratory <http://www.imbb.forth.gr/people/poirazi/> at IMBB-FORTH performs research that is at the forefront of Computational Neuroscience. The work of Dr. Poirazi led to several high impact publications, some of which have shaped the field of dendritic computations. Her work received prestigious awards, including the EMBO Young Investigator Award in 2005, 2 Marie Curie Fellowships, a scientist-of-the year award in Greece in 2012, a European Research Council (ERC) starting grant in 2012, a nomination by EMBO to AcademiaNet—portal for outstanding female scientists in Europe (2013), and the "Manolis Christofides" Young Cypriot Investigator award in 2014. She is named Young Scientist of the World Economic Forum for its Annual Meeting of the New Champions in 2014 and 2015. She is a member of the Young Academy of Europe since 2015 and currently the Chair of the FENS-KAVLI Network of Excellence <http://www.fens.org/Outreach/FENS-Kavli-Network-of-Excellence/> whose aim is to promote Neuroscience research and science policy in Europe and beyond. *TO APPLY:* Candidates that match the required profile will be continuously interviewed until the positions are filled. Candidates should send a *resume and two (2) reference letters* to *poirazi[at]imbb.forth.gr <http://imbb.forth.gr>*. If possible, recommendations should be sent by the referees. -- Panayiota Poirazi, Ph.D. Research Director Computational Biology Laboratory Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) Foundation of Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH) Vassilika Vouton, P.O.Box 1385, GR 70013, Heraklion, Crete GREECE Tel: +30 2810 391139 Fax: +30 2810 391101 Εmail: poirazi(a)imbb.forth.gr Lab site: www.dendrites.gr Chair, FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence <http://www.fens.org/Outreach/FENS-Kavli-Network-of-Excellence/>

Aug. 24, 2015

LASCON 2016 - VI Latin American School on Computational Neuroscience (Call for applications)

by Antonio C. Roque

**** Apologies for cross-posting **** VI Latin American School on Computational Neuroscience - LASCON 2016 January 3 - 29, 2016, Sao Paulo, Brazil http://sisne.org/lascon APPLICATION DEADLINE: September 6 2015 SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT Dear Colleagues, Following the success of the previous editions of LASCON (Latin American School on Computational Neuroscience), I am pleased to announce the 6th LASCON, which will take place between January 3 - 29 2016 at the NeuroMat Center in the University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. LASCON aims at introducing young researchers and graduate and advanced undergraduate students to the use of computational and mathematical methods for modeling neurons and neural networks. These models will be taught via a combination of theoretical lectures and hands-on tutorials with the use of the programs like neuroConstruct, NEURON, NEST, Brian, the Virtual Brain and Matlab. Students will have to work on small research projects (to be done in groups of two), which they will present orally at the end of the school. The following lecturers will be in charge of theoretical classes and tutorials: Arnd Roth, University College, London, UK Benjamin Lindner, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany Boris Marin, University College, London, UK Christophe Pouzat, Universite Paris Descartes, Paris, France Demian Battaglia, Aix-Marseille Universite, Marseille, France German Mato, Centro Atomico Bariloche, San Carlos de Bariloche, RN, Argentina Hannah Bos, Forschungszentrum Juelich, Juelich, Germany Jannis Schuecker, Forschungszentrum Juelich, Juelich, Germany John Murray, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA Marco Huertas, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX, USA Volker Steuber, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK William Lytton, State University of New York, New York, NY, USA There will also be some invited lectures. The current list of invited lecturers is: Andre Kohn, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil Antonio Galves, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil Cesar Renno-Costa, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil Fabio Simoes de Souza, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo Andre, SP, Brazil Julian Tejada, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Aracaju, SE, Brazil Leonardo Maia, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos, SC, Brazil Marco Idiart, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil Marcelo Reyes, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo Andre, SP, Brazil Mauro Copelli, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE Sakyasingha Dasgupta, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Japan Sergio Neuenschwander, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil The number of students is limited to 20 and applications should be made electronically via the application form in the school's web page ( http://sisne.org/?page_id=253&lang=en) Applicants are also requested to submit a detailed CV (in English) and to provide two letters of recommendation. The application deadline is September 6 2015 (until midnight, US Pacific time). There is no registration fee for the school. Costs for accommodation will be covered by the school organization. Travel costs have to be covered by the students. Sao Paulo is the major transportation hub in South America, so it is possible to fly from basically anywhere in the world to it. In the selection procedure, priority will be given to Latin-American students, but students from other parts of the world are encouraged to apply as well. LASCON 2016 is an activity of the FAPESP Center for Neuromathematics (NeuroMat -http://neuromat.numec.prp.usp.br) and is jointly organized by the University of Sao Paulo and the Federal University of ABC. I am looking forward to see you in Sao Paulo. Best regards, A. Roque LASCON Director -- Dr. Antonio C. Roque Professor Associado Departamento de Fisica FFCLRP, Universidade de Sao Paulo 14040-901 Ribeirao Preto-SP Brazil - Brasil E-mails: antonior(a)ffclrp.usp.br aroquesilva(a)gmail.com URL: www.sisne.org Tels: +55 16 3315-3768 (sala/office); +55 16 3315-3859 (lab) FAX: +55 16 3315-4887

Aug. 23, 2015

CFP :: ISACS 2015 - Intl. Symposium on ATTENTION IN COGNITIVE SYSTEMS :: at IROS 2015 (Hamburg, Germany)

by Paletta, Lucas

-------------------------------------------------- FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS 8th International Symposium on ATTENTION IN COGNITIVE SYSTEMS ISACS 2015 (associated with IROS 2015) October 2, 2015, Hamburg, Germany http://isacs2015.joanneum.at/ --------------------------------------------------- DOWNLOAD THE CALL FOR PAPERS http://isacs2015.joanneum.at/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ISACS2015-CFP-poste… ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION AT https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=isacs2015 associated with the 2015 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems http://www.iros2015.org/ IMPORTANT DATES Full paper submission: September 4, 2015 Notification of acceptance: September 10, 2015 Final paper submission: September 18, 2015 Workshop day: October 2, 2015 SCOPE The capacity to attend to relevant information has been part of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems since the early days of the discipline. Currently, with respect to the design and computational modeling of artificial cognitive systems, selective attention has again become a focus of research, gaining importance for the organization of behaviors, for control and interfacing between sensory and cognitive information processing, and for the understanding of individual and social cognition in humanoid artifacts. While visual cognition plays a central role in human perception, findings from neuroscience and cognitive psychology have informed us on the perception-action nature of cognition. In particular, the embodiment in sensory-motor intelligence requires a continuous spatio-temporal interplay between interpretations from various perceptual modalities and the corresponding control of motor activities. In addition, the process of selecting information from the incoming sensory stream, in tune with contextual processing at the task and global levels, becomes a challenging control issue within the viewpoint of focused attention. Attention systems must operate at many levels and not only at interaction of bottom-up world interpretation and top-down information selection. Selective attention can be considered as part of the core of artificial cognitive system. These insights have already resulted in paradigm changes in several AI-related disciplines, including behavior-based robotics and computational modeling of animals. In engineering, the development of enabling technologies such as autonomous robot systems, miniaturized mobile - even wearable - sensors, and ambient intelligence systems involves the real-time analysis of very large quantities of data that have to be processed in an intelligent way to provide "on time delivery" of the required relevant information. This information has to indicate what needs to be paid attention to and how to respond to the target of attention in a meaningful way. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: Techniques, modelling, and concepts - Computational architectures for attention - Modelling of visual and auditory attention - Attention in multimodal information fusion - Biologically inspired attention - Attentive control in robotic systems - Aspects of attention in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy - Attention and control of machine vision processes - Etc. Application related topics of interest - Robotic Systems - Human-robot interaction - Attentive multimodal interfaces - Autonomous intelligent systems - Video surveillance - Video and image retrieval - Usability research - Etc. SYMPOSIUM CHAIRS Lucas Paletta, Joanneum Research, Austria Simone Frintrop, University of Bonn, Germany Bilge Mutlu, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA PROGRAM COMMITTEE Ulrich Ansorge, University of Vienna, Austria Christian Balkenius, Lund University, Sweden Anna Belardinelli, University of Tübingen, Germany Ralf Engbert, University of Potsdam, Germany Dietmar Heinke, University of Birmingham, UK Eileen Kowler, Rutgers University, USA Bärbel Mertsching Univ. of Paderborn, Germany Giorgio Metta, Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Italy Thies Pfeiffer, University of Bielefeld, CITEC, Germany Constantin A. Rothkopf, TU Darmstadt and FIAS, Germany Björn Schuller, Imperial College, UK Jochen Triesch Frankfurt IAS, Germany Hezy Yeshurun University of Tel Aviv, Israel AUTHOR GUIDELINES Submitted papers should be in IEEE format and with length of 3-5 pages. Appropriate style files can be downloaded from http://ras.papercept.net/conferences/support/support.php . Submissions should be in PDF format. The review process will be double-blind; authors should leave the author field and the acknowledgment section blank and cite their own prior work as if they are citing a third party. Authors must indicate double submissions in the submission form. PROCEEDINGS Presentation slides will be published on the ISACS website after the symposium. Authors will also have the option of including their paper in the electronic Symposium Proceedings in arxiv.org (with DOI) until December 2015. PREVIOUS WORKSHOPS OF THE WAPCV/ISACS SERIES ISACS 2014, Bielefeld, Germany (single event)http://isacs2014.joanneum.at/ ISACS 2013, Beijing, China (IJCAI) http://isacs2013.joanneum.at/ WAPCV 2008, Santorini, Greece (ICVS) http://dib.joanneum.at/wapcv2008 WAPCV 2007, Hyderabad, India (IJCAI) http://dib.joanneum.at/wapcv2007 WAPCV 2005, San Diego, USA (CVPR) http://dib.joanneum.at/wapcv2005 WAPCV 2004, Prague, Czech Rep.(ECCV) http://dib.joanneum.at/wapcv2004 WAPCV 2003, Graz, Austria (ICVS) http://dib.joanneum.at/wapcv2003 PRESENTATIONS Regular oral presentations will be 20 minutes in total, including approximately 15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for discussion. INVITED TALKS CONFIRMED TO DATE Ali Borji, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WI, USA Michael Zillich, Vienna University of Technology, Austria Fiora Pirri University of Rome, La Sapienza, Italy Christian Balkenius Lund University, Sweden Ralf Engbert University of Potsdam, Germany Jochen Triesch Frankfurt IAS, Germany CONTACT Lucas Paletta, Joanneum Research, Austria lucas.paletta(a)joanneum.at Simone Frintrop, University of Bonn, Germany frintrop(a)cs.uni-bonn.de Bilge Mutlu, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA bilge(a)cs.wisc.edu

Aug. 23, 2015

1st CfP: FUTURE COMPUTING 2016 || March 20 - 24, 2016 - Rome, Italy

by Cristina Pascual

INVITATION: ================= Please consider to contribute to and/or forward to the appropriate groups the following opportunity to submit and publish original scientific results to: - FUTURE COMPUTING 2016, The Eighth International Conference on Future Computational Technologies and Applications The submission deadline is November 3, 2015. Authors of selected papers will be invited to submit extended article versions to one of the IARIA Journals: http://www.iariajournals.org ================= ============== FUTURE COMPUTING 2016 | Call for Papers =============== CALL FOR PAPERS, TUTORIALS, PANELS FUTURE COMPUTING 2016, The Eighth International Conference on Future Computational Technologies and Applications General page: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2016/FUTURECOMPUTING16.html Submission page: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2016/SubmitFUTURECOMPUTING16.html Events schedule: March 20 - 24, 2016 - Rome, Italy 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: November 3, 2015 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 FUTURE COMPUTING 2016 Topics (for topics and submission details: see CfP on the site) Call for Papers: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2016/CfPFUTURECOMPUTING16.html ============================================================ Special Sessions on Memristor-based Computation and Technologies Organizers: Ronald Tetzlaff, TU-Dresden, Germany Dietmar Fey Friedrich-Alexander-Universit�t Erlangen-N�rnberg, Germany Alon Ascoli, TU-Dresden, Germany Computational intelligence strategies Cognitive computing; Intelligent computation; Ambient computing; Unconventional computing; Indeterminist computing; Adaptive computation; Autonomic computation; Computation under uncertainty; Chaotic computation; Intentional computing; Anticipative computing; Evolutionary computing Mechanism-oriented computing Spatial computation; Elastic computing; Human-centered computing; Embedded computing; Entertainment computing; Time-sensitive/temporal computing; Soft computing (fuzzy logic, neural computing, evolutionary computation, machine learning, and probabilistic reasoning + belief networks, + chaos theory + learning theory) Large-scale computing strategies Distributed computing; Parallel computing; Macro- and micro-computing; Activity-based computing; Data intensive computing; Resource-constraint computing; Grid computing; Cloud computing; Cluster computing; On-demand computing; Ubiquitous/pervasive computing; Memristor Computing; Unconventional computing; Evolutionary computing Computing technologies Quantum computing; Optical computing; DNA (genetic) computing; Molecular computing; Reversible computing; Billiard Ball computing; Neuronal computing; Magnetic computing; Gloopware computing; Moldy computing; Water wave-based computing; Graphene-based computing Technology-oriented computing Peer-to-Peer computing; Mobile computing; Sensor-based computing; Wireless computing; Trusted computing; Financial computing; Genetic computation ------------------------ FUTURE COMPUTING 2016 Committee: http://www.iaria.org/conferences2016/ComFUTURECOMPUTING16.html ========================

Aug. 22, 2015

Postdoctoral positions in Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience at Yale

by McCormick, David

POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONs in Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience The Swartz Center in Theoretical Neurobiology at Yale University invites applications for two postdoctoral positions in Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience. We seek exceptional individuals with a quantitative background who wish to gain neuroscience research experience by collaborating directly with experimental biologists. The candidates will be expected to perform computational studies relevant to one or more laboratories of the Yale Swartz Center (http://medicine.yale.edu/neurobiology/swartz/corelabs.aspx) and will be encouraged to participate in an expanding quantitative biology environment. Candidates must hold a Ph.D. or equivalent degree. Please send a Curriculum Vitae, selected reprints, and a statement of research plans including the laboratories of interest. All application materials should be sent electronically to the following e-mail address: david.mccormick(a)yale.edu<mailto:david.mccormick@yale.edu>. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, but priority will be given to those received on or before September 15th 2015. Yale University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Yale values diversity in its faculty, students, and staff and especially welcomes applications from women and underrepresented minorities. David A. McCormick Professor, Neurobiology | Yale University School of Medicine Dept. Neurobiology 333 Cedar Street | New Haven, CT 06510 | 203.785.5981 www.mccormicklab.org<http://www.mccormicklab.org> | www.neurobiology.org<http://www.neurobiology.org>

Aug. 21, 2015

Increased Impact Factor (2014/15) and Table of Contents Alert: Cognitive Computation journal (Springer Neuroscience, USA): Vol.7, No.4 / Aug 2015 Issue

by Dr Amir Hussain

Dear Colleagues: (with advance apologies for any cross-postings) We are delighted to announce the publication of Volume 7, No.4 / Aug 2015 Issue, of Springer's Cognitive Computation journal - www.springer.com/12559 ================================================================ Important News: Increased Impact Factor & Six bi-monthly Journal Issues from 2015! ================================================================ As you will know, Cognitive Computation was selected for coverage in Thomson Reuter’s products and services in 2011. Beginning with V.1 (1) 2009, this publication is now indexed and abstracted in: ♦ Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch®) ♦ Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition ♦ Current Contents®/Engineering Computing and Technology ♦ Neuroscience Citation Index® Cognitive Computation received its first Impact Factor (IF) of 1.0 in 2011 The IF for 2014 has increased to 1.44 (Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports® 2014) Many congratulations to the editors, reviewers and authors! Want to be part of the growing success? Visit the journal homepage (http:// springer.com/12559) for instructions on submitting your research. ================================= Quarterly to Bi-monthly Issues, from 2015!! ================================= Due to continuously growing number of high quality submissions, the number of Issues has increased from four (quarterly Issues) to six (bi-monthly Issues) each year, starting Feb 2015! ================================================================= The August 2015 Issue comprises an invited paper by Alessandro Vinciarelli and Anna Esposito, et al. titled: Open Challenges in Modelling, Analysis and Synthesis of Human Behaviour in Human–Human and Human–Machine Interactions. This is followed by six regular papers. The full listing of published articles (Table of Contents) for this August 2015 Issue can be viewed here (and also at the end of this message, followed by an overview of the previous Issues/Archive listings): http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/7/4/ <http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/6/4/> A list of the journal's most downloaded articles (which can always be read for FREE) can be found here: http://www.springer .com/biomed/neuroscience/journal/12559?hideChart=1#realtime Other 'Online First' published articles not yet in a print issue can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/121361/?Content+Status=Accepted All previous Volumes and Issues of the journal can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/volumesAndIssues/12559 ============================================ Reminder: Cognitive Computation "LinkedIn" Group: ============================================ To further strengthen the bonds amongst the interdisciplinary audience of Cognitive Computation, we have set-up a "Cognitive Computation LinkedIn group", which has over 800 members already! We warmly invite you to join us at: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3155048 For further information on the journal and to sign up for electronic "Table of Contents alerts" please visit the Cognitive Computation homepage: http://www.springer.com/12559 or follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/CognComput for the latest On-line First Issues. For any questions with regards to LinkedIn and/or Twitter, please contact Springer's Publishing Editor: Marleen Moore: Marleen.Moore(a)springer.com Finally, we would like to invite you to submit short or regular papers describing original research or timely review of important areas - our aim is to peer review all papers within approximately six-eight weeks of receipt. We also welcome relevant high quality proposals for Special Issues - four are already planned for 2015-16 (including for the 7th international BICS'2015 Conference at Hefei, China, 11-13 Dec 2015, see: http://cs.stir.ac.uk/events/bics2015 - for CFPs of other Special Issues, see: http://www.springer.com/biomed/neuroscience/journal/12559?detailsPage=press ) With our very best wishes to all aspiring readers and authors of Cognitive Computation, Professor Amir Hussain, PhD (Editor-in-Chief: Cognitive Computation) E-mail: ahu(a)cs.stir.ac.uk (University of Stirling, Scotland, UK) Professor Igor Aleksander, PhD (Honorary Editor-in-Chief: Cognitive Computation) (Imperial College, London, UK) http://www.springer.com/12559 NEW: Open Access Springer/BMC journal: Big Data Analytics ( http://www.bdataanalytics.com/) - Now accepting submissions! NEW: Springer Series on Socio-Affective Computing: http://www.springer.com/series/13199 Also consider your work for related Book Series: SpringerBriefs on Cognitive Computation: http://www.springer.com/series/10374 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Alert -- Cognitive Computation Vol 7 No 4, August 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Open Challenges in Modelling, Analysis and Synthesis of Human Behaviour in Human–Human and Human–Machine Interactions Alessandro Vinciarelli, Anna Esposito, Elisabeth André, Francesca Bonin, Mohamed Chetouani, Jeffrey F. Cohn, Marco Cristani, Ferdinand Fuhrmann, Elmer Gilmartin, Zakia Hammal, Dirk Heylen, Rene Kaiser, Maria Koutsombogera, Alexandros Potamianos, Steve Renals, Giuseppe Riccardi and Albert Ali Salah http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-015-9326-z Towards Autonomous Robots Via an Incremental Clustering and Associative Learning Architecture Matthias U. Keysermann, Patrícia A. Vargas http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9311-y Visual Attention Model Based Vehicle Target Detection in Synthetic Aperture Radar Images: A Novel Approach Fei Gao, Ye Zhang, Jun Wang, Jinping Sun, Erfu Yang, Amir Hussain http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9312-x Correlation Coefficients of Hesitant Fuzzy Sets and Their Application Based on Fuzzy Measures Fanyong Meng, Xiaohong Chen http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9313-9 An Arterial Traffic Signal Control System Based on a Novel Intersections Model and Improved Hill Climbing Algorithm Fuyang Chen, Li Wang, Bin Jiang, Changyun Wen http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9314-8 Convergence Analysis of a New Self Organizing Map Based Optimization (SOMO) Algorithm Atlas Khan, Li Zheng Xue, Wu Wei, YanPeng Qu, Amir Hussain, Ricardo Z. N. Vencio http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9315-7 Concept-Level Sentiment Analysis with Dependency-Based Semantic Parsing: A Novel Approach Basant Agarwal, Soujanya Poria, Namita Mittal, Alexander Gelbukh, Amir Hussain http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9316-6 -------------------------------------------------------- Previous Issues/Archive: Overview: -------------------------------------------------------- All previous Volumes and Issues can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/volumesAndIssues/12559 Alternatively, the full listing of the Inaugural Vol. 1, No. 1 / March 2009, can be viewed here (which included invited authoritative reviews by leading researchers in their areas - including keynote papers from London University's John Taylor, Igor Aleksander and Stanford University's James McClelland, and invited papers from Ron Sun, Pentti Haikonen, Geoff Underwood, Kevin Gurney, Claudius Gross, Anil Seth and Tom Ziemke): http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/1/1/ The full listing of Vol. 1, No. 2 / June 2009, can be viewed here (which included invited reviews and original research contributions from leading researchers, including Rodney Douglas, Giacomo Indiveri, Jurgen Schmidhuber, Thomas Wennekers, Pentti Kanerva and Friedemann Pulvermuller): http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/1/2/ The full listing of Vol.1, No. 3 / Sep 2009, can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/1/3/ The full listing of Vol. 1, No. 4 / Dec 2009, can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/1/4/ The full listing of Vol.2, No. 1 / March 2010, can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/2/1/ The full listing of Vol.2, No. 2 / June 2010, can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/2/2/ The full listing of Vol.2, No. 3 / Aug 2010, can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/2/3/ The full listing of Vol.2, No. 4 / Dec 2010, can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/2/4/ The full listing of Vol.3, No.1 / Mar 2011 (Special Issue on: Saliency, Attention, Active Visual Search and Picture Scanning, edited by John Taylor and Vassilis Cutsuridis), can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/3/1/ The Guest Editorial can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/hu2245056415633l/ The full listing of Vol.3, No.2 / June 2011 can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/3/2/ The full listing of Vol. 3, No. 3 / Sep 2011 (Special Issue on: Cognitive Behavioural Systems, Guest Edited by: Anna Esposito, Alessandro Vinciarelli, Simon Haykin, Amir Hussain and Marcos Faundez-Zanuy), can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/3/3/ The Guest Editorial for the special issue can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/h4718567520t2h84/ The full listing of Vol. 3, No. 4 / Dec 2011 can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/3/4/ The full listing of Vol. 4, No.1 / Mar 2012 can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/4/1/ The full listing of Vol. 4, No.2 / June 2012 can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/4/2/ The full listing of Vol. 4, No.3 / Sep 2012 (Special Issue on: Computational Creativity, Intelligence and Autonomy, Edited by: J. Mark Bishop and Yasemin J. Erden) can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/4/3/ The full listing of Vol. 4, No.4 / Dec 2012 (Special Issue titled: "Cognitive & Emotional Information Processing", Edited by: Stefano Squartini, Björn Schuller and Amir Hussain, which is followed by a number of regular papers), can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/4/4/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 5, No.1 / March 2013 Special Issue titled: Computational Intelligence and Applications Guest Editors: Zhigang Zeng & Haibo He, which is followed by a number of regular papers), can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/5/1/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 5, No.2 / June 2013 Special Issue titled: Advances on Brain Inspired Computing, Guest Editors: Stefano Squartini, Sanqing Hu & Qingshan Liu, which is followed by a number of regular papers), can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/5/2/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 5, No.3 / Sep 2013 Special Issue titled: In Memory of John G Taylor: A Polymath Scholar, Guest Editors: Vassilis Cutsuridis & Amir Hussain, which is followed by a number of regular papers), can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/5/3/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 5, No.4 / Dec 2013, which includes regular papers (including an invited paper by Professor Ron Sun, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA, titled: Moral Judgment, Human Motivation, and Neural Networks), and a Special Issue titled: Advanced Cognitive Systems Based on Nonlinear Analysis. Guest Editors: Carlos M. Travieso and Jesús B. Alonso, can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/5/4/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 6, No.1 / Mar 2014, can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/6/1/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 6, No.2 / June 2014, can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/6/2/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 6, No.3 / Sep 2014, can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/6/3/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 6, No.4 / Dec 2014 (Special Issue on Modeling emotion, behaviour and context in socially believable robots and ICT interfaces, Guest Editors: Anna Esposito, Leopoldina Fortunati, and Giuseppe Lugano) can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/6/4/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 7, No.1 / Feb 2015 can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/7/1/ (with the first six papers part of a Special Issue on "Neural Signal Processing", Guest Edited by: Jordi Sole´-Casals, Francois-Benoit Vialatte, Justin Dauwels. The Guest Editorial titled: "Alternative Techniques of Neural Signal Processing in Neuroengineering" is available (for free download) here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-015-9317-0) The full listing of Vol. 7, No. 2 / April 2015, can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/7/2/ This comprises a Special Issue on "Sentic Computing", Guest Edited by: E. Cambria and A. Hussain. The Guest Editorial titled: "Sentic Computing" is available (for free download) here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-015-9325-0 The full listing of Vol. 7, No. 3 / June 2015, can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/7/3/ ________________________________ -- The University is ranked in the QS World Rankings of the top 5% of universities in the world (QS World University Rankings, 2014) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

Aug. 21, 2015

Chaired Professors in Mathematical Psychology/Cognitive Sciences at UC Irvine

by Jeff Krichmar

Dear Comp-Neuro colleagues, The following job posting may be of interest to many of you. ---------- University of California, Irvine Chaired Professors in Mathematical Psychology/Cognitive Sciences The Department of Cognitive Sciences (www.cogsci.uci.edu) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) invites applications for faculty positions associated with the Falmagne Endowed Chairs in Mathematical Psychology/Cognitive Sciences. Applicants should have an exemplary track record of implementing innovative mathematical approaches to important questions in psychology or cognitive science. We are especially interested in candidates at the advanced Associate or Full Professor level whose research focus is in either human cognition or visual perception, and related areas of specialization. Information about the Falmagne Endowed Chairs can be found at: http://www.cogsci.uci.edu/falmagnechairs.php. The online application includes: A cover letter, CV, research and teaching statements, 3 major publications, and contact information for 3-5 referees. Interested candidates can apply for the position at: https://recruit.ap.uci.edu/apply/JPF03041. Application review will commence on December 1, 2015 and continue until filled. The University of California, Irvine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer advancing inclusive excellence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination policy. ---------- Jeff Krichmar Department of Cognitive Sciences 2328 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA 92697-5100 jkrichma(a)uci.edu http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~jkrichma

Aug. 21, 2015

CfP: ICLR 2016 - Conference Track

by Hugo Larochelle

------------------------------------------------------------------- 4th International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR 2016) ------------------------------------------------------------------- Website: http://www.iclr.cc/ Submission deadline for title and abstract: November 12th, 2015 Submission deadline for arXiv paper ID: November 19th, 2015 Location: Caribe Hilton, San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 2-4, 2016 Overview -------- It is well understood that the performance of machine learning methods is heavily dependent on the choice of data representation (or features) on which they are applied. The rapidly developing field of representation learning is concerned with questions surrounding how we can best learn meaningful and useful representations of data. We take a broad view of the field, and include in it topics such as deep learning and feature learning, metric learning, kernel learning, compositional models, non-linear structured prediction, and issues regarding non-convex optimization. Despite the importance of representation learning to machine learning and to application areas such as vision, speech, audio and NLP, there was no venue for researchers who share a common interest in this topic. The goal of ICLR has been to help fill this void. A non-exhaustive list of relevant topics: - unsupervised, semi-supervised, and supervised representation learning - metric learning and kernel learning - dimensionality expansion - sparse modeling - hierarchical models - optimization for representation learning - learning representations of outputs or states - implementation issues, parallelization, software platforms, hardware - applications in vision, audio, speech, natural language processing, robotics, neuroscience, or any other field The program will include keynote presentations from invited speakers, oral presentations, and posters. As usual, ICLR will feature two tracks: a Conference Track and a Workshop Track. However, this year, conference and workshop submissions will be reviewed separately, in two different periods. This call for paper is thus only for conference contributions. Workshop submissions will be received a few months before the conference and be subject to a lighter review. A future call for papers will be sent with more details on the Workshop Track. Also, the reviewing period for conference submissions will be separated into two short rounds (normally 2 reviews in the first round, 1 review in the second round). The first round will run as usual. The second round reviews, however, in addition to evaluating the submissions, will be required to include comments on the content of the first round reviews. By asking for such comments, we hope to ensure a minimum of discussion for every paper, and favour interactions that might either identify factual errors early or reveal a clearer consensus. Note that some of the submitted papers that are not accepted to the Conference Track will be invited to be presented under the Workshop Track. ICLR Submission Instructions ---------------------------- 1. By November 12th, authors are asked to enter in openreview.net the title, abstract and author list for their paper. 2. Then, as soon as possible, authors must post on arXiv their submission: http://arxiv.org . 3. Finally, by November 19th, authors must update their submission in openreview.net with the arXiv ID of their paper. Note that there can be up to 3 days of delay between sending a manuscript on arXiv and receiving your arXiv ID. It is thus important to post your submission on arXiv early. Note also that you can always update your submission on arXiv later on, anytime during the review process. Submissions without an arXiv ID after November 19th will be automatically removed from openreview.net. For more information on paper preparation, including style files and the URL for the openreview ICLR 2016 website, please see http://www.iclr.cc/doku.php?id=iclr2016:main Submission deadline: November 12th for title and abstract, November 19th for arXiv ID. Notes: i. Regarding the conference submission's 6-9 page limits, these are really meant as guidelines and will not be strictly enforced. For example, figures should not be shrunk to illegible size to fit within the page limit. However, in order to ensure a reasonable workload for our reviewers, papers that go beyond the 9 pages should be formatted to include a 9 page submission, with supplementary material appended at the end of the manuscript and clearly marked as an appendix, which will be optionally reviewed. ii. Paper revisions will be permitted, and in fact are encouraged, in response to comments from and discussions with the reviewers (see "An Open Reviewing Paradigm" below). An Open Reviewing Paradigm -------------------------- 1. Submissions to ICLR are posted on arXiv prior to being submitted to the conference. 2. Authors submit their paper to either the ICLR conference track or workshop track via the openreview.net ICLR 2016 website. 3. After the authors have submitted their papers via openreview.net, the ICLR program committee designates anonymous reviewers as usual. 4. The submitted reviews are published without the name of the reviewer, but with an indication that they are the designated reviews. 5. Anyone can openly (non-anonymously) write and publish comments on the paper. Anyone can ask the program chairs for permission to become an anonymous designated reviewer (open bidding). The program chairs have ultimate control over the publication of each anonymous review. Open commenters will have to use their real names. 6. Authors can post comments in response to reviews and comments. They can revise the paper as many times as they want, possibly citing some of the reviews. Reviewers are expected to revise their reviews in light of paper revisions. 7. The review calendar includes a generous amount of time for discussion between the authors, anonymous reviewers, and open commentators. The goal is to improve the quality of the final submissions. 8. The ICLR program and area chairs will consider all submitted papers, comments, and reviews and will decide which papers are to be presented in the conference track, which will be invited to be presented in the workshop track, and which will not appear at ICLR. 9. Papers that are presented in the workshop track or are not accepted will be considered non-archival, and may be submitted elsewhere (modified or not), although the ICLR site will maintain the reviews, the comments, and the links to the arXiv versions. Organizers ---------- Yoshua Bengio, Université de Montreal, General Chair Yann LeCun, New York University and Facebook, General Chair Hugo Larochelle, Twitter and Université de Sherbrooke, Senior Program Chair Brian Kingsbury, IBM Watson Group, Program Chair Samy Bengio, Google, Program Chair Contact ------- The organizers can be contacted at iclr2016.programchairs(a)gmail.com

Aug. 20, 2015

Postdoc position in Computational Brain Modelling at Ulster University UK

by McDaid, Liam

Applications are invited for the post of Research Associate (RA) in Computational Brain Modelling (Ref: 1483428) based at the Intelligent Systems Research Center, Ulster University, UK. The RA post is for a 3½ year duration and is part of a collaborative project funded by EPSRC: our partners are the Department of Electronics, University of York. The RA post holder will be part of a team that aims to develop a brain-inspired self-repairing algorithm and subsequently map this self-repairing algorithm to hardware robotic controllers at the University of York. At Ulster we have previously shown that astrocyte cells interact with neurons to detect when a fault has occurred in the connections making up a network of neurons and how this interaction can oversee a repair strategy (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=7001695) The RA post will work primarily on the development of a computational model that captures the interactions between neurons and astrocytes, and hence the repair process, and will interact with other team members to translate the self-repair strategy to hardware computing systems and robot controllers based at the University of York. The RA post is fixed-term based at Ulster University and runs from November 2015 until April 2019. The salary for the RA post is £26,289 - £29,568 and the closing date for applications is the 4th September 2015. Further information in relation to the post can be found on the following link: https://atsv7.wcn.co.uk/search_engine/jobs.cgi?owner=5043781&ownertype=fair… or you can contact Prof. Liam McDaid at lj.mcdaid(a)ulster.ac.uk<mailto:lj.mcdaid@ulster.ac.uk> We prefer to issue and receive applications via our on-line recruitment website at www.ulster.ac.uk/jobs<http://www.ulster.ac.uk/jobs> Hard copy applications can be obtained by telephoning 028 7012 4072 ________________________________ This email and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee and may contain information which is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager at postmaster(a)ulster.ac.uk and delete this email immediately. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ulster University. The University's computer systems may be monitored and communications carried out on them may be recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes. Ulster University does not guarantee that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or 100% secure. Unless expressly stated in the body of a separate attachment, the text of email is not intended to form a binding contract. Correspondence to and from the University may be subject to requests for disclosure by 3rd parties under relevant legislation. The University of Ulster was founded by Royal Charter in 1984 and is registered with company number RC000726 and VAT registered number GB672390524.The primary contact address for Ulster University in Northern Ireland is Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry BT52 1SA

Aug. 19, 2015

Phd or Post-Doc Robot Learning positions at INRIA Bordeaux

by Manuel Lopes

To all interested, We are seeking applications for phd students (3years) and/or postdocs (2.5years) in the area of artificial intelligence and robot learning at Inria. Our interests are in developing machines that are able to learn novel skills and capable of natural and robust interaction with people. We focus our research on intelligent exploration techniques, robot learning and automatic learning of representation for artificial intelligence. One position is open to work in an international research project (with partners from Canada, Sweden, Spain, Belgium and France). The candidates will be involved in research in the areas of deep learning of action and state representations, and interactive machine learning. The candidates must have strong mathematical competences, experience in machine learning and programming proficiency (e.g. C/C++, Matlab, Python or Java). Knowledge of deep learning and/or experience with real robots is a plus. Inria is a highly reputed french national center for computer science and automation. It has more than 3000 researchers and is distributed among 8 centers. These positions are for the Flowers Team at Inria Bordeaux Sud-Ouest and will involve travelling for collaborating with the project partners. Bordeaux is a growing city with a wonderful natural landscape, a very active city life and with a booming economy. Is has a very privileged location: 3h from Paris, 2h from Toulose, 30 minutes from the sea and 2hours from the Pyreness mountains. It has very good travel connections with fast trains and international flights including low-cost companies. Interested candidates should send a detailed CV, and email addresses of three references to Manuel Lopes at manuel.lopes(a)inria.fr . Review of applications will continue until the position is filled. Desired starting date is 1 of November 2015. http://flowers.inria.fr http://3rdhandrobot.eu/ http://www.inria.fr http://www.bordeaux.fr/ --------------------------------------------------------------- Manuel Lopes - Researcher flowers.inria.fr/mlopes FLOWERS team Phone: +33524574179 INRIA Bordeaux Sud-Ouest, Bat. A29 351 Cours de la Libération 33405 Talence, Cedex, France ---------------------------------------------------------------

Aug. 18, 2015

MSc program in Neural Systems and Computation - University of Zurich and ETH Zurich

by Michael Pfeiffer

We are inviting applications for the MSc program in Neural Systems and Computation, an interdisciplinary program offered as a Joint Master Program by the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Switzerland. The program offers a theoretical and laboratory training in neural computation and systems neuroscience. It offers hands-on knowledge of data gathering, analysis and scientific presentation. Students join an international and interdisciplinary research community with expertise in neuroinformatics, advanced experimental techniques and neuromorphic engineering. Further information can be found on our homepage http://www.nsc.uzh.ch. We offer a specialized full-time Masters program open to students with a Bachelor’s degree in the following disciplines: neurosciences, information technology, electrical engineering, biology, physics, computer sciences, chemistry, mathematics, and mechanical/chemical/control engineering. The core courses (all offered in English) provide a common foundation for students with different educational backgrounds, and cover the following: 1. Systems Neurosciences 2. Neural Computation and Theoretical Neuroscience 3. Neurotechnologies and Neuromorphic Engineering The application deadline for students starting in Spring Semester 2016 is *September 15th 2015*. Details about the application process and required documents can be found here: http://www.nsc.uzh.ch/?page_id=10 Mentors of the program are Richard Hahnloser, Kevan Martin, Daniel Kiper, Giacomo Indiveri, Ruedi Stoop, Tobi Delbruck, Shih-Chii Liu, Klaas Enno Stephan, Fritjof Helmchen, Jean-Pascal Pfister, Fatih Yanik, Michael Pfeiffer, Matthew Cook, Valerio Mante, Arko Ghosh, and Wolfger von der Behrens. The program is affiliated with the Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty (MNF) at the University of Zurich (UZH) and the Information Technology and Electrical Engineering Department (D-ITET) of the ETH Zurich. All applications are handled by the University of Zurich. Application documents should be sent by email to nsc(a)ini.uzh.ch. Best regards, Michael Pfeiffer -- ========================================= Dr. Michael Pfeiffer Postdoc, Program coordinator NSC Institute of Neuroinformatics University of Zurich and ETH Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland Tel. +41 44 635 30 45 Fax +41 44 635 30 53 pfeiffer (at) ini.phys.ethz.ch http://www.ini.uzh.ch/~pfeiffer/ =========================================

Aug. 17, 2015

Update 1: 2016 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence

by IEEE WCCI 2016

Dear Colleagues, Below please find some updated information about 2016 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence (IEEE WCCI 2016). 2016 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, Canada 25-29 July 2016 www.wcci2016.org-------~*******~----------- Call for Special Sessions -------~*******~----------- Special session proposals are invited to the 2016 IEEE WCCI. Special session proposals should include the title, aim and scope (including a list of main topics), and the names of the organizers of the special session, together with a short biography of all organizers. A list of potential contributors will be very helpful. All special sessions proposals should be submitted to the Special Sessions Chairs. Click here to know more about provisionally accepted IEEE WCCI 2016 special sessions ( http://www.wcci2016.org/spsessions.php) -----~*******~------ Speakers -----~*******~------ World renowned computer scientist and computational theorist, Chair Professor at Harvard University, 2010 Turing Award winner, Professor Leslie Valiant will deliver a Keynote at IEEE WCCI 2016. The 2016 IEEE Frank Rosenblatt Award winner, Professor Ronald R. Yager (IEEE Fellow), will receive his Award and deliver a Keynote at IEEE WCCI 2016. ---------------~*******~------------------- Indexing of Conference Proceedings ---------------~*******~------------------- The IEEE WCCI conference proceedings (including previous IJCNN, FUZZ-IEEE and CEC) have been included in the IEEE Xplore and traditionally indexed by other important databases, such as Web of Knowledge ISI Thomson, SCOPUS, EI, etc. --------~****~-------- Venue Information --------~****~-------- Pinnacle Vancouver Harbourfront Hotel and Vancouver Marriot Pinnacle Downtown are the IEEE WCCI 2016 designated congress hotels. Special congress room rates are avaiable now. Make your reservations early to enjoy these special room rates (http://www.wcci2016.org/venue.php) -------~****~------- Important Dates -------~****~------- - Special Session & Workshop Proposals Deadline: 15 November 2015 - Competition & Tutorial Proposals Deadline: 15 December 2015 - *Paper Submission Deadline: 15 January 2016* - Paper Acceptance Notification Date: 15 March 2016 - Final Paper Submission & Early Registration Deadline: 15 April 2016 - IEEE WCCI 2016: 25-29 July 2016 For more information on the congress, please visit: www.wcci2016.org *Alternatively we can also be reached on the following social media platforms:* - https://www.facebook.com/WCCI2016; - https://twitter.com/wcci2016; - http://www.weibo.com/wcci2016; - http://t.qq.com/wcci2016 We look forward to welcoming you in Vancouver next year! Best wishes, KC Tan and Gary G. Yen 2016 IEEE WCCI General Co-Chairs

Aug. 17, 2015

High performance computing workshop at SFN 2015 Annual Meeting

by Ted Carnevale

What: This workshop is intended for neuroscientists who are engaged in computationally intensive tasks such as large modeling projects or analysis of neuroimaging data. With support from NSF, we are developing and expanding the Neuroscience Gateway Portal (NSG, http://www.nsgportal.org/) which eliminates most administrative and technical barriers involved in using high performance computing (HPC) resources. NSG offers free computing time and has a simple user interface so you can focus on productive research. Software currently installed includes the Freesurfer Software Suite, the Virtual Brain Empirical Data Pipeline (Schirner et al., 2015), and simulators such as Brian, MOOSE, GENESIS3, NEST, NEURON, and PyNN. This workshop will combine didactic presentations by NSG's developers, discussions with experienced users, and hands on instruction in how to use the portal. Where: Downtown Chicago, site TBA. When: 9AM - Noon on Saturday, October 17, 2015. Speakers: Amit Majumdar, Subha Sivagnanam, Padraig Gleeson, Simon Rothmeier, Ted Carnevale Registration deadline: Friday, October 2, 2015 For more information see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/nsg2015/nsg2015.html or contact Ted Carnevale [ted dot carnevale at yale dot edu] or Amit Majumdar [majumdar at sdsc dot edu] References: Schirner, M., Rothmeier, S., Jirsa, V.K., McIntosh, A.R., Ritter, P.. An automated pipeline for constructing personalized virtual brains from multimodal neuroimaging data. Neuroimage 117:343-357, 2015.

Aug. 17, 2015

Call for Papers: 7th International Conference on Brain Inspired Cognitive Systems (BICS), 11-13 Dec 2015, Hefei, China

by Dr Amir Hussain

BICS'2015 Call for Papers (with journal ONLY conference proceedings - see details below!) With apologies for any cross-postings, please help circulate this CFP to friends and colleagues. Thank you in advance. BICS'2015 CFP website: http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/events/bics2015/cfp_e.html (ALL papers accepted (after a rigorous peer-review process) for presentation at the Conference will be published in the leading ISI-SCI indexed Springer journal: Cognitive Computation (http://springer.com/12559) as a multi-part Special Issue! - for more details, see the conference website, and below) Introduction to BICS'2015: The seventh 2015 International Conference on Brain Inspired Cognitive Systems (BICS 2015) will be held on December 11-13, 2015, in Hefei, Anhui, China, as a sequel of BICS 2004 - 2013. The first BICS 2004 was held in Stirling, Scotland, UK and the last BICS 2013 was held in Beijing, China, 9-13 June 2013 (http://www.conference123.org/bics2013/) The aim of BICS 2015 is to provide a high-level international forum for scientists, engineers, and educators to present the state-of-the-art of brain inspired cognitive systems research and applications in diverse fields. The conference will feature plenary lectures given by world renowned scholars, regular sessions with broad coverage, and special sessions focusing on popular and timely topics. Proceedings Information: BICS 2015 will be unique in that there will be no conference proceedings. ALL accepted papers will be published (following a rigorous peer review process) in the leading ISI-SCI indexed Springer journal: Cognitive Computation (http://springer.com/12559) as a multi-part Special Issue. Conference Location The conference will be held in Anhui University in Hefei, China. Hefei, formerly known as Hofei, Luzhou, or Luchow, is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province in Eastern China. Hefei Xinqiao International Airport provides scheduled passenger service to major airports in China and international cities as well. Hefei plays an important role in scientific research in China. It has seven national laboratories, second only to Beijing. We would be delighted to welcome you to Hefei in December. For more details on the venue, including travel information, see: http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/events/bics2015/venue_e.html Important Dates Full paper submission: 15 September 2015 First notification: 31 October 2015 Conference Dates: 11-13 December 2015 Revised/final manuscripts due: 31 December 2015 BICS'2015 Issue Publication Date: early 2016 Paper Submission: All prospective authors are invited to submit full-length papers (10-15 pages maximum) through the online Springer submission system (selecting the BICS2015 Special Issue), with a covering letter indicating the paper is being submitted for BICS'2015 (hhttp://www.editorialmanager.com/cogn/ <http://www.editorialmanager.com/cogn/>) - please indicate the relevant BICS Symposium name (see topics list on the Conference website). The submission of a paper implies that the paper is original and has not been submitted under review or copyright protected elsewhere. The authors of accepted papers will have an opportunity to revise their papers. If the paper is accepted, at least one of the authors listed on the paper (or his/her representative) must attend the conference and present the paper. On behalf of: BICS'2015 General co-Chairs: Professor Amir Hussain (University of Stirling, Scotland, UK) and Professor Bin Luo (Anhui University, China) and BICS'2015 Organizing Committee ( http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/events/bics2015/committee_e.html ) For any enquiries, please email: ahu(a)cs.stir.ac.uk or luobin(a)ahu.edu.cn -- The University is ranked in the QS World Rankings of the top 5% of universities in the world (QS World University Rankings, 2014) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

Aug. 16, 2015