- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

NEURON course discounts extended

by Ted Carnevale

The early registration discounts for this year's NEURON summer courses were supposed to end on Monday, April 20, but we have been able to arrange to continue them until Friday, May 15. NEURON Fundamentals June 20-23 addresses all aspects of using NEURON to model individual neurons, and also introduces parallel simulation and the fundamentals of modeling networks. Includes a healthy serving of Python. Parallel Simulation with NEURON June 24-26 is for users who are already familiar with NEURON and need to create models that will run on parallel hardware. Pays special attention to powerful strategies and idioms for implementing and managing models, measuring and improving performance, and debugging. Each day includes a block of time for working on your own code with expert help close at hand. For more information, including course fees and the registration form, see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/nscsd2015/nscsd2015.html --Ted

April 22, 2015

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER IN SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE

by Santamaria, Cookie

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER IN SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE The BioCircuits Institute (BCI) and Departments of Physics, Chemistry/Biochemistry, Bioengineering, and Psychology and Neurobiology at the University of California, San Diego invite applications for a postdoctoral position in systems neuroscience, for experiments leading to the neuromorphic engineering of cognitive abilities. The ideal candidate will have experience with electrophysiology, with awake behaving animals, with neural modeling, and/or with biologically inspired integrated circuits and systems. Close interaction with other project researchers in computational and theoretical neuroscience, nonlinear dynamical systems, and neuromorphic engineering is involved. We will accept applications immediately. To be considered, please submit your complete application by Friday, 31 July 2015. We will begin making selections from the completed applications on 3 August 2015. The Committee will continue to accept and review completed applications as they are received until the position is filled. Appointments are for two years (in one-year increments) with the possibility of a third. Send your statement of qualifications and interest with curriculum vitae, your two most significant publications and three letters of reference to Tim Gentner, Henry Abarbanel, Gert Cauwenberghs, Katja Lindenberg, Mikhail Rabinovich, and Terrence Sejnowski via email to: <postdoc.muri(a)gmail.com<mailto:postdoc.muri@gmail.com>>. A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree is required prior to the appointment. UCSD is an EO/AA employer.

April 22, 2015

RLDM2015: Early registration deadline (April 28th) fast approaching

by Yael Niv

The 2nd Multidisciplinary Conference on Reinforcement Learning and Decision Making (RLDM2015) www.rldm.org June 7-10, The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada ====================================================== Registration for RLDM2015 is now open at http://rldm.org/rldm2015/registration/ Early registration deadline: April 28th, 11:59PM EST (less than a week from today) Early registration fees are $480 CAD (Canadian dollars) for regular registration and $250 CAD for student/postdoc for meeting + tutorials, or somewhat less for meeting only. Late registration is considerably more expensive so please register early! Registration fees include three light breakfasts and all coffee breaks, two lunches, and one banquet dinner. RLDM2015 Invited speakers: http://rldm.org/rldm2015/invited-speakers2015/ RLDM2015 Tutorials: http://rldm.org/rldm2015/tutorials/ To ensure that you receive future announcements about RLDM2015 please join our mailing list at http://tinyurl.com/RLDMlist (you must log in to google to see the “join list” button, and choose “all email” from the options at the bottom).

April 22, 2015

CFP for BigData2015: International Conference in Mauritius

by Grace Allas

*** CALL FOR PAPERS *** http://sdiwc.net/conferences/bigdata2015/ The Second International Conference on Data Mining, Internet Computing, and Big Data (BigData2015) University of Mauritius, Le Reduit, Moka, Mauritius June 29 – July 01, 2015 All registered papers will be included in SDIWC Digital Library. ========================================================== The conference aims to enable researchers build connections between different digital applications. The event will be held over three days, with presentations delivered by researchers from the international community, including presentations from keynote speakers and state-of-the-art lectures. RESEARCH TOPICS ARE NOT LIMITED TO: * Data Mining Tasks & Algorithms Explorative and visual data mining Mining text and semi-structured data Multimedia mining (audio/video) Segmentation/Clustering/Association Web mining Artificial neural networks Link and sequence analysis Evolutionary computation/meta heuristics * Data Mining Integration & Process Distributed and grid based data mining Metadata and ontologies Mining large scale data Attribute discretization and encoding Feature selection and transformation Model interpretation Data cleaning and preparation * Data Mining Applications Bioinformatics Business/Corporate/Industrial Data Mining Credit Scoring Data Mining in Logistics Database Marketing Direct Marketing Engineering Mining Medicine Data Mining Military Data Mining Security Data Mining Social Science Mining Time series analysis and visualization Anomaly detection Association rule learning Classification Cloud based infrastructure (applications, storage and resources) Cluster analysis Crowd-sourcing Data fusion and integration Data-mining grids Distributed databases Distributed file systems Ensemble learning Genetic algorithms Machine learning Massively parallel-processing (MPP) databases Natural language processing Neural networks Pattern recognition Predictive modelling * Internet Computing Design and analysis of internet protocols and engineering Digital libraries/digital image collections Electronic commerce and internet Grid based computing and internet tools Internet and emerging technologies Internet and video technologies Internet applications and appliances Internet banking systems Internet based decision support systems Internet law and compliance Internet security and trust Markup Languages Metacomputing Mobile computing and the internet Network architectures and network computing Novel Java applications on internet Quality of service Search engines Social networks The WWW and intranets The internet and Cloud computing Web based computing Web interfaces to databases Web site design and coordination Search-based applications Sentiment analysis Signal processing Simulation Supervised and unsupervised learning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IMPORTANT DATES: Submission Deadline : May 29, 2015 Notification of Acceptance : 2 - 4 weeks from the submission date Camera Ready Submission : Open from now until June 09, 2015 Registration Date : Open from now until June 09, 2015 Conference Dates : June 29 - July 01, 2015 Researchers are encouraged to submit their work electronically. All papers will be fully refereed by a minimum of two specialized referees. Before final acceptance, all referees comments must be considered. Paper Submission: hhttp:// sdiwc.net/conferences/bigdata2015/paper-submission/ Write us for more details: bigdata15(a)sdiwc.net

April 22, 2015

SAND7 Announcement

by Barbara Dorney

> > The seventh international workshop on Statistical Analysis of Neural Data > (SAND7) will take place May 27-29, 2015, in Pittsburgh, PA. > SOME TRAVEL SUPPORT REMAINS AVAILABLE > There will be talks by senior investigators and junior investigators. > http://sand.stat.cmu.edu <http://sand.stat.cmu.edu/> > There will also be a poster session, to which all participants are > invited to contribute. > Talks and posters may involve new methodology, investigation of > existing methods, or > application of state-of-the-art analytical techniques. > Here are the confirmed keynote speakers: > Marlene Cohen (University of Pittsburgh) > Adrienne Fairhall (University of Washington) > Michael Miller (Johns Hopkins) > Mark Schnitzer (Stanford) > Sebastian Seung (Princeton) > Matt Wilson (MIT) > This workshop series is concerned with analysis of neural signals > from various sources, > including EEG, fMRI, MEG, 2-Photon, and extracellular recordings. It > aims to define > important problems in neuronal data analysis and useful strategies > for attacking them; > foster communication between experimental neuroscientists and those > trained in statisti- > cal and computational methods encourage young researchers, including > graduate students, > to present their work; and expose young researchers to important > challenges and oppor- > tunities in this interdisciplinary domain, while providing a small > meeting atmosphere to > facilitate the interaction of young researchers with senior colleagues. > The organizers are Emery Brown, Elizabeth Buffalo, Rob Kass, Liam > Paninski, Sri Sarma and Jonathan Victor.

April 22, 2015

CFP: IEEE SDRANCAN-2015 with IEEE GLOBECOM 2015, San Diego, CA, USA, Dec 6 - 10, 2015.

by Sandra Sendra

[Apologies, if you receive multiple copies due to cross posting] *CALL FOR PAPERS* *IEEE International Workshop on Advances in Software Defined Radio Access Networks and Context-aware Cognitive Networks 2015 (IEEE SDRANCAN-2015)* in conjunction with IEEE GLOBECOM 2015, San Diego, CA, USA, Dec 6 - 10, 2015. URL: http://ieee-sdrancan-2015.cwins.org/ *OVERVIEW* Future generation wireless systems will require a paradigm shift in how they are networked, organized, configured, optimized, and recovered automatically based on their operating situations. With the emergence of Software Defined Access Networks and Context-Aware Cognitive Networks (SDRANCAN), wireless users could get seamless wireless connectivity and services regardless of the frequency bands that they are using as a backhaul. Context-Aware cognitive networks provides dynamic adaptive services and applications for wireless users through automatic configuration of devices and their parameters, systems, and services based on the users? contexts. We believe that this workshop is important for future wireless networks and will help to bridge the gap between traditional wireless networks and future wireless networks through both software defined access networks and context-aware cognitive networks. SDRANCAN-2015 will serve as a forum for researchers from academia, government and industries to exchange ideas, present new results and provide future visions on these topics. Original technical papers on the advances in Software Defined Access Networks and Context-Aware Cognitive Networks as well as those that describe practical deployment and implementation experiences are solicited for presentation and publication. *TOPICS OF INTEREST* Topics of interest include but not limited to: Fundamental limits Network architecture Wireless virtualization Network virtualization Software defined networks Cloud-based and/or wired infrastructure Cognitive vehicular ad hoc networks Network visualization Secrecy capacity and rate-equivocation of wireless channels. Admission control in heterogeneous networks Security and Network coding Storage and processing Quality-of-service Smart protocols Case studies and testbeds Cognitive and context aware cyber physical systems Mobile and vehicular networks Data dissemination techniques in context-aware systems Trust, security and privacy issues Socio-economic models Self-organization, Self-configuration, Self-optimization and Self recovery Biological-inspired networking Parameter estimation for adaptation of wireless communication systems Network economics and game theory Interference mitigation and awareness OpenFlow Networking Cognitive networks The workshop accepts only novel, previously unpublished papers. All submissions should be written in English with a maximum paper length of six (6) printed pages (10-point font) including figures without incurring additional page charges (maximum 1 additional page with over-length page charge if accepted) http://globecom2015.ieee-globecom.org/authors *- General Chairs -* Jaime Lloret Mauri, Polytechnic Univ. of Valencia, Spain Danda B. Rawat, Georgia Southern University, USA *- Publicity Chair -* Sandra Sendra, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain Al-Sakib Khan Pathan, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia *- Technical Program Committee -* Venkatesan Ekambaram, Qualcomm, USA Bhed B. Bista, Iwate Prefectural University, Japan Sachin Shetty, Tennessee State University, USA Gongjun Yan, University of Southern Indiana, USA Sabu M. Thampi, IIITM-K, India Rajesh K. Sharma, Ilmenau Univ. of Technology, Germany ChunSheng Xin, Old Dominion University, USA Al-Sakib Khan Pathan, IIUM, Malaysia Chandra Bajracharya, Georgia Southern University, USA Javier Aguiar, University of Valladolid, Spain Carlos Baladron, University of Valladolid, Spain Kayhan Zrar Ghafoor, Univ. Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia Sandra Sendra, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain Joel Rodrigues, University of Beira Interior, Portugal =================================================== ===================================================

April 21, 2015

Neural Coding, Computation and Dynamics (NCCD)

by Peter Latham

August 30 - September 2, 2015 Bilbao, Spain http://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/nccd/nccd15/ Second call, and registration is now open!!! The goal of this workshop is to bring together experimentalists and theoreticians who seek to understand how circuit dynamics underlies representation and function in the nervous system, and to foster real discussion. This year the workshop will focus on the interplay between excitation (E) and inhibition (I) in cortical circuits. The balance between E and I, an idea proposed twenty years ago to account for the stochastic nature of cortical activity, has been seminal in the understanding of basic principles of neural network dynamics. We are seeking talks that, building on this paradigm, present recent findings on topics such as neuronal variability and stochastic dynamics, the role of the different subtypes of interneurons,plasticity and structure in EI networks, brain state and network dynamics, etc. The workshop will be limited to about 70 people, the hope being to foster real interaction and discussion. Thanks to a very generous grant from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, we will have a limited number of travel grants (10-15) for students and postdocs. Details will follow shortly. Important dates: May 15: Abstracts due (there will be posters and contributed talks) May 31: Early registration due Confirmed invited speakers Dean Buonomano, University of California at Los Angeles Jess Cardin, Yale School of Medicine Brent Doiron, University of Pittsburgh Mike Hausser, UCL Carl Petersen, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne Karel Svoboda, Janelia Farm Tim Vogels, University of Oxford Fred Wolf, University of Gottingen Best, Peter Latham Jaime de la Rocha Maneesh Sahani Goncalves Co-organizers

April 21, 2015

[meetings] CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS- Workshop: Embodied sensorimotor interaction: from locomotion to collective behavior at SWARM2015

by Poramate Manoonpong

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS- Workshop: Embodied sensorimotor interaction: from locomotion to collective behavior at SWARM2015 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wednesday, October 28 (full-day), Kyoto University, Japan Deadline for poster abstract submission: June 30, 2015 Notification of acceptance: July 31, 2015 Workshop Overview ------------------ Animals show fascinating adaptive and versatile abilities. For example, they can move around and at the same time avoid obstacles in order to successfully navigate through their complex cluttered environment for finding their food source. While moving, they can also adapt their locomotion to deal with unknown situations. Furthermore, they can interact with each other to form collective behavior for anti-predator, enhanced foraging, and even increased locomotion efficiency. These complex achievements emerge from tightly as well as loosely coupled interactions between many ingredients including biomechanics (i.e., morphology, muscles, and materials), sensory feedback, centralized/decentralized mechanisms, and communication. Developing these key ingredients and implementing them in artificial systems to approach the level of performance of living creatures remains a grand challenge. To address these issues, our workshop at SWARM 2015 (http://www.ohk.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/SWARM2015/) "Embodied sensorimotor interaction: from locomotion to collective behavior" will bring together leading experts, working in the domains of bio-inspired robotics, swarm robotics, modular robotics, embodied AI, evolutionary robotics, and computational neuroscience, to present their recent developments on robot locomotion and collective behavior and discuss future directions to overcome this challenge. The full-day workshop is composed of the following parts: 1) Invited talks by experts from swarm robotics, bio-inspired locomotion control, and embodied AI, 2) poster presentations, 3) Discussion and future steps We are also pleased to invite contributions in the form of 1 page conf. style abstract http://www.ohk.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/SWARM2015/ on (but are not limited to) the following topics. The selected contributions will be presented in a form of a poster during the workshop. We particularly encourage young scientists to contribute and attend, even presenting their research at an early stage an engage in discussions. We also welcome live demonstrations on robot locomotion and collective behavior. Submissions have to be sent to poma(a)mmmi.sdu.dk<mailto:poma@mmmi.sdu.dk> in PDF format. One author per accepted workshop contribution (poster, demo) and attendee are required to register (http://www.ohk.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/SWARM2015/) The Workshop topics include (but are not limited to) the following: ------------------ - Bio-inspired robotics (e.g., walking robots, flying robots, etc.), - Locomotion control, - Collective behavior control, - Swarm and self-organizing systems (e.g., modular robots) ===================== Tentative List of Speakers: · Dario Floreano (Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, EPFL, Switzerland) · John Hallam (Centre for BioRobotics, The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, SDU, Denmark) · Kasper Støy (IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark) · André Seyfarth (Locomotion Laboratory, TU Darmstadt, Germany) · Koh Hosoda (Dept. of Adaptive Machine Systems, Grad. school of Engineering, Osaka University, Japan) · Yulia Sandamirskaya (Institute for Neural Computation, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany) · Shinya Aoi (Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Japan) · Yuichi Ambe (Dept. of Mechanical Engineering and Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Japan) · Poramate Manoonpong (Embodied AI & Neurorobotics Lab, Centre for BioRobotics, The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, SDU, Denmark) ===================== We hope that you will be able to attend and look forward to seeing you in Kyoto, Japan! The workshop organizers: Florentin Wörgötter, Poramate Manoonpong, Yuichi Ambe, Shinya Aoi

April 19, 2015

Invitation: IEEE HealthCom 2015

by Jun Suzuki

17th IEEE International Conference on e-Health Networking, Application & Services (HealthCom 2015) October 14 - 17, 2015 Boston, MA, USA http://www.ieee-healthcom.org CALL FOR PAPERS IEEE HealthCom 2015 is fully sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society. It aims at bringing together interested parties from around the world working in the healthcare field to exchange ideas, discuss innovative and emerging solutions, and develop collaborations. eHealth is defined as the cost-effective and secure use of information and communications technologies in support of health and the related fields, including health-care related services, surveillance, literature, education, knowledge and research, both at the local site and at a distance. It will make personalized medicine possible and affordable in the near future. The adoption of e-Health technologies in medical fields creates huge opportunities; however, a number of challenges still need to be addressed to build reliable, secure, and efficient networks or platforms with great flexibility. Prospective authors are cordially invited to submit their original contributions covering completed or ongoing work related to the e-Health area. The topics include but are not limited to: Medical, Biomedical and Health Informatics * Electronic medical records and electronic prescription * Data preprocessing, cleansing, management and mining * Data quality assessment and improvement * Medical imaging * Computer-aided detection, hypothesis generation and diagnosis * Evidence-based medicine * Evolutionary and longitudinal patient and disease models * Clinical workflow * Medication adherence and health monitoring * Smart health and big data Devices * High-confidence medical devices * Integration of medical devices with e-Health * Medical devices interoperability * Wearable devices * In/on/around-body sensors and actuators * Biosensors at the micro/nano-scale * Smart garments/textiles * Wireless energy transfer * Energy harvesting Communications and Networking * Communication/network infrastructures, architectures and protocols for e-Health * Antennas and propagation * Proximity-based communication, group communication and social networks * Power-efficient communication * Ultra wideband communication * Delay-tolerant, fault-tolerant and reliable communication * Cognitive communication for medical bands * In-hospital networking, body area networking and cloud-integrated networking * Software-defined networks and network management * Nanoscale/molecular communications * Network coding and error detection/correction * Middleware for e-Health Signal/Data Processing and Systems * Context awareness and situation awareness * Image/video processing and computer/robot vision * Internet of things, ambient intelligence and pervasive computing * Motion detection and activity recognition * Augmented reality and human-computer interaction * User modeling and personalization * Robotics for e-Health * Computing/storage infrastructures for e-Health such as clouds and virtualization * Software, systems and performance engineering for e-Health Services and Applications * e-Health services/applications for physical and mental health; for example, in acute care, chronic care, mental health care, biomedical engineering, rehabilitation, prosthetics, elderly/nursing care, smart homes and hospitals, and rural/wilderness practice. * e-Health services/applications for sports and exercise; for example, in training prescription and feedback, concussion detection/monitoring, life-logging and fitness monitoring. * e-Health services/applications for public health; for example, disease prevention, pandemic preparedness, epidemiological interventions and smart cities. * e-Health services/applications for extreme environments; for example, in fire fighting, disaster response, evacuation assistance, medical triage, space travel/exploration, deep diving and deep sea exploration. * Quality of experience (QoE) with e-Health services/applications. * Security, privacy and trust for e-Health services/applications * Emerging cloud-based services/applications including health clouds/grids PAPER SUBMISSION Perspective authors are invited to submit their papers, up to 6 pages each, in the IEEE paper template. Please visit http://www.ieee-healthcom.org/ for detailed submission instructions. Papers will be reviewed with the standard reviewing procedure (with at least 3 independent anonymous reviews). IMPORTANT DATES Paper Submission Due: May 15, 2015 Notification of Acceptance: July 5, 2015 Camera ready Papers: August 30, 2015 PUBLICATION All accepted papers will be published by IEEE and and indexed by IEEExplore (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/) Selected papers will be considered for publication in leading journals such as: * International Journal on E-Health and Medical Communications * IEEE Transactions on NanoBioScience * EAI Transactions on Body Area Networks * Wiley Security and Communication Networks Journal ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE General Chairs: Junichi Suzuki, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA Joel Rodrigues, Institute for Telecommunications/University of Beira Interior, Portugal TPC Chairs: Honggang Wang, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, USA Min Chen, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China Nazim Agoulmine, University of Evry Val d'Essonne, France IEEE Healthcom Steering Committee Joel Rodrigues (Chair), IT/Univ. of Beira Interior, Portugal Pradeep Ray, Univ. of New South Wales, Australia Norbert Noury, University of Lyon, France Augusto Venâncio Neto, Federal Univ. of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil/Instituto de Telecomunicações, Portugal Nazim Agoulmine, Université Evry Val Essonne, France Operations Chairs Douglas Dow, Wentworth Institute of Technology, USA Jones Yu, Wentworth Institute of Technology, USA Publication Chair Norbert Noury, Universite de Lyon, France Tutorial Chair Stefan Covaci, Technical University of Berlin, Germany Special Tracks Chair Sana Ullah, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal Workshops Chair Christopher Thuemmler, Edinburgh Napier University Registration Chair Xinming Huang, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA Publicity chairs Jiaqi Gong, University of Virginia, USA Pawel Swiatek, Wroclaw University of Technology Jianli Pan, University of Missouri, St. Louis, USA Web Chair Yutaka Okaie, Osaka University Zhaoyang Zhang, UMass Dartmouth Treasurer Bruce Worthman, IEEE Communications Society, USA Conference Manager Bridget Erlikh, IEEE Communications Society, USA Branding and Graphic Design Max Loskutnikov, IEEE Communications Society, USA -- Jun Suzuki Associate Professor of Computer Science University of Massachusetts, Boston jxs(a)cs.umb.edu http://www.cs.umb.edu/~jxs/ http://dssg.cs.umb.edu/ @JunSuzukiBoston

April 18, 2015

PhD Studentships City University London

by Alonso, Eduardo

Dear all, City University London is advertising PhD studentships (£16,000 per year plus full tuition waiver). Details on how to apply can be found at http://www.city.ac.uk/citygraduateschool/fees-and-funding/university-doctor… If you are interested in applying in the area of computational neuroscience, please contact Eduardo Alonso (E.Alonso(a)city.ac.uk) Deadline for submission is 25th May. Best, --------------- Dr Eduardo Alonso Reader in Computing Deputy Head of Department Department of Computer Science City University London London EC1V 0HB E.Alonso(a)city.ac.uk tel: +44 20 7040 4049 fax: +44 20 7040 0244 http://www.city.ac.uk/people/academics/eduardo-alonso http://www.cal-r.org

April 18, 2015

IJCAI’15 Workshop on Sensitivity Analysis and Robustness in Probabilistic Graphical Models (3rd CfP)

by Alessandro Antonucci

IJCAI’15 Workshop on Sensitivity Analysis and Robustness in Probabilistic Graphical Models Buenos Aires, July 25-27, 2015 - http://ipg.idsia.ch/wijcai15/ THIRD CALL FOR PAPERS Papers will be published in a volume of the JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings series. (http://jmlr.csail.mit.edu/proceedings) [SCOPE] Probabilistic graphical models are important tools in machine learning and artificial intelligence for reasoning with uncertainty. They provide means to represent large multivariate domains compactly and to perform sophisticated learning and reasoning efficiently. Examples of probabilistic graphical models are Bayesian networks, Markov Random fields, chain and factor graphs, Gaussian graphical models, to name but a few. The quantification of these models usually requires sharp (i.e., precise) assessments of the model local potentials and might be subject to robustness issues. For instance, perturbations of some parameter values may lead to different decisions from those which would be achieved by the unperturbed model, suggesting that decisions are not reliable. Reliability might also be in question because of missing data and assumptions behind the process. The workshop invites submissions of papers on all aspects of sensitivity analysis and robustness in probabilistic graphical models. Contributions may have a theoretical focus and/or an applied focus. A non-exhaustive list of topics follows. - Local and/or global sensitivity analysis. - Parameter-based and/or decision-based sensitivity analysis. - Design of robust learning, inference and/or decision making approaches. - Robust analysis and design of robustness measurements. - Extensions of probabilistic graphical models. - Reliable qualitative learning and reasoning. - Robust treatment of missing data. - Imprecise probability and other theories related to sensitivity analysis. - Computational complexity, exact and approximate algorithms. Papers about more general robust multivariate models based on independence or othr structural judgements are also welcome. [SUBMISSIONS] Each submission will be reviewed by peers using a double-blind process (please use the third person in self citations and take all necessary care not to identify yourselves). Accepted papers will be published electronically in a volume of the JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings series. There will be no rebuttal phase, but contributions considered worth publishing and needing substantial revision might be subject to a second round of reviewing/evaluation. All accepted papers will be presented at the workshop. At least one of the paper's authors should register and attend the workshop to present the work. Submissions must be formatted according to style and template files available for the Journal of Machine Learning Research (JMLR) Workshop and Conference Proceedings - two-column version. The files are available at http://ipg.idsia.ch/wijcai15/sarpgm15.tar.gz. Papers (including figures, tables, references, etc) are expected to have between 6 and 10 pages. [IMPORTANT DATES] Apr 27, 2015 - Deadline for submissions of contributions May 20, 2015 - Workshop paper acceptance notification May 30, 2015 - Deadline for workshop camera-ready copy (in case of minor revision; contributions needing major revision might need additional time - this will be arranged case by case) [PC MEMBERS] Alessandro Antonucci*, IDSIA, Switzerland. Alessio Benavoli, IDSIA, Switzerland. Cassio P. de Campos*, Queen's University Belfast, UK. Arthur Choi, University of California, Los Angeles, USA. Giorgio Corani*, IDSIA, Switzerland. Fabio Cozman, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Adnan Darwiche, University of California, Los Angeles, USA. Sebastien Destercke, Univ. de Technologie de Compiegne, France. Marek Druzdzel, University of Pittsburgh, USA. Johan Kwisthout, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Agnieszka Onisko, Bialystok University of Technology, Poland. Denis Maua, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Serafin Moral, Universidad de Granada, Spain. Silja Renooij, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands. Matthias Troffaes, University of Durham, UK. (*: Workshop organizers.) More details about the submission procedure are available online. http://ipg.idsia.ch/wijcai15/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (We apologize in case you receive multiple copies of this announcement, but yet we hope to reach the greatest possible number of people. Finding a trade-off is not an easy task.) -- _________________________________ Alessandro Antonucci IDSIA Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence Via Cantonale (Galleria 2) CH-6928, Manno-Lugano, CH mail: alessandro(a)idsia.ch skype: alessandro.antonucci tel: +41 916108515 web: www.idsia.ch/~alessandro _________________________________

April 18, 2015

Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience - recent articles

by Stephen Coombes

Dear all, The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience publishes research articles on the mathematical modeling and analysis of all areas of neuroscience. The current list of journal articles is available at http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/ : A Mathematical Model of a Midbrain Dopamine Neuron Identifies Two Slow Variables Likely Responsible for Bursts Evoked by SK Channel Antagonists and Terminated by Depolarization Block Yu N and Canavier CC http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/content/5/1/5 Path Integral Methods for Stochastic Differential Equations Chow CC and Buice MA http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/content/5/1/8 A Formalism for Evaluating Analytically the Cross-Correlation Structure of a Firing-Rate Network Model Fasoli D, Faugeras O and Panzeri S http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/content/5/1/6 Modeling Focal Epileptic Activity in the Wilson–Cowan Model with Depolarization Block Meijer HGE, Eissa TL, Kiewiet B, Neuman JF, Schevon CA, Emerson RG, Goodman RR, McKhann GM et al. http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/content/5/1/7 Noise-Induced Precursors of State Transitions in the Stochastic Wilson–Cowan Model Negahbani E, Steyn-Ross DA, Steyn-Ross ML, Wilson MT and Sleigh JW http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/content/5/1/9 and see also the recent Special Issue on Uncertainty and the Brain http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/series/UB All articles are Open Access. Best regards, Steve ------------------------------------------------------- Stephen Coombes Professor of Applied Mathematics School of Mathematical Sciences Nottingham, UK Tel: 0115 846 7836 http://www.maths.nott.ac.uk/~sc/ ------------------------------------------------------- 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.

April 17, 2015

NEURAL COMPUTATION - May 1, 2015

by Terry Sejnowski

Neural Computation - Volume 27, Number 5 - May 1, 2015 Available online for download now: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/neco/27/5 ----- Article Self-Organization of Control Circuits for Invariant Fiber Projections Tomas Fernandes, Christoph von der Malsburg Letters A Computationally-efficient Method for Incorporating Spike Waveform Information Into Decoding Algorithms Valerie Ventura, Sonia Todorova Coding Accuracy Is Not Fully Determined by the Neuronal Model Lubomir Kostal, Petr Lansky Solving Stereo Transparency With an Extended Coarse-to-fine Disparity Energy Model Zhe Li, Ning Qian Simultaneous Multi-Channel Signal Transfers Via Chaos in a Recurrent Neural Network Ken-ichiro Soma, Ryota Mori, Ryuichi Sato, Noriyuki Furumai, and Shigetoshi Nara Input Anticipating Critical Reservoirs Show Power Law Forgetting of Unexpected Input Events Norbert Michael Mayer Learning Dynamics of a Single Polar Variable Complex-Valued Neuron Tohru Nitta On-line EM With Weight-Based Forgetting Enric Celaya, Alejandro Agostini ------------ 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 ------------

April 17, 2015

Data Scientist - Healthcare

by Purushothaman, Gopathy

Several Data Scientist positions are available in a large, publically-traded healthcare organization. Data Scientists will work with the business to understand business problems, analyze relevant data, interpret the results, and provide reports. Knowledge areas include, but are not limited to, Root cause identification, Clustering, Regression, Supervised and unsupervised Machine learning, Hypothesis testing etc. Should exhibit strong passion for empirical research and for answering hard questions with data. Drive the collection of new data and the refinement of existing data source. Ability to communicate complex quantitative analysis in a clear, precise, and actionable manner. M.S. or Ph.D. in a Math or Statistical field, or 4+ years’ experience in a relevant role. Will have experience solving analytical problems using quantitative approach. Coach other team members as appropriate, within area of expertise. Required skills: R, Matlab, SAS, or other statistical/scientific computing applications/platforms; SQL, scripting and programming languages. Email resumes to: Gopathy Purushothaman Ph.D. Data Scientist Parallon Business Performance Group 6640 Carothers Parkway Franklin, TN 37067 Gopathy.purushothaman(a)parallon.com<mailto:Gopathy.purushothaman@parallon.com> www.parallon.com<http://www.parallon.com>

April 16, 2015

Call for contributions: AI/Neuroengineering for biomedical applications: monitoring, signal processing, disease identification and diagnostic aspects

by Shyam Diwakar

Dear Colleagues, Sorry for cross-posting this CFP. Bentham Science is calling for a special issue: AI/Neuroengineering for biomedical applications: monitoring, signal processing, disease identification and diagnostic aspects . This special issue on “AI/Neuroengineering for biomedical applications: monitoring, signal processing, disease identification and diagnosis aspects” aims to overview the state of knowledge and applicability of current studies, and new proposed ideas in the form of original research articles and review papers that include, but are not limited to: • Mathematical and statistical methods in modelling single neuron and circuit functions • Biological cybernetics, medical image and signal processing, cascade models for intelligent devices. • Artificial intelligence for biomedical signal and image processing and disease diagnosis • Computational neuroscience and computational cognitive science • Biomedical instrumentation: intelligent methods for software and hardware • Human machine interfaces • Neural rehabilitation engineering • Machine learning, machine learning in conventional and big data models, algorithms, case studies and role of data in biomedicine • Mobile and wearable computing in biomedical engineering • Emerging biomedical technologies Manuscript deadline: July 15, 2015 See http://benthamscience.com/journal-files/special-issue-details/NBE-SII201502… http://benthamscience.com/journal/index.php?journalID=nbe#top Lead guest editor: Eldon Rene (e.raj(a)unesco-ihe.org) Thank you. Best regards, shyam -- Prof. Shyam Diwakar, Ph.D. Computational Neuroscience Lab, Amrita School of Biotechnology Faculty Fellow - Amrita Center for International Programs Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University) Amritapuri, Clappana P.O. Kollam, India. Pin: 690525 Ph:+91-476-2803116 Fax:+91-476-2899722 http://www.amrita.edu/compneuro

April 16, 2015

Abstract submission extended for IWSP7: Epilepsy Mechanisms, Models, Prediction & Control

by Levin Kuhlmann

Due to numerous requests the abstract submission deadline for IWSP7: Epilepsy Mechanisms, Models, Prediction and Control has been extended to April 30 2015. For more details visit the conference website at http://www.iwsp7.org and/or read below. The 7th International Workshop on Seizure Prediction (IWSP7: Epilepsy Mechanisms, Models, Prediction & Control) will bring together world leading epileptologists, engineers, physicists, mathematicians, neurosurgeons and neuroscientists to focus on epilepsy research in Melbourne Australia from 3-6 August 2015. Invited Speakers Samuel Berkovic, University of Melbourne, Australia (Genetics and individual-specific nature of epilepsy) Sydney Cash, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA (Cortical physiology and epilepsy) Antonio Dourado, University of Coimbra, Portugal (Seizure Prediction and the EPILEPSIAE project) Bin He, University of Minnesota, USA (EEG-based imaging to localise seizure and high frequency activity) Louis Lemieux, University College London, UK (Multi-modal imaging of human epileptic zone and networks) Liset Menendez de la Prida, Instituto Cajal - CSIC, Spain (Sources of functional heterogeneity in the cellular activity of hippocampal microcircuits in temporal lobe epilepsy) Martha Morrell, Stanford University, Neuropace, USA (Responsive seizure control and its clinical implications) Philippe Ryvlin, Lyon University, France (Vagal nerve stimulation and seizure prediction) Bjoern Schelter, University of Aberdeen, UK (Recent advances in data-based modelling and their role in epilepsy research) Steven Schiff, Penn State University, USA (Unification of spikes, seizures and spreading depression) Piotr Suffczynski, University of Warsaw, Poland (Modelling of neuronal and ionic dynamics during ictogenesis) John Terry, University of Exeter, UK (Modelling multiscale brain networks: seizure initiation, evolution and prediction) Gregory Worrell, Mayo Clinic, USA (Forecasting epileptic seizures in dogs) Extended Abstract submission deadline: 30th April 2015. Notification of acceptance: 31st May 2015. Early bird registration: full: AU$465; Student/Early Career Researcher: AU$165. Early bird registration deadline: 30th June 2015. Standard registration: full: AU$565; Student/Early Career Researcher: AU$265. Over 30 generous travel stipends will be awarded to participants submitting the best abstracts as determined by the IWSP7 Scientific Advisory Board. The majority will be awarded to undergraduate or postgraduate students and early career researchers (people who completed their PhD within the period of the 3 years preceding 3rd August 2015). The best abstracts will also be selected for talks by the IWSP7 Scientific Advisory Board. Topics for abstracts include, but are not limited to: seizure prediction, detection and control; seizure mechanisms, animal models and human neurophysiology; neuroimaging of epilepsy/seizure localisation; computational modelling of epilepsy; epilepsy networks; high frequency oscillations; model-based estimation, statistical signal processing or control theory applied to epilepsy. The best work presented at IWSP7 will be invited to appear in a special issue in the International Journal of Neural Systems (Impact factor 6.056). The call for papers can be downloaded from the IWSP7 website. There will also be two A$500 prizes for the best posters at the conference. For information on the preliminary conference program, and how to submit abstracts and register visit: http://www.iwsp7.org Please forward this notice to anyone that you think might be interested. Or post the conference poster around your department. The poster can be obtained at the link: http://www.iwsp7.org/flyers/IWSP7_Call_for_Abstracts.pdf We would also like to draw your attention to two partner events: Melbourne Epilepsy which brings together Melbourne's best epilepsy researchers and will overlap at the same venue with IWSP7 on August 6th, and finish by 1pm on August 7th. Attendance is free for IWSP7 registrants. Swinburne Brain Imaging Symposium 2015: Principles and Applications of Magnetoencephalography is a meeting on MEG and neuroimaging occurring in Melbourne in the week preceding IWSP7 from June 29-30 2015. http://www.research.swinburne.edu.au/our-research/events/neuroimaging-sympo… We look forward to seeing you at IWSP7! On behalf of the local organizing committee Levin Kuhlmann, PhD David B. Grayden, PhD Mark J. Cook, MD Anthony N. Burkitt, PhD Dean R. Freestone, PhD Tatiana Kameneva, PhD Alan Lai, PhD Elma O'Sullivan-Greene, PhD Andre Peterson, BSc (hons) Email: organizingcommittee(a)iwsp7.org<mailto:organizingcommittee@iwsp7.org>

April 16, 2015

PhD fellowship: A window into the human mind - deadline for application April 23rd 2015

by Arnaud Delorme

We are searching for a PhD candidate from the EU (due to grant restrictions) with a master degree in physics/engineering, computer sciences or neuroscience and an interest in human/brain machine interfaces. The subject of the thesis is linked to the difficulties for human operator to control/monitor highly automated system. This performance problem remains difficult to characterize. In this project, analyzing brain activity in supervisory task, we aim to identify the neuro-functional correlates of this performance problem. The goal is to better understand how human operators interact highly automated system and make recommendation for the design of highly automated system or imagine brain computer interface to help the interaction between humans and machines. This project will be co-directed by two researchers in interdisciplinary fields, Bruno Berberian who is expert in human control of highly automated systems and Arnaud Delorme who is expert in mind wandering and EEG signal processing. The location of the PhD will be Salon de Provence in the south of France primarily and secondarily in Toulouse in the south east of France. If you are from the EU and are interested, please send your CV, two contacts for reference, a motivation letter (max one page) and reference letters (optional) to Bruno Berberian <Bruno.Berberian(a)onera.fr> before April 23rd, 2015. Please group all documents into one PDF for easier processing.

April 14, 2015

Registration deadline extension: Open Source Brain 2015: Building and sharing standardised neuronal models

by Padraig Gleeson

***Deadline for registration extended to 22nd April*** The third annual Open Source Brain Workshop takes place May 12-14th 2015, Alghero, Sardinia. http://opensourcebrain.org/docs/Help/Meetings#OSB_2015 The Open Source Brain initiative aims to encourage collaborative, open source model development in computational neuroscience and is primarily supported by the Wellcome Trust. As with past OSB meetings <http://www.opensourcebrain.org/docs#Meetings> this workshop will bring together experimentalists, theoreticians and tool developers who are interested in creating open, community developed models of neuronal systems. Researchers interested in building and sharing models of any brain region and from any species are welcome to attend the meeting. There will be presentations on the latest developments and functionality of the OSB resource and associated technologies including NeuroML and LEMS. There will also be a special focus session on Wed 13th May on creating and sharing experimentally constrained models of the hippocampus. Confirmed speakers: *Giorgio Ascoli*, Krasnow Institute, George Mason University, USA *Tiago Branco*, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK *Claudia Clopath*, Imperial College London, UK *Michael Hines*, Yale University, USA *Peter Jonas*, Institute of Science and Technology, Austria *Julija Krupic*, O'Keefe Group, University College London, UK *Artur Luczak*, University of Lethbridge, Canada *Troy Margrie*, MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK *Michele Migliore*, National Research Council, Italy & Yale University School of Medicine, USA *Yiota Poirazi*, Institute of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, Foundation for Research & Technology Hellas, Greece *Martin Pyka*, University of Bochum, Germany *Stefan Remy*, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany *Nelson Spruston*, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Virginia, USA Full details of the workshop can be found here: http://opensourcebrain.org/docs/Help/Meetings#OSB_2015. The meeting is free to attend, but registration is required (deadline April 22nd). The OSB 2015 organising committee ----------------------------------------------------- Padraig Gleeson Room 321, Anatomy Building Department of Neuroscience, Physiology& Pharmacology University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT United Kingdom +44 207 679 3214 p.gleeson(a)ucl.ac.uk -----------------------------------------------------

April 14, 2015

Workshop: Living systems, from interaction patterns to critical behavior.

by suweis infn

Workshop: Living systems, from interaction patterns to critical behavior Venezia, San Servolo Island 16-19 September 2015 http://www.pd.infn.it/~maritan/SanServolo/index.html <http://www.pd.infn.it/~maritan/SanServolo/index.html> *** DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: June 15, 2015 **** Recent availability of large volumes of ecological and biological data spanning a wide range of scales, made it evident that, despite their diversity, living systems are characterized by patterns/regularities repeated from microscopic to global scales. This workshop aims to explore how these recurrent phenomena emerge as the result of concerted interactions among their constituent elements (e.g. species, or genes), using a combination of approaches inspired by statistical mechanics, network analysis and the theory of complex systems. The aim of the workshop is to introduce students and young researchers with strong background in quantitative sciences to methods and ideas used to describe such complex systems. The range of topics covered at the workshop is very broad, ranging from genomics to ecology, with the ultimate goal of identifying similarities and differences of complex biological systems operating at different scales. Fee* 150 euro. (*) We will grants 3 fee waivers to support the attendance of PhD students and Junior Post Doctoral researchers (no more than two years from their PhD completion). Prospective participants who are eligible should accompany send an email to the Organizing Committee (LIPh.unipd(a)gmail.com <mailto:LIPh.unipd@gmail.com>) requiring the fee waiver, providing the CV and a motivation letter. The acceptance will be notified together with the admission to the school. LECTURERS Sergey Maslov Kim Sneppen Antonio Celani Amos Maritan Stefano Allesina Joshua Weitz Speakers (Confirmed) Andrea Rinaldo Jayanth Banavar Henrik Jensen Flavio Seno Paolo De los Rios Achille Giacometti Guido Tiana Marco Cosentino Lagomarsino Sandro Azaele PROGRAM The workshop will present a wide-range of interdisciplinary problems using creative approaches grounded in statistical physics. In particular there will be three main sections: Bio, Bio2Eco (e.g. bacteria) and Eco. In each section it will be given a series of lectures and seminars. Follow update via Twitter: @Liph_lab For details see: http://www.pd.infn.it/~maritan/SanServolo/index.html <http://www.pd.infn.it/~maritan/SanServolo/index.html> On September 19 afternoon, we will organise a guided Tour in Venice that will conclude with the Social Dinner. ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Antonio Trovato University of Padova http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Antonio_Trovato2 <http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Antonio_Trovato2> Samir Suweis University of Padova http://www.pd.infn.it/~maritan/people/Samir/samir.html <http://www.pd.infn.it/~maritan/people/Samir/samir.html> Jacopo Grilli University of Chicago http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jacopo_Grilli <http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jacopo_Grilli> For more information and application: e-mail: liph.unipd(a)gmail.com <mailto:liph.unipd@gmail.com> Sponsored by the University of Padova, Department of Physics and Astronomy - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Samir Suweis, Ph.D. impactstory.org/SamirSuweis <https://impactstory.org/SamirSuweis> @SamirSuweis Post-Doc Researcher LIPh Lab, Physics Department, University of Padova Tel: +39 047 827 72 51 www.pd.infn.it/~maritan/people/Samir/samir.htm

April 14, 2015

Opening for a computer-vision scientist with deep-learning expertise

by Reza Khorshidi

Senior Scientist - Computer Vision and Deep Learning AIG, Special Projects Lab We are looking for a computer-vision scientist to lead the development and implementation of the algorithmic core of a series of exciting new projects in AIG's Special Projects Lab (part of AIG's Global Science team). The success in this role requires the ownership of a significant new work-stream in the team focused on solving complex computer vision problems (including, but not limited to, image representation, object recognition, and caption generation), using machine learning (particularly, deep learning methods such as convolutional neural networks) and high-performance computing (including, near real-time image analysis). The success in this role require the candidate to: 1) Employ the best of computer-vision research for solving business problems - disrupting the current practice in insurance 2) Build and refine computer vision and machine learning algorithms that can find patterns in large multi-modal data (particularly, images and videos) 3) Provide the business with data-driven apps, insights and strategies 4) Participate in, lead, create cross-functional projects 5) Communicate (both oral and written) with colleagues and stakeholders (both internal and external) 6) Review, direct, guide, inspire the research of more junior scientists in the team Above all, this role will provide a unique opportunity to enjoy state-of-the-art research and development; grow and be challenged in an entrepreneurial / start-up-like division of a large company; and create game-changing products for the insurance/financial industry. The candidate must have: 1) Scientific expertise and real-world experience in deep learning (convolutional neural networks, restricted Boltzmann machines, and deep neural networks). 2) Strong background in basic machine learning and statistical modeling (e.g., classification, regression, and clustering) 3) Strong track record in related scientific fields (e.g., machine learning, computer science, engineering, statistics, and robotics) 4) Expertise in programming (e.g., C++, CUDA, Python, R and Java) and computing technologies (high-performance computing and/or big-data platforms) 5) Ability to use existing machine/deep learning libraries (e.g., Torch, Theano, Caffe, and SciKitLearn) The Ideal candidate would also have: 1) Track record in integrating machine learning with real-time computing (including mobile apps and front-end systems) 2) Experience in employing machine learning in a commercial/business setting – in collaboration with product (back-end and front-end) development teams. 3) Experience in applying machine learning (ideally, deep learning) to problems in one of the following domains: Natural language processing, signal processing, and speech processing. 4) Publication record in (and willingness to represent AIG in) scientific conferences such as NIPS, CVPR, ICML, ICCV, ECCV, ICLR, and IJCV. 5) Broad knowledge of machine learning (including topics such as graph theory, hierarchical modeling, and Bayesian inference) 6) Practical experience of modern big-data computing ecosystems such as Apache Spark 7) Proven track record in leading scientific projects In order to apply, please follow the link here <http://www.aig.com/job-search_3171_440685.html?cpUrl=https://careers.people…>. For any (informal) inquiries, please feel free to contact Hannah Gibson (hannah.gibson(a)aig.com <mailto:hannah.gibson@aig.com>). -- Reza Khorshidi, D.Phil. (Oxon) Head, Special Projects Lab | Director (EMEA), Quantitative Analytics AIG, London

April 14, 2015

Two openings for signal-processing and NLP scientists with deep-learning expertise

by Reza Khorshidi

Senior Scientists - Deep Learning and NLP / SSP AIG, Special Projects Lab We are looking for a machine-learning scientist to lead the development and implementation of the algorithmic core of a series of exciting new projects in AIG's Special Projects Lab (part of AIG's Global Science team). The success in this role requires the ownership of a significant new workstream in the team focused on solving natural language process (NLP) and/or speech and signal processing (SSP) problems (including, but not limited to, data representation and predictive modelling - particularly, using deep learning) and high-performance computing (including, near real-time data analysis). Success in this role require the candidate to: 1) Employ the best of NLP and SSP research for solving business problems - disrupting the current practice in insurance 2) Build and refine NLP/SSP and machine learning algorithms that can find patterns in large multi-modal data 3) Provide the business with data-driven apps, insights and strategies 4) Participate in, lead, create cross-functional projects 5) Communicate (both oral and written) with colleagues and stakeholders (both internal and external) 6) Review, direct, guide, inspire the research of more junior scientists in the team Above all, this role will provide a unique opportunity to enjoy state-of-the-art research and development; grow and be challenged in an entrepreneurial / startup-like division of a large company; and create game-changing products for the insurance/financial industry. The candidate must have: 1) Scientific expertise and real-world experience in deep learning (convolutional neural networks, restricted Boltzmann machines, and deep neural networks) - applied to NLP and/or SSP. 2) Strong background in basic machine learning and statistical modelling (e.g., classification, regression, and clustering) 3) Strong track record in related scientific fields (e.g., machine learning, computer science, engineering, statistics, and robotics) 4) Expertise in programming (e.g., C++, CUDA, Python, R and Java) and computing technologies (high-performance computing and/or big-data platforms) 5) Ability to use existing machine/deep learning libraries (e.g., Torch, Theano, Caffe, and SciKitLearn) The Ideal candidate would also have: 1) Track record in integrating machine learning with real-time computing (including mobile apps and front-end systems) 2) Experience in employing machine learning in a commercial/business setting – in collaboration with product (back-end and front-end) development teams. 3) Experience in applying machine learning (ideally, deep learning) to problems in more than one domain (e.g., Vision, NLP, SSP, …). 4) Impressive publication record in the top scientific journals. 5) Publication record in (and willingness to represent AIG in) scientific conferences such as NIPS, ICML, ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, EACL, COLING, SIGIR, ICCV, ECCV, ICLR, and CVPR. 6) Broad knowledge of machine learning (including topics such as graph theory, hierarchical modelling, and Bayesian inference) 7) Practical experience of modern big-data computing ecosystems such as Apache Spark 8) Proven track record in leading scientific projects In order to apply, please follow the link here <http://www.aig.com/job-search_3171_440685.html?cpUrl=https://careers.people…>. For any (informal) inquiries, please feel free to contact Hannah Gibson (hannah.gibson(a)aig.com <mailto:hannah.gibson@aig.com>). -- Reza Khorshidi, D.Phil. (Oxon) Head, Special Projects Lab | Director (EMEA), Quantitative Analytics AIG, London

April 14, 2015

PhD position, University of Genoa, Italy – "Multidimensional peripersonal space sensing"

by Silvio P. Sabatini

Applications are invited for one full-time PhD studentship (with scholarship) for a period of 3 years, at “The Physical Structure of Perception and Computation” (PSPC) lab of the Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics, and System Engineering (DIBRIS), University of Genoa, Italy. The position, starting Nov 1st 2015, is on one of the following research projects: 1/ Representing peripersonal space through sensorimotor likelihoods. The activity will focus on the design of theoretical models by converting computational approaches from engineering into cortical-like models of implicit representations of the peripersonal space. 2/ Integration of motion-in-depth multi-sensory information flows in the peripersonal space. The goal of the project is to investigate how different cross-modal information can enable arm and hand-related actions in the peripersonal space. Specifically, the focus will be on the development of a neuromorphic cognitive system for detecting/encoding motion-in-depth multimodal information flows relative to body parts. Both projects will provide the opportunity to work on neural modeling, visual psychophysics, robotics, or a combination of them. Experimental, modeling, and theoretical approaches might be pursued with a different accent according to personal attitude. Ongoing cooperation, at international level, with research groups of different disciplines, will ensure a highly interdisciplinary and stimulating environment. Successful applicants would have a good honors _Master degree_ in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics or related disciplines, strong interest in computational neuroscience, and an open mind for interdisciplinary research. Online application are available from April 13, 2015 at 12.00 noon (Italian time) to June 10, 2015 at 12.00 noon (Italian time). Full details on the call and the application procedure will soon be available at: http://www.studenti.unige.it/postlaurea/dottorati/XXXI/ENG/ and http://phd.dibris.unige.it/biorob/index.php/how-to-apply Prospective students, please contact Silvio Sabatini (silvio.sabatini(a)unige.it) providing your CV and qualifications, the name and contact details of two references, and a description of your research interests indicating which of the two positions you are interested in. DIBRIS is a unique inter-school department of the University of Genoa, bridging together researchers from the former Science and Engineering Faculties. It offers an excellent multidisciplinary, interactive and collaborative research environment combining expertise in computer vision, computational neuroscience, neuromorphic computing, robotics and mechatronics. PSPC-Lab (www.pspc.unige.it) has a long-standing expertise in visual coding and multidimensional signal representation, robot perception and computer vision. In the last five years, the lab’s research activity focused on the analysis of the structural mechanisms of visuo-spatial cognition, responsible for orienting and interacting in the 3D space. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Silvio P. SABATINI, PhD [PSPC Research Group] Professor of Bioengineering DIBRIS - University of Genova | e_mail:silvio.sabatini@unige.it Via Opera Pia, 11A | phone: +39 010 3532092/3532794 I-16145 Genova (ITALY) | fax: +39 010 3532289/3536533 URL:http://pspc.unige.it --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Imagination is more important than knowledge..." [Albert Einstein]

April 14, 2015

INNS-BigData 2015 San Francisco: Student Travel Awards + Deep Learning Workshop Special Registration + Paper deadline extension to 19 April, 2015.

by Asim Roy

Dear Colleagues, Please note that we have several Student Travel Awards in the $300 to $500 range. Application forms are available on our website: www.innsbigdata.org<http://www.innsbigdata.org> . The application deadline is April 30, 2015. Also note that the paper submission deadline is April 19th, 2015. We are opening up the Deep Learning Workshop to everyone with a separate registration fee. The goal of the workshop is to “exchange and ignite new ideas and techniques through open discussions and to form new directions and goals as a group.” See details on our website. There is a $2000 Elsevier Best Paper Award. Both theoretical and application papers will be considered for the award. Best regards, Asim Roy Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 85287, USA www.lifeboat.com/ex/bios.asim.roy<http://www.lifeboat.com/ex/bios.asim.roy> INNS Big Data Section: http://www.inns.org/big-data-section.

April 13, 2015

Call for Papers: Special Issue on Neuroimaging in clinical practice - towards prognosis and prediction of treatment response

by Rondina, Jane

Dear colleagues, In collaboration with Frontiers in Neuroscience and Frontiers in Neurology, section Brain Imaging Methods, we are organizing a Research Topic titled "Neuroimaging in clinical practice - towards prognosis and prediction of treatment response", hosted by Jane Rondina, Nick Ward and Geraldo Busatto. As host editor, I would like to encourage you to contribute to this topic. Please find more information about Research Topics below, including the publishing fees that apply. You can also visit the homepage we have created on the Frontiers website, which defines the focus of the topic, and where all published articles will appear. http://www.frontiersin.org/Brain_Imaging_Methods/researchtopics/Neuroimagin… Please note the submission deadline for this Research Topic: Sep 04, 2015 Should you choose to participate, please confirm by sending me a quick email (j.rondina(a)ucl.ac.uk<mailto:j.rondina@ucl.ac.uk>) and then your abstract no later than June 05, 2015 using the link above. As I am using the Frontiers system to manage this topic, please first indicate your decision to participate by clicking on one of the following links. AGREE to Participate http://www.frontiersin.org/AcceptContributor.aspx?activationkey=09bcb997-ff… DECLINE to Participate http://www.frontiersin.org/DeclineContributor.aspx?activationkey=09bcb997-f… This Research Topic is hosted in the specialty section of Brain Imaging Methods, which is a section within Frontiers in Neuroscience and Frontiers in Neurology; thus it is possible to submit through either of those journals. Let me know if you have any questions about our Research Topic. I look forward to hearing from you soon. With best regards, Jane Maryam Rondina j.rondina(a)ucl.ac.uk<mailto:j.rondina@ucl.ac.uk> Guest Associate Editor, Brain Imaging Methods www.frontiersin.org<http://www.frontiersin.org/> ABOUT FRONTIERS RESEARCH TOPICS Founded by scientists in 2007, Frontiers is a community-rooted open-access publisher, driving innovations in peer review, article-level metrics and research networking. The "Frontiers in" journal series hosts 48 journals covering more than 350 academic specialties, with a network of over 170,000 leading researchers worldwide. Frontiers is a registered member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (http://www.oaspa.org/member/Frontiers) and was recognized by the ALPSP Award for Innovation in Publishing in 2014. The idea behind a Frontiers Research Topic is to create a comprehensive collection of peer-reviewed articles that address a specific theme of research, as well as a forum for discussion and debate. Contributions can be articles describing original research, methods, hypothesis & theory, opinions, and more. Please see the relevant journal for a full list of accepted article types. Frontiers will also compile an e-book, as soon as all contributing articles are published, that can be used as educational material, be sent to foundations that fund your research, to journalists and press agencies, or to your professional network. E-books are free to read and download. Once published, your articles will be free to access for all readers, indexed in relevant repositories, and as an author in Frontiers, you retain the copyright to your own papers and figures.

April 13, 2015

[WI-IAT 2015] IAT'15 Paper Submission Deadline extended to 15th May

by Teng Teck Hou

[Apologies if you receive this more than once] ####################################################################### CALL FOR PAPERS IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology 2015 (IAT 2015) Big Data in Global Brain and Social Networks December 6-9, 2015 / Singapore Homepage: http://wi-iat15.ntulily.org Sponsored By: IEEE Computer Society Web Intelligence Consortium (WIC) Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Memetic Computing Society (MC) (EXTENDED FULL PAPER SUBMISSION DEADLINE: *** May 15, 2015 ***) ####################################################################### ++++++++++++++++ KEYNOTE SPEAKERS ++++++++++++++++ * Joseph Sifakis (Turing Award 2007) Professor at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) Director, Centre de Recherche Integrative (CRI) in Grenoble, France * Francis Heylighen Director, Global Brain Institute Professor at Free University of Brussels, Belgium * Steven E. Koonin Director, Center for Urban Science and Progress New York University, USA * Gee-Wah Ng Programme Director, DSO National Laboratories, Singapore * Sarit Kraus (AAAI, ECCAI and ACM Fellow) Professor of Computer Science, Bar-Ilan University, Israel Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland, USA * Dominik Slezak Professor at University of Warsaw, Poland Chief Scientist, Infobright Inc. ++++++++++++++++ SPECIAL SESSIONS ++++++++++++++++ * Agents in Urban Computing and Engineering Shih-Fen Cheng, Singapore Management University, Singapore * Artificial Intelligence for Aging in-Place Chunyan Miao, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Cyril Leung, University of British Columbia, Canada The 2015 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology (IAT'15) will be held in Singapore on December 6-9, 2015, hosted by the Joint NTU-UBC Research Centre of Excellence in Active Living for the Elderly (LILY) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Living Analytics Research Centre at Singapore Management University (SMU). Co-located with the 2015 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence (WI'15), IAT'15 is sponsored by IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Intelligent Informatics (TCII), Web Intelligence Consortium (WIC), ACM-SIGAI, and Memetic Computing Society. IAT'15 will feature special thematic workshops, technical sessions, tutorials and panels. Conference programme will further include a welcome reception, keynotes, demos, poster sessions, and a banquet. Attendees only need one registration to attend all technical events. TOPICS AND AREAS (INCLUDE, BUT NOT LIMITED TO) * Autonomy-Oriented Computing * Agent and Multi-Agent Systems Engineering * Agent and Multi-Agent Systems Modeling * Knowledge and Information Agents * Autonomous Auction and Negotiation * Distributed Problem Solving * Cooperation & Coordination * Agent Systems Applications ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PAPER SUBMISSION AND PUBLICATION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ IAT'15 solicits original work submitted as a regular paper (limited to 8 pages) or as short paper (limited to 4 pages) in IEEE 2-column format. Each paper will be peer-reviewed by at least three PC members on the basis of technical quality, relevance, originality, significance and clarity. Accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings by the IEEE Computer Society Press and indexed by EI. Selected IAT'15 papers will be further invited for expansion and publication in Web Intelligence and Agent Systems and other international Journals. +++++++++++++++++++++++++ CALL FOR TUTORIALS/PANELS +++++++++++++++++++++++++ IAT'15 solicits proposals for tutorials and panels on specific topics of interests, which will form an integral part of the conference program. Inquiries and submission of proposals should be addressed to the respective chairs. ++++++ AWARDS ++++++ Best Paper awards will be conferred at the conference on the authors of (1) the best research paper, (2) the best student paper. Application-oriented submissions will be considered for the best application paper award. +++++++++++++++ IMPORTANT DATES +++++++++++++++ Electronic Submission of Regular/Special Session Papers *** May 15, 2015 *** Tutorial Proposal Submission June 1, 2015 Workshop Paper Submission June 1, 2015 Demos and Posters Submission July 1, 2015 Notification on Conference Paper Acceptance July 1, 2015 Notification on Workshop Paper Acceptance July 15, 2015 Notification on Demo and Poster Acceptance August 1, 2015 ++++++++++++++++++++ ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ++++++++++++++++++++ General Chairs * Ah-Hwee Tan, Singapore * Yuefeng Li, Australia Program Chair * Ee-Peng Lim, Singapore Program Vice-Chairs * Atsuhiro Takasu, Japan * Hoong-Chuin Lau, Singapore * Chunyan Miao, Singapore IAT Technical PC Chairs * Sarvapali Ramchurn, UK * Anita Raja, USA * Bo An, Singapore Local Organizing Chair * Meng-Hiot Lim, Singapore * Sufen Cheong, Singapore * Di Wang, Singapore Finance Chair and CyberChair-Master * Juzhen Dong, Japan Industry and Sponsorship Chairs * Xiaoli Li, Singapore * Richi Nayak, Australia * Saurav Karmakar, India Workshop Chairs * Bryan Kian-Hsiang Low, Singapore * Einoshin Suzuki, Japan * Jason Watson, Australia Tutorial Chairs * Pradeep Reddy Varakantham, Singapore * Yue Xu, Australia Demo/Poster Chair * Zhiqi Shen, Singapore * Yiqiang Chen, China Publicity Chairs * Xiaohui Tao, Australia * Teck-Hou Teng, Singapore Panel Chairs * Hady Lauw, Singapore * Neil Yorke-Smith, Lebanon Award Chairs * Ee-Peng Lim, Singapore * Raj Sunderraman, USA Webmaster * Jun Lin, Singapore * Yilin Kang, Singapore

April 13, 2015

Theory-Experiment postdoctoral position in Paris with Shihab Shamma and Srdjan Ostojic

by Srdjan Ostojic

A theory-experiment postdoctoral position is available at Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, on a collaborative project between the Shamma and Ostojic labs. The aim of the project is to investigate the neural bases of auditory discrimination in awake behaving ferrets by combining computational modeling, data-analysis and experimental recordings. The successful applicant will be based at the Group for Neural Theory, a highly interactive and dynamic environment situated in central Paris (see http://iec-lnc.ens.fr/group-for-neural-theory/) The Shamma lab where the neurophysiological recordings take place is located next door (http://www.iec-lsp.ens.fr/spip.php?rubrique30) The ideal candidate should be a computational neuroscientist with strong interest in experimental neuroscience, or the other way round. Starting dates are flexible. The position is for two years. Candidates should send a letter of motivation (2 pages max), the contact information of 2 or more referees and their CVs to srdjan.ostojic at ens.fr *BEFORE April 30th, 2015*. Srdjan Ostojic Group for Neural Theory Ecole Normale Superieure Paris 29, rue d'Ulm 75005 Paris, France

April 12, 2015

PhD position in closed-loop software technologies for neuroscience research

by Pablo Varona

Dear colleagues, A PhD position is available at the Biological Neurocomputation Group, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain. This position is related to the development of software technologies for closed-loop experimental research in neuroscience. We seek a highly motivated PhD student with a Master's degree at the time of the formalization of the contract in one of the following (or related) disciplines: computer science, engineering, physics, prosthetics. Prior experience in the fields of real time software technology, C/C++ programming, control systems, electrophysiological recordings, EEG, neuroimaging, or computational neuroscience will be valuable. Enthusiasm for interdisciplinary research is required. Interested candidates, please send CV to Dr Pablo Varona: gnbuam(a)gmail.com Application procedure: applicants should send a CV and contact information for 2 references to Dr Pablo Varona (gnbuam(a)gmail.com) The deadline for applications is May 1st, 2015. http://www.ii.uam.es/~pvarona http://www.ii.uam.es/~gnb

April 10, 2015

ECMLPKDD 2015: Summer School on Data Sciences for Big Data - Resource Aware Data Mining

by ECMLPKDD 2015

>From 2nd to 5th of September 2015, the TU Dortmund University and LIAAD-INESC TEC will organize a Summer School on Data Sciences for Big Data - Resource Aware Data Mining. The School will be hosted at Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto and is collocated with <http://ecmlpkdd2015.org/> ECMLPKDD 2015 - European Conference on Machine Learning and Principles and Practice of Knowledge Discovery in Databases (http://www.ecmlpkdd2015.org/) For the summer school, world leading researchers in machine learning and data mining will give lectures on recent techniques dealing with huge amounts of data, spatio-temporal streaming data, distributed and graph data, sensors and embedded systems. The summer school is designed for Master and PhD students, and professionals who wanted to learn cutting edge techniques for data mining with constrained computational resources. For further details go to: <http://www.ecmlpkdd2015.org/summer-school/about> http://www.ecmlpkdd2015.org/summer-school/about

April 10, 2015

Fwd: Fully-funded PhD studentship

by Shufan Yang

Fully-funded PhD studentship: Neuro-inspired medical image processing based on hardware implementation. Applications are invited for a fully-funded PhD studentship (£13,750 pa for three years), to conduct research into neuro-inspired medical image processing. The project will develop new computational models of visual system for medical image processing, based on recent ideas from computer vision, spatial statistics and time-series analysis. The models will be implemented in an embedded hardware platform. All nationalities are eligible to apply, for details see: http://www.wlv.ac.uk/research/research-studentships/university-funded-phd-s… For application please follow the link below: http://www.wlv.ac.uk/research/research-studentships/university-funded-phd-s… Dr Shufan Yang Senior Lecturer in Computer Science School of Mathematics and Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, City Campus, Wolverhampton Phone: 01902 518594 EMail: s.yang(a)wlv.ac.uk Website: www.wlv.ac.uk/~in3429

April 9, 2015

NEURON Summer Course early registration discount

by Ted Carnevale

Applicants who sign up for "NEURON Fundamentals" or "Parallel Simulation with NEURON" by Monday, April 20, are eligible for an early registration discount: $150 for those who plan to stay on campus, $100 for those who make their own housing arrangements. Qualified applicants who sign up for both courses are eligible for an additional $100 discount. For more information about these courses and an online application form, see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/nscsd2015/nscsd2015.html or contact ted dot carnevale at yale dot edu

April 9, 2015

GEM4 Meeting on Brain Mechanics

by Nathan Urban

The deadline for student applications for the 10th anniversary GEM4 involving linking biology and mechanics on Mechanobiology of the Brain is next week (April 15). The final program for this 2 week course (June 22-July 3, 2015 at Carnegie Mellon University) with lectures and labs is at http://www.ices.cmu.edu/gem4. Best wishes and thanks again. Sincerely, Philip LeDuc Jimmy Hsia Subra Suresh

April 9, 2015

Tenth Advanced Statistics and Data Mining Summer School (Madrid) - Early registration reminder

by asdm＠fi.upm.es

Dear colleagues, We would like to remind you that the early registration period for the Advanced Statistics and Data Mining Summer School is open until June 7th. The summer school will be held in Boadilla del Monte, near Madrid, from June 29th to July 10th. As in previous years, the school comprises 12 week-long courses (15 lecture hours each), given during two weeks (six courses per week). Attendees may register in each course independently. No restrictions, besides those imposed by timetables, apply on the number or choice of courses. Extended information on course programmes, price, venue, accommodation and transport is available at the school's website: http://www.dia.fi.upm.es/ASDM Please, send this information to your colleagues, students, and whoever you think may find it interesting. Best regards, Pedro Larranaga, Concha Bielza, Bojan Mihaljevic and Laura Anton-Sanchez. -- School coordinators. *** List of courses and brief description *** * Week 1 (June 29th - July 3rd, 2015) * 1st session: 9:45-12:45 Course 1: Bayesian Networks (15 h) Basics of Bayesian networks. Inference in Bayesian networks. Learning Bayesian networks from data. Real applications. Practical demonstration: GeNIe, Weka, Bayesia, R. Course 2: Time Series(15 h) Basic concepts in time series. Descriptive methods for time series. Linear models for time series. Extensions. Practical demonstration: R. 2nd session: 13:45-16:45 Course 3: Supervised Pattern Recognition (15 h) Introduction. Assessing the performance of supervised classification algorithms. Preprocessing. Classification techniques. Combining multiple classifiers. Comparing supervised classification algorithms. Course 4: Bayesian Inference (15 h) Introduction: Bayesian basics. Conjugate models. MCMC and other simulation methods. Regression and Hierarchical models. Model selection. Practical demonstration: R and WinBugs. 3rd session: 17:00 - 20:00 Course 5: Neural Networks and Deep Learning (15 h) Introduction. Training algorithms. Learning and Optimization. MLPs in practice. Deep Networks. Course 6: Unsupervised Pattern Recognition (15 h) Introduction to clustering. Data exploration and preparation. Prototype-based clustering. Density-based clustering. Graph-based clustering. Cluster evaluation. Miscellanea. Conclusions and final advise. Practical session: R. * Week 2 (July 6th - July 10th, 2015) * 1st session: 9:45-12:45 Course 7: Statistical Inference(15 h) Introduction. Some basic statistical test. Multiple testing. Introduction to bootstrap methods. Introduction to Robust Statistics. Practical demonstration: R. Course 8: Bayesian Classifiers (15 h) Discrete predictors. Gaussian Bayesian networks-based classifiers. Other Bayesian classifiers. Bayesian classifiers for: positive and unlabeled data, semi-supervised learning, data streams, temporal data. Practical session: R. 2nd session: 13:45-16:45 Course 9: Text Mining (15 h) Introduction. Fundamentals. Language Modeling. String Processing. Text Classification. Information Extraction. Practical session: GATE (optionally, python). Course 10: Feature Subset Selection (15 h) Introduction. Filter approaches. Embedded methods. Wrapper methods. Advanced topics. Practical session: R and Weka. 3rd session: 17:00-20:00 Course 11: Support Vector Machines and Convex Optimization (15 h) Introduction. SVM models. SVM learning algorithms. Convex non differentiable optimization. Course 12: Hidden Markov Models (15 h) Introduction. Discrete Hidden Markov Models. Basic algorithms for Hidden Markov Models. Semicontinuous Hidden Markov Models. Continuous Hidden Markov Models. Unit selection and clustering. Speaker and Environment Adaptation for HMMs. Other applications of HMMs. Practical session: HTK.

April 9, 2015

PhD or Post-Doc Position for facial expression recognition

by Fred Hamker

A PhD (E 13 TV-L, 75%) or postdoctoral (E 13 TV-L) position is available at the Technical University of Chemnitz (Germany) in the Department of Computer Science. The position is funded initially until 30.09.2017, but is renewable pending availability of future funds. Starting date is as soon as possible. The research position is focused on facial expression recognition using methods of machine learning (e.g. active appearance models, deep learning) and neuro-computational modeling (e.g. brain inspired techniques for visual object recognition). The position is funded by a grant from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The candidate should have good programming experience and solid english language skills. A formal job search is available in german: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/verwaltung/personal/stellen/257030_5_Re.php Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the state of Saxony and close to scenic mountains. Major cities nearby are Leipzig and Dresden with a rich tradition of music and culture. Applications should be sent by email (preferably in PDF format) to (fred.hamker(a)informatik.tu-chemnitz.de) as soon as possible. Applications shall be sent by April 30th, but later applications will be considered until the position is filled. -------------------- Prof. Dr. Fred H Hamker Artificial Intelligence & Neuro Cognitive Systems Department of Computer Science Chemnitz University of Technology Strasse der Nationen 62 D - 09107 Chemnitz Germany Tel: +49 (0)371 531-37875 Fax: +49 (0)371 531-25739 email: fred.hamker(a)informatik.tu-chemnitz.de www: http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/informatik/KI/

April 8, 2015

7th International Summer School in Biomedical Engineering „New Instrumentation for brain measurements and stimulation“, 17th - 29th August 2015 in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany

by Uwe Graichen

Dear colleagues, we are pleased to announce the 7th International Summer School in Biomedical Engineering on "New Instrumentation for brain measurements and stimulation" August, 17-29, 2015 in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany. This event stands in the tradition of a series of successful summer schools on hot themes in biomedical engineering, dedicated to intense learning in the fruitful atmosphere of tight interaction between students and world-leading specialists. This year’s summer school is devoted to new hardware technologies for measuring and stimulating the brain, such as dry electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes, optically pumped magnetic field sensors, neuronal current imaging based on low-field magnetic resonance and multichannel transcranial current stimulation. In particular, the 7th International Summer School on Biomedical Engineering will focus on ways how these new technical advances may help to overcome current limitations in human neurosciences and medicine. It will cover both theoretical foundations and practical applications. We aim at a thorough understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Thus, we will develop a critical view on current applications and possible future developments. The second important aim of the summer school consists in providing contact with both leading experts in the field and other students with similar interests, thereby facilitating the exchange of ideas on latest developments in the field. Target Group: - PhD students - Advanced Master students - Researchers entering the field of brain measurement and stimulation techniques Further Information about the 7th International Summer School in Biomedical Engineering: www.iss2015.org We would be happy to receive your application. Please pass this announcement to your colleagues who might be interested. Sincerely, Jens Haueisen and Thomas Knösche

April 8, 2015

15 PhD positions for PACE, an EU funded Innovative Training Network for understanding Perception and Action in Complex Environments

by Laurent Perrinet

Dear colleagues, PACE (Perception and Action in Complex Environments) is an Innovative Training Network funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie program of the European Union starting on April 1st, 2015. The network involves 10 academic and private full partners, from 6 European and associated countries (France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, UK, Israel), plus 5 associated partners (private companies and public organizations). The network gathers a broad range of expertise from experimental psychology, cognitive neurosciences, brain imaging, technology and clinical sciences as well as transferable skills. The PACE network promotes interdisciplinary research and training in the field of human movement sciences with a strong emphasis on perception-action coupling in complex environments. We focus on changes of this coupling across lifespan and in pathological diseases affecting the nervous system. The goal is to train PhD students through collaborative research projects, international courses and workshops. 15 PhD positions, starting next fall, are offered across the different network sites. You can find a short description of the proposed PhD projects at the following link: http://www.int.univ-amu.fr/IMG/pdf/PACE_Table_positions.pdf Applications are welcome immediately and until the end of May (but some specific timing constraints may be enforced in some of the partners' sites: please get more information from local contacts). You will find further general information (sections 1 to 3), eligibility and application conditions (section 4) here: http://www.int.univ-amu.fr/-ITN-Marie-Curie-network-PACE Thanks for distributing this announcement to potential condadates, Laurent -- Laurent Perrinet - INT (UMR 7289)/CNRS http://invibe.net/LaurentPerrinet

April 8, 2015

PhD positions available at the University of Genova

by Paolo Massobrio

We are seeking highly motivated candidates for two PhD positions (3 years) in Bioengineering at the Neuroengineering and Bio-Nano Technology Group (NBT <http://www.nbtunige.it/> ), University of Genova <http://www.unige.it/> , Genova, ITALY. Our labs are located in Genova <http://www.turismo.comune.genova.it/spip.php?lang=en> , a small beautiful town in northern Italy, both from historical (its historical center is the largest of Europe) and naturalistic point of view (sea and mountains coexist creating a unique landscape). Genova is only 1.30h away from Milan by train and connected by plane to Rome (1.00h), London (2h) and Paris (1.30h). The successful candidate will be involved in a research project focused on the study of the computational properties of cortical assemblies coupled to micro-electrode arrays. The two PhD projects are the following: 1. 2D and 3D neuronal networks coupled to microtransducer arrays for the development of in vitro neurotoxicity tests We are interested to investigate how computational properties emerge in 2D and 3D neuronal populations and how information processing and transmission is related to the topological properties of neuronal networks. In this project, we propose to develop a systematic and controlled experimental approach for investigating the dynamics of 2D and 3D neuronal networks coupled to innovative high-density devices by means of advanced analysis tools. We plan to extensively characterize and compare 2D and 3D neuronal cultures by means of electrical and chemical stimulation. Within this framework we seek at developing a new in vitro and automated system for neurotoxicity tests. In the last part of the project we foresee to challenge our experimental models with chemical substances and to study the electrophysiological response with respect to specific parameters (biomarkers). 2. Development of computational models of neuronal assemblies to understand their computational properties as a function of different network topologies The present project aims at investigating how to effectively interact with neuronal systems by understating the role of the network connectivity in the computational properties of small/large/interacting neuronal networks. In particular, during the three-year research project, different computational network models will be developed and investigated, in order to: i) characterize the spontaneous activity of networks of neurons with different architectures. In particular, 2D uniform/homogeneous networks, 2D interconnected networks made up of few sub-populations (from 2 up to 4), and 3D structures will be taken into account. The observed dynamics will be investigated by checking whether particular configurations may promote phenomena like synchronization, emergence of critical phenomena, interplay between structural and functional connectivity; ii) characterize the stimulus-evoked activity induced by electrical stimulation in networks of neurons with different architectures. It will be investigated whether the evoked responses (i.e., the I/O function) can be modulated by structural connectivity. Candidates must have a master degree (or equivalent) in physics, engineering, mathematics or a related field. Essential skills comprise Matlab and/or C++/C# programming, as well as experience in computational neuroscience. If you are really interested, please send your CV, the name and contact details of two references, a description of your personal qualifications, and a description of your research interests indicating which of the two positions you are interested in. Please, be sure to satisfy the aforementioned requirements (master degree and essential skills). Before the hiring, candidates will be tested to verify the effective knowledge. Important dates are: Deadline: 15th May 2015. Starting Date: 1st November 2015 For submissions and informal inquiries, please contact Paolo Massobrio (paolo.massobrio(a)unige.it <mailto:paolo.massobrio@unige.it> ) Best regards Paolo _________________________________________________ Paolo Massobrio, PhD Assistant Professor of Bioengineering Neuroengineering and Bio-Nano Technology - NBT - Lab Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and System Engineering - DIBRIS University of Genova Via Opera Pia 11A, 16145, GENOVA, ITALY Phone: +39-010-3532761 Fax: +39-010-3532764 URL: <http://www.dibris.unige.it/> www.dibris.unige.it; <http://www.nbtunige.it/> www.nbtunige.it <http://sites.google.com/site/paolomassobrio/> http://sites.google.com/site/paolomassobrio/ E-mail: <mailto:paolo.massobrio@unige.it> paolo.massobrio(a)unige.it

April 8, 2015

programmer/data analyst position at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY

by Susana Martinez-Conde

A programmer/data-analyst position is available in the Martinez-Conde lab at SUNY Downstate, in Brooklyn, NYC (a 25-minute subway ride to Times Square). The Martinez-Conde lab (http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com) focuses on the intersection between perception, cognition, oculomotor behavior, and their neural underpinnings. Representative publications can be downloaded from http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com/publications. Candidates should have extensive programming experience in C++ and Matlab/Python, as well as a strong mathematical background as demonstrated by college transcripts. A Masters/Ph.D. in Engineering/Physics/Mathematics/Computer science/Neuroscience is preferred. Knowledge of neuroscience (or a strong desire to learn) is a plus. Foundational and translational research projects typically involve data analyses (eye movements, neural activity, perceptual reports, electrodermal activity, pupil responses, heart rate, respiration rate) and computational modeling, as well as behavioral/psychophysical and/or neurophysiological experiments. Expertise analyzing data and/or programming experiments in any of these areas is a plus. Please email CV/resume and college transcripts to Prof. Martinez-Conde (Susana.Martinez-Conde(a)downstate.edu <mailto:Susana.Martinez-Conde@downstate.edu> ). ---------------------------------------------------------------- Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD Director, Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience Division of Neurobiology Barrow Neurological Institute 350 W. Thomas Rd Phoenix AZ 85013, USA Phone: +1 (602) 406-3484 Fax: +1 (602) 406-4172 Email: smart(a)neuralcorrelate.com <mailto:smart@neuralcorrelate.com> http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com

April 7, 2015

Brown University: Computational Neuroscience Post-Doctoral Opportunity

by Stephanie Jones

Brown University: Computational Neuroscience Post-Doctoral Opportunity A NIH funded post-doctoral position is available to work with Dr. Stephanie Jones at Brown University and Dr. Matti Hamalainen at Mass. General Hospital on developing and analyzing biophysically principled computational neural models to study human MEG/EEG measured brain activity in health and disease. The post-doc hired will work among a team of researcher at Brown University, Mass. General Hospital in Boston, and Rhode Island Hospital who are advancing methods to image and interpret non-invasively measured human brain activity. Our group is integrating computational modeling, MEG/EEG, and invasive intra-operative recordings in humans to advancing methods to image and interpret non-invasively measured human brain activity in the context of sensorimotor function. Areas of study in our group include attention, perception, motor function, Parkinson’s Disease and Essential Tremor. Interested candidates should have experience in computational modeling methods and a strong quantitative and coding background. Please send a CV, statement of research interests, and three letters of recommendation to Stephanie_Jones(a)Brown.edu.

April 6, 2015

CFP: 9th International Conference on Bio-inspired Information and Communications Technologies (BICT 2015, formerly BIONETICS)

by Masafumi HASHIMOTO

CFP: 9th International Conference on Bio-inspired Information and Communications Technologies (BICT 2015, formerly BIONETICS) http://www.bionetics.org/ Paper submission deadline extended: August 3, 2015 December 3 (Thu) - December 5, 2015 (Sat) New York City, NY, USA Sponsored by European Alliance for Innovation (EAI) and Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science In-corporation with ACM (Pending) BICT 2015 aims to provide a world-leading and multidisciplinary venue for researchers and practitioners in diverse disciplines that seek the understanding of key principles, processes and mechanisms in biological systems and leverage those understandings to develop novel information and communications technologies (ICT). BICT 2015 targets two thrusts: THRUST 1: Indirect Bioinspiration (ICT designed after biological principles, processes and mechanisms). Examples include evolutionary computation, artificial gene regulatory networks, neural networks/computation, swarm intelligence, cellular automata, artificial immune systems, amorphous computing, artificial life, artificial chemistry, reaction-diffusion computing, self-organization, chaotic systems, social networks, game theory, computational epidemics, agent-based modeling, and nature-inspired models and calculi. THRUST 2: Direct Bioinspiration (ICT utilizing biological materials and systems). Examples include biosensing, molecular assembly, cellular computing, molecular computing/communication, membrane computing, bacterial computing/communication, DNA computing and memory, Physarum computing, quantum computing, biometric security/authentication, brain-computer interfaces and energy harvesting from biological sources. Expected, but not exclusive, topics are: * Signal/information processing and communication for bio-inspired ICT * Data management and analytics for bio-inspired ICT * Algorithms and their applications for bio-inspired ICT * Formal models and methods for bio-inspired ICT * Bio-inspired software and hardware systems * Modeling, simulations and empirical experiments of bio-inspired ICT * Self-* and stability properties in bio-inspired ICT * Security, robustness and resilience in bio-inspired ICT * Design, configuration, performance and management issues in bio-inspired ICT * Tools, testbeds and deployment aspects in bio-inspired ICT * Applications, experiences and standardization of bio-inspired ICT Application domains include, but not limited to, autonomic computing, bioinformatics, biomedical engineering, computer networks, computer vision, data mining, e-health, green computing and networking, grid/cloud computing, intelligent agents, mechanical engineering, nanoscale/molecular computing and communication, optimization, pervasive computing, robotics, security, social networks, software engineering and systems engineering. IMPORTANT DATES: Regular paper submission due: August 3 Short and poster/demo paper submission due: September 22 Notification for regular papers: September 21 Notification for short and poster/demo papers: October 1 Camera ready due: October 15 SPECIAL TRACKS: In addition to the regular track that covers general/mainstream topics, BICT 2015 features the following special tracks that focus on specific, emerging or underrepresented topics. * Anthropomorphic Robot and Physiological Information for Cares and Daily Communication (ARPI) * Artificial, Biological and Bio-Inspired Intelligence (ABBII) * Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering (AISE) * Bio-inspired Algorithms and Technologies for Cyber Security and Defense Applications (DEFENSE) * Bio-Inspired Communications and Computing (BICC) * Bio-inspired Wireless Network Security (BWNS) * Biological Computing and Bio-medical Informatics (BCBI) * Biologically Inspired Computer Vision Models and Techniques (BioVis) * BioNanoNetworks: Modeling, Design, Performance and Applications (BMDPA) * Combinatorial Optimization (COP) * Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) * Computational Intelligence on Information Security (CIIS) * Engineering Applications from Bio-Molecular Networks (EmNet) * Game Theory and its Applications (GTA) * Molecular Communication and Networking (MCN) * Modularization for Practical Software Engineering (MPSE) * Nano-networks and Communication in Bacteria Populations (NCBP) * Physarum Computing (PhysComp) * Soft Computing on Brain-Body Area (SCBBA) * Swarm Robotics (SR) * Topology-driven bio-inspired methods and models for complex systems (TOPDRIM4Bio) CO-LOCATED WORKSHOPS: * Bioinformatics 2015 * Brain-Inspired Information Communication Technologies (BIICT) * Computational Models of the Visual Cortex (CMVC): Hierarchies, Layers, Sparsity, Saliency and Attention * Int'l Workshop on Electro-Chemical Signaling in Neuron Organelles (ESNO) * The First Int'l Workshop on Combining Machine Learning and Search-BasedSoftware Engineering (MLSBSE) * Int'l Workshop on Physarum Transport Networks (PhysNet) PAPER SUBMISSION: Authors are invited to submit regular papers (up to 8 pages each), short papers (up to 4 pages each) or poster/demo papers (up to 2 pages each) in ACM's paper template. Up to two extra pages are allowed for each paper with extra page charges. See http://bionetics.org/2015/show/initial-submission for more details. PUBLICATION: All accepted paper will be published through ACM Digital Library and submitted for indexing by SI, EI Compendex, Scopus, ACM DL, Google Scholar and many more. Selected papers will be considered for publication in leading journals including: * IEEE Transactions on NanoBioscience * ACM/Springer Mobile Networks and Applications * Elsevier Information and Software Technology * Elsevier Information Sciences * Springer Software Quality Journal * Elsevier Nano Communication Networks Journal * Springer Complex Adaptive Systems Modeling * Int'l Journal of Soft Computing and Networking KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: * Dmitri Chklovskii, Simons Foundation, USA * Simon Garnier, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University, USA * Radu Marculescu, Carnegie Mellon University, USA * Bud Mishra, New York University, USA * Maurizio Porfiri, New York University, USA * Yechiam Yemini, Columbia University, USA FEATURED SPEAKERS IN CO-LOCATED WORKSHOPS: * Emanuela Merelli, University of Camerino, Italy GENERAL CHAIRS: Jun Suzuki, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA Tadashi Nakano, Osaka University, Japan Henry Hess, Columbia University, USA PC CHAIRS: William Casey, Carnegie Mellon University, SEI, USA Adriana Compagnoni, Stevens Institute of Technology, USA Simon Garnier, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University Mario Koeppen, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan

April 5, 2015

CFP: ICML Stamlins 2015

by Sanmi Koyejo

(Please forgive us for cross posting - this may be of interest to some in this list) ICML Workshop on Statistics, Machine Learning and Neuroscience (Stamlins 2015) Submission Deadline: May 1, 2015 https://sites.google.com/site/stamlins2015/ Call for Papers ------------------------------------------------ In the last decade, machine learning has had a growing influence on neuroimaging data handling and analysis, making it an ubiquitous component of all kinds of data analysis procedures and software. While it is clear that machine learning has the potential to revolutionize both scientific discovery and clinical diagnosis applications, continued progress requires close collaboration between statisticians, machine learning practitioners and neuroscientists. Our workshop goals are to highlight best practices, disseminate the state of the art in high dimensional methods and related tools with a focus on application to neuroimaging data analysis, and to facilitate discussions to identify the key open problems and opportunities for machine learning in neuroscience. Topics of interest include: - exploratory and predictive modelling of high-dimensional correlated volumic data e.g. fMRI and PET with emphasis on: - applications to cognitive modelling and diagnosis - resting state analyses - interpretation and visualization of results - statistical analysis for parameter recovery - advances in scalable techniques and computational infrastructure - structured prediction problems in neuroscience e.g. multilabel classification for mental processes and network prediction. - de-noising and predictive modelling for brain-computer interfaces - source localization for EEG and MEG - deep learning and convolutional networks for neuroscience Invited Speakers ------------------------------------------------ Pradeep Ravikumar (University of Texas at Austin) Morten Mørup (Technical University of Denmark) Alexandre Gramfort (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécomunications) Submissions ------------------------------------------------ We invite submissions for original papers that introduce new research developments, directions, frameworks, results, etc. in these and related areas. We also invite submissions of recently published high-quality work. Though, we note that preference will be given to original contributions. Potential participants may submit full papers (up to 8 pages in length in ICML format) or short papers (extended abstracts, 2-4 pages in length) by May 1, 2015 sent electronically via the online submission site: https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/SMLNS2015/Default.aspx Acceptance notification: May 10th, 2015 The workshop is semi-archival: materials will be published on the website with the authors permission. The authors retain the copyright and the rights to resubmit and publish at other venues. Organizing Committee ------------------------------------------------ Bertrand Thirion (Inria-CEA) Lars Kai Hansen (Technical University of Denmark) Sanmi Koyejo (Stanford University) For further information, please contact Sanmi Koyejo (sanmi(a)stanford.edu)

April 5, 2015

Call for applications: Brains for Brains Young Researchers' Computational Neuroscience Award 2015

by Kerstin Schwarzwaelder

Dear colleagues, for the sixth time, the Bernstein Association for Computational Neuroscience <http://www.nncn.de/en/bernstein-association> is announcing the "Brains for Brains Young Researchers' Computational Neuroscience Award". The call is open for researchers of any nationality who have contributed to a peer reviewed publication (as coauthor) or peer reviewed conference abstract (as first author) that was submitted before starting their doctoral studies, is written in English and was accepted or published in 2014 or 2015. The award comprises 500 € prize money, plus a travel grant of up to 2.000 € to cover a trip to Germany, including participation in the Bernstein Conference 2015 in Heidelberg (www.bernstein-conference.de) and an individually planned visit to up to two German research institutions in Computational Neuroscience. Deadline for application is May 8, 2015 (5:00 p.m. CET). Detailed information about the application procedure can be found under: www.nncn.de/en/bernstein-association/brains-for-brains-2015 For inquiries please contact info(a)bcos.uni-freiburg.de Best regards, Kerstin Schwarzwälder -- Dr. Kerstin Schwarzwälder Bernstein Coordination Site of the National Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg Hansastr. 9A 79104 Freiburg Germany phone: +49 761 203 9594 schwarzwaelder(a)bcos.uni-freiburg.de www.nncn.de

April 2, 2015

IJNS Special Issue Call for Papers for "IWSP7: Epilepsy Mechanisms, Models, Prediction & Control"

by Levin Kuhlmann

The International Journal of Neural Systems (IJNS; Impact Factor 6.056) will be publishing a special issue on work presented at the 7th International Workshop on Seizure Prediction "IWSP7: Epilepsy Mechanisms, Models, Prediction & Control" (www.iwsp7.org<http://www.iwsp7.org>) that will be held in Melbourne, Australia, during 3-6 August 2015. The IJNS Special Issue and "IWSP7: Epilepsy Mechanisms, Models, Prediction & Control" will focus on the engineering and science of epilepsy, covering basic mechanisms and imaging, computational modeling for analysis and prediction, and feedback control of epilepsy. Three key themes will be addressed. (1) Seizure prediction from months-to-years long recordings. (2) Model-based data assimilation for time series analysis, neuro-intervention, and feedback control. (3) Multi-modal neuroimaging and computational modelling to assess the spatial origin of seizures and the epileptic network at multiple scales. The following traditional IWSP themes will also be covered: automated seizure detection, prediction and control, seizure physiology mechanisms at multiple scales, high frequency oscillations, epileptic networks, and computational modeling of epilepsy. The call for papers for the special issue can be downloaded from the conference website at the following link: http://www.iwsp7.org/cfp/Epilepsy_Mechanisms_Models_Prediction_and_Control.… As described in the call for papers, invited speakers and researchers submitting the best abstracts to the IWSP7 conference will be invited to submit a manuscript by the IJNS editor-in-chief, Prof. Hojjat Adeli, and the guest editors, Dr Levin Kuhlmann, Prof. Mark J. Cook and Prof. David B. Grayden. We look forward to seeing you at IWSP7! On behalf of the local IWSP7 organizing committee Levin Kuhlmann, PhD David B. Grayden, PhD Mark J. Cook, MD Anthony N. Burkitt, PhD Dean R. Freestone, PhD Tatiana Kameneva, PhD Alan Lai, PhD Elma O'Sullivan-Greene, PhD Andre Peterson, BSc (hons) Email: organizingcommittee(a)iwsp7.org<mailto:organizingcommittee@iwsp7.org>

April 2, 2015

Postdoc positions at IBM Watson Research

by Irina Rish

Computational Biology Department at IBM T.J. Watson is looking for several postdoctoral researchers; see the job descriptions below. Job description 1: https://jobs3.netmedia1.com/cp/faces/job_summary?job_id=RES-0736440 IBM Research is undertaking a project to develop predictive models of neurological and psychiatric disease transitions based on patients’ speech samples and physiological recordings from wearable devices such as accelerometers, heart rate monitors and portable ElectroEncephaloGram (EEG) recorders. The goal of the project is to implement a high sampling frequency system monitoring easily available behavioral and physiological data, and relate these to established psychometric measures of disease, in order to provide neurologist and psychiatrists with high granularity information of the patients’ state, and actionable predictions of imminent transitions. The project will involve a tight collaboration with clinician s. Required Doctorate Degree At least 1 year experience in natural language processing or signal processing At least 1 year experience in Programming (Matlab, Python, C++) English: Intermediate Preferred At least 3 years experience in natural language processing or signal processing At least 2 years experience in Programming (Matlab, Python, C++) At least 2 years experience in psychology and psychiatry At least 2 years experience in cognitive science, big data analytics or wearable computing At least 2 years experience in machine learning English : Fluent Job description 2: https://jobs3.netmedia1.com/cp/faces/job_summary?job_id=RES-0736434 IBM Research is undertaking a project to characterize the progression of neurological diseases using multi-modal imaging techniques, combining state-of-the-art statistical learning and high-performance computing tools with physiological models and mechanistic interpretations. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop an integrative, multi-disciplinary approach to understand underpinning biological mechanisms of disease (e.g. Parkinson’s), as well as provide analytic tools with immediate clinical applicability. The project will involve a tight collaboration with neurobiology researchers and clinicians. IBM is seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher with a degree in neuroimaging, neuroscience, computer science, mathematics, physics, electrical engineering or similar fields. Candidates should have experience in high-throughput brain data modeling, machine learning for big data, computational neuroscience and neurobiology. Candidates with a background in relevant applied mathematics fields such as topological data analysis and optimization will also be considered. Required Doctorate Degree At least 1 year experience in brain imaging, analysis and modeling (magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalography or magnetoencephalography) Basic knowledge in programming (Matlab, Python, C++) English: Intermediate Preferred At least 3 years experience in brain imaging, analysis and modeling (magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalography or magnetoencephalography) At least 2 years experience in programming (Matlab, Python, C++) At least 3 years experience in machine learning At least 3 years experience in brain imaging At least 3 years experience in biological psychiatry English : Fluent

April 1, 2015

ANN: HoloViews 1.0 and ImaGen 2.0 released

by James A. Bednar

We are pleased to announce the first public release of HoloViews, a free Python package for scientific and engineering data visualization: http://ioam.github.io/holoviews and version 2.0 of ImaGen, a free Python package for generating two-dimensional patterns useful for vision research and computational modeling: http://ioam.github.io/imagen HoloViews provides composable, sliceable, declarative data structures for building even complex visualizations of any scientific data very easily. With HoloViews, you can see your data as publication-quality figures almost instantly, so that you can focus on the data itself, rather than on laboriously putting together your figures. Even complex multi-subfigure layouts and animations are very easily built using HoloViews. ImaGen provides highly configurable, resolution-independent input patterns, directly visualizable using HoloViews but also available without any plotting package so that they can easily be incorporated directly into your computational modeling or visual stimulus generation code. With ImaGen, any software with a Python interface can immediately support configurable streams of 0D, 1D, or 2D patterns, without any extra coding. HoloViews and ImaGen are very general tools, but they were designed to solve common problems faced by vision scientists and computational modelers. HoloViews makes it very easy to visualize data from vision research, whether it is visual patterns, neural activity patterns, or more abstract measurements or analyses. Essentially, HoloViews provides a set of general, compositional, multidimensional data structures suitable for both discrete and continuous real-world data, and pairs them with separate customizable plotting classes to visualize them without extensive coding. ImaGen 2.0 uses the continuous coordinate systems provided by HoloViews to implement flexible resolution-independent generation of streams of patterns, with parameters controlled by the user and allowing randomness or other arbitrary changes over time. These patterns can be used for visual stimulus generation, testing or training computational models, initializing connectivity in models, or any other application where random or dynamic but precisely controlled streams of patterns are needed. Features: - Freely available under a BSD license - Python 2 and 3 compatible - Minimal external dependencies -- easy to integrate into your workflow - Declarative approach provides powerful compositionality with minimal coding - Include extensive, continuously tested IPython Notebook tutorials - Easily reconfigurable using documented and validated parameters - Animations are supported natively, with no extra work - Supports reproducible research -- simple specification, archived in an IPython Notebook, providing a recipe for regenerating your results - HoloViews is one of three winners of the 2015 UK Open Source Awards To get started, check out ioam.github.io/holoviews and ioam.github.io/imagen! Jean-Luc Stevens Philipp Rudiger Christopher Ball James A. Bednar -- The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

April 1, 2015

2015 NEURON Summer Course

by Ted Carnevale

This year's NEURON Summer Course has two components that can be taken individually or together. NEURON Fundamentals, which runs from June 20-23, presents what you need to know to use NEURON to model individual neurons and networks of neurons, and introduces parallel simulation. Parallel Simulation with NEURON, which runs from June 24-26, is for users who already know how to write hoc or Python code for NEURON, and need to create models that will run on parallel hardware. Strategies for debugging, and measuring and improving performance, receive special attention. Because of its advanced nature, each day of "Parallel Simulation" includes a block of time in which participants can work on their own projects with expert help close at hand. Registration is limited, and the registration deadline is Friday, May 29, 2015. Discounts are available for applicants who sign up for both courses and/or register by April 20, 2015. For more information see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/nscsd2015/nscsd2015.html --Ted

March 31, 2015

BCF/NWG Course "Analysis and, Models in Neurophysiology" 2015 at the Bernstein Center Freiburg, Germany

by Birgit Ahrens

BCF/NWG Course "Analysis and Models in Neurophysiology" Sunday, October 4 - Friday, October 9, 2015 Bernstein Center Freiburg, Hansastraße 9a, 79104 Freiburg, Germany Aim of the course: The course is intended to provide advanced Diploma/Masters and PhD students, as well as young researchers from the neurosciences with approaches for the analysis of electrophysiological data and the theoretical concepts behind them. The course includes various topics such as: - Neuron Models and Point Processes (Prof. Stefan Rotter) - Local field potentials (Prof. Ulrich Egert) - Neural Coding (Dr. Robert Schmidt) - Neural Decoding (Prof. Carsten Mehring) The course will consist of lectures in the morning and matching exercises using Matlab and Mathematica in the afternoon. The participants should have a basic understanding of scientific programming. This course is designated especially for advanced diploma/master students and PhD students (preferentially in their first year). Application: Please apply by sending one pdf document containing your CV and a meaningful letter of motivation to nwg-course(a)bcf.uni-freiburg.de. The letter of motivation should refer to the following points: - Reasons for wanting to take this course - Background in mathematics - Background in scientific programming - Experience in using Matlab and Mathematica - Background in neuroscience The course is limited to 20 participants. Course fees: NWG members - 50€, others - 125€ Application deadline: June 30, 2015 More information: http://www.bcf.uni-freiburg.de/events/conferences-workshops/20151004-nwgcou… -- *-- Dr. Birgit Ahrens --* Teaching & Training Coordinator Bernstein Center Freiburg University of Freiburg Hansastr. 9a D - 79104 Freiburg Germany Phone: +49 (0) 761 203-9575 Fax: +49 (0) 761 203-9559

March 31, 2015

A "Brain Parts List" for Neurophysiologists - Neuroelectro.org

by Nathan Urban

Dear Colleagues I wanted to alert you to a new publication and an associated resource. We just published a paper entitled: Brain-wide analysis of electrophysiological diversity yields novel categorization of mammalian neuron types in the Journal of Neurophysiology. The paper is available at: http://jn.physiology.org/content/jn/early/2015/03/20/jn.00237.2015.full.pdf Also you might be interested in the associated web site: http://neuroelectro.org The paper describes an approach to collect, compile, validate and analyze data from thousands of published papers describing neurophysiological properties of many types of neurons. In addition to the analyses that we performed, we believe that the data contained in this dataset should be of interest to the broad neurophysiology and modeling community. The data set also would benefit from scientists across the country and world providing feedback, proposing extensions, reporting errors etc. We appreciate any feedback or comments. Best, Nathan Urban - CMU Shreejoy Tripathy - CMU/UBC Shawn Burton - CMU Matt Geramita - U Pittsburgh Rick Gerkin - CMU/ASU -- __________________________________ Nathan Urban, Ph.D. Interim Provost Dr. Frederick A. Schwertz Distinguished Professor of Life Sciences Professor, Department of Biological Sciences Professor, Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition Carnegie Mellon University 4400 Fifth Ave (Biological Sciences) 5000 Forbes Ave (Provost's Office) Pittsburgh PA 15213 ph. 412-268-6684 fax 412-268-2330 http://www.cmu.edu/bio/f <http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/nurban/Lab_pages/> aculty/urban.html **For scheduling, please cc Barb Diecks (bdiecks(a)andrew.cmu.edu) on any email

March 31, 2015

Programmer position at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology.

by Benjamin Torben-Nielsen

The computational neuroscience unit (De Schutter unit) at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology has an opening for a programmer / technician on a neuroinformatics project. Initial duration is one year with an option to extend. Project description: Neuronal morphologies are usually studied in isolation. However, this is in contrast to reality were neurons develop in a dense substrate and actively interact with each other and their environment. Therefore, our group recently developed a computational framework -NeuroMaC- to study how interactions between developing neurons themselves and the environment shape dendrite and axon morphologies. A fully functional prototype of NeuroMaC was implemented in Python. NeuroMaC is designed as a parallel software and implemented using the ZeroMQ messaging library for concurrency. More information about the design and future roadmap of NeuroMac can be found here: http://b-torbennielsen.home.oist.jp/neuromac/neuromac.html#design-requireme… Job description: We seek for a programmer / technician to implement a new version of NeuroMaC using state-of-the-art parallel environments to improve on scalability, execution speed and flexibility. The candidate will be working in the lab headed by Prof. Erik De Schutter and under daily supervision of Dr. Ben Torben-Nielsen. The candidate will help in the final design of the framework and has to be flexible in incorporating additional features as research continues and new requirements are identified. Qualifications: The ideal candidate has extensive experience with parallel programming. We are particularly looking for candidates with experience of (dynamic) load-balancing. Experience with meshing software is a great plus and previous experience with neuroscience is appreciated (but not necessary). * Required: - Extensive experience in developing in Linux environments - Extensive experience in parallel programming (MPI, ZMQ) - Excellent communication skills in English and communication with multi-disciplinary teams - M.Sc. in computer science / physics / computational neuroscience or similar experience * Beneficial: - Familiarity with meshing software (TetGen, gmsh, Cubit, VTK) - Experience in an academic environment - Interest in neuroscience Benefits / Offer: A competitive salary and relocation package are offered. This an ideal position to gain experience in a prominent computational neuroscience lab. Academic contributions by technicians are honoured by authorship on relevant publications. Please contact Prof. Erik De Schutter (erik(a)oist.jp) or Dr. Ben Torben-Nielsen (b.torbennielsen(a)gmail.com) for inquiries. About the workplace: The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) will become a model for change in education and research with the best international graduate students, working side by side with world-class faculty in modern well-equipped laboratories. Beautifully situated on the island of Okinawa, OIST relies on a cross-disciplinary approach, with an emphasis on creativity and exchange, to offer unique, individualized graduate training. OIST is a university with no departments, eliminating artificial barriers between people working in different fields, but many nationalities, with students and faculty being attracted from all over the world. Concentrating initially on Neuroscience, Molecular Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Environmental and Ecological Sciences and Physical Sciences, OIST is bringing some of the best brains in the world to Okinawa to transform the way science and education is done in the global academic world. -- Dr. Ben Torben-Nielsen Computational Neuroscience Unit Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology

March 31, 2015

Poster submission deadline extended to the Fifth International Symposium on Biology of Decision-Making, 11-13 May 2015 @ Paris, France

by Mehdi Khamassi

[Please accept our apologies if you get multiple copies of this message] Dear colleagues, The deadline for poster submission is extended to April 15th for the Fifth International Symposium on Biology of Decision Making (SBDM) which will take place in Paris, France, on May, 11-13th 2015. Poster submission and online registration can be done on the dedicated website: http://sbdm2015.isir.upmc.fr Please circulate widely and encourage your colleagues and team members to attend. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FIFTH SYMPOSIUM ON BIOLOGY OF DECISION MAKING (SBDM 2015) May 11-13, 2015, Paris, France Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Hôpital La Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France. & Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France. & Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France. http://sbdm2015.isir.upmc.fr ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRESENTATION: The Fifth Symposium on Biology of Decision Making will take place on May 11-13, 2015 at the Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Paris, France, with a satellite day at Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France. The objective of this three day symposium is to gather people from different research fields with different approaches (economics, ethology, psychiatry, neural and computational approaches) to decision-making. The symposium will be a single-track, will last for 3 days and will include 6 sessions: (#1) Beyond two: Multi-alternative and multi-attribute choices; (#2) Shaky business: Neural sources of choice variability; (#3) Looking for causality: Choice bias following brain manipulation; (#4) The dark side of choice: Delay, effort and punishment; (#5) Choosing the unknown: The route to exploration; (#6) More brains: Choice in social context. CONFIRMED SPEAKERS: Thomas Boraud (CNRS - Université Bordeaux 2, France) Colin Camerer (California Institute of Technology, USA) Peter Dayan (Gatsby Unit, University College London, UK) Mauricio Delgado (Rutgers University, USA) Sophie Deneve (CNRS - Ecole Normale Supérieure, France) Jan Drugowitsch (Université de Genève, Switzerland) Sylvie Granon (Université d'Orsay - CNRS, France) Hauke Heekeren (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany) Laurence Hunt (University College London, UK) Masud Husain (University of Oxford, UK) Quentin Huys (ETH Zurich - University of Zurich, Switzerland) Miriam Klein-Flügge (University of Oxford, UK) Brian Knutson (Stanford University, USA) Kenway Louie (New York University, USA) John O'Doherty (California Institute of Technology, USA) Mitsuhiro Okada (Keio University, Japan) Kerstin Preuschoff (University of Geneva, Switzerland) Emmanuel Procyk (CNRS - INSERM, France) Christian Ruff (University of Zurich, Switzerland) Aldo Rustichini (University of Minnesota, USA) Liane Schmidt (INSEAD, France) Christopher Summerfield (University of Oxford, UK) Mark Walton (University of Oxford, UK) Melissa Warden (Cornell University, USA) Valentin Wyart (Ecole Normale Supérieure, France) Makiko Yamada (National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Japan) IMPORTANT DATES: April 15, 2015 Extended deadline for Poster Submission April 30, 2015 Deadline for Registration May 11-13, 2015 Symposium Venue ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: Thomas Boraud (CNRS, Bordeaux, France) Sacha Bourgeois-Gironde (La Sorbonne, Paris, France) Kenji Doya (OIST, Okinawa, Japan) Mehdi Khamassi (CNRS - UPMC, Paris, France) Etienne Koechlin (CNRS - ENS, Paris, France) Mathias Pessiglione (ICM - INSERM, Paris, France) CONTACT INFORMATION : Website, registration, poster submission and detailed program: http://sbdm2015.isir.upmc.fr Contact: sbdm2015 [ at ] isir.upmc.fr / sbdm2015-registration(a)isir.upmc.fr -- Mehdi Khamassi, PhD Researcher (CNRS) Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique (UMR7222) CNRS - Université Pierre et Marie Curie Pyramide, Tour 55 - Boîte courrier 173 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France tel: + 33 1 44 27 28 85 fax: +33 1 44 27 51 45 cell: +33 6 50 76 44 92 http://people.isir.upmc.fr/khamassi

March 30, 2015

2 Postdoc Positions in the Frohlich Lab (UNC - Chapel Hill)

by Frohlich, Flavio

Position 1: We are seeking to fill one postdoctoral position in slice electrophysiology in the Frohlich Lab (www.frohlichlab.org<http://www.frohlichlab.org>) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We are a rapidly growing lab that aims to understand how cellular and synaptic mechanisms give rise to cortical network dynamics and how these dynamics can be modulated with brain stimulation. We have received grant funding to further grow our slice electrophysiology team in the lab. In particular, we are interested in understanding the role of propagation delays in network synchronization, the study of mesoscale network events by combining optogenetic stimulation and electrophysiology, and elucidating how temporally patterned brain stimulation alters network dynamics. The successful applicant will study such synaptic and intrinsic mechanisms of cortical network dynamics with cutting-edge in vitro slice electrophysiology strategies that combine 120 channel multielectrode array (MEA) electrophysiology, dual patch-clamp, optogenetic stimulation, and real-time closed loop hybrid systems. Requirements: The successful candidate has a PhD in neuroscience or related discipline and a track record of first class science demonstrated by first-author, peer-reviewed scientific articles in the area of in vitro neurophysiology. Documented skills in whole-cell patch clamp recordings are a prerequisite; programming and data analysis skills are essential. Please send your CV and a brief statement of research interest to flavio_frohlich(a)med.unc.edu. Also, please have two letters of recommendation directly submitted to the same email address. Position 2: We are seeking to fill one postdoctoral position in human electrophysiology in the Frohlich Lab (www.frohlichlab.org<http://www.frohlichlab.org>) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We are a rapidly growing lab that aims to understand how cortical network dynamics emerge and how these dynamics can be modulated with brain stimulation. We have received grant funding to further grow our human electrophysiology team in the lab. In particular, we are interested in understanding how (feedback) non-invasive brain stimulation alters cortical network dynamics that mediate cognition. The successful applicant will employ tDCS/tACS, EEG, TMS, and cognitive testing for elucidating the functional role of cortical oscillations in cognition and for the development of novel strategies to enhance brain function and treat cognitive deficits in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Requirements: The successful candidate has a PhD in neuroscience or related discipline and a track record of first class science demonstrated by first-author, peer-reviewed scientific articles in the area of human neurophysiology. Documented skills in EEG and cognitive assays are a prerequisite; programming and data analysis skills are essential. We will provide training in non-invasive brain stimulation methods. Please send your CV and a brief statement of research interest to flavio_frohlich(a)med.unc.edu. Also, please have two letters of recommendation directly submitted to the same email address. -- Flavio Frohlich PhD Assistant Professor Departments of Psychiatry, Cell Biology and Physiology, and Biomedical Engineering Neuroscience Center School of Medicine University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

March 28, 2015

2015 ACT-R Summer School

by db30＠andrew.cmu.edu

2015 ACT-R Summer School and Master Class Carnegie Mellon University July 13-16, 2015 ACT-R is a cognitive architecture, and it is realized in a software system which can be used to develop cognitive models. It has been used for modeling tasks that range from experimental tasks like simple reaction time and list learning, to real world tasks like driving a car and air traffic control. The 2015 ACT-R Summer School will take place from July 13-16, just before the 22nd annual ACT-R Workshop which will also be held at Carnegie Mellon University. The Summer School will train researchers in the use of ACT-R for cognitive modeling using the ACT-R tutorial. The tutorial consists of eight units, six of which will be covered during the four days of the Summer School. Each day will consist of a morning theory lecture covering one or two tutorial units, an afternoon discussion session on the topics of the day, and modeling assignments which participants are expected to complete during the day and evening. The Master Class is organized in parallel with the Summer School. The Master Class offers the opportunity for ACT-R modelers to work on their own projects with guidance from experienced ACT-R researchers. There is no curriculum for the Master Class, but Master Class students are welcome to attend the Summer School lectures and discussion sessions. To provide an optimal learning environment, admission to the Summer School and Master Class will be limited. To apply for the Summer School, please email a curriculum vitae and a statement of purpose to db30(a)andrew.cmu.edu. Demonstrated experience with a modeling formalism similar to ACT-R will strengthen a Summer School application. To apply for the Master Class please email a curriculum vitae along with some information about your level of experience with ACT-R and some details on the project you expect to work on during the Master Class. Applications are due by April 13th and applicants will be notified of admission by April 30. Admission to the Summer School and Master Class is free. In addition, the registration fee for the ACT-R Workshop will be waived for Summer School Students, but not for students of the Master Class. Housing will be available in the CMU dormitories for approximately $60/day (single) or $40/day (shared), and will be available through the end of the workshop. More information about ACT-R, including papers published by the ACT-R community, can be found on the ACT-R web site: <http://act-r.psy.cmu.edu/>. For more information on the Summer School and Master Class you can email Dan Bothell at db30(a)andrew.cmu.edu.

March 27, 2015

call for papers - 2015 IEEE International Workshop on Machine Learning, for Signal Processing (MLSP)

by 2015 IEEE International Workshop on Machine Learning fo Signal Processing

call for papers - 2015 IEEE International Workshop on Machine Learning for Signal Processing (MLSP) September 17-20, 2015 Boston, Massachusetts, USA http://mlsp2015.conwiz.dk CALL FOR PAPERS The 25th MLSP workshop in the series of workshops organized by the IEEE Signal Processing Society MLSP Technical Committee will present the most recent and exciting advances in machine learning for signal processing through keynote talks, tutorials, as well as special and regular single-track sessions. Prospective authors are invited to submit papers on relevant algorithms and applications including, but not limited to: - Learning theory and techniques - Graphical models and kernel methods - Data-driven adaptive systems and models - Pattern recognition and classification - Distributed, Bayesian, subspace/manifold/sparsity-aware learning - Multiset data analysis and multimodal data fusion - Perceptual signal processing in audio, image and video - Cognitive information processing - Multichannel adaptive and nonlinear signal processing - Applications, including: speech & audio, image & video, music, biomedical signals & images, communications, bioinformatics, biometrics, computational intelligence, genomic signals & sequences, social networks, games, smart grid, security & privacy DATA ANALYSIS AND SIGNAL PROCESSING COMPETITION The competition is organized in conjunction with the workshop. The goal of the competition is to advance the current state-of-the-art in theoretical and practical aspects of signal processing domains. SPECIAL SESSIONS MLSP 2015 seeks proposals for Special Sessions that will address research in emerging or interdisciplinary areas of particular interest, not covered already by traditional MLSP sessions. Please submit proposals to the Special Session Chair. BEST STUDENT AWARD The MLSP Best Student Paper Award will be granted to the best paper for which a student is the principal author and presenter. PAPER SUBMISSION Prospective authors are invited to submit a double column paper of up to six pages using the electronic submission procedure at http://mlsp2015.conwiz.dk. Accepted papers will be published on a password-protected website that will be available during the workshop. The presented papers will be published in and indexed by IEEE Xplore. IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES: Special session proposals: April 12, 2015 Paper submissions: May 17, 2015 Decision notifications: June 21, 2015 Camera-ready papers due: June 28, 2015 Advance registration: August 2, 2015 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: General Chair: Deniz Erdoğmuş, Northeastern University Program Chairs: Murat Akçakaya, University of Pittsburgh Serdar Kozat, Bilkent University Competition Chair: Vince Calhoun, University of New Mexico Special Session Chair: Catherine Huang, Intel Labs Publicity Chairs: Kostas Diamantaras, TEI of Thessaloniki Marc Van Hulle, KU Leuven Publication Chair: Jan Larsen, Technical University of Denmark

March 27, 2015

Graduate Researcher / Postdoc position available at the SimLab Neuroscience, Juelich Research Centre

by Abigail Morrison

Dear colleagues, we have a position available in the SImLab Neuroscience, Juelich Research Centre, Germany, at the graduate or postdoc level. We are looking for candidates with a proven track record in developing scientific software, especially with an HPC focus, and an interest in Neuroscience. For a full description and details of how to apply, please see the announcement on our website: http://www.fz-juelich.de/SharedDocs/Stellenangebote/_common/dna/2015-062-EN… All the best, Abigail Morrison -- Prof. Dr. Abigail Morrison IAS-6 & INM-6 / SimLab Neuroscience Jülich Research Center http://www.fz-juelich.de/inm/inm-6/ http://www.fz-juelich.de/ias/jsc/EN/Expertise/SimLab/slns/_node.html 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 27, 2015

2nd Model-based Neuroscience Summer School Amsterdam June 1-5

by Jane Neumann

Dear colleagues, *June 1-5 2015* will see the second *Model-based Neuroscience Summer School*, hosted at the *University of Amsterdam*. The school will provide students with hands-on experience in both cognitive modeling using diffusion and accumulator models and simple neuroscience methods. In addition, the program includes a debate between the two most prominent perspectives on the model-based neuroscience of perceptual decision-making. These perspectives place a different primary focus on either behavior (Ratcliff) or neural dynamics (Logan). Consequently, they bring different insights to the combined research agenda. The summer school is aimed at PhD students and early PostDocs who wish to combine cognitive modelling with experimental and theoretical neuroscience research. Students should be familiar with general programming concepts and state in their application which programming languages and software packages they typically use. The summer school is only 100 euro, however, we ask that students make their own housing arrangements. Space is limited, therefore we ask that you provide a statement of interest. We will base selection of students based on the relevance of the summer school to their research. More information about the teachers, preliminary programme, and application can be found at www.modelbasedneuroscience.com <http://www.modelbasedneuroscience.com/> We are looking forward to welcoming you in Amsterdam! Organization: Birte Forstmann, University of Amsterdam Jane Neumann, University Medical Center Leipzig and MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Roger Ratcliff, Ohio State University Leendert van Maanen, University of Amsterdam

March 27, 2015

Call for Abstracts: Bernstein Conference 2015

by Seeger, Simone

Call for Abstracts: Bernstein Conference 2015 Deadline of Abstract Submission: May 15, 2015 ************************************************************** Satellite Workshops September 14, 2015 Main Conference September 15-17, 2015 ************************************************************** The Bernstein Conference has become the largest annual Computational Neuroscience Conference in Europe and now regularly attracts more than 500 international participants. This year, the Conference is organized by the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Heidelberg-Mannheim and will take place on September 15-17, 2015, in Heidelberg. In addition, there will be a series of pre-conference satellite workshops on September 14, 2015. The Bernstein Conference is a single-track conference, covering all aspects of Computational Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, and sessions for poster presentations are an integral part of the conference. We now invite the submission of abstracts for poster presentations from all relevant areas. Accepted abstracts will be published online and will be citable via Digital Object Identifiers (DOI). Additionally, a small number of abstracts will be selected for contributed talks. DETAILS FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION: For abstract submission visit: http://www.nncn.de/de/bernstein-conference/2015/abstracts Please note that the submission of an abstract does not replace the conference registration! Conference registration starts on April 27. Abstract submission deadline: May 15, 2015 CONFERENCE DETAILS: Venue: Satellite Workshops and Main Conference, "Neue Universität", Grabengasse 3-5 ("Universitätsplatz"), 69117 Heidelberg, Germany Registration: Conference Registration starts on April 27, 2015 Early registration deadline: July 21, 2015 For more information on the conference, please visit the website: http://www.bernstein-conference.de PUBLIC PHD STUDENT EVENT: September 17-18, 2015 PUBLIC LECTURE: September 15, 2015 FOR THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: Peter Bastian We look forward to seeing you in Heidelberg in September! *** Simone Seeger, M.A. Administration Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit Postfach 12 21 20, 68072 Mannheim J5, 68159 Mannheim Telefon: 0621/1703-1326 oder 06221/54-8310 Fax: 0621/1703-2915 E-Mail: Simone.Seeger(a)zi-mannheim.de<mailto:Simone.Seeger@zi-mannheim.de> Internet: http://www.bccn-heidelberg-mannheim.de<http://www.bccn-heidelberg-mannheim.de/>

March 27, 2015

Radboud Summer School Neural Metrics 2.0 : Connectomics & Large-Scale Methods

by Marcel van Gerven

Neural Metrics 2.0 : Connectomics & Large-Scale Methods Second call The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour/Radboud University is organizing a summer school on neural metrics with the aim to get participants acquainted with the quantitative analysis of neural organisation and function. In Neural Metrics 2.0 we will build on the success from the previous year, focussing on methods for understanding brain networks such as connectomics as well as large scale and Bayesian methods, with world class speakers, hands-on tutorials, student projects and an interactive debate. The topics covered range from cellular connectomics to human functional connectomics. The course is designed for PhD students and starting postdoctoral researchers working at the interface between cognitive neuroscience and the application of advanced methods. Please consult the Radboud Summer school website (http://www.ru.nl/radboudsummerschool/ <http://www.ru.nl/radboudsummerschool/>) for details on the program, social events and registration. Further details for the Neural Metrics Summer School can be found below and on the website (http://www.ru.nl/radboudsummerschool/courses/brain-behaviour/@972443/neural… <http://www.ru.nl/radboudsummerschool/courses/brain-behaviour/@972443/neural…>). Dates : Monday 10 August - Friday 14 August 2015 (1 week) Application Deadline : 15 June 2015 Course leaders : Bernhard Englitz, Marcel van Gerven, Fleur Zeldenrust, Tansu Celikel Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour & Radboud University Participant profile : This course was developed for PhD students and early postdoctoral researchers working at the interface between cellular and cognitive neuroscience requiring advanced methods of analysis. This includes research in the field of Neuroscience with an MSc in Biology, Computer Science, Psychology, Physics, Al, Mathematics, Engineering or a similar major. Admission requirements : As part of the admission procedure, we ask you to send us your CV and a brief motivation letter in which you explain your interest in our course. Course fee : 600 Euros The course fee includes the registration fee, course materials, access to library and IT facilities, coffee/tea, lunch, and a number of social activities. Accommodation is available for the course participants (additional charges apply). For details please see http://www.ru.nl/radboudsummerschool/practical-matters/housing/ <http://www.ru.nl/radboudsummerschool/practical-matters/housing/> Discounts : • 15% discount for students and PhD candidates from Radboud University and partner universities, • 10% Early bird discount deadline: 1 April 2015

March 27, 2015

Kosice Neuroscience Workshop April 20-24

by Norbert Kopco

The Second Workshop and Lecture Series on */"Cognitive neuroscience of auditory and cross-modal perception"/* 20 - 24 April 2015 Kosice, Slovakia http://pcl.upjs.sk/ *Objectives:* This workshop and lecture series will include introductory lectures and advanced research talks on a range of topics related to the */neural processes of auditory, visual and cross-modal perception/*. The talks will illustrate the */multidisciplinary character of cognitive neuroscience research/*, covering behavioral, neuroimaging, and modeling approaches, as well as applications of the research in auditory prosthetic devices. The workshop is aimed at */early-stage and advanced students and young researchers/*, and it will provide ample opportunities for direct interactions between the lecturers and the attendees. Themes Spatial hearing, vision and crossmodal perception, neural modeling, methods in cognitive neuroscience: behavioral experiments, EEG and fMRI imaging, modeling, applications: cochlear implants, hearing aids. *Format* Lectures 20 - 22 April, Consultations 23 – 24 April *Venue* Historicka aula, P. J. Safarik University, Srobarova 2, 040 11 Kosice, Slovakia *Organizers* Norbert Kopco, PhD. (norbert.kopco(a)upjs.sk <mailto:norbert.kopco@upjs.sk>) Frederick Gallun, PhD. (Frederick.Gallun(a)va.gov <mailto:Frederick.Gallun@va.gov>) *Organizing team and contact* Beata Tomoriova, Lubos Hladek, Perception and Cognition Lab <http://pcl.upjs.sk>,**kogneuro(a)gmail.com <mailto:kogneuro@gmail.com> Program overview Lectures, talks, posters: Mon, Tue, Wed: 8:30 – 12:00, 13:30 – 16:05 expert lectures, 16:05 – 17:00: contributed posters & presentations Plenary lecture and panel discussion: Wed: 17:30-19:00 in Zlaty Dukat hotel Consultations: * Thu: 8:30 – 11:30 Individual consultations with experts (by appointment) and work on assignments, 12:00 – 17:00 individual work on assignments (8:30 – 11:30 alternatively, interested participants can attend the Symposium on university spin-offs and start-up companies <http://pcl.ics.upjs.sk/symposium2015/>) * Fri: 8:30 – 11:30 Individual consultations with experts (by appointment) and work on assignments Plenary lecture and panel discussion *Virginia Best, Frederick Gallun, and Norbert Kopco*“Audibility and spatial hearing” Speakers and lecture topics *Simon Carlile*(University of Sydney) Lecture 1: Active listening: Speech intelligibility in cocktail party listening. Lecture 2: Listening in motion *Pierre Divenyi*(Stanford University) Lecture 1: Toward an evolutionary theory of speech: how and why did it develop the way it did. Lecture 2: What is the cost of simultaneously listening to the “what” and the “when” in speech? ** *Christopher Stecker *(Vanderbilt University) Lecture 1: RESTART theory: discrete sampling of binaural information during envelope fluctuations is a fundamental constraint on binaural processing. Lecture 2: Neuroimaging of task-dependent spatial processing in human auditory cortex. Assignment 1: Psychophysical exploration of binaural cues synchronized to envelope fluctuations: testing the RESTART theory with synthetic and naturalistic sounds. (hackathon type assignment) Assignment 2: Analysis of an fMRI data set combining task and binaural manipulations in a factorial manner. ** *Bernhard Laback*(Austrian Academy of Sciences) Lecture 1: Sound Localization Cues and Perceptual Grouping in Electric Hearing Lecture 2: Temporal effects in the perception of interaural time differences: Data and model predictions Assignment: Acoustic simulation of cochlear implant perception with low-frequency residual hearing ** *Volker Hohmann *(University of Oldenburg) Lecture 1: Modeling Auditory Scene Analysis by multidimensional statistical filtering Lecture 2: Modeling Cocktail Party Processing in a Multitalker Mixture using Harmonicity and Binaural Features Assignment: Implementation of a statistical estimator (particle filter) that tracks a (simulated) pitch track partially masked by noise. ** *Arash Yazdanbakhsh*(Boston University) Lecture 1: Pursuit eye movements and perceived object velocity, potential clinical applications. Lecture 2: Visuospatial memory and where eyes look when the percept changes. Assignment: A simulation assignment to replicate the gain of eye pursuit in following a target. ** *Aaron Seitz*(University of California, Riverside) Lecture 1: Perceptual Learning; specificity, transfer and how learning is a distributed process Lecture 2: Brain Training; How to train cognition to yield transfer to real world contexts ** *Frederick (Erick) Gallun *(US Dept. of Veterans Affairs and Oregon Health & Science University) Lecture 1: Learning From Nature’s Experiments: What Clinical Research Can Mean for Sensory Scientists Lecture 2: Auditory Processing After mild Traumatic Brain Injury: New Findings and Next Steps Assignment: Establishing normative ranges of performance using non-linear functions ** *Istvan Winkler*(Hungarian Academy of Science) Lecture 1: Auditory processing capabilities supporting communication in preverbal infants Lecture 2: Modeling auditory stream segregation by predictive processes ** *Virginia Best*(Boston University) Lecture 1: Spatial Hearing: Effect of hearing loss and hearing aids. Assignment: MATLAB assignment: simulating the effect of hearing loss on spatial cues ** *Petr Maršálek*(Charles University in Prague) Lecture 1: Coincidence detection in the MSO – computational approaches Lecture 2: On the single neuron computation Travel, accommodation, visitor information /Travel: /The Kosice Airport <http://www.airportkosice.sk/en/>is served by Austrian Airlines <http://www.austrian.com/>and Czech Airlines <http://www.csa.cz>(via Vienna, Prague, Bratislava) and by low-cost airline Wizzair <http://wizzair.com/en-GB/Search>(London Luton Airport). Alternatively you can fly to Budapest and take a 3.5-hr shuttle bus to Kosice (for example, using the cassoviaexpres <http://cassoviaexpres.sk/en/>shuttle bus company). From Krakow you can take the 4-hr shuttle bus operated by Airtrans.sk <http://airtrans.sk/en/>. More information about how to get to Kosice (also by train or bus) can be found here <http://www.visitkosice.eu/en/to-get-there/arriving-to-the-city>.// /Accommodation:/A conference rate of 50EUR/night+(1.5e local tax) has been negotiated with the Zlaty dukat <http://www.zlatydukat.sk/index.php?lang=en>hotel. Please, make your reservation by contacting the hotel directly, either through their website or by emailing the hotel at hotel(a)hotelzlatydukat.sk and mention the “Cognitive Neuroscience Workshop” to get the rate. Otherwise, there are several hotels close to the workshop venue, for example Hotel Teledom <http://www.hotelteledom.sk>, Villa Regia <http://villaregia.sk/en/>, Doubletree by Hilton <http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/slovak-republic/doubletree-by-hilto…>, Hotel Yasmin <http://www.hotel-yasmin.sk/>, Hotel Maraton <http://www.hotelmaraton.sk/>(for more hotel options please see http://www.booking.com, http://www.hotels.com, for hostels see: http://www.hostels.com, http://www.hostelworld.com) // /Visitor information and current events:/Košice was one of the European Capitals of Culture in 2013 <http://www.visitkosice.eu/en/things-to-see-and-do/sightseeing-in-kosice/tra…>. For the list of new cultural venues and current events there, see http://k13.sk/(in Slovak). For all events and trip ideas see http://www.visitkosice.eu/, http://www.slovaktours.eu/, http://www.mickosice.sk/ <http://www.mickosice.sk/index.php?lang=eng>, http://slovakia.travel/, or http://www.slovakia.com/ // Registration The workshop is open to all interested students/scientists. Registration is free of charge but required (mostly for organizational reasons). In order to register, please send an email to kogneuro(a)gmail.com stating your name and affiliation, dates on which you are planning to attend. In case you would like to have a presentation please send us an abstract (up to 200 words) and an indication whether you prefer poster or oral presentation no later than April 10, 2015. Related event Workshop attendees might also be interested in an independent Symposium on university spin-offs and start-up companies <http://pcl.ics.upjs.sk/symposium2015/>that will take place on 23 April 2015. Last year’s website http://pcl.upjs.sk/workshop2014/ Funding This workshop / lecture series is organized within the Project implementation: SOFOS – knowledge and skill development of the academic staff and students at the University of Pavol Jozef Safarik in Kosice with emphasis on interdisciplinary competencies and integration into international research centres, ITMS: 26110230088, supported by the Research & Development Operational Programme funded by the ESF. Modern education for knowledge society / This project is being co-financed by the European Union -- doc. Norbert Kopco, Ph.D. Assoc Professor / Senior Researcher: Inst of Computer Sci, Faculty of Science, Safarik Univ, Kosice, Slovakia Adjunct: Ctr for Computational Neurosci (CompNet), Boston University & Martinos Ctr for Biomed Imaging, Harvard Med School - Mass Gen Hospital P: +16175759556 F: +14847279884, kopco(a)bu.edu, http://cns.bu.edu/~kopco

March 26, 2015

One week left to apply for an independent postdoc at SISSA

by Alessandro Treves

The Neuroscience Area of SISSA has opened a new postdoctoral position. The fellowship awardee may join any of the available research groups, see http://www.sissa.it/announcement/neuroscience-area-new-postdoc-position or may choose to work independently. Candidates with a potential to bring extra diversity are particularly encouraged to apply. Deadline April 3rd! -- Alessandro Treves http://people.sissa.it/~ale/limbo.html SISSA - Cognitive Neuroscience, via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy and Master in Complex Actions http://www.mca.sissa.it/

March 26, 2015

PhD position - Coding of retinal ganglion cells - Multi-electrode array - Oldenburg, Germany

by Jutta Kretzberg

The Visual Neuroscience group at the University of Oldenburg, Germany is offering a PhD position (TV-L E13 50%) in population coding of retinal ganglion cells starting in May 2015. The position is initially funded until March 31 2018. The goal of our research is to understand how visual signals are transmitted from the retina to the brain. We study how populations of neurons encode information using large-scale multi-electrode arrays, which are able to record the responses of around a thousand neurons of various cell-types simultaneously for several hours. The visual stimulus is transduced into electrical signals by the photoreceptors of the retina, processed by many types of interneurons, and conveyed to the brain by the ganglion cells along their axons that form the optic nerve. All visual information is encoded in temporal patterns of electrical impulses of the ganglion cells. We know from morphological studies that over 20 types of ganglion cells exist. Each type carries a specialized and distinct representation of the visual environment to different targets in the brain. We do not know the response properties of many types, especially in natural viewing conditions, nor do we fully understand how the diverse information sent by the different cell types collectively determines visual perception and behavior. For more information please visit www.uni-oldenburg.de/retina. We seek a highly motivated PhD student with an academic university degree (Master or Diploma) in Biology, Physics, Informatics or related fields. Applicants should have strong computing skills, experience or training in neuroscience and interest in vision research. Electrophysiological experience is an advantage. The Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg is dedicated to increasing the percentage of women in science. Therefore, equally qualified female candidates will be given preference. Applicants with disabilities will be preferentially considered in case of equal qualification. Please submit your application (in English or German) including a motivation letter with a description of your scientific interest, a CV, degree certificates, and contact information of two references to Prof. Dr. Martin Greschner (martin.greschner(a)uni-oldenburg.de) preferably by email, as a single pdf-file or by mail to the Universität Oldenburg, Fakultät VI, Visual Neuroscience, 26111 Oldenburg. Applications will be considered until April 20th.

March 26, 2015

BIH @ Imprial College London: Bring the HUMAN BRAIN PROJETCS OF THE WORLD TO ONE PLACE

by Caroline Li

Co-Chaired by Prof Karl Friston & Prof Yike Guo @ Imperial College London (Aug 31 - Sep2, 2015), BIH'15 crosses the disciplines of neuroscience, cognitive science, computer science, signal processing, and neuroimaging. It also draws special attention to informatics for brain science, human behaviour and health. It involves leaders from three of the biggest brain initiatives in the world. BIH'15 accepts full paper submission or abstract only submission. Please allow me to send call for paper here: Keynote Speakers * Allan Jones, CEO, Allen Institute for Brain Science, USA; * Henry Markram, Director, Blue Brain Project; Coordinator, Human Brain Project, EPFL, Switzerland; * David Van Essen, PI, Human Connectome Project, Washington University School of Medicine, USA; Feature Speakers * Giorgio Ascoli, (Founding Director, Center for Neural Informatics, George Mason University, USA); * Henry Kennedy, (Director of Research, Stem-cell and Brain Research Institute, France); * Barbara Sahakian, (University of Cambridge, UK); * Nelson Spruston, (Scientific Program Director, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), USA); * Paul Verschure, (Director, the Lab of SPECS at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Spain); ===================================================== General Chairs: * Karl Friston, (Scientific Director, Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, UK); * Yike Guo, (Director of Data Science Institute, Imperial College London, UK); Program Chairs: * Aldo Faisal, Imperial College London & MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, UK, * Sean Hill, EPFL, Switzerland, * Hanchuan Peng, Allen Institute for Brain Science, USA; Workshop/Special-Session Chairs: * Andreas Holzinger, Medical University Graz & Graz University of Technology, Austria; Zhisheng Huang, Vrije University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, David Powers, Flinders University of South Australia, Australia; Publicity Chairs: * Jessica Turner, Georgia State University, USA; Juan D. Velasquez, University of Chile, Chile; Yi Zeng, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; Local Organizing Chairs: * Thomas Henis, Imperial College London, UK; Kai Sun, Imperial College London, UK; Chao Wu, Imperial College London, UK; Exhibition/Sponsorship Chair: * Caroline Li, University Kent, UK; Steering Committee Co-Chairs: * Ning Zhong, Maebashi Institute of Technology, Japan; Jiming Liu, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong. ***************** Conference Theme: Brain informatics has emerged as a distinct field of research. It crosses the disciplines of neuroscience, cognitive science, computer science, signal processing, and neuroimaging technologies. The data driven nature of brain research made brain informatics an important field of data science. Following the success of past conferences in this series, BIH'15 will take place at Imperial College London, in UK. For the first time, BIH gathers the researchers from major international brain research projects to form a forum for reviewing the progress of brain informatics research and its applications to human health and building up international collaboration. The conference will also organise an exhibition from industrial and research community. BIH'15 draws special attention to informatics for brain science, human behaviour and health. BIH'15 will address informatics approaches to both the brain and behaviour research with a strong emphasis on emerging trends of big data analysis and management technology for brain research, behaviour learning, and real-world applications of brain science in human health and wellbeing. BIH'15 welcomes paper submissions (full paper), abstract only submissions. Both research and application papers are solicited. All submitted papers will be reviewed on the basis of technical quality, relevance, significance and clarity. Accepted full papers will be included in the proceedings by Springer LNCS/LNAI. Tutorial, Satellite symposium (workshop) and Special-Session proposals and Industry/Demo-Track papers are also welcome. ***************** IMPORTANT DATES: ***************** Satellite symposium proposal submission: March 15, 2015/ Notification of satellite symposium acceptance: March 30, 2015/ Submission of full papers: April 19, 2015/ Submission of abstracts: May 20, 2015/ Submission of satellite symposium papers: May 20, 2015/ Notification of full paper acceptance: May 25, 2015/ Notification of abstract acceptance: June 10, 2015/ Notification of satellite symposium paper acceptance: June 10, 2015/ Tutorial proposal submission: May 15, 2015/ Satellite symposiums: August 30, 2015/ ================================= PAPER SUBMISSIONS & PUBLICATIONS: TYPE-I (Full Paper Submissions; Submission Deadline: April 5, 2015): We accept full paper submissions with a maximum paper length of up to 10 pages, in Springer LNCS format: http://www.springer.com/computer/lncs?SGWID=0-164-6-793341-0. All full length papers accepted (and all special sessions' full length papers) will be published by Springer as a volume of the series of LNCS/LNAI. TYPE-II (Abstract Submissions; Submission Deadline: May 20, 2015): Each abstract is limited to 500 words. Experimental research is particularly welcome. Accepted abstract submissions will be included in the conference program, and will be published as a single, collective proceedings volume. Title: Include in the title of the abstract all words critical for a subject index. Write your title in sentence case (first letter is capitalized; remaining letters are lower case). Do not bold or italicize your full title. Author: List all authors who contributed to the work discussed in the abstract. The presenting author must be listed in the first author slot of the list. Be prepared to submit contact information as well as conflict of interest information for each author listed. Abstract: Enter the body of the abstract and attach any applicable graphic files or tables here. Do not re-enter the title, author, support, or other information that is collected in other steps of the submission form. Presentation Preference: Authors may select from three presentation formats when submitting an abstract: "poster only,", "talk preferred" or "no preference." The "talk preferred" selection indicates that you would like to give a talk, but will accept a poster format if necessary. Marking "poster only" indicates that you would not like to be considered for an oral-presentation session. Selecting "no preference" indicates the author's willingness to be placed in the best format for the program. Each paper or abstract requires one sponsoring attendee (i.e. someone who registered and is attending the conference). A single attendee can not sponsor more than two abstracts or papers. Oral presentations will be selected from both full length papers and abstracts. *** Post-Conference Journal Publication *** The BIH conferences have the formal ties with Brain Informatics journal (Springer, http://www.springer.com/40708) Accepted papers from the conference, including their Best Paper Award papers, will be expended and revised for possible inclusion in the Brain Informatics journal each year. It is fully sponsored and no any article-processing fee charged for BIH authors. Selected submissions will be considered for publication in special issues of international journals after their papers are extended to a full-length paper and pass a review process. More information can be found at http://www.bih-amt.com/publications/ *** Topics and Areas *** Please find the topics and areas of interest of the 2015 International Conference on Brain Informatics and Health (BIH'15) at http://www.bih-amt.com/call-for-papers/topics/ *** AMT'15 Session *** The advance of wearable sensor technology makes the monitoring of human behavior and life style becomes feasible. This development gives the active media technology a new dimension which is more closely related to the healthcare and cognitive studies. Following the success of past conferences in this series, AMT'15 will be jointly held with BIH'15 as a special session. *** Contact Information *** Chao Wu, Imperial College London, UK <c.wu09(a)imperial.ac.uk<mailto:c.wu09@imperial.ac.uk>> Aldo Faisal, Imperial College London, UK <a.faisal(a)imperial.ac.uk<mailto:a.faisal@imperial.ac.uk>> For sponsorship, please contact: Caroline Li (Ph.D)|Tel: +44(0)1634 202987 | E-Mail : c.li(a)kent.ac.uk<mailto:c.li@kent.ac.uk> ====================================================================================

March 26, 2015

Postdoctoral position in Paris

by Thomas Watson

A full-time post-doctoral position is available in the Cerebellum, Navigation and Memory Team at the UPMC in Paris under the direction of Dr Laure Rondi-Reig. *http://www.ibps.upmc.fr/en/research/neuroscience/cezame <http://www.ibps.upmc.fr/en/research/neuroscience/cezame>* We investigate interactions between the cerebellum (the largest sensorimotor structure in the brain) and hippocampus (a well described navigation structure). Convergent evidence points towards an anatomo-functional link between these two structures in different species, including rodents and humans. However, the physiological substrate of this communication remains unknown. In our quest to identify this missing link, we employ a range of in vivo electrophysiological (single cell and local field potential) recording, anatomical tracing, optogenetic and behavioural experiments to decipher how these two disparate brain structures communicate during navigation tasks. In particular, we are currently comparing interaction dynamics between the two regions during virtual reality and similar real-world experiments in wild type and cerebellar mutant mice utilizing advanced dual-recording electrophysiology techniques. These experiments generate vast quantities of behavioral and physiological data. Therefore, we are seeking a highly motivated post-doctoral researcher with a strong background in signal processing to join us on this exciting project. Candidates must be willing to work as part of a team to help developing both analysis and experimental methods. For further information please contact Dr Laure Rondi-Reig ( laure.rondi-reig(a)upmc.fr) *Job Information:* Contract length:1 year-possibility to renew Institution:CNRS-UPMC Department:Neurosciences Paris Seine *Contact Information:* Laure Rondi-Reig Institut Biologie Paris Seine (IBPS) Neurosiences Paris Seine (CNRS-Inserm-UPMC) UPMC 9 quai saint Bernard Paris

March 25, 2015

Brain Connectivity Workshop 2015 - San Diego

by Jorge Riera Diaz

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14th International Workshop on Brain Connectivity The International Workshop on Brain Connectivity (WBC), to be held at the University of California San Diego (June 10-12, 2015), will focus for the first time primarily on the role of electrophysiological data in understanding the fine temporal scale underlying brain network dynamics as well as the mechanisms by which emergent dynamics originate from multi-scale interactions between brain areas, brain activity frequencies and timescales, and between brain activity and behavior. The first day will be dedicated to Educational Course lectures, followed by two days of half-day workshop sessions. The WBC will bring together leading investigators in the fields of neuroimaging, cognitive and computational neuroscience to discuss current and forthcoming challenges for brain connectivity research based on electrophysiological data. Its goals are to stimulate research students and scientists from diverse backgrounds for research in topics related to electrophysiology and brain connectivity, to promote larger international collaborations in these fields, and to inform the neuroscience community about emerging methods, and comprehensive theory and models for brain connectivity analysis, in particular from electrophysiological recordings. For more information and registration, visit http://sccn.ucsd.edu/BrainConnectivityWorkshop2015<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__sccn.ucsd.edu_BrainConn…> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 24, 2015

Symposium on computational approaches to vocal communication in Atlanta on May 20, 2015

by Liu, Robert C

Please excuse multiple postings. We would like to draw your attention to the following symposium in Atlanta, GA on May 20, 2015. LEARNING ABOUT THE VOCAL WORLD: Deciphering the Statistics of Communication MAY 20, 2015 Emory Conference Center Hotel Register in advance for limited seating at this free conference! Abstracts for the poster session should be submitted by April 27, 2015 for consideration. Complete event details are available at http://quantitative.emory.edu/events/ This interdsciplinary symposium will bring together Emory faculty and internationally-recognized scholars from around the country, spanning fields as diverse as psychology, neuroscience, physics, and medicine, to share with post-doctoral fellows and students how they are making use of computational and quantitative methods to study the production and perception of vocal communication signals. The day's schedule will consist of the main conference discussions followed by lunch time round-tables and conclude with a poster session. The all-day event will be held on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM EST at the Emory Conference Center in Atlanta, GA. Speakers include: Morten Christiansen (Cornell) Ofer Tchernichovski (CUNY) Eugene Buder (University of Memphis) Sam Sober (Emory) Edward Chang (UCSF) Sarah M. N. Woolley (Columbia) Maria Geffen (University of Pennsylvania) Katrin Schenk (Randolph College) Jeff Wenstrup (Northeast Ohio Medical University) The event is sponsored by Emory Conference Subvention Fund, the Institute for Quantitative Theory and Methods, and the Center for Mind, Brain and Culture. Co-organizers for this event are Samuel Sober and Robert Liu. Registration link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1yrUG6EvibBfFI8AFa_2SLlUFHY5tFoP446lqbSj8Ps… Robert C. Liu, PhD Associate Professor Winship Distinguished Research Professor Emory University Department of Biology Rollins Research Center 1510 Clifton Road NE, Room 2131 Atlanta, GA 30322 Phone: (404) 727-5274 Fax: (404) 727-2880 Email: robert.liu at emory.edu Website: http://www.biology.emory.edu/research/Liu/html/index.php This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the original message (including attachments).

March 23, 2015

NeuroHAM conference, Boston University, June 10-12, 2015

by Ritt, Jason T

Announcing NeuroHAM 2015 A conference exploring neural processing in humans, animals, and machines, from basic science to emerging neural technologies. June 10th - 12th, 2015 Boston University Boston, MA, USA http://neuroham.bu.edu/ (please note: Abstracts for poster presentations due by Friday, March 27) The NeuroHAM conference will be held June 10–12, 2015 at Boston University as a celebration of the Center of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science, and Technology (CELEST), a National Science Foundation Science of Learning Center. The conference will be co-sponsored by CELEST and the Boston University Center for Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology (CompNet). We anticipate 100–150 attendees. NeuroHAM will run from midday on June 10 through midday on June 12. The conference will explore different aspects of neural processing in humans, animals, and machines from basic science to emerging neural technologies. The event will be organized into seven scientific sessions, each consisting of talks from three preeminent scientists. For a complete list of confirmed speakers, please see the meeting schedule at: http://neuroham.bu.edu/schedule/. A poster session / cocktail reception will be held on the evening of June 10. Call for Abstracts: We are soliciting presentations for a poster session on the evening of Wednesday, June 10. Abstracts for poster presentations must be received by Friday, March 27, 2015. Email notification of acceptance will be provided by Friday, April 17. All abstracts must be submitted through the conference website and must not exceed the 250 word limit. A meeting registration fee must accompany each abstract submission. The fee will be refunded if the abstract is not accepted for presentation. Please see: http://neuroham.bu.edu/call-for-abstracts/ for complete abstract submission instructions. Call for Registrations: All attendees must register, and online registration in advance of the conference is strongly encouraged. To register, please visit: http://neuroham.bu.edu/register/. The conference registration fee is $150. (CELEST and CompNet members: Please note the web page information addressing partial reimbursement of your registration fee after the conference has concluded.) List of Confirmed Speakers: Dennis Barbour, Washington University in St. Louis Vince Calhoun, University of New Mexico Marisa Carrasco, New York University Adam Cohen, Harvard University Tracy Cui, University of Pittsburgh Eugenio Culurciello, Purdue University Maysam Ghovanloo, Georgia Institute of Technology Jennifer Hasler, Georgia Institute of Technology Lori Holt, Carnegie Mellon University Kate Jeffery, University College London Sabine Kastner, Princeton University Peter Kochunov, University of Maryland Nikolaus Kriegeskorte, MRC, Cambridge Anthony Lewis, Qualcomm Inc. Mayank Mehta, University of California Los Angeles Lee Miller, Northwestern University Cynthia Moss, Johns Hopkins University Marc Pomplun, University of Massachusetts Boston Tony Prescott, The University of Sheffield Josh Tenenbaum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Walter Voit, University of Texas at Dallas Meeting Organizers: Chair: Barbara Shinn-Cunningham Co-Chair: Heather Ames Program Committee: Jason Bohland, Tim Gardner, Anatoly Gorshechnikov, Jason Ritt, Cara Stepp, Max Versace, Arash Yazdanbakhsh, and Vasileios Zikopoulos Meeting Administrator: Carol Jefferson Contacts: Please see http://neuroham.bu.edu/contacts/.

March 23, 2015

Brown University Computational Neuroscience Postdoctoral Opportunity

by Stephanie Jones

Brown University: Computational Neuroscience Post-Doctoral Opportunity A NIH funded post-doctoral position is available to work with Dr. Stephanie Jones at Brown University and Dr. Matti Hamalainen at Mass. General Hospital on developing and analyzing biophysically principled computational neural models to study human MEG/EEG measured brain activity in health and disease. The post-doc hired will work among a team of researcher at Brown University, Mass. General Hospital in Boston, and Rhode Island Hospital who are advancing methods to image and interpret non-invasively measured human brain activity. Our group is integrating computational modeling, MEG/EEG, and invasive intra-operative recordings in humans to advancing methods to image and interpret non-invasively measured human brain activity in the context of sensorimotor function. Areas of study in our group include attention, perception, motor function, Parkinson’s Disease and Essential Tremor. Interested candidates should have experience in computational modeling methods and a strong quantitative and coding background. Please send a CV, statement of research interests, and three letters of recommendation to Stephanie_Jones(a)Brown.edu.

March 23, 2015

Postdoctoral position in network modeling

by Erik De Schutter

A postdoctoral researcher position to model (cerebellar) networks 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. Depending on previous experience research emphasis can be on analyzing population activity in network models of the olivocerebellum or on further development of XML-based methods for network model description and simulation, or a combination of both. Candidates should have experience in network modeling, preferentially using the parallel NEURON environment or NEST. Prior knowledge of cerebellar anatomy and physiology is a plus but not required. The postdoc will interact with other researchers and students in the lab who are working on cerebellar modeling projects or analyzing cerebellar recordings. We offer attractive financial and working conditions in an English language graduate university that emphasizes interdisciplinary research, located on the beautiful subtropical island 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

March 23, 2015

15 PhD Fellowships - “Complex Oscillatory Systems: Modeling and Analysis (COSMOS)”

by Thomas Kreuz

European Joint Doctorates Programme “Complex Oscillatory Systems: Modeling and Analysis(COSMOS) <http://www.cosmos-itn.org>” announces 15 PhD Fellowships. COSMOS is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Innovative Training Network (MSCA-ITN-2014-EJD 642563) aiming at an understanding of the general properties of collective dynamics and synchronization of complex systems composed of oscillatory elements. It includes both theoretical projects where such systems are studied with the methods of nonlinear dynamics and statistical physics, as well as applied ones related to the analysis of experimental multivariate time series, such as physiological and neural data. The COSMOS network is highly interdisciplinary, and fellows will benefit from interactions with world-leading researchers in a broad range of disciplines. ESR positions are available at following universities: University of Potsdam, University of Aberdeen, Lancaster University, University of Florence, University Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona), VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Information studies in Novo Mesto (Slovenia), and Medical University of Graz. All fellows will be jointly supervised by two partner universities and will receive a PhD degree from each of them. Most of the fellows are expected to be hired in July 2015, but later starting dates can potentially be accepted. Marie Skłodowska-Curie 36-months PhD fellowships offer an attractive remuneration package including salary, mobility, and family allowances, and are subject to eligibility and mobility conditions. For further information, an overview of the projects, and a detailed description of open positions visit www.cosmos-itn.org Positions will be filled starting May 1st, 2015. Applications prior to April 15 will be given full consideration. -- Thomas Kreuz Institute for complex systems, CNR Via Madonna del Piano 10 50119 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy) Tel: +39-349-0748506 Email: thomas.kreuz(a)cnr.it Webpage: http://www.fi.isc.cnr.it/users/thomas.kreuz/

March 22, 2015

Second announcement of Net-works 2015

by jtorres

Dear Colleagues This is the second announcement for participation in the 7th International conference on Complex Networks and their Interdisciplinary Applications, Net-works 2015, which will be held in Granada (Spain) from September 16th to September 18th 2015 (Please follow the link below for further information, including travel grants, call for contributions, hotel reservation and conference registration) http://ergodic.ugr.es/networks2015/ As in previous editions, this conference is devoted to present and exchange the latest results concerning the theory and application of complex networks in different aspects of nature, society and technology. As organizers of Net-works 2015 international conference, we are welcome to receive research contributions to the conference from different fields and, in particular from the computational neuroscience community, where during the last years there was an increasing interest in the study of the features of the complex networks underlying the structure of actual neural systems, and how these features influence their emergent behavior. The program of Net-Works 2015 includes plenary talks from the key-note speakers: Ginestra Bianconi School of Mathematics. Queen Mary University of London, UK Stefano Boccaletti Institute for Complex Systems, CNR, Italy Shlomo Havlin Bar-Ilan University, Israel Jurgen Kurths Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany Miguel A. Munoz Institute "Carlos I" for Theoretical and Computational Physics, U. Granada, Spain a number to be determined of talks selected from the received abstracts and one or two poster sessions. Important dates for abstract submission and registration follows: Abstract submission: May 22th 2015 Contribution acceptance: June 15th 2015 Early registration (with a reduction of the registration fee): before September 15th, 2015. Abstracts (with a maximum of 250 words) must be submitted to the e-mail address below: abstracts(a)eurocongres.es If you are planning to attend and participate in Net-works 2015, please book your hotel in Granada well in advance because the conference will take place during the Granada peak tourist season. We look forward to seeing you in Granada! Joaquin J. Torres General Chair Net-Works 2015 International Conference

March 22, 2015

Special Issue in Journal of Physics A on Modeling and Inference of Dynamics

by Yasser Roudi

We invite contributions to Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical dedicated, special issue on "Modelling and inference in the dynamics of complex interaction networks: advance approximation techniques" Guest Editors: Manfred Opper, Yasser Roudi and Peter Sollich There is a close relationship between statistical inference and the statistical physics of “disordered systems”, which can be characterized as large systems of simple units linked by a complex network of interactions. While this relationship is by now well established, there has in the past few years been significant new work on the development of methods for statistical inference using concepts and approximations that have their roots in statistical mechanics. One of the main reasons for this wave of interest lies in the recent and ongoing developments in many areas of experimental biology, finance and other areas, where very large data sets are becoming available but there is a shortage of modern theoretical techniques for analysing them. In the past, as well as the initial years of the current wave, the main interaction between statistical physics and statistical inference has been in the area of developing equilibrium tools and analysing data sets in an equilibrium framework. This means coming up with efficient methods for building stationary and equilibrium probability distributions over the state of the system under investigation, on the basis of recorded experimental or other empirical data, and to analyse such distributions for gaining insight into the system. However, more recently, the interest in the community has shifted more towards dynamic models. The purpose of the proposed special issue is to gather original research articles as well as pedagogical review articles both on the theoretical aspects of the interface between statistical inference and the physics of non-equilibrium disordered and complex systems, and on applications to real data. Editorial Policy All contributions will be refereed and processed according to the usual procedures of the journal. Guidelines for preparation of contributions The issue will be open for submissions from 1st March 2015 to 1st September 2015 and articles will appear in regular issues of the journal and in an online collection. There is no strict regulation on article size, but as a guide the preferable size is 15–30 pages for contributed papers and 40–60 pages for reviews. Further advice on publishing your work in Journal of Physics A may be found at iopscience.iop.org/jphysa <http://iopscience.iop.org/jphysa>. Contributions to the special issue should be submitted by web upload via ScholarOne Manuscripts https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/jphysa-iop <https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/jphysa-iop> as manuscript type ‘special issue article’ for the issue ‘Modelling and inference in the dynamics of complex interaction networks’. Please see the website for further information on electronic submissions.

March 21, 2015

Postdoctoral Researcher Positions @ IBM Research

by James R Kozloski

Please see the IBM recruitment cloud posting here: https://jobs3.netmedia1.com/cp/faces/job_summary?job_id=RES-0724564 _________________________________________________________ James Kozloski, PhD Research Staff Member T.J. Watson Research Office 914 945 3982 Center Mobile 203 231 6187 Computational Biology ibm.co/kozloski 1101 Kitchawan Rd., 13-132E Yorktown Heights, NY 10598

March 20, 2015

Open PhD / Postdoc position at Ulm University

by Dr. Schwenker

In the *Institute of Neural Information Processing at Ulm University, Germany,* we can offer a *PhD-student or postdoc position* from June or July 2015 until the end of 2016 with some potential of prolongation. We are working on artificial neural networks and learning systems for pattern recognition, in particular on the use of affective information in human-computer-interaction and companion systems. The particular research focus of this position is on the combination of methods and observations from sensor-based pattern recognition with methods and information from relational knowledge representation and/or the handling of uncertainty in this kind of neuro-symbolic integration. The research topic is part of a collaborative interdisciplinary research project (SFB-TR 62) on “A companion technology for cognitive technical systems”, see http://www.uni-ulm.de/en/in/sfb-transregio-62.html?no_cache=1 If you are interested and already have some experience in some of these areas, please send us your CV, a statement of your current research interest and a list of your publications. For further information, please contact me by email or phone (see below). --------------------- Prof. Dr. Guenther Palm Director of the Institute of Neural Information Processing University of Ulm 89069 Ulm Germany phone: ++49 731 50 24150 fax: ++49 731 50 24156 email: guenther.palm(a)uni-ulm.de

March 20, 2015

CfP : Barcelona Cognition, Brain and Technology Summer School 2015

by BCBT, Bústia Compartida

*Barcelona Cognition, Brain and Technology Summer School (BCBT2015)* University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain. August 31st to September 11th, 2015 http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt15 <http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt15/home> Join us for the annual *"Barcelona Cognition, Brain and Technology summer school - BCBT2015 *" (see* http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt15/home <http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt15/home>*) to be held from August 31st to September 11th, 2015 in Barcelona Spain. The BCBT summer school is part of a series of events organized by the Convergent Science Network of Biomimetics and Neurotechnology ( http://csnetwork.eu/) and is positioned at the interface between biology and future and emerging technologies with an emphasis on the principles underlying brains and their translation to avant-garde technologies. BCBT promotes a shared systems-level understanding of the functional architecture of the brain and its possible emulation in artificial systems. This is the 8th year of BCBT, which has ran with great success in previous years thanks to an excellent line-up of outstanding speakers (see bcbt.upf.edu for previous editions of the school). BCBT lectures are available online (see http://csnetwork.eu/) as well as the CSN *Podcast interviews *with many of the BCBT speakers. BCBT caters to students and researchers involved in projects that are in the ambit of “BIO-ICT convergence”, "Brain Inspired ICT", “Cognitive systems-robotics”. BCBT will offer up to 30 student slots for the practical workshops while as many researchers can register to attend the presentations and discussion sessions, as they are interested. The atmosphere of the BCBT summer school is informal with the goal to stimulate in-depth discussion. There are presentations in the morning, usually 2, with the afternoons reserved for tutorials and projects for student participants and road-mapping workshops or further discussion for senior scientists. For the 2015 edition we plan a *1st week* of the school addressing *Evolutionary and Developmental aspects of nervous systems and behavior *while the *2nd week* will include presentations aimed at the investigation of *Decision making*. Friday 11 is reserved for the presentation of the student projects to which everybody is invited. *Application deadline: July 27th, 2015* For more information on to apply, please go to http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt15/participate <http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt14/home>BCBT2015 is supported by the Convergent Science Network of Biomimetics and Neurotechnology (http://csnetwork.eu/) and is co-organized by Paul Verschure (BCBT Chair), ICREA and University Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, ES Tony Prescott (BCBT Co-Chair) University of Sheffield, UK Anna Mura (BCBT Co-Chair), University Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, ES In collaboration with Leah Krubizer (BCBT Co-Chair) UC Davis, CA, USA Gustavo Deco (BCBT Co-Chair), ICREA and University Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, ES

March 20, 2015

available grants: Systems Neuroscience - a study abroad summer program in Budapest

by Érdi Péter

BSCS grants are available for our Systems Neuroscience: a study abroad summer program in Budapest. For students with European passports we are proud to announce a limited number of grants by Eötvös University is available! The tuition fee AND accommodation is a dramatically reduced 1000 euro. Program start/end dates June 8th- Aug 7th, 2015 The BSCS Systems Neuroscience Program takes place at and academically supervised by the Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Semmelweis University Medical School, Budapest **************************************** Applications should be sent to ALL of these addresses by April 15th. However, they will be reviewed on rolling base! Péter Érdi (SysNeuro Director; BSCS Co-Director), perdi(a)kzoo.edu László Négyessy SysNeuro Co-Director <negyessy(a)gmail.com> bscs(a)bscs-us.org

March 20, 2015

NEURAL COMPUTATION - April 1, 2015

by Terry Sejnowski

NEURAL COMPUTATION - April 1, 2015 Neural Computation - Volume 27, Number 4 - April 1, 2015 Available online for download now: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/neco/27/4 ----- Articles Spontaneous Action Potentials and Neural Coding in Un-myelinated Axons Cian O'Donnell, Mark C.W. van Rossum Accurate Connection Strength Estimation Based on Variational Bayes for Detecting Synaptic Plasticity Takuya Isomura, Yutaro Ogawa, Kiyoshi Kotani, and Yasuhiko Jimbo Letters Hardware-Amenable Structural Learning for Spike-based Pattern Classification Using a Simple Model of Active Dendrites Shaista Hussain, Shih-Chii Liu, and Arindam Basu Neuronal Calcium Wave Propagation Varies With Changes in Endoplasmic Reticulum Parameters: A Computer Model Samuel A Neymotin, Robert A McDougal, Mohamed A Sherif, Christopher P Fall, Michael L. Hines, and William W Lytton Visual Tracking Using Neuromorphic Asynchronous Event-based Cameras Zhenjiang Ni, Sio-Hoi Ieng, Christoph Posch, Stephane Regnier, and Ryad Benosman The Benefits of Modelling Slack Variables in SVMs Fengzhen Tang, Peter Tino, Pedro Antonio Gutierrez, and Huanhuan Chen A Study on the Optimal Double-Parameters for Steepest Descent With Momentum Naimin Zhang ------------ 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 ------------

March 19, 2015

postdoc in Neuroscience / Neural Engineering position available

by Sergiy Yakovenko

POSTDOC: We have funding from NIH to support a Postdoctoral Fellow position in Neuroscience / Neural Engineering The West Virginia University Research Corporation (WVURC) seeks to hire a Postdoctoral Fellow – Neuroscience/Neural Engineering in the Department of Human Performance at West Virginia University. This position will support the research of corticospinal reorganization after CNS injury using micro-electrode array technology for the interaction with the disrupted CNS, and will work on the development of neuroprosthetics with animal models of neurological conditions. A PhD in physiology, neuroscience, or highly-related areas, experience in Matlab, and a demonstrated record of strong scientific publications in the field of neuroscience, particularly on the topic of systems motor control are required. A PhD in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, neurophysiology, or highly-related fields is preferred. Competitive salary and benefits package offered. For a complete job description and to apply for this position, please visit http://hr.research.wvu.edu <http://hr.research.wvu.edu/> and click on the “WVURC Employment Opportunities” link. AA/EOE/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disability/E-verify compliant employer DETAILS: West Virginia University Research Corporation Postdoctoral Fellow Position Description Working Title Postdoctoral Fellow – Neuroscience/Neural Engineering (EXERPH 15-0027) Department HSC/Exercise Physiology Minimum Salary Requirements FY 2015 Postdoctoral Fellow NIH range: 0 years of experience – $42,840/year 1 year of experience – $44,556/year 2 years of experience – $46,344/year 3 years of experience – $48,192/year Position Location Morgantown/Monongalia County Position Terms Full-time (40hpw), benefits eligible FLSA Status Exempt WVURC Position Type Specialist/Lead WVURC Functional Group Technology & Engineering EEO Reporting Category Professionals Standard Occupation Code 17-2031 SR WC Code/Rate 4511/.58 Prepared By Carla Davis Prepared Date February 25, 2015 Approved By Dr. Sergiy Yakovenko Posting Date March 13, 2015 Purpose This position supports the research of corticospinal reorganization after CNS injury using micro-electrode array technology for the interaction with the disrupted CNS. It works on the development of neuroprosthetics with animal models of neurological conditions. The incumbent serves as a resource contact relative to the research project. Depth skills, knowledge, and interpretive abilities, as well as some creativity, are required to successfully perform duties. Independently uses professional concepts and organizational policies to solve a wide range of moderate to complex problems in imaginative and practical ways. Work effort often addresses non-routine matters within established protocol, guidelines, and/or policies. Work effort has significant impact on client services and operations, producing moderate to major organizational, legal and financial results and/or liabilities. Position duties require oversight of projects. Duties & Responsibilities Responsibilities are functional in nature, and performed under limited supervision. Specific tasks include, but are not limited to: Perform the leadership role in rodent surgeries, stimulation – recording sessions, dataset analysis, and paper publication, with support from faculty investigators and a laboratory technician. Attend research conferences and read scientific literature to keep abreast of technological advances and current research findings. Identify and assist with acquisition of funding from public, private, and governmental sources. Assist with development of novel research proposals for sponsor submission. Write proposals, papers, and abstracts to attract research funds. Search scientific literature to select and modify methods and procedures most appropriate for research goals. Perform laboratory and field experiment activities according to protocol. Independent experimental data analysis. Maintain detailed logs of work related activities, including accurate laboratory records and data on research methods, procedures, and results. Oversee research facilities and personnel Assure compliance with research protocols and safety requirements. Oversee and direct undergraduate and graduate researchers in the completion of experiments. Maintain lab equipment; keep accurate inventory of lab assets; monitor and assure proper use and conditions of lab equipment. Write and present research/study status reports for review and use of the Principal Investigator. Prepare results of experimental findings for presentation to colleagues and the sponsor; at professional/technical conferences; and/or, for publication in scientific journals, as directed. Supervisory/Lead Role This position reports to the Principal Investigator. It normally receives no instructions on routine work, but will receive instructions/advice when starting a new project or when a difficulty arises in the current project. Typically determines methods or procedures and consults with the supervisor on new assignments. General sharing of knowledge and team participation is expected in the role. Guidance or supervision of others may be required. Physical Demands Requires physical abilities to perform laboratory research, including manual dexterity and abilities to see, hear, walk, talk, and feel. Individual is required to lift and carry items of 25 lbs or less or transport such items by cart. Walking and stair climbing occur on a daily basis. Work Environment Work will be performed in a standard laboratory environment, using computers and laboratory equipment with electrical connections. The incumbent must comply with all laboratory safety procedures and clothing/equipment requirements. There will be exposure to laboratory chemicals, electrical supplies, but protective measures will be provided. Requisite Qualifications Education and/or Experience PhD in physiology, neuroscience, or highly-related areas; Experience in Matlab, and a demonstrated record of strong scientific publications in the field of neuroscience, particularly on the topic of systems motor control. Skills, Knowledge, Abilities Skilled at communicating effectively, both orally, and in writing, in English. Skilled at using scientific rules and methods to solve problems. Skilled at identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. Ability to document and present the results of research. Ability to write speeches and articles for publication that conform to prescribed style and format as well as use original or innovative techniques or style due to the nature of the scientific content of the material being presented. Ability to make effective and persuasive speeches and presentations on controversial or complex topics to technical and non-technical audiences Ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems. Ability to deal with nonverbal symbolism (formulas, scientific equations, graphs, etc.). Ability to deal with a variety of abstract and concrete variables. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form. Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions. Ability to meet deadlines, as well as prepare, present and report results effectively. Ability to collaborate effectively with a multidisciplinary team of co-investigators from diverse disciplines, orientations, and organizations. Ability to do strategic planning for program development. Behavioral Competencies Technical skills – Strives to continuously build knowledge and skills; pursues training and development opportunities; assess strengths, weaknesses, and shares expertise with others. Problem solving – Gathers and analyzes information, identifies problems, develops alternatives, uses reason even when dealing with emotional topics and works well in groups and resolves matters timely. Interpersonal Interactions in the Workplace – Manages difficult or emotional matters with objectivity and openness; responds promptly to needs and requests for service and assistance; meets commitments and dates, notifies others if change occurs; provides, solicits and applies feedback; and builds goodwill through balanced contributions, positive approach, respect and support of others. Communications – Demonstrates group presentation skills, participates in meetings, listens and gets clarification, is responsive and speaks clearly and persuasively in positive and negative situations. Writes and edits clearly and informatively, varies style to meet needs, presents numerical data effectively, and able to read and interpret written information. Organizational Support – Aligns work and develops strategies to meet organizational goals; seeks to improve and promote quality; demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness; and upholds organizational expectations and values. Self-Management – Responds to management direction; resourcefully adapts to changes in work environment and circumstances; responds well under pressure and manages competing demands; takes calculated risks, asks for and offers help when needed; exercise discretion and sound judgment; is tactful and responsible for own actions. Adheres to work schedule and complies with leave management responsibilities. Preferred Qualifications & Credentials Education and/or Experience PhD in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, neurophysiology, or highly-related fields. Cheers, Sergiy -- Sergiy Yakovenko, Ph.D. Assistant Professor WVU Neural Engineering Laboratory http://sites.google.com/site/sergiyyakovenko/ <http://sites.google.com/site/sergiyyakovenko/>

March 19, 2015

registration for RLDM2015 is now open (early registration deadline: April 21st)

by Yael Niv

The 2nd Multidisciplinary Conference on Reinforcement Learning and Decision Making (RLDM2015) www.rldm.org June 7-10, The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada ====================================================== Registration for RLDM2015 is now open at http://rldm.org/rldm2015/registration/ Early registration fees for the meeting and tutorials are $250 CAD for predoc/postdoc, $480 CAD for regular registration, and $590 CAD for industry. Main meeting only is somewhat cheaper, but you miss out on the wonderful tutorials (http://rldm.org/rldm2015/tutorials/) Registration fees include three light breakfasts, all coffee breaks, two lunches, and one banquet dinner. ** Early registration ends April 21st ** We are excited to announce that RLDM2015 attracted 127 submissions. Accept/reject notifications will be sent by March 28. The list of invites speakers is already available at http://rldm.org/rldm2015/invited-speakers2015/ We look forward to seeing you in Alberta! The RLDM2015 organizing committee -------- To ensure that you receive future announcements about RLDM2015 please join our mailing list at http://tinyurl.com/RLDMlist (you must log in to google to see the "join list" button, and choose 'all emails' in the options).

March 19, 2015

Post-doc in MEG- EEG based neuroimaging and/or real-tierm EEG

by Alex Ossadtchi

Higher School of Economics is pleased to announce new CAS-funded post-doctoral posts at the Neuroimaging and BCI Group <http://www.hse.ru/en/cdm-centre/Methods>. Research topics include: novel methods for solving EEG and MEG inverse problem, source space analysis of synchrony, techniques for improvement of neurofeedback efficacy and motor imagery BCI. The laboratory is a structural part of the HSE’s Centre for Cognition & Decision Making <http://www.hse.ru/en/cdm-centre> with ample collaboration opportunities within the Centre as well as with other research groups at HSE, within Russia, and internationally. Research facilities include multi-channel EEG, navigated TMS-EEG, behavioral, and eye-tracking equipment. The Center also provides access to MEG, fMRI and a range of neurological populations. This new international group collaborates with a number of leading researchers around the world including Richard Leahy(University of Southern California), Sylvain Baillet, Karim Jerbi (McGill University), Judson Brewer (University of Massachusetts at Amherst), Mark Pflieger (Cortech Solutions, USA), Dirk de Ridder (University of Otago). The post holders will have an advantage of being able to further define and expand the group’s research programme. Further to working on the group's current research strands, the successful candidates will also be encouraged to pursue their own research program. The job involves: - working under the direct supervision of Prof. Alexei Ossadtchi <http://www.hse.ru/en/org/persons/96086377> - participants are encouraged to pursue their own research in source analysis using EEG and MEG measurements, source space analysis of synchrony, developing techniques for improvement of neurofeedback efficacy and motor imagery BCI. - writing research papers for international peer-reviewed journals in co-authorship with the members of the Lab - some teaching as well as public presentations of candidate’s own research are also encouraged - participation in organization of the events and other contribution to the Lab’s development Requirements: - Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics or related discipline - Demonstrated skills in signal processing and analysis of multidimensional real life data - Familiarity with Matlab and Ptython - Fluent English (knowledge of Russian is not required) - Demonstrated ability and high motivation to conduct high-quality research publishable in quality international peer-reviewed journals General conditions for Post-Doctoral Research positions can be found here <http://cas.hse.ru/general_postdoc>. Appointments will be normally made for one year. Please apply via online application form <http://cas.hse.ru/en/expresspolls/poll/144697605.html> and attach you CV and research statement. Two letters of recommendations should be sent directly to fellowship(a)hse.ru <https://mail2.hse.ru/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=rCOCfgIWdO7CcYm5xF0qVx2XV9ZQ4EG2j8…> by April 1, 2015. The HSE <http://hse.ru/en> is a young, dynamic, fast-growing Russian research university providing unique research opportunities.

March 18, 2015

postdoc position available

by Dick Aslin

POSTDOC: Harvard/Rochester project on cognitive neuroscience (EEG and fNIRS) in human infants Funding from NSF is expected for a 1.5-year postdoc to collect and analyze datasets gathered from human infants while they view visual stimuli or listen to language stimuli. This is a joint project between the Rochester Babylab (Richard Aslin, PI) and the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience lab at Harvard (Charles Nelson, PI). Rochester lab: http://babylab.bcs.rochester.edu/ Boston lab: http://www.childrenshospital.org/research-and-innovation/research/labs/nels… The goal of the project is to gather EEG and fNIRS data from 3- to 12-month-olds and merge these datasets, within-subjects at each age, using multivariate pattern classification and representational similarity analysis methods. The successful candidate could reside either in Rochester, NY or Boston, MA, with some travel expected between both sites. The preferred skill set consists of one or more of the following: experience with the testing of human infants, collection and analysis of EEG data, collection and analysis of fNIRS or fMRI data, use of machine learning techniques such as MVPA, fluency in Matlab. A machine learning consultant on the grant (Radislaw Cichy) will provide guidance for many of the analyses. Candidate must have a PhD (or firm plans to defend their dissertation no later than August of 2015). Preferred start date is July 1, 2015. Interested applicants should forward a cover letter, CV, and the names of three references to Richard Aslin: aslin(a)mail.cvs.rochester.edu. Review of application materials will begin on May 1 and continue until a candidate has been chosen. -- NOTE: new email address is aslin(a)mail.cvs.rochester.edu Richard N. Aslin William R. Kenan Professor Brain and Cognitive Sciences University of Rochester http://www.bcs.rochester.edu/people/faculty/aslin_richard/

March 18, 2015

on behalf of Boris Gutkin - postdoc position Moscow

by Reinoud Maex

Please reply to boris.gutkin(a)gmail.com. Theoretical Neuroscience Group Postdoctoral research positions. Deadline: April 1, 2015 Theoretical Neuroscience — computational and mathematical approaches to understanding neural function and cognition. Research interests of the Theoretical Neuroscience Group at the Centre for Cognition and Decision Making are wide ranging, carried out in collaboration with the experimental labs at the research center and the faculty of applied mathematics. Research themes include models of social decision-making, computational neuroeconomics, information processing in neurons and circuits as well as computational approaches to drug addiction and role of oscillations in cognition. The group is linked with the Group for Neural Theory at the Ecole Normale Superior in Paris, where research internships and visiting positions can be made available. We are seeking highly qualified and motivated candidate with backgrounds in quantitative disciplines: applied mathematics, physics, computer science or engineering. Programming skills and ability to carry put interdisciplinary projects are required. Ability to work with data is recommended. Candidates will be trained in model building, analysis and will be offered advanced training in neuroscience and cognitive psychology. Candidates will be expected to develop independent research projects and collaborations under the direction of the group leading scientists. Publications in international peers reviewed venues are expected as tangible out outcomes of the research. Group leader — Boris Gutkin. General conditions for Post-Doctoral Research positions can be found here. Appointments will be normally made for one year. Please apply via online application form and attach you CV and research statement. Two letters of recommendations should be sent directly to fellowship(a)hse.ru by April 1, 2015. The HSE is a young, dynamic, fast-growing Russian research university providing unique research opportunities.

March 18, 2015

Workshop on Nonlinear Dynamics in Computational Neuroscience: from Physics and Biology to ICT

by Alessandro Torcini

Here is the First Announcement of the 10th SICC International Tutorial Workshop on "Topics in nonlinear dynamics" <<Nonlinear Dynamics in Computational Neuroscience: from Physics and Biology to ICT>> to be held on September 07-09, 2015 in Turin, Italy Organizers: Fernando Corinto (Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy) Alessandro Torcini (ISC-CNR, Florence, Italy) This workshop "Nonlinear Dynamics in Computational Neuroscience: from Physics and Biology to ICT” offers an unique opportunity to meet researchers working across (and between) disciplines linked to Computational Neuroscience. In particular, computational neuroscients, neurophysiologists and neural engineers will have the opportunity to present their most recent results to a young audience, constituted mainly by PhD students, and to interact directly among them. The program ranges from nonlinear dynamical approaches to the understanding of neural computation to physiology, from the simulations of brain circuits to the development of engineering devices and platforms for neuromorphic computation. The speakers will be specifically advised to perform didactic presentations of their results in order to allow the active participation to the discussion of young PhD students from different disciplines as well as to researchers interested in the field of Computational Neuroscience. Specific poster sessions will be organized with the purpose on one side to allow the young participants to present their latest results and on the other side to increase the opportunity of networking among the participants and renowed experts of the discipline. This workshop represents the 10th of a series of tutorial workshops annually organized by the Italian Society of Chaos and Complexity (SICC) to explore the emergence of new research fields, where nonlinear dynamics and control theory can play a relevant role. These workshops have been traditionally devoted to an audience mainly constituted by PhD students or young researchers working in complex systems. A poster session will be running during all the event and aimed to let all the participants to present their recent results. More information on the workshop can be found in the web page: http://www.neuro-eng-comp.polito.it/workshop/ Confirmed invited speakers include Cristina Becchio (University of Turin, Italy) Ruben Moreno Bote (CIBERSAM - Barcelona, Spain) George Bourianov (Intel/University of Texas at Austin, USA) Emilio Carbone (University of Turin, Italy) Stephen Coombes (University of Nottingham, UK) Steve Furber (The University of Manchester, UK) Julius Georgiou (University of Cyprus, Cyprus) Viktor Jirsa (INSERM - Marseille, France) Luke P. Lee (UC Berkeley, USA) Stefano Luccioli (ISC CNR - Florence, Italy) Maurizio Mattia (ISS - Roma, Italy) Benedetto Sacchetti (University of Turin, Italy) Maria Sanchez-Vives (IDIBAPS - Barcelona, Spain) Ronald Tetzlaff (TU Dresden, Germany) The workshop is kindly supported by the: SICC - Italian Society for Chaos and Complexity, IEEE Circuits and Systems Society - CASS Surplus Funds CRT Foundation, Marie Curie Initial Training project NETT - Neural Engineering Transformative Technologies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Italy)

March 18, 2015

joint experiment & theory postdoc position

by Mark Goldman

A postdoctoral position that combines experimental & theoretical investigation of neural networks (see position description below) is available jointly between the laboratories of Drs. Mark Goldman and Kim McAllister at the University of California at Davis. UC Davis is a top-ten public research university (US News & World Report) located 1 hour east from the San Francisco Bay Area and 20 minutes from the state capital of Sacramento. Candidates are expected to have training in both performing experiments and background in an analytically rigorous discipline such as computational neuroscience, physics, mathematics, computer science, or engineering. Interested candidates should send a CV, brief statement of previous research and future research interests, and contact information for three references to: Mark Goldman, msgoldman(a)ucdavis.edu and Kim McAllister, kmcallister(a)ucdavis.edu. * Development, dynamics, and plasticity of neural networks: *We are seeking to understand the learning rules underlying development and learning in neural networks. We will use cutting-edge technology in patterned substrates, optogenetics, and uncaging in a novel long-term imaging assay for synapse dynamics that allows recording and single synapse or single cell manipulation of neuronal and network activity. These cultured networks will be used to directly test central tenets of Hebbian, spike-timing dependent, and homeostatic learning. The applicant will perform these imaging experiments as well as apply theoretical models to better understand and predict experimental findings.

March 17, 2015

Postdoctoral positions available in group for neural theory, Paris

by Sophie Deneve

Two postdoctoral positions are available in the group of Sophie Deneve, Ecole Normale supérieure, Paris. Positions are for two years, and comes with competitive salary and generous equipment and travel funds. The team is part of the “Group for neural theory” ( http://iec-lnc.ens.fr/group-for-neural-theory/) and surrounded by top-level theoretical and experimental labs. Candidates are expected to have a solid training in the field of computational neuroscience, proven quantitative and programming skills and a strong interest in integrative neuroscience. Starting dates are flexible, but should preferentially occur before September 2015. Candidates should send their application to sophie.deneve(a)ens.fr by *March 31, 2015*. Please mention “postdoctoral candidate” in the subject of the email. Application should take the form of a single PDF file, containing a CV, motivation letter, names and email addresses of 2 to 3 referees. No official letter of recommendations are required, as the referees will be contacted directly. Main research directions in the lab are: Efficient coding in spiking networks (theory and data analyses). Probabilistic approaches to sensory processing (theory and data analyses). Hierarchical inference and learning in neural networks, application to schizophrenia (psychophysics experiment and theory) Candidates should send their application to sophie.deneve(a)ens.fr by *March 31, 2015*. Please mention “postdoctoral candidate” in the subject of the email. Application should take the form of a single PDF file, containing a CV, motivation letter, names and email addresses of 2 to 3 referees. No official letter of recommendations are required, as the referee will be contacted directly. -- Dr Sophie Deneve Group for Neural Theory Laboratoire de Neurosciences cognitives ENS-INSERM 29, rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France Tel. (+33) (0)1 44 32 26 35

March 17, 2015

BCF/NWG Course "Analysis and Models in Neurophysiology" 2015 at the Bernstein Center Freiburg, Germany

by Birgit Ahrens

*BCF/NWG Course*** *"Analysis and Models in Neurophysiology"*** /Sunday, October 4 - Friday, October 9, 2015 / /Bernstein Center Freiburg, Hansastraße 9a, 79104 Freiburg, Germany/ *Aim of the course:* The course is intended to provide advanced Diploma/Masters and PhD students, as well as young researchers from the neurosciences with approaches for the analysis of electrophysiological data and the theoretical concepts behind them. *The course includes various topics such as*: * Neuron Models and Point Processes (Prof. Stefan Rotter) * Local field potentials (Prof. Ulrich Egert) * Neural Coding (Dr. Robert Schmidt) * Neural Decoding (Prof. Carsten Mehring) The course will consist of lectures in the morning and matching exercises using Matlab and Mathematica in the afternoon. The participants should have a basic understanding of scientific programming. This course is designated especially for advanced diploma/master students and PhD students (preferentially in their first year). *Application:* Please apply by sending *one pdf document* containing your CV and a meaningful letter of motivation to nwg-course(a)bcf.uni-freiburg.de <mailto:nwg-course@bcf.uni-freiburg.de>. The letter of motivation should refer to the following points: * Reasons for wanting to take this course * Background in mathematics * Background in scientific programming * Experience in using Matlab and Mathematica * Background in neuroscience The course is limited to 20 participants. *Course fees:*NWG members - 50€, others - 125€ *Application deadline: *June 30, 2015 *More information: *http://www.bcf.uni-freiburg.de/events/conferences-workshops/20151004-nwgcourse <http://www.bcf.uni-freiburg.de/events/conferences-workshops/20141005-nwgcou…> *-- Dr. Birgit Ahrens --* Teaching & Training Coordinator Bernstein Center Freiburg University of Freiburg Hansastr. 9a D - 79104 Freiburg Germany Phone: +49 (0) 761 203-9575 Fax: +49 (0) 761 203-9559

March 17, 2015

Postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience at University of Pennsylvania

by Maria Geffen

A postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience is available at the Laboratory of Auditory Coding at the University of Pennsylvania under direction of Dr. Maria Neimark Geffen. We are looking for a talented, energetic, ambitious and creative scientist to join our team in studying the neuronal mechanisms of auditory perception and learning. For more details, go to http://www.med.upenn.edu/hearing <http://www.med.upenn.edu/hearing> Requirements: A doctoral degree in quantitative science (physics/chemistry/computational biology/neuroscience etc.), math/applied math or computer science (can be expected); proficiency in computer programming; excellent mathematical skills. Recommended: Coursework or experience in systems neuroscience, computational neuroscience, and/or linguistics. To apply, please email a short paragraph with your research interests, a CV and copies of your publications or pre-prints to mgeffen(a)med.upenn.edu _________________________________ Maria Neimark Geffen, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Department of Neuroscience Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania 5 Ravdin 3400 Spruce St. Philadelphia PA 19104 Tel.: 215.898.0782 Fax: 215.898.9994 mgeffen(a)med.upenn.edu http://www.med.upenn.edu/hearing

March 16, 2015

Deadline Approaching: 2015 Telluride Neuromorphic Cognition Engineering Workshop- Call For Applicants

by Ralph Etienne-Cummings

> > > *-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > **Telluride Neuromorphic Cognition Engineering Workshop* > > > > *2015 Neuromorphic Cognition Engineering Workshop* > > *Telluride, Colorado, June 28th - July 18th, 2015* > > > > CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Deadline is April 2nd, 2015 > > NEUROMORPHIC COGNITION ENGINEERING WORKSHOP > > www.ine-web.org > > > > Sunday June 28th - Saturday July 18th, 2015, Telluride, Colorado > > > > ine-web.org/workshops/workshops-overview/index.html and the workshop wiki > is at https://neuromorphs.net/ > > > > GOALS: > > Neuromorphic engineers design and fabricate artificial neural systems > whose organizing principles are based on those of biological nervous > systems. Over the past 18 years, this research community has focused on the > understanding of low-level sensory processing and systems infrastructure; > efforts are now expanding to apply this knowledge and infrastructure to > addressing higher-level problems in perception, cognition, and learning. In > this 3-week intensive workshop and through the Institute for Neuromorphic > Engineering (INE), the mission is to promote interaction between senior and > junior researchers; to educate new members of the community; to introduce > new enabling fields and applications to the community; to promote on-going > collaborative activities emerging from the Workshop, and to promote a > self-sustaining research field. > > > > FORMAT: > > The three week summer workshop will include background lectures on systems > and cognitive neuroscience (in particular sensory processing, learning and > memory, motor systems and attention), practical tutorials on emerging > hardware design, mobile robots, hands-on projects, and special interest > groups. Participants are required to take part and possibly complete at > least one of the projects proposed. They are furthermore encouraged to > become involved in as many of the other activities proposed as interest and > time allow. There will be two lectures in the morning that cover issues > that are important to the community in general. Because of the diverse > range of backgrounds among the participants, some of these lectures will be > tutorials, rather than detailed reports of current research. These lectures > will be given by invited speakers. Projects and interest groups meet in the > late afternoons, and after dinner. In the early afternoon there will be > tutorials on a wide spectrum of topics, including analog VLSI, mobile > robotics, vision and auditory systems, central-pattern-generators, > selective attention mechanisms, cognitive systems, etc. > > > > *2015 TOPIC AREAS:* > > > > *Human Auditory Cognition: Communicating with EEG and Virtual Reality > Links (The Matrix)*: Shihab Shamma (UM-College Park), Malcolm Slaney > (Microsoft), Edward Lalor (Trinity College, Dublin), and Alain de Cheveigne > (UPMC, France) > > > > *Manipulation Actions: Movements, Forces and Affordances: *Cornelia > Fermüller (UMCP), Michael Pfeiffer (INI-UZH), Ryad Benosman (UPMC, Paris), > and Andreas Andreou (JHU) > > > > *Neuromorphic Natural Language Processing:* John Harris (UFL, > Gainesville) and Chris Huyck (Middlesex University) > > > > *Spike-Based Cognitive Computing: Seeing, Hearing, and Thinking with > Spikes: *Arindam Basu (NTU, Singapore) and John Arthur (IBM Research > Almaden) > > > > *Computational Neuroscience (invitational mini-workshop)* : Terry > Sejnowski (Salk Institute) > > > > LOCATION AND ARRANGEMENTS: > > The summer school will take place in the small town of Telluride, 9000 > feet high in southwest Colorado, about 6 hours drive away from Denver (350 > miles). Great Lakes Aviation and America West Express airlines provide > daily flights directly into Telluride. All facilities within the > beautifully renovated public school building are fully accessible to > participants with disabilities. Participants will be housed in ski > condominiums, within walking distance of the school. Participants are > expected to share condominiums. > > > > The workshop is intended to be very informal and hands-on. Participants > are not required to have had previous experience in analog VLSI circuit > design, computational or machine vision, systems level neurophysiology or > modeling the brain at the systems level. However, we strongly encourage > active researchers with relevant backgrounds from academia, industry and > national laboratories to apply, in particular if they are prepared to work > on specific projects, talk about their own work or bring demonstrations to > Telluride (e.g. robots, chips, software). Wireless internet access will be > provided. Technical staff present throughout the workshops will assist with > software and hardware issues. We will have a network of PCs running LINUX > and Microsoft Windows for the workshop projects. We encourage participants > to bring along their personal laptop. > > > > No cars are required. Given the small size of the town, we recommend that > you do not rent a car. Bring hiking boots, warm clothes, rain gear, and a > backpack, since Telluride is surrounded by beautiful mountains. > > > > Unless otherwise arranged with one of the organizers, we expect > participants to stay for the entire duration of this three week workshop. > > > > FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS: > > Notification of acceptances will be mailed out around the April 15th, > 2015. The Workshop covers all your accommodations and facilities costs for > the 3 weeks duration. You are responsible for your own travel to the > Workshop, however, sponsored fellowships will be available as described > below to further subsidize your cost. > > > > Registration Fees: For expenses not covered by federal funds, a Workshop > registration fee is required. The fee is TBD per participant for the 3-week > Workshop. This is expected from all participants at the time of acceptance. > > Accommodations: The cost of a shared condominium, typically a bedroom in a > shared condo for senior participants or a shared room for students, will be > covered for all academic participants. Upgrades to a private rooms or > condos will cost extra. Participants from National Laboratories and > Industry are expected to pay for these condominiums. > > > > Fellowships: This year we will offer one Fellowship program to subsidize > your costs: > > The EU-CSNII Fellowship (http://csnetwork.eu/) which is funded by the 7th > Research Framework Program FP7-ICT-CSNII-601167. The top 8 EU applicants > will be reimbursed for their registration fees ($1250), subsistence/travel > subsidy (up to Euro 2000) and accommodations cost ($1500). The registration > and accommodation costs will go directly to the INE (the INE will reimburse > them). > > > > We invite applications for a three-week summer workshop that will be held > in Telluride, Colorado. Sunday June 28th - Saturday July 18th, 2015. The > application deadline is Wednesday, April 2nd and application instructions > are described at the bottom of this document. > > > > The 2015 Workshop and Summer School on Neuromorphic Engineering is > sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Institute of Neuromorphic > Engineering, DARPA, Office of Naval Research, The EU-Collaborative > Convergent Science Network (CNS-II), University of Maryland - College Park, > Institute for Neuroinformatics – University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, > Georgia Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, Boston > University, University of Western Sydney and the Salk Institute. > > > > Directors: > > Cornelia Fermuller, University of Maryland, College Park > > Ralph Etienne-Cummings, Johns Hopkins University > > Shih-Chii Liu, Institute of Neuroinformatics, UNI/ETH Zurich, Switzerland > > Timothy Horiuchi, University of Maryland, College Park > > > > Workshop Advisory Board: > > Andreas Andreou, Johns Hopkins University > > Andre van Schaik, University Western Sydney, Australia > > Avis Cohen, University of Maryland > > Barbara Shinn-Cunningham, Boston University > > Giacomo Indiveri, Institute of Neuroinformatics, Uni/Eth Zurich, > Switzerland > > Jonathan Tapson, University Western Sydney, Australia > > Malcolm Slaney, Microsoft Research > > Jennifer Hasler, Georgia Institute of Technology > > Rodney Douglas, Institute of Neuroinformatics, Uni/Eth Zurich, Switzerland > > Shihab Shamma, University of Maryland > > Tobi Delbruck, Institute of Neuroinformatics, Uni/Eth Zurich, Switzerland > > > > Previous year workshop can be found at: > <http://ine-web.org/workshops/workshops-overview/index.html> participant’s > registration fees after receipt from CSNII), while the subsistence/travel > reimbursement will be provided directly to the participants by the CSNII at > the University of Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain. > > HOW TO APPLY: > > Applicants should be at the level of graduate students or above (i.e. > postdoctoral fellows, faculty, research and engineering staff and the > equivalent positions in industry and national laboratories). We actively > encourage women and minority candidates to apply. > > > > Anyone interested in proposing or discussing specific projects should > contact the appropriate topic leaders directly. > > > > The application website is (after February 23rd, 2015): > > ine-web.org/telluride-conference-2015/apply-info > > > > Application information needed: > > Contact email address. > > First name, Last name, Affiliation, valid e-mail address. > > Curriculum Vitae (a short version, please). > > One page summary of background and interests relevant to the workshop, > including possible ideas for workshop projects. Please indicate which topic > areas you would most likely join. > > Two letters of recommendation (uploaded directly by references). > > Applicants will be notified by e-mail. > > 23rd February, 2015 - Applications accepted on website > > 2nd April, 2015 - Applications Due > > 15th April, 2015 - Notification of Acceptance > > > > -- > Ralph Etienne-Cummings, PhD, FIEEE > Professor and Chairman > Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering > Computational Sensor Motor Systems Lab > Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics > The Johns Hopkins University > Baltimore, MD > [image: cid:image001.png@01CFC064.B58B46A0] > > -- Ralph Etienne-Cummings, PhD, FIEEE Professor and Chairman Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Computational Sensor Motor Systems Lab Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics The Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD [image: cid:image001.png@01CFC064.B58B46A0]

March 16, 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: 26 March 2015 Applications are invited for two posts 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 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)

March 13, 2015

RTXI-2015 - real-time electrophysiology

by Butera, Robert J

Dear Colleagues: I am writing to invite you to attend RTXI-2015, May 7-8, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. This two-day meeting focuses on the application of real-time computing methods to scientific and clinical applications in neuroscience and other application areas. While targeting users of our RTXI software (http://www.rtxi.org) participation by anyone working in the topic areas is welcome. For those of you who recall the “GTReal” meeting in 2005 and "BUReal" meeting in 2006, this is a successor to that meeting. What has changed in 10 years? In short, our ability to sense and measure with newer modalities, and applications moving from the scale of intracellular studies (e.g., dynamic clamp) to multichannel scientific and clinical applications with closed loop devices. Invited speakers: Chuck Dorval, University of Utah: Closed-loop neuromodulation - exposing pitfall and promises of preclinical trials via RTXI Scott Stanslinski, Medtronic: Challenges in clinical neuromodulation: transitioning from open-loop to active-sensing and closed-loop methods Flavio Frolich, University of North Carolina: Rational design of non-invasive (feedback) brain stimulation Astrid Prinz, Emory University: Synaptic feedback strategies that minimize neuronal oscillator variability Dieter Jaeger, Emory University: Real-time interactions with the mouse motor thalamus in vitro and in vivo Topics include: - Dynamic clamp and similar methods - Closed-loop neural stimulation - Cardiac dynamics and control - Applications to neurological disease (Parkinson's, epilepsy, etc.) - Open-source software development The meeting is in small setting (max. 200 attendees) with a single talk track, workshops for those new and experienced using RTXI, and posters. Registration is $75 for students and $125 for all others, and includes breakfast and lunch on both days. Fee waivers are also available. The venue is the Georgia Academy of Medicine, located 2 blocks south of the Midtown MARTA station. See http://rtxi.org/conference for more information about the meeting, invited speakers, and registration information. Supported by NIH via the RTXI project and the Neural Engineering Center at Georgia Tech. -- Robert Butera, PhD, PE Professor, School of ECE and Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of BME Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA ph: 404-894-2935 FAX: 404-385-5044 admin: 404-894-1359

March 13, 2015

CFP 3rd International Congress on Neurotechnology, Electronics and Informatics - NEUROTECHNIX 2015

by Calendar Sites

CALL FOR PAPERS 3rd International Congress on Neurotechnology, Electronics and Informatics NEUROTECHNIX 2015 Website: http://www.neurotechnix.org November 16 17, 2015 Lisbon, Portugal Complete Papers Paper Submission: June 30, 2015 Authors Notification: September 1, 2015 Camera Ready and Registration: September 14, 2015 Extended Abstracts Paper Submission: September 2, 2015 Authors Notification: October 6, 2015 Camera Ready and Registration: October 13, 2015 Sponsored by: INSTICC-Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication In Cooperation with: APEEGNC Associação Portugues de EEG e Neurofisiologia Clínica NN Neurotech Network INNS The International Neural Network Society NNN Nansen Neuroscience Network WFNR World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation Logistics Partner: SCITEVENTS Science and Technology Events The first research works on neurotechnology can be dated back nearly half a century, but it is in the XXI century that most significant advances are being witnessed. Neurotechnology shows a very high potential of enhancing human activities, involving technologies such as neural rehabilitation, neural prosthesis, neuromodulation, neurosensing and diagnosis, and other combinations of neurological and biomedical knowledge with engineering technologies. PUBLICATIONS All accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings, under an ISBN reference, on paper and on CD-ROM support. SCITEPRESS is member of CrossRef ( <http://www.crossref.org/> http://www.crossref.org/) All papers presented at the conference venue will be available at the <http://www.scitepress.org/DigitalLibrary/Default.aspx> SCITEPRESS Digital Library. 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. CONGRESS 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. NEURAL REHABILITATION 2. NEUROSENSING AND DIAGNOSIS 3. NEUROCOMPUTING 4. NEUROMODULATION AND NEURAL PROSTHESIS AREA 1: NEURAL REHABILITATION * Brain/Neural Computer Interfaces * Virtual Reality Tools * Stimulation Systems * Robotic Assisted Therapy * Biofeedback Therapy * Assistive Technologies * Mobile Technologies * Telerehabilitation * Applications to Complex Communication Needs * Augmentative and Alternative Communication * Clinical and Social Impact of Neurotechnology * Privacy, Security and Neuroethics * Outcome Measures * Users Perception and Experience on Technologies * Case Studies AREA 2: NEUROSENSING AND DIAGNOSIS * Neural Signal Processing * Real Time Monitoringof Neuromuscular and Neural Activity * EEG and EMG Signal Processing and Applications * Brain imaging * Magnetic Resonance Imaging * Electrical and Magnetic Recordings * Positron Emission Tomography * Optical Imaging Techniques * Neuroimaging * Mobile and Embedded Devices * Monitoring Systems and Techniques * Remote Neurosensing * Diagnostic Sensors * Sleep Analysis * Intelligent Diagnosis Systems AREA 3: NEUROCOMPUTING * (Artificial) Neural Networks * Brain Models and Functions * Learning Systems and Memory * Self-organization and Evolution * Pattern Recognition * Reverse Engineering the Brain * Information Processing * Simulation Models * Neurobiology * Artificial Life * Cognitive Science and Psychology AREA 4: NEUROMODULATION AND NEURAL PROSTHESIS * Electrical Stimulation * Deep Brain Stimulation * Optogenetics * Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation * Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) * Biochips and Nanotechnology * Biotechnology * Neuro-interface Prosthetic Devices * Cochlear implants * Bionic Vision * Cybernetics KEYNOTE LECTURE Thomas Stieglitz, University of Freiburg, Germany CONGRESS CHAIR Aldo Faisal, Imperial College London, United Kingdom PROGRAM CO-CHAIRS Hermano Igo Krebs, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States Antonio Pedotti, Politecnico di Milano, Italy PROGRAM COMMITTEE <http://www.neurotechnix.org/ProgramCommittee.aspx> http://www.neurotechnix.org/ProgramCommittee.aspx NEUROTECHNIX SECRETARIAT Address: Av. D. Manuel I, 27A, 2º esq. 2910-595 Setúbal Portugal Tel.: +351 265 100 033 Fax: +44 203 014 8813 e-mail: <mailto:neurotec.secretariat@insticc.org> neurotechnix.secretariat(a)insticc.org Please check further details at the conference website ( <http://www.neurotechnix.org> http://www.neurotechnix.org) --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. http://www.avast.com

March 13, 2015

Bernstein Conference: Call for Workshops ends on Sunday!

by Seeger, Simone

The National Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience invites proposals for Satellite Workshops directly preceding the Bernstein Conference 2015 in Heidelberg ********************************************************************************** Call for Workshop proposals: Workshops: September 14, 2015 (Main Bernstein Conference: September 15-17, 2015) Deadline of proposal submission: March 15, 2015 Notification of acceptance: April 20, 2015 Conference Registration starts: April 27, 2015 Early Registration Deadline: July 21, 2015 ********************************************************************************** The Bernstein Conference started out as the annual meeting of the National Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience and has become the largest single-track Computational Neuroscience conference in Europe in recent years. Since 2013, the Bernstein Conference hosts pre-conference workshops, which have developed swiftly into a well-attended event. They supply a stage to debate topical research questions and challenges in Computational Neuroscience and related fields, different points of view and scientific approaches in an informal setting. Workshops addressing controversial issues, open problems, and comparisons of competing approaches are encouraged. SCHEDULE: September 14, 2015, 9:00 – 18:30. You may apply for either half-day or full-day workshops. Workshop costs: The Bernstein Conference does not provide financial support, but workshop organizers and speakers are offered free workshop registration and reduced fees for the main conference. For further information about the conference, please visit the conference website<http://www.bernstein-conference.de>. DETAILS FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS: The Workshop Proposal form can be downloaded here<http://www.nncn.de/de/bernstein-conference/2015/satellite-workshops/worksho…>. Deadline for submission of Workshop Proposals: March 15, 2015 We are looking forward to meeting you in Heidelberg! THE WORKSHOP PROGRAM COMMITTEE Matthias Bethge (Bernstein Center Tübingen) Upinder Bhalla (NCBS, Bangalore) Carlos Brody (Princeton University) Gustavo Deco (University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona) Andreas Draguhn (Bernstein Center Heidelberg-Mannheim) Daniel Durstewitz (Bernstein Center Heidelberg-Mannheim) Gaute Einevoll (Norvegian University of Life Sciences, Aas) Andreas Herz (Bernstein Center Munich) Peter Kirsch (Bernstein Center Heidelberg-Mannheim) Sara Solla (Northwestern University, Evanston)

March 13, 2015

Swinburne Brain Imaging Symposium 2015: Principles and Applications of Magnetoencephalography

by David Liley

Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, is hosting a workshop to promote the unique capabilities of magnetoencephalography for basic and clinical research and clinical decision making. Running over two days from 29 to 30 July 2015 it will feature invited talks from some of the fields most important research leaders and a MEG data analysis hands-on computer workshop. Invited Speakers: Mark Woolrich (Oxford) Krish Singh (Cardiff) Vladimir Litvak (UCL) Suresh Muthukumaraswamy (Auckland) Blake Johnson (Macquarie) In addition to the keynote speakers and computer workshop there will also be an open poster session for registrants to present their work in any of the following or related thematic areas: magnetoencephalography, electroencephalography, clinical monitoring, neuroimaging, TMS, tDCS, tACS or brain-computer interfaces Poster abstract submission deadline: 15th May 2015. Notification of acceptance: 29th May 2015. Invited Symposia & Cocktail Poster Session – 29-30 July 2015: Early bird registration: full: AU$300; Student/Post-docs: AU$80. Early bird registration deadline: 26th June 2015. Standard registration: full: AU$450; Student/Early Career Researcher: AU$120. Hands-on MEG Data analysis workshop (spaces limited to 30) – 30 July afternoon: Early bird registration: full: AU$100; Student/Post-docs: AU$40. Early bird registration deadline: 26th June 2015. Standard registration: full: AU$150; Student/Early Career Researcher: AU$60. For further information on the invited speakers as well as the preliminary workshop program, and how to submit abstracts and register visit: http://www.research.swinburne.edu.au/our-research/events/neuroimaging-sympo… We’d also like to draw your attention to the meeting “IWSP7: Epilepsy Mechanisms, Models, Prediction & Control” which will be held in Melbourne Australia from August 3-6 2015. For details visit http://www.iwsp7.org<http://www.iwsp7.org/> Please forward this notice to anyone that you think might be interested. On behalf of the organizing committee David Liley, MBChB, PhD Brian Cornwell, PhD Email: megsymposium(a)swin.edu.au<mailto:megsymposium@swin.edu.au>

March 12, 2015

Brain, Minds and Machines Summer Course 2015 (Deadline = March 16th)

by Kreiman, Gabriel

Brains, Minds and Machines Summer Course 2015 http://www.mbl.edu/education/special-topics-courses/brains-minds-and-machin… When: August 13 – September 3, 2015 Where: Woods Hole, Massachusetts (MBL) Directors: Gabriel Kreiman, Tomaso Poggio (L. Mahadevan, honorary director) Application deadline: March 16, 2015 This intensive three-week course will give advanced students a “deep end” introduction to the problem of intelligence – how the brain produces intelligent behavior and how we may be able to replicate intelligence in machines. Today’s AI technologies, such as Watson and Siri and Deep Learning, are impressive, but their domain specificity and reliance on vast numbers of labeled examples are obvious limitations; few view this as brain-like or human intelligence. The synergistic combination of cognitive science, neurobiology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science holds the promise to build much more robust and sophisticated algorithms implemented in intelligent machines *and* to begin understanding how the brain produces the mind. The goal of this course is to help produce a community of leaders that is equally knowledgeable in neuroscience, cognitive science, and computer science. The first half of the course will focus on the intersection between biological and computational aspects of learning and vision. The second half will focus on high-level social cognition and artificial intelligence, as well as audition, speech and language processing. Throughout the course, students will participate in tutorials to gain hands on experience with these topics. The course will include presentations by world leaders in the field, discussions with relevant industrial companies interested in AI, hands-on tutorials, evening debates and discussions. Additionally, students will be working on cutting-edge research projects directly guided and mentored by the faculty. This course is organized by the Center for Minds, Brains and Machines: https://cbmm.mit.edu/ Course instructors will include: Tomaso Poggio Gabriel Kreiman Nancy Kanwisher Winrich Freiwald Matt Wilson Josh Tenenbaum Liz Spelke Boris Katz L Mahadevan Jim DiCarlo Aude Oliva Josh McDermott Projects will be cross-disciplinary and include access to the iCub humanoid robot and Google Glass. We will also be hosting an Evening Lecture Series, including speakers from both industry and academia, in the fields of neuroscience, computer science, and cognitive science. Speakers include: Larry Abbott Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Dorin Comaniciu, Siemens Corporate Technology Ammon Shashua, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mobileye, OrCam Eero Simoncelli, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York University Gabriel Kreiman klab.tch.harvard.edu Use "9265358979" anywhere in the message body to ensure that your message navigates through anti spam filters

March 12, 2015

3 Research Assistants at the Institute of Cognitive Scinece

by Peter König

The Neurobiopsychology Research Group (Prof. Dr. Peter König) of the Institute of Cognitive Science invites applications for *3 Research Assistants *** *(Salary level E 13 TV-L, 50 %)* ** to be filled as soon as possible for a period of 3 years. *Description of Responsibilities:* The positions involve participation in the research activities within the European Community funded research project /Socialising Sensori-Motor Contingencies./ This project investigates processing multimodal information and sensorimotor integration under natural conditions and utilizes a variety of methods. They include behavioral studies, psychophysical methods, physiological measurements (EEG, MEG, TMS), methods of sensory augmentation, mathematical modelling, computer simulations and brain-computer interfaces. *Required Qualifications:* Applicants are expected to have an excellent academic degree (Master, Diploma or PhD), experience in several of the domains listed above, a good record in statistical methods including multivariate analyses and Bayesian technics, good programming skills as well as a good command of the English language. As a certified family-friendly institution, Osnabrück University is committed to furthering the compatibility between work/studies and family life. As an employer, Osnabrück University is particularly concerned with creating equality opportunities for women and men. Woman with relevant qualifications are therefore strongly encouraged to apply for the positions. Preference will be given to women with equal qualifications. Qualified applicants with disabilities will be favored. Applications with the usual documentation should be submitted by e-mail in a *_single_* PDF-file to Prof. Dr. Peter König (pkoenig(a)uni-osnabrueck.de <mailto:pkoenig@uni-osnabrueck.de>) with a cc to office(a)ikw.uni-osnabrueck.de <mailto:office@ikw.uni-osnabrueck.de>no later than *March 31, 2015*. Further information can be obtained from Prof. Dr. Peter König (pkoenig(a)uni-osnabrueck.de) -- *http://www.facebook.com/CognitiveScienceOsnabruck* Prof. Dr. Peter König Institute of Cognitive Science University Osnabrück Albrechtstr. 28 49076 Osnabrück +49 541 969 2399 http://cogsci.uni-osnabrueck.de/~NBP/

March 12, 2015

One Postdoc and one PhD position in computational neuroimaging/neuroscience

by s.ghebreab＠uva.nl

One Postdoc position available in Computational neuroimaging with deep learning and one PhD position in Visual computational neuroscience. Both positions are part of research that bridges state-of-the-art vision technology of the Intelligent Systems Lab Amsterdam (ISLA, Science Faculty), with the state-of-the-art in brain imaging offered by the Cognitive Neuroscience Group Amsterdam (CNGA, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences). Both groups are part of the University of Amsterdam and enjoy a world-class reputation, ISLA for computer vision and search engine technology (discovering concepts in images and video) and CNGA for the neural basis of visual perception.. For position and application details see: - Postdoc Position 1: http://www.uva.nl/over-de-uva/werken-bij-de-uva/vacatures/item/15-050.html - PhD Position 2: http://www.uva.nl/over-de-uva/werken-bij-de-uva/vacatures/item/15-077.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Dr. Sennay Ghebreab Head of Studies Social Sciences, Amsterdam University College Associate professor (adjunct), Brain & Cognition, University of Amsterdam Tel: +31-20-5258844, Email: s.ghebreab(a)uva.nl, http://www.sennay.net <http://www.sennay.net/> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------

March 12, 2015

NEST User and Developer Workshop, 20-22 April 2015, Geneva

by Hans Ekkehard Plesser

Dear Colleagues! The NEST simulator is used by a growing number of neuroscientist. To strengthen the growing NEST community and foster the dialog between NEST users across a broad spectrum of modelling approaches, as well as between users and developers, we would like to invite you to the First NEST User Workshop, Monday 20 April (evening) til Wednesday 22 April (late afternoon) at Campus Biotech in Geneva, Switzerland. The workshop is primarily intended for users and developers of NEST and you will benefit most if you already have practical experience with NEST. However, if you are interested in using NEST in the future, this workshop will also be useful for you. We will present the new NEST Git Repository and Code Review Platform as part of the workshop. For a limited number of participants, we offer the possibility to present your scientific work done with NEST. If you are interested in presenting, please contact the workshop organizers Hans Ekkehard Plesser (hans.ekkehard.plesser(a)nmbu.no) Marc-Oliver Gewaltig (marc-oliver.gewaltig(a)epfl.ch) For more information and registration, please go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nest-user-workshop-tickets-15974979594 Registration is free, but limited. Registration deadline: 11 April 2015 We can offer (very) limited travel support to younger participants, kindly provided by the HBP Education Program. This workshop is organized in collaboration between the NEST Initiative and the HBP Education Program. We are looking forward to seeing you in Geneva! Hans E Plesser Marc-Oliver Gewaltig http://www.nest-initiative.org http://humanbrainproject.eu — Dr. Hans Ekkehard Plesser, Associate Professor Acting section Head Dept. of Mathematical Sciences and Technology Norwegian University of Life Sciences PO Box 5003, 1432 Aas, Norway Phone +47 6723 1560 Email hans.ekkehard.plesser(a)nmbu.no Home http://arken.umb.no/~plesser

March 12, 2015

Students: spend the summer improving brain research software tools in Google Summer of Code

by Malin Sandström

Hi all, (apologies for cross-posting) are you a student interested in brain research and software development? Or do you know one? This year again, INCF is participating as mentoring organization in the Google Summer of Code, a global program that offers students stipends to spend the summer writing code for open source projects. INCF has 27 project proposals offered by mentors from the international research community, many of them with a computational neuroscience slant. All projects deal with development and/or improvement of open source tools that are used in the neuroscience community. You can see our full list of projects here: https://incf.org/gsoc/2015/proposals To be eligible, students must fulfill the Google definition of 'student': an individual enrolled in or accepted into an accredited institution including (but not necessarily limited to) colleges, universities, masters programs, PhD programs and undergraduate programs. Student applications open on *Monday, March 16.* <https://incf.org/gsoc/2015/proposals> Please forward to anyone you think might be interested! Best regards, Malin Sandström (INCF org admin for GSoC) GSoC questions welcome to: gsoc(a)incf.org -- Malin Sandström, PhD Community Engagement Officer malin.sandstrom(a)incf.org International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility Karolinska Institutet Nobels väg 15 A SE-171 77 Stockholm Sweden http://www.incf.org

March 12, 2015

What is the precision of synaptic plasticity?

by Terry Sejnowski

http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2015/03/11/016329 Hippocampal Spine Head Sizes are Highly Precise Thomas M Bartol, Cailey Bromer, Justin P Kinney, Michael A Chirillo, Jennifer N Bourne, Kristen M Harris, Terrence J Sejnowski The size of an EPSP is highly correlated with the the spine head volume for excitatory synapses on pyramidal cells. Spine heads on a dendrite originating from the same axon had the same volume, regardless of whether they were large or small. This has implications for the precision of the mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity. Terry -----

March 12, 2015

[meetings] Living Machines IV: Final Call for Papers, Satellite Events and Sponsors

by Nathan F Lepora

______________________________________________________________ Final Call for Papers, Satellite Events and Sponsors Living Machines IV: The 4th International Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems 28th to 31st July 2015 http://csnetwork.eu/livingmachines To be hosted at the La Pedrera Barcelona, Spain In association with the Universitat Pompeu Fabra Accepted papers will be published in Springer Lecturer Notes in Artificial Intelligence Submission deadline March 16th, 2015 ______________________________________________________________ ABOUT LIVING MACHINES 2015 The development of future real-world technologies will depend strongly on our understanding and harnessing of the principles underlying living systems and the flow of communication signals between living and artificial systems. Biomimetics is the development of novel technologies through the distillation of principles from the study of biological systems. The investigation of biomimetic systems can serve two complementary goals. First, a suitably designed and configured biomimetic artefact can be used to test theories about the natural system of interest. Second, biomimetic technologies can provide useful, elegant and efficient solutions to unsolved challenges in science and engineering. Biohybrid systems are formed by combining at least one biological component—an existing living system—and at least one artificial, newly-engineered component. By passing information in one or both directions, such a system forms a new hybrid bio-artificial entity. The following are some examples: • Biomimetic robots and their component technologies (sensors, actuators, processors) that can intelligently interact with their environments. • Active biomimetic materials and structures that self-organize and self-repair. • Biomimetic computers—neuromimetic emulations of the physiological basis for intelligent behaviour. • Biohybrid brain-machine interfaces and neural implants. • Artificial organs and body-parts including sensory organ-chip hybrids and intelligent prostheses. • Organism-level biohybrids such as robot-animal or robot-human systems. ACTIVITIES The main conference will take the form of a three-day single-track oral and poster presentation programme, 29th to 31st July 2015, hosted at the La Pedrera, Barcelona, Spain. The conference programme will include five plenary lectures from leading international researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems, and the demonstrations of state-of-the-art living machine technologies. Agreed speakers are: Roger Quinn, Robots Insect Locomotion (Case Western Reserve University) Ryad Benosman, Neuromorphic. Event-based time oriented vision (Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, France) Barbara Mazzolai, Biomimetic Robots (IIT@SSSA, Italy) Robert Richardson, Exploration Robotics (Leeds University, UK) Jose Halloy, Collective intelligence in natural and artificial systems (Université Paris Diderot LIED) Also a special talk on Biomimetics in Design Nimish Biloria, Bio-inspired performative design (TU Delf University of Technology, The Netherlands) The full conference will be preceded by a day of Satellite Events hosted by the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. SUBMITTING TO LIVING MACHINES 2015 We invite both full papers and short papers in areas related to the conference themes. All contributions will be refereed and accepted papers will appear in the Living Machines 2015 proceedings which we expect to be published in the Springer-Verlag LNAI Series. Full papers (minimum 8 and up to 12 pages) are invited from researchers at any stage in their career but should present significant findings and advances in biomimetic or biohybid research; more preliminary work would be better suited to shorter paper submission (minimum 4 pages with a maximum of eight references and no more than two self-citations) Further details of submission formats will be circulated in an updated CfP and will be posted on the conference web-site. http://csnetwork.eu/livingmachines/conf2015/submission Full papers will be accepted for either oral presentation (single track) or poster presentation. Extended abstracts will be accepted for poster presentation only. Authors of the best full papers will be invited to submitted extended versions of their paper for publication in a special issue of Bioinspiration and Biomimetics. Satellite events Active researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems are invited to propose topics for 1-day tutorials, symposia or workshops on related themes to be held 27-28th July at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Attendance at satellite events will attract a small fee intended to cover the costs of the meeting. There is a lot of flexibility about the content, organisation, and budgeting for these events. Please contact us if you are interested in organising a satellite event! EXPECTED DEADLINES March 16th, 2015 Paper submission deadline May 1st, 2015 Notification of acceptance May 22nd, 2015 Camera ready copy July 28th-31st 2015 Conference SPONSORSHIP Living Machines 2015 is sponsored by the Convergent Science Network (CSN) for Biomimetics and Neurotechnology. CSN is an EU FP7 Future Emerging Technologies Co-ordination Activity that also organises two highly successful workshop series: the Barcelona Summer School on Brain, Technology and Cognition (http://bcbt.upf.edu and the Capocaccia Neuromorphic Cognitive Engineering Workshop. The 2015 Living Machines conference will also be hosted and sponsored by the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Call for Sponsors. Other organisations wishing to sponsor the conference in any way and gain the corresponding benefits by promoting themselves and their products to through conference publications, the conference web-site, and conference publicity are encouraged to contact the conference organisers to discuss the terms of sponsorship and necessary arrangements. We offer a number of attractive and good-value packages to potential sponsors. ABOUT THE VENUE Living Machines 2015 returns to the venue of our first conference at the beautiful biomimetic building La Pedrera (Casa Mila) (https://www.lapedrera.com/en/home) designed by renowned modernist architect Antoni Gaudi. Attendees at the conference will get a free ticket to visit this historic building in the centre the Barcelona. Workshops will be held at the Poblenou Campus of Universitat Pompeu Fabra, close to hotel and restaurant area of the Diagonal and Ramblas de Poblenou and a short walk from Barcelona’s famous beaches. Organising Committee: Paul Verschure, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Co-chair) Tony Prescott, University of Sheffield (Co-chair) Stuart Wilson, University of Sheffield (Program Chair) Anna Mura, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Communications, Local Organiser) Nathan Lepora, University of Bristol (Communications) Living Machines 2015 Program Committee: Andrew Adamatzky, Robert Allen, Joseph Ayers, Yoseph Bar-Cohen, Lucia Beccai, Frédéric Boyer, Federico Carpi, Hillel Chiel, Anders Christensen, Danilo De Rossi, Angel del Pobil, Stéphane Doncieux, Marco Dorigo, Armin Duff, Volker Dürr Wolfgang Eberle, Benoît Girard, Roderich Gross, José Halloy, Koh Hosoda, Ioannis Ieropoulos, Auke Ijspeert, Holger Krapp, Cecilia Laschi, Nathan Lepora, Ben Mitchinson, Keisuke Morishima, Anna Mura, Jiro Okada, Enrico Pagello, Martin Pearson, Andrew Philippides, Tony Pipe, Tony Prescott, Roger Quinn, Sylvain Saighi, Thomas Schmickl, Reiko Tanaka, Eleni Vasilaki, Stefano Vassanelli, Paul Verschure, Stuart Wilson (Chair), Hartmut Witte

March 11, 2015

Postdoctoral Position in Human Intracranial Physiology at the National Institutes of Health

by Zaghloul, Kareem (NIH/NINDS) [E]

A full-time post-doctoral position focused on understanding the neural correlates of human cognitive function is available in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the NIH. This position involves studies focused on analyzing and manipulating human intracranial electrophysiological signals, including single-unit activity, local field potentials, and electro corticography (ECoG), captured from patients with medically refractory epilepsy and from patients receiving deep brain stimulation surgery. Post-doctoral fellows will join a laboratory aimed at understanding the neural mechanisms that underlie human memory and decision making and at developing novel and innovative techniques to directly communicate with those circuits. We are seeking candidates that are highly creative, motivated, and independent with a Ph.D. in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, or a related field. Candidates must have a strong research background, with a record of relevant publications. Candidates will be encouraged and expected to participate in independent laboratory research, and will be expected to write scholarly manuscripts. Candidates must be able to lead and work well in a team. Candidates should have strong computational, quantitative, and/or engineering skills, with proficiency in developing custom code (Matlab, Python, etc.) for data analysis preferred. Past medical research is not required, but candidates must be willing to perform experiments in a clinical setting. Candidates will interact with clinical staff, graduate students, research fellows, and must have excellent spoken and written English skills. Applicants should submit a brief statement of research activities and interests, a current CV, and names and contact information of at least three references. Salary will be commensurate with experience and accomplishments. To arrange a meeting with the PI and to send materials required for consideration for this appointment please contact Dr. Zaghloul at: zaghloulka(a)mail.nih.gov<mailto:zaghloulka@mail.nih.gov> NIH, an agency of DHHS, is an equal opportunity employer.

March 11, 2015

ECMLPKDD 2015 : Nectar Track

by ECMLPKDD 2015

The European Conference on Machine Learning and Principles and Practice of Knowledge Discovery in Databases (ECMLPKDD 2015) will take place on September 7 of 2015, in Porto Portugal ( <http://www.ecmlpkdd2015.org/> http://www.ecmlpkdd2015.org/) and includes a Nectar Track that offers conference attendees a compact overview of recent scientific advances at the frontier of machine learning and data mining with other disciplines, as published in related conferences and journals. We invite senior and junior researchers to submit summaries of their own work published in neighboring fields, such as (but not limited to) artificial intelligence, data analytics, bioinformatics, games, computational linguistics, computer vision, geoinformatics, health informatics, database theory, human computer interaction, information and knowledge management, robotics, pattern recognition, statistics, social network analysis, theoretical computer science, uncertainty in AI, network science, complex systems science, and computationally oriented sociology, economy, statistics and biology. Particularly welcome is work that illustrates the pervasiveness of data-driven exploration and modelling in science and technology, as well as innovative applications. Accepted NECTAR contributions will be presented as talks or posters and included in the conference proceedings. Important dates Submission deadline: May 4, 2015 Notifications of acceptance: June 1, 2015 Submission of camera ready copies: June 15, 2015 Detailed information about the Nectar Track is available on: http://www.ecmlpkdd2015.org/submission/call-nectar-track-contributions For further information please contact the ECMLPKDD 2015 Nectar Track Chairs: Ricard Gavaldà (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) Dino Pedreschi (Università di Pisa) Hope to see you all soon in Porto, Portugal!!! The publicity chairs of the ECMLPKDD 2015, Carlos Abreu Ferreira Ricardo Campos --- Este e-mail foi verificado em termos de vírus pelo software antivírus Avast. http://www.avast.com

March 10, 2015

Two postdoctoral positions in Systems/Computational Neuroscience, UPenn

by Nicole Rust

Two postdoctoral positions - one purely computational and another combined experimental and computational - are currently available in the laboratory of Nicole Rust at the University of Pennsylvania. Both positions are focused on understanding object-related processing at higher stages of the primate visual system. Of particular interest are the neural mechanisms responsible for our ability to remember the enormous numbers of objects that we have encountered before, and how the same neural populations can both encode visual memories after a single experience and support perceptually stable object representations. Our research group uses a variety of methods, including awake primate neurophysiology, population decoding, and computational modeling, to arrive at descriptions of the transformations that occur as object-related signals propagate through the brain. More information about the lab can be found here: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/psych/rust-lab. The Rust lab is part of a substantive Systems, Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience community at UPenn and is part of the newly established Penn Computational Neuroscience Initiative: http://cni.upenn.edu/. Candidates should have a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, or a related field prior to starting. Essential qualifications include strong quantitative skills. To inquire about this position, please contact Nicole Rust nrust(a)psych.upenn.edu.

March 10, 2015