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[UKCI 2016] Extended Call for Papers
by Teng Teck Hou May 12, 2016

May 12, 2016

[Apologies for the cross-postings] ########################################################### CALL FOR PAPERS The 16th Annual UK Workshop on Computational Intelligence, UKCI-2016 September 7-9, 2016, Lancaster, United Kingdom http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/ukci2016/ ########################################################### The 16th Annual UK Workshop on Computational Intelligence, UKCI-2016 this year is being hosted by Lancaster University. UKCI is the premier UK event for presenting leading research on all aspects of Computational Intelligence. The aim of this Workshop is to provide a forum for the academic community and industry to share ideas about developing and using Computational Intelligence (CI) techniques, the new trends and to exchange views and ideas. CI is a rapidly expanding research field, attracting a large number of scientists, engineers and practitioners working in areas such as fuzzy systems, neural networks, evolutionary computation, evolving systems and machine learning. A growing number of companies are employing CI techniques to improve previous solutions and to deal with new problems. These include evolving systems that allow high performance in spite of changes which are either external or internal to the system, thereby increasing the re-usability of developed systems. This also include smart, intelligent and autonomous systems, self-learning, self-adapting, self-calibrating and self-tuning. UKCI-2016 will take place in Lancaster House Hotel, located conveniently within the campus of Lancaster University, few miles from the city centre including Lancaster Castle. The city offers excellent transport links, with easy access to the M6, railway station and ferry links. Beyond the array of activities within the city, Lancaster is close to Britain’s premier tourist area – Lake District, and is home to theatres, museums, Ashton Memorial and Williamson park. #################### Important dates ##################### - Paper submission: May 15th, 2016 - Notification of paper acceptance: June 15th, 2016 - Camera-ready submission: July 15th, 2016 ########################################################## #################### Plenary speakers #################### - Jose Principe, Distinguished Professor, University Of Florida, USA - Trevor Martin, Bristol University and Senior Researcher, British Telecom, UK - Xin Yao, School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, UK - Stephen Fubrer, School of Computer Science, University of Manchester, UK ########################################################## #################### Organizing committees ############### * Honorary Chair - Prof. Janusz Kacprzyk, Fellow Polish Academy of Sciences * General Chair - Prof. Plamen Angelov, Lancaster University * Programme Chairs - Prof. Qiang Shen, Aberystwyth University - Prof. Chrisina Jane, Robert Gordon University * Publication Chair - Dr. Alexander Gegov, Portsmouth University * International Liaison - Ms Azliza Mohd Ali, Lancaster University * Finance Chair - Ms Carol Airey, Lancaster University * Local Organisation Chairs - Dr. John Mariani, Lancaster University - Mr Richard Gnosill, Lancaster University * Publicity Chair - Dr. Teng Teck Hou, Singapore Management University * Awards Chair - Prof. Araceli Sanchis de Miguel, Carlos III University, Spain * Special Session Chair - Prof. Ahmad Lotfi, Nottingham Trent University - Dr. Xiao Jun Zeng, Manchester University ########################################################## ############# Paper Submission and Publication ########### * Papers for UKCI 2016 should be submitted electronically through the Conference website at http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/ukci2016/call-for-papers/, and will be refereed by experts in the fields and ranked based on the criteria of originality, significance, quality and clarity. * Selected papers will be considered for publication, following substantial extension, in a Special Issue of the Soft Computing Journal (Springer). ########################################################## #################### Awards ############################## * A best regular paper and a best student paper will be selected for this award * This best paper award consists of a plaque and a €200 honorarium * The best paper awards are sponsored by Springer ########################################################## ###### Topics and Areas include, but not limited to ###### Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) * Computational intelligence methodology * Computational intelligence for big data * Making Sense from Data (streams) * Knowledge representation * Fuzzy logic, fuzzy systems, approximate reasoning; * New Machine Learning Methodologies * Artificial Neural Networks * Evolutionary computation, swarm intelligence, artificial immune systems, memetic computing, Nature-inspired computing * New and emerging computational intelligence approaches from hybrid learning and systems, molecular and quantum computing * Software agents and multi-agent systems, intelligent control * Intelligent Video Analytics * Applications of computational intelligence techniques in engineering, healthcare, finances, (cyber)security, signal, image and video processing ########################################################## #################### Call for Special Session Proposals ######################### * UKCI-2016 will retain its traditional format of a single track with special sessions on selected “hot” topics. * Please email proposals for special sessions to ukci2016(a)lancaster.ac.uk by 20th March 2016 ########################################################## #################### Co-Sponsors ######################### * Springer * Department of Engineering and the School of Computing and Communications, Lancaster University ##########################################################

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Workshop on EEG monitoring with dry electrodes at OHBM 2016
by Uwe Graichen May 11, 2016

May 11, 2016

Dear colleagues, it is my pleasure to announce the workshop "EEG monitoring with dry electrodes: the achievements of the ANDREA European project and future perspective", which will be a satellite meeting of the OHBM 2016 and will take place at Palexpo in Geneva on June 25, 2016. This workshop, promoted by the partners of the ANDREA project (www.andreaproject.eu ), is meant to inform and educate everyone who may be interested in EEG monitoring using dry electrodes, from novices to experts. We will discuss novel multi-channel EEG caps with dry electrodes. The partners of the ANDREA project and external experts will present the most recent advancements in sensors, caps and electronics, as well as data processing and artifact reduction algorithms. The detailed program is attached. Registration to the workshop is required but is free of charge. Further details can be found at the page http://www.humanbrainmapping.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3688. Spread the news among your colleagues and collaborators, as we hope to meet all of you in Geneva! Best regards, Silvia Comani, PhD Associate Professor of Applied Physics Director, BIND - Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center Coordinator - EU Project ANDREA (www.andreaproject.eu) Dept. of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara Chieti Via dei Vestini, 33 66013 Chieti - Italy comani(a)unich.it http://www.bindcenter.eu phone: +39 0871 3556925 fax: +39 0871 3556930

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Postdoc and PhD positions. In vivo electrophysiology, optogenetic and motor learning. Marseille
by david robbe May 10, 2016

May 10, 2016

A postdoctoral and a PhD positions funded by a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) are available in the group of David Robbe at the Institut de Neurobiologie de la Mediterrannée (INMED) in Marseille, France. The Robbe Lab studies the neuronal bases of motor learning and motor control with a focus on the role of cortico-striatal system and the specific contribution(s) of selective striatal cell types. We perform electrophysiological recordings of spiking activity (using silicon probes, tetrode arrays and optrodes) and neuronal perturbation (lesions, inactivations, optogenetic stimulation) on rodents (mice or rats) engaged in original motor tasks. The tasks design allows high-throughput training of animals, manipulations of task constraints to understand the psychophysical determinants of performance and closed-loop optogenetic perturbation of neuronal activity. The positions suit candidates highly motivated to perform large-scale electrophysiological and optrodes recordings in behaving rodents (mice or rats). The successful candidates should be genuinely interested in understanding animal behavior, hardworking and capable to learn to perform delicate surgical procedures. A previous experience in either in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetic or data analysis (using Python or Matlab) is expected. Applicants with quantitative (physics, maths) or engineering backgrounds willing to acquire experimental skills are encouraged to apply. For the postdoc position, the salary is initially granted for the first 2 years, and may be extended according to progress and available funding. The PhD position is funded for 3 years. INMED is composed of several internationally renowned groups working on the development, function and pathology of neuronal circuits. The scientific excellence of INMED and its outstanding location at the entrance of the National Park des Calanques provide a rich and stimulating working/living environment. Applications (CV, a short statement of research interests and experience (max. one page), at least 2 reference letters) should be sent to david.robbe(a)inserm.fr. Application will be considered until the positions are filled. The positions are available immediately and expected to start at the latest in fall 2016. Selected candidates will be invited for an interview at the INMED (travel expenses covered). Relevant publication: Rueda-Orozco, PE and Robbe D (2015) The striatum multiplexes contextual and kinematic information to constrain motor habits execution. Nat Neurosci. 18:453-60. Additional information on the research performed in the Robbe lab: http://www.inmed.fr/en/en-avenir-dynamiques-neuronales-et-fonctions-des-gan… -- David Robbe, PhD Neuronal dynamics and functions of the basal ganglia Institut de Neurobiologie de la MEDiterrannee (INMED) INSERM-UMR901 163, avenue de Luminy. BP13 13273 Marseille Cedex 9 France http://www.inmed.fr/avenir-dynamiques-neuronales-et-fonctions-des-ganglions… Tel: +33 4 91 82 81 99 Fax: +33 4 91 82 81 05 "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge", Stephen Hawking

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Applicant Call for Goettingen's Advanced Computational Neuroscience Summer School
by Agostina Palmigiano May 10, 2016

May 10, 2016

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Applications are invited for the Advanced COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE Summer School in Göttingen, Germany September 06th - 16th, 2016 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% The aCNS School is a 10-day intensive course in mathematical and computational neuroscience. It offers students working in computational neuroscience and already familiar with its interdisciplinary nature, an intensive pedagogy of advanced mathematical and computational tools, designed to qualify young researchers to push the frontiers of the field. The course counts with and introductory day + 4 two-day theoretical blocks + 4 evening lectures in charge of the following researchers: * Vijay Balasubramanian <http://www.sas.upenn.edu/%7Evbalasub/public-html/Home.html>, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Germany * Jason Kerr <http://www.caesar.de/bbo.html>, Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Bonn, Germany * Gilles Laurent <http://brain.mpg.de/research/laurent-department.html>, MPI for Brain research, Frankfurt, Germany * Tobias Moser <http://www.innerearlab.uni-goettingen.de/>, University Medical Center, Göttingen Germany * Erwin Neher <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1991/neher-bio.ht…>, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany * Magnus Richardson <https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/systemsbiology/staff/richardson/>, University of Warwick, Conventry, England * Wolf Singer <http://www.esi-frankfurt.de/research/singer-lab/>, Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience, Frankfurt, Germany * Misha Tsodyks <http://www.weizmann.ac.il/neurobiology/labs/tsodyks/>, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel The consecutive two day thematic blocks are dedicated to mathematical approaches to circuit dynamics. Each lecturer will give a self-contained introduction to a particular set of theoretical tools in a block of two morning lectures. In the afternoon, participants will work on problem sets designed to develop proficiency in both the mathematical and computational tools learned earlier that day. An additional set of evening ‘easy’ lectures will give the opportunity to discuss significant advances in the field. The course takes place at the Department of Nonlinear Dynamics of the Max-Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen. Registration fee is 200 euros. Course language is English. Housing is provided by the school. Travel grants can be provided upon request. Only 15 participants will accepted. We invite applicants to apply by filling out the application form at: http://www.bccn-goettingen.de/events/cns-course <http://www.bccn-goettingen.de/events/cns-course> by *June 15, 2016*. Organizers: Rainer Engelken, Joscha Liedtke, Agostina Palmigiano, Manuel Schottdorf, Jens Wilting Best wishes and looking forward to seeing you in Göttingen, Agostina Palmigiano ___________________________ Agostina Palmigiano Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization Am Fassber 17, 37077 Goettingen +49 551 5176 421 office +49 163 882 6689 mobile http://www.nld.ds.mpg.de/ <http://www.nld.ds.mpg.de/> ___________________________

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CIBB 2016 - Second Call for Papers
by Andrea Bracciali May 9, 2016

May 9, 2016

[apologies for multiple posting] ============================================================== SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS CIBB 2016 13th International Meeting on Computational Intelligence methods for Bioinformatics and Biostatistics University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland UK September 1-3 2016 http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/events/cibb2016/ cibb2016(a)gmail.com ============================================================== In evidence (please see below and the web for details): - the very interesting list of INVITED SPEAKERS is growing ! - five new SPECIAL SESSIONS are running ! - EXTENDED DEADLINES for paper submission Please, connect to the conference via @CIBB2016 on twitter Keynote Speakers (to be completed) Prof. Mark Beaumont School of Biological Sciences, Bristol University Evolutionary Biology Prof. Natalio Krasnogor School of Computing Science, Newcastle University Computing Science and Synthetic Biology Prof. Bud Mishra Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and NYU School of Medicine, New York University NYU, and Mt Sinai School of Medicine Computer Science, Cell Biology and Genetics Dr. Guido Sanguinetti School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh System design of stochastic models SPECIAL SESSIONS Engineering Bio-interfaces and Rudimentary Cells as a way to develop Synthetic Biology Contacts: Maria Raposo, mfr(a)fct.unl.pt Biocuration and integration of biomedical databases Contacts: Riccardo Rizzo, ricrizzo(a)pa.icar.cnr.it Modelling and simulation methods for Systems Biology and Systems Medicine Contacts: Paolo Cazzaniga, paolo.cazzaniga(a)unibg.it High-Performance Computing and Deep learning methods for Genomic Data Analysis Contacts: : Fabio Tordini, tordini(a)di.unito.it Statistical inference in mechanistic models of biological system Contacts: Dirk Husmeier, Dirk.Husmeier(a)glasgow.ac.uk Scope The main goal of this 13th edition of the CIBB international conference is to provide a multi-disciplinary forum open to researchers interested in the application of computational intelligence, in a broad sense, to open problems in bioinformatics, biostatistics, systems and synthetic biology and medical informatics. Cutting edge methodologies capable of accelerating life science discoveries will be discussed. Following its tradition and roots, this year's meeting will bring together researchers from the international scientific community interested in advancements and future perspectives in bioinformatics and biostatistics. Also, looking at current trends and future opportunities at the edge of computer and life sciences, the application of computational intelligence to system and synthetic biology, and the consequent impact on innovative medicine will be of great for the conference. Theoretical and experimental biologists are also invited to participate in order to present novel challenges and foster multidisciplinary collaboration. The scientific program of CIBB 2016 will include Keynote Speakers, tutorials and special sessions. Contributed papers will be presented in plenary oral sessions, special sessions, or poster sessions. Topics of interest include, but are not restricted to: · Next generation sequencing bioalgorithms · Multi-omics data analysis · High dimensional statistical analysis of omics data · Algorithms for alternative splicing analysis · Algorithms for molecular evolution and phylogenetic analysis · Methods for the visualization of high dimensional complex omic data · Software tools for bioinformatics · Methods for comparative genomics · Methods for functional classification of genes · Methods for unsupervised analysis, validation and visualization of structures discovered in bio-molecular data · Health-Informatics and Medical Informatics. · Methods for the integration of clinical and genetic data · Heterogeneous data integration and data fusion for diagnostics · Algorithms for pharmacogenomics · Biomedical text mining and imaging · Methods for diagnosis and prognosis within personalized medicine · Statistical methods for the analysis of clinical data · Prediction of secondary and tertiary protein structures · Mass spectrometry data analysis in proteomics · Algorithms for molecular evolution and phylogenetic analysis · Bio-molecular databases and data mining · Mathematical modeling and automated reasoning on biological and synthetic systems · Computational simulation of biological systems · Methods and advances in systems biology · Spatio-temporal analysis of synthetic and biological systems · Network systems biology · Models for cell populations and tissues · Methods for the engineering of synthetic components · Modelling and engineering of interacting synthetic and biological systems · Software tools for bioinformatics, biostatistics, systems and synthetic biology Publication Accepted papers will be presented at the conference (at least one author is expected to register), and will be published on proceedings for conference distribution. Extended and revised versions of the papers presented at CIBB 2016 will be invited for a post-conference monograph. This is traditionally published in the Springer series of Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics (LNBI), (arrangements undergoing). Continuing the tradition of CIBB, we are planning to publish best papers in one (or more, as appropriate) special issue of an international scientific journal (such as BMC Bioinformatics, in the latest editions). Paper Submission Papers must be prepared following the guidelines illustrated on the CIBB web site and should be long between 4 and 6 pages. Papers should be submitted in PDF format on the Easy Chair conference system (link available on the web site). Important Dates Paper submission deadline: 29th May 2016 Notification of acceptance: 22nd June 2016 Final paper due: 8th July 2016 Conference: 1st -3rd September 2016 General Chairs Andrea Bracciali, University of Stirling, UK David Gilbert, Brunel University London, UK Gilbert MacKenzie, UL, ENSAI and Keele, UK

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3-year sensory-motor learning research fellow position at University of Birmingham
by Joseph Galea (School of Psychology) May 9, 2016

May 9, 2016

Dear all, Applications are invited for a 3-year postdoctoral position with Dr. Joe Galea (http://josephgalea.weebly.com) at University of Birmingham, UK (www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/psychology/index.aspx<http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/psychology/index.aspx>). The successful candidate will work on an ERC starting grant which will build upon recent work from the lab that has shown reward and punishment-based feedback to have dissociable effects on motor learning. Using a combination of behavioural analysis, genetics, pharmacology and modelling techniques this project will provide the first in-depth behavioural and neural account of the role of motivation (reward/punishment) in motor learning. For 1st of October 2016, I am looking to appoint a highly motivated candidate for a postdoctoral position. This role is aimed at developing a set of motor learning based tasks (model-based/ reinforcement/ use-dependent) that will be used to examine motivation in a range of motor learning settings. The postholder will be responsible for the programming of these tasks, testing them in a large set of healthy volunteers (who we will also collect genetic data from) and for the analysis of the behavioural data (kinematic/computational models). The successful candidate will have a PhD in Psychology, Physiology, Neuroscience, Engineering, Physics or Maths and have extensive experience with programming and running motor control/learning studies. Ideally they will be familiar with the KINARM end-point robot (B.KIN technologies) and/or be an expert with Simulink/Matlab (graphical-based programming). An ability to analyse behavioural data with matlab and perform computational analysis would be ideal. Finally they should have evidence of good academic writing and presentation skills through conference presentations and a strong (recent) publication record. Detailed information can be found here: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ANP415/research-fellow/ Informal enquiries should be directed to: Dr. Joseph Galea (j.galea(a)bham.ac.uk) Closing date: 3/June/2016 Best regards, Joseph Galea Senior Birmingham Fellow ERC Starting Grant Holder School of Psychology University of Birmingham, UK.

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First CfP SAN2016
by Manousos Klados May 8, 2016

May 8, 2016

Dear colleagues, please, accept our advanced apologies for any multiple cross-postings... The Society of Applied Neuroscience (SAN, http://www.applied-neuroscience.org/) in cooperation with the Medical School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Department of Neurology of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, have the great pleasure to invite you to the biennial meeting of the Society, SAN2016 (http://applied-neuroscience.org/san2016/) which will be held in Corfu Island, Greece between 6-9 of October, 2016. We cordially invite everyone engaged in studies of Neuroscience, to participate in the SAN2016 meeting. Apart from the highly promising scientific program, blended with numerous workshops and special sessions, there will also be a lively social program which will give our guests the opportunity to enjoy Greece and Corfu.We feel confident than you will enjoy SAN2016 both scientifically and socially as one of our main purposes is to give the chance to all colleagues to establish new fruitful international collaborations in areas of mutual academic and clinical interests. SAN2016 will bring together scientists and practitioners from a wide range of specialist fields. These include, but are not limited to: EEG/ MEG/ fMRI/ fNIRS Neurofeedback fMRI-NFB studies Brain Computer Interfaces Trans Cranial Magnetic Stimulation Peripheral Biofeedback Direct Current Stimulation Event-Related Potentials Brain Connectivity Neuronal Reorganization EEG and Cognition QEEG Diagnosis Emerging combined EEG and Virtual/augmented reality technology Instrumentation Audio-Visual Stimulation LORETA & Methodology Clinical, educational, sport and optimal performance applications Rehabilitation Integrative Therapy Complimentary evidence-based applications ...and all fields of applied neuroscience. All the above blended by an attractive selection of keynote and invited speeches, as well as, hands-on pre-conference workshops. There will be a practitioner track focusing on topical issues. The conference committee receives more proposals than space available. Careful attention to Quality of work, clarity and completeness of the submitted materials is likely to increase the chance for acceptance. All the accepted abstracts will be published in the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. SAN2016 abstract submission is supported by a Frontiers event and are directly submitted through the following link until the 20th of June, 2016: http://www.frontiersin.org/events/SAN2016_Meeting/3717 Numerous special issues and research topics are also planned by Society members as per tradition. We believe that SAN2016 will be a wonderful chance for you, to meet old friends and make new ones. We look forward to seeing you in Corfu, Greece! Panos Bamidis John Gruzelier Manousos Klados SAN2016 Conference Chairs Manousos Klados, PhD Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences Research Group of Neuroanatomy and Connectivity Phone: +49(0)-341-9940-2507 <+49(0)-341-9940-2507> Mobile: +49(0)-176-6988-1781 Email: klados(a)cbs.mpg.de <klados(a)cbs.mpg.de> Website: http://www.mklados.com Skype: mklados | Twitter: @mklados Address: Stephanstraße 1a PC D-04103 Leipzig Germany Join us at our next event:SAN 2016 Conferece <http://applied-neuroscience.org/san2016/index.php>

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Research Position: Brain Prosthesis Algorithms
by Randal Koene May 6, 2016

May 6, 2016

Brain Prosthesis Algorithms Brain science is the new rocket science. We’re building algorithms and software to correct deficits and enhance cognitive brain function using electrophysiology. We’re not making drugs or creating a brain training game, we’re using a data driven method to create neural prostheses to restore and enhance human cognitive performance. Join us in this delicious engineering opportunity in developing probabilistic kernel models of the hippocampus for a first application in memory. What we’re looking for: a data & algorithms or machine learning specialist with an exceptional aptitude for regularization and matrix algebra. Potential projects include building classification and regression models for neural spiking data, decoding of the spatio-temporal patterns of spikes with respect to behavior, analyzing large-scale complex neural data, building mixed model of point-process signals, and other data-driven modeling projects. Working with the cross-disciplinary members of our team which includes Professors at the University of Southern California (USC), you would be driving a neural system identification modeling platform that is pushing the state-of-the-art in neurocognitive therapeutics. Self-taught or via formal education, we expect not only that you meet our prerequisites on skills and mission alignment, but that you thrive in a meritocracy of mutual peer review within a first-class team. We expect that you take responsibility for your projects, demonstrate excellence, vision, and diligent but creative invention. You are the right person for this job if you are: - Strong in linear algebra/matrices, basis transformations, model order / dimension reduction, numerical methods - Strong in regression analysis, data analysis, nonlinear mathematical modeling - Results oriented, driven, flexible, adaptable, and have the courage to take on an ambitious project, because what matters most is to build a flourishing future We’d also love it if you have skills and experience in: - Either electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, statistics, computer science, computational neuroscience, or related fields - Machine learning (e.g. Bayesian, deep learning), time series analysis, pattern recognition, and point-process signal processing is highly preferred - Neural circuit modeling / exploration (e.g. discovering functional connectivity), control theory, system identification, compartmental neural modeling (e.g. NEURON) - Python, Matlab, C/C++/C#, R, Linux/Unix Exceptional team. Full-time. Benefits. Competitive compensation. Ground breaking work. To apply, please send an email with 1) CV (and list of publications) and 2) contact information for 2-3 professional references to: Dr. Randal A. Koene at brainprosthesis(a)gmail.com with a subject line “Brain Prosthesis Algorithms application”.

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Postdoctoral Research Assistant in functional optical neuroimaging (fNIRS) interpretation
by f.orihuela-espina＠ccc.inaoep.mx May 6, 2016

May 6, 2016

Please disseminate as appropriate and apologies for duplicates *Postdoctoral Research Assistant in functional optical neuroimaging (fNIRS) interpretation* Publication date: 30-Dec-2015; Revised: 1-May-2016 *About the Position*: The Department of Computer Science at Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE) in Puebla, Mexico, invites applications for a 1.5 years full-time postdoctoral research assistant position in the field of functional optical neuroimaging (fNIRS) interpretation. The position will suit candidates with strong background in Knowledge Representation, Statistics and Experimental Design, Medical Physics and/or Neurosciences. Candidates must hold a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline (e.g. computer science, mathematics, statistics, physics, engineering, neurosciences). The position is invited as from the 1st of September 2016 but earlier or later incorporations might be considered. *About the project*: Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an emerging neuroimaging modality available for understanding brain behaviour for which current analysis and interpretation methods were often inherited and adapted from other neuroimaging modalities such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This migration of methods is never trivial or without compromises. This 3 years $2M MXN project explores alternative analysis and interpretation algorithms and techniques specifically developed for fNIRS which can answer complex questions about cognitive activity while considering and exploiting fNIRS specific particularities. For further details about the project and how to apply, please visit: http://ccc.inaoep.mx/~f.orihuela-espina/Src/Jobs.php *Contact*: Dr. Felipe Orihuela-Espina. e-mail: f.orihuela-espina(a)ccc.inaoep.mx

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INCF short course in neuroinformatics, Aug 31 - Sep 1 in Reading, UK
by Malin Sandström May 6, 2016

May 6, 2016

Dear all, (apologies for cross-posting) This year, the two-day INCF short course in neuroinformatics will be held in Reading, UK on August 31 - September 1, just before INCF's Neuroinformatics 2016 <http://neuroinformatics2016.org/>. The course is intended for neuroscience researchers wishing to develop their interests in neuroinformatics as well as informatics researchers with a strong interest in neuroscience. The course is open to advanced students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members. Basic knowledge of neuroscience is a prerequisite. Apply latest May 31! https://www.incf.org/resources/training/incf-short-course-2016 *Topics covered* data analysis and neuronal coding databases and ontologies multiscale modeling neuroengineering simulation/computation/workflows visualization dynamic field theory *Speakers* David Willshaw (Edinburgh, UK) GIacomo Indiveri (Zürich, Switzerland) Hayriye Cagnan (Oxford, UK) Yulia Sandamirskaya (Zürich, Switzerland) Roberto Toro (Paris, France) Gaute Einevoll (Ås, Norway) Marja-Leena Linne (Tampere, Finland) Please help spread the word to prospective students! Best regards, Malin -- 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

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4-year Ph.D. Position in Neuroscience at the Donders Institute
by Bernhard Englitz May 5, 2016

May 5, 2016

Dear List, we are pleased to announce a 4-year Ph.D. position in the field of neuroscience, with a focus on acquisition and computational analysis of multilevel neural data. The position will be jointly supervised by Dr. Englitz and Dr. Cohen. Please find the details of the call below. Best wishes, Bernhard & Mike Bernhard Englitz, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Neurophysiology Donders Centre for Neuroscience Faculty of Science, Radboud Universiteit Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Project: This project will involve a combination of EEG and lowlevel neural recordings from multiple areas of the brain in rodents. Our focus will be on the rapid patterns of electrical activity that are observed during rest, sleep, and cognition. We will compare neural activity in multiple brain regions to simultaneously recorded EEG activity, in order to determine how these multiscale microstates are related to sensory processing. Results from this project will help us understand how the EEG signal is related to the complex spatiotemporal dynamics of the brain, its neural computations, and their relation to sensory perception. In turn, these findings will help lay groundwork for individualized diagnosis of brain dysfunctions. Scientific Environment: The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour consists of three research centres, the Centre for Cognition, the Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging and the Centre for Neuroscience. The Donders Institute focuses on state-of-the-art cognitive neuroscience, in a multidisciplinary approach, and offers excellent lab and neuroimaging facilities. The position will be jointly hosted at the Neuroinformatics and the Neurophysiology departments, which together provide a high quality neuroscience environment with facilities for chronic and non-chronic many-channel recordings, imaging and computational modeling. The research questions of the departments range from fundamental to applied, and enable the interaction of theory and experimental work in a single location. The Donders Institute is an equal opportunity employer, committed to building a culturally diverse intellectual community, and as such encourages applications from women and minorities. Radboud University offers a parental leave scheme and day care on campus. Qualifications: - MSc degree in computational neuroscience, mathematics, physics, engineering or a related area. - Experience with programming and data analysis in Matlab/Python. - Experience with quantitative analysis (e.g. linear algebra, time-frequency analysis) - Experience with electrophysiology is considered a plus. - The applicant should have a pro-active attitude, good communication skills, and be able to effectively work in a multi-disciplinary team. Application Link: http://www.ru.nl/werken/details/details_vacature_0/?recid=579059 <http://www.ru.nl/werken/details/details_vacature_0/?recid=579059> Closing Date of Call : 30.5.2016 Planned Starting Date : 1.9.2016

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Ph.D. and Master positions in theoretical neuroscience at the MPI for Brain Research
by Tatjana Tchumatchenko May 4, 2016

May 4, 2016

Ph.D. and Master positions in theoretical neuroscience at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research We are seeking undergraduate students interested in writing a Master thesis and also have open positions for Ph.D. Students to join our group "Theory of neural dynamics" at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research lead by Dr. Tatjana Tchumatchenko. Our group studies how networks of neurons encode and decode sensory stimuli and how these functions are related to computations that underlie cognitive functions and behavior. We develop models to address linear and non-linear properties of neuronal networks and have ongoing collaborations with experimental labs where we analyze in vitro as well as in vivo data and develop appropriate models to explain the observed phenomena. Successful applicants should have a strong background in a quantitative field such as physics, mathematics or computer science and should be interested in an interdisciplinary exchange with other disciplines such as biology or medicine. Life science majors interested in quantitative modeling work are also encouraged to apply, particularly if they would like to combine experiments and theory in their Master or Ph.D. thesis work. We are looking for candidates with strong English skills and prior programming experience. In order to make teamwork in our group enjoyable and fun, the ideal candidate should have a strong work ethic and have demonstrated consistent self-motivation skills. Female students are particularly encouraged to apply. Prospective students should apply by sending an email to theoryneuraldynamics(a)gmail.com which includes * a letter of motivation, * CV, * and a copy of the current academic transcripts To make your motivation letter easier to write for you and more informative for us, please check the list of questions to be answered in your motivation letter at http://www.tchumatchenko.de/Opportunities.html Looking forward to your applications! Tatjana Tchumatchenko -- Dr. Tatjana Tchumatchenko Research group leader Theory of Neural Dynamics Max Planck Institute for Brain Research Max-von-Laue-Str 4 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany www.tchumatchenko.de

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Collaborative Development of Data-Driven Models of Neural Systems: Janelia Farm Sept 18-12
by Padraig Gleeson May 4, 2016

May 4, 2016

[Apology for cross-postings] Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce a conference on: Collaborative Development of Data-Driven Models of Neural Systems September 18-21, 2016 Janelia Farm Research Campus, Virginia, USA Deadline for registration: 18th May Detailed computational models are critical for elucidating neuronal and network function. They enable different levels of description to be linked, a wide range of neurophysiological experiments to be interpreted and quantitative predictions to be made. These factors are important for understanding large-scale complex systems, like neural circuits; however, more extensive use and scaling up of these data driven models pose challenges in ensuring that models are scientifically rigorous, as well as accessible and usable by both theoretical and experimental researchers alike. This conference will bring together a range of experimentalists, theoreticians and neuroinformatics developers with the aim of facilitating a global, open infrastructure for collaborative model development in neuroscience. *Organizers* Padraig Gleeson, University College London Angus Silver, University College London *Invited Participants* Anton Arkipov, Allen Institute for Brain Science Giorgio Ascoli, George Mason University Upinder Bhalla, National Centre for Biological Sciences Avrama Blackwell, George Mason University Kevin Briggman, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke/NIH Dean Buonomano, University of California, Los Angeles Nicholas Cain, Allen Institute for Brain Science Claudia Clopath, Imperial College London Rosa Cossart, Institut de Neurobiologie de la Méditerranée Sharon Crook, Arizona State University Andrew Davison, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Erik De Schutter, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Shaul Druckmann, Janelia Research Campus/HHMI Chris Eliasmith, University of Waterloo Jeremy Freeman, Janelia Research Campus/HHMI Michael Hausser, University College London Jeanette Hellgren Kotaleski, Karolinska Institutet Fritjof Helmchen, University of Zurich David Kleinfeld, University of California, San Diego Jeff Magee, Janelia Research Campus/HHMI Robert McDougal, Yale School of Medicine Eilif Muller, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Hanchuan Peng, Allen Institute for Brain Science Ruben Portugues, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology Mark Schnitzer, HHMI/Stanford University Ivan Soltesz, Stanford School of Medicine Nelson Spruston, Janelia Research Campus/HHMI Misha Tsodyks, Weizmann Institute of Science Registration is free, but places are limited.*Registration closes 18th May 2016*. For more details and to apply for participation go to https://www.janelia.org/you-janelia/conferences/collaborative-development-d…. ----------------------------------------------------- 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 -----------------------------------------------------

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MICCAI Challenge on Neural Circuit Reconstruction
by Jan Funke May 3, 2016

May 3, 2016

Dear colleagues, We would like to draw your attention to the MICCAI challenge "CREMI: Circuit Reconstruction from Electron Microscopy Images" (http://cremi.org/) As of May 1st, the training phase of the challenge has opened. We provide three volumes with dense neuron and synapse segmentation, along with annotations for pre- and post-synaptic partners (http://cremi.org/data.html) The goal of this challenge is to evaluate algorithms for automatic reconstruction of neurons and neuronal connectivity from serial section electron microscopy data. The comparison is performed not only by evaluating the quality of neuron segmentations, but also by assessing the accuracy of detecting synapses and identifying synaptic partners. The challenge is carried out on three large and diverse datasets from adult Drosophila melanogaster brain tissue, comprising neuron segmentation ground truth and annotations for synaptic connections. A successful solution would demonstrate its efficiency and generalizability, and carry great potential to reduce the time spent on manual reconstruction of neural circuits in electron microscopy volumes. Follow us on Twitter for updates (https://twitter.com/cremi_challenge) and feel free to contact us at challenge(a)cremi.org. Regards, The CREMI organizers (Jan Funke, Stephan Saalfeld, Davi Bock, Srini Turaga, and Eric Perlman)

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BMVA Workshop on "Vision for interaction: From humans to robots"
by Alessandra Sciutti May 3, 2016

May 3, 2016

=============================================== VISION FOR INTERACTION: From humans to robots One Day BMVA symposium - London, UK on October 19, 2016 Website: www.bmva.org/meetings ================================================ **************** Keynote Speakers: **************** + Prof. Antonia Hamilton (UCL) and + Prof. Yiannis Aloimonos (Univ. of Maryland). **************** Abstract: **************** Since early infancy, the ability of humans at interacting with each other is substantially strengthened by vision, with several visual processes tuned to support prosocial behaviour. For instance, a natural predisposition to look at human faces or to detect biological motion is present at birth. More refined abilities as the understanding and anticipation of others' actions progressively develop with age, leading, in a few years, to a full capability of interaction based on mutual understanding, joint coordination and collaboration. A key challenge of robotics research nowadays is to provide artificial agents with similar advanced visual perception skills, with the ultimate goal of designing humanoid robots able to recognize and interpret both explicit and implicit communication cues embedded in human movements. These achievements pave the way for the large-scale use of Human-Robot Interaction based applications on a variety of contexts, ranging from the design of personal robots, to physical, social and cognitive rehabilitation. ******************* Call for contributions: ******************* In this highly interdisciplinary one-day workshop we aim at bringing together contributions from the fields of cognitive science, robotics, machine vision and artificial intelligence, to corroborate the discussion on the potential guidelines to design and develop biologically-inspired computational vision models that may favour a natural interaction between artificial systems and humans. Please submit a short abstract summarizing your contribution, you may include links or pointers to web-based illustrations, demonstration material or papers giving more details. The work can be in progress or recently published, in addition to novel research. If you would like to give a talk, please contact Noceti (nicoletta.noceti(a)unige.it ) and Sciutti (alessandra.sciutti(a)iit.it ) by email by July 6, 2016. Areas of interest include but are not limited to: Vision neuroscience for interaction Computational vision models Vision for Robotics and Artificial intelligence Human robot interaction Vision in Social sciences This workshop is supported by the European Project CODEFROR (FP7-PIRSES-2013-612555) ************** Important dates: ************** + July 6, 2016 Deadline for abstract submission October 19, 2016 + BMVA symposium at BCS (British Computer Society) in London, UK. *********** Chairs: *********** + Nicoletta Noceti (Università degli Studi di Genova) - + nicoletta.noceti(a)unige.it Alessandra Sciutti (Istituto Italiano di + Tecnologia) - alessandra.sciutti(a)iit.it

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Postdoc position: Neural engineering and BMI in NYU
by Chen, Zhe May 2, 2016

May 2, 2016

Dear colleagues Applications are now being accepted for a postdoctoral fellow position to combine experimental, computational and engineering techniques to study neural mechanisms of central pain circuits using rodent models. The applicant will work closely with Dr. Zhe (Sage) Chen and Dr. Jing Wang at the New York University School of Medicine, with cross-disciplinary training in computational neuroscience, rodent behavior and electrophysiology, optogenetics, and neural engineering (brain-machine interface). The applicant will have great opportunities to interact with a large and growing neuroscience community at the NYU campus, including the Neuroscience Institute (http://neuroscience.med.nyu.edu) Center for Neural Science (http://www.cns.nyu.edu) Department of Neuroscience & Physiology (http://neuro-physio.med.nyu.edu) Department of Psychiatry (http://psych.med.nyu.edu) and Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain Medicine (http://www.med.nyu.edu/anes/home ). NYU Neuroscience community is also surrounded by other institutions in the greater New York metropolitan area (such as Columbia, Cornell, Rockefeller and Mount Sinai). The postdoc position is available immediately, and will be renewable up to 4 years depending on performance. Applications must have a PhD degree in Engineering (Biomedical or Electrical), Statistics, Physics or a related discipline. The desired applicant is expected to be highly motivated and work independently as well as cooperatively with other colleagues in all research projects. Ability to learn new techniques and resolve new research challenges is essential. Strong experiences in developing rodent or primate brain-machine interface (BMI) systems are desired. Previous training in animal behavior and optogenetics, in vivo neurophysiological recordings, are preferred but not required. Strong programming skills in C/C++ or hardware implementation experiences are a plus. To apply, please send an email along with (i) CV (with a complete list of publications); (ii) a cover letter describing research accomplishments and interests; (iii) the names and contact information of two to three references to: Dr. Zhe (Sage) Chen (zhe.chen3(a)nyumc.org<mailto:zhe.chen3@nyumc.org>) with a subject line “Postdoc application”. Best Zhe (Sage) Chen ------------------------------------------------------------ This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain information that is proprietary, confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender by return email and delete the original message. Please note, the recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. The organization accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email. =================================

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PhD position: population coding in the retina
by Olivier Marre May 2, 2016

May 2, 2016

A funded PhD position is available at the Vision Institute, Paris, to work with Olivier Marre on population coding in the retina. We have developed methods to record the activity of a large number (100-200) of ganglion cells, the output of the retina. The student will perform experiments and analyze data to understand how information can be coded in this activity. A particular emphasis will be put on the coding of trajectories of moving objects in different visual contexts. The research project is highly interdisciplinary. Applicants should have a quantitative background or some programming experience. A background in biology is welcomed but not required. The student will be trained to perform in vitro retina experiments. The Vision Institute ( http://www.institut-vision.org ) is a research center located in the center of Paris and dedicated to research on vision and vision diseases, with the aim of bridging the gap between academic, clinical, and industrial research. It is affiliated to Pierre and Marie Curie University. This PhD is funded as part of a project involving Drs Frédéric Chavane and Ivo Vanzetta (INT Timone, Marseille, France) and Dr Bruno Cessac (INRIA, Sophia-Antipolis). Collaborations with these labs will therefore be encouraged. The position should ideally start in October 2016. For more information, please contact Olivier Marre: olivier.marre(a)inserm.fr

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2nd Call for Papers: IEEE RO-MAN 2016 Workshop on Neuroscience Methods in Human-Robot Interaction
by Burcu Ayşen Ürgen May 2, 2016

May 2, 2016

IEEE RO-MAN 2016 Workshop on Neuroscience Methods in Human-Robot Interaction (New York City, 26-31st August, 2016) Neuroscience methods such as brain imaging are increasingly used to address research questions in robotics, robot-human communication and interaction. This workshop will provide an overview of state-of-the-art work at the intersection of human-robot interaction and human neuroscience, to show how cross-disciplinary collaboration can be a win-win, and to help increase communication between researchers from different yet complementary disciplines, with the hope of catalysing new ideas and collaborations. Neuroscientists with expertise in several topics of interest for RO-MAN 2016 <http://www.ro-man2016.org/> (e.g., embodiment, empathy, social cognition, body movements, gestures, facial expressions, anthropomorphism, learning and imitation, social presence, inference of human states, machine learning and brain-machine interfaces) will introduce the methods used, and present empirical work exemplifying their application to robotics, highlighting not only how such studies have led to insights on neural mechanisms of interaction, communication, and collaboration, but also how the findings inform the design and development of new robots, robot-human collaborative systems, interaction modalities and interfaces. We will solicit papers from the broader community that address these themes. Robotics and neuroscience both being active, rapidly developing, and high priority research areas, and the combination of expertise across disciplines holding great promise for advances in both theory and applications, the workshop will serve an important role by bringing together researchers coming from different backgrounds. Panel sessions will address challenges for interdisciplinary and novel research and discuss ideas for increasing synergy and impact future work. *SPEAKERS* Ayse P. Saygin, PhD (UC San Diego, USA) Emily S. Cross, PhD (Bangor University, UK) Thierry Chaminade, PhD (Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, FRANCE) Susanne Quadflieg, PhD (University of Bristol, UK) James Thompson, PhD (George Mason University, USA) *WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS* Burcu A. Urgen, PhD (University of Parma, ITALY) Ayse P. Saygin, PhD (UC San Diego, USA) Emily S. Cross, PhD (Bangor University, UK) Workshop website: http://neurorobotics.ucsd.edu/ *CALL FOR PAPERS* We solicit full paper submissions from cognitive and social neuroscientists and human-robot interaction researchers with expertise in several topics of interest for RO-MAN 2016 including but not limited to embodiment, empathy, social cognition, nonverbal communication via body movements, gestures, facial expressions, anthropomorphism, learning and imitation, social presence, social knowledge, inference of human states, machine learning and brain-machine interfaces. The submitted papers are intended to include applications of various neuroimaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to topics of relevance to RO-MAN 2016. Observational and behavioural studies may be suitable as long as they are highly cross-disciplinary. Theoretical papers that address the theme of the workshop and RO-MAN 2016 may also be included. The expectation from submissions is to highlight not only how neuroscience studies involving robotics have led to insights on the human cognitive and neural mechanisms of interaction, communication, and collaboration, but also how the findings inform the design and development of new robots, robot-human collaborative systems, interaction modalities and interfaces. *EVALUATION* All submissions will be evaluated by a minimum of two reviewers. The reviewers will evaluate each submission based on how informative the study has been both to human neuroscience AND human-robot interaction as well as the quality of the research methodology. All accepted papers will be published in workshop proceedings. Each paper accepted for an oral or poster presentation has to be presented by one of the authors. *IMPORTANT DEADLINES* Full paper submissions due 05/15/2016. Notifications will be sent by 05/18/2016. Final versions will be submitted by 05/20/2016. *PAPER GUIDELINES* All full paper submissions should follow the guidelines specified in the main conference website, check here <http://www.tc.columbia.edu/conferences/roman2016/submissions/papers/>. *HOW TO SUBMIT* The papers should be emailed to neuroscience.robotics.workshop(a)gmail.com by the deadline: 05/15/2016. -- Burcu Aysen Urgen, PhD Email: burcu.urgen(a)gmail.com Website: http://www.burcuaysenurgen.com

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Book: Bayes' Rule With Python
by James Stone April 30, 2016

April 30, 2016

I'd like to announce the publication of this book: Bayes' Rule With Python A Tutorial Introduction to Bayesian Analysis by JV Stone Reviews, synopsis, and table of contents can be found here: http://jim-stone.staff.shef.ac.uk/BookBayes2012/books_by_jv_stone/index.html regards, Dr James V Stone, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK.

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SSBSS 2016: Call for Oral Presentations/Posters: 9-13 July 2016, Volterra (Pisa) Tuscany, Italy - 3rd Int. Synthetic & Systems Biology Summer School - Early Application: May 26, 2016
by Giuseppe Nicosia April 29, 2016

April 29, 2016

_________________________________________________________________________ Call for Participation (apologies for multiple copies) Please help forward it to other potentially interested attendees, thanks! _________________________________________________________________________ 3rd International Synthetic and Systems Biology Summer School - SSBSS 2016, 9-13 July 2016, Volterra (Pisa) - Tuscany, Italy ssbss.school(a)gmail.com <mailto:ssbss.school@gmail.com> http://www.taosciences.it/ssbss/ https://www.facebook.com/ssbss.school/ https://twitter.com/SchoolSsbss EARLY APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 26, 2016 http://www.taosciences.it/ssbss/#application-form The Synthetic and Systems Biology Summer School (SSBSS) is a full-immersion five-day residential summer school at the Volterra Learning Center (Pisa - Tuscany, Italy) on cutting-edge advances in systems and synthetic biology with lectures delivered by world-renowned experts. The school provides a stimulating environment for students (from Master students to PhD students), Post-Docs, early career researches, academics and industry leaders. Participants will also have the chance to present their results (with Oral Talks and Posters), and to interact with their peers, in a friendly and constructive environment. SSBSS 2016 DEADLINES: Early Application: May 26, 2016 Notification Acceptance: from April 2 to 28 May 2016 Late Application: from May 27, to July 4th 2016 Notification Acceptance: from May 28th 2016 according to registration time Early Short Talk/Poster Submission: May 26, 2016 Notification Acceptance: from 2 April to 28 May 2016 Late Short Talk/Poster Submission: from May 27, to July 4th 2016 Notification of Decision for Oral/Poster Presentation: from May 28, 2016 according to submission time http://www.taosciences.it/ssbss/#application-form FINAL LIST OF SPEAKERS * Yaakov (Kobi) Benenson, Synthetic Biology Group@Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland Lecture 1: The practice of mammalian synthetic biology Lecture 2: Mammalian cell classifiers * Leonidas Bleris, Bioengineering Department, The University of Texas at Dallas, USA Lecture 1: Genome Editing Technologies and Therapeutic Modalities Lecture 2: Benchmark Circuits and Topological Properties * Edoardo Boncinelli, Universita’ Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy Lecture: TBA * John Cumbers, Founder SynBioBeta, Mountain View, CA, USA Lecture: Synthetic Biology: new tools for an industry at an inflection point. * Domitilla Del Vecchio, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, USA Lecture 1: Modularity in genetic circuits: Dream versus Reality Lecture 2: Engineering Modularity in Genetic Circuits * Diego Di Bernardo, Dept of Chemical Materials and Industrial Production Engineering University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy Lecture 1: "Engineering and Control of Biological Circuits in Yeast" Lecture 2: "Engineering and Control of Biological Circuits in Mammalian Cells * Barbara Di Ventura, Synthetic Biology Group, BioQuant/DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany Lecture 1: Using blue light to control protein localization in living mammalian cells Lecture 2: Using split inteins for protein engineering in living cells * Jonathan S. Gootenberg, Feng Zhang and Aviv Regev Groups, Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, USA Lecture 1: "Discovering and Characterizing CRISPR effectors" Lecture 2: "Probing Biology with CRISPR Screening" * Markus Herrgard, Technical University of Denmark - Biosustain, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Denmark Lecture 1: "Developing an Integrated Cell Factory Design Tool" Lecture 2: "Using Automated Laboratory Evolution to Optimize Cell Factories” * Shalev Itzkovitz, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel Lecture 1: "Single Molecule Approaches for Studying Gene Expression in Intact Mammalian Tissues" Lecture 2: "Systems Biology of Stem Cell-Maintained Tissues” * Francesco Ricci, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy Lecture 1: "DNA Nanotechnology Tools and Reactions for Synthetic Biology" Lecture 2: "Nature-inspired DNA-based Nanodevices Next Generation Sequencing Workshop – Afternoon July 12th, 2016 * “How fast can we align sequences?” Mario Guarracino, CNR, Italy * “Advanced Bioinformatics tools for NGS” – TBC Luca Zammataro, Yale University, USA Tutorials: * “Detection and analysis of contaminating sequences in NGS sequencing data” Ilaria Granata, CNR, Italy * “Detection and interpretation of circular RNAs in RNA-seq experiments” Parijat Tripathi, CNR, Italy SSBSS 2016 DIRECTORS Diego Di Bernardo, TeleThon Institute of Genetics & Medicine - TIGEM and University of Napoli "Federico II", Italy Giuseppe Nicosia, University of Catania, Italy Luca Zammataro, Yale University, USA MORE INFORMATION ssbss.school(a)gmail.com <mailto:ssbss.school@gmail.com> http://www.taosciences.it/ssbss/ https://www.facebook.com/ssbss.school/ https://twitter.com/SchoolSsbss Social event(s): social tour and dinner in Florence. Please help us distributing in your circles (emails, blogs, and social networks) the call for participation and call for oral talks/posters for SSBSS 2016. Together we will make SSBSS a great event! See you in Tuscany in July! More Info: ssbss.school(a)gmail.com <mailto:ssbss.school@gmail.com> http://www.taosciences.it/ssbss/ -- Giuseppe Nicosia, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Computer Engineering Dept of Mathematics & Computer Science University of Catania Viale A. Doria, 6 - 95125 Catania, Italy P +39 095 7383048 nicosia(a)dmi.unict.it http://www.dmi.unict.it/nicosia ================================================================== 3rd International Synthetic & Systems Biology Summer School - SSBSS 2016 * Biology meets Computer Science & Engineering * July 8-14, 2016 - Volterra (Pisa), Tuscany, Italy http://www.taosciences.it/ssbss/ ================================================================== 2nd International Workshop on Machine learning, Optimization & big Data - MOD 2016 August 26-29, 2016 - Volterra (Pisa), Tuscany, Italy http://www.taosciences.it/mod/ ==================================================================

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Call for proposals to host the annual Computational Neuroscience (CNS) Meeting in 2018
by Tam, Nicoladie April 29, 2016

April 29, 2016

Call for proposals to host the annual Computational Neuroscience (CNS) Meeting in 2018 The Organization for Computational Neurosciences (OCNS, http://www.cnsorg.org ) requests proposals from candidate local organizers to organize the CNS meeting in 2018 in a location outside of Europe, preferably in North or South America. Groups or individuals interested in organizing the CNS*2018 meeting should submit a proposal with consideration of the extensive on-line information ( http://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2018-local-organizer ) and using the on-line templates provided as a guide. The OCNS board members will select/discuss the different proposals, contact the potential local organizers for more information if necessary and come to a timely agreement between OCNS and potential local organizers. Proposals should be emailed to the OCNS president at president(a)cnsorg.org<mailto:president@cnsorg.org> no later than June 15th, 2016. Decisions are expected to be conveyed to potential organizers in July 2016. Astrid Prinz (OCNS President)

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Parallel Simulation with NEURON
by Ted Carnevale April 28, 2016

April 28, 2016

A few seats remain available in the course Parallel Simulation with NEURON that we will be presenting at HHMI|Janelia Saturday, June 25 - Monday, June 27. This course is designed for users who already know how to write hoc or Python code for NEURON and now want to adapt existing models, or create new ones, that can be simulated on parallel hardware. Special attention will be paid to strategies for debugging, and measuring and improving performance. Registration is subject to approval by the course's faculty. The registration deadline is Friday, May 20, 2016. For more information and the online application form, see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/summer2016/summer2016.html --Ted

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Fully funded PhD position, University of Genoa, Italy - "Visuo-haptic sensorimotor models"
by Silvio P. Sabatini April 28, 2016

April 28, 2016

===================================================================== Applications are invited for one full-time PhD studentship (with scholarship) for a period of 3 years, at the Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics, and System Engineering, University of Genoa, Italy. ===================================================================== The position will start on Nov 1st, 2016 on the following research project: ACTION-PERCEPTION TRANSFER IN VISUAL AND VISUO-HAPTIC BEHAVIOR _Deadline for Applications: June 10th, 2016_ Experiencing the sensory feedback gained from movements allows us to learn the contingencies and correlations between actions and sensory events. Accordingly, sensing "educates" motor action, but, conversely, and more elusively, motor practice can "educate" sensing. The proposed research aims at investigating the interplay between action and perception at different levels: (1) modelling early action-perception transfer in visual feature extraction (cf. neural coding of visual properties) and perceptual judgement processes (decoding stages); (2) experiments on bidirectional perceptual-action influence - including the development of systems and devices that integrate vision and haptics; (3) applications in neuromotor and cognitive rehabilitation, in which action is used to educate perception and perception is used to educate action. The project will provide the opportunity to work on neural modeling, visual and visuo-haptic psychophysics, and robotics. Experimental, modeling, and theoretical approaches might be pursued with a different accent according to personal attitude. * HOW TO APPLY Candidates must have: - University degree at M.Sc. level (or expect to obtain it by October 31st, 2016) in Bioengineering, Computer Science, Physics, or related disciplines; - attitude for problem solving and interest in experimental work; - essential skills comprise Matlab and/or C/C++/C# or Python programming. Online application is possible till June 10th, 2016 (at noon) Italian time Full details on the call and the application procedure are available at: http://www.studenti.unige.it/postlaurea/dottorati/XXXII/ENG/ http://phd.dibris.unige.it/biorob/index.php/how-to-apply Prospective students, please contact: Silvio P. Sabatini (silvio.sabatini(a)unige.it) or Vittorio Sanguineti (vittorio.sanguineti(a)unige.it) providing your CV and qualifications, the name and contact details of two references, and a description of your research interests. * WHERE The research will be conducted jointly at "The Physical Structure of Perception and Computation (PSPC) Lab", and the "Neuro-engineering and Neuro-robotics lab (NEUROLAB)", led by Silvio P. Sabatini and Vittorio Sanguineti, respectively. PSPC-Lab has a long-standing expertise in visual coding and multidimensional signal representation, robot perception and computer vision. In the last 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. NEUROLAB (http://www.neurolab.dibris.unige.it/) focuses on experimental studies on neural control of movement, in normal and pathologic conditions. Recent activity aimed at investigating the computational basis of motor skill learning, and how this process can be facilitated by robots and other interactive technologies. Our labs are located in Genoa, a small beautiful town in northernItaly, both from historical (its historical center is the largest of Europe) and naturalistic point of view (sea and mountains coexist creating a unique landscape). Genoa is only 1.30h away from Milan by train and connected by plane to Rome (1.00h), London (2h) and Paris (1.30h). Regards, -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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]

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PhD Studentships in Computational Neuroscience at the University of Hertfordshire
by Torben-Nielsen, Benjamin April 28, 2016

April 28, 2016

We welcome applications for a funded PhD position in the Biocomputation Research Group at the University of Hertfordshire. The successful applicant will work on a project related to the detailed modelling of neuronal dynamics arising through dendritic processing and/or the analysis of morphological and circuit data. Potential projects in the fields of neuroinformatics and computational neuroscience include (but are not limited to): - Analysis of neuronal morphology and micro-circuitry. - Simulation of development of neuronal morphologies and tissues. - Simulation of dendritic processing on hardware. - Sensory processing and behaviour generation in individual invertebrate neurons. - Development of experimental robot controllers based on dendritic computation. - Structural plasticity at the single neuron and micro-circuitry level. More project ideas can be found here: http://www.dendrites.club/Positions.html The successful candidate will have extensive programming experience, preferably in Python (and/or other programming languages depending on the precise project). Depending on the project, experience with parallel programming (MPI, ZMQ), meshing software (VTK, CGAL, ITK, ...), or statistical analysis in R or Python are an advantage. In addition, we greatly value curiosity and a personal motivation to find out how things work. We collaborate closely with leading experimentalists and theoreticians all over the world, such as Prof. Adrian Moore (RIKEN, Japan), Prof. Erik De Schutter (OIST, Japan) and Dr. Marylka Uusisaari (Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands). The student will be based in the Biocomputation Group (biocomputation.herts.ac.uk) at the University of Hertfordshire and will be supervised by Drs. Ben Torben-Nielsen and Volker Steuber to whom informal enquiries can be sent. Successful candidates are eligible for a research studentship award from the University (approximately GBP 14,250 per annum bursary plus the payment of the student fees). Application forms can be obtained from Mrs Lorraine Nicholls, Research Student Administrator, STRI, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AB, Tel: 01707 286083, l.nicholls @ herts.ac.uk. The short-listing process will begin on 30 May 2016. Dr. Ben Torben-Nielsen Senior Lecturer (Assistant professor) Biocomputation Group University of Hertfordshire, UK

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PhD Position: NEUROPHYSIOLOGY and BEHAVIOUR
by Andrea Burgalossi April 28, 2016

April 28, 2016

PhD Position: NEUROPHYSIOLOGY and BEHAVIOUR The lab of Andrea Burgalossi at the Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN) in Tübingen is looking for PhD candidates in the field of Neurophysiology and Behaviour Research in our lab focuses on the cellular basis of behavior. We employ a combination of anatomical and electrophysiological techiques for studying how defined neural circuits contribute to sensory and high-level representations of the external world. Possible PhD projects will involve the use of state-of-the-art in vivo electrophysiology techiques, in combination with anatomical methods for neural circuit mapping (please see www.burgalossilab.com or contact Andrea Burgalossi for more details). Previous experience with electrophysiological methods is desirable, but not essential. Analytical and programming skills are a plus. Applications should contain a CV and names of at least two referees. Please send your application electronically to andrea.burgalossi(a)cin.uni-tuebingen.de. More info at http://burgalossilab.com/ http://www.cin.uni-tuebingen.de/ SELECTED PUBLICATIONS Burgalossi et al., Neuron (2011) 70:773-86 Tang et al, Nature Protocols (2014) 9:2369-81 Tang et al., Neuron (2014) 84:1191-7 Ray et al., Science (2014) 343:891-6 Diamantaki et al., Current Biology (2016) 26:536-41 -- Andrea Burgalossi, PhD Cellular and Synaptic Basis of Behaviour Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN) Otfried-Müller-Straße 25 72076 Tübingen Tel: 0049-(0)7071 / 29 - 88797 Fax: +49-(0)7071 / 29-25006 Lab web: burgalossilab.com CIN web: http://www.cin.uni-tuebingen.de

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Fully funded PhD position, University of Birmingham, UK - Human movement
by Chris Miall April 27, 2016

April 27, 2016

Please bring this fully-funded 3-year PhD studentship to the attention of your students: Title: Quantification of motor performance in patients with impaired upper limb movements Supervisors: Chris Miall and Joe Galea,  Place: School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK There is growing need for accurate quantification of performance in patients with impaired upper limb movements. This arises from the need to assess recovery of movement following neurosurgery and stroke and to underpin a stratified approach to rehabilitation. We have recently developed methods to assess upper limb movements in a 2D workspace, using the resulting “performance map” to guide stroke rehabilitation. We have also developed methods to link the patients’ performance to muscle activation patterns. We now want to extend this work into 3D, to allow assessment of a broader range of movements, closer to normal activities, and in a shorter period of assessment. In addition, we wish to extend from stroke to assessment of functional recovery after neurosurgery, as a prelude to testing enhancement of recovery with brain stimulation: this would include patients with surgical repair of traumatic injury (road traffic accidents). Finally, we aim to extend our methods to link performance to muscle activation patterns in these continuous movements, in order to better understand the underlying deficits in motor control. The project will make use of a state-of-the-art 3D robotic arm, and assess performance by developing a 3D tracking task, in which a subject’s motor ability is progressively expanded from an initial slow and central focus to regions needing more extended limb postures and faster movement. An assistive algorithm in which the force-controlled robot guides movement towards the target will be used to help patients overcome weak and unstable movement, while still allowing assessment of performance speed, direction and stability. Actions in the robot-assisted task will be compared with free movement tracking in a virtual reality environment, with limb movements captured by existing motion tracking systems, but this motion tracking will ultimately be possible with a device such as the Microsoft Wii or smartphone. The comparisons will inform the potential to translate the assessment from the lab based robotic systems to the bedside. The outcome will be a set of diagnostic tests that deliver accurate quantification of upper limb movement control, suitable for triage of rehabilitation and for assessment of progressive recovery. The project is suited for students with an excellent first degree in neuroscience, engineering, robotics, or computer science. Masters training would also be advantageous. Experience in programming (Matlab or C) would be very valuable, and an interest in working with patients is important. There is studentship funding available for three years from the EPSRC, for UK or EU students only. Please contact Chris Miall (r.c.miall(a)bham.ac.uk<mailto:r.c.miall@bham.ac.uk>) or Joe Galea (j.galea(a)bham.ac.uk<mailto:j.galea@bham.ac.uk>) for further information or use FindaPhD: https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=74850 Deadline for application is 20-MAY-2016. ---------------------------------------------------------- Professor R.C. Miall Tel +44 (0)121 414 2867 School of Psychology, Fax +44 (0)121 414 4897 University of Birmingham, Mobile: +44 (0)7709 586997 Edgbaston, Email: r.c.miall(a)bham.ac.uk<mailto:r.c.miall@bham.ac.uk> Birmingham B15 2TT UK Web: http://prism.bham.ac.uk ----------------------------------------------------------

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PhD position in Neural Data Science / Retina
by Philipp Berens April 27, 2016

April 27, 2016

The labs of Philipp Berens (www.berenslab.org) and Thomas Euler (www.eulerlab.de) at the Center for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN) at the Eberhard-Karls-University of Tübingen are offering a PhD position (TV-L E13 65%) to be filled as soon as possible, with funding for 3 years. The successful candidate will combine experimental and computational approaches to study *neuronal cell type specific computations* in the mouse *retina*. The goal of the project is to provide an account of how the functional response properties of selected ganglion cell types arise from their anatomical structure, connectivity and dendritic integration properties. We envision a highly interdisciplinary project, where the successful candidate will perform state-of-the-art optical imaging and electrophysiological recordings and use computational approaches to analyze their data. The CIN offers a stimulating interdisciplinary scientific environment where research is carried out at all levels of neuroscience. The two labs are also part of the Institute for Ophthalmic Research (Eye Hospital Tübingen) and affiliated with the Bernstein Centre for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN). Furthermore, the project will be performed in collaboration with the lab of Tom Baden at the University of Sussex, UK (www.badenlab.org) We offer employment with a salary and social benefits based on the collective agreement for public service employees in the academic and science sector, TV-L. The Eberhard-Karls-University of Tübingen promotes gender equality and therefore particularly encourages female scientists to apply. Preferential status will be given to handicapped persons, if equally qualified. Requirements: • Background in statistics, machine learning and data analysis • Experience with electrophysiology and/or two-photon imaging or a strong desire to learn these techniques • Programming experience in Python, Matlab, R or similar • Strong quantitative skills Interested applicants should contact Dr. Philipp Berens (philipp.berens(a)uni-tuebingen.de) providing: • a curriculum vitae • a one-page description of past research experience & future research interests • a one-page description of the motivation for applying to this position • names of at least two people that could provide letters of reference Please compile your application in one single PDF-file. -- University of Tübingen http://philippberens.wordpress.com http://www.bethgelab.org

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3 Fully Funded PhD Positions at the Cognitive Robotics and Interaction Lab of the Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department at the Italian Institute of Technology
by Alessandra Sciutti April 27, 2016

April 27, 2016

Apologies for cross-posting =========================================================================== PhD Openings at the Cognitive Robotics and Interaction Lab Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department Italian Institute of Technology =========================================================================== In the spirit of the doctoral School on Bioengineering and Robotics the PhD Program for the curriculum Cognitive Robotics, Interaction and Rehabilitation Technologies offers interdisciplinary training at the interface between technology and life-sciences. The objective of the PhD program is to form scientists and research technologists capable of working in multidisciplinary teams on projects where human factors play a crucial role in technological development and design. Robotics and neuroscience researchers in RBCS share, as a fundamental scientific objective, the study of physical and social interaction in humans and machines (www.iit.it/rbcs ). Among the different research themes proposed I would like to advertise these three topics: VISUO-HAPTIC EXPLORATION STRATEGIES FOR OBJECT RECOGNITION MAKE HUMANOIDS UNDERSTAND HUMAN ACTIONS MULTISENSORY HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION The ideal candidates are students with a higher level university degree willing to invest extra time and effort in blending into a multidisciplinary team composed of neuroscientists, engineers, psychologists, physicists working together to investigate brain functions and realize intelligent machines, rehabilitation protocols and advanced prosthesis. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to spend part of his/her PhD at the Osaka University and the University of Tokyo in the framework of the Marie Curie IRSES project CODEFROR (www.codefror.eu) , with the purpose of integrating his/her knowledge with the different expertise available at these institutes. International applications are encouraged and will receive logistic support with visa issues, relocation, etc. Below you can find more details related to the position and the instructions on how to apply. Application deadline: *****10 June 2016, Noon, Italian time***** Best regards, Alessandra Sciutti ----------------------------------------- Alessandra Sciutti (PhD) Researcher, Robotics Brain and Cognitive Sciences Dept. Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Via Morego 30, 16163 Genova, Italy email: alessandra.sciutti(a)iit.it https://www.iit.it/people/alessandra-sciutti =========================================================================== Make humanoids understand human actions Tutors: Dr. Alessandra Sciutti, Dr. Francesco Rea, Prof. Giulio Sandini Department: RBCS (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia) http://www.iit.it/rbcs =========================================================================== Description: Action understanding is a fundamental ability at the basis of human interaction. Neurophysiological evidence indicate that it is supported by a visuo-motor matching process: action observation activates in the observer a motor representation of the same action learned through execution, which yields to a rapid and automatic understanding of the action goal. Hence, visual action understanding requires a sensori-motor representation of the action, built by performing it and learning its motor and sensory consequences. The general aim of this project will be to provide the humanoid robot iCub with a similar visuo-motor matching skill in order to endow it with a human-like ability to understand human actions. In particular the robot will have to learn the motor (efference copy) and sensory (visual, joint angles, forces) consequences of its own actions to build a complete action representation. The research should determine which are the visual information needed to allow the recall of this model when the robot observes the same action performed by someone else. The work might take advantage of a computational system already available on the robot designed to localize the portion of the scene containing biological motion and extract some of its visual features . The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to spend part of his/her PhD at the Osaka University and the University of Tokyo in the framework of the Marie Curie IRSES project CODEFROR, with the purpose of integrating his/her knowledge with the different expertise available at these institutes. Requirements: degree in robotics, bioengineering, computer science, computer engineering, or related disciplines, attitude for problem solving, c++ programming. A background on machine learning is an asset. References: Sciutti A., Ansuini C., Becchio C. & Sandini G. 2015, Investigating the ability to read others intentions using humanoid robots, Frontiers in Psychology Cognitive Science, vol. 6,no. 1362 Noceti N., Sciutti A. & Sandini G. 2015, Cognition helps vision: recognizing biological motion using invariant dynamic cues, 18th International Conference on Image Analysis and Processing. Rizzolatti G, Craighero L. 2004 The mirror-neuron system. Annu Rev Neurosci 27:169192 Contacts: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the perspective tutors before they submit their application: alessandra.sciutti(a)iit.it, francesco.rea(a)iit.it , giulio.sandini(a)iit.it =========================================================================== Multisensory human-robot interaction Tutors: Dr. Francesco Rea, Dr. Alessandra Sciutti, Prof. Giulio Sandini Department: RBCS (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia) http://www.iit.it/rbcs =========================================================================== Description: Humans interact with each other by exploiting a variety of communicative cues across many different sensory channels. Communication signals range from speech to sounds in the auditory domain, from gestures to facial expressions in the visual domain and to different types of physical contacts in the haptic domain. Moreover, these signals can be explicitly communicative, as pointing or waving, or implicit and unconscious, as gaze direction or body movements speed. The activity we propose is to endow the humanoid robot iCub with a library of sensory and motor skills supporting all these communication possibilities. The robot will have first to detect the presence of a potential human partner nearby and then establish a communication with him by making use of these multisensory cues. The research will leverage on the current social capabilities of the robot iCub, as gaze tracking, biological motion detection, biologically plausible motion generation, etc. The selected candidate will have to integrate the existing skills and develop the missing abilities, in order to enable iCub to interact naturally with non-expert users across multiple sensory domains. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to spend part of his/her PhD at the Osaka University and the University of Tokyo in the framework of the Marie Curie IRSES project CODEFROR, with the purpose of integrating his/her knowledge with the different expertise available at these institutes. Requirements: Degree in robotics, bioengineering, computer science, computer engineering, or related disciplines, attitude for problem solving, c++ programming, as also willingness to make experiments with human participants. Strong motivation to work and adapt to a multidisciplinary environment. References:. Palinko O., Sciutti A., Rea F. & Sandini G., 2015, Eye Gaze Tracking for a Humanoid Robot in IEEE/RAS International Conference of Humanoids Robotics, Seoul, Korea, November 3-5 2015. Mosadeghzad M., Rea F., Tata M., Brayda L. & Sandini G. 2015, Saliency Based Sensor Fusion of Broadband Sound Localizer for Humanoids, 2015 IEEE International Conference on Multisensor Fusion and Information Integration (MFI 2015), San Diego, CA, USA, September 14-16, 2015; Sciutti A., Patanè L., Nori F. & Sandini G., 2014, Understanding object weight from human and humanoid lifting actions, IEEE Transactions on Autonomous Mental Development, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 80-92 doi: 10.1109/TAMD.2014.2312399 Contacts: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the perspective tutors before they submit their application: francesco.rea(a)iit.it , alessandra.sciutti(a)iit.it, giulio.sandini(a)iit.it =========================================================================== Visuo-haptic exploration strategies for object recognition Tutors: Dr. Alessandra Sciutti, Dr. Francesco Rea, Prof. Giulio Sandini Department: RBCS (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia) http://www.iit.it/rbcs =========================================================================== Description: In everyday situations human adults are capable of transferring information about objects from one sensory modality to the other. Objects explored visually can, at a later time, be analyzed, and recognized, by exploring them with our hands and, vice versa, we can visually recognize objects that have been previously explored haptically. This cross-modal transfer can be explained only through the use of a representation of objects merging visual and haptic information and perhaps by hypothesizing a shared exploratory strategy used when we explore objects visually or haptically. The main scientific objective of the project is to test this hypothesis by investigating how the transfer of information form one sensory modality to the other develops in humans and if different sensory channels share the same exploration strategy. A model of this ability could be implemented on the humanoid robot iCub to build and exploit a multisensory representation of manipulable objects, augmenting its ability to learn how to interact with the environment and with others. The successful candidate will conduct experimental investigation of human visuo-haptic explorative strategies by means of multiple techniques, as eye-tracking, motion capture and force measurements with ad hoc designed devices. The collected data will be used to model the exploration strategies both during healthy development and in presence of sensory deficits. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to spend part of his/her PhD at the Osaka University and the University of Tokyo in the framework of the Marie Curie IRSES project CODEFROR, with the purpose of integrating his/her knowledge with the different expertise available at these institutes. Requirements: The candidate for this position must have either a degree in Computer Science Engineering, Bioengineering or equivalent, with high interests in human sciences, or alternatively a degree in Psychology, with proven background in programming toolboxes (Matlab, R). References:. Gori M., Sciutti A., Burr D. & Sandini G. 2011, Direct and indirect haptic calibration of visual size judgments, PLoS ONE, vol. 6,no. 10, e25599. [ Sann, C. and Streri, A. (2007), Perception of object shape and texture in human newborns: evidence from cross-modal transfer tasks. Developmental Science, 10: 399410. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00593.x Gori, M., Del Viva, M., Sandini, G., & Burr, D. C. (2008). Young children do not integrate visual and haptic form information. Current Biology, 18(9), 694-698. Contacts: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the perspective tutors before they submit their application: alessandra.sciutti(a)iit.it, francesco.rea(a)iit.it , giulio.sandini(a)iit.it =========================================================================== How to apply =========================================================================== Please note that the positions are available through the PhD course of Bioengineering and Robotics, curriculum on Cognitive Robotics, Interaction and Rehabilitation Technologies, offered jointly by IIT and the University of Genoa. The official calls are available here: https://www.iit.it/phd-school under the section Research themes for the call for application to PhD Courses established in agreement with the Università degli Studi di Genova, XXXII cycle. Please have a look at the "tips and tricks" section which contains detailed instructions on how to apply and a list of documents you have to present. The link to the on-line application page is: http://www.studenti.unige.it/postlaurea/dottorati/XXXII/ In case of problems or questions related to the application procedure, please contact: anastasia.bruzzone(a)iit.it =========================================================================== Application deadline: *****10 June 2016, Noon, Italian time****** ===========================================================================

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Postdoctoral position in active touch sensing
by Calogero Oddo April 27, 2016

April 27, 2016

Dear Colleagues, we are opening at least one postdoctoral position in active touch sensing within the Neuro-robotics Area of The BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy. The recruited postdoctoral fellow(s) may be requested to contribute to the supervision of a growing research team, and will be involved in the development of artificial touch sensory systems, spanning from components level up to robotic system integration and data analysis via neuro-bio-inspired architectures for a wide range of applications, including neuroprosthetics, medical and industrial robotics. Both junior and senior post-docs can apply. Net salary may reach up to 2k€/month, depending on qualification. In our research group we target the engineering of an artificial tactile sense in parallel to the investigation of human touch. We develop and integrate novel transducers. We implement neuromorphic systems, with natural spike-based coding of tactile information. We analyse neural data to unveil the neuronal processes underlying the human sense of touch, and we implement behavioural protocols to characterize the perception of tactile features. The developed biorobotic technologies, complemented with a body of neuroscientific knowledge, converge in key application domains in bionic limb prostheses, safe human-machine co-work, tele-presence for medical robotics and hand-held consumer electronics. The ideal candidate shall have a subset of the following qualifications: - PhD in disciplines such as biorobotics, robotics, computational neuroscience, control and automation, electrical engineering, computer science - Experience in (real-time) programming with C/C++, LabVIEW Real-Time, LabVIEW FPGA - Experience in data-analysis via Matlab - Experience in designing printed circuit boards with software such as Eagle or Orcad - Experience in designing mechanical parts with software such as SolidWorks or PTC Creo - Experience in the development of spike-based neuro-robotic systems, with a particular focus on artificial touch - Track-record in publishing scientific papers in international journals - Track-record in the management of intellectual property issues - Ability to contribute to the preparation of research project proposals - Ability to contribute to didactic activities at graduate or undergraduate level - Ability to work in research teams and to contribute to co-supervision of junior team members - Excellent knowledge of English language Recent publications of our group include: 1. Oddo, C.M.; Raspopovic, S.; Artoni, F.; Mazzoni, A.; Spigler, G.; Petrini, F.; Giambattistelli, F.; Vecchio, F.; Miraglia, F.; Zollo, L.; Di Pino, G.; Camboni, D.; Carrozza, M.C.; Guglielmelli, E.; Rossini, P.M.; Faraguna, U.; Micera, S. Intraneural stimulation elicits discrimination of textural features by artificial fingertip in intact and amputee humans. Elife 2016. 2. Rongala, U.B.; Mazzoni, A.; Oddo, C.M. Neuromorphic Artificial Touch for Categorization of Naturalistic Textures. IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems 2015. 3. Rongala, U.B.; Mazzoni, A.; Camboni, D.; Carrozza, M.C.; Oddo, C.M. Neuromorphic artificial sense of touch: bridging robotics and neuroscience. International Symposium on Robotics Research 2015. 4. Salgarella, A.R.; Giudetti, G.; Ricotti, L.; Camboni, D.; Puleo, G.L.; Ruini, F.; Tonda-Turo, C.; Chiono, V.; Ciardelli, G.; Micera, S.; Menciassi, A.; Oddo, C.M. A bio-hybrid mechanotransduction system based on ciliate cells. Microelectronic Engineering 2015. 5. Klöcker, A.; Oddo, C.M.; Camboni, D.; Penta, M.; Thonnard, J.-L. Physical Factors Influencing Pleasant Touch during Passive Fingertip Stimulation. PloS One 2014. To express interest in this position, please contact: - Dr. Calogero Maria Oddo - c.oddo(a)sssup.it - Prof. Maria Chiara Carrozza - m.c.carrozza(a)sssup.it Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA, http://www.santannapisa.it/en) is a public Italian university for research and advanced undergraduate and graduate education in the fields of Experimental and Social Sciences. In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings of young universities, released in April 2016, SSSA ranked 10th worldwide among institutions that are aged 50 or younger and 5th worldwide among institutions that are aged 30 or younger. Post-graduate education and research activities at SSSA are structured within six Institutes. The present position is opened at The BioRobotics Institute, directed by Prof. Paolo Dario, which was specifically created to host the research activities of SSSA at the intersection between scientific research and technological innovation in robotics and bioengineering (http://sssa.bioroboticsinstitute.it) The BioRobotics Institute was formally established in 2011 and it gathers the experience of more than 20 years of research carried out by the ARTS and CRIM Labs, that were founded by Prof. Paolo Dario with the mission of addressing research in the field of Biorobotics and Biomechatronics with a strong interdisciplinary approach, integrating different knowledge backgrounds to study theoretical and technological problems related to the development of advanced robotic systems and microtechnologies. Please feel free to forward this call to colleagues or to any candidate that you may consider qualified. Thank you and best regards, Calogero Maria Oddo and Maria Chiara Carrozza -- Calogero M. Oddo PhD BioRobotics MSc, BSc Electronic Engineering Assistant Professor of Bioengineering Head of the Human Machine Nexus Laboratory Neuro-robotics Area The BioRobotics Institute Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera (PI), Italy Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy Tel: +39 050 88 3067 Mobile: +39 331 6992273 email: oddoc(a)sssup.it http://sssa.bioroboticsinstitute.it/user/102 http://sssa.bioroboticsinstitute.it/research/neurorobotics

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Conf: Frontiers in Applied and Computational Mathematics, June 3-4, USA
by Casey Diekman April 27, 2016

April 27, 2016

The 13th Annual Conference on Frontiers in Applied and Computational Mathematics (FACM '16) will be held at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, New Jersey on June 3-4, 2016. The conference focuses on mathematical and computational aspects of materials science, mathematical neuroscience, computational wave propagation, biological and microscale fluid dynamics, statistics, and biostatistics. Researchers in these areas are invited to address the development of mathematical techniques for application to challenging problems. Plenary speakers: Robert Kass (Carnegie Mellon University), Mitchell Luskin (University of Minnesota), Laura Miller (UNC Chapel Hill), André Nachbin (IMPA, Brazil) *Travel funding for contributed poster presentations is available. Abstract submission and registration deadline is April 29, 2016.* Further details can be found at: http://m.njit.edu/Events/FACM16/

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PhD position in swarm robotics available at UTC (Compiegne - France)
by Eliseo Ferrante April 26, 2016

April 26, 2016

—apologies for multiple postings— A fully-funded three years PhD position in swarm robotics is available at the Laboratory of Excellence (LABEX) at the Université de Technologie de Compiègne (UTC) in France (www.utc.fr/labexms2t) The successful candidate will work with Dr. Eliseo Ferrante on exciting topics at the interface between swarm robotics, evolutionary biology, and statistical physics. The research direction will be managed by Dr. Ferrante in collaboration with the DIVINA project ( https://www.hds.utc.fr/labex-ms2t-484/news-rubrique/events/DIVINA/?lang=en) team led by Prof. Vincent Frémont. The PhD is expected to start in Fall 2016. The accepted candidate will work on a project focusing on the design of self-organized collective behaviors for performing collective exploration of a an unknown environment using a swarm of robots and principles of self-organization. The methods will be based on biological models of information retrieval and integration, such as distributed decision-making and collective categorization, which in turns recalls the cognitive mapping processes in the human brain. For a description of the research interests of Dr. Ferrante, please visit his website (https://bio.kuleuven.be/ento/ferrante/) Graduate students with background in computer science, physics, or biology and with specialization in artificial intelligence, statistical physics, computational modeling in biology, or robotics are encouraged to apply. The candidate is expected to be proficient in programming in languages such as C++ and Java, and to have solid knowledge of scientific software packages such as Matlab, R, and/or equivalent. Candidates with experience with multi-agent simulations will be highly preferred. Fluent English (written and spoken) is required, and only applications in English will be accepted. Above all, the applicants must be motivated, autonomous, and able to learn quickly and work effectively on challenging research problems. We will begin reviewing candidate's applications starting from June 2016. To apply, you can send the following documents to Eliseo.Ferrante(a)hds.utc.fr and Vincent.Fremont(a)hds.utc.fr: - Curriculum vitae - Motivation letter - At least two references and/or recommendation letters - A statement of research experience and interests - Any research articles authored by the applicant For any informal enquiry about the eligibility conditions, as well as for more details about the position, please contact Eliseo Ferrante < eliseo.ferrante(a)hds.utc.fr>.

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Fully funded PhD position, University of Genoa, Italy - Binocular visuomotor systems
by Silvio P. Sabatini April 26, 2016

April 26, 2016

Applications are invited for a fully-funded three-year PhD student position 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 will start on Nov 1st, 2016 on the following research project: **Modeling the impaired binocular visual system** Expected results will concern: 1) a better understanding of the neural mechanisms that underlie the healthy and impaired visual system, 2) developing and assessing diagnostic and therapeutic methodologies for visual impairments, 3) inspiring design principles for artificial visual systems. The project will provide the opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary environment in collaborations with engineers, neuroscientists and clinicians. Ongoing cooperations, at international level, and especially with: - Prof. Peter J. Bex, Translational Vision Lab, Northeastern University, Boston, MA. - Prof. Marty Banks, BanksLab, University of California - Berkeley, CA. will ensure a highly interdisciplinary and stimulating environment. The PhD will be fully funded, including stipend (EUR 1230 per month after taxes), fees, and a research training and support grant (EUR 1650 per year). * * HOW TO APPLY* Candidates must have: - a University degree at Master level (or expect to obtain it by October 31st, 2016) in Bioengineering, Computer Science, Physics, Applied Mathematics or related disciplines; - a keen interest in reverse-engineering the brain; - essential skills in Matlab and/or C/C++/C# or Python programming. Knowledge on computational neuroscience, machine learning, image processing are a plus. Experience with Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and CUDA programming is also a plus. Online application is possible till June 10th, 2016 (at noon) Italian time Full details on the call and the application procedure are available at: http://www.studenti.unige.it/postlaurea/dottorati/XXXII/ENG/ http://phd.dibris.unige.it/biorob/index.php/how-to-apply _Informal inquiries regarding the position are encouraged.__ __Please contact:_ Silvio P. Sabatini (silvio.sabatini(a)unige.it) Also, a post-doc of mine (Agostino Gibaldi) will be available throughout the VSS 2016 conference, so please send him an email (agostino.gibaldi(a)unige.it) if you would like to set up a meeting. * * WHERE* 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 has a long-standing expertise in visual coding and multidimensional signal representation, robot perception and computer vision. In the last 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. Our lab is located in Genoa, 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). Genoa is only 1.30h away from Milan by train and connected by plane to Rome (1.00h), London (2h) and Paris (1.30h). Regards, -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Silvio P. SABATINI, PhD [PSPC Research Group] Professor of Bioengineering DIBRIS - University of Genova | e_mail: silvio.sabatini(a)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]

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Interdisciplinary post-doctoral position in cognitive neuroscience
by Schurger Lab April 26, 2016

April 26, 2016

----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interdisciplinary post-doctoral position in cognitive neuroscience Brain-behavior forecasting: Neural antecedents of spontaneous self-initiated movement in humans and the perception of personal causation Starting date: Fall 2016 / Spring 2017 Duration: 2 years (renewable for one additional year) The French Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) invites applications for a post-doctoral position in the Cognitive Neuroimaging Group, at the NeuroSpin Research Center near Paris, France, as part of the research team of Dr. Aaron Schurger. The Schurger lab focuses on understanding how decisions are made and actions initiated spontaneously, without an external sensory cue, and how the relevant causal processes in the brain are related to the subjective perception of personal causation. We are also interested in how time series of neural activity can be used to forecast behavior. We pursue this research using a combination of behavioral experiments, neuroimaging, computational modeling, time-series analysis, and machine learning techniques. Applicants should have a obtained a PhD in a relevant discipline prior to the starting date, and should have strong skills in two or more of the following areas: neuroimaging techniques (MEG, EEG) and data-analysis tools, computer programming (MatLab, Python, C, C++), statistics, signal processing, machine learning, computational and/or neural network modeling, behavioral psychophysics, time-series analysis, forecast verification methods. Resources available at NeuroSpin include Siemens 3T and 7T MRI scanners; high-density EEG (EGI Inc.); Elekta NeuroMag 306-channel MEG (allowing for the simultaneous recording of EEG); eye tracking (available for MRI, MEG, and behavioral experiments); an in-house team of experts in signal processing and statistical learning; a dedicated staff handling subject recruitment, scheduling, and payment; various Nespresso devices; and proximity to Paris. Applicants should send a CV, letter of motivation (max 2 pages), and three letters of recommendation (or contact information for three references) via e-mail to schurgerlab(a)gmail.com. Review of applicants will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. The NeuroSpin Research Center is located on the campus of the CEA-Saclay, near Orsay, about 18 km southwest of Paris. For more information on the NeuroSpin Research Center and the Cognitive Neuroimaging Group: http://www-centre-saclay.cea.fr/fr/Visite-guidee-de-NeuroSpin http://meg-france.in2p3.fr/_lesCentres/Neurospin_en.php http://www-dsv.cea.fr/en/institutes/institute-of-biomedical-imaging-i2bm/de… http://www.unicog.org/pm/pmwiki.php -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Neuroinformatics 2016 in Reading, UK, September 3-4
by Ingo Bojak April 26, 2016

April 26, 2016

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post-doc in computational neuroscience and development...
by John Spencer (PSY) April 26, 2016

April 26, 2016

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA Senior Research Associate (1fte) £31,342 to £37,394 per annum, pro rata This role offers an exciting opportunity to be involved in innovative experimental research with young children as well as extensive process-based modelling using dynamic neural fields. The programme aims to test the first formal theory of early word learning that integrates visual object processing and word learning across multiple timescales. The successful applicant will work closely with Profs. Larissa Samuelson and John Spencer. You will take a lead role in the project, coordinating dynamic neural field simulations and related theory development, developing and running experiments with young children, and analysing and reporting data. The post is available on a full-time (1fte) basis from 15 June 2016 for a fixed term period until 31 May 2020. The post is subject to a criminal records check at enhanced level from the Disclosure and Barring Service. Closing date: 12 noon on 21 May 2016. Further particulars and an application form are available on our website: www.uea.ac.uk/hr/vacancies/<http://www.uea.ac.uk/hr/vacancies/> or Tel. 01603 593493 John P. Spencer, PhD Professor School of Psychology, Room 0.09 Lawrence Stenhouse Building, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ United Kingdom Email: j.spencer(a)uea.ac.uk<mailto:j.spencer@uea.ac.uk> School website: http://www.uea.ac.uk/psy Telephone 01603 593968 [cid:image001.png@01D09851.EF67E200] UK Top 20 (16th Complete University Guide 2015, 18th Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2015-16) UK 2nd for Student Satisfaction (National Student Survey 2015) World Top 1% (Times Higher Education World Rankings 2015-16) World Top 100 (Leiden Ranking 2015) [facebook]<http://www.facebook.com/ueaofficial> [twitter-old] <http://www.twitter.com/uniofeastanglia> [tumblr] <http://uniofeastanglia.tumblr.com/> [flickr] <http://www.flickr.com/uniofeastanglia> [linkedin] <http://www.linkedin.com/edu/school?id=12699> [youtube] <http://www.youtube.com/ueaofficial> [cid:image008.png@01CF8BB5.50024060] <http://instagram.com/uniofeastanglia>

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Call for abstracts - Neuromechanics 2016 - Approaching abstract submission deadline
by Manish Sreenivasa April 26, 2016

April 26, 2016

*International Symposium on the Neuromechanics of Human Movement* 4-6 October 2016, Heidelberg, Germany Reminder: Approaching abstract submission deadline, 30th April 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Researchers working in neuroscience, biomechanics and robotics with a focus on human movements are invited to submit their work to the Neuromechanics 2016 symposium: http://orb.iwr.uni-heidelberg.de/neuromechanics2016/abstract-submissions/ The symposium will feature talks by renowned speakers working in, and across, these fields. In addition, there will be poster sessions and ample opportunities for discussions in formal and informal settings. List of speakers: http://orb.iwr.uni-heidelberg.de/neuromechanics2016/speakers/ Researchers are welcome to present their work as posters or fill the few remaining speaker slots (please indicate your preference during submission). Please note that this will be a 2.5 day single track event with a limited number of participants. As an added incentive, selected high quality abstracts will be invited to submit full length papers to the newly established journal research topic titled: "Neuromechanics and Control of Physical Behavior: from Experimental and Computational Formulations to Bio-inspired Technologies". The research topic is edited by Massimo Sartori, Manish Sreenivasa, Alfred Schouten, Matthew Tresch, Yoshihiko Nakamura and Francisco Valero-Cuevas, and appears in the journals Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, and, Frontiers in Neurorobotics: journal.frontiersin.org/researchtopic/4698 -- Dr. Manish Sreenivasa Optimization in Robotics & Biomechanics Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing University of Heidelberg Berlinerstr. 45 | 69120 Heidelberg | Germany Tel: +49-6221-54-14874 Web: orb.iwr.uni-heidelberg.de/people/manish

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Save the date! 5th Annual Winter q-bio Meeting in HAWAII Feb. 21-24, 2017!
by Santamaria, Cookie April 25, 2016

April 25, 2016

THE FIFTH ANNUAL WINTER Q-BIO MEETING Quantitative Biology on the Hawaiian Islands February 21-24, 2017 http://w-qbio.org/ SAVE THE DATE!! More details to come, but our fifth anniversary venue will be at the Grand Hyatt<http://kauai.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html> in Kauai! The Winter q-bio meeting brings together scientists and engineers who are interested in all areas of q-bio. Technology is driving revolutionary changes in biology. Systems Biology has arisen as the deduction of interaction networks from -omics data generated in the wake of remarkable technological achievements. Likewise, DNA synthesis technologies are driving the development of Synthetic Biology, whereby engineered circuitry and even entire genomes can be reconstituted from chemical building blocks. These two emerging areas have catalyzed the growth of Quantitative Biology, whereby the central goal is the deduction of quantitative principles that can be used to construct predictive models for biological phenomena. The venue for 2017 is the Grand Hyatt, which is located in Poipu, on the island of Kauai. This remarkable resort is balanced between magnificent lush mountains and the azure sea, among the wonders of the Garden Isle. CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS: Jeff Hasty, University of California, San Diego Galit Lahav, Harvard University Wendell Lim, University of California, San Francisco Gurol Suel, University of California, San Diego Olga Troyanskaya, Princeton & Simons Center for Data Analysis Lev Tsimring, University of California, San Diego We encourage you to forward this message to any colleagues who may be interested in taking part in this exciting event. Questions should be emailed to: coordinator(a)w-qbio.org<mailto:coordinator@w-qbio.org> SPONSORED BY: UC San Diego BioCircuits Institute and the San Diego Center for Systems Biology UC San Diego Divisions of Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, q-bio, and Engineering UC San Francisco Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology

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Deadline Approaching: Gordon Research Conference & Seminar on Neurobiology of Cognition
by Sarah Heilbronner April 25, 2016

April 25, 2016

We would like to invite you to apply for the 2016 Gordon Research Conference on Neurobiology of Cognition, "Neural Circuits for Perception, Memory, Thought, and Consciousness." The Gordon Research Conference will be held July 24-29 at Sunday River, ME. More information, including a list of speakers, can be found here: https://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?id=14548 The Gordon Research Seminar for postdocs and graduate students will precede the main conference (July 23-24). Please note that the deadline for submitting an abstract to be considered for a GRS talk is April 30! More information can be found here: https://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?id=16594 We look forward to seeing many of you in Maine this summer. Best, Tatiana Pasternak & David Leopold, GRC chairs Brian Russ & Sarah Heilbronner, GRS chairs

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postdocotral fellowship: empirical testing of integrated information theory with neural recordings
by Naotsugu Tsuchiya April 25, 2016

April 25, 2016

Advertisement: Postdoctoral position at Monash University, Australia. A postdoctoral position is available to work on a JST (Japan Science and Technology) funded CREST research project on “Towards constructing artificial consciousness based on the integrated information theory (IIT)” (PIs: Kanai, Kawanabe and Maekawa, Co-PIs: Tsuchiya and Oizumi), which started in Oct 2015 and will run for 5.5 years till Mar 2021. The initial appointment will be for one year, with renewal based upon satisfactory performance and evaluation. Salary will be commensurate with experience. We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow whose main research interest is the neuronal basis of consciousness, the analysis of multi-channel neural data and the integrated information theory (IIT) of consciousness, in order to empirically test predictions from IIT in real neural systems For those who are interested, please check out the following key papers for the project. 1. Measuring integrated information from the decoding perspective http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.10046… 2. A unified framework for information integration based on information geometry http://arxiv.org/abs/1510.04455 3. Contents of Consciousness Investigated as Integrated Information in Direct Human Brain Recordings http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/02/15/039032 You will be employed at Araya Brain Imaging (CEO: Kanai) in Japan, but the actual location of work will be conducted at A/Prof NaotsuguTsuchiya's lab in Monash University, Australia. There will be some travels between Japan and Australia at least twice a year to maximise interactions within the team in Japan. Required skills: excellent programming, familiarity in key mathematical concepts especially machine learning and information theory. Excellence in written and oral English communication skills, as supported by objective publication recorded, will be essential. Monash University, one of the eight top universities in Australia (G8), is forming a strong cluster of consciousness researchers, called Monash Neuroscience of Consciousness (MoNoC http://ochinpun.wix.com/monoc#!who_we_are/c139r) ranging from philosophers, neurophysiologists, and psychologists. We are located in the building with excellent cognitive neuroscience tools available (simultaneous EEG & fMRI experiments and EEG/TMS & fMRI experiments at Monash Brain Imaging facility, which hosts a research-only MRI scanner, EEG, TMS and eye tracking. http://mbi.monash.edu.au/) Interested candidates are encouraged to send a CV, statement of research accomplishments and interests, PDF copies of representative publications, and contact information for 2 reference letters to: naotsugu.tsuchiya(a)monash.edu Application review will begin immediately and continue until the positions are filled. Best wishes, Nao Tsuchiya -- -- *Nao (Naotsugu) Tsuchiya* Associate Professor *Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences* Attention and Memory Program School of Psychological Sciences Monash University 770 Blackburn Monash Brain Imaging facility, Clayton, VIC 3800 Australia T: +61 3 9905 4564 E: naotsugu.tsuchiya(a)monash.edu W: homepage: http://users.monash.edu.au/~naotsugt/Tsuchiya_Labs_Homepage http://med.monash.edu.au/psych/email-sig/miccn-email-sig.jpg <http://www.monash.edu/neuro-institute/> 2. ARC Future Fellow 3. Visiting Researcher at Department of Dynamic Brain Imaging, Advanced Telecommunications Research (ATR), Japan 4. Visiting Researcher at CiNet, Osaka University, Japan orcid.org/0000-0003-4216-8701

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Last Call for Abstracts in Brain/Computer/Machine Interfacing and Neuromodulation
by Camille Grigsby-Rocca April 25, 2016

April 25, 2016

Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce the final call for abstracts for Neuromodulation: The Science Conference, for the Neurovations Awards for Scientific Excellence in Neuromodulation. Submissions are due this Friday, April 29, 2016 for our upcoming neuroscience summit, slated for May 25-29, 2016 in San Francisco. See the Abstract Submission Guidelines here<http://ntsconference.com/neurovations-award/>. The Scientific Committee is accepting abstracts for posters presenting original basic or clinical scientific research or updates in brain/computer/machine interfacing, neuromodulation of the brain and nervous system, and bioengineering. Three prizes in the amounts of $3000, $2000, and $1000 are available for the posters selected by the committee. Awards will be presented on the final day of the conference. All posters must be attended by a registered conference attendee. Early registration rates are available through April 29. Discounted lodging rates at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero, San Francisco, run until April 29. Abstracts will be accepted through April 29. We would be grateful if you would share this information with your colleagues, and hope to see you at our meeting next month. More information is available at ntsconference.com - I have also included more below on our poster requirements and meeting, including our full Scientific Committee. Please email education(a)neurovations.com directly with any further questions. VIEW THE FULL CONFERENCE PROGRAM HERE<http://ntsconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/NTS_agenda_040516.pdf>. With warm regards, Camille Grigsby-Rocca Neurovations Education ________________________________ SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Elliot Krames, MD Past President INS, Founding Editor of Neuromodulation Eric Grigsby, MD, MBA CEO, Neurovations Clinical Research and Education Founder, Napa Pain Institute, the SpectrumCare Group Peter Staats, MD Premier Pain Centers, Past President, NANS Joe Pancrazio, PhD Associate Provost and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at University of Texas at Dallas Hunter Peckham, PhD Professor Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University Dominique Durand, PhD El Lindseth Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve Universtiy Magdy Hassouna, MD, PhD Department of Urology, University of Toronto Ali Rezai, MD Director, OSU Neuroscience Program, Stanley and Jodi Ross Chair in Neuromodulation, Associate Dean of Neurosciences, Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience Robert Gross, MD, PhD Professor, Departments of Neurosurgery, Neurology, Biomedical Engineering, and Neuroscience,Director, Functional, Stereotactic & Epilepsy Surgery Division Tony Yaksh, PhD Distinguished Professor in Anesthesiology and Pharmacology and Vice Chairman for Research in Anesthesiology(1988-present), Co-director of the Pain and Symptom Management Core of the UCSD Regional Cancer Center Chad Bouton, MS Division Leader, Neurotechnology and Analytics, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Managing Director, Center for Bioelectronic Medicine Simon Thomson, MD Past President, INS Bengt Linderoth, MD, PhD Professor of Neurosurgery, retired, Karolinska Institute Robert Foreman, PhD George Lynn Cross Research Professor, University of Oklahoma, Dept of Physiology, retired Michael DeJongste, MD, PhD Faculty of Medical Sciences, Dept of Cardiology, University of Groningen Jiande Chen, PhD Professor of Medicine and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

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Funded PhD studentship in eye-hand coordination in virtual reality (UK/EU students only)
by Sang-Hoon Yeo April 24, 2016

April 24, 2016

Development of a low-cost, virtual reality based eye-hand coordination assessment system for home-based rehabilitation Dr Sang-Hoon Yeo and Dr Ned Jenkinson, School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences University of Birmingham, UK Starting October 2016, We have a funded PhD studentship available for UK and EU (who have been in UK for more than 3 years) students. The goal of this 3 year PhD project is 1) to develop a novel virtual reality based hardware and software platform that can capture and assess the three-dimensional eye-hand coordination patterns during interceptive movements and 2) to build a computational model that will advance our quantitative understanding of the brain’s interception mechanism. One unique and innovative aspect of the development is that the whole system will consist of consumer-level display and motion tracking devices (head mounted display, e.g. Oculus Rift, with and eye tracking ability and magnetic sensor based 3D joysticks), of which the total cost will be no more than £1,000. This will allow us to build a cost-effective, home-based health care system that can be easily distributed to patients’ home, which will quantitatively evaluate the patient’s sensorimotor performance, detect and prevent preemptively any potential neuromotor disorders, and help patient’s rehabilitation following neuromotor disease. We are looking for motivated people to participate in the development of the experimental platform, data collection and computational modelling / analysis. The ideal candidate will have a background in computer science, robotics, psychology, mathematics, physics, and have some experience (or at least a keen interest) in one or more of the following fields: human movement experiment, motion capture, eye-tracking, computer animation, virtual reality, software development. Please contact Dr Sang-Hoon Yeo (s.yeo(a)bham.ac.uk) for further information. Deadline for application is 20-MAY-2016. Best wishes, Sang-Hoon -- Dr Sang-Hoon Yeo Lecturer in Biomechanics and Motor Control School of Sport, Exercise & Rehabilitation Sciences The University of Birmingham Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom +44(0)121 414 8748

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CALL FOR SUBMISSION for the Fourth International Conference on CSCEET 2017 in Lebanon
by Grace Allas April 24, 2016

April 24, 2016

*** CALL FOR PAPERS SUBMISSION *** The Fourth International Conference on Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Education Technologies (CSCEET2017) April 26-28, 2017 Faculty of Engineering - Lebanese University Beirut, Lebanon http://sdiwc.net/conferences/csceet2017/ ---------------------------------------------------------- All registered papers will be submitted to IEEE for potential inclusion to IEEE Xplore 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: • Information and Data Management • Social Networks • Data Compression • Information Content Security • E-Technology • Mobile, Ad Hoc and Sensor Network Management • E-Government • Web Services Architecture, Modeling and Design • E-Learning • Semantic Web, Ontologies • Wireless Communications • Web Services Security • Mobile Networking, Mobility and Nomadicity • Quality of Service, Scalability and Performance • Ubiquitous Computing, Services and Applications • Self-Organizing Networks and Networked Systems • Data Mining • Data Management in Mobile Peer-to-Peer Networks • Computational Intelligence • Data Stream Processing in Mobile/Sensor Networks • Biometrics Technologies • Indexing and Query Processing for Moving Objects • Forensics, Recognition Technologies and Applications • Cryptography and Data Protection • Information Ethics • User Interfaces and Usability Issues form Mobile Applications • Fuzzy and Neural Network Systems • Mobile Social Networks • Signal Processing, Pattern Recognition and Applications • Peer-to-Peer Social Networks • Image Processing • Sensor Networks and Social Sensing • Distributed and parallel applications • Social Search • Internet Modeling • Embedded Systems and Software • User Interfaces, Visualization and Modeling • Real-Time Systems • XML-Based Languages • Multimedia Computing • Network Security • Software Engineering • Remote Sensing --------------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT DATES Submission Deadline : Open from now until Feb 26, 2017 Notification of Acceptance : March 11, 2017 or 4 weeks from the date of submission Camera Ready Submission : March 26, 2017 Registration Deadline : March 26, 2017 Paper Submission: http://sdiwc.net/conferences/csceet2017/openconf/openconf.php Write us for more details: csceet17(a)sdiwc.net

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NEURAL COMPUTATION - April, 2014
by Terry Sejnowski April 24, 2016

April 24, 2016

Neural Computation - Contents -- Volume 26, Number 4 - April 1, 2014 Available online for download now: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/neco/26/4 ----- Article Parametric Inference in the Large Data Limit Using Maximally Informative Models Justin Block Kinney, Gurinder Singh Atwal Letters Input Statistics and Hebbian Crosstalk Effects Anca R. Radulescu Learning Nonlinear Regularities in Natural Images by Modeling the Outer Product of Image Intensities Peng Qi, Xiaolin Hu Dissociable Forms of Repetition Priming: A Computational Model Kirill Makukhin, Scott Bolland Refined Rademacher Chaos Complexity Bounds With Applications to the Multi-Kernel Learning Problem Yunwen Lei, Lixin Ding Large Margin Low Rank Tensor Analysis Guoqiang Zhong, Mohamed Cheriet Large-scale Linear RankSVM Ching-Pei Lee, Chih-Jen Lin ------------ ON-LINE -- http://www.mitpressjournals.org/neuralcomp SUBSCRIPTIONS - 2014 - VOLUME 26 - 12 ISSUES USA Others Electronic Only Student/Retired $70 $193 $65 Individual $124 $187 $115 Institution $1,035 $1,098 $926 Canada: Add 5% GST MIT Press Journals, 238 Main Street, Suite 500, Cambridge, MA 02142-9902 Tel: (617) 253-2889 FAX: (617) 577-1545 journals-orders(a)mit.edu ------------

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Postdoctoral position at UC Santa Barbara
by Yon Visell April 23, 2016

April 23, 2016

We are seeking a highly creative and motivated postdoctoral fellow to work in the RE Touch Lab (http://www.re-touch-lab.com) College of Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, within a multidisciplinary team of roboticists, engineers, and scientists. The successful candidate will undertake research aimed at illuminating biomechanical mechanisms of sensory information processing in the upper limb. We are using novel instrumentation, 3D imaging techniques, and computational modeling, in order to characterize sensory information processing associated with soft tissue dynamics in the whole limb, including signals associated with multi-digit grasping and manipulation. The results will guide the design of new interactive technologies with applications in VR and robotics. We are interested in candidates with possible expertise in a number of potential areas, including any of the following: - Perception; Decision theory - Signal processing - Probabilistic and computational models of behavior - Deformable image registration Consideration will be given to candidates with strong quantitative skills and a recent (< 5 years) PhD in a relevant field (computational neuroscience, psychology, computer science, engineering, etc). A PhD is required. Salary will be highly competitive. The RE Touch Lab is affiliated with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (http://ece.ucsb.edu) and the Media Arts and Technology Graduate Program (http://www.mat.ucsb.edu) an interdisciplinary program at the convergence of art, multimedia and engineering. The lab is physically integrated in the UCSB California NanoSystems Institute - A unique institution combining multiple Engineering departments at UCSB, and whose faculty include Nobel Prize winners, Fields Medal winners, Technical Academy Award winners, and multiple National Academy of Science members. With world-class facilities set in a beautiful mediterranean climate on the California shore, the University of California, Santa Barbara College of Engineering is rated among the top 10 in the world. Interested parties should contact Professor Yon Visell <yonvisell(a)ece.ucsb.edu> for information. Applicants are asked to a CV, copies of relevant publications, and contact information for at least three references. The Department is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, teaching and service. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. _________________________________________________________ Yon Visell, PhD Assistant Professor University of California, Santa Barbara Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Media Arts & Technology Graduate Program Mechanical Engineering Department www.re-touch-lab.com Mobile: +1 267 800 8960 _________________________________________________________

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DENDRITES 2016, June 18-21, Crete: EMBO travel fellowships
by Yiota Poirazi April 23, 2016

April 23, 2016

Please post this announcement on the comp-neuro list. Thanks much! Yiota Poirazi ----------------------- Dear colleagues, We are happy to announce additional support from EMBO for the DENDRITES 2016 EMBO Workshop <www.dendrites2016.gr>. As a result: *A.* Early registration rates extend to May 31st, 2016 B. We offer *six* travel fellowships (up to 500 Euro) provided by EMBO for participants of the DENDRITES 2016 meeting working in *Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain* and*Turkey*. Interested candidates, including both registered and new participants, must submit: 1) a short Resume 2) a short statement of why they wish to attend the workshop and why financial support is critical for them 3) at least one letter of recommendation The above should be submitted by email to poirazi(a)imbb.forth.gr by *May 8th, 2016*. Awardees will be announced on *May 15th, 2016*. on behalf of the organizing committee, Yiota Poirazi *---------------------------------- EMBO Workshop on Dendritic Anatomy, Molecules and Function (DENDRITES 2016)* Heraklion, Crete, Greece June 18-21, 2016 http://dendrites2016.gr/ <http://www.dendrites2016.gr/> info(a)dendrites2016.gr <mailto:info@dendrites.gr> _Organizers:_ Yiota Poirazi, IMBB-FORTH Michael Hausser, UCL * * Matthew Larkum, Humboldt University _Invited speakers (scientific talks): _ Claudia Clopath Daniel Dombeck Casper Hoogenraad Arthur Konnerth Attila Losonczy Judit Makara Rishikesh Narayanan Elly Nedivi Jackie Schiller Erin Schuman Idan Segev Nelson Spruston Greg Stuart _Invited speakers (Career Issues in academia):_ Monica Di Luca, FENS President: "Publication issues: right time for a reality check" Camilla Belone, FENS-Kavli Scholar: "Retention of women in high levels of neuroscience - Perspectives" Emre Yaksi, FENS-Kavli Scholar: "Funding opportunities in Neuroscience: how to write a successful grant proposal" Matthew Larkum: "How to write an influential scientific publication" -- Panayiota Poirazi, Ph.D. Director of Research Computational Biology Laboratory Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) Foundation of Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH) Vassilika Vouton, P.O.Box 1385 GR 711 10 Heraklion, Crete, GREECE Tel: +30 2810 391139 <tel:+30%202810%20391139> Fax: +30 2810 391101 <tel:+30%202810%20391101> Εmail: poirazi(a)imbb.forth.gr <mailto:poirazi@imbb.forth.gr> http://www.dendrites.gr Chair http://www.fens.org/Outreach/FENS-Kavli-Network-of-Excellence/ -

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MSc program in Neuroscience - Univ. Freiburg, Germany
by Carsten Mehring April 23, 2016

April 23, 2016

MSc program in Neuroscience - University of Freiburg, Germany We are inviting applications for the interdisciplinary MSc program in Neuroscience at the University of Freiburg, Germany. The program provides theoretical and practical training in neuroscience, covering both the foundations and latest research in the field. It is taught by lecturers from an international scientific community from three faculties and two neuroscience research centres. The modular course structure caters to the specific backgrounds and research interests of each individual student and we offer specialisations in computational neuroscience, neuro-/optophysiology, neurotechnology and developmental neuroscience. All courses are taught in English and the program is free of tuition fees. We welcome applications with a background in natural sciences, mathematics, behavioural sciences, computer science or engineering sciences. The deadline for applications for a start in October 2016 is the 15th of July (EU students) or the 31st of May (non-EU students). Further details can be found on our homepage http://www.mscneuro.uni-freiburg.de <http://www.mscneuro.uni-freiburg.de/> Please contact mscneuro@uni-freiburg,de for further questions. With best regards Carsten Mehring — Bernstein Center Freiburg & Faculty of Biology University of Freiburg

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Fully funded PhD position, University of Genoa, Italy – "Computational Neuroengineering"
by Silvio P. Sabatini April 22, 2016

April 22, 2016

Applications are invited for one full-time PhD studentship for a period of 3 years, at the Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics, and System Engineering (DIBRIS), University of Genoa, Italy. The position will start on Nov 1st, 2016 on the following research project: *Sensory processing in large-scale hierarchical networks of interacting neuronal assemblies* Feed-forward networks provide a minimal framework to study coding and decoding strategies as well as to interpret certain aspects of cortical information processing. Following this architectural paradigm, deep networks have been proposed to specialize for different perceptual tasks, for taking decisions, or planning motor acts. However, such networks rely on an over-simplification in which single nodes model homogeneous population of cells and connections represent average interactions among populations (i.e., meta-network approach). The proposed project aims to increase the complexity and the realism of this model by designing and analyzing the behavior of large-scale hierarchical network of interacting neuronal assemblies. Each node should be modeled as an assembly composed of excitatory and inhibitory neurons with their own dynamics. The neurons of each assembly will respond to properties of the visual signal through their afferent receptive fields. Yet, their overall behavior will emerge from recurrent interactions, and will be ruled by network-parameters, like balance between excitation and inhibition, kind of connectivity, number of neurons of each of these assemblies. The goal is to develop a new model and to investigate the role of specific vs. unspecific inhibition on the tuning properties of the single cells, and on the efficiency of the code provided by the emerging functionally homogeneous populations, and on their attendant adaptation capabilities. The dynamic properties of the network will be analyzed in relation with the interconnections topology, and eventually related to its sensory processing capabilities. The research will be conducted at the NBT and PSPC labs of DIBRIS, under the joint guidance of Paolo Massobrio and Silvio P. Sabatini. Successful applicants would have a background (M.Sc. degree) in bioengineering, computer science, physics or related disciplines; strong interest in computational neuroscience; attitude for problem solving. Interests in understanding/learning basic biology. Essential skills comprise Matlab and/or C++/C# programming. Experience in computational neuroscience is a plus. * HOW TO APPLY Candidates must have: - a University degree at Master level (or expect to obtain it by October 31st, 2016) in Bioengineering, Computer Science, Physics or related disciplines; - strong interest in computational neuroscience; attitude for problem solving. Interests in understanding/learning basic biology. - Essential skills comprise Matlab and/or C++/C# programming. Experience in computational neuroscience is a plus. Online application is possible till June 10th, 2016 (at noon) Italian time Full details on the call and the application procedure are available at: http://www.studenti.unige.it/postlaurea/dottorati/XXXII/ENG/ http://phd.dibris.unige.it/biorob/index.php/how-to-apply Prospective students, please contact either Paolo Massobrio (paolo.massobrio(a)unige.it) or Silvio P. 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. * WHERE NBT-Lab has a recognized experience in the field of in vitro electrophysiology (gained through several national and international projects), computational neuroscience and neuroengineering. Currently, the main goal of the lab is the understanding of the interplay between dynamics and connectivity in large-scale neuronal networks. PSPC-Lab has a long-standing expertise in visual coding and multidimensional signal representation, robot perception and computer vision. In the last 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. Our labs are located in Genova, 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). Regards, -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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]

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Research Scientist: Machine Learning, Signal Processing, Neuroscience
by Behnood Gholami April 21, 2016

April 21, 2016

AreteX Systems, a medical technology startup company accelerating the use of information technology in healthcare, has an immediate opening for a Research Scientist in its office located in the New York City area. The position involves developing signal processing algorithms for innovative biomedical technologies involving physiological signals. We are looking for a self-motivated, highly talented individual with an excellent background in signal processing and machine learning. The successful candidate will work closely with a team of physicians, nurses, engineers, and scientists in designing new clinical decision support systems. Candidates with experience in the analysis of experimental data derived from---but not limited to---auditory/visual/cross-sensory psychophysical, ECG, and galvanic-skin conductance, data would be given a higher priority. *Minimum Requirements:* - PhD in electrical engineering, computer science, biomedical engineering, neuroscience, applied mathematics, or a similar discipline. - Knowledge of machine learning techniques. - Experience with Python. - *Applicants must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals or U.S. permanent residents. * - Applicants must have received a Ph.D. degree in the seven years prior to the application date. *Preferred Qualifications:* - Prior expertise and exposure using non-invasive human physiological measures such as ECG, galvanic-skin conductance (electrodermal activity), or other categorically similar methodologies. - Prior experience in feature extraction from physiological signals. - Experience working with quantitative methods of neural data analysis. - Knowledge of advanced concepts in signal processing. - Research experience in biosignal and EEG analysis. Please send your cover letter and CV to info(a)aretexeng.com *About AreteX Systems:* AreteX Systems is accelerating the use of information technology in healthcare. Our innovative solutions help reduce intensive care unit costs and increase quality of care. Our core technology utilizes mathematical modeling to predict patient outcome and improve quality of care. The technology provides an efficient method to analyze and interpret patient data already available at the hospitals.

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Postdoctoral Position at The Rockefeller University
by George Reeke April 21, 2016

April 21, 2016

Postdoctoral position in Computational Neuroscience A postdoctoral position supported by the BRAIN initiative is available at The Rockefeller University under the guidance of George Reeke in collaboration with Charles Gilbert and Winrich Freiwald. The overall project will study cortical mechanisms of face and object recognition and more specifically the influence of top-down task and attentional influences on cortical dynamics and perceptual learning in areas of the visual cortical pathway. The computational work will involve developing and running large-scale spiking models of multiple cortical regions studied in the overall project, with the goal of developing an accurate theoretical understanding of the phenomena observed in the experimental research. We are also interested in trying to combine aspects of neural-ensemble style modeling with single-cell modeling where possible to achieve computational efficiency without sacrifice of biological realism, and in devising better statistical approaches for analyzing correlations between firing in different brain areas and between firing records and modeling results. Rockefeller is installing a high-performance computing system with a large number of both CPU and GPU nodes which will provide a state-of- the-art platform for the proposed computational studies. The successful candidate should, ideally, have a Ph.D. in a relevant area of neuroscience with a strong knowledge of mammalian visual systems and experience programming and running models of neuronal systems. The candidate will be expected to develop suitable software to supplement the available tools as needed and will be able to work both independently and as part of a team. Interested individuals should send a c.v. and the names of three references to Dr. George Reeke (reeke(a)rockefeller.edu) with a subject line "Computational Neuroscience postdoc position". The position is available immediate- ly, and applications will be accepted until the position is filled. The Rockefeller University is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Minorities/Women/Disabled/Veterans.

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Call for applications: Brains for Brains Young Researchers' Computational Neuroscience Award 2016
by Kerstin Schwarzwaelder April 21, 2016

April 21, 2016

Dear colleagues, for the seventh 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 2015 or 2016. The award is endowed with a travel grant of 2.000 € to cover a trip to Germany, including participation in the Bernstein Conference 2016 in Berlin (www.bernstein-conference.de<http://www.bernstein-conference.de>), and an individually planned visit to up to two German research institutions in Computational Neuroscience. Deadline for application is May 20, 2016 (5:00 p.m. CET). Detailed information about the application procedure can be found under: www.nncn.de/en/bernstein-association/brains-for-brains-2016<http://www.nncn.de/en/bernstein-association/brains-for-brains-2016> For inquiries please contact bernstein.network(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:bernstein.network@fz-juelich.de> Best regards, Kerstin Schwarzwälder -- Dr. Kerstin Schwarzwälder Scientific Coordination / Management Officer Please note: Our email addresses have changed. Please use k.schwarzwaelder(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:k.schwarzwaelder@fz-juelich.de> Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience | Bernstein Coordination Site (BCOS) Branch Office of the Forschungszentrum Jülich at the University of Freiburg Hansastr. 9A | 79104 Freiburg, Germany phone: (+49) 0761 203 9589 mail: k.schwarzwaelder(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:k.schwarzwaelder@fz-juelich.de> web: www.nncn.de<http://www.nncn.de> Twitter: NNCN_Germany<https://twitter.com/NNCN_Germany> YouTube: Bernstein TV<https://www.youtube.com/user/BernsteinNetwork> Facebook: Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience, Germany<https://www.facebook.com/BernsteinNetwork/> LinkedIn: Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience, Germany<https://www.linkedin.com/company/bernstein-network-computational-neuroscien…> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/bernstein-network-computational-neuroscien…> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Reminder: Valentino Braitenberg Award for Computational Neuroscience - Call for Nominations
by Kerstin Schwarzwaelder April 21, 2016

April 21, 2016

Dear Colleagues, Please let me remind you that the Bernstein Association for Computational Neuroscience<http://www.nncn.de/en/bernstein-association> invites nominations for the Valentino Braitenberg Award for Computational Neuroscience. The award is biannually presented by the Bernstein Association to a scientist in recognition of outstanding research that contributes to our understanding of the functioning of the brain. The major criterion for the award is the impact or potential impact of the recipient's research on the field of brain science. In the spirit of Valentino Braitenberg's research, special emphasis is given to theoretical studies elucidating the functional implications of brain structures and their neuronal network dynamics. The awardee receives a €5.000 prize donated by the Autonome Provinz Bozen Südtirol as well as complimentary participation (registration, travel, and hotel accomodation) in the Bernstein Conference 2016. Here, the prize is awarded together with a Golden Neuron pin badge in a special ceremony that includes the Valentino Braitenberg lecture given by the awardee. Nominations may be submitted by scientists working in the field of Computational Neuroscience and should include the following documents: - One-page laudation, in which the scientific work of the candidate is honored with regard to the award's criteria - CV and list of publications Deadline for nominations is April 30, 2016 by e-mail to an.huber(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:an.huber@fz-juelich.de> The call for nominations can be found under the followingn URL: www.nncn.de/en/bernstein-association/valentino-braitenberg-award-for-comput…<http://www.nncn.de/en/bernstein-association/valentino-braitenberg-award-for…> For inquiries please contact an.huber(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:an.huber@fz-juelich.de> Best regards, Andrea Huber Brösamle -- Dr. Kerstin Schwarzwälder Scientific Coordination / Management Officer Please note: Our email addresses have changed. Please use k.schwarzwaelder(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:k.schwarzwaelder@fz-juelich.de> Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience | Bernstein Coordination Site (BCOS) Branch Office of the Forschungszentrum Jülich at the University of Freiburg Hansastr. 9A | 79104 Freiburg, Germany phone: (+49) 0761 203 9589 mail: k.schwarzwaelder(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:k.schwarzwaelder@fz-juelich.de> web: www.nncn.de<http://www.nncn.de> Twitter: NNCN_Germany<https://twitter.com/NNCN_Germany> YouTube: Bernstein TV<https://www.youtube.com/user/BernsteinNetwork> Facebook: Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience, Germany<https://www.facebook.com/BernsteinNetwork/> LinkedIn: Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience, Germany<https://www.linkedin.com/company/bernstein-network-computational-neuroscien…> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Postdoctoral position at NYU Abu Dhabi
by Robert Volcic April 21, 2016

April 21, 2016

The search for this position will close in a couple of weeks. If you are planning to attend the Vision Science Society meeting it may be possible to schedule an informal meeting to discuss the position in more detail. ---------------------------------------------------------- The Psychology Department at New York University Abu Dhabi is inviting applications for a fully funded postdoctoral associate position in the area of Psychology with interests in human perceptual and motor systems. The postdoctoral associate will work under the supervision of Dr. Robert Volcic (http://volcic.github.io) and will carry out behavioral studies on human multisensory perception (mainly vision and touch) and action (reaching and grasping). The lab will be equipped with a state of the art system for 3D visualization, a head tracking system, and a motion capture system for monitoring reaching and grasping movements. Moreover, the postdoctoral associate will have access to an eye movement tracker, and to fMRI and EEG facilities. Applicants must hold (or be close to completing) a Ph.D. in Psychology, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Biology, or related fields. Prior experience in vision/haptic/motor research is important as is programming efficiency. Applications will be accepted immediately and will be considered on a rolling basis. Please visit our website at http://nyuad.nyu.edu/about/careers/faculty-positions.html for instructions and information on how to apply. To be considered, all applicants must submit a cover letter, a curriculum vitae with full publication list, a statement of research interests, representative publications, expected date of availability, and names of two referees, all in PDF format. If you have any questions, please e-mail robert.volcic(a)nyu.edu. The preferred start date is September 1st, 2016. A later start date is possible based on the needs of the applicant. The duration of employment is for two years with the possibility to renew. This position is based in Abu Dhabi (U.A.E.). The terms of employment are competitive and include housing and other benefits. About NYUAD: New York University has established itself as a Global Network University, a multi-site, organically connected network encompassing key global cities and idea capitals. The network has three foundational degree-granting campuses: New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai, complimented by a network of eleven research and study-away sites across five continents. Faculty and students will circulate within this global network in pursuit of common research interests and the promotion of cross-cultural and interdisciplinary solutions for problems both local and global. Entering its sixth year, NYU Abu Dhabi has recruited a cohort of faculty who are at once distinguished in their research and teaching. Our students are drawn from around the world and surpass all traditional recruitment benchmarks, both US and global. NYU Abu Dhabi’s highly selective liberal arts enterprise is complimented by an institute for advanced research, sponsoring cutting-edge projects across the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences, and Engineering. EOE/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled

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[jobs] Postdoc-level in Intelligent Adaptive Systems (including neural networks, nlp and robotics)
by Wermter, Stefan April 20, 2016

April 20, 2016

The Knowledge Technology Research Group at the University of Hamburg invites applications for a Research Associate (Postdoc or postdoc-level/final year PhD candidate) in accordance with Section 28 of the Hamburg Higher Education Act (Hamburgisches Hochschul- gesetz, HmbHG). The position commences on 1 July 2016 or as soon as possible and is for three years plus a three year extension option. Responsibilities: Duties include teaching and research in the knowledge technology institute. Research associates can also pursue independent research and further academic qualifications as well as acquire teaching experience. These duties are intended to promote academic achieve- ment. Therefore, at least one-third of set working hours will be made available for the associate's own academic work. Specific Duties: The successful candidate will manage the international Master Pro- gramme in the field of MSc Intelligent Adaptive Systems as well as contribute to its teaching (4hrs/teaching week). Furthermore, the candidate is expected to conduct research in the area of Knowledge Technology and Intelligent Systems. This post is open to Postdocs or postdoc-level PhD candidates. PhD candidates have the opportunity to advance their academic education through the completion of a doctoral dissertation. Requirements: Academic degree preferably in computer science qualifying the post holder to carry out the above-mentioned responsibilities. In particu- lar, an MSc or PhD in Artificial Intelligence or Computer Science is essential. Your demonstrated research interests should be in the areas of Knowledge Technology and Intelligent Systems (e.g. Neural Networks, Cognitive Robotics, Natural Language Processing, Vision, or Knowledge Representation ). You should have published papers in this intelligent systems field. We are also looking for very good com- munication skills and teamwork; a very good command of both German and English is a requirement. Experience with teaching or organisation of MSc programmes is considered an advantage. The job is remunerated at the salary level TV-L 13. The position is full-time and comprises 39 hours per week. The fixed-term nature of this contract is based upon Section 2 of the Academic Fixed-Term Labor Contract Act (Wissenschaftszeitver- tragsgesetz, WissZeitVG). The initial fixed term is three years. The contract provides for a maximum extension of another three years de- pending on the associate's achievements during the first stage. The University aims to increase the number of women in research and teaching and explicitly encourages women to apply. Equally qualified female applicants will receive preference in accordance with the Hamburg Equality Act (Hamburgisches Gleichstellungsgesetz, HmbGleiG). Severely disabled applicants will receive preference over equally qualified non-disabled applicants. In case of questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Stefan Wermter, Head of Knowledge Technology Institute or consult our website at https://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/wtm/. Applications should include an application letter, full curriculum vitae, pdf of best international publications, copies of degree certificates and transcripts. The application deadline is 6 May 2016. Please email applications in a single pdf file to: Ms Katja Koesters, katja.koesters(a)informatik.uni-hamburg.de *********************************************** Professor Dr. Stefan Wermter Chair of Knowledge Technology Institute Department of Computer Science, WTM, Building F University of Hamburg Vogt Koelln Str. 30 22527 Hamburg, Germany Email: wermter AT informatik.uni-hamburg.de http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~wermter/ http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/WTM/ ***********************************************

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Open PhD position in Juelich, Germany: “From spike trains to whole-brain dynamics – Bottom-up and top-down processing during active vision”
by Martina Reske April 20, 2016

April 20, 2016

Dear colleagues We have an open PhD student position in our collaborative project entitled “From spike trains to whole-brain dynamics – Bottom-up and top-down processing during active vision” to fill. This project addresses the question how visual input is processed in extremely short time cycles of fixations and saccades through interaction of various cortical areas. MEG recordings from human subjects performing free viewing tasks will allow for the simultaneous observation of neuronal activities from different cortical areas during active vision. Analysis of subjects’ performance and brain activity on these visual tasks enables us to study the information flow through various cortical areas, and to identify top-down components interacting with bottom-up processes. What we expect from you: · We seek for a highly motivated candidate with curiosity and persistence · A preferable candidate will have background and strong Master degree in physics, neuroscience, electrophysiology, biology, computer science or a closely related field of natural science, preferably in the field of MEG/EEG biophysics, data acquisition and analysis, biostatistics, MEG/EEG biophysics or signal processing · Obligatory: excellent educational records in the related field, good programming and data processing skills, time series analysis and M/EEG source estimation · Substantial expertise in scientific programming (preferable languages: Python, C, C++ ) and substantial knowledge of Linux and Windows · Strong motivation to carry out neuroimaging studies utilizing MEG and to perform source and connectivity analysis · Beneficial: basic knowledge of neuroscience concepts · Ability and willingness to work independently and proactively · Confident appearance and ability to work cooperatively in an interdisciplinary environment · Good interpersonal and communication skills, structured and systematic working style · Fluent in English (spoken and written); beneficial: knowledge of German The candidate will primarily be based at the Jülich Research Center. What we offer: We offer a position in a creative and international team, themes ranging from computational neuroscience, simulation technology and multimodal imaging, see www.csn.fz-juelich.de<http://www.csn.fz-juelich.de> and <http://www.fz-juelich.de/inm/inm-4/EN/Forschung/MEG-Physik/_node.html> http://www.fz-juelich.de/inm/inm-4/EN/Forschung/MEG-Physik/_node.html. The Jülich Research Center is one of the largest research centers in Germany, with excellent scientific equipment, located on a green campus, and near the cultural centers Köln, Düsseldorf, and Aachen. The PhD position is available for 3 years. Applications, including a letter clearly motivating your application, CV, publication list, copies of university certificates, and one reference letter should be sent as a single PDF email attachment (max. 10MB) mentioning the internal reference code CSC-GID latest until May 31st , 2016, to should be sent to: Dr. Juergen Dammers (d.dammers(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:d.dammers@fz-juelich.de>). Project leaders will be: Prof. Dr. Sonja Grün (INM-6/IAS-6), Dr. Junji Ito (INM-6/IAS-6), Dr. Jürgen Dammers (INM-4) Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6, INM-4), Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), Jülich Research Center and JARA52425 Jülich, Germany, www.csn.fz-juelich.de<http://www.csn.fz-juelich.de> -- Dr. Martina Reske Scientific Coordinator Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6) Computational and Systems Neuroscience & Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6) Theoretical Neuroscience Jülich Research Centre and JARA Jülich, Germany Work +49.2461.611916 Work Cell +49.151.26156918 Fax +49.2461.619460 www.csn.fz-juelich.de<http://www.csn.fz-juelich.de> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt, Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Fully funded PhD positions: Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences
by Giulio Sandini April 20, 2016

April 20, 2016

We are seeking candidates for eight fully funded PhD positions at the Italian Institute of Technology's Robotics Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department (RBCS - www.iit.it/rbcs<http://www.iit.it/rbcs> ) directed by Giulio Sandini. The fellowships give access to the PhD course "Bioengineering and Robotics" offered by the University of Genova and specifically to the "Cognitive Robotics, Interaction and Rehabilitation Technologies" Curriculum. Deadline for Applications is June 10, 2016 at noon, Italian Time. The objective of the PhD program is to form scientists and research technologists capable of working in multidisciplinary teams on projects where human factors play a crucial role in technological development and design. Robotics and neuroscience researchers in RBCS share, as a fundamental scientific objective, the study of physical and social interaction in humans and machines (www.iit.it/rbcs<http://www.iit.it/rbcs> ). More specifically the themes supported by PhD fellowships<https://www.iit.it/110-phd-program-in-biorob-cognitive-robotics-2016> in this Curriculum are part of RBCS studies on human sensorimotor, cognitive and social interaction abilities, their implementation in the humanoid robot iCub, and on the design and assessment of assistive technologies and robotic rehabilitation devices for persons with disabilities. Among the topics offered one is left open to applicant's bright ideas (see the BYO theme in the list). RBCS research facilities<http://www.iit.it/rbcs> supports our student's research activities including the realization of ad-hoc experimental set-ups and mechatronic devices. The experimental facilities include, besides the humanoid platform iCub, a fully equipped motion capture room with simultaneous electromyography recording and force-platforms, a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Lab, an Electrophysiology Lab for EEG recording, haptic devices for ergonomic measures of individual and dyadic interaction, robot rehabilitation devices for the upper limbs including the wrist; The ideal candidates are students with a higher level university degree willing to invest extra time and effort in blending into a multidisciplinary team composed of neuroscientists, engineers, psychologists, physicists working together to investigate brain functions and realize intelligent machines, rehabilitation protocols and advanced prosthesis. The list of the themes offered by the curriculum Cognitive Robotics, Interaction and Rehabilitation Technologies can be downloaded here: https://www.iit.it/110-phd-program-in-biorob-cognitive-robotics-2016 [PDF] Applicants are strongly encouraged to get in touch with the tutors of the specific themes before completing the submission or with Giulio Sandini. International applications are encouraged and will receive logistic support with visa issues, relocation, etc. =========================================================================== How to apply Application deadline: 10 June 2016, Noon, Italian time =========================================================================== Please note that the positions are available through the PhD course of Bioengineering and Robotics, curriculum on Cognitive Robotics, Interaction and Rehabilitation Technologies, offered jointly by IIT and the University of Genoa. The official calls are available here: https://www.iit.it/phd-school under the section "Research themes for the call for application to PhD Courses established in agreement with the Università degli Studi di Genova, XXXII cycle". Please have a look at the "tips and tricks" section of this page which contains detailed instructions on how to apply and a list of documents to be presented. The link to the on-line application page is: http://www.studenti.unige.it/postlaurea/dottorati/XXXII/ In case of problems or questions related to the application procedure, please contact: anastasia.bruzzone(a)iit.it<mailto:anastasia.bruzzone@iit.it> =========================================================================== LIST OF THEMES OFFERED (tutors within brackets) Detailed descriptions are here: https://www.iit.it/110-phd-program-in-biorob-cognitive-robotics-2016 [PDF] =========================================================================== 1. INTERACTION AND GRASP FORCE IN HANDWRITING AND DEXTEROUS ACTION (Gabriel Baud-Bovy) 2. UNTANGLING FORCES PERCEPTUALLY IN HUMAN-HUMAN PHYSICAL INTERACTION (Gabriel Baud-Bovy) 3. VISUO-HAPTIC EXPLORATION STRATEGIES FOR OBJECT RECOGNITION (Alessandra Sciutti, Francesco Rea, Giulio Sandini) 4. MAKE HUMANOIDS UNDERSTAND HUMAN ACTIONS (Alessandra Sciutti, Francesco Rea, Giulio Sandini) 5. MULTISENSORY HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION (Alessandra Sciutti, Francesco Rea, Giulio Sandini) 6. ROBOT TECHNOLOGIES FOR EVALUATION OF SENSORIMOTOR IMPAIRMENT AND NEUROMOTOR REHABILITATION (Jacopo Zenzeri, Prof. Pietro Morasso) 7. MOTOR SKILL LEARNING IN DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTS (Jacopo Zenzeri, Prof. Pietro Morasso) 8. FROM SCIENCE TO TECHNOLOGY FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN (Monica Gori) 9. CORTICAL MECHANISMS OF MULTISENSORY INTEGRATION IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT VISUAL DISABILITY (Monica Gori, Giulio Sandini) 10. SPATIAL AWARENESS THROUGH EGOCENTRIC ON-BODY TACTILE STIMULATION (Luca Brayda, Fabrizio Leo) 11. IMPROVING ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY SKILLS IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSONS BY MEANS OF PROGRAMMABLE TACTILE DISPLAYS (Luca Brayda, Fabrizio Leo) 12. BYO: BRING YOUR OWN (PROJECT) (Giulio Sandini)

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summer school on 3D displays and the Human Visual System
by Jenny Read April 20, 2016

April 20, 2016

Hello everyone, The European Training Network on Full Parallax Imaging is organising a summer Training School on 3D displays and the Human Visual System, June 27 - July 1 in Newcastle, UK. Aimed at post-graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, especially those from engineering / computing backgrounds who are working on visual displays and interested in learning more about human visual perception in order to create the best experience for viewers. Registration is £250 for 5 days. Please circulate to any students / lab members who might be interested. More information and registration here: http://www.full-parallax-imaging.eu/TS1/ Thanks, Jenny -- Jenny C. A. Read Professor of Vision Science Mobile 0756 151 6988 Institute of Neuroscience Office +44 191 208 7559 Newcastle University, Website jennyreadresearch.com NE2 4HH, United Kingdom Twitter @jcaread _______________________________________________ visionlist mailing list visionlist(a)visionscience.com http://visionscience.com/mailman/listinfo/visionlist

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Program Director Positions at NSF
by Tuller, Betty K. April 19, 2016

April 19, 2016

Two Program Officer positions are being advertised at the National Science Foundation: Cognitive Neuroscience Program Director: BCS is seeking a Program Director for the Cognitive Neuroscience program. The Cognitive Neuroscience Program aims to spur the development of highly novel theories, techniques and models directed toward enabling basic scientific understanding of a broad range of issues involving brain, cognition, and behavior. Research will provide insights into healthy functions of brain, cognition, and behavior. Additionally, the program highly values the exploration of new methodologies, utilization of the latest analytic approaches, and the convergence of cutting edge techniques for addressing basic questions about human cognition. For additional information, see:https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/435126100?org=BCS Science of Learning Program Director: The Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS) at NSF is seeking a Program Director in the Science of Learning, who could also contribute to the management of the Development and Learning Sciences Program. Over the years, the Division has successfully supported research on learning across many scales of analysis, drawing on perspectives from many fields including cognitive and behavioral sciences, social science, engineering, biology, neuroscience, mathematics and physical sciences, computer science, machines learning and artificial intelligence. Attention is now turned to planning the next phase of Science of Learning investments, vis-à-vis the Developmental and Learning Sciences program, to continue the advancement of fundamental knowledge about learning. For additional information, see: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/435131500?org=BCS Betty Tuller, Ph.D. Director, Program in Perception, Action, and Cognition National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Blvd Arlington, VA 22230 Tel: 703.292.7238 Fax: 703.292.9068 1) A new Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide is now available at http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf16001 2) The PAC program has additional requirements for submission: Please go to the website at http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5686 3) Other items of potential interest to the PAC community are listed on the PAC website. NOTE: New solicitation for Integrative Strategies for Understanding Neural and Cognitive Systems: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf16508<http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf16508>. Interested in serving as a Program Officer at NSF? Visit: http://www.nsf.gov/about/career_opps/rotators/microsite/<http://www.nsf.gov/about/career_opps/rotators/microsite/>

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Fully funded PhD position in Computational models of cortical sensory processing at IIT (Italy)
by Stefano Panzeri April 19, 2016

April 19, 2016

We are seeking candidates for a PhD position at the Italian Institute of Technology’s Neural Coding Laboratory ( https://www.iit.it/lines/neural-computation ) directed by Stefano Panzeri and located in Rovereto (Trento), Italy. IIT collaborates with Università degli studi di Trento and finances these positions at the PhD course in Cognitive and Brain Sciences. *Interested candidates are invited to informally approach as soon as possible Prof. Stefano Panzeri (*stefano.panzeri(a)iit.it*) by emailing their CV and briefly explaining their interest in this position. In order to formally apply to the PhD Position, candidates will then need to refer to the call published by Università degli Studi di Trento and available at the following link*: http://web.unitn.it/en/drcimec/10140/admission-doctoral-school-cognitive-an… *Deadline for formal application is 10 may 2016* Topic description: This project will develop neural network models to investigate the mechanisms by which neural circuits encode and transmit information about the sensory environment. In particular, the successful candidate will model the role of specific classes of excitatory and inhibitory neurons in shaping cortical information processing. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to interact with the collaborating IIT laboratory of Dr Tommaso Fellin, that performs neurophysiological and optogenetic experiments to test the model predictions. The applicant should have a strong background in numerate sciences, and have a propensity for interdisciplinary research. No extensive previous experience in neuroscience is needed. However, a keen interest in understanding the brain is essential.

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fully funded PhD position in Information theoretic studies of neural population coding at IIT (Italy)
by Stefano Panzeri April 19, 2016

April 19, 2016

We are seeking candidates for a PhD position at the Italian Institute of Technology’s Neural Coding Laboratory ( https://www.iit.it/lines/neural-computation ) directed by Stefano Panzeri and located in Rovereto (Trento), Italy. IIT collaborates with Università degli studi di Trento and finances these positions at the PhD course in Cognitive and Brain Sciences. Interested candidates are invited to informally approach *as soon as possible* Prof. Stefano Panzeri (stefano.panzeri(a)iit.it) by emailing their CV and briefly explaining their interest in this position. In order to formally apply to the PhD Position, candidates will then need to refer to the call published by Università degli Studi di Trento and available at the following link: http://web.unitn.it/en/drcimec/10140/admission-doctoral-school-cognitive-an… *Deadline for formal application is 10 may 2016* Topic description: Understanding how populations of neurons encode and transmit information is a prerequisite for understanding brain functions such as perception. Progresses in neural recordings technology enable scientists to monitor the activity of larger and larger number of neurons, but it is still unclear how to analyze these data to understand how groups of neurons work together. The successful candidate will develop and use tools for the analysis of large-scale simultaneous recordings of the spiking activity of cells in the cortex to understand how populations of neurons carry information. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to both develop new advanced methods and to analyze experimental data in collaboration with many experimental neuroscience laboratories. The applicant should have a strong background in numerate sciences, and have a strong propensity for interdisciplinary research. No extensive previous experience in neuroscience is needed. However, a keen interest in understanding the brain is essential.

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[jobs] Post-doc in Developmental Robotics, closing date 28th April
by Patricia Shaw April 19, 2016

April 19, 2016

Post-Doctoral Research Associate, (Fixed Term until 31 March 2018) Institute of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science, Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK Grade 7 - £32,600 - £37,768 Closing Date: Midnight 28 April 2016 Applicants are invited to join the Robotics Laboratory for a project (entitled “Developmental Algorithms for Robotics”). The project is focusing on developmental robotic learning based on an iCub humanoid robot. This is a three year EPSRC funded project running at Aberystwyth University started March 2015, with the support of an International Scientific Advisory Board consisting of leading developmental psychologists. We wish to appoint a Post-Doctoral Research Associate who will develop models based on the psychological literature, and conduct experiments on our iCub humanoid robot. The successful candidate will have appropriate modelling skills and experience, and proven abilities in this area. Other tasks include writing scientific documents and papers, documenting experiments and writing reports, supervising a PhD student and collaborating with other researchers. Regular European travel will be involved. The project ends March 2018, with the fixed-term contract running to this date. For informal enquiries contact Patricia Shaw: phs(a)aber.ac.uk +44 (0)1970 622432. For the full job description, please visit: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__jobs.aber.ac.uk_en_vac…

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Two positions at Boston Univ: 1.) Neural data analysis & 2.) Modeling cortical cognitive function
by Michael Hasselmo April 18, 2016

April 18, 2016

Two positions are available in the Hasselmo laboratory in the Center for Systems Neuroscience at Boston University focused on: 1.) Analysis of neurophysiological data, and 2.) Computational modeling of cortical cognitive function. Each position could be hired as either a pre-doctoral staff position or a post-doctoral research position. 1. ANALYSIS OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL DATA. This position involves working with multiple ongoing neurophysiological research projects, including unit and field potential recording in awake behaving rodents, and whole cell patch recording in brain slice preparations. The ideal candidate will be able to balance research projects efficiently and work closely with others in the lab. Interest in neuroscience and background in engineering or mathematics is preferred. Experience with scientific data analysis and signal processing is essential. Programming proficiency is required. Languages of use include: MATLAB, Python, Unix, C++, MySQL, though experience is not required in each. Experience with machine learning, computational modeling, and biomedical recording hardware/software is desirable. Responsibilities: • Develop and maintain standardized analysis procedures and toolboxes for multiple experimental paradigms. • Develop software for interfacing with experimental equipment, as required. • Assist on experimental design and statistical analyses of data • Develop processing procedures for non-standard data • Compare and fit experimental results to biologically structured models. • Prepare written presentations of results • Maintain a uniform data flow and backup procedure across researchers. • Maintain and utilize MySQL databases. 2. COMPUTATIONAL MODELING OF CORTICAL COGNITIVE FUNCTION. This position involves development of cortical circuit models of cognitive function with a particular emphasis on the prefrontal cortex, building on previous research including work in the Hasselmo laboratory at Boston University. The ideal candidate will have previous experience with development of neural circuit models of the role of neocortical structures in symbolic processing and cognitive function, with programming proficiency in languages such as MATLAB and/or Python. Responsibilities: • Develop and maintain cognitive model of cortical function using neurons at different levels of detail. • Simulate behavioral function in a range of cognitive tasks. • Assist on design of experiments using fMRI and unit recording in non-human primates. • Compare and fit experimental results to biologically structured models. • Prepare written presentations of models and experimental data. If interested, please send resume, cover letter, and names of references (letters not yet required) to Prof. Michael Hasselmo at hasselmo(a)bu.edu. -- Prof. Michael Hasselmo Director, Center for Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Memory and Brain, Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, 2 Cummington St., Boston, MA, 02215, USA e-mail: hasselmo(a)bu.edu, http://www.bu.edu/hasselmo

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Call for Abstracts: Bernstein Conference 2016
by Margret Franke April 18, 2016

April 18, 2016

Call for Abstracts: Bernstein Conference 2016 ************************************************************** Satellite Workshops September 20-21, 2016 Main Conference September 21-23, 2016 PhD Symposium September 23-24, 2016 ************************************************************** The Bernstein Conference started out as the annual meeting of the Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience and has become the largest annual Computational Neuroscience conference in Europe with more than 500 international participants in recent years. This year the conference is organized by the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The main conference (Sep 21-23, 2016) will be accompanied by satellite workshops (Sep 20-21, 2016) and a PhD symposium (Sep 23-24, 2016). An important part of the main conference will be the two poster sessions. We are now inviting the submission of abstracts from all relevant areas. Authors of most accepted abstracts will get the chance for a poster presentation, a small number of abstracts will be selected for contributed talks during the main conference. Please note the earlier submission deadline for authors applying for a talk. All accepted abstracts will be published online and will be citable via Digital Object Identifiers (DOI). DETAILS FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION: Please note that the submission of an abstract does not replace the conference registration (www.bernstein-conference.de/registration) Poster space is limited and early submission is encouraged. For abstract submission visit: http://g-node.org/abstracts/bc16/ ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINES: Posters to be considered as contributed talks: June 15, 2016 Other posters: August 1, 2016 NEW THIS YEAR – TRAVEL GRANTS This year for the first time, the Bernstein Association offers Travel Grants for participation in the Bernstein Conference. Each of the 10 Travel Grants is endowed with 500 €. Please find further information under the link: www.nncn.de/en/bernstein-conference/2016/travel-grant CONFERENCE DETAILS: Conference registration starts on May 2, 2016. Early registration deadline: July 24, 2016 Hotel rooms are relatively pricy and limited due to a huge trade fair at the same time. We offer a small contingent of hotel rooms close to conference venue on the conference website. Please book by yourself. VENUE Satellite Workshops and Main Conference: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin, Germany VENUE PhD Symposium: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Campus Nord, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Philippstr. 13 Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany VENUE Public Lecture: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Audimax, Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin, Germany, September 21, 2016, 8 pm For more information on the conference, please visit the website http://www.bernstein-conference.de We are looking forward to welcoming you in Berlin! Local organizer: Michael Brecht Program chair: Richard Kempter Managing director: Margret Franke Co-Organizers: Bernstein Coordination Site (BCOS): Andrea Huber Broesamle, Mareike Kardinal, Kerstin Schwarzwaelder -- Margret Franke Managing Director Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin phone: (030) 2093-9110 fax: (030) 2093-6771

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Postdoc in Warsaw - kernel-based method of electrophysiological source imaging
by Daniel Wójcik April 18, 2016

April 18, 2016

https://neuroinflab.wordpress.com/jobs/ POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE: kESI – kernel-based method of electrophysiological source imaging The Neuroinformatics Laboratory (https://neuroinflab.wordpress.com/) at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (NENCKI, www.nencki.gov.pl) headed by Prof. Daniel Wójcik (http://www.neuroinf.pl/Members/danek) invites applications for a postdoctoral position (36 months) that will be available as part of a nationally funded project (NCN OPUS). The goal of the project is to develop and implement a new technique of source localization of specific events in neural activity, such as a seizure, from multimodal imaging data, including ECoG (strip and grid electrodes), depth electrophysiological recordings, and MRI data from humans. The method will be validated with ground truth model data and tested on clinical data obtained from epilepsy patients. The fellow will build on already existing tools and techniques developed in the lab, see especially Potworowski et al. 2012 and Ness et al. 2015. Requirements: - PhD, preferred in physics/biophysics, mathematics, computer science, electrical engineering, computational neuroscience or related fields - Strong interest in brain research - Preference for people with experience in one or more of: numerical solutions of PDEs, electrodynamics, computational neuroscience, brain imaging - Advanced programming experience, Python preferred - Exceptional motivation for scientific research (demonstrated in former education record, additional courses completed, list of publications and conferences attended, previous scientific experience, references of the candidate’s thesis advisor, letter-of-intent) - Proficiency in English Application The application should contain the following documents/information: - CV including the list of publications, scholarships and awards, list of computational projects in which the candidate participated (preferably with links to the project website/publication or the candidate’s GitHub account). - Copy of PhD diploma - The applicant should arrange for two letters of recommendation to be sent directly to Prof. Wojcik and should provide contact information (email, phone) for the two referees in the cover letter. Preferred starting time: by September 15th, 2016 but the position is open. Application deadline: We are accepting applications until the position is filled To apply or ask for further information send email to d.wojcik(a)nencki.gov.pl -- Prof. Daniel K. Wojcik Laboratory of Neuroinformatics, Head PhD Studies, Head Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology 3 Pasteur St, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland tel: (+48 22) 5892348 fax: (+48 22) 8225342 skype: danek8317 http://dwojcik.pl/ http://neuroinflab.wordpress.com/ http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0812-9872

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postdoc positions - Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit
by Peter Latham April 18, 2016

April 18, 2016

The Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit invites applications for one or more postdoctoral training fellowships in theoretical neuroscience and related areas. We are looking especially for someone with an interest and/or background in synaptic plasticity and learning. Candidates should have a very strong analytical background in physics, mathematics, statistics, or machine learning, with an emphasis on the use of Bayesian methods in neuroscience, a detailed knowledge and understanding of the literature, and a publication record in highly ranked conferences and journals. Candidates must also have a PhD in a relevant subject area by the agreed start date of the position. For additional information, and to apply, please visit http://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/vacancies/TN%20Postdoc%202016/TN%20Postdoc%2020… If you have any questions, please contact Peter Latham, pel(a)gatsby.ucl.ac.uk

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Open PhD Position at the University of Exeter, UK - Modelling visuomotor coordination in People with Parkinson’s Disease
by Tsaneva-Atanasova, Krasimira April 18, 2016

April 18, 2016

I have an open PhD Positions in my group at the University of Exeter. I am looking for PhD students with quantitative background (mathematics, physics, computer science or engineering) who are interested in applying their skills in solving biomedical and/or healthcare problems. Carlota Palmer Studentships: 2. Modelling visuomotor coordination in People with Parkinson’s Disease For further details and how to apply see: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/studying/funding/award/?id=2159<http://www.exeter.ac.uk/studying/funding/award/?id=2122> Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding these positions. Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova Professor of Mathematics for Healthcare College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences University of Exeter Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QF, UK tel: +44 (0) 1392 723615 email: k.tsaneva-atanasova(a)exeter.ac.uk<mailto:k.tsaneva-atanasova@exeter.ac.uk> web: http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/mathematics/staff/kt298 ALTEREGO - Enhancing Social Interaction with an AlterEgo artificial agent http://www.euromov.eu/alterego/homepage

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Postdoctoral and Developer positions / Large-scale network simulator development
by Hans Ekkehard Plesser April 18, 2016

April 18, 2016

Dear Colleagues! The computational neuroscience group at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences is currently recruiting one postdoctoral-level researcher and one scientific software developer as part of our large-scale neuronal network simulator development efforts in the Human Brain Project (HBP). Our group is responsible for four tasks in the next phase of the HBP: - Massively parallel methods for network construction from rules and data - Whole brain level in silico instrumentation, services and apps - Models of brain signals - Simulator NEST as a Service Your work will focus on the first two tasks, researching concepts required to compactly specify brain-scale neuronal networks so that they are easy for the neuroscientist to review, and at the same time can be instantiated efficiently in a massively parallel fashion. You will further work on concepts that will allow domain specialists to configure complete in silico experiments on point-neuron-based whole-brain models by connecting stimulation and recording devices to specific neuron populations. We will collaborate closely with colleagues within the HBP, especially at the Institute for Neuroscience and Medicine 6, Research Center Jülich (FZJ), at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), and at University of Oslo. Our group is a core member of the NEST Initiative. We have access to some of the world's largest supercomputers and aim to develop simulation technology that will scale to the exascale. Preferred starting date for the positions is 1 August 2016 for a period of 20 months (until 31 March 2018). For details on the positions, please see the full advertisements at https://www.jobbnorge.no/ledige-stillinger/stilling/124473/researcher-in-ne… https://www.jobbnorge.no/ledige-stillinger/stilling/124558/head-engineer-se… where you also can submit your application. For general information about working in Norway, please see https://www.nav.no/workinnorway/ Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in the positions! Hans Ekkehard Plesser -- Dr. Hans Ekkehard Plesser, Associate Professor 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

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[IEEE ICCI*CC'16:] Final call for Submission: Computational Intelligence/Cognitive Informatics/Cognitive Computing @Stanford
by Yingxu Wang April 18, 2016

April 18, 2016

Dear Colleagues, The deadline for paper submission to IEEE ICCI'CC’16 (15th IEEE International Conference on Cognitive Informatics & Cognitive Computing) is April 30, 2016 (http://www.ucalgary.ca/icci_cc/iccicc-16) The Proceedings of ICCI*CC'16 will be published by IEEE CS Press. Papers accepted in ICCI*CC’16 will be indexed by EI. Extended versions of selected papers will be published in several EI or SCI indexed journals. Full papers are expected to be around 5-8 pages in IEEE double column format. Short papers (3-4 pages) that report industrial experience, case studies, work in progress, or graduate students’ research are also welcome. Paper submission site is at: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iccicc2016. The conference will be featured by four keynote speeches such as those of: * Prof. Lotfi A. Zadeh with UC Berkeley * Prof. Bernard Widrow with Stanford University The keynotes highlight cutting-edge theories and novel technologies for cognitive systems and computational intelligence inspired by the brain. We look forward to meeting you at Stanford University during Aug. 22-23, 2016. Sincerely, IEEE ICCI*CC'16 Co-Chairs GENERAL CO-CHAIRS: Bernard Widrow (Stanford) and Yingxu Wang (UofC, Canada) PROGRAM CO-CHAIRS: Newton Howard (MIT) and Kostas Plataniotis (Univ. of Toronto, Canada)_______________________________________________ This message was sent to all subscribers of ieeeicci13-L To unsubscribe, see instructions at: http://www.ucalgary.ca/it/email/mailman E-mail: ieeeicci13-L(a)mailman.ucalgary.ca Homepage: http://mailman.ucalgary.ca/mailman/listinfo/ieeeicci13-l

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PhD position: neuronal self-organization in the retina
by Roman Bauer April 16, 2016

April 16, 2016

Dear all, applications are invited for a fully-funded three-year PhD student position at the Institute of Neuroscience at Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne (UK). The successful candidate will work under the supervision of Dr Roman Bauer and Dr Evelyne Sernagor, and do computational modeling as well as wet-lab work on neuronal development and self-organization in the retina. There is also the possibility for the student to be involved in a collaborative project with CERN openlab and Intel as a project partner. Applicants should be highly motivated and should have a strong background in physics, computer science, neuroscience or a related disciplince. Good computational skills and experience in a major programing language such as C++ or Java are required. The Institute of Neuroscience (IoN) is a well-established research institute integrating over 75 principal investigators, and was ranked in UK top 10 for overall quality of research. The university's Faculty of Medical Sciences, of which IoN is part of, is ranked in the top 50 worldwide for biomedical and health sciences in the Leiden Ranking. UK/EU and International students are eligible to apply, but international students will be required to make up the difference between the UK/EU fees and international fees. The deadline is May 13th, 2016. More details on this job posting can be found here: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/funding/sources/allstudents/12mrea.html Best regards, Roman Bauer

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Call for Abstracts at NTS Conference, Deadline April 29, 2016
by Camille Grigsby-Rocca April 15, 2016

April 15, 2016

Dear Colleagues, The Scientific Committee of Neuromodulation: The Science Conference is pleased to announce an extension to the conference Call for Abstracts, now due April 29, 2016, for our upcoming neuroscience summit, slated for May 25-29, 2016 in San Francisco. Submissions are open for the Neurovations Awards for Best Posters in Neuromodulation at NTS Conference, for abstracts presenting original basic or clinical scientific research or updates in brain/computer/machine interfacing, biomedical engineering, neuroscience and neuromodulation. See the Abstract Submission Guidelines here<http://ntsconference.com/neurovations-award/>. The top three posters from all specialties including brain/computer/maching interfacing, bioengineering, neuromodulation and neuroscience will win an award for scientific excellence, which will be presented on the final day of the conference. Prizes to the top three posters selected will be awarded in amounts of $3000, $2000, and $1000, respectively. All posters must be attended by a registered attendee of the conference. View the program at ntsconference.com<http://ntsconference.com/> - conference co-chairs Elliot Krames, MD, Eric Grigsby, MD, MBA and Peter Staats, MD, with the support of the Conference Scientific Committee have designed five days of world-class scientific content. The program includes lectures and Q&A panels, led by over 60 of the world's preeminent scientists in brain/computer/machine interfacing, neuromodulation, optogenetics, bioengineering, functional electrical stimulation (FES), spinal cord stimulation (SCS), and more. Early registration rates are available through April 21. Discounted lodging rates at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero, San Francisco, are available until April 29. Abstracts will be accepted through April 29. CME credits are available, with 18.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits(tm). VIEW THE FULL PROGRAM HERE<http://ntsconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/NTS_agenda_040516.pdf>. ________________________________ This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through joint providership of SpectrumCare and Neurovations Education. SpectrumCare is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. SpectrumCare designates this live activity for a maximum of 18.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits(tm). Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. ________________________________ SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Elliot Krames, MD Past President INS, Founding Editor of Neuromodulation Eric Grigsby, MD, MBA CEO, Neurovations Clinical Research and Education Founder, Napa Pain Institute, the SpectrumCare Group Peter Staats, MD Premier Pain Centers, Past President, NANS Joe Pancrazio, PhD Associate Provost and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at University of Texas at Dallas Hunter Peckham, PhD Professor Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University Dominique Durand, PhD El Lindseth Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve Universtiy Magdy Hassouna, MD, PhD Department of Urology, University of Toronto Ali Rezai, MD Director, OSU Neuroscience Program, Stanley and Jodi Ross Chair in Neuromodulation, Associate Dean of Neurosciences, Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience Robert Gross, MD, PhD Professor, Departments of Neurosurgery, Neurology, Biomedical Engineering, and Neuroscience,Director, Functional, Stereotactic & Epilepsy Surgery Division Tony Yaksh, PhD Distinguished Professor in Anesthesiology and Pharmacology and Vice Chairman for Research in Anesthesiology(1988-present), Co-director of the Pain and Symptom Management Core of the UCSD Regional Cancer Center Chad Bouton, MS Division Leader, Neurotechnology and Analytics, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Managing Director, Center for Bioelectronic Medicine Simon Thomson, MD Past President, INS Bengt Linderoth, MD, PhD Professor of Neurosurgery, retired, Karolinska Institute Robert Foreman, PhD George Lynn Cross Research Professor, University of Oklahoma, Dept of Physiology, retired Michael DeJongste, MD, PhD Faculty of Medical Sciences, Dept of Cardiology, University of Groningen Jiande Chen, PhD Professor of Medicine and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

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Deadline April 30 for Berkeley summer course in mining and modeling of neuroscience data
by Friedrich Sommer April 13, 2016

April 13, 2016

Just a reminder: The application deadline for the Berkeley course in mining and modeling of neuroscience data, held July 11-22, 2016 is April 30 midnight. Call for applications: We invite applicants to the 2016 summer course in "Mining and modeling of neuroscience data" to be held July 11-22, 2016 at UC Berkeley. A description of the course is below and also at: http://crcns.org/course Berkeley summer course in mining and modeling of neuroscience data. July 11-22, 2016 Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, UC Berkeley Organizers: Fritz Sommer, Bruno Olshausen & Jeff Teeters (HWNI, UC Berkeley) Scope This course is for students and researchers with backgrounds in mathematics and computational sciences who are interested in applying their skills toward problems in neuroscience. It will introduce the major open questions of neuroscience and teach state-of–the-art techniques for analyzing and modeling neuroscience data sets. The course is designed for students at the graduate level and researchers with background in a quantitative field such as engineering, mathematics, physics or computer science who may or may not have a specific neuroscience background. The goal of this summer course is to help researchers find new exciting research areas and at the same time to strengthen quantitative expertise in the field of neuroscience. The course is sponsored by the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation from a grant supporting activities at the data sharing repository CRCNS.org, and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at UC Berkeley. Format The course is “hands on” in that it will include exercises in how to use and modify existing software tools and apply them to data sets, such as those available in the CRCNS.org repository. Course Instructors Robert Kass, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh Maneesh Sahani, Gatsby Unit, University College London Odelia Schwartz, University of Miami Frederic Theunissen, University of California Berkeley Joshua Vogelstein, Johns Hopkins University Course Moderators Fritz Sommer and Jeff Teeters, Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience. Speakers To complement the main course instruction there will be lectures in the evenings by local Berkeley and UCSF neuroscientists presenting their research using quantitative approaches. Requirements Applicants should be familiar with linear algebra, probability, differential and integral calculus and have some experience using MatLab and Python. Each student should bring a laptop with both MatLab and Python installed. Cost There is no cost to attend. Non-local attendees will be reimbursed for economy travel expenses (up to a maximum, probably about $500) and also for qualifying food expenses if receipts are provided. Housing Rooms in a nearby hotel will be provided for those attendees who need accommodations. Food Breakfast and some dinners will be provided to all participants as a group. Non-local attendees can purchase food at local stores or restaurants and be reimbursed. How to apply To apply, submit the online form linked from: http://crcns.org/course. A curriculum vitae and a letter of recommendation are required. The course is limited to 25 students. Deadlines Applications must be received by the end of April. Notifications of acceptance will be given by May 15. Questions Questions about the course can be sent to course [at] crcns.org. Topics covered (subject to change): Basic approaches: - The problem of neural coding - Spike trains, point processes, and firing rate - Statistical thinking in neuroscience - Theory of model fitting / regularization / hypothesis testing - Overview of stimulus-response function models - Theory of model fitting / regularization / hypothesis testing - Bayesian methods - Spike sorting - Estimation of stimulus-response functionals: regression methods, spike-triggered covariance, - Variance analysis of neural response - Estimation of SNR. Coherence Information theoretic approaches: - Information transmission rates - Scene statistics approaches and neural modeling Techniques for analyzing multiple-electrode and optical neural recordings: - Event sorting in electrophysiology and optical imaging - Optophysiology cell detection - Sparse coding/ICA methods, vanilla and methods including statistical models of nonlinear dependencies - Methods for assessing functional connectivity - Statistical issues in network identification - Low-dimensional latent dynamical structure in network activity–Gaussian process factor analysis/newer methods Analyzing structural data: - Histology cell detection - Statistical connectomics Neuroinformatics topics: - Petascale data storage, exploration, parsing and analysis - Introduction into Neurodata Without Borders data format for Neurophysiology

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Postdoctoral position: computational neuroscience in NYU
by Chen, Zhe April 13, 2016

April 13, 2016

Dear colleagues, Applications are now being accepted for a postdoctoral fellow position to combine computational and experimental techniques to study neural mechanisms of thalamus-neocortical circuits using healthy or diseased rodent models (1-4). The applicant will work closely with Dr. Zhe (Sage) Chen and Dr. Mike Halassa at the New York University School of Medicine, with cross-disciplinary training in computational and systems neuroscience, including rodent behavior and electrophysiology. The applicant will have great opportunities to interact with a large and growing neuroscience community at the NYU campus, including the Neuroscience Institute (http://neuroscience.med.nyu.edu<http://neuroscience.med.nyu.edu/>), Center for Neural Science (http://www.cns.nyu.edu<http://www.cns.nyu.edu/>), Department of Neuroscience & Physiology (http://neuro-physio.med.nyu.edu<http://neuro-physio.med.nyu.edu/>), and Department of Psychiatry (http://psych.med.nyu.edu<http://psych.med.nyu.edu/>). NYU Neuroscience community is also surrounded by other institutions in the greater New York metropolitan area (such as Columbia, Cornell, Rockefeller and Mount Sinai). The postdoc position is available immediately, and will be renewable depending on performance. Applications must have a PhD degree in Neuroscience, Engineering (Biomedical or Electrical), Statistics, Physics or a related discipline. The desired applicant is expected to be highly motivated and work independently as well as cooperatively with other colleagues in all research projects. Ability to learn new techniques and resolve new research challenges is essential. Strong experiences in large-scale computational (biophysical and statistical) modeling of neural circuits are desired. Previous training in some but not necessary all areas, such as animal behavior and optogenetics, in vivo neural recordings at the system levels, are preferred. Research experience with multi-electrode recordings of rodent neural circuits is a plus. To apply, please send an email along with (i) CV (with a complete list of publications); (ii) a cover letter describing research accomplishments and interests; (iii) the names and contact information of two to three references to: Dr. Zhe (Sage) Chen (zhe.chen3(a)nyumc.org<mailto:zhe.chen3@nyumc.org>) or Dr. Mike Halassa (Michael.halassa(a)nyumc.org<mailto:Michael.halassa@nyumc.org>) with a subject line “Postdoc application”. Best Zhe (Sage) Chen Related references: 1. Halassa, M.M., Chen, Z., Wimmer, R.D., Brunetti, P.M., Zhao, S., Zikopoulos, B., Wang, F., Brown, E.N., Wilson, M.A. (2014) State-dependent architecture of thalamic reticular sub-networks. Cell, 158: 808-824. 2. Chen, Z., Wimmer, R.D., Wilson, M.A., Halassa, M.M. (2015) Thalamic circuit mechanisms link sensory processing in sleep and attention. Front. Neural Circuits, 9:83. 3. Wimmer, R.D., Schmitt, L.I., Davidson, T.J., Nakajima, M., Deisseroth, K.,Halassa, M.M. (2015) Thalamic control of sensory selection in divided attention. Nature, 526: 705–709, DOI: 10.1038/nature15398. 4. Wells, M.F., Wimmer, R.D., Schmitt, L.I., Feng, G., Halassa, M.M. (2016) Thalamic reticular impairment underlies attention deficit in Ptchd1Y/- mice. Nature, 532: 58-63, DOI: 10.1038/nature17427. ------------------------------------------------------------ This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain information that is proprietary, confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender by return email and delete the original message. Please note, the recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. The organization accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email. =================================

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CFP- Frontiers Research Topic: Cortico-striato-nigro-thalamo-cortical Modeling for Understanding Motor Function and Neurodegenerative Disease
by Zheng April 13, 2016

April 13, 2016

To whom it may concern: In collaboration with Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, we are organizing a Research Topic titled "Cortico-striato-nigro-thalamo-cortical Modeling for Understanding Motor Function and Neurodegenerative Disease”, hosted by Pengsheng Zheng, James Kozloski, Timothy Rumbell, George V. Rebec. 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://frontiersin.org/Computational_Neuroscience/researchtopics/Cortico-st… Movement in the body is directly controlled by motor cortex, and also determined by multiple subcortical structures, such as thalamus and the basal ganglia (including striatum and dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra). Many lines of evidence have suggested the cortico-striato-nigro-thalamo-cortical circuitry plays a major role in motor learning and control. This circuitry has also been investigated for its causal role in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Neurodegenerative diseases are often associated with movement disorders and neuronal dysfunction in degenerated brain structures, such as the striatum in Huntington’s disease and dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta in Parkinson's disease. Degeneration fundamentally changes the dynamics of local neuronal circuits, and these changes then propagate through the structural connectome of whole brain circuitry, eventually altering global brain dynamics. However, our current understanding of these system dynamics in the cortico-striato-nigro-thalamo-cortical circuitry remains rudimentary. Hence, theoretical studies about critical system variables and computational principles of this circuitry, constrained by recordings throughout, will shed new light on causes of motor dysfunction and neurodegenerative diseases. This Research Topic of Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience aims to bring together recent advances in theoretical modeling of cortico-striato-nigro-thalamo-cortical network and experimental observations. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, local brain circuit modeling, the functional role of neuronal plasticity in the local and global circuit, global circuit interactions and information exchange, new models validated by experimental observations, and dynamic disease risk analysis through perturbation studies. Best regards, Pengsheng Zheng zhengp(a)us.ibm.com <mailto:zhengp@us.ibm.com> T.J. Watson Research Center 1101 Kitchawan Rd., 13-114A Yorktown Heights, NY 10598

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Summer School "Advanced Scientific Programming in Python" in Reading, UK, September 5--11, 2016
by Etienne B. Roesch April 13, 2016

April 13, 2016

*Advanced Scientific Programming in Python* a Summer School by the G-Node, and the Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UK Scientists spend more and more time writing, maintaining, and debugging software. While techniques for doing this efficiently have evolved, only few scientists have been trained to use them. As a result, instead of doing their research, they spend far too much time writing deficient code and reinventing the wheel. In this course we will present a selection of advanced programming techniques and best practices which are standard in the industry, but especially tailored to the needs of a programming scientist. Lectures are devised to be interactive and to give the students enough time to acquire direct hands-on experience with the materials. Students will work in pairs throughout the school and will team up to practice the newly learned skills in a real programming project — an entertaining computer game. We use the Python programming language for the entire course. Python works as a simple programming language for beginners, but more importantly, it also works great in scientific simulations and data analysis. We show how clean language design, ease of extensibility, and the great wealth of open source libraries for scientific computing and data visualization are driving Python to become a standard tool for the programming scientist. This school is targeted at Master or PhD students and Post-docs from all areas of science. Competence in Python or in another language such as Java, C/C++, MATLAB, or Mathematica is absolutely required. Basic knowledge of Python and of a version control system such as git, subversion, mercurial, or bazaar is assumed. Participants without any prior experience with Python and/or git should work through the proposed introductory material before the course. We are striving hard to get a pool of students which is international and gender-balanced. You can apply online: https://python.g-node.org *Application deadline: 23:59 UTC, May 15, 2016. Be sure to read the FAQ before applying. * Participation is for free, i.e. no fee is charged! Participants however should take care of travel, living, and accommodation expenses by themselves. Travel grants may be available. *Date & Location * September 5—11, 2016. Reading, UK *Program * - Best Programming Practices • Best practices for scientific programming • Version control with git and how to contribute to open source projects with GitHub • Best practices in data visualization - Software Carpentry • Test-driven development • Debugging with a debugger • Profiling code - Scientific Tools for Python • Advanced NumPy - Advanced Python • Decorators • Context managers • Generators - The Quest for Speed • Writing parallel applications • Interfacing to C with Cython • Memory-bound problems and memory profiling • Data containers: storage and fast access to large data - Practical Software Development • Group project *Preliminary Faculty * • Francesc Alted, freelance consultant, author of PyTables, Spain • Pietro Berkes, Enthought Inc., Cambridge, UK • Zbigniew Jędrzejewski-Szmek, Krasnow Institute, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA • Eilif Muller, Blue Brain Project, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland • Juan Nunez-Iglesias, Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative, University of Melbourne, Australia • Rike-Benjamin Schuppner, Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany • Bartosz Teleńczuk, European Institute for Theoretical Neuroscience, CNRS, Paris, France • Stéfan van der Walt, Berkeley Institute for Data Science, UC Berkeley, CA, USA • Nelle Varoquaux, Centre for Computational Biology Mines ParisTech, Institut Curie, U900 INSERM, Paris, France • Tiziano Zito, freelance consultant, Germany *Organizers * For the German Neuroinformatics Node of the INCF (G-Node) Germany: • Tiziano Zito, freelance consultant, Germany • Zbigniew Jędrzejewski-Szmek, Krasnow Institute, George Mason University, Fairfax, USA • Jakob Jordan, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Germany For the Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading UK: • Etienne Roesch, Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, University of Reading, UK *Website*: https://python.g-node.org *Contact*: python-info(a)g-node.org Kind regards, Etienne ----- Dr. Etienne B. Roesch Lecturer in Cognitive Science University of Reading

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Early Career Research Fellowship in Systems Biology / Machine Learning for Food and Disease
by Steuber, Volker April 13, 2016

April 13, 2016

Early Career Research Fellowship in Systems Biology / Machine Learning for Food and Disease Closing date: 17 May 2016 Salary: £31,656 - £37,768 per annum depending on skills and experience. The University of Hertfordshire is investing in its future research staff and infrastructure, and is in the process of transitioning the delivery of its research under six Themes: Food; Global Economy; Health and Wellbeing; Heritage, Cultures and Communities; Information and Security; Space. These will assist in the further development of research excellence and provide both increased external profile and internal focus for Hertfordshire’s research activities. Six new Research Fellow posts are each offered for a five year term in the first instance. It is our expectation, however, that successful appointees will grow their research activities to become permanent academic staff members by the end of that period. Further particulars for the ECRF in Systems Biology / Machine Learning for Food and Disease Qualifications required: You must have a first degree in a science, such as biology, computer science, mathematics or a relevant subject, and a doctoral degree in bioinformatics, machine learning, quantitative genetics or a related subject area. Experience in systems biology, big data science or genomics will be particularly relevant. Research focus and environment: This Fellowship will focus on emerging methods in biocomputation that generate and exploit large data sets of biological information available from genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics to better understand mechanisms of host resistance/immunity and/or resistance breakdown. The Fellow will generate an improved understanding of relevant biological systems to develop specific strategies to combat infectious diseases caused by plant, animal or human pathogens. This Fellowship will be supported by existing collaborations between colleagues in Schools of Life & Medical Sciences (Kukol, Stotz, Barling, Fitt) and Computer Science (Steuber). The Fellow is expected to use the University’s high performance computer cluster. Experience and skills required for the post (i) Considerable experience with big data analysis and machine learning, including working knowledge of scripting languages like Perl, Python and/or R; (ii) Knowledge of genomic research techniques, such as next-generation sequencing, proteomics and/or metabolic profiling; (iii) Practical experience with the application of numerical analysis and/or mathematical models to biological datasets, for example in genomics or quantitative genetics; (iv) Evidence of original research published in high impact journals. Research expectations The Fellow is expected to develop a collaborative research program with our academic partners. We envisage that the Research Fellow will become a permanent staff member, supported by funding from successful research grant applications and developing new areas of teaching, especially at the post-graduate level. To ensure this, the two Schools will provide career training for the Fellow. The Fellow will have established collaborations with companies and successfully obtained co-funded industry-government projects. The Fellow will continue to publish high-impact papers and be leading an internationally recognised research team. Description of the Schools: The Early Career Research Fellow will work with and receive support from the School of Life and Medical Sciences and the School of Computer Science. The successful candidate can build on the strengths of both Schools and may combine experiment-based empirical research with data-based analysis. Within the School of Life and Medical Sciences (http://www.herts.ac.uk/apply/schools-of-study/life-and-medical-sciences/res…) the Centre for Agriculture, Food and Environmental Management (CAFEM) is a research and teaching collaboration with the Royal Veterinary College, Rothamsted Research and Oaklands College. The Fellow will work with researchers in CAFEM who have experience with systems biology applicable to crop protection, combining experimental field and lab research with computational modelling. Within the School of Computer Science, research in the Biocomputation Research Group (http://biocomputation.herts.ac.uk/) involves development of computational models to study biological systems and application of biologically-inspired machine learning algorithms for the analysis of "real-world" data. Members of the Biocomputation Group analyse and simulate computational models at different levels of complexity and collaborate closely with leading experimentalists in the UK and abroad. Informal enquiries are encouraged and should be made to Professor Bruce Fitt, Professor of Plant Pathology, email: b.fitt(a)herts.ac.uk / Tel + 44 (0)1707 284751 or Dr Volker Steuber, Reader in Biocomputation and Head of the Biocomputation Research Group, email: v.steuber(a)herts.ac.uk / Tel: +44 (0)1707 284350. Applications should be made through http://www.herts.ac.uk/contact-us/jobs-and-vacancies/research-vacancies, job reference 013457.

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Advances in Neuroinformatics and INCF Nodes WS in Japan, May 28-29 - Abstract submission closes April 18
by Malin Sandström April 13, 2016

April 13, 2016

Dear neuroinformatics community members, would you like to stay up to date on recent neuroinformatics developments in Asia? Are you looking for new collaborators in Japan and/or Asia and the Pacific region? There is one week left to submit abstracts for the combined INCF Nodes Workshop and Japan Node AINI (Advances in Neuroinformatics) on *May 28-29*. The location is RIKEN's Wako campus, located in west Tokyo. The two meetings are integrated, with joint demo and poster sessions held on both days. The theme of AINI 2016 is "Integration of multidimensional neuroscience“, with keynotes by Maryann Martone, Thomas Wachtler, Jun'ichi Tsujii and Teiichi Furuichi. The INCF Nodes Workshop will be a scientific networking event with a special focus session on Asian and Pacific neuroinformatics, which has invited speakers from Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia. The full program is available here: http://www.neuroinf.jp/aini2016/program.html *Registration is free of charge*, and open until May 20, while the *abstract submission is open until April 18*. An abstract will be 1/2 page in A4 size, and you may add one figure separately. Best regards on behalf of all organizers, Malin Sandström -- 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

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Third call for posters/registration: Sixth International Symposium on Biology of Decision-Making (SBDM), 25-27 May 2016 @ Paris, France
by Mehdi Khamassi April 12, 2016

April 12, 2016

[Please accept our apologies if you get multiple copies of this message] Dear colleagues, Deadlines are approaching concerning submission to/registration for the Sixth International Symposium on Biology of Decision Making (SBDM), which will take place in Paris on May 25-27th 2016. The full program can be seen here: http://sbdm2016.isir.upmc.fr/view.php/SBDM2016_Program_Titles.pdf If you want to attend SBDM 2016, please fill in the registration form at http://sbdm2016.isir.upmc.fr and then follow the instructions received by email. The deadline for poster submission is: April 30th 2016. The deadline for registration is: May 15th 2016. Registration fees (170 euros) include lunches, coffee breaks and social event. Please circulate widely and encourage your colleagues and team members to attend. Best regards The SBDM organizing committee ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SIXTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON BIOLOGY OF DECISION MAKING (SBDM 2016) May 25-27, 2016, 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://sbdm2016.isir.upmc.fr ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRESENTATION: The Sixth International Symposium on Biology of Decision Making will take place on May 25-27, 2016 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) Cost of control, fatigue and decision-making; (#2) Emotion, stress and decision-making; (#3) Dynamics of decision-making; (#4) Decision-making across primates; (#5) Confidence, mood and decision-making; (#6) Learning, memory and decision-making. CONFIRMED SPEAKERS: Sébastien Bouret (CNRS - ICM, France) Michael Chee (Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore) Anastasia Christakou (University of Reading, UK) Anne Churchland (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA) Stanislas Dehaene (Collège de France - INSERM - CEA, France) Adele Diederich (Jacobs University, Germany) Tobias H. Donner (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Valérie Dufour (CNRS, France) Shelly Flagel (University of Michigan, USA) Steve Fleming (University College London, UK) Birte U. Forstmann (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Julie Grèzes (CNRS - Ecole Normale Supérieure, France) Cendri Hutcherson (University of Toronto, Canada) Veronika Job (University of Zurich, Switzerland) Mehdi Khamassi (CNRS - Université Pierre et Marie Curie, France) Pascal Mamassian (Ecole Normale Supérieure - CNRS, France) Florent Meyniel (Collège de France - INSERM - CEA, France) Randall O'Reilly (University of Colorado Boulder, USA) Mathias Pessiglione (INSERM - ICM, France) Jonathan Pillow (Princeton University, USA) Timothy J. Pleskac (Max Planck Institute, Germany) Alexandra G. Rosati (Harvard University, USA) Robb Rutledge (University College London, UK) Jérôme Sallet (University of Oxford, UK) Carmen Sandi (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland) Daniela Schiller (Mount Sinaï University, USA) Amitai Shenhav (Princeton University, USA) Mark Sheskin (Yale University, USA) Hiromu Tanimoto (Tohoku University, Japan) Angela J. Yu (University of California San Diego, USA) Alexandre Zenon (Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium) IMPORTANT DATES: April 30, 2016 Deadline for Poster Submission May 7, 2016 Notification of Poster Acceptance May 15, 2016 Deadline for Registration May 25-27, 2016 Symposium Venue ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: Thomas Boraud (CNRS - IMN, Bordeaux, 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://sbdm2016.isir.upmc.fr Contact: sbdm2016 [ at ] isir.upmc.fr / sbdm2016-registration [ at ] isir.upmc.fr -- Mehdi Khamassi, PhD Tenured research scientist (CR1 CNRS) Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics Université Pierre et Marie Curie - BC 173 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France tel: + 33 1 44 27 28 85 fax: +33 1 44 27 51 45 cell: +33 6 50 76 44 92 email: mehdi.khamassi(a)upmc.fr http://people.isir.upmc.fr/khamassi

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Structural-functional brain modules: PhD position at BioCruces Institute, Bilbao, Spain
by Paolo Bonifazi April 12, 2016

April 12, 2016

Within the Computational Neuroimaging group of Prof. Jesus Cortes at the BioCruces Health Research Institute (Bilbao, Spain), we are looking for a PhD student to develop and carry on a project aimed at identifying brain-connectivity biomarkers/descriptors(predictors) for brain pathologies/functional states. The project will rely on subjects/patients databases both acquired locally at the Cruces University Hospital, or provided through external regional/international collaborations or freely available on the web. The core of the study is based on the structural-functional brain modules, recently described in “A novel brain partition highlights the modular skeleton shared by structure and function” ( http://www.nature.com/articles/srep10532) and identified by reconstructing simultaneously on the same subjects brain connectivity networks, using functional and diffusion MRI. The PhD candidate will be also involved on a longitudinal multi-scale study of epileptic networks combining MRI and electrophysiological recordings in epileptic patients undergoing surgery. The project has been recently approved within the RETOS Spanish governmental grants. The PhD candidate will be closely supervised by Prof. J. M. Cortes ( http://www.jesuscortes.info/jesusweb/) and Dr. P. Bonifazi ( http://www.ikerbasque.net/paolo.bonifazi) and will work in close collaboration with the MDs of Neurology, Neurophysiology and Neurosurgery Division of the Cruces Hospital. The contract will be up to 3/4 years, with a gross salary of € 20,600 per year, with social security contributions and other recruitment costs paid by the host research institute (BioCruces). Deadline for application is May the 11th. Candidates with a deep interest in Neuroscience or Complex Networks and preferably with a solid background in Physics, Mathematics, Engineering or Medicine, are invited to send a motivation letter and the names of two referee to Dr. P. Bonifazi at paol.bonifazi(a)gmail.com. We look forward your interest, Yours Paolo Bonifazi

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PhD positions on Multiscale Modelling of the Neuromuscular System for Deep Brain Stimulation
by Olga Grant April 11, 2016

April 11, 2016

Background Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is an effective, safe and reversible method for treating the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders. It involves implanting electrodes in the brain to stimulate neurons responsible for symptoms including tremor, slowed movement and stiffness. Despite its success, the methods by which DBS works are not yet known and many questions remain to be answered in order to realize its full potential. Research within our group aims to improve our understanding of DBS and to identify new approaches for stimulation using computer models of networks of neurons within the brain and the neuromuscular system. Applications are invited for two full time PhD positions focusing on 1) Development of computational models of the neuromuscular system and 2) Closed loop control of deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease. The start date for both projects will be September 2016 Who Should Apply Applicants should have, or expect to obtain, a first or upper second class honours Bachelors or Masters degree in Electrical, Electronic or Biomedical Engineering (or a related discipline). Suitable candidates will have a strong interest in biomedical/neural engineering and neuroscience. Excellent analytical, computer programming and communications skills are essential. Funding This project is funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant. Studentships cover tuition fees for EU applicants and a tax free stipend of €18,000 per year. An annual allowance is provided for research consumables and for conference attendance. How to Apply Please send a cover letter describing your experience and interest in this project (1 page max), CV, and academic transcripts to Prof. Madeleine Lowery UCD School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering University College Dublin Belfield, Dublin 4 Ireland E-mail: neuromuscular(a)ucd.ie <mailto:neuromuscular@ucd.ie> Tel. +353 (1) 716 1911 ____________________________________ Dr Olga M Grant Research Project Manager School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering Tel +353 (1) 7161778

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CORRECTION: Job opportunity for Image Analysis Scientist at Salk
by Uri Manor April 11, 2016

April 11, 2016

The previous version of this announcement listed the job number as F142. The correct number is F143. I apologize for the inconvenience. WAITT ADVANCED BIOPHOTONICS CORE Job Opportunity – Image Analysis Scientist The Waitt Advanced Biophotonics Center has been established at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies as a state-of-the-art research hub to provide advanced and emerging imaging modalities to enable unprecedented insights into the inner workings of cells, tissues and organisms. We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced candidate in the field of computational image analysis to serve as an Image Analysis Scientist for the Biophotonics Core Facility. The Image Analysis Scientist will have a principal responsibility to collaborate with the other light and electron microscopy researchers in the Biophotonics Core and the Salk Institute to provide specific expertise for developing custom computer algorithms for complex and novel analyses of raw imaging data, computer data management and developing algorithms for microscopy operations. The Image Analysis Scientist will also develop and publish novel imaging and image analysis techniques in collaboration with the Core Director and Salk faculty. The Image Analysis Scientist will apply existing image processing software to 2D and 3D images and videos, and will also integrate data across different platforms (e.g. correlative EM). Finally, under the supervision and training of the Core Director, the Image Analysis Scientist will become familiar with the microscopes used in the facility, and develop expertise in using the equipment to acquire imaging data optimized for image analysis. Along with the Core Director, the Image Analysis Scientist will train Salk scientists on how to properly acquire high quality quantitative microscopy image data. This is a multi-faceted job that involves the following components: • Image Processing & Data Analysis - With the support of the Core Director, the incumbent will participate in the collaborative development of custom image data analysis and algorithm solutions. • Research Design & Participation - aiding Director and independently assisting users in design of imaging experiments. Educate facility users in the use of facility instrumentation and methods used therein for optimal acquisition of imaging data. • Data Collection & Presentation - collecting and managing data and helping to prepare data for publication & presentation. • User Training - guide and assist Salk researchers in the use of existing image acquisition and processing software. To Apply: http://www.salk.edu/about/careers/ (Job # F143) Uri Manor, Ph.D. DIRECTOR WAITT ADVANCED BIOPHOTONICS CORE PH (858) 453-4100 x2119 M (314) 406-7618 E umanor(a)salk.edu<mailto:tberggren@salk.edu> W http://bpho.salk.edu<mailto:tberggren@salk.edu> [cid:E4C48475-653C-4000-9B8C-437F759B2644@salk.edu] Salk Institute for Biological Studies 10010 N Torrey Pines Rd • La Jolla, CA 92037 WWW.SALK.EDU<http://www.salk.edu>

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Fully funded PhD position at BioCruces Health Research Institute, Bilbao, Spain
by Asier Erramuzpe Osakidetza April 11, 2016

April 11, 2016

BioCruces Health Research Institute (Bilbao, Spain) is looking for a PhD student who is a graduate in engineering and has completed a master, in its first year of doctorate or going into it this year. The pre-doc will work on an ongoing project since 2015, Neuroimaging in Parkinson's disease, funded by the ISCIII and the Michael J. Fox Foundation. The candidate will work primarily with MR imaging and to a lesser extent retinal images and analysis of cardiovascular signals. The PI of the project would be Juan Carlos Gómez-Esteban, neurologist, Head of group of Neurodegenerative Diseases in BioCruces and Movement Disorders and Parkinson Surgery in the Hospital of Cruces in collaboration with Dr. Iñigo Gabilondo. The website of the group: http://www.biocruces.com/bc5.01 Candidates should have a technical degree and knowledge of at least one programming language (python, matlab or R) and desirably knowledge of the packages SPM, FSL and Freesurfer. The contract will be up to 4 years (2 years extendable to 4 depending on the financing of the project), with a gross salary of € 20,600 per year. Social security contributions and other recruitment costs paid by BioCruces. Application dates are from April 12 to May 11. Candidates are invited to send a motivation letter and the names of one referee to Dr. Gabilondo by mail: igabilon(a)gmail.com Regards

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EEG Data Scientist Position at Stanford in Brain Network Connectivity Research
by Wei Wu April 10, 2016

April 10, 2016

The Laboratory of Amit Etkin, MD PhD at Stanford University is currently accepting applications for a Data Scientist position focused on sophisticated analyses of electroencephalography (EEG) data. The focus of this position is on understanding brain network function, relating EEG to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and application of network analysis tools (e.g. graph theory, network-based statistics, etc). A particular emphasis will be on extending findings in the lab developed using fMRI connectivity analyses to EEG, which can be leveraged as an assessment tool in clinical psychiatric populations. Machine learning methods will also be employed to determine optimal EEG signals. The successful applicant will have an MS or PhD in Engineering, Statistics, Computer Science, Neuroscience, Neurophysiology, Psychology, or related fields. Experience with analysis of EEG data is required. Additionally, a strong programming background is important. Duties will also include manuscript preparation, presentation of findings at conferences, and contribution to the preparation of grants. Laboratory and Stanford resources include research-dedicated 3T and 7T MRI scanners, simultaneous EEG/fMRI, multiple high density EEG setups, and concurrent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)/fMRI and concurrent TMS/EEG setups. Salary commensurate with experience. More information about our ongoing studies can be found at: http://etkinlab.stanford.edu<http://etkinlab.stanford.edu/>. [http://etkinlab.stanford.edu/images/thumb-home1.jpg]<http://etkinlab.stanford.edu/> Etkin Lab - Stanford University School of Medicine<http://etkinlab.stanford.edu/> etkinlab.stanford.edu The Etkin Lab strives to understand the neural basis of emotional disorders and their treatment, and to leverage this knowledge to develop novel treatment interventions. To apply, please send a curriculum vitae, a statement describing research interests and relevant background and three letters of recommendations, as well as relevant reprints/preprints of research articles to: Amit Etkin, MD, PhD Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford Neurosciences Institute Stanford University amitetkin(a)stanford.edu

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Call for Submissions to Workshop on Computational Biology at ICML 2016
by Sandhya Prabhakaran April 9, 2016

April 9, 2016

Hi, Please kindly circulate this to interested graduate students, post-docs and faculty. *Call For Submissions We invite submissions to the Workshop on Computational Biology < https://sites.google.com/site/compbioworkshopicml2016/> to be held in conjunction with ICML 2016 <http://icml.cc/2016/> conference in New York City, NY (June 19-24, 2016). In Computational Biology, there has been credible developments in many high-throughput technologies such as next-generation sequencing, CyToF and single-cell sequencing that enable data generation from many interesting biological systems. The gamut of novel algorithms in Machine Learning makes it very attractive to apply these methods to the challenging biological questions. It therefore only seems befitting to bring together researchers engaged in applying ML in Computational Biology to discuss recent advances in this interdisciplinary field and ongoing developments. We have invited several distinguished speakers from the Computational Biology community to discuss and present their current research. We also invite extended abstracts dealing with applications of ML methods or bioinformatics approaches to biological and biomedical data. *Important Dates Deadline for submissions : May 1, 2016 Notification of acceptance : May 10, 2016 Workshop date : June 24th 2016 (Friday, second day of workshops) *Submission All novel Computational Biology approaches are of interest to the workshop. We welcome original extended abstracts that present recently published work as well as preliminary ideas. Extended abstracts should not exceed 4 pages in length (plus 1 optional page for references) and should be in pdf format (one column, font size 12). The submission need not be anonymized. If the abstract concerns previously published work, please cite the original paper in the workshop submission. All accepted contributions shall be presented at the poster session. Awards for Best Poster Presentations will be sponsored by Google. In addition, a set of best submissions will also have the opportunity to present their work as Contributed Talks, and will receive Travel Awards sponsored by IBM Research. Accepted abstracts will have the option of being published on the workshop website. For authors who do not wish their abstracts to be posted online or become citable, please mention this in the workshop submission. Submissions should be made through the EasyChair < https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=compbioworkshopicml2> system. *Invited Speakers Barbara Engelhardt, Princeton University Jennifer Listgarten, Microsoft Research Christina Leslie, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center *Registration All participants must register for the ICML 2016 conference. *Contact For workshop-related queries please contact: icml2016compbio(a)gmail.com We are looking forward to your submissions! Organizing Committee: Dana Pe'er, Columbia University Elham Azizi, Columbia University Sandhya Prabhakaran, Columbia University Olga Troyanskaya, Princeton University Edoardo Airoldi, Harvard University Volker Roth, University of Basel

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Image Analysis Job Opportunity at Salk Institute
by Uri Manor April 8, 2016

April 8, 2016

Hi everyone, Please spread the word far and wide! Thanks! WAITT ADVANCED BIOPHOTONICS CORE Job Opportunity – Image Analysis Scientist The Waitt Advanced Biophotonics Center has been established at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies as a state-of-the-art research hub to provide advanced and emerging imaging modalities to enable unprecedented insights into the inner workings of cells, tissues and organisms. We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced candidate in the field of computational image analysis to serve as an Image Analysis Scientist for the Biophotonics Core Facility. The Image Analysis Scientist will have a principal responsibility to collaborate with the other light and electron microscopy researchers in the Biophotonics Core and the Salk Institute to provide specific expertise for developing custom computer algorithms for complex and novel analyses of raw imaging data, computer data management and developing algorithms for microscopy operations. The Image Analysis Scientist will also develop and publish novel imaging and image analysis techniques in collaboration with the Core Director and Salk faculty. The Image Analysis Scientist will apply existing image processing software to 2D and 3D images and videos, and will also integrate data across different platforms (e.g. correlative EM). Finally, under the supervision and training of the Core Director, the Image Analysis Scientist will become familiar with the microscopes used in the facility, and develop expertise in using the equipment to acquire imaging data optimized for image analysis. Along with the Core Director, the Image Analysis Scientist will train Salk scientists on how to properly acquire high quality quantitative microscopy image data. This is a multi-faceted job that involves the following components: • Image Processing & Data Analysis - With the support of the Core Director, the incumbent will participate in the collaborative development of custom image data analysis and algorithm solutions. • Research Design & Participation - aiding Director and independently assisting users in design of imaging experiments. Educate facility users in the use of facility instrumentation and methods used therein for optimal acquisition of imaging data. • Data Collection & Presentation - collecting and managing data and helping to prepare data for publication & presentation. • User Training - guide and assist Salk researchers in the use of existing image acquisition and processing software. To Apply: Send CV to umanor(a)salk.edu<mailto:umanor@salk.edu> or http://www.salk.edu/about/careers/ (Job # F142) Uri Manor, Ph.D. DIRECTOR WAITT ADVANCED BIOPHOTONICS CORE PH (858) 453-4100 x2119 M (314) 406-7618 E umanor(a)salk.edu<mailto:tberggren@salk.edu> W http://bpho.salk.edu<mailto:tberggren@salk.edu> [cid:E4C48475-653C-4000-9B8C-437F759B2644@salk.edu] Salk Institute for Biological Studies 10010 N Torrey Pines Rd • La Jolla, CA 92037 WWW.SALK.EDU<http://www.salk.edu>

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Final deadline extension for contributions - Human Brain Project workshop on Neurorobotics @ Biorob2016
by Falotico Egidio April 8, 2016

April 8, 2016

Dear colleagues (with advance apologies for any cross-postings), We invite submissions for oral or poster presentations at the Human Brain Project workshop on Neurorobotics that will be organized on June 26th, at the sixth IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics BioRob 2016, in Singapore. http://www.sinapseinstitute.org/biorob2016/workshops.php (Conference workshop page) http://sssa.bioroboticsinstitute.it/workshops/biorob2016 (Workshop page for contributions) Prospective authors should submit the extended abstract (one A4 page, in PDF format) by April 14th (final deadline extension), 2016. Notification of acceptance will be received no later than April 21th. For submission please refer to the following link: http://sssa.bioroboticsinstitute.it/workshops/biorob2016/HBPPaperSubmission… ABSTRACT Neurorobotics is already an established branch of robotics that in the last years, taking advantage from an increase in the accessibility of existing neuroscientific data and knowledge, allowed building robotic systems that can exhibit robustness, adaptability and several features of the human intelligence. Reciprocally, significant developments in robotics and machine learning put robotics in the service of neuroscience as experimental platforms or test-beds of brain models. In the last years, advanced insights and the increasing availability of cheap processing power has led Neurorobotics to follow two tracks of research with different goals and methods: The first track focuses on neuro-inspired computing paradigms that mimic nervous system functions based on Spiking Neural Networks. This does not only foster our understanding of biological systems but also contributes to future technical applications in artificial systems. In the past, limited processing power and the lack of appropriate models and tools shifted the focus of research far away from biological neural networks. Recently a number of projects like the US BRAIN Initiative and the Human Brain Project have taken up the challenge by combining efforts from the fields of neuroscience and computer science to enable the large scale modeling and simulation of biological neural networks with billions of spiking neurons. The second track, extending the theory of classical artificial neural networks, mostly relies on simpler neuron models but integrate them in novel network architectures. These networks are extensively used in robotics, allowing mimicking the function of some brain areas in order to reproduce complex behaviors with a reduced computational cost. This workshop seeks to present and discuss advances in neuroscientific models for cognition and new perspectives in control for robotic applications based on both biologically-inspired and artificial neural networks. The final goal is to bring together researchers from both robotics and neuroscience in order to explore how to maximize the progress at the multidisciplinary frontier evaluating the advantages of both tracks of the Neurorobotics research. TOPICS OF INTEREST - Bio-inspired sensory-motor coordination and adaptive control - Active perception - Neurocontrollers - Self-organization and sensory-motor mapping - Predictive behaviour - Bio-inspired learning robots - Robot imitation and learning by demonstration - Memory-based algorithms - Cognitive behaviours in robots - Reservoir computing - Deep learning - Neuromorphic computing for robotics KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Giorgio Metta (Italian Institute of Technology, Italy) - The use of motor invariants can improve action discrimination Tomohiro Shibata (Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan) Functional Robotic Assistance of Human Motor Learning Ruediger Dillman (Research Center for Information Technology, Germany) - Modelling Cortical Sensor-Motor Control Functionalities with a Spiking Neural-Robot Control Simulator Sunil L. Kukreja (National University of Singapore, Singapore) Integration of Neuromorphic Tactile Perception with Haptic Feedback in a Virtual and Augmented Reality World for Advanced Robotic Control Best Regards, Egidio Falotico, Cecilia Laschi (The BioRobotics Institite,Scuola Superiore SantAnna , Italy) Florian Röhrbein, Florian Walter (Technical University of Munich, Germany) Organizers

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PhD position in Slovakia and US
by Norbert Kopco April 7, 2016

April 7, 2016

A PhD position is available in Norbert Kopco's Perception and Cognition Lab at Safarik University in Kosice, Slovakia, for a Marie Curie EU-funded project on adaptation and learning in spatial hearing (http://pcl.upjs.sk/grants/alt/) This is an international collaborative project, combining psychophysical, neuroimaging and computational methods. As part of this project, the student would be expected to work on development of modules for an auditory training tame (so, some programing skills are important), and spend up to 12 months in the US, either in Aaron Seitz's Brain Game Center at UC Riverside and/or Erick Gallun's lab at the Portland VA / OHSU (or, possibly with the other members of the consortium). Interested candidates please contact norbert.kopco(a)upjs.sk with a CV and a research statement. Information about PhD student application procedures is available at <http://www.upjs.sk/en/faculty-of-science/foreign-students/>http://www.upjs.sk/en/faculty-of-science/foreign-students/ . -- 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

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postdoctoral position in cognitive and affective neuroscience
by Steven Greening April 6, 2016

April 6, 2016

Applications are invited for a full-time postdoctoral research fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Steven Greening on projects investigating the neural bases of emotion-cognition interactions. This position involves developing, running, and analyzing data on projects from healthy and mentally ill individuals, and presenting findings in peer-reviewed manuscripts and at conferences in collaboration with Dr. Greening. The research combines behavior and physiology with a multimodal MRI approach, FMRI and DTI, using univariate and multivariate analyses. This is a full-time one-year position with the possibility to renew for a second year. Apply online and view a more detailed ad at: www.lsusystemcareers.lsu.edu. Position #039259

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Post-Doc Opening in Interactive Systems Integration for Assistive Technologies
by Giacinto Barresi April 5, 2016

April 5, 2016

Post-Doc Opening in Interactive Systems Integration for Assistive Technologies Added on: 05/04/2016 - Expires on: 06/05/2016 Info: https://www.iit.it/careers/openings/opening/126-post-doc-opening-in-interac… The Biomedical Robotics Lab at the Department of Advanced Robotics (ADVR) at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), an English-speaking research Institute, is looking for a highly motivated, full-time postdoctoral researcher to work in the areas of interactive systems integration for assistive technologies. This position (within the project TEEP-SLA, funded by Fondazione Roma) is dedicated to research and development of solutions for integrating brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) with interactive systems (multisensory user interfaces, embedded devices) to provide feedback that eases the collection and interpretation of user’s data and commands. This is a new project that aims to create novel assistive technologies for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) patients. We are especially looking at satisfying the patients’ social interaction and communication needs with innovative patient interfaces and associated robotic technologies. We are looking for an outstanding scientist with a PhD in engineering, robotics, or other fields related to user interfaces and embedded programming. The successful candidate will mainly focus on the development and integration of BCIs with novel wearable sensors and feedback devices able to provide motor/tactile feedback. The scientist will work in a multidisciplinary team including roboticists, biomedical engineers, interaction researchers and healthcare professionals. Field studies (involving patients, their relatives, and healthcare professionals) will be an integral part of the work, serving both to refine system specifications and to assess new technologies. This research will advance the state of the art in BCI control, enabling greatly enhanced patient experience during the use of assistive communication and social interaction systems. The position includes theoretical and hands-on research, supervision of PhD students, and support to general lab activities. Desired qualifications: - PhD degree in engineering, robotics, or related fields. - Experience in user interface development and embedded programming, preferably for biosignals-related applications. - Excellent publication record in interactive systems and real-time embedded systems. - Experience with physical tactile/motor user interfaces. - Experience with interfacing computer systems and technological (e.g. robotic) devices. - Strong interest in assistive technologies and in-field studies. - Creativity and proactive attitude. - Strong communication and English language skills (written and oral) - Independent and persistent personality, strong team player - The salary will depend on qualifications and experience and will include additional health benefits. To apply, please send electronically a detailed CV with list of publications, University transcripts, your best first-author paper, a cover letter outlining motivation and statement of research interests/plan and contact information of at least two references to applications(a)iit.it by May 6th, 2016 stating “TEEP-SLA Post-Doc” in the subject of the e-mail. Only complete applications will be evaluated. Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), with its headquarters in Genova, Italy, is a non-profit institution with the primary goal of creating and disseminating scientific knowledge and strengthening Italy’s technological competitiveness. The institute offers state-of-the-art equipment and a top-level interdisciplinary research environment focused on robotics and computer vision, neuroscience, drug discovery, nanoscience and technology. In order to comply with Italian law (art. 23 of Privacy Law of the Italian Legislative Decree n. 196/03), the candidate is kindly asked to give his/her consent to allow IIT to process his/her personal data. We inform you that the information you provide will be solely used for the purpose of assessing your professional profile to meet the requirements of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. Your data will be processed by Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, with its headquarters in Genoa, Via Morego 30, acting as the Data Holder, using computer and paper-based means, observing the rules on the protection of personal data, including those relating to the security of data. Please also note that, pursuant to art. 7 of Legislative Decree 196/2003, you may exercise your rights at any time as a party concerned by contacting the Data Manager. Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia is an Equal Opportunity Employer that actively seeks diversity in the workforce. Info: https://www.iit.it/careers/openings/opening/126-post-doc-opening-in-interac… Contacts applications(a)iit.it Giacinto Barresi, PhD Post Doc Biomedical Robotics Laboratory Advanced Robotics (ADVR) Department Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) Via Morego, 30 16163 Genova (Italy) Mobile: +39 331 9835396 Email: giacinto.barresi(a)iit.it Webpage: https://iit.it/people/giacinto-barresi

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TEX2016 to close with keynote lecture by Yann LeCun
by Alessandro Treves April 5, 2016

April 5, 2016

Our 9 days of cross-fertilization http://indico.sissa.it/e/tex2016 on language learning will close with the open-ended stimulation provided by a pioneer of the deep learning perspective (on July 15). Students are still invited to apply to the school, before April 15, (no extensions - enough applications already) and free participants are most welcome to join TEX2016 any time; but book your own accommodation! -- Alessandro Treves http://people.sissa.it/~ale/limbo.html SISSA - Cognitive Neuroscience, via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy +39-040-3787623+39-040-3787623 Ambassador (BlaBlaCar) +39-349-2504602+39-349-2504602

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MuTE software UPDATE: the graphical user interface is ready
by Alessandro Montalto April 4, 2016

April 4, 2016

Dear all, I am very pleased to announce the availability of the updated version of MuTE, a toolbox that is able to detect directed dynamical influences among time series. This new open source software implements four entropy estimators in both uniform and non-uniform embedding approaches. *The graphical user interface is ready to be used.* Please download the latest version of MuTE here: http://mutetoolbox.guru/downloads/ The GUI has been developed by Frederik Van de Steen: http://mutetoolbox.guru/frederik-van-de-steen/ ******************* Subscribe to the newsletter if you want to be kept updated about future updates of MuTE or follow the toolbox improvements through - twitter: https://twitter.com/mutetoolbox - facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mutetoolbox Best regards, Alessandro Montalto

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[ACM UMAP] Final Call for Tutorials
by Jie Zhang April 4, 2016

April 4, 2016

Final Call for Tutorials ACM UMAP 2016 invites tutorials that address the interests of its varied audience: people new to the User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalisation researchers and practitioners who wish to learn new technologies, users of Personalized technologies, and representatives of government and funding agencies as well as potential private investors in Personalized technologies. We welcome submissions of tutorial proposals on all major topics related to user modeling and personalisation technologies. We especially solicit proposals for tutorials of the following types: -- Tutorials with a coherent theme providing an introduction to new user modeling technologies, methods, techniques, and trends (e.g. exploiting data-mining and big data analytics for user modeling, evaluation methodologies, data visualizationetc.) -- Tutorials describing the application of user modeling and personalization technologies in specific domains (e.g., health sciences, e-government, e-commerce, cultural heritage, education, internet of things, mobile, music, information retrieval, NLP, etc.). -- Tutorials presenting techniques from other fields that are of relevance for user modeling and personalization research, including social sciences, digital humanities, biomedical or cognitive science, and neuroscience research. Tutorials may focus on theoretical topics, however, we encourage organizers to incorporate hands-on sessions where appropriate. The tutorial should reach a good balance between the topic coverage and its relevance to the community. Tutorials can be half a day (3 hours) or full day (6 hours). Timeline for Tutorials Tutorial proposals due: *April 10, 2016* Notification of acceptance: May 5, 2016 Tutorial Days: 13 July (Wednesday) and/or 17 July (Sunday) 2016 Responsibilities Organizers of accepted tutorials are responsible for preparing the materials for attendees (slide sets, additional teaching material, software installation and usage guides for practical hands-on sessions, etc.) to the Tutorial Chairs. The UMAP 2016 Organizing Committee is responsible for providing publicity for the tutorials as part of the conference publicity activities, and on-site logistical support to the organizers and attendees. General Information In the interest of the overall quality of the conference, the Tutorial Chairs reserve the right to merge tutorials and/or adjust the scope thereof in case a minimum number of registrations is not reached by the early registration deadline. Submission details Tutorial proposals should not exceed 5 pages, and should contain the following information: -- Abstract. 200 words maximum, for inclusion on the UMAP2016 website. -- Tutorial description: objectives of the tutorial and relevance to UMAP2016; information about the scope and level of detail of the material to be covered; intended audiences; learning objectives; practical sessions. -- Tutorial length. The tutorial can be full or half day -- Specify other venues to which the tutorial or part thereof has been or will be presented, in addition to explaining how the current tutorial differs from the other editions. Links to the slides of previous tutorial editions (if applicable) should be included in the proposal. -- Brief professional biography of the presenter(s) indicating previous training and speaking experience (such as teaching and tutorial presentation). All proposals will be reviewed by the tutorial chairs and discussed within the organization committee of the UMAP2016. Submission Proposals should be submitted in PDF format by email to the tutorial chairs at workshopumap2016(a)gmail.com by April 10, 2016. Tutorials Chairs Federica Cena, Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy, email: cena(a)di.unito.it Jie Zhang, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, email: zhangj(a)ntu.edu.sg

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Call for papers - NIAMS'16
by Tolga Tasdizen April 3, 2016

April 3, 2016

Apologies for multiple receptions. Please share with your colleagues who might be interested. Call for papers Workshop on Neuroscientifc Image Analysis at the Microscopic Scale (NIAMS'16) The Workshop on Neuroscientific Image Analysis at the Microscopic Scale (https://sites.google.com/site/niams2016/ <https://sites.google.com/site/niams2016/>) will be held in conjunction with the MICCAI conference (http://www.miccai2016.org/en/ <http://www.miccai2016.org/en/>) on October 17, 2016 in Athens, Greece. Recent advances in labeling and microscopy techniques have revolutionized our ability to visualize neurons and synapses in living brain tissue. The quantitative analysis of vast amounts of imaging data has become a major bottleneck in neuroscience. This workshop focuses on current challenges in processing and analysis of microscopic images in neuroscience. We invite contributions ranging from novel algorithmic strategies in biomedical image processing to specific examples and solutions to key problems in neuroscience research, including: automatic detection, segmentation, tracking, reconstruction, shape analysis, and modeling of spines, dendrites, and neurons in confocal, two photon, super resolution, and electron microscopy data. We will accept the submission of full papers (8pages, LNCS style), which will be reviewed by the program committee consisting of the organizers and the advisory board. The deadline for paper submission is June 24, 2016. The highest quality papers will be selected for (oral and/or poster) presentation. We plan to publish hardcopy proceedings in Springer LNCS. In addition, we intend to organize a special issue in one of the top journals in the field where extended versions of the selected invited papers of the workshop will be published. Important dates Paper submission: June 24, 2016 Notification of acceptance: July 22, 2016 Workshop: October 17, 2016 Organizers Tolga Tasdizen, University of Utah Devrim Unay, İzmir University of Economics Inbal Israely, Champalimaud Foundation Valentin Nagerl, University of Bordeaux / CNRS If you have any questions, please contact Tolga Tasdizen (tolga(a)sci.utah.edu <mailto:tolga@sci.utah.edu>)

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PhD offer in Paris South: Modeling and steering brain oscillations based on in vivo optogenetics data
by Antoine Chaillet April 2, 2016

April 2, 2016

Antoine Chaillet, Alain Destexhe and Mario Sigalotti are proposing a PhD entitled "Modeling and steering brain oscillations based on in vivo optogenetics data", at the interface between control theory and computational neuroscience. Candidates should contact antoine.chaillet(a)centralesupelec.fr for more information. Description: Neuronal oscillations are ubiquitous in the brain, both in health and disease. Nonetheless, the precise role of these oscillations is still a matter of debate, and the mechanisms by which they are generated are still poorly understood. Technological advances offer unprecedented ways to acquire and influence these oscillations. Electrode arrays and electrodes with dense recording plots now provide excellent spatiotemporal resolution of local brain activity. Moreover, the recent advent of optogenetics is revolutionizing the way of stimulating brain structures. The combination of electrophysiological recordings and optogenetics is thus particularly appealing to decipher the mechanisms of oscillation generation, their role in brain functioning, and the development of closed-loop strategies to steer brain oscillations (especially pathological ones). This project aims at developing and validating ad hoc methodologies to model, identify, analyze and control brain oscillations with these experimental tools. The challenges in that direction are numerous due to the nonlinear and spatiotemporal nature of the processes involved. To address these challenges, this project proposes to adapt or develop methodologies from control theory to the brain dynamics specificities. The performance of the developed methodologies will be confronted to experimental data of pathological oscillations linked to parkinsonian symptoms, that were collected on healthy and parkinsonian primates under optogenetics in the ANR project SynchNeuro. The aim of this PhD thesis is to develop a methodological framework, based on control engineering, to address three challenges: 1) development of a spatiotemporal model of specific brain oscillations, whose parameters are identified based on experimental data 2) formal analysis of brain oscillations onset and characterization of their dynamics in terms of magnitude, frequency and phase 3) development of closed-loop photostimulation strategies to disrupt, attenuate, or steer brain oscillations. Supervision: The PhD thesis will be supervised by Antoine Chaillet (L2S), in collaboration with Alain Destexhe (UNIC) and Mario Sigalotti (CMAP). It will take place in Gif sur Yvette (south of Paris), France. Sought candidate: We are looking for a brilliant motivated student, eager to work on an interdisciplinary topic. Strong background in dynamical systems is needed, as well as interest for theoretical developments. Experience in identification based on experimental data, or numerical simulations would be appreciated. No French ability is required. Antoine Chaillet Associate Professor Univ. Paris Sud 11 - L2S - CentraleSupélec 3, rue Joliot Curie 91192 - Gif sur Yvette, France +33 1 69 85 13 83

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EPFL: PhD student position in neuromechanical models of vertebrate locomotion
by Auke Ijspeert April 2, 2016

April 2, 2016

PhD student position in neuromechanical models of vertebrate locomotion http://biorob.epfl.ch/openings The Biorobotics laboratory (Biorob, http://biorob.epfl.ch/) at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) anticipates to have one open PhD studentship in computational neuroscience and biorobotics. The goal of the project is to develop neuromechanical models of vertebrate locomotion, together with Marc-Olivier Gewaltig (computational neuroscientist) and Gregoire Courtine (neuroscientist). *The neuromechanical models will include numerical models of spinal cord circuits coupled to biomechanical models of the body. The first target animal will be the mouse; depending on progress, human models might be developed in a second stage. The spinal cord models might also be tested and validated in some of the quadruped robots developed by the Biorobotics laboratory. The position will be fully funded thanks to a grant from the Human Brain Project. EPFL is one of the leading Institutes of Technology in Europe and offers internationally competitive salaries and research infrastructure. Requirements: Candidates need to have a Master degree in a field related to computational neuroscience e.g. in physics or computer science. The ideal candidate for this position should have a strong math background (e.g. in dynamical systems), good programming skills, and interest/expertise in modeling neural circuits and biomechanical systems, and in locomotion. How to apply for the position: Step 1: The position is only open to applicants who have been accepted by the EPFL doctoral school (see http://phd.epfl.ch/) The first step is therefore to fill the applications for one of the relevant EPFL doctoral programs in robotics (http://phd.epfl.ch/EDPR) or neuroscience (http://phd.epfl.ch/neuroscience) Step 2: In parallel to step 1, or once accepted by one of the doctoral programs (please specify which doctoral program and the date of acceptance), the application to the position should be sent by email to Prof. Auke Ijspeert and consist of a motivation letter (explaining why you are interested in the project, and why you feel qualified for it) and a copy of the doctoral program application. Informal inquiries about the relevance of an application can be sent to auke.ijspeert(a)epfl.ch (e.g. before or while submitting an application to the doctoral school), but responses can be slow because of a heavy schedule and a filled mail box. Deadline and starting date: Applications will be considered continuously until the position is filled. The starting date is between April and September 2016 (the sooner the better). Note that the doctoral program in robotics (EDRS) has a deadline on April 15 2016, and the one in neuroscience (EDNE) on May 1st 2016. Contact: Information concerning the type of research carried out by the group can be found at http://biorob.epfl.ch/. You should send your application and any inquiry by email to: Prof. Auke Jan Ijspeert <http://biorob.epfl.ch/page38158.html>, auke.ijspeert(a)epfl.ch <mailto:auke.ijspeert@epfl.ch> -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Prof. Auke Jan Ijspeert Biorobotics Laboratory EPFL-STI-IBI-BIOROB EPFL, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Station 9, CH 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland Office: ME D1 1226 Tel: +41 21 693 2658 Fax: +41 21 693 3705 www: http://biorob.epfl.ch Email: Auke.Ijspeert(a)epfl.ch -----------------------------------------------------------------

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[IEEE ICCI*CC'16:] IEEE ICCI*CC’16 Deadline is Extended to April 30 @Stanford Univ. – Computational Intelligence/Cognitive Informatics/Cognitive Computing
by Yingxu Wang April 1, 2016

April 1, 2016

Dear Colleagues, Upon numerous requests and due to the recent system instable status of the submission site, deadline for paper submission to IEEE ICCI'CC’16 (15th IEEE International Conference on Cognitive Informatics & Cognitive Computing) has been extended to April 30, 2016 (http://www.ucalgary.ca/icci_cc/iccicc-16) Workshops, special sessions proposals, and short papers are welcome. The Proceedings of ICCI*CC'16 will be published by IEEE CS Press. Papers accepted in ICCI*CC’16 will be indexed by EI. Extended versions of selected papers will be published in several EI or SCI indexed journals. Full papers are expected to be around 5-8 pages in IEEE double column format. Short papers (3-4 pages) that report industrial experience, case studies, work in progress, or graduate students’ research are also welcome. Paper submission site is at: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iccicc2016. The conference will be featured by four keynote speeches such as those of Prof. Lotfi A. Zadeh with UC Berkeley and Prof. Bernard Widrow with Stanford University, that highlight cutting-edge theories and novel technologies for cognitive systems and computational intelligence inspired by the brain. We look forward to meeting you at Stanford University during Aug. 22-23, 2016. Sincerely, IEEE ICCI*CC'16 Co-Chairs GENERAL CO-CHAIRS: Bernard Widrow (Stanford) and Yingxu Wang (UofC, Canada) PROGRAM CO-CHAIRS: Newton Howard (MIT) and Kostas Plataniotis (Univ. of Toronto, Canada)_______________________________________________ This message was sent to all subscribers of ieeeicci13-L To unsubscribe, see instructions at: http://www.ucalgary.ca/it/email/mailman E-mail: ieeeicci13-L(a)mailman.ucalgary.ca Homepage: http://mailman.ucalgary.ca/mailman/listinfo/ieeeicci13-l

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Quantitative Analysis of Neuroanatomy special issue / ebook
by Stephen Eglen April 1, 2016

April 1, 2016

On behalf of all the editors, I am pleased to announce the release of our special issue on the Quantitative Analysis of Neuroanatomy. All articles have been published in Frontiers in Neuroanatomy. As of March 2016, all papers are now freely available as an Ebook either in PDF or EPUB format. The aim of this Research Topic is to examine theoretical and experimental work directed at a detailed and comprehensive quantitative understanding of neuroanatomy. Integrating such knowledge with functional data should provide a more complete understanding of how the nervous system in different animal species is organized to generate appropriate behaviour. Home page: http://journal.frontiersin.org/researchtopic/2028/quantitative-analysis-of-… Blog page: http://sje30.github.io/post/qan/ Table of contents Editorial: Quantitative Analysis of Neuroanatomy Julian M. L. Budd, Hermann Cuntz, Stephen J. Eglen and Patrik Krieger. A comparison of manual neuronal reconstruction from biocytin histology or 2-photon imaging: morphometry and computer modeling Arne V. Blackman, Stefan Grabuschnig, Robert Legenstein and P. Jesper Sjöström. Automated computation of arbor densities: a step toward identifying neuronal cell types Uygar Sümbül, Aleksandar Zlateski, Ashwin Vishwanathan, Richard H. Masland and H. Sebastian Seung. Functional connectivity estimation over large networks at cellular resolution based on electrophysiological recordings and structural prior Simona Ullo, Thierry R. Nieus, Diego Sona, Alessandro Maccione, Luca Berdondini and Vittorio Murino. Axonal and dendritic density field estimation from incomplete single-slice neuronal reconstructions Jaap van Pelt, Arjen van Ooyen and Harry B. M. Uylings. Slicing, sampling, and distance-dependent effects affect network measures in simulated cortical circuit structures Daniel C. Miner and Jochen Triesch A workflow for the automatic segmentation of organelles in electron microscopy image stacks Alex J. Perez, Mojtaba Seyedhosseini, Thomas J. Deerinck, Eric A. Bushong, Satchidananda Panda, Tolga Tasdizen and Mark H. Ellisman. Three-dimensional distribution of cortical synapses: a replicated point pattern based analysis Laura Anton-Sanchez, Concha Bielza, Angel Merchán-Pérez, José-Rodrigo Rodríguez, Javier DeFelipe and Pedro Larrañaga. The patterning of retinal horizontal cells: normalizing the regularity index enhances the detection of genomic linkage Patrick W. Keeley and Benjamin E. Reese Statistical analysis and data mining of digital reconstructions of dendritic morphologies Sridevi Polavaram, Todd A. Gillette, Ruchi Parekh and Giorgio A. Ascoli Towards a “canonical” agranular cortical microcircuit Sarah F. Beul and Claus C. Hilgetag Generation of dense statistical connectomes from sparse morphological data Robert Egger, Vincent J. Dercksen, Daniel Udvary, Hans-Christian Hege and Marcel Oberlaender Context-aware modeling of neuronal morphologies Benjamin Torben-Nielsen and Erik De Schutter The effects of neuron morphology on graph theoretic measures of network connectivity: the analysis of a two-level statistical model Jugoslava Aćimović, Tuomo Mäki-Marttunen and Marja-Leena Linne Homeostatic structural plasticity can account for topology changes following deafferentation and focal stroke Markus Butz, Ines D. Steenbuck and Arjen van Ooyen Parametric Anatomical Modeling: a method for modeling the anatomical layout of neurons and their projections Martin Pyka, Sebastian Klatt and Sen Cheng Saltatory conduction in unmyelinated axons: clustering of Na+ channels on lipid rafts enables micro-saltatory conduction in C-fibers Ali Neishabouri and A. Aldo Faisal

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Three neuroinformatics positions in ferret brain research
by Rembrandt Bakker April 1, 2016

April 1, 2016

(apologies for any cross-postings) In a collaboration between University Medical Center Eppendorf (Hamburg, Germany), the Donders Institute (Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands), and Institute Pasteur (Paris, France), three positions at the postdoc level are available. The research focuses on studying the architecture and connectivity of the ferret brain, encompassing research on architecture and morphology (particularly, cortical folding) of the developing brain as well as the collation and analysis of brain connectivity in the adult brain. The project will make available a public data set of MRI and microscopic images of the developing ferret brain, together with tools for the online annotation of these data. The Nijmegen and Paris components of the research both develop the tools and perform an initial analysis of the MRI and microscopy data. The Hamburg component continues the development of a public online database of brain connectivity in conjunction with the development of an atlas of the adult ferret brain. The three positions are described in detail below. 1. Position at Radboud University. The full text of this position is available here: https://www.academictransfer.com/employer/RUN/vacancy/32519/lang/en/ The summary is: "We are looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral candidate to contribute to a neuroinformatics platform that allows researchers worldwide to jointly work on the creation of brain atlases. The scientific use case is to build a detailed developmental brain atlas for the ferret. The ferret is special in that the folding patterns of its brain develop after birth, so that the folding process can be studied on the basis of a series of combined MRI and microscopy data sets. Data will be provided by our partner Dr. Roberto Toro from Institute Pasteur in Paris, who is also the creator of the platform prototype (www.siphonophore.org/microdraw) You will work together with Dr. Rembrandt Bakker who leads the Scalable Brain Atlas project (www.scalablebrainatlas.org) The project is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and its French counterpart and is part of a FLAG-ERA funding scheme that falls under the umbrella of the Human Brain Project. Further inquiries: r.bakker(a)fz-juelich.de, p.tiesinga(a)science.ru.nl 2. Position at University Medical Center Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany We seek a Researcher in Neuroinformatics at the predoctoral or postdoctoral level, to curate an online database of ferret brain architecture and connectivity. The position is available immediately and runs until 30th June 2019. Further extensions are possible. The researcher will be expected to continue the conceptual and technical development of the ferretome.org database system, and supervise the population of the database with data collated from the literature as well as newly performed anatomy experiments. Moreover, the researcher will work on the integration of the ferretome with online atlases of the ferret brain. The researcher will be based at the Department of Computational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. The position is part of the Collaborative Research Center 936 (sfb936.net) âMulti-site communication in the brain" and would suit a researcher with background in computer science or biology. In any case, the position requires strong computer skills, particularly in database systems, high proficiency in written and spoken English and great curiosity. The researcher needs to integrate well with a highly multinational, multidisciplinary team at the Department of Computational Neuroscience as well as the Research Center 936. For researchers at the predoctoral level, the position offers the opportunity for obtaining a PhD degree. For further inquiries contact Prof. Claus C. Hilgetag, PhD: c.hilgetag(a)uke.de. 3. Position at Institute Pasteur This position at the postdoctoral level will commence after the microscopy data for the developmental ferret atlas has become available. The candidate should have a background in computational neuroanatomy or neuroinformatics, and preferrably have experience with online development and data visualisation. You will be working together with OphÃ©lie Foubet, who is doing a PhD that focuses on the mechanics of neocortical development. Contact Roberto Toro: roberto.toro(a)gmail.com for details about this position. -- Dr. R. Bakker Forschungszentrum JÃ¼lich / Radboud University Nijmegen +31645774665 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Berkeley course in mining and modeling neuroscience data, July 11-22, 2016
by Jeff Teeters March 31, 2016

March 31, 2016

Call for applications: We invite applicants to the 2016 summer course in "Mining and modeling of neuroscience data" to be held July 11-22 at UC Berkeley. A description of the course is below and also at: http://crcns.org/course Application deadline is April 30. ----- Berkeley summer course in mining and modeling of neuroscience data July 11-22, 2016 Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, UC Berkeley Organizers: Fritz Sommer, Bruno Olshausen & Jeff Teeters (HWNI, UC Berkeley) Scope This course is for students and researchers with backgrounds in mathematics and computational sciences who are interested in applying their skills toward problems in neuroscience. It will introduce the major open questions of neuroscience and teach state-of–the-art techniques for analyzing and modeling neuroscience data sets. The course is designed for students at the graduate level and researchers with background in a quantitative field such as engineering, mathematics, physics or computer science who may or may not have a specific neuroscience background. The goal of this summer course is to help researchers find new exciting research areas and at the same time to strengthen quantitative expertise in the field of neuroscience. The course is sponsored by the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation from a grant supporting activities at the data sharing repository CRCNS.org, and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at UC Berkeley. Format The course is “hands on” in that it will include exercises in how to use and modify existing software tools and apply them to data sets, such as those available in the CRCNS.org repository. Course Instructors Robert Kass, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh Maneesh Sahani, Gatsby Unit, University College London Odelia Schwartz, University of Miami Frederic Theunissen, University of California Berkeley Joshua Vogelstein, Johns Hopkins University Course Moderators Fritz Sommer and Jeff Teeters, Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience. Speakers To complement the main course instruction there will be lectures in the evenings by local Berkeley and UCSF neuroscientists presenting their research using quantitative approaches. Requirements Applicants should be familiar with linear algebra, probability, differential and integral calculus and have some experience using MatLab and Python. Each student should bring a laptop with both MatLab and Python installed. Cost There is no cost to attend. Non-local attendees will be reimbursed for qualifying travel and food expenses if receipts are provided. Housing Rooms in a hotel within walking distance to campus will be provided for those attendees who need accommodations. Food Breakfast and some dinners will be provided to all participants as a group. Non-local attendees can purchase food at local stores or restaurants and be reimbursed. How to apply To apply, submit the online form linked from: http://crcns.org/course. A curriculum vitae and a letter of recommendation are required. The course is limited to 25 students. Deadlines Applications must be received by the end of April. Notifications of acceptance will be given by May 15. Questions Questions about the course can be sent to course [at] crcns.org. Topics covered (subject to change): Basic approaches: - The problem of neural coding - Spike trains, point processes, and firing rate - Statistical thinking in neuroscience - Theory of model fitting / regularization / hypothesis testing - Overview of stimulus-response function models - Theory of model fitting / regularization / hypothesis testing - Bayesian methods - Spike sorting - Estimation of stimulus-response functionals: regression methods, spike-triggered covariance, - Variance analysis of neural response - Estimation of SNR. Coherence Information theoretic approaches: - Information transmission rates - Scene statistics approaches and neural modeling Techniques for analyzing multiple-electrode and optical neural recordings: - Event sorting in electrophysiology and optical imaging - Optophysiology cell detection - Sparse coding/ICA methods, vanilla and methods including statistical models of nonlinear dependencies - Methods for assessing functional connectivity - Statistical issues in network identification - Low-dimensional latent dynamical structure in network activity–Gaussian process factor analysis/newer methods Analyzing structural data: - Histology cell detection - Statistical connectomics Neuroinformatics topics: - Petascale data storage, exploration, parsing and analysis - Introduction into Neurodata Without Borders data format for Neurophysiology

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Neuroinformatics/Modeling Postdoc Available
by Sharon Crook March 30, 2016

March 30, 2016

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Postdoctoral position in Computational Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics (Job #11446) We are soliciting applications for a postdoctoral position in the Laboratory for Informatics and Computation in Open Neuroscience at Arizona State University. This laboratory, jointly supervised by Dr. Sharon Crook and Dr. Rick Gerkin, focuses on developing resources for the community for describing, validating and sharing computational models in neuroscience. In addition, lab personnel conduct empirical and modeling studies in order to investigate fundamental questions in neuroscience. The successful candidate will contribute to the development and use of tool chains for model validation and model exchange that revolve around NeuronUnit and NeuroML. The postdoctoral researcher also will have the opportunity to choose the direction of their own modeling studies. Applicants must provide evidence of excellence in sustainable software development, experience in applications in neuroscience, and should also be highly independent, with a strong propensity for interdisciplinary research. Candidates must hold a PhD in neuroscience, computer science, applied mathematics, computational neuroscience or a related discipline by time of appointment and be highly motivated and creative. Experience with some combination of Python, XML, MySQL, Ruby on Rails, and NEURON is desirable. Named the #1 Most Innovative University in the US, Arizona State University offers an exciting research environment in a unique setting. ASU is located in Tempe, Arizona, which offers many rich cultural and outdoor opportunities with access to mountains and canyons visited by people from around the world. All applications must be submitted online through mathjobs at https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/jobs/8375 and must include the following: 1) A detailed CV 2) Two recommendation letters 3) A statement of research interest Any questions should be sent by email to Dr. Sharon Crook (sharon.crook(a)asu.edu) and Dr. Rick Gerkin (rgerkin(a)asu.edu) Initial review of applications began January 15, 2016. Applications are reviewed every two weeks until the search is closed. (Search currently continues to be open!) Arizona State University is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor and an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. https://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd401.html https://www.asu.edu/titleIX/.

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FINAL REMINDER: Call For Participation: 2016 Telluride Neuromorphic Cognition Engineering Workshop
by Ralph Etienne-Cummings March 30, 2016

March 30, 2016

Please see below: *Telluride Neuromorphic Cognition Engineering Workshop 2016 <https://neuromorphs.net/nm/wiki/2016#TellurideNeuromorphicCognitionEngineer…>* Sunday Jun 26th - Saturday July 16th, 2016 - * Telluride Elementary School,Telluride, Colorado * *Applications to the 2016 Telluride Neuromorphic Cognition Engineering Workshop* 2016 NEUROMORPHIC COGNITION ENGINEERING WORKSHOP <https://neuromorphs.net/nm/wiki/2016> <https://neuromorphs.net/nm/wiki/2016>https://neuromorphs.net/nm/wiki/2016 Sunday June 26th - Saturday July 16th, 2016, Telluride, Colorado *IMPORTANT DATES FOR APPLICATION (Instructions are at the bottom of the page)* Application Website Open - 16th February, 2016 Applications Due - 2nd April, 2016 Notification of Acceptance - 15th April, 2016 *Application website: <https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/7040> <https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/7040>https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/7040 <https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/7040>.* *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. *2016 TOPIC AREAS:* Decoding Multi-Modal Effects on Auditory Cognition: Edmund Lalor (Trinity College Dublin), Alain de Cheveigne (UPMC, France), Malcolm Slaney (Google), and Shihab Shamma (UM-College Park) Spike-Based Cognition in Active Neuromorphic Systems: Ryad Benjamin Benosman (UPMC, Paris), Cornelia Fermuller (Univ. of Maryland), Garrick Orchard (National University of Singapore), Michele Rucci (Boston University), and Bert Shi (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) Neuromorphic Path Planning for Robots in a Disaster Response Scenario: Jeff Krichmar (University of California, Irvine) and Jennifer Hasler (Georgia Institute of Technology) Neuromorphic Tactile Sensing:James Wright (MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University), Jonathan Tapson (MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University), and Nitish V. Thakor (SINAPSE, Singapore University for Neurotechnology) 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). There are several small airports (e.g. Montrose) close to 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 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, 2016. The Workshop covers all your accommodations and facilities costs for the 3 weeks duration. You are responsible for your own travel to the Workshop. Registration Fees: For expenses not covered by federal funds, a Workshop registration fee is required. The fee is $1500 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. The 2016 Workshop and Summer School on Neuromorphic Engineering is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Institute of Neuromorphic Engineering, University of Maryland - College Park, Institute for Neuroinformatics â€“ University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Georgia Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, Boston University, University of Western Sydney and the Salk Institute. *Workshop Directors:* Cornelia FermÃ¼ller (University of Maryland) Ralph Etienne-Cummings (Johns Hopkins Univ.) Shih-Chii Liu (University of Zurich and ETH Zurich) Timmer Horiuchi (University of Maryland) Katalin Gotthard (University of Arizona) Michael Pfeiffer (University of Zurich and ETH Zurich) Francisco Barranco (University of Granada) Former 2007-2013 Workshop Director: Tobi Delbruck (University of Zurich and ETH Zurich) 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, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich) Jonathan Tapson (University Western Sydney, Australia) Malcolm Slaney (Google) Jennifer Hasler (Georgia Institute of Technology) Rodney Douglas (Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich) Shihab Shamma (University of Maryland) Tobi Delbruck (Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich) *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 16th, 2016): <https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/7040> <https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/7040> https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/7040. 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. 16th February, 2016 - Applications accepted on website 2nd April, 2016 - Applications Due 15th April, 2016 - Notification of Acceptance

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IEEE ICDL-EPIROB 2016 - Extended deadline ( April 15th)
by Arnaud Blanchard March 30, 2016

March 30, 2016

Extended Deadline Papers and Workshops Submission ( Friday, April 15th ) Due to several requests, we are extending the deadline of two weeks, till April 15th ! = IEEE ICDL-EPIROB 2016 = The Sixth Joint IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning and on Epigenetic Robotics Cergy-Pontoise / Paris, France September 19-22th, 2016 http://www.icdl-epirob.org <http://www.icdl-epirob.org/> Updates about : * Venue / Lodging == Conference description IEEE ICDL-Epirob is the premier forum for advances in epigenetic robotics and developmental psychology with the focus on learning and development in biological and artificial systems. This single-track conference brings together researchers from cognitive sciences, computer sciences, and robotics to explore their shared interests in autonomous learning and development. The design and study of both robotic and simulated embodied and situated computational models that are inspired by the principles of human development will be presented at the conference. A special event -- the «Babybot challenge» — will see renowned psychologists challenging engineers and modelers in how to use the tools of developmental robotics to replicate and extend the key findings. This year, thanks to special funding from Paris-Seine University, six renowned invited speakers will cover the different facets of the conference. We invite you to participate in IEEE ICDL-Epirob by sharing your research, insights, experience, and enthusiasm. A social event “on the paths of the impressionists” will allow you to discover the old city of Pontoise and Auvers sur Oise where Vincent Van Gogh painted some of his most famous masterpieces. Excursions to Paris, Versailles and Giverny will be proposed for spouses. == Keynote speakers * Tamim Asfour (http://h2t.anthropomatik.kit.edu/english/21_66.php <http://h2t.anthropomatik.kit.edu/english/21_66.php>) * Karl Friston (http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/~karl <http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/~karl>) * Julie Grezes (http://iec-lnc.ens.fr/social-cognition-group/membres-100/faculty-177/grezes… <http://iec-lnc.ens.fr/social-cognition-group/membres-100/faculty-177/grezes…>) * Tony Prescott (https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/psychology/staff/academic/tony-prescott <https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/psychology/staff/academic/tony-prescott>) * Daniela Corbetta (http://web.utk.edu/~infntlab <http://web.utk.edu/~infntlab>) == Call for submissions of workshops and papers We invite submissions for this exciting window into the future of developmental sciences. Submissions which establish novel links between brain, behavior and computation are particularly encouraged. == Topics of interest include (but are not limited to): * the development of perceptual, motor, cognitive, emotional, social, and communication skills in biological systems and robots; * embodiment; * general principles of development and learning; * interaction of nature and nurture; * sensitive/critical periods; * developmental psychology; * developmental stages; * grounding of knowledge and development of representations; * architectures for cognitive development and open-ended learning; * neural plasticity; * statistical learning; * reward and value systems; * intrinsic motivations, exploration and play; * interaction of development and evolution; * use of robots in applied settings such as autism therapy; * epistemological foundations and philosophical issues. Any of the topics above can be simultaneously studied from the neuroscience, psychology or modeling/robotic point of view. == Submissions will be accepted in several formats: 1. Full six-page paper submissions: Accepted papers will be included in the conference proceedings and will be selected for either an oral presentation or a featured poster presentation. Featured posters will have a 1 minute "teaser" presentation as part of the main conference session and will be showcased in the poster sessions. 2. Two-page poster abstract submissions: To encourage discussion of late-breaking results or for work that is not sufficiently mature for a full paper, we will accept 2-page abstracts. These submissions will be included in the conference proceedings. Accepted abstracts will be presented during poster sessions. 3. Tutorials and workshops: We invite experts in different areas to organize either a tutorial or a workshop to be held on the first day of the conference. Tutorials are meant to provide insights into specific topics as well as overviews that will inform the interdisciplinary audience about the state-of-the-art in child development, neuroscience, robotics, or any of the other disciplines represented at the conference. A workshop is an opportunity to present a topic cumulatively. Workshop can be half- or full-day in duration including oral presentations as well as posters. Submission format: two pages. == Call for Tutorials and Workshops We invite experts in different areas to organize a tutorial or workshop, which will be held on the first day of the conference ( September 19th 2016 ). Participants in tutorials and workshops are asked to register for the main conference. Tutorials are meant to provide insights into specific topics as well as overviews that will inform the interdisciplinary audience about the state-of-the-art in child development, neuroscience, robotics, or any of the other disciplines represented at the conference. A workshop is an opportunity to present a topic cumulatively. Workshops can be half- or full-day in duration including oral presentations as well as posters. We would like to receive applications in pdf format for organizing a workshop with the following informations: title / workshop or tutorial organiser's name, research structure and coordinate (email) how many invited presentations/ and 'open' presentations is there a call for posters? what is the timetable website address ? Proposals should be sent to Sofiane Boucenna sofiane.boucenna(a)u-cergy.fr <mailto:sofiane.boucenna@u-cergy.fr>, Verena Hafner hafner(a)informatik.hu-berlin.de <mailto:hafner@informatik.hu-berlin.de> & Alex Pitti alexandre.pitti(a)u-cergy.fr <mailto:alexandre.pitti@u-cergy.fr> == Important dates * April 15th, 2016, paper and workshops submission EXTENDED DEADLINE * June 1st, 2016, author notification * July 1st, 2016, final version (camera ready) due * September 19th-22nd, 2016, conference == Program committee General chairs: * Minoru Asada Osaka (Japan). * Philippe Gaussier, Cergy-Pontoise (France). Program chairs: * Verena Hafner, Berlin (Germany) * Alexandre Pitti, Cergy-Pontoise (France) Bridge chairs: • David Cohen, Paris (France) • Mathew Schlesinger, Southern Illinois (USA) Publication chairs: * Sofiane Boucenna, Cergy-Pontoise (France) Publicity chairs: * Arnaud Blanchard, Cergy-Pontoise (France) * Manuel Lopes, Bordeaux (France) * Yulia Sandamirskaya, Zürich (Switzerland) Local chairs: * Pierre Andry, Cergy-Pontoise (France) * Nicolas Cuperlier, Cergy-Pontoise (France) Finance chairs: * Ghilès Mostafaoui, Cergy-Pontoise (France) == Registration fees* Price for : advanced / late registration IEEE Member 380€ / 460€ Non-member 480€ / 560€ IEEE Student member 190€ / 240€ Student non-member 260€ / 280€ IEEE Life member 190€ / 240€ (*) This price includes the social dinner. The registration form and the early registration deadline are coming soon. == Lodging == We are glad to inform you that we have obtained special rates for accommodation during the ICDL-EPIROB 2016 conference (19-22 sept) : All information (english) : http://www.olivarius-cergy.com/en/ <http://www.olivarius-cergy.com/en/> Location : approx. 800m from the conference site (University of Cergy-Pontoise) Pictures : http://www.olivarius-cergy.com/en/accomodation.html <http://www.olivarius-cergy.com/en/accomodation.html> Conference special rates : * Studio :99€ /night (instead of 124€) - * One-bedroom apartment 40m² :109€ /night (instead of 149€) - * Two-bedroom apartment 70m² :115€ /night (instead of 184€) * Two bedroom apartment deluxe 120m² :180€ /night (instead of 274€) * Two bedroom apartment duplex with terrasse 100m² : 160€ght (instead of 284€) Please note that the rates are "per night", whatever the number of persons. Studio are ok for 1 to 2 persons, while apartments are ok for 1 to 4 persons. HIn order to book, please go to : http://reservation.consolemyroom.com/front126407/front.do?m=booking&custid=… <http://reservation.consolemyroom.com/front126407/front.do?m=booking&custid=…> and apply the discount code : EPIROB2016 when booking Problems for booking ? Please contact us at : icdlepirob2016(a)ensea.fr <mailto:icdlepirob2016@ensea.fr>

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3rd Model-based Neuroscience Summer School, Amsterdam
by Jane Neumann March 30, 2016

March 30, 2016

Dear colleagues, June 27-July 1 2016 will see the third Model-Based Neuroscience Summer School, hosted at the University of Amsterdam.   The summer school will provide students with hands-on experience in both cognitive modeling using diffusion and accumulator models and simple neuroscience methods. The program includes a series of lectures on model-based decision neuroscience in both humans and non-human primates from experts including Michael Shadlen, Gordon Logan, Andrew Heathcote, Uta Noppeney, Brandon Turner, Jane Neumann, and Birte Forstmann.    *The summer school is aimed at PhD students and early postdocs who wish to combine cognitive modeling 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 will be co-located at the University of Amsterdam with a one-day symposium on model-based neuroscience of mind wandering, to be held on July 2 2016. The symposium will involve a series of lectures from experts in the scientific study of mind wandering with a focus on model-based neuroscience approaches. The symposium will provide a unique opportunity to see how the concepts introduced in the summer school can provide insight on an important research topic. *Application and registration:*  The registration fee for the summer school is 500 euro. The registration fee for combined attendance at the summer school and the one-day mind wandering symposium is 600 euro. We ask that students make their own housing arrangements. Space is limited, therefore we ask that you provide a statement of interest. We will select students based on the relevance of the summer school to their research. The application deadline is 22 April 2016.   More information about the summer school including teachers, preliminary program and application can be found atwww.modelbasedneuroscience.com We look forward to welcoming you in Amsterdam!   Organization:  Jane Neumann, University Medical Center Leipzig and MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leendert van Maanen, University of Amsterdam  Birte Forstmann, University of Amsterdam Guy Hawkins, University of Amsterdam Andrew Heathcote, University of Tasmania

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Gordon Research Seminar on Neurobiology of Cognition
by Sarah Heilbronner March 29, 2016

March 29, 2016

Dear computational neuroscientists, We would like to invite you to apply to the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Neurobiology of Cognition. The GRS is a unique forum for graduate students and postdocs to present and exchange new data and cutting-edge ideas. Following the GRS, attendees are encouraged to stay for the main Gordon Research Conference (GRC). More information, as well as an online application, can be found here: https://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?id=16594 Please note that, in order to be considered for a talk, abstract must be submitted by April 23. We look forward to seeing you this summer! Best, Sarah Heilbronner & Brian Russ Directors, 2016 GRS on Neurobiology of Cognition

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Postdoctoral position: Goldman lab, UC Davis
by Mark Steven Goldman March 28, 2016

March 28, 2016

At least one postdoctoral position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Goldman in the University of California at Davis Center for Neuroscience. 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. The laboratory works on a broad range of problems in computational neuroscience, ranging from neural coding to dynamics and plasticity of single neurons and networks. Current work has focused especially upon issues related to working memory, neural integration, motor learning, and synaptic plasticity as described below. Projects include but are not limited to: 1) Dissecting the function of a biological neural integrator circuit. Work will be modeling the oculomotor neural integrator, a classic model system for working memory and neural integration that is amenable to in vivo whole-circuit optical recording, dendritic imaging, optogenetic perturbation, pharmacology, and connectomic reconstruction. The goal is to identify the cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying neural integration and continuous attractor formation, from subcellular processes to circuits and behavior, as well as to develop optimal experimental design methods for dissecting circuit function. Project in collaboration with the experiments of Dr. Emre Aksay (Weill/Cornell Medical) and connectomic reconstructions of Dr. Sebastian Seung (Princeton University). 2) Mechanisms of analog working memory and neural integration. The goal is to identify novel mechanisms of working memory and neural integration across a range of systems, including mechanisms for context-dependent memory function. 3) Cerebellar mechanisms of motor control and motor learning in the oculomotor system. The goal is to use the oculomotor system as a model system for understanding cerebellar-mediated motor learning. Theory and computational analysis will be used to dissect the circuit mechanisms, sites of plasticity, and broader computational principles underlying oculomotor learning. Theoretical work will provide predictions for, and be conducted in close collaboration with, the experimental laboratories of Dr. Emre Aksay (Weill/Cornell Medical) and Dr. Jennifer Raymond (Stanford University). Candidates are expected to have training in a quantitatively rigorous discipline such as math, physics, engineering, computer science, statistics, or computational neuroscience. Interested candidates should send a CV, brief statement of previous research and future research interests, and contact information for 3 references to: Mark Goldman, msgoldman(a)ucdavis.edu.

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Deadline approaching for Summer Workshop on the Dynamic Brain
by Adrienne Fairhall March 27, 2016

March 27, 2016

Dear Colleagues, Announcing the Summer Workshop on the Dynamic Brain 2016, co-organized by the Allen Institute for Brain Science and the Computational Neuroscience Program at the University of Washington and directed by Drs. Christof Koch and Adrienne Fairhall. Applications are being accepted until April 1, 2016. This intensive two-week, project-based interdisciplinary course aims to give advanced students in neuroscience, biology, physics, engineering and computer science a rapid introduction to the current state of understanding of the neurobiology of sensory processing, including anatomy, physiology and neural coding and a mentored introduction to Allen Institute open data sets. New this year: In 2016 we will hold an optional one-day Python bootcamp in Seattle on August 20. The workshop begins at Friday Harbor on August 21. Cost: Conference fees, housing and meals during the workshop will be covered by the organizers. Additional expenses, including transportation and incidentals, are the responsibility of the attendee. Please share this information with potential students and others in your department. Details and application form available at http://courses.washington.edu/braindyn/ . Thank you! Adrienne Fairhall University of Washington

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ICMNS 2016: Deadline Extended to Feb. 7, 2016
by Zachary Kilpatrick March 27, 2016

March 27, 2016

*Abstract deadline extended to February 7, 2016* https://icmns2016.inria.fr/call-for-contributions/ <https://icmns2016.inria.fr/call-for-contributions/> There will also be a prize for best papers. International Conference on Mathematical Neuroscience (ICMNS 2016) at the Congress Center in Juan-les-Pins on the French Riviera May 29 to June 1, 2016 Tutorials: May 29 Main Conference: May 30 - June 1 https://icmns2016.inria.fr/ <https://icmns2016.inria.fr/> CONFIRMED SPEAKERS Wulfram Gerstner (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne) John Rinzel (New York University) Antoine Triller (École Normale Supérieure de Paris) Rachel Kuske (U British Columbia) Jonathan Rubin (U Pittsburgh) Hinke Osinga (U Aukland) Carina Curto (Penn State University) Ruben Moreno-Bote (Foundation Sant Joan de Deu) Hiroya Nakao (Tokyo Institute of Technology) Eric Shea-Brown (U Washington) Si Wu (Beijing Normal University) Alex Roxin (Centre de Recerca Matematica) PROGRAM COMMITTEE Toni Guillamon (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) Roland Potthast (U Reading) Gregory Faye (Université Paul Sabatier ) Wilhelm Stannat (TU Berlin) Jonathan Touboul (College de France) Gilles Wainrib (Ecole Normale Supérieure) Suzanne Ditlevsen (University of Copenhagen) Boris Gutkin (Ecole Normale Supérieure) Martin Wechselberger (U Sydney) Jonathan Rubin (U Pittsburgh) Martin Krupa (INRIA Sophia Antipoilis) Carlo Laing (Massey University) Andre Longtin (U Ottawa) Daniele Avitabile (U Nottingham) Jose Carrillo (Imperial College) Pascal Chossat (Université Nice Sophia Antipolis) Carson Chow (National Institutes of Health) Steve Zucker (Yale University) Eric Shea-Brown (U Washington) Rachel Kuske (U British Columbia) Laura Sacerdote (Universita di Torino) Reinhard Hopfner (Johannes-Gutenberg Universitat) Olivier Faugeras (INRIA - Sophia Antipolis) Paul Bressloff (U Utah) Steve Coombes (U Nottingham) CONFERENCE CHAIRS Romain Veltz (INRIA - Sophia Anitpolis) Zachary Kilpatrick (U Houston) Evelyn Buckwar (Johannes Kepler Universitat Linz)

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Two PhD Positions in Computer Vision for Connectomics at INI in Zurich
by Jan Funke March 25, 2016

March 25, 2016

The Institute of Neuroinformatics (INI) of the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich has two PhD positions in the field of computer vision for connectomics, i.e., the reconstruction of neural circuits from electron microscopy volumes. The project aims at improving the current state of the art of discrete optimization models for neuron segmentation by investigating new segmentation methods, the incorporation of biological priors, (deep) learning from sample annotations, and the development of large-scale reconstruction pipelines. A detailed description can be found at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hThoBuesWucwCDUmStyCt44VWMscXy9KxBtuyA5… The project will be carried out in collaboration with the HCI Heidelberg (Germany) and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona (Spain). Generous funding for at least three years will be provided, including travel costs for regular visits of our collaborators and conference fees. Please send us an email with your CV at funke(a)ini.ethz.ch (Jan Funke) for further information. Regards, Jan Funke

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Post-Doc in Bordeaux, application deadline 01/04/2016 (1 week)
by Nicolas P. Rougier March 25, 2016

March 25, 2016

Actor–critic models of the basal ganglia Postdoc in Bordeaux (12 months), France Application deadline 01/04/2016. Details & application at: http://www.inria.fr/institut/recrutement-metiers/offres/post-doctorat/sejou… Nicolas Rougier --- Actor–critic models of the basal ganglia We developed a model of the basal ganglia (Piron et al., 2016) that introduces an action selection mechanism that is based upon the competition between a positive feedback through the direct pathway and a negative feedback through the hyperdirect pathway. The model also exploits the parallel organization of circuits between the basal ganglia and the cortex using segregated loops: one loop allows to choose the cue and one loop allows to make the actual motor selection. Learning occurs between the cognitive cortex and the cognitive striatum using a simple reinforcement learning where the values of the different cues are updated after each decision. As in most computational models of the basal ganglia, this model relies on an actor-critic architecture where the dopamine signal is used to encode the temporal difference prediction error signal in the critic (Joel et al., 2002; Khamassi et al., 2005). However, this algorithm is not very elaborated and its implementation is not biologically plausible since values are stored outside the model. The objectives of this postdoc is thus to review and to re-implement (Python) main actor-critic models of the literature in order to compare them on a common set of decision tasks (two-arm bandit task for example) in terms of biological plausibility and performances. Special attention will be given to the "Primary Value and Learned Value Pavlovian Learning Algorithm" model (O'Reilly, 2007) and the AGREL model (Roefselma et al. 2005). From these replications (that will be published in ReScience), the most plausible and compatible mechanisms will be implemented in our own model of the basal ganglia in order to replace the current reinforcement learning algorithm (Guthrie et al., 2013, Piron et al. 2016). Profiles PhD in computational neuroscience or computer science (machine learning) with strong experience in Python & the scientific Python stack (numpy, scipy, matplotlib, git/github). References • Joel, D., Niv, Y., & Ruppin, E. (2002). Actor–critic models of the basal ganglia: New anatomical and computational perspectives. Neural Networks, 15(4-6), 535–547. • Khamassi, M., Lachèze, L., Girard, B., Berthoz, A., Guillot, A. (2005). Actor-critic models of reinforcement learning in the basal ganglia: From natural to artificial rats. Adaptive Behavior, 13 (2). • Guthrie, M., Leblois, A., Garenne, A., & Boraud, T. (2013). Interaction between cognitive and motor cortico-basal ganglia loops during decision making: a computational study. Journal of Neurophysiology, 109(12). • C. Piron, D. Kase, M. Topalidou, M. Goillandeau, H. Orignac, T. N'Guyen, N.P. Rougier, T. Boraud, The globus pallidus pars interna in goal oriented and habitual behavior. Resolving an old standing paradox, Movement Disorders, (2016), to appear. • O'Reilly, R. C., Frank, M. J., Hazy, T. E., & Watz, B. (2007). PVLV: The Primary Value and Learned Value Pavlovian Learning Algorithm. Behavioral Neuroscience, 121(1). • Roelfsema, P.R., van Ooyen A. (2005). Attention-gated reinforcement learning of internal representations for classification. Neural Computation.

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Post-Doctoral Positions at Boston University Investigating Long-Range Neocortical Networks
by Chen, Jerry March 24, 2016

March 24, 2016

Post-Doctoral Positions Available --------------------------------- We are a new lab, headed by Jerry Chen, opening our doors in 2016 in the Department of Biology at Boston University SUMMARY: A longstanding goal in neuroscience is to achieve a complete understanding of the central nervous system, from the brain as a whole all the way down to individual neurons and synapses. A fundamental challenge in achieving this goal is bridging knowledge gaps impeded by the difficulty in integrating experimental measurements across different scales. Our lab studies the relationship between local circuits and long-range networks in the mammalian neocortex. We take an integrative approach by combining large-scale in vivo imaging technology with molecular and genetic tools in the awake-behaving animal. RESEARCH PROJECTS: Principles of Long-Range Cortical Communication. We are investigating how behavior-relevant information is processed both locally and globally throughout the neocortex. Using the mouse tactile whisker sensorimotor system as a model for studying long-range cortical communication during sensory processing and decision making, we seek to understand the following questions: - What are the circuits underlying long-range cortical communication? - What are the physiological mechanisms that subserve such operations? - What roles do these processes serve during behavior? Long-Range Cortical Circuits During Development. We are investigating how genes and development define the organization and function of long-range cortical circuits. Gaining a handle on how these circuits form will help us understand the role they serve during behavior. Technologies for Large-Scale Imaging of Neuronal Populations. We recently developed a multi-area two-photon microscope that enables simultaneous functional imaging with cellular resolution across cortical areas. We seek to expand on such methods to enable comprehensive monitoring of neuronal activity across the entire cortex. QUALIFICATIONS: We are seeking highly creative individuals who are interested in pursuing independent projects core to the lab's research interest. A first author publication (submitted or published) is a prerequisite for consideration. While experience with in vivo imaging and rodent behavior and a quantitative background is desired, we are also interested in individuals with a broad range of expertise within and outside of neuroscience. You can even be a mathematician, physicist, engineer, computer scientist, molecular biologist, artist, or musician. Some examples of potential good fits include: - Neurophysiologists with previous experience working with non-human primates interested in addressing similar questions in rodents. - Developmental neurobiologists interested in studying how circuit formation guides circuit function and behavior. - Computational neuroscientists interested in testing theoretical models using experimental data acquired in the lab. - Molecular biologists interested in utilizing molecular and genetic tools for addressing systems-level questions. - Optical engineers interested in developing and applying novel technologies for large-scale recording and stimulation of neuronal populations. For more information, go to www.chen-lab.org. If you are interested in applying, please submit a CV along with 3 references to: jerry(a)chen-lab.org.

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ANNPR 2nd Call for Papers
by Dr. Schwenker March 24, 2016

March 24, 2016

**** Please apologize cross-postings. 2nd Call for Papers IAPR TC3 International Workshop on Artificial Neural Networks in Pattern Recognition (ANNPR 2016) September 28-30, 2016 Ulm University, Ulm, Germany ANNPR 2016 invites papers that present original work in areas of neural networks, machine learning and pattern recognition, focusing on both theoretical and applied aspects. Topics of interest include, but not limited to: Methodological Issues - Supervised learning - Unsupervised learning - Combination of supervised and unsupervised learning - Feed-forward, recurrent, and competitive neural nets - Kernel machines - Hierarchical modular architectures and hybrid systems - Combination of neural networks and Hidden Markov models - Multiple classifier systems and ensemble methods - Probabilistic graphical models - Kernel methods - Deep architectures Applications in Pattern Recognition - Image processing and segmentation - Handwritten recognition and Document analysis - Sensor-fusion and multi-modal processing - Feature extraction, dimension reduction - Clustering and vector quantization - Speech and speaker recognition - Data, text, and web mining - Bioinformatics/Cheminformatics Important Dates Paper submission: May 4, 2016 Notification of acceptance: June 22, 2016 Camera ready due: July 6, 2016 Workshop: September 28-30, 2016 General Chairs Friedhelm Schwenker, Ulm University, Germany Hazem Abbas, German University of Cairo, Egypt Neamat El Gayar, Cairo University, Egypt Edmondo Trentin, University of Siena, Italy For more information, please visit us: http://neuro.informatik.uni-ulm.de/ANNPR2016/ -- Dr. Friedhelm Schwenker University of Ulm Institute of Neural Information Processing D-89069 Ulm, Germany phone: +49-731-50-24159 fax: +49-731-50-24156 email: friedhelm.schwenker(a)uni-ulm.de www: http://www.uni-ulm.de/in/neuroinformatik/mitarbeiter/f-schwenker.html

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Master student / intern position available at Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
by Filip Sobczak March 24, 2016

March 24, 2016

OPEN POSITION Master student / intern position at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany The Department of High-field Magnetic Resonance at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen is looking for a master’s student or an intern to work under the supervision of Dr. Xin Yu (Group Leader at MPI for Biological Cybernetics). This position is open now until filled. Research description: The project requires applying image processing and computer vision techniques for neuroscientific purposes. The goal is establishing a platform enabling the registration of rat brain MRI scans onto a brain atlas template. This will allow locating specific brain structures in a newly acquired MRI scan. Example applications of the platform are: - increasing the precision of targeting and recording deep brain nuclei, - enabling the use of MRI images as feedback in closed-loop control of a robotic arm operating in a 14T MRI scanner. The candidate should possess sufficient knowledge of image processing techniques to finish the task. Some groundwork has already been done. The Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics is located in Tübingen, Germany. Next door to the MPI for Biological Cybernetics lies the MPI for Intelligent Systems. The Max Planck Society is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, and encourages applications from qualified women and minority candidates. Please send your CV (in English) to Dr. Yu if interested. Contact info: Dr. Xin Yu Research Group leader Max-Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Spemannstrasse 41, 72076 Tübingen, Germany E-mail: xin.yu(a)tuebingen.mpg.de , phone: 49 7071 601-740 Website: www.kyb.tuebingen.mpg.de/research/rg/yugroup/ Dr. Yu has published seminal papers on small animal high field MRI in Nature Neuroscience, Nature Methods, Neuron, PNAS, NeuroImage etc.

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Engineering Applications of Neural Networks 2016, 2nd-5th September, Scotland
by Chrisina Jayne March 24, 2016

March 24, 2016

Dear Colleague, The 17th International Conference on Engineering Applications of Neural Networks will take place in Aberdeen, Scotland, between 2nd-5th September 2016 (EANN 2016 – http://www.eann.org.uk/eann2016/index.php) The INNS (International Neural Network Society) is the primary sponsor of EANN. Robert Gordon University, the Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA) and Visit Aberdeen also sponsor the EANN conference. 6 PhD students studying at Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA) universities will have free registration. Authors are invited to submit electronically original, English-language research contributions or experience reports not concurrently submitted elsewhere. The proceedings of the conference will be published in Springer CCIS Series. Extended contributions will also be considered for publication in a Special Issue of Neural Computing and Applications Journal (Springer). In the spirit of the previous EANN conferences, the paper should concentrate on the application rather than just the algorithm or the theory. All application areas are relevant. Novel contributions related to deep learning and application of neural networks to data science applications are encouraged. The deadline for paper submission is 20th April 2016. Proposals for Workshops that examine emerging, innovative, or otherwise provocative issues within the conference area are encouraged as well. Workshop proposals should include a 1-2 page summary of the topic and the names and affiliations of 3-4 panellists who have made a commitment to participate. A mix of industry and academic panel members is recommended. Proposals for 90-minute tutorials are also invited on topics within the conference area. Tutorial proposals must be at most 5 pages, they must identify the intendedaudience, and they must give enough material to provide a sense of what will be covered. Full CFP is available at http://www.eann.org.uk/eann2016/cfp.php Important deadlines are available at http://www.eann.org.uk/eann2016/timeline.php Submission page http://www.eann.org.uk/eann2016/sbmissions.php Keynote Speakers http://www.eann.org.uk/eann2016/keynote.php Excursion Details http://www.eann.org.uk/eann2016/exc.php If you have any questions please email Chrisina Jayne at ( c.p.jayne(a)rgu.ac.uk) Best wishes, Prof Chrisina Jayne and Prof Lazaros Iliadis Programme Chairs for EANN2016

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PhD Opportunity: Brain stimulation / fMRI / Cortico-cereballar connectivity
by Ramnani, N March 24, 2016

March 24, 2016

Dear All, John Rothwell and I would like to invite expressions of interest from prospective PhD students for a project to map cortico-cereballar connectivity using brain stimulation and fMRI. Further details are available here: http://www.pc.rhul.ac.uk/sites/NeuroscienceLab/?page_id=192 Deadline: 15th April (but please respond as early as possible to discuss and shape an application in consultation with us). I'd be grateful if you could please forward this message to those who might be interested. Thanks and best wishes, Narender Narender Ramnani Professor of Neuroscience Fellow, Society of Biology Council Member, British Neuroscience Association Brain, Action and Cognition Laboratory Department of Psychology Royal Holloway, University of London Egham TW20 0EX, UK. Tel. 01784 443519 www.pc.rhul.ac.uk/sites/neurosciencelab<http://www.pc.rhul.ac.uk/sites/neurosciencelab> @n_ramnani

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Postdoctoral positions in neuroimaging mapping of early brain development
by gangli March 24, 2016

March 24, 2016

Postdoctoral research associate positions are available at the Infant Brain Mapping Lab of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Our current focuses are to better understand the dynamic and critical early brain development in health and disease, via multimodal neuroimaging analysis. The successful candidate will support our efforts either in advancing neuroimaging analysis technologies or in neuroscience applications. We are seeking highly motivated individuals who have extensive research experience in neuroimaging analysis (e.g., structural, diffusion or functional MRI) and demonstrated academic excellence, including publications in first-class journals and conferences. The candidate for Postdoctoral Research Associate should have a Ph.D. (or equivalent) in Neuroscience, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics/Statistics, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or related fields. Good command of programming tools including Matlab, C/C++, Linux, and scripting are necessary to carry out the research work in this group. The successful candidate will be part of a diverse group including neuroscientists, radiologists, psychologists, physicists, biostatistician, and computer scientists, and will build upon the group's extensive foundation on neuroimaging analysis. If interested, please email resume to Dr. Gang Li (gang_li(a)med.unc.edu)

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Deadline (April 1st) for contributions to ICANN 2016 Barcelona is approaching
by antonio March 23, 2016

March 23, 2016

*Please**, excuse****multiple****postings**.** ** **I beg**you **make****maximum publicity****among your****groups****and colleagues.** * Dear colleagues and friends, I invite you to participate in the "25th Annual Conference on Artificial Neural Networks" to be held in Barcelona on 6-9 of September. The congress, in addition to everything that has to do with Neural Networks, addresses some issues in the field of networks and complex systems. *INVITED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS*are the following: *Wlodek Duch *(Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland) *Erkki Oja *(Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland) *Joaquin Fuster *(University of California at Los Angeles, USA) *Murray Shanahan* (Imperial College London, UK) *Günther Palm* (University of Ulm, Germany) *Stephen Coombes *(University of Nottingham, UK) *Etienne Koechlin* (Pierre and Marie Curie University, France) You can participate with an oral presentation, a poster or a written article. The deadline for submitting your abstracts (for oral contributions or posters) or your manuscripts *_ends next_**__**_April 1st_*. You will find more details about how to send contributions in http://icann2016.org/index.php/contributors/submission. More information:www.icann2016.org. Follow us on twitter: @EuNeuralNetSoc Sincerely, ICANN 2016 - Barcelona Antonio J. Pons Rivero General Chair of ICANN 2016 Terrassa School of Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering (ETSEIAT) Nonlinear dynamics, nonlinear optics and lasers Group BarcelonaTech (UPC) Edifici GAIA Rbla. Sant Nebridi, 22 08222 Terrassa, Spain

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"The neuroscience of decision-making" ~1 week left to submit abstracts
by Paul Cisek March 22, 2016

March 22, 2016

38th International Symposium of the GRSNC The neuroscience of decision-making May 2-3, 2016 Université de Montréal WEBSITE: <http://www.grsnc.umontreal.ca/38s/> http://www.grsnc.umontreal.ca/38s/ PROGRAM: <http://www.grsnc.umontreal.ca/38s/prog_e.html> http://www.grsnc.umontreal.ca/38s/prog_e.html REGISTRATION: <http://appl.grsnc.umontreal.ca/en/symposium/38s/registration.cfm> http://appl.grsnc.umontreal.ca/en/symposium/38s/registration.cfm POSTER: <http://www.grsnc.umontreal.ca/38s/38s_poster.pdf> http://www.grsnc.umontreal.ca/38s/38s_poster.pdf We are pleased to announce the 38th symposium of the Groupe de Recherche sur le Système Nerveux Central (GRSNC) which is entitled "The neurosciences of decision-making". This symposium will be held on May 2-3, 2016 at the Université de Montréal, Pavillon 3200 Jean-Brillant, room B-2245 and the organizers are Drs Paul Cisek (UdeM), Alain Dagher (McGill), Lesley Fellows (McGill), John Kalaska (UdeM) et Peter Shizgal (Concordia). Research on the neural bases of decision-making has experienced a rapid growth in the last 20 years. It addresses a great diversity of questions, ranging from how animals weigh the costs and benefits of different actions to what goes wrong when humans exhibit maladaptive behavior, such as in addiction. In this symposium, we will discuss cutting-edge research on this topic, reviewing the progress that has been made and addressing the central open questions facing this rapidly developing field. In planning the sessions, we have paid particular attention to issues that stretch from the most basic neuroscience all the way to clinical applications. We will highlight converging evidence from the full range of neuroscientific methods applied in this field, considered within a diversity of conceptual frameworks. There will be four sessions of presentations by invited speakers from around the world as well as two contributed poster sessions. The presentations are regrouped in four sessions: * Brain representations of value: Common or multiple (Chairperson: Peter Shizgal) * Encoding and learning values: Neural and computational mechanisms (Chairperson: Alain Dagher) * Decision in the wild (Chairperson: John Kalaska) * Diseases and deviances (Chairperson: Lesley Fellows) Lecturers: Joshua D. Berke, Thomas Boraud, Paul Cisek, Alain Dagher, Peter Dayan, Nathaniel Daw, Lesley Fellows, J. Randall Flanagan, Michael J. Frank, Karl Friston, Hugh Garavan, Paul W. Glimcher, Joseph Kable, Elizabeth A. Murray, Michael L. Platt, David Redish, Michael N. Shadlen, Peter Shizgal, Daphna Shohamy and Jonathan D. Wallis. Submissions are invited for poster presentations. The deadline for submission is March 31, 2016 We would appreciate if you could forward this message to colleagues and students. Manon Dumas for the organizing committee Groupe de recherche sur le système nerveux central (GRSNC) Université de Montréal Département de neurosciences Pavillon Paul-G.-Desmarais, bureau 4115 Courriel: <mailto:m.dumas@umontreal.ca> m.dumas(a)umontreal.ca Téléphone: (514) 343-6366 Télécopieur: (514) 343-6113

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CogModel notes: ICCM16+fellowships/confs/resources/Jobs
by Frank Ritter March 22, 2016

March 22, 2016

The ICCM 2016 announcements drive this email (it will be at Penn State, before CogSci, 3-6 Aug 2016 (hope you can come!). Deadline is approaching and we now have student travel support! There are also numerous timely announcements that indicate new publication outlets (too many conferences, we should talk about this as a community), resources, and jobs in Cog Sci and in cognitive modeling, or jobs that might take modelers. I have also included several unusual items, including some tools. I also should note: This is not our conference: http://www.sci-en-tech.com/ICCM2016 [it is on engineering methods] The 7th International Conference on Computational Methods (ICCM2016) This is also not our conference: https://www.waset.org/conference/2016/08/barcelona/ICCM [same title!] [I have found that the conference committee on this one often do not know they are on the committee! and they are not modellers] If you would like to be removed, please just let me know. I maintain it by hand to keep it small. [Hypertext version available at http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/iccm-mailing-mar2016.html **************** Table of Contents **************** 1. ICCM 2016 Call for papers, due 8 April 16 http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/submissions/ 2. ICCM Student travel support (10) http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/stipend-application/ 3. ICCM Tutorial program call http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/submissions/tutorials/ 4. Fierces meeting in Moscow, 21-24 April 2016 http://school.bicasociety.org/ 5. BICA meeting in NYC, 16-19 July 2016 http://bicasociety.org/meetings/2016/ 20 Apr 2016 paper due date 6. SBP & BRiMS 16-Social Computing, Behavior Representation 28 Jun - 1 Jul 2016 http://sbp-brims.org 7. Nengo Summer School http://www.nengo.ca/summerschool 8. Call for Fourth Annual Conference on Advances in Cognitive Systems Northwestern 23-26 Jun 2016 http://www.cogsys.org/ 9. CFP Collective Intelligence 2016 - Call for Papers https://sites.google.com/a/stern.nyu.edu/collective-intelligence-conference… 10. Call for special issues, J of Interaction Science http://www.journalofinteractionscience.com/ 11. Call for papers, Holistic approaches for Human-Vehicle Systems IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems 12. Groningen Spring School on Cognitive Modeling 13. Call for Future CogSci Conference Organizers 14. Budapest Semester in Cognitive Science, and Summer program http://www.bscs-us.org/ 15. CogACLL 2016 - First Call of Papers due 8 & 29 May 2016 http://sites.google.com/site/cognitivews2016 16. AHFE 2016 International Conference on Simulation, 27-31 July 2016 17. 15th Neural Computation and Psychology Workshop, Due 15 Apr https://sites.google.com/site/ncpw15/ 17b. AGI-16 deadline extended to 1 Apr 16 ** Resources ** 18. Special issue on cognitive engineering, J of Interaction Science http://www.journalofinteractionscience.com/about [open access] 19. Oxford books (>$100) get 30% off https://global.oup.com/ 20. Proceedings of Workshop on Cogn Archs for Social HRI https://sites.google.com/site/cogarch4socialhri2016/proceedings 21. BRIMS 2013: introduction to CMOT special issue http://alerts.springer.com/re?l=D0In5zo16I6hi0lc9I1 22. BRIMS 2012: introduction to CMOT special issue http://alerts.springer.com/re?l=D0In5x8koI6hi0lc9I3 23. MSc Course in Cognitive Systems at Open U of Cyprus ** Jobs ** 24. Tenure Track Asst Prof in Cognitive Psychology at Syracuse U 25. Post-doc/programmer in tutoring/modeling at PSU, July/Aug 2016 26. U of California at Riverside hiring 300 (!) http://clusterhiring.ucr.edu 27. Aerospace Engineering and ethics, PSU full consideration by Jan 2016 28. Visiting Assistant Professor, Bucknell U. Fall 2016 29. Robotics faculty member, Missouri U of S&T Review started 1 feb 16 30. Open/data science developer jobs at Databrary.org https://databrary.org/about/jobs.html 31. Researcher and Engineer positions at ATR Brain Labs, Kyoto, Japan http://www.cns.atr.jp/en/ 32. Postdoctoral Fellow, CMU with Gonzalez http://www.cmu.edu/ddmlab/ [expired, but recurrent] 33. Positions available at the US Army Res Lab 34. Doctoral Student Fellowship - U of Lausanne, Switzerland 35. PostDoc: compt models of optogenetic stim in epilepsy patients U of Newcastle 36. Research Positions with the US Air Force Res Lab 37. Post-doctoral positions at CMU, DDM Lab 38. Job(s) at Pacific Science, San Diego, CA (rolling deadline) **************************************************************** 1. ICCM 2016 Call for papers, due 8 April 16 http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/submissions/ The ICCM2016 Call for Papers is available for download. Deadline & Submitting All paper, poster, symposium, and tutorial submissions are due on 8 Apr 2016, 5pm EST. They should be submitted via our online submission system: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iccm2016 There are three types of submissions: Papers: refereed papers of up to 6 pages. If a submission is accepted to be published as a paper, the paper will be presented at the conference either as a talk or as a poster. Posters: refereed poster abstracts of up to 2 pages. If accepted, the corresponding poster will be presented at the conference in a dedicated poster session. Symposia: refereed symposia abstracts of up to 2 pages. If accepted, the conference committee will contact the authors to help organize and schedule the symposium. A symposium submission should consist of an introduction to the topic of the symposium and a brief description of the speakers. Symposia have a maximum duration of 90 minutes, but can also be shorter. Notification of acceptance expected by 6 May 2016. **************************************************************** 2. ICCM Student travel support (10) http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/stipend-application/ With assistance from National Science Foundation, we have financial support for about ten (10) students to travel to and attend ICCM2016. If you are an interested student, please use the Google Form link (https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycby0VHWmhqkMw1OzH-rX4SWBEegeMT8StKkX… submit an stipend application. You will be asked to provide a CV and brief research statement or cover letter in PDF form. The stipend is available to all students (undergraduate, graduate) enrolled at US institutions of higher education, as well as to US citizens enrolled at higher education institutions world-wide. We encourage you to apply, especially if you have not been to ICCM before or if you think you can contribute to the diversity of our community. For full consideration, please submit your application by 7 May 16. Awards will be made starting on that day. **************************************************************** 3. ICCM Tutorial program call http://acs.ist.psu.edu/iccm2016/submissions/tutorials/ The Tutorial and Workshop program of ICCM will be held on August 3, 2016. It will provide conference participants with the opportunity to gain new insights, knowledge, and skills from a broad range of areas in the field of cognitive modeling. Tutorial topics will be presented in a taught format and are likely to range from practical guidelines to theoretical issues or software. Workshops give an opportunity for in-depth discussion on a specific topic important for cognitive modeling. Tutorials at ICCM have been held many times before, and this year's program will be modelled after them and after the series held at the Cognitive Science Conference; please see previous years for examples (2013, 2012). Duration: Each tutorial or workshop is designed to be a half-day or full-day in duration. Half-day tutorials/workshops are about 3 hours long (not including breaks). Full day tutorials/workshops are about 6 hours long (not including breaks). Tutorial participants: Tutorial participants will either be doing cognitive modeling or be interested in learning more. They will be looking for insights into their own areas and summaries of other areas providing tools, techniques, and results to use in their own teaching and research. Most tutorials should be at the introductory graduate school level or slightly higher. That is, the tutorials should be accessible to postgraduate students, but should assume a first degree in one of the cognitive sciences. Queries should be sent to the tutorial chair, Dr. Bill Kennedy wkennedy(a)gmu.edu **************************************************************** 4. Fierces meeting in Moscow, 21-24 April 2016 http://school.bicasociety.org/ A three-day meeting of early-career researchers (students, interns, postdocs, trainees, research staff and faculty, including young scientists from around the world) with world-recognized leading experts in the field of Biologically inspired cognitive architectures. This School will develop future world leadership in the field by young scientists for years to come. The friendly atmosphere of excitement and opportunity will help us to initiate partnership and collaboration using roundtables, breakout groups and discussion panels. Working language of the School is English. An event that will enhance your research career and is likely to change your life. Seats are limited: contact burtsev.m(a)gmail.com, asamsono(a)gmu.edu Sponsored by: Russian Science Foundation National Research Nuclear University «MEPhI», BICA Society **************************************************************** 5. BICA meeting in NYC, 16-19 July 2016 http://bicasociety.org/meetings/2016/ 20 Apr 2016 paper due date [Following numerous requests, the BICA 2016 submission deadline is extended until April 20: http://bica2016.bicasociety.org/deadlines/ -from Samsonovitch] [deadlines are tight, this newsletter might not make it, but, generally you can arrange to talk if you have something to say, and you can attend, of course] BICA 2016 will be hosted as a part of the unified Human-Level Artificial Intelligence Framework event (HLAI-2016) at the New School Center for Transformative Media in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, NY. In addition to BICA 2016, this event will also include AGI-2016 (http://www.agi-conf.org) NeSy-2016 (http://www.neural-symbolic.org) possibly AIC-2016 and more, co-located and immediately following IJCAI-2016 (http://ijcai-16.org) General Chair of HLAI 2016: Tarek R. Besold. BICA 2016 Chair and Point of Contact: Alexei Samsonovich Abstract-only OK for a talk, accepted papers will be published in Elsevier journals BICA (acquires a Thomson Reuters JCR Impact Factor, www.elsevier.com/locate/bica) and Procedia Computer Science (www.journals.elsevier.com/procedia-computer-science/) both indexed in Web of Science and Scopus (attendance is not required for publication). Express your interest via email to alexei(a)bicasociety.org Abstract submission is encouraged by March 16 All kinds of submissions (all venues via EasyChair) due - March 20 Acceptance and Reviewer feedback - on or before April 15 Early-bird registration deadline: April 20 Camera Ready Submission: May 15 Author Registration Deadline: May 15 Conference Dates: July 16 - 19 **************************************************************** 6. SBP & BRiMS 16-Social Computing, Behavior Representation 28 Jun - 1 Jul 2016 http://sbp-brims.org [late breaking results are still open] From: Donald Adjeroh <Donald.Adjeroh(a)mail.wvu.edu> Subject: 2nd Call for Papers: SBP and BRiMS 16 - Social Computing, Behavior Representation SBP and BRiMS 2016 The Conferences on Social Computing, Behavioral-Cultural Modeling and Prediction (SBP) and Behavior Representation in Modeling and Simulation (BRiMS) will jointly hold their meetings in 2016. 28 Jun - 1 Jul 2016 UCDC Center, Washington DC IMPORTANT DATES -------------------------- Paper registration deadline: 22 Jan 2016 Paper/full text due: 28 Jan 2016 Author notification: 1 Mar 2016 Final Version: 14 Mar 2016 Late-breaking results papers, Demo and Industry Track abstracts due: 1 Feb - 1 May 2016 (rolling) Author notification: 2 weeks after submission Tutorial proposals due: 1 Feb 2016 Pre-conference Tutorial Sessions: 28 Jun 2016 Conference (Single Track): 29 Jun - 1 Jul 2016 ABOUT SBP-BRIMS ------------------------- SBP-BRiMS is a multidisciplinary conference with a selective single paper track and poster session. The conference also invites a small number of high quality tutorials and nationally recognized keynote speakers. The conference has grown out of two related meetings: SBP and BRiMS, which were co-located in previous years. Social computing harnesses the power of computational methods to study social behavior, such as during team collaboration. Cultural behavioral modeling refers to representing behavior and culture in the abstract, and is a convenient and powerful way to conduct virtual experiments and scenario analysis. Both social computing and cultural behavioral modeling are techniques designed to achieve a better understanding of complex behaviors, patterns, and associated outcomes of interest. Moreover, these approaches are inherently interdisciplinary; subsystems and system components exist at multiple levels of analysis (i.e., "cells to societies") and across multiple disciplines, from engineering and the computational sciences to the social and health sciences. The SBP-BRiMS conference invites modeling and simulation papers from academics, research scientists, technical communities and defense researchers across traditional disciplines to share ideas, discuss research results, identify capability gaps, highlight promising technologies, and showcase the state-of-the-art in applications in the areas of cultural behavioral modeling, prediction, and social computing. Please see the SBP-BRiMS16 website for more details. Keynotes and tutorials delivered in the previous SBP and BRiMS meetings are available through the websites http://sbp-conference.org/ and http://cc.ist.psu.edu/BRIMS2015/ . CALL FOR PAPERS ------------------------ Submissions are solicited on research issues, theories, and applications. Topics of interests include the following. Modeling - Intelligent agents and avatars/adversarial modeling - Cognitive robotics and human-robot interaction - Models of reasoning and decision making - Model validation & comparison - Socio-cultural M&S: team/group/crowd/behavior - Physical models of human movement - Performance assessment & skill monitoring/tracking - Performance prediction/enhancement/optimization - Intelligent tutoring systems - Knowledge acquisition/engineering - Human behavior issues in model federations Basic Research on Sociocultural & Behavioral Processes - Group interaction and collaboration - Group formation and evolution - Group representation and profiling - Collective action and governance - Cultural patterns & representation - Social conventions and social contexts - Influence process and recognition - Public opinion representation - Information diffusion - Psycho-cultural situation awareness Methodological Issues - Mathematical foundations - Verification and validation - Sensitivity analysis - Matching technique or method to research questions - Metrics and evaluation - Methodological innovation - Model federation and integration - Evolutionary computing - Optimization Information, Systems, & Network Science - Social medial and social network analysis - Data mining on social media platforms - Diffusion and other dynamic processes over networks - Inference of network topologies and changes over time - Analysis of link formations and link types - Detection of communities and other types of structures in networks - Analysis of high-dimensional networks Military and Intelligence Applications - Evaluation, modeling and simulation - Group formation and evolution in the political context - Technology and flash crowds - Networks and political influence - Group representation and profiling - Reasoning about terrorist group behaviors and policies towards them Health Applications - Social network analysis to understand health behavior - Modeling of health policy and decision making - Modeling of behavioral aspects of infectious disease spread - Intervention design and modeling for behavioral health Other Applications - Economic applications of behavioral and social prediction - Viral marketing - Reasoning about development aid through social modeling - Reasoning about global educational efforts through cognitive simulation FORMAT AND SUBMISSION ------------------------------------ The conference solicits three categories of papers: - Regular papers (max. 10 pages) All topics and authors (academic, government, industry) welcome Published in a Springer volume and online. Plenary or poster presentation. - Late-breaking results (max. 6 pages) All topics and authors welcome. Published online. Typically a poster or plenary presentation. - Demos and Industry Track (2-page abstract, or max. 6 pages) Published online. Typically a poster or demo presentation. The papers must be in English and MUST be formatted according to the Springer-Verlag LNCS/LNAI guidelines. Sample LaTeX and MS Word templates are available at http://www.springer.com/computer/lncs?SGWID=0-164-6-793341-0. A selection of authors will be invited to contribute journal versions of their papers to one of two planned special issues of Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory and another high-profile journal. The submission website will be available at: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=sbpbrims2016 For any questions and inquiries concerning submissions, please email the program chairs. PRE-CONFERENCE TUTORIAL SESSIONS ---------------------------------------------------- Several half-day sessions will be offered on the day before the full conference. Sessions will be designed to meet the needs of one of two distinct groups. One group will consist of attendees who have backgrounds in the computational sciences: computer science, engineering, and other mathematically oriented disciplines. Other tutorial sessions will be designed for behavioral and social scientists and others (e.g. those with medical backgrounds or training in public health) who may have limited formal education in the computational sciences. Attendees will gain an understanding of terminology, theories, and general computational techniques, especially with respect to modeling approaches. More details regarding the pre-conference tutorial sessions, including instructors, course content, and registration information will be posted to the conference website (http://sbp-brims.org/) as soon as this information becomes available. POSTER & NETWORKING SESSION --------------------------------------------- We expect to invite the majority of all authors of paper submissions to present a poster at a catered poster and network session. DEMO SESSION --------------------- We invite technical demonstrations from academia, industry and government. Please submit a 2-page abstract. We will provide a desk and power. CHALLENGE PROBLEM -------------------------------- The conference expects to announce a data modeling challenge as in previous years. FUNDING PANEL & CROSS-FERTILIZATION ROUNDTABLES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Previous SBP conferences have included a Cross-fertilization Roundtable session or a Funding Panel. The purpose of the cross-fertilization roundtables is to help participants become better acquainted with people outside of their discipline and with whom they might consider partnering on future SBP-related research collaborations. The Funding Panel provides an opportunity for conference participants to interact with program managers from various federal funding agencies. Participants for the previous funding panels have included representatives from federal agencies, such as the NSF, NIH, DoD, ONR, AFOSR, USDA, etc. The details for 2016 will be confirmed at a later date. BEST PAPER AWARDS ----------------------------- SBP-BRiMS16 will feature a Best Paper Award and a Best Student Paper Award. All papers are qualified for the Best Paper Award. Papers with student first authors will be considered for the Best Student Paper Award. HOTEL AND LOGISTICS ------------------------------ Information on accommodation and logistics will be provided at the conference website as it becomes available at http://sbp-brims.org/ TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIPS ------------------------------- Previous SBP and BRiMS conferences provided competitive travel support to participants. It is anticipated that a limited number of travel scholarships will be available on a competitive basis. Additional information will be provided at the SBP-BRIMS Conference website as it becomes available at http://sbp-brims.org/ CONFERENCE ORGANIZATION ======================== CONFERENCE CHAIRS ------------------------ Kathleen M. Carley, CMU Nitin Agarwal, U of Arkansas at Little Rock PROGRAM CHAIRS ------------------------- Dongwon Lee, NSF/PSU, dlee(a)nsf.gov Nathaniel Osgood, U of Saskatchewan, osgood(a)cs.usask.ca David Reitter, PSU, reitter(a)psu.edu Kevin Xu, U of Toledo, kevin.xu(a)utoledo.edu AREA CHAIRS ------------------ David Broniatowski, George Washington U Sibel Adali, RPI Christian Lebiere, CMU Wen Dong, State U of NY, Buffalo (further area chairs to be confirmed.) TUTORIAL CHAIR ---------------------- Yu-Ru Lin, U of Pittsburgh PUBLICITY CHAIRS ------------------------ Donald Adjeroh, West Virginia U Nitin Agarwal, U of Arkansas at Little Rock BRIMS SOCIETY CHAIR ------------------------------ Christopher Dancy II, Bucknell U Important Dates for Paper Submission 17 Mar (midnight PDT): Deadline for paper submission 15 Apr Decisions about paper acceptance 12 May Deadline for final papers 12 May Deadline for early registration 23-26 Jun Conference **************************************************************** 7. Nengo Summer School http://www.nengo.ca/summerschool [ongoing, may have opennings, and may occur next year] From: Peter Blouw <pblouw(a)uwaterloo.ca> To: act-r-users(a)ACTR-SERVER.HPC1.CS.cmu.edu Subject: [ACT-R-users] 2016 Nengo Summer School - Applications Open [All details about this school can be found online at http://www.nengo.ca/summerschool] The Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience at the U of Waterloo is inviting applications for our 3rd annual summer school on large-scale brain modeling. This two-week school will teach participants how to use the Nengo software package to build state-of-the-art cognitive and neural models to run in simulation and on neuromorphic hardware. Nengo has been used to build what is currently the world's largest functional brain model, Spaun [1], and provides users with a versatile and powerful environment for designing cognitive and neural systems to run in simulated and real environments. We welcome applications from all interested graduate students, research associates, postdocs, professors, and industry professionals. No specific training in the use of modeling software is required, but we encourage applications from active researchers with a relevant background in psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, robotics, neuromorphic engineering, computer science, or a related field. For a look at last year's summer school, check out this short video: https://goo.gl/wy4dNC [1] Eliasmith, C., Stewart T. C., Choo X., Bekolay T., DeWolf T., Tang Y., Rasmussen, D. (2012). A large-scale model of the functioning brain. Science. Vol. 338 no. 6111 pp. 1202-1205. [http://nengo.ca/publications/spaunsciencepaper] ***Application Deadline: 15 Feb 2016*** Format: A combination of tutorials and project-based work. Participants are encouraged to bring their own ideas for projects, which may focus on testing hypotheses, modeling neural or cognitive data, implementing specific behavioural functions with neurons, expanding past models, or providing a proof-of-concept of various neural mechanisms. Hands-on tutorials, work on individual or group projects, and talks from invited faculty members will make up the bulk of day-to-day activities. A project demonstration event will be held on the last day of the school, with prizes for strong projects! Topics Covered: Participants will have the opportunity to learn how to: build perceptual, motor, and sophisticated cognitive models using spiking neurons model anatomical, electrophysiological, cognitive, and behavioural data use a variety of single cell models within a large-scale model integrate machine learning methods into biologically oriented models interface Nengo with various kinds of neuromorphic hardware (e.g. SpiNNaker) interface Nengo with cameras and robotic systems implement modern nonlinear control methods in neural models and much more Date and Location: June 5th to June 17th, 2016 at the U of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Applications: Please visit http://www.nengo.ca/summerschool, where you can find more information regarding costs, travel, lodging, along with an application form listing required materials. If you have any questions about the school or the application process, please contact Peter Blouw (pblouw(a)uwaterloo.ca) We look forward to hearing from you! **************************************************************** 8. Call for Fourth Annual Conference on Advances in Cognitive Systems Northwestern 23-26 Jun 2016 http://www.cogsys.org/ Call For Papers Fourth Annual Conference on Advances in Cognitive Systems, Northwestern, Evanston, IL, 23-26 Jun 2016 The goal of the Advances in Cognitive Systems conference is to bring together researchers interested in building cognitive systems that focus on high-level cognition and decision making, reliance on rich, structured representations, and incorporation of insights about human thinking. This venue is for dissemination of research results pertaining to the original, yet unanswered, questions of Artificial Intelligence: to produce computational artifacts that reproduce a broad range of human cognitive abilities. The conference welcomes work on any topic related to the representation or organization of complex knowledge structures, their use in multi-step cognition, or their acquisition from experience or instruction. Some functional capabilities that arise in this context include, but are not limited to: - Conceptual Inference and Reasoning - Memory Storage and Retrieval - Language Processing - Social Cognition and Interaction - High-level Execution and Control - Problem Solving and Heuristic Search - Cognitive Aspects of Emotion and Personality - Metacognition and Meta-level Reasoning - Structural Learning and Knowledge Capture - Cognitive Vision and High-level Perception Paper Submission, Review, and Publication Manuscripts are limited to 12 pages. Papers accepted for the conference will be allotted up to an additional four papers for further elaboration. Accepted papers may also be invited to appear in the online journal, Advances in Cognitive Systems. Submissions should be formatted according to instructions provided at http://www.cogsys.org/formatting, which provides Latex and Word templates. Each submission should state explicitly the problem or capability it addresses, describe its response to this problem, make claims about this approach, and provide evidence in support of these claims. Every paper should also discuss related efforts, examine limitations of the reported work, and outline plans for future research. Because the conference aims to encourage research toward a broader understanding of intelligence, its criteria include demonstrating new functionality, integrating different facets of intelligence, presenting a novel approach to an established problem, explaining complex cognition in humans, and formally analyzing a difficult new task. We also welcome submissions on new problems or testbeds that challenge existing approaches. Each submission will be assigned to multiple referees who will evaluate the paper for itscontribution to understanding cognitive systems, clarity of claims about this contribution, convincing evidence in support of those claims, and cogent presentation of its ideas to readers. We encourage authors to examine the review form (http://www.cogsys.org/review-form-2016) before drafting their manuscripts to ensure that their submissions address all of the dimensions on which reviewers will evaluate them. The conference aims to be as inclusive as possible while still fostering innovative research on the computational nature of intelligence. The conference FAQ page (http://www.cogsys.org/faq) attempts to clarify the scope of the event. Authors who have questions about whether their research is appropriate for the meeting should contact the Conference Chairs, via acs2016(a)cs.northwestern.edu, for additional information. Important Dates for Paper Submission March 17th (midnight PDT): Deadline for paper submission April 15th: Decisions about paper acceptance May 12th: Deadline for final papers May 12th: Deadline for early registration June 23-26th: Conference Workshop Proposals ACS invites proposals for half-day or full day workshops to be held at the end of the conference on the afternoon of Sunday, June 26th. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to meet and discuss targeted issues pertaining to cognitive systems - providing an intimate and informal setting for active exchange among researchers, developers, and users on topics of current interest. The format of workshops will be determined by their organizers. Organizers are highly encouraged to propose alternative formats beyond paper/poster presentations, and should encourage the submission and presentation of position papers that discuss new research ideas. Proposals for workshops should be 2-3 pages in length and describe the topic, the format, and an explanation of target participation. Workshop organizers must submit their proposals via email to ACS2016(a)cs.northwestern.edu by March 17th. Conference Chairs Kenneth D. Forbus, Northwestern Thomas Hinrichs, Northwestern Organizing Committee Paul Bello, Naval Research Laboratory Kenneth Forbus, Northwestern Ashok Goel, Georgia Institute of Technology John Laird, U of Michigan Pat Langley, ISLE Sergei Nirenburg, RPI **************************************************************** 9. CFP Collective Intelligence 2016 - Call for Papers https://sites.google.com/a/stern.nyu.edu/collective-intelligence-conference… [program to be posted shortly] To: "naacsos-list(a)lists.andrew.cmu.edu" <naacsos-list(a)lists.andrew.cmu.edu> Subject: Collective Intelligence 2016 - Call for Papers Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2016 19:11:37 +0000 From: Thomas W Malone via Naacsos-list <naacsos-list(a)lists.andrew.cmu.edu> NAACSOS - http://www.casos.cs.cmu.edu/naacsos/ Call for Papers (Extended Abstracts) https://sites.google.com/a/stern.nyu.edu/collective-intelligence-conference… Collective Intelligence 2016 1-3 June 2016 New York U, New York, NY The annual interdisciplinary conference that brings together researchers from the academy, businesses, non-profits, governments and the world at large to share insights and ideas from a variety of fields relevant to understanding and designing collective intelligence in its many forms. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: human computation social computing crowdsourcing crowdfunding wisdom of crowds (e.g., prediction markets) group memory and extended cognition collective decision making and problem-solving participatory and deliberative democracy animal collective behavior organizational design and strategy public policy design (e.g., regulatory reform) ethics of collective intelligence (e.g., "digital sweatshops") computational models of group search and optimization emergence and evolution of intelligence new technologies for making groups smarter Submissions of two types are invited: Reports of original results Demonstrations of tools/technology To encourage a diversity of innovative ideas from a variety of fields, submissions may refer to work that is recently published, under review elsewhere, or in preparation, and may link to up to one publicly accessible paper for the purpose of describing the work in detail. However, submissions will be evaluated solely on the submitted abstract, which must therefore comprise an entirely self-contained description of the work. After review by the Program Committee, a subset of submitted abstracts will be invited for oral presentation with additional presentation as posters and/or demos. A second subset will also be invited exclusively for presentation as posters and/or demos. Authors will not receive detailed feedback from the review process, just an accept/reject decision. The main criteria will be: 1) whether the subject matter is a good fit for the Collective Intelligence conference; 2) whether there are interesting claims made with a promise to present evidence or non-obvious arguments in support of them. The review committee will not assess the validity of the evidence or arguments. Accepted submissions will be compiled into a single report which will be made available to conference participants. We emphasize that abstracts that are distributed to conference participants are not intended to be considered archival publications or to preclude submission of the reported work to archival journals; however, we cannot guarantee that certain journals do not have policies precluding the distribution of extended abstracts. Accepted abstracts will be included as submitted (i.e., submissions should be camera-ready). If your abstract is accepted for presentation or poster session, at least one author has to commit to attending the conference. Please check out prior programs and proceedings to learn more about the Collective Intelligence conference and academic community: (http://www.ci2012.org/) Collective Intelligence Conference Proceedings, MIT, 2012 (http://collective.mech.northwestern.edu/?page_id=217) Collective Intelligence Conference Proceedings, MIT, 2014 (https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/collectiveintelligence/schedule/) Collective Intelligence Conference Program, Santa Clara, 2015 DEADLINES Abstract submission deadline | 8 Feb 2016 Midnight PST Program Announcement | 1 Mar 2016 Conference Chair (http://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/natalia-levina) Natalia Levina (NYU Stern School of Business) Program Chairs (http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=240491) Karim Lakhani (Harvard Business School) (https://www.si.umich.edu/people/paul-resnick)Paul Resnick (U of Michigan) Program Committee Members (http://tepper.cmu.edu/our-faculty-and-research/about-our-faculty/faculty-pr…) Anita Woolley (CMU) (http://questromapps.bu.edu/mgmt_new/profiles/O%27MahonySiobhan.html) Siobhan O'Mahony (Boston U) (http://web.eecs.umich.edu/%7Ewlasecki/index.html)Walter Lasecki (U of Michigan) (http://yiling.seas.harvard.edu/)Yiling Chen (Harvard) (http://www.wbs.ac.uk/about/person/emmanouil-gkeredakis) Emmanouil Gkeredakis (Warwick Business School) (https://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/detail.php?in_spseqno=19289)Sinan Aral (MIT) (https://research.facebook.com/researchers/1471283266479125/lada-adamic/) Lada Adamic (Facebook) (http://www.chabris.com/)Christopher Chabris (Union College) (http://icouzin.princeton.edu/) Iain Couzin (Princeton) The NAACSOS mailing list is a service of NAACSOS, the North American Association for Computational and Organizational Science (http://www.casos.cs.cmu.edu/naacsos/) To remove yourself from this mailing list, send an email Majordomo(a)lists.andrew.cmu.edu with the following command in the body of your email message: unsubscribe naacsos-list **************************************************************** 10. Call for special issues, J of Interaction Science http://www.journalofinteractionscience.com/ The J of Interaction Science: Please contact one of us to discuss any special issue you may wish to organize. Remember, it's never too late or too soon to think about special issues, submission or your own editorial. Prof. Christian Stary, christian.stary(a)jku.at Dr Gisela Susanne Bahr, gbahr(a)fit.edu editorial(a)journalofinteractionscience.com **************************************************************** 11. Call for papers, Holistic approaches for Human-Vehicle Systems IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems Call for Papers IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems Special Issue on: "Holistic approaches for Human-Vehicle Systems: combining models, interactions and control" Ground vehicles operate in a complex human-vehicle-road environment involving numerous levels of interaction among drivers, vehicles, and the ambient within which they travel. Human drivers may be "intelligent controllers" that define the intended driving direction and/or operate (totally or partially) autonomous vehicles. To support the development of safe driver-vehicle interactions in an era of increasing automation, methods for modeling and analyzing the contribution of driver performance are critical and essential. This raises interesting challenges associated with the characterization and modeling of human behaviors, particularly with respect to cognition and neuromuscular dynamics, their implication in closed-loop driver-vehicle performance, and their induced modifications brought about by interaction with the surrounding environment. Specifically, holistic approaches are of interest, which aim at efficiently and quantitatively combine different aspects of the human-vehicle interaction in specific application domains. This special issue focuses on these relevant driver-vehicle interaction topics, with attention paid to the range of vehicles and associated technology currently on the market and emerging in the era of increased automation. The topics of interest include but are not limited to: - Modeling and characterization of driver-vehicle interactions - Human driver modeling: neuromuscular dynamics, skills and learning - Advanced vehicle control systems with driver-in-the-loop - Intelligent and cognitive vehicles - Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) - Modeling and characterization of human drivers' errors - Characterization and quantification of driver's capabilities Important Dates: Manuscript submission: 15 Apr 16 Completion of first round of reviews: 31 Jul 16 Revised manuscript submission: 31 Sep 16 Notification of final decision: 15 Dec 16 Final manuscript submission: 31 Jan 17 Paper should be submitted through http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/thms, with a cover letter that contains the statement: "This manuscript is being submitted to the Special Issue: Modeling, Dynamics, Perception and Control of Human-V ehicle Systems". For detailed submission information, please refer to "Information for Authors" at http://ieee-smc.org/publications/thms-info-for-authors.pdf. Guest Editors: Mara Tanelli, Politecnico di Milano, Italy Dongpu Cao, Cranfield U, UK Rafael Toledo, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Spain Laura Stanley, Montana State U-Bozeman All enquiries to: mara.tanelli(a)polimi.it **************************************************************** 12. Groningen Spring School on Cognitive Modeling [noted because it is an ongoing event] From: Niels Taatgen <n.a.taatgen(a)rug.nl> Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2016 09:43:07 +0100 To: <act-r-users(a)andrew.cmu.edu> Subject: [ACT-R-users] Groningen Spring School on Cognitive Modeling NOTE: register before January 31 to avoid late fee Groningen Spring School on Cognitive Modeling - ACT-R, Nengo, PRIMs, & Accumulator Models - Date: 4-8 April 2016 Location: Groningen, NL Fee: ¤ 200 (late fee ¤50 after 31 Jan) Registration: http://www.ai.rug.nl/springschool The Groningen Spring School on Cognitive Modeling will cover four different modeling paradigms: ACT-R, Nengo, PRIMs, and Accumulator models. It thereby offers a unique opportunity to learn the relative strengths and weaknesses of these approaches. Each day will consist of four theory lectures, one on each paradigm. Each modeling paradigm also includes hands-on assignments. Although students are free to chose the number of lectures they attend, we recommend students to sign up for lectures on two of the modeling paradigms, and complete the tutorial units for one of the paradigms. At the end of each day there will be a plenary research talk, to show how these different approaches to modeling are applied. Admission is limited, so register soon! ACT-R Jelmer Borst, Hedderik van Rijn, Niels Taatgen (U of Groningen) http://act-r.psy.cmu.edu ACT-R is a high-level cognitive theory and simulation system for developing cognitive models for tasks that vary from simple reaction time experiments to driving a car, learning algebra, and air traffic control. ACT-R can be used to develop process models of a task at a symbolic level. Participants will follow a compressed five-day version of the traditional summer school curriculum. We will also cover the connection between ACT-R and fMRI, and the timing extension to ACT-R. Nengo Terry Stewart (U of Waterloo) http://www.nengo.ca Nengo is a toolkit for converting high-level cognitive theories into low-level spiking neuron implementations. In this way, aspects of model performance such as response accuracy and reaction times emerge as a consequence of neural parameters such as the neurotransmitter time constants. It has been used to model adaptive motor control, visual attention, serial list memory, reinforcement learning, Tower of Hanoi, and fluid intelligence. Participants will learn to construct these kinds of models, starting with generic tasks like representing values and positions, and ending with full production-like systems. There will also be special emphasis on extracting various forms of data out of a model, such that it can be compared to experimental data. PRIMs Niels Taatgen (U of Groningen) http://www.ai.rug.nl/~niels/actransfer.html How do people handle and prioritize multiple tasks? How can we learn something in the context of one task, and partially benefit from it in another task? The goal of PRIMs is to cross the artificial boundary that most cognitive architectures have imposed on themselves by studying single tasks. It has mechanisms to model transfer of cognitive skills, and the competition between multiple goals. In the tutorial we will look at how PRIMs can model phenomena of cognitive transfer and cognitive training, and how multiple goals compete for priority in models of distraction. Accumulator Models Marieke van Vugt (U of Groningen) Decisions can be described in terms of a process of evidence accumulation, modeled with a drift diffusion mechanism. The advantage of redescribing the behavioral data with an accumulator model is that those can be decomposed into more easily-interpretable cognitive mechanisms such as speed-accuracy trade-off or quality of attention. In this course, you will learn about the basic mechanisms of drift diffusion models and apply it to your own dataset (if you bring one). You will also see some applications of accumulator models in the context of neuroscience and individual differences. Niels Taatgen - Professor n.a.taatgen(a)rug.nl U of Groningen, Artificial Intelligence http://www.ai.rug.nl/~niels +31 50 3636435 **************************************************************** 13. Call for Future CogSci Conference Organizers January 2016 Call for Future CogSci Conference Organizers The Cognitive Science Society seeks organizers for the upcoming 2019 and 2020 annual conferences, both of which will take place in North America. Organizers are responsible for the scientific content of the program such as creating the conference theme, inviting keynotes and other symposia, overseeing the submission/review process, and creating the program schedule. Organizers are NOT responsible for budget, administrative details, or other logistics. They will have input in the 2019 and 2020 conference destinations, but it is not required. All organizers (2-4 each year) must possess a PhD and will receive a VIP travel package to the annual conference. Co-organizers do not need to be from the same institution, region, or area of expertise. If you are interested in serving as a conference organizer, please complete the following form by February 15: http://cbs.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3OY0vcVhtVd4ofj (or email Wong). If you have any questions, please direct them to the Conference Officer, Jessica Wong, at cogsci.jessica(a)gmail.com. **************************************************************** 14. Budapest Semester in Cognitive Science, and Summer program http://www.bscs-us.org/ [deadlines may have passed, but ongoing] Date: Thu, 14 Jan 2016 01:46:03 +0100 (CET) From: Érdi Péter <erdi.peter(a)wigner.mta.hu> Subject: [Comp-neuro] study abroad programs in Budapest BSCS-US announces its two programs in Budapest for 2016. 1. Our regular program: BSCS - BUDAPEST SEMESTER IN COGNITIVE SCIENCE PHILOSOPHY TO NEUROSCIENCE will be held in the Fall of 2016, see http://www.bscs-us.org/ 2. We opened also a new program now in its second year: Systems Neuroscience: a study abroad summer program Program start/end dates 12 June - 5 Aug 2016 The BSCS Systems Neuroscience Program takes place at and academically supervised by the Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Semmelweis U Medical School, Budapest For details, see: http://sysneuro-semester.org/ Inquiry: Péter Érdi (SysNeuro Director; BSCS Co-Director) perdi(a)kzoo.edu, bscs(a)bscs-us.org, jhegedus(a)kzoo.edu **************************************************************** 15. CogACLL 2016 - First Call of Papers due 8 & 29 May 2016 http://sites.google.com/site/cognitivews2016 From: Alessandro Lenci alessandro.lenci(a)unipi.it Subject: [CUNY2016] CogACLL 2016 - First Call of Papers -------- CogACLL 2016 - First Call For Papers -------- ACL 2016 Workshop on Cognitive Aspects of Computational Language Learning (CogACLL) 11 Aug 2016 Berlin, Germany http://sites.google.com/site/cognitivews2016 Deadline for Long and Short Paper Submissions: 8 May 16 (11:59pm GMT -12) Deadline for System Demonstrations: 29 May 16 (11:59pm GMT -12) This workshop is endorsed by http://ifarm.nl/signll/ SIGNLL, the Special Interest Group on Natural Language Learning of the http://www.aclweb.org/ Association for Computational Linguistics. --------------------------------------------------------------- The human ability to acquire and process language has long attracted interest and generated much debate due to the apparent ease with which such a complex and dynamic system is learnt and used on the face of ambiguity, noise and uncertainty. This subject raises many questions ranging from the nature vs. nurture debate of how much needs to be innate and how much needs to be learned for acquisition to be successful, to the mechanisms involved in this process (general vs specific) and their representations in the human brain. There are also developmental issues related to the different stages consistently found during acquisition (e.g. one word vs. two words) and possible organizations of this knowledge. These have been discussed in the context of first and second language acquisition and bilingualism, with crosslinguistic studies shedding light on the influence of the language and the environment. The past decades have seen a massive expansion in the application of statistical and machine learning methods to natural language processing (NLP). This work has yielded impressive results in numerous speech and language processing tasks, including e.g. speech recognition, morphological analysis, parsing, lexical acquisition, semantic interpretation, and dialogue management. The good results have generally been viewed as engineering achievements. Recently researchers have begun to investigate the relevance of computational learning methods for research on human language acquisition and change. The use of computational modeling is a relatively recent trend boosted by advances in machine learning techniques, and the availability of resources like corpora of child and child-directed sentences, and data from psycholinguistic tasks by normal and pathological groups. Many of the existing computational models attempt to study language tasks under cognitively plausible criteria (such as memory and processing limitations that humans face), and to explain the developmental stages observed in the acquisition and evolution of the language abilities. In doing so, computational modeling provides insight into the plausible mechanisms involved in human language processes, and inspires the development of better language models and techniques. These investigations are very important since if computational techniques can be used to improve our understanding of human language acquisition and change, these will not only benefit cognitive sciences in general but will reflect back to NLP and place us in a better position to develop useful language models. Success in this type of research requires close collaboration between the NLP, linguistics, psychology and cognitive science communities. The workshop is targeted at anyone interested in the relevance of computational techniques for understanding first, second and bilingual language acquisition and language change in normal and clinical conditions. Long and short papers are invited on, but not limited to, the following topics: * Computational learning theory and analysis of language learning and organization * Computational models of first, second and bilingual language acquisition * Computational models of language changes in clinical conditions * Computational models and analysis of factors that influence language acquisition and use in different age groups and cultures * Computational models of various aspects of language and their interaction effect in acquisition, processing and change * Computational models of the evolution of language * Data resources and tools for investigating computational models of human language processes * Empirical and theoretical comparisons of the learning environment and its impact on language processes * Cognitively oriented Bayesian models of language processes * Computational methods for acquiring various linguistic information (related to e.g. speech, morphology, lexicon, syntax, semantics, and discourse) and their relevance to research on human language acquisition * Investigations and comparisons of supervised, unsupervised and weakly-supervised methods for learning (e.g. machine learning, statistical, symbolic, biologically-inspired, active learning, various hybrid models) from a cognitive perspective SUBMISSIONS ----------- We invite 3 submission modalities: * Regular long papers (8 content pages + 1 page for references): Long papers should report on original, solid and finished research including new experimental results, resources and/or techniques. * Regular short papers (4 content pages + 1 page for references): Short papers should report on small experiments, focused contributions, ongoing research, negative results and/or philosophical discussion. * System demonstration (2 pages): System demonstration papers should describe and document the demonstrated system or resources. We encourage the demonstration of both early research prototypes and mature systems, that will be presented in a separate demo session. All submissions must be in PDF format and must follow the ACL 2016 formatting requirements. We strongly advise the use of the provided Word or LaTeX template files. For long and short papers, the reported research should be substantially original. The papers will be presented orally or as posters. The decision as to which paper will be presented orally and which as poster will be made by the program committee based on the nature rather than on the quality of the work. Reviewing will be double-blind, and thus no author information should be included in the papers; self-reference should be avoided as well. Papers that do not conform to these requirements will be rejected without review. Accepted papers will appear in the workshop proceedings, where no distinction will be made between papers presented orally or as posters. Submission and reviewing will be electronic, managed by the START system: https://www.softconf.com/acl2016/CogACLL/ --------------------------------------------------------------- PROGRAM COMMITTEE Dora Alexopoulou, U of Cambridge (UK) Afra Alishahi, Tilburg U (Netherlands) Colin Bannard, U of Liverpool (UK) Philippe Blache, LPL-CNRS (France) Antal van den Bosch, Radboud U Nijmegen (Netherlands) Chris Brew, Nuance Communications (USA) Grzegorz Chrupa½a, Saarland U (Germany) Alexander Clark, Royal Holloway, U of London (UK) Robin Clark, U of Pennsylvania Walter Daelemans, U of Antwerp (Belgium) Dan Dediu, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (NL) Barry Devereux, U of Cambridge (UK) Emmanuel Dupoux, ENS - CNRS (France) Afsaneh Fazly, U of Toronto (Canada) Marco Idiart, Federal U of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) Gianluca Lebani, U of Pisa (Italy) Igor Malioutov, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Tim O'Donnel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Muntsa Padró, Nuance (Canada) Lisa Pearl, U of California - Irvine Ari Rappoport, The Hebrew U of Jerusalem (Israel) Sabine Schulte im Walde, U of Stuttgart (Germany) Ekaterina Shutova, U of Cambridge (UK) Maity Siqueira, Federal U of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) Mark Steedman, U of Edinburgh (UK) Suzanne Stevenson, U of Toronto (Canada) Remi van Trijp, Sony Computer Science Laboratory Paris (France) Shuly Wintner, U of Haifa (Israel) Charles Yang, U of Pennsylvania Menno van Zaanen, Tilburg U (Netherlands) Alessandra Zarcone, Saarland U (Germany) --------------------------------------------------------------- WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS AND CONTACT Anna Korhonen (U of Cambridge, UK) Alessandro Lenci (U of Pisa, Italy) Brian Murphy (Queen's U Belfast, UK) Thierry Poibeau (LATTICE-CNRS, France) Aline Villavicencio (Federal U of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) For any inquiries regarding the workshop please send an email to cognitive2016(a)gmail.com **************************************************************** 16. AHFE 2016 International Conference on Simulation, 27-31 July 2016 [this has a cognitive architectures track, now] From: "AHFE Conference" <admin(a)ahfe2016.org> Subject: AHFE 2016 International Conference on Simulation (27-31 July 2016 Walt Disney World) Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2016 01:53:35 +0000 AHFE Mailing List Subscription admin(a)ahfe.org?Subject=Subscribe admin(a)ahfe.org?Subject=Unsubscribe Dear Colleagues, This is a gentle reminder for the AHFE 2016 International Conference on Human Factors and Simulation abstract and paper proposal submission extended deadline. The conference will be held at Walt Disney World® Swan and Dolphin Hotel, FL, 27-21 Jul 2016 (http://www.ahfe2016.org/) The 7th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2016) incorporates 26 thematic areas with participation of 2000 researcher and industry participant from more than 62 countries worldwide. Peer-review accepted full papers will be published in the AHFE 2016 proceedings and as chapters in Springer Multi-volume Edited Books under the prestigious series of LNCS Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing/ The extended deadline is approaching quickly! ------------------------------------------------------ Abstract Submission Deadline (500 words): 25 Feb 2016 Submission Website: https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/AHFE2016/ ------------------------------------------------------ Areas of interest include, but are not limited to those listed here: - Simulation of physiological behavior, measures, predictions - Virtual Reality and computer simulation of human behavior and performance - Computational models of human performance - Interaction with virtual environments - Simulator-based evaluations of human factors issues - Assessment of new simulation technologies and total ownership cost aspects - Developments in simulation and virtual environments to address HFergonomics issues - Human performance modelling We are looking forward to receiving your submission and welcoming you to Walt Disney World Florida! Best Regards, AHFE Administration **************************************************************** 17. 15th Neural Computation and Psychology Workshop, Due 15 Apr https://sites.google.com/site/ncpw15/ Updated Announcement 10 Mar 2016: New Submission Date, Speaker Titles, Submission + Publication Details NCPW15 - 8-9 Aug 2016 - Philadelphia, PA https://sites.google.com/site/ncpw15/ 15th Neural Computation and Psychology Workshop Contemporary Neural Network Models: Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Cognition Funded by the W. K. & K. W. Estes Fund, Google DeepMind, and the Rumelhart Emergent Cognitive Functions Fund Organized by: Jay McClelland, Stefan Frank & Daniel Mirman 500-Word Abstracts and Applications to Attend Due: 15 Apr Notification of Acceptance and Travel Awards: 15 May We are pleased to announce a workshop on Contemporary Neural Network Models, bringing the latest developments in Deep Neural Networks, Deep Reinforcement Learning Networks, and Recurrent Neural Networks with Long-Short-Term Memory Units into contact with contemporary cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience research. Plenary speakers are established and emerging experts in the development of deep neural network models of perception, action and cognition, and include authors of Google DeepMind's projects achieving human-level performance in Atari games and Go and in creating innovative Cognitive architectures such as the Neural Turing Machine. The workshop, which continues the (http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/%7Ejxb/NCPW.html) Neural Computation and Psychology Workshop (NCPW) series, will take place on Aug 8-9, 2016 in Philadelphia - in North America for the first time after 14 previous meetings in Europe. The Workshop has both a research dissemination and tutorial purpose. Research submissions are welcome based on a 500-word abstract for spoken and poster presentations in any area of computational research that applies neural network models or related approaches to understanding human cognition. To foster exchange of ideas, presentation of recently published work or work also submitted elsewhere is welcome, and there will be a publication option for new work. Both junior and senior scientists interested in learning more about the latest developments are encouraged to attend (space is limited and application is required) with or without making a presentation. Thanks to generous support, costs will be low and travel awards will encourage participation by a diverse population of participants with relevant goals. The (https://sites.google.com/site/ncpw15/) conference website provides full details and instructions for those interested in participating. Abstracts and applications to attend are due Apr 15 and notification of acceptance and travel awards will be made by May 15. Keynote Presentations Nikolaus Kriegeskorte, MRC-CBU Cambridge, UK. Deep Convolutional Nets and Biological Object Vision. Marco Zorzi, U of Padova. Unsupervised Deep Learning Models of Perception and Cognition: Space, Numbers, Words Andrew Saxe, Harvard U. A Theory of the Dynamics of Deep Learning: Consequences for Perceptual Learning and Semantic Development Greg Wayne, Google DeepMind. Integrating Neural and Symbolic Computation: The Neural Turing Machine and Beyond Timothy Lillicrap, Google DeepMind. Deep Reinforcement Learning: Algorithms and Applications from Reaching and Grasping to Winning at Go Linda Smith, Indiana U. What's Deep about Deep Learning? What Can it Tell us About the Mind? Workshop Structure Each of the two days of the NCPW workshop will include three 75 minute sessions led by invited speakers. The first five of these sessions will each focus on a different aspect or topic in contemporary neural network research, and each will be led by a different expert. The final session will begin with a commentary by a senior Cognitive Scientist (Linda Smith) followed by a panel discussion with the other five speakers. During lunch each day, the day's speakers will each hold a smaller discussion session with a subset of the workshop participants, and materials will be circulated in advance. Two 1.5-hour sessions each day will be devoted to submitted presentations selected for their scientific value and the extent to which they advance the use of neural network architectures, tools, and concepts in both computational and cognitive (neuro)science domains. A poster session at the end of the first day will allow all of the participants an opportunity to present and obtain feedback from the invited speakers, and to learn from and network with each other. A conference dinner on the first evening and a reception on the second evening will allow for informal interactions. NCPW15 will be complemented by a separate day-long tutorial on Wednesday, August 10, as part of the Cognitive Science Society meeting also in Philadelphia (pending acceptance by the Program Committee). This day-long event will provide additional tutorial presentations, followed by in depth how-to sessions associated with the actual implementation and effective practical mastery of deep learning networks for cognitive science research. Participants, Publication, Travel Awards, Costs, and Logistics The target population is PhD students, post-doctoral fellows, and more advanced researchers at any level. Both contributing researchers and non-presenting attendees are welcome to apply. Contributing researchers will be selected based on a 500-word submitted research abstract, according to past policies of NCPW. As noted above, presentation of recently published work or work also submitted elsewhere are welcome. Participants will be invited to contribute otherwise unpublished work to a planned Frontiers in Cognitive Science Research Topic on contemporary neural network models. Selection of non-presenting attendees will be based on the relevance of the workshop to the attendee's goals as described in a short essay as well as a CV and, for junior scientist, a mentor's letter of support. Both trainees and contributing researchers not selected for oral presentations have the option to present a poster in the poster session. A total of 25 travel support awards ($250 domestic/$750 international) are available both for trainees and for contributing researchers to partially defray costs of attendance; support will be awarded based on the criteria above as well as need with attention to encouraging diversity. There is no registration fee for accepted participants. A low-price accommodation option ($50/night) will be available. Application Process and Venue: More detailed information on the application process and the venue are available at the (https://sites.google.com/site/ncpw15/) conference website. The deadline for presentation abstract submissions and for applications to attend will be April 15, 2016, and notification of acceptance and travel awards for trainees and participating researchers will be on 15 May 2016. 17b. AGI-16 deadline extended to 1 Apr 16 http://agi-conf.org/2016 Good news for busy researchers! The paper submission deadline for AGI-16 has been extended till April 1. Recall that the Ninth Annual Conference on Artificial General Intelligence, AGI-16, http://agi-conf.org/2016 will be held in New York City (July 16-19, 2016), as part of a larger event - HLAI-16 HUMAN-LEVEL AI 2016: http://agi-conf.org/hlai2016/ This will be the first-ever Multi-conference focused on the creation of thinking machines with capability at the human level and beyond. Gary Marcus and Stephen Grossberg are lined up as keynote speakers, and will be joined by 2-3 additional prestigious keynotes to be announced shortly. HLAI-16 will include AGI-16, and also BICA-16 (Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures), and the 2016 "Neural-Symbolic Learning and Reasoning" and "AI and Cognition" Workshops. These four conferences are normally held separately each year, at different times and locations. But this year they are coming together in time and space as a unique and unprecedented Multi-conference. Furthermore, the HLAI-16 Multi-conference will occur immediately after the IJCAI-16 (the largest international AI conference), which is also in New York City . AGI-16 will be organized just like previous AGI conferences, with the same focus and structure. Registration for each of the conferences within the multi-conference will be done separately. However, there will be numerous common events: common keynotes, a common poster and demo session, and a common multi-conference banquet. Most importantly, all 4 events will be held together at the New School in lower Manhattan, allowing free and wide-ranging HLAI and AGI discussions among attendees and presenters at all 4 conferences. Why a Human-Level AI Multi-conference in 2016? Looking backward, 2016 is the 60th anniversary of the Dartmouth Conferences, which effectively inaugurated the history of AI and cognitive systems research. Looking forward, 2016 is an unprecedentedly exciting time for AI R&D in general. It is a time when we are seeing a constant stream of practical and theoretical successes in various parts of the AI field. And it is a time when the quest to create AI systems with general intelligence at the human level and beyond is taken more seriously by a broader community than ever before. So 2016 is a perfect year to gather together an unprecedentedly large number of serious researchers and developers in the areas of AGI and Human-Level AI, for sharing ideas and results and planning collaborative R&D. And to top it all off, New York City in the summer is a fantastic place to be. The paper submission deadline has been extended till April 1, 2016; please see: http://agi-conf.org/2016/call-for-papers/ for further relevant dates. Note that the deadline for workshops, tutorials and demos has already passed. Yours, AGI-16 Conference Chair: Ben Goertzel, OpenCog Foundation Program Committee Chairs: Pei Wang, Temple University Bas Steunebrink, Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence Organizing Committee: Matthew Ikle, Adams State College, OpenCog Foundation Jose Hernandez-Orallo, Universitat Politècnica de València) Tutorials and Workshops Chair) Brandon Rohrer, Microsoft (Poster and Demo Sessions Chair) Ed Keller, New School (Local Co-chair) AGI Conference Series Chairs: Ben Goertzel, OpenCog Foundation Marcus Hutter, ANU **************************************************************** 18. Special issue on cognitive engineering, J of Interaction Science http://www.journalofinteractionscience.com/about [open access] We are writing today to let you know about some recent articles published in our open access journal Journal of Interaction Science (JoIS), and to invite you to be part of it. Chris Stary's Special issue on recent advances in cognitive engineering has been a great success! Here is a list of the articles and the editorial. Please note that we one article is not yet listed here because it is still in production. 1. Patterns to explore cognitive preferences and potential collective intelligence empathy for processing knowledge in virtual settings by Salim Chujfi, Christoph Meinel Journal of Interaction Science 2015, 3:5 (3 September 2015) http://news.springer.com/re?l=D0In5xzz3I6hg61ejIf 2. Modeling and Supporting Web-Navigation by Herre van Oostendorp, Sonal Aggarwal Journal of Interaction Science 2015, 3:3 (29 July 2015) http://news.springer.com/re?l=D0In5xzz3I6hg61ejIh 3. Personal ecologies of calendar artifacts by Anke Dittmar, Laura Dardar Journal of Interaction Science 2015, 3:2 (28 July 2015) http://journalofinteractionscience.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40166… 4. The concept of "presence" as a measure of ecological validity in driving simulators by Christophe Deniaud, Vincent Honnet, Benoit Jeanne, Daniel Mestre Journal of Interaction Science http://news.springer.com/re?l=D0In5xzz3I6hg61ejIj 5. Editorial: Special issue on recent advances in cognitive engineering by Chris Stary, Journal of Interaction Science 2015, 3:4 (28 August 2015) http://journalofinteractionscience.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40166… The vision of JoIS is based on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary science model for the investigation, development, integration and evaluation of humans interacting with technology. We welcome cross-cutting method developments as well as analytical application studies evaluated in the field. Enjoy some of our latest articles **************************************************************** 19. Oxford books (>$100) get 30% off https://global.oup.com/ Oxford University Press has a spring sale. They publish the Oxford Series on Cognitive Models and Architectures. If you purchase $100 or more, you can have 30% off, not just the cognitive modeling books. The code is 33835 . **************************************************************** 20. Proceedings of Workshop on Cogn Archs for Social HRI https://sites.google.com/site/cogarch4socialhri2016/proceedings Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2016 09:47:08 +0000 From: Severin Lemaignan <severin.lemaignan(a)PLYMOUTH.AC.UK> Subject: 2nd CfP: Cognitive Architectures for Social HRI - Workshop at HRI'16 HRI'16 2nd Workshop on Cognitive Architectures for Social Human-Robot Interaction Full day workshop -- Monday 7th March, 2016 (Christchurch, New Zealand) https://sites.google.com/site/cogarch4socialhri2016/ https://sites.google.com/site/cogarch4socialhri2016/proceedings DESCRIPTION ----------- Cognitive Architectures are constructs (encompassing both theory and models) that seek to account for cognition (over multiple timescales) using a set of domain-general structures and mechanisms. Typically (but not always) inspired by human cognition, the emphasis is on deriving a set of principles of operation not constrained to a specific task or context. This therefore presents a holistic perspective: it forces the system designer to initially take a step back from diving into computational mechanisms and consider what sort of functionality needs to be present, and how this relates to other cognitive competencies. Thus the very process of applying such an approach to HRI may yield benefits, such as the integration of evidence from the human sciences in a principled manner, the facilitation of comparison of different systems (abstracting away from specific computational algorithms), and as a more principled manner to verify and refine the resultant autonomous systems. For HRI, such an approach to building autonomous systems based on Cognitive Architecture - 'cognitive integration' - would emphasise first those aspects of behaviour that are common across domains, before applying these to specific interaction contexts for evaluation. Furthermore, given inspiration from human cognition, it can also inherently take into account the behaviour of the humans with which the system should interact, with the intricacies and sub-optimality that this entails. To date, there have been relatively few efforts to apply such ideas to the context of HRI in a structured manner. The first workshop sought to bring attention to the topic by providing a forum to discuss the reasons and potential for the application of Cognitive Architectures to autonomous HRI systems. In this second workshop, we propose focusing more specifically on the application of Cognitive Architectures to *Social* HRI systems. The format of the workshop is oriented towards discussion shaped by participant contributions, and we expect vibrant interactivity to contribute to the cross-fertilization of ideas in this exciting area. In order to consolidate the outcomes of the workshop, we are planning a special issue (journal TBA), to which we will invite participants to submit extended versions of their workshop papers. To maintain continuity with the workshop, we will expect all submissions to answer the same questions listed above. Given this common ground between submissions, we envisage that this will additionally form a future reference point for the application of Cognitive Architectures to social HRI research and applications. ORGANISERS AND CONTACT ----------------------- Paul Baxter (Plymouth U, UK) paul.baxter(a)plymouth.ac.uk Greg Trafton (Naval Research Laboratory) Séverin Lemaignan (Plymouth U, UK) **************************************************************** 21. BRIMS 2013: introduction to CMOT special issue http://alerts.springer.com/re?l=D0In5zo16I6hi0lc9I1 [This is the most recent special issue of Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory to arise from the BRIMS conference] BRIMS 2013: Introduction to CMOT special issue Behavior representation in modeling and simulation: introduction to CMOT special issue: BRiMS 2013 William G. Kennedy, Robert St. Amant & David Reitter, p. 1-3 Abstract: http://alerts.springer.com/re?l=D0In5zo16I6hi0lc9I1 Full text PDF: http://alerts.springer.com/re?l=D0In5zo16I6hi0lc9I2 An agent-based model of organizational ambidexterity decisions and strategies in new product development Christine Chou, Steven O. Kimbrough, 4-46 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10588-015-9195-8 A longitudinal study of evolving networks in response to natural disaster Alireza Abbasi, Naim Kapucu, 47-70 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10588-015-9196-7 Weekends as social distancing and their effect on the spread of influenza Philip C. Cooley, Sarah M. Bartsch, 71-87 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10588-015-9198-5 Individual and organizational conditions for the emergence and evolution of bandwagons Davide Secchi, Nicole L. Gullekson, 88-133 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10588-015-9199-4 **************************************************************** 22. BRIMS 2012: introduction to CMOT special issue http://alerts.springer.com/re?l=D0In5x8koI6hi0lc9I3 [Another special issue of Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory to arise from the BRIMS conference] BRIMS 2012: Introduction to CMOT special issue Behavioral representation in modeling and simulation: introduction to CMOT special issue-BRiMS 2012 Bradley J. Best, William G. Kennedy & Robert St. Amant http://alerts.springer.com/re?l=D0In5x8koI6hi0lc9I3 Optimal exploration and exploitation: the managerial intentionality perspective Sasanka Sekhar Chanda & Sougata Ray http://alerts.springer.com/re?l=D0In5x8koI6hi0lc9I5 ACT-R models of information foraging in geospatial intelligence tasks Jaehyon Paik & Peter Pirolli http://alerts.springer.com/re?l=D0In5x8koI6hi0lc9I7 Modeling the span of control of leaders with different skill sets Walid F. Nasrallah, Charbel J. Ouba, Ali A. Yassine & Issam M. Srour http://alerts.springer.com/re?l=D0In5x8koI6hi0lc9I9 On the robustness of centrality measures against link weight quantization in social networks Sho Tsugawa, Yukihiro Matsumoto & Hiroyuki Ohsaki http://alerts.springer.com/re?l=D0In5x8koI6hi0lc9Ib **************************************************************** 23. MSc Course in Cognitive Systems at Open U of Cyprus From: George Angelos Papadopoulos <george(a)CS.UCY.AC.CY> Subject: MSc Course in Cognitive Systems To: CHI-ANNOUNCEMENTS(a)LISTSERV.ACM.ORG MSc Course in Cognitive Systems As we enter the new era of cognitive systems that learn, reason, and interact with humans in a cognitively-compatible manner, we are pleased to announce the start of an innovative distance learning M.Sc. Program in Cognitive Systems. The program is offered jointly by two state universities of Cyprus: the Open U of Cyprus, School of Pure and Applied Sciences, and the U of Cyprus, Departments of Psychology and Computer Science. Courses will be taught in English via live online weekly meetings, exams will be taken in-class at a student's country of residence, and an optional summer camp will be held in Cyprus. Information about the curriculum structure and modules, application deadlines and fees, and financial support opportunities can be found online at: http://cogsys.ouc.ac.cy Applications for the academic year 2016-2017 are accepted online from March 15, 2016. We appreciate your help in circulating this announcement to interested students. A promotional flyer can be downloaded from: http://cogsys.ouc.ac.cy/flyer **************************************************************** 24. Tenure Track Asst Prof in Cognitive Psychology at Syracuse U [slightly out of date, but note that it is multi-year hiring plan] Tenure Track Asst Prof in Cognitive Psychology at Syracuse U. As part of our multiyear hiring plan, the Department of Psychology at Syracuse U invites applications for a full time tenure-track position in Cognitive Psychology to join the Cognition, Brain, & Behavior (CBB) area. The successful candidate is expected to pursue an exceptional program of research using rigorous methods and driven by a strong theoretical foundation to understand fundamental mechanisms underlying cognition. Candidates with a program of research utilizing outstanding quantitative skills will receive special consideration. Applicants for the position should have a PhD in Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, or a related field. Successful candidates will show evidence of (1) high quality scholarship and the potential to build a vigorous program of funded research (2) teaching promise at the undergraduate and graduate levels and (3) promise of excellence in engaging graduate and undergraduate students in research. Responsibilities include maintaining an active program of research, teaching and advising at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and contributing to the CBB program. Information about the department may be found at http://psychology.syr.edu/. CBB has collaborations with the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience program http://neuroscience.syr.edu/index.html. Review of applications will begin 1 Nov 2015 and will continue until the position is filled. The university and department have a strong commitment to achieving diversity among faculty and staff. Syracuse U is an equal opportunity, affirmative-action institution. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from members of underrepresented groups and strongly encourage women and persons of color to apply for these positions. The Department of Psychology and broader Syracuse community provides a rich and supportive environment for inclusive research involving ethnically and economically diverse populations. Syracuse is located in beautiful Upstate New York. The city and surrounding areas offer outstanding school systems, a modest cost of living, proximity to nature (Adirondack Mountains, Thousand Islands, Lake Ontario, and the Finger Lakes) and easy access to major eastern cities. Several major medical centers, including SUNY Upstate Medical Center and the Syracuse VA Medical Center, are in close proximity to Syracuse U and offer opportunities for interdisciplinary research. Applicants must complete a brief online faculty application at https://www.sujobopps.com/postings/61035. Attach electronic copies of your curriculum vitae and a cover letter describing your research and teaching accomplishments and interests and one representative paper. Three letters of recommendation are required. Detailed instructions for uploading their confidential recommendation letter into the system will be sent to references identified in your application. Applications will be reviewed as they are received and will continue until the position is filled. **************************************************************** 25. Post-doc/programmer in tutoring/modeling at PSU, July/Aug 2016 Ritter will have a post-doc position available July/August 2016 for a period of at least one year but more likely 2 or 3 years (subject to continued funding from ONR and successful performance). It will be to work on the D2P tutoring system (http://acs.ist.psu.edu/projects/d2p) and related modeling and experimental studies in learning. Experience with Ruby would be helpful, as well as ACT-R, Lisp, R, Java, and Unity. But strong programming in other areas would be welcome and could transition to our tools. It is similar in many ways to Coty Gonzalez's positions in this message. This is not a formal announcement, but if interested, please let frank.ritter(a)psu.edu know of your interest. Salary is designed to be competeative, and includes some travel, and, of course, writing. **************************************************************** 26. U of California at Riverside hiring 300 (!) http://clusterhiring.ucr.edu Date: Tue, 01 Dec 2015 14:04:44 -0800 From: Aaron Seitz <aseitz(a)ucr.edu> To: <comp-neuro(a)neuroinf.org> The U of California at Riverside (UCR) is embarking on a major new hiring initiative that will add 300 tenure-track positions in 33 cross-disciplinary areas selected through a peer-reviewed competition (http://clusterhiring.ucr.edu) Over the next three years, UCR will hire multiple faculty members in each area and invest in research infrastructure to support their work. This initiative will build critical mass in vital and emerging fields of scholarship, foster truly cross-disciplinary work and further diversify the faculty at one of America's most diverse research universities. In a major Neuroscience initiative, we seek to hire up to 8 tenure-track or tenured faculty members as part of a cross campus multi-disciplinary effort to study the nervous system (from development, to function, to aging, degeneration and repair). We seek researchers that collectively span multi-disciplinary levels of investigation (molecular mechanisms to circuit analysis to complex behaviors) using state of the art techniques (molecular, optogenetics, behavioral, educational, computational, imaging, genetic and research of clinical populations) applied to experimental model systems of health, injury and disease (invertebrate, vertebrate or human systems). Our goal is to recruit a team of collaborative individuals with an outstanding record, committed to excellence in research, that complement existing campus strengths. Applicants for tenured positions should also demonstrate notable scientific contributions and sustained extramural support. Successful candidates must also have clear potential or demonstrated ability to work successfully with and benefit a diverse student body. UCR is a world-class research university with an exceptionally diverse undergraduate student body. Its mission is explicitly linked to providing routes to educational success for underrepresented and first-generation college students. A commitment to this mission is a preferred qualification. Depending on research focus, training background and career achievements, successful candidates will be appointed at the rank of assistant, associate or full professor within College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Bourns College of Engineering, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Graduate School of Education or the School of Medicine. To foster development of collaborative research across hiring units, the successful candidates will participate in a campus wide seminar program and annual research retreat. Particular strengths on the campus pertinent to this recruitment include sensory processing, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, glial-neuronal interactions, cognitive neurotherapeutics, functional imaging, assessment and interventions of clinical populations, child development, circuits, neurobiology and endocrinology of behavior. Successful candidates will be also expected to contribute to teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate levels depending upon the college/department to which the candidate is assigned. Advancement through the faculty ranks at the U of California is through a series of structured, merit-based evaluations, occurring every 2-3 years, each of which includes substantial peer input. The U of California, Riverside is centrally located within the Southern California area and situated in an historic citrus growing area surrounded by mountain ranges. Riverside is an hour away from ski slopes, surfing, or hiking in mountain wilderness or desert environments, and housing in the area is very affordable. The campus is located in close proximity to a host of high profile universities, research institutes, and biotech industries in Southern California. Applicants must hold a Ph.D., M.D., Pharm D., or equivalent degree and qualify for a tenure track or tenured faculty appointment at the U of California. Applications will be reviewed beginning January 1st and the positions will remain open until filled. To Apply: Please submit the following items electronically through the APRecruit system: Cover Letter, Curriculum vitae, statement of research accomplishments and goals, statement of teaching expertise. Choose the appropriate link based on qualifications Asst Prof - https://aprecruit.ucr.edu/apply/JPF00498 Assoc/Full Prof - https://aprecruit.ucr.edu/apply/JPF00490 **************************************************************** 27. Aerospace Engineering and ethics, PSU full consideration by Jan 2016 [search might be quite far along, but an interesting position] The Department of Aerospace Engineering and the Rock Ethics Institute (the "Rock") invite nominations and applications for an open-rank tenure-track position starting in 2016. The Department seeks an outstanding individual who is committed to undergraduate and graduate education and to the establishment of an externally-funded research program that supports graduate education. Candidates must possess technical expertise related to the design and engineering of unmanned air vehicles and systems, as well as demonstrable complementary interests in the societal and ethical aspects of such systems. Candidates who can contribute to interdisciplinary and collaborative programs involving UAS and ethics are of primary interest. The research area represented by this search could be viewed as a special aspect of a broader one at the intersection of robotics, cognitive science, human-computer interactions, autonomy, and ethics. Applicants must have a doctorate in engineering or science. This aerospace faculty member will be affiliated with the Penn State Rock Ethics Institute (http://rockethics.psu.edu) We seek candidates who will build on the Rock's tradition of excellence in collaborative, interdisciplinary ethics research and ethically informed decision support for significant societal issues, as well as its success in integrating ethics into the curriculum. Responses received before Jan 2016 are assured full consideration, but the search will remain open until the position is filled. Applicants should submit electronically a single pdf file to job 60531 at www.psu.jobs. The file should contain: a cover letter; a CV; statements of research and teaching interests; a statement of how the candidate's work is relevant to the Rock's vision and how such a position would enhance their own work; and the names and contact information for at least three references. **************************************************************** 28. Visiting Assistant Professor, Bucknell U. Fall 2016 [URL too long] We're looking for a VAP who would begin Fall 2016 (information contained in the link below). Could be useful for some senior grad students there who have a background in CS, or others. https://www.higheredjobs.com/institution/details.cfm?JobCode=176218507&Titl… Chris Dancy <christopher.dancy(a)bucknell.edu> **************************************************************** 29. Robotics faculty member, Missouri U of S&T Review started 1 feb 16 My department is currently searching for a robotics faculty member, specifically human-robot collaboration; control and coordination; sensing, perception, and vision; design, particularly using novel locomotion and materials; (e) innovative applications (factory, mining, surgery, space, harsh environments, etc.). Our department has growing space systems focus with faculty in cube/nanosats, propulsion, tracking and estimation, materials and structures, we are seeking a new key addition in robotics. Information on the faculty positions can be found here: http://mae.mst.edu/department/maejobpositions/ Review started 1 feb 16 Thank you for your help Joshua L. Rovey, Ph.D. Ph: (573) 341-4613 Assoc Prof of Aerospace Eng roveyj(a)mst.edu Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Missouri U of Science & Technology (Formerly U of Missouri-Rolla) Rolla, MO. 65409-0050 http://campus.mst.edu/aplab/ **************************************************************** 30. Open/data science developer jobs at Databrary.org https://databrary.org/about/jobs.html [seems out of date, but this is an ongoing project and has jobs listed on 19 mar 16] From: Rick Gilmore <rogilmore(a)psu.edu> Subject: Open/data science developer jobs at Databrary.org Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2015 10:55:47 -0400 Colleagues, As some of you know, I am co-PI and associate director of the Databrary (http://databrary.org) digital data library. The project is funded by NSF, NICHD, and the Society for Research in Child Development. We have several openings for full-time or contract developers (https://databrary.org/about/jobs.html) An especially urgent need is for a Java developer to help us enhance an open source video coding/tagging/annotation tool called Datavyu (http://datavyu.org) The job posting is here: https://databrary.org/about/jobs/datavyu.html While we have some preference for having a developer in the NYC area for proximity to the NYU-based team, we are open to other arrangements, including the possibility of working remotely from say, State College. Best, Rick O. Gilmore, Ph.D. (814) 865-3664 Assoc Prof of Psychology rogilmore(a)psu.edu Penn State University Park, PA 16801 http://www.personal.psu.edu/rog1 http://gilmore-lab.github.io **************************************************************** 31. Researcher and Engineer positions at ATR Brain Labs, Kyoto, Japan http://www.cns.atr.jp/en/ [these folks made an interesting presentation at BICA this fall] Subject: [Comp-neuro] Researcher and Engineer positions at ATR Brain Labs, Kyoto, Japan Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), Kyoto, Japan, has openings for researcher and research engineer positions and invite applications from people with strong motivations and ambitions in the research project described below. We will study how to analyze multi-modal sensor measurements to create "artificial intelligence with consciousness" by installing a "consciousness module" to man-made information-processing systems. In particular, we will develop and implement machine-learning techniques for attention, which dynamically processes data stream to find where to focus and intensively analyze and picks up information essential for decision-making. Our attention module will be developed for video, audio, and bio signals. Our project is in close collaboration with neuroscientists led by Dr. Ryota Kanai (CEO & Chief Scientist, ARAYA Brain Imaging, Tokyo, Japan). PIs and co-PIs in the project are Dr. Ryota Kanai (ARAYA), Prof. Naotsugu Tsuchiya (Monash U, Australia), Dr. Masafumi Oizumi (RIKEN, Japan), Dr. Motoaki Kawanabe (ATR), and Prof. Takuya Maekawa (Osaka U, Japan). We look forward to your applications and recommendations. Motoaki Kawanabe, Ph.D. Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), Kyoto, Japan = Requirements for Researchers = Applicants must: - have a Ph.D. (or be near completion). - have strong motivations and ambitions to take part in the research above. Successful candidates will have interest in neural and cognitive science with expertise in one or more of the following areas are welcomed: - Machine learning, pattern recognition, signal processing, computer vision, robotics, bio-medical engineering. = Requirements for Research Engineers = Applicants must have strong motivations and ambitions to take part in the research above mainly from program development, data analysis, and experimental support. = Number of openings = A few = Employment conditions = Position : Full-time Researcher / Full-time Research Engineer Tenure : Single year based contract, renewable based on evaluation Treatment: Based on individual performance Work Location: Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan = Application materials = Please submit the following five materials to the contact address below, either in printed or electronic form: 1. CV 2. List of publications 3. Reprints of 1-3 major publications (applicants for Researchers) or summary of past projects 4. Essay (up to two pages in A4 or letter size) describing: - Summary of your previous research and/or development - Interests for research - Additional research skills not directly foreseeable from 1 or 2 5. Recommendation letters from more than two researchers * If submitted in printed form, original documents will not be returned. = Judging system = After documentary examination, we ask for presentation and interview if needed = Starting date = Soon (negotiable) = Deadline for application = Opens until positions are filled. = Contact = Department of Dynamic Brain Imaging ATR Cognitive Mechanisms Laboratories (Application for Researcher Position) 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan Email: dbi-cma(a)atr.jp = Use of personal data = All personal data received will be properly managed and only be used for the purpose of recruitment. -- KANEMURA Atsunori, Ph.D. Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), Kyoto, Japan **************************************************************** 32. Postdoctoral Fellow, CMU with Gonzalez http://www.cmu.edu/ddmlab/ [expired, but recurrent] [left in because there are often jobs here] JOB OPPORTUNITY: POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW POSITION Starting on Jan 2016 Dynamic Decision Making Laboratory Department of Social and Decision Sciences CMU http://www.cmu.edu/ddmlab/ Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Fellow position in the Dynamic Decision Making Laboratory (DDMLab: http://www.cmu.edu/ddmlab/) at CMU. The post-doctoral fellow will be involved in projects related to Network Science, broadly defined, aiming at the study of the formation and behavior of networks departing from the individual behavior. Research will involve investigation of dynamic decision making, and the emergence, maintenance and reduction of trust and credibility with experience. The candidate should have a strong background on behavioral and computational research, and will work with Professor Gonzalez and collaborators from many other universities. The ideal candidate should have a Ph.D. in Psychology, Decision Sciences, or Human Factors Engineering, and should have broad research interests involving human behavior, learning, and decision making from the cognitive, social, and computational science perspectives. The applicant should have a strong behavioral and technical background in modeling (cognitive, mathematical, computational modeling), and must be interested in both, basic and applied areas of psychological research. Particular knowledge on Decisions from Experience and Behavioral Game Theory, literature, experimental methods, and paradigms are a plus. Technical skills in Matlab, R, and Python are ideal. Demonstrated writing ability of research manuscripts is required. The position is a one-year full time position with full benefits with possibility of renewal to a second year. The DDMLab is part of the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at CMU, which is located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh is one of America's most livable cities (http://www.cmu.edu/student-life/pittsburgh.shtml) and it has a strong university presence with over a dozen colleges and campuses and a great cultural scene. Applicants should send a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, relevant journal articles, and three letters of reference before 30 Nov 2015. Please send electronic documents (Word, Pdf) to: coty(a)cmu.edu. Cleotilde Gonzalez <coty(a)cmu.edu> **************************************************************** 33. Positions available at the US Army Res Lab From: "Marge, Matthew R CIV USARMY RDECOM ARL (US)" <matthew.r.marge.civ(a)MAIL.MIL> Subject: Civil service and postdoctoral positions available at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory To: HRI-ANNOUNCEMENT(a)LISTSERV.ACM.ORG The U.S. Army Research Laboratory is seeking both civil service positions and postdoctoral fellows interested in enhancing performance in human-robot interaction. The goal of the Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) program is to maximize the effectiveness of integrating intelligent, autonomous, unmanned technology into the Soldier team through the development of current and future Soldier-system interactions. We seek to identify tools, techniques, and measures that can be used to improve and assess performance for human-systems teams. We are interested in research results that can be applicable across environments, operations, and platforms, including human interactions with microsystems. Specific areas of interest include: manned-unmanned teaming; naturalistic communications including natural language and multimodal interfaces; impact of social and cultural context on human-robot interaction; human-systems team processes & performance; intent; HRI metrics development; trust; situation awareness; and strategies for workload management. Positions are available for conducting research on human-robot interaction at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD and Orlando, FL. U.S. citizenship is required. For more information about the U.S. Army Research Lab (Research areas; Post Doctoral Programs): http://www.arl.army.mil If interested, send resume/CV and inquiries to: Susan G. Hill, susan.g.hill.civ(a)mail.mil Keywords: Human-robot interaction; HRI; Manned-unmanned teaming; Human performance; Unmanned systems; Autonomous systems; Intelligent systems; Microsystems; User Interfaces; Trust; Intent; Social-Cultural context; Natural Language; Gesture; Human factors **************************************************************** 34. Doctoral Student Fellowship - U of Lausanne, Switzerland From: "Julian Marewski" <Julian.Marewski(a)unil.ch> To: <act-r-users(a)ACTR-SERVER.HPC1.CS.cmu.edu> Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2016 14:12:58 +0100 Doctoral Student Fellowship Applicants should be interested in the mathematical or computational modeling of human decision or memory processes, and/or in the cognitive mechanisms underlying bounded and ecological rationality, and/or in ecological approaches to cognition in general. We are also interested in receiving applications from candidates with a background in history or biology, who seek to apply experimental and simulation methods to understand past and modern-day collective behavior in humans (e.g., mass phenomena in World War II or in the Roman military). Knowledge of quantitative research methods, and ideally, programming skills (e.g., MATLAB, R, LISP) is helpful but not required. A university degree in psychology, business, economics, mathematics, computer science, physics, biology, or history is required. Very good English skills are required. The doctoral student position (minimum 60%) can begin as early as August 1st 2016, or later if the candidate asks for a later starting date. The maximum funding period is 5 years, with the first contract being 1 year and then renewable 2X2 years. Successful candidates will obtain a Ph.D. The doctoral student will be mentored by Julian Marewski. The work location is Lausanne Dorigny. Please submit applications by 1 May, but the job offer will remain open until the position is filled. Applications include a cover letter describing research interests and a potential thesis project, curriculum vitae, university transcripts, and two letters of recommendation. The preferred method of submission are PDF files e-mailed to julian.marewski(a)unil.ch. The Department of Organizational Behavior of the Faculty for Business and Economics at the U of Lausanne provides a stimulating, interdisciplinary research environment. We value the diversity of the expertise of the members of the department (we have Ph.D.s in psychology, business, management, and economics; current doctoral students have a Master degree in e.g., psychology, business or physics). We publish in top-tier journals in different disciplines, including Science, Psychological Review, and the American Economic Review. Our department's members come from different countries, and the working language of the department is English. Located near Lake Geneva and surrounded by the Jura Mountains and the French Alps, Lausanne is a beautiful and cosmopolitan spot to live. We have a collegial atmosphere that makes it easy for us to carry out our research. Information about the Department of Organizational Behavior is available at http://www.hec.unil.ch/hec/recherche/unite?set_language=en More information about the position can be inquired directly from julian.marewski(a)unil.ch This is an non-official job description from the U of Lausanne. **************************************************************** 35. PostDoc: compt models of optogenetic stim in epilepsy patients U. of Newcastle Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2016 22:41:04 +0000 From: Marcus Kaiser <m.kaiser(a)newcastle.ac.uk> To: comp-neuro(a)neuroinf.org Subject: [Comp-neuro] PostDoc position: developing computational models of optogenetic stimulation in epilepsy patients a 3-year PostDoc position for developing computational models of optogenetic stimulation in epilepsy patients is available within my lab as part of the CANDO project at Newcastle U. *** About CANDO *** CANDO (Controlling Abnormal Network Dynamics using Optogenetics, http://www.cando.ac.uk/) is a world-class, multi-site, cross-disciplinary project to develop a cortical implant for optogenetic neural control. The goal is to create a first-in-human trial in patients with focal epilepsy. This seven year, £10M Innovative Engineering for Health Award, funded by the http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/ Wellcome Trust and the http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/ Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) involves a team of over 30 neuroscientists, engineers and clinicians based at http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ion/ Newcastle U, http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/electricalengineering Imperial College London, https://www.ucl.ac.uk/medphys U College London and http://www.newcastle-hospitals.org.uk/ The Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. *** Available RA position *** As part of this project, the lab of Prof. Marcus Kaiser (http://www.dynamic-connectome.org/) is seeking a talented and enthusiastic research fellow with a PhD awarded, or a PhD thesis about to be submitted, in computational biology or related subjects. Objectives of this position are, first, to develop a detailed simulation of human brain activity at the local and global level of epilepsy patients. Second, the effect of stimulation on ongoing activity will be studied. Third, dynamical systems theory and extensive simulations will be used to find optimal stimulation approaches that can reach desired oscillation patterns with minimal stimulation. Simulations will be informed by invasive recordings and non-invasive brain connectivity measurements in human epilepsy patients. Good communication skills, very strong dynamics modelling skills, and a track record of previous peer-reviewed journal publications. You will have experience with modelling brain rhythms and dynamical systems. The position will include brief visits to our partners in the UK and abroad. *** Research Environment *** Neuroinformatics at Newcastle U in the UK covers a range of topics from electrophysiology to neuroimaging. We are among the pioneers in connectome analysis and the establishment of large-scale neuroscience data management and analysis platforms, e.g. through the £4m EPSRC-funded CARMEN project. Our strength is a close collaboration between computational, experimental, and clinical researchers. We currently have a team of 12 faculty members in the areas of Neuroinformatics and Neurotechnology which is growing to 15 members by the end of this year: http://neuroinformatics.ncl.ac.uk/ *** How to Apply *** To apply, follow the information at http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AUD320/research-assistant-associate-computational… The deadline is Thursday 7 April. For further information, contact Marcus.Kaiser(a)ncl.ac.uk Marcus Kaiser, Ph.D. https://twitter.com/ConnectomeLab @ConnectomeLab Professor of Neuroinformatics Interdisciplinary Computing and Complex Biosystems (ICOS) Research Group School of Computing Science Newcastle U Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK Lab website: http://www.dynamic-connectome.org/ Neuroinformatics@Newcastle: http://neuroinformatics.ncl.ac.uk/ **************************************************************** 36. Research Positions with the US Air Force Res Lab [some deadlines past, but some not given, and ongoing hiring here it appears] From: "GUNZELMANN, GLENN F DR-03 USAF AFMC 711 HPW/RHAC" <glenn.gunzelmann(a)us.af.mil> To: "act-r-users(a)ACTR-SERVER.HPC1.CS.cmu.edu" <act-r-users(a)ACTR-SERVER.HPC1.CS.cmu.edu> Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2016 21:49:50 +0000 Subject: [ACT-R-users] Research Positions with the US Air Force Res Lab **With apologies and respect to our valued colleagues of other nationalities, only US citizens and permanent legal residents of the United States are eligible for these positions.** The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's Cognitive Models and Agents Branch has a variety of research positions available for talented cognitive, computational, and computer scientists interested in working on basic and applied cognitive science research. Positions will contribute to various projects spanning the breadth research activities within the branch, including: (a) predictive models of learning and forgetting; (b) decision heuristics; (c) interactive task learning; (d) robustness; (e) simulations of fatigue and vigilance; (f) integrated models of physiology, perception, cognition, and action; (g) autonomous teammates and trainers, and (h) high performance and distributed computing for model testing and validation. We have a number of full-time, paid positions available to qualified and enthusiastic individuals, including at least the following: 1. Full-time government civilian employee (early to mid-career): Focus is on the application of computational cognitive science and artificial intelligence to autonomy. See position description and application instructions here: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/427565200 **Note: The application deadline for this is 1 February!! 2. Model developer (multiple opportunities): PhD required. Experience in developing computational models in complex tasks. Preference for a range of experience encompassing multiple modeling approaches spanning multiple levels of abstraction (e.g., Soar; ACT-R; IMPRINT; GOMS) 3. Software engineer: Background/familiarity with cognitive science and artificial intelligence is a benefit 4. Sleep Scientist: Experience in designing and executing experiments involving 24+ hours of total sleep deprivation 5. Research Assistants (B.S. or B.A. in psychology): Experience in experiment design, data collection, and analysis. Experience with R and/or Matlab desired. Experience with EEG also a plus. Excellent writing & communication skills. All positions are located in Dayton, OH, at Wright Patterson AFB. Positions would start as early as June 2016. If interested, please email glenn.gunzelmann(a)us.af.mil. Include a current CV. Glenn Gunzelmann, Ph.D. (937) 938-3554 Senior Research Psychologist glenn.gunzelmann(a)us.af.mil S&T Advisor, Cognitive Models & Agents Branch 711 HPW/RHAC Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7905 **************************************************************** 37. Post-doctoral positions at CMU, DDM Lab Dynamic Decision Making Laboratory Department of Social and Decision Sciences CMU http://www.cmu.edu/ddmlab/ The Dynamic Decision Making Laboratory (DDMLab: http://www.cmu.edu/ddmlab/) at CMU is seeking applications for two post-doctoral research fellows. (1) A first post-doctoral fellow position is funded by The National Science Foundation (NSF), Decision, Risk, and Management Sciences program. This fellow will be involved in theoretical research regarding learning theories of decisions based on experiential and descriptive information. The ideal candidate should have a Ph.D. in Psychology and strong interest in Decision Sciences. The applicant should have a strong experimental background as well as experience or interest in computational/cognitive modeling approaches to explain behavior. Strong behavioral modeling background in reinforcement learning methods and Bayesian learning approaches are a plus. Particular knowledge of the literature related to Decisions from Experience and Behavioral Game Theory is desired. This position has a starting date of May-June 2016. (2) A second post-doctoral fellow position is funded by the Army Research Laboratories (ARL). This fellow will be involved in basic research on Network Science, broadly defined. Our project aim at the study of the formation and behavior of networks departing from individual behavior. Research will involve investigation of dynamic decision making, and the emergence, maintenance and reduction of trust and credibility on information with experience. The ideal candidate should have a Ph.D. in Human Factors Engineering or Information Sciences, and should have broad research interests involving human behavior, learning, and decision making from the cognitive, social, and computational science perspectives. The applicant should have a strong behavioral and technical background in modeling (cognitive, mathematical, computational modeling), and must be interested in both, basic and applied areas of psychological research. Particular knowledge on Decisions from Experience, Behavioral Game Theory, Network theory from the experimental and computational perspectives are a plus. The candidate will interact with a large network of collaborators in Engineering and Computer Science. This position has an immediate starting date. Both positions are full time research positions with full benefits for one year, with a possibility of renewal for a second year. All applicants should demonstrate technical skills in Matlab, R, and Python; knowledge in statistics, writing abilities, and good communication skills. Applicants please send: a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, relevant journal articles, and three letters of reference before 15 Mar 2015. A decision will be made by 31 Mar. Please send electronic documents (Word, Pdf) to: coty(a)cmu.edu. The DDMLab is part of the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at CMU, which is located Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh is one of America's most livable cities and it has a strong university presence with over a dozen colleges and campuses and a great cultural scene. 38. Job(s) at Pacific Science, San Diego, CA (rolling deadline) Cognitive Scientist / Senior Scientist Pacific Science & Engineering Group, Inc., San Diego, CA Pacific Science & Engineering (PSE) is seeking a highly qualified professional to join our full-time technical staff as a cognitive scientist. PSE is a San Diego-based, employee-owned, small business, specializing in human factors engineering, research, development, and cognitive engineering services for clients worldwide. We take a scientific approach to improving human performance and in developing and assessing user interfaces in complex work domains, including military, national security, medical, and commercial information systems. Candidates should be capable of working flexibly in small research teams on several concurrent projects, taking leading and supporting roles, as necessary. We are looking for a motivated self-starter. Excellent verbal, technical communication skills are necessary. Desirable education, skills and experience include: - PhD in cognitive science, cognitive or perceptual psychology, human factors, or a related field - Research experience in human cognition or perception in laboratory and applied settings - Experience in measurement of human performance - Research interests in decision-making, automation, modeling and simulation - Experience with task- or user-centered design Responsibilities of the position are: - Perform human factors engineering and applied, cognitive science research - Develop creative and scientifically-based solutions to complex, applied problems - Assume responsibilities and contribute at all levels in small project teams - Prepare, critique and discuss reports and descriptions of research methods and findings, present and publish research PSE provides a flexible work environment, competitive benefits, and compensation based on accomplishment and experience. Some travel is necessary. U.S. Citizenship is required - position requires successful completion of a security clearance for access to classified information. Email resume and statement of interest to Mary Ann King at making(a)pacific-science.com. For additional information, visit www.pacific-science.com. **************************************************************** -30- If you have read this far, try out this podcast on a variety of topics: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl [in our time, BBC] ****************************************************************

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BCF/NWG Course "Analysis and Models in Neurophysiology", Freiburg, Germany
by Birgit Ahrens March 22, 2016

March 22, 2016

*BCF/NWG Course*** *"Analysis and Models in Neurophysiology"*** /Sunday, October 9 - Friday, October 14, 2016 / /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 single 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 - free, others - 125€ *Application deadline: *June 15, 2016 *More information: *http://www.bcf.uni-freiburg.de/events/conferences-workshops/201610049-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

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Cajal Course in Computational Neuroscience 2016
by Máté Lengyel March 22, 2016

March 22, 2016

######### # Reminder: less than a week until the application deadline ######### CAJAL COURSE IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE 7-27 August 2016, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal + pre-school 2-5 August 2016 http://www.cccn.pt Applications deadline: 28 March 2016 DIRECTORS * Gilles Laurent (Max Plank Institute for Brain Research, Germany) * Máté Lengyel (University of Cambridge, UK) * Christian Machens (Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Portugal) This three-weeks school teaches the central ideas, methods, and practice of modern computational neuroscience through a combination of lectures and hands-on project work. Each morning will be devoted to lectures given by distinguished international faculty on topics across the breadth of experimental and computational neuroscience. During the rest of the day, students will work on research projects in teams of 2-3 people under the close supervision of expert tutors and faculty. Research projects will be proposed by faculty before the course, and will include the modeling of neurons, neural systems, behavior, the analysis of state-of-the-art neural data (behavioral data, multi-electrode recordings, calcium imaging data, connectomics data, etc.), and the development of theories to explain experimental observations. The course is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from a variety of disciplines, including neuroscience, physics, electrical engineering, computer science, mathematics and psychology. Students are expected to have a keen interest and basic background in neurobiology, a solid foundation in mathematics, as well as some computer experience. An optional four-day pre-school in mathematics and programming is available to students who want to catch up on or fine-tune their math and programming skills. Essential details: * Course size: 24 students maximum * Fee (which covers tuition, lodging, and meals): 2500 EUR (+ 300 EUR for optional pre-school) * Scholarships and travel stipends are available. * Application deadline: 28 March 2015 * Notification of results: April 2015 Information and application http://www.cccn.pt Contact address: Tânia Li Chen <tania.chen(a)neuro.fchampalimaud.org> FACULTY * Alberto Bernacchia (Cambridge University, UK) * Matthias Bethge (Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Germany) * Dmitri (Mitya) Chklovskii (Simons Center for Data Analysis, USA) * Claudia Clopath (Imperial College London, UK) * Peter Dayan (Gatsby Computational Neuroscience, UCL, UK) * Sophie Denève (Institut d'Etudes de la Cognition (IEC), France) * Alain Destexhe (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France) * David Fitzpatrick (Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, USA) * Michael Hausser (Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, UCL, UK) * Moritz Helmstaedter (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Germany) * Guillaume Hennequin (Cambridge University, UK) * Karel Ježek (Charles University, Czech Republic) * Matthias Kaschube (Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Germany) * Gilles Laurent (MPI Brain Research, Germany) * Peter Latham (Gatsby Computational Neuroscience, UCL, UK) * Simon Laughlin (University of Cambridge, UK) * Máté Lengyel (University of Cambridge, UK) * Zhaoping Li (University College London, UK) * Jennifer Linden (Ear Institute, UCL, UK) * Christian Machens (Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Portugal) * Jakob Macke (Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Germany) * Tom Mrsic-Flogel (University of Basel, Switzerland) * Yael Niv (Princeton Neuroscience Institute, USA) * Maneesh Sahani (Gatsby Computational Neuroscience, UCL, UK) * Andreas Tolias (Baylor College of Medicine, USA) * Alessandro Treves (International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Italy) * Daniel Wolpert (Cambridge University, UK)

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2016 NEURON Summer Course
by Ted Carnevale March 21, 2016

March 21, 2016

This year the NEURON Summer Course will be held at the HHMI|Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia. Only a few seats remain open, so you'll have to act quickly if you are interested in taking "NEURON Fundamentals" or "Parallel Simulation with NEURON." The NEURON Fundamentals component, which runs from June 20-24, is suitable for individuals at all levels of expertise. It presents a thorough introduction to computational modeling of neurons and networks of neurons with NEURON, and introduces parallel simulation. Parallel Simulation with NEURON runs from June 25-27 and focuses on the needs of experienced NEURON users who want to create models that will run on parallel hardware. Knowledge of how to write hoc or Python code for NEURON is presumed. You may apply for one or both components, but registration is subject to approval by the course's faculty. Space is limited, and applications are considered in the order received. The application deadline is Friday, May 20, 2016. No applications will be accepted after that date, and there will be no on-site registration. For more information and the on-line application form, see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/summer2016/summer2016.html --Ted

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PhD studentship, biomedical imaging
by Adam Liska March 21, 2016

March 21, 2016

The Functional Neuroimaging lab at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (https://goo.gl/ArIFrd) Rovereto (Italy), invites applications for a PhD scholarship to investigate the dynamics of macroscale functional connectivity in transgenic mouse models of brain pathology. The lab is equipped with a state-of–the-art 7 Tesla MRI scanner for preclinical research, and is devoted to the use of advanced functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) methods in rodent models to understand how large scale functional activity and network dynamics originate, develop and govern behavioural states. The successful candidate will have a MSc in Neuroscience, Biotechnology Computer Science, physics, or equivalent. Proficiency in computer programming (Matlab) and biomedical image analysis is recommended. This three-year studentship aims to provide the student with a thorough training in conducting research at the interface of biomedical imaging, computational image analysis, and experimental neuroscience. The studentship is part of the international doctoral school in cognitive and brain sciences, in partnership with the University of Trento (http://web.unitn.it/en/cimec/) Final admission to the doctoral school entails a competitive selection process, as per the school regulations (http://web.unitn.it/en/drcimec) The Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) is a private law Foundation, created with the objective of promoting Italy's technological development and higher education in science and technology. Research at IIT is interdisciplinary and addresses basic and applied science through the development of novel technical applications. The Functional Neuroimaging lab is located a the Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Sciences (CNCS) @UNITN in Rovereto, Italy (http://cncs.iit.it/) one of the research nodes set up by IIT. The CNCS is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to the investigation of the brain at multiple scales. Please send your application (full CV, two academic referees, copy of master degree thesis, statement of research interest) by email to alessandro.gozzi(a)iit.it no later than May 10th, 2016. Alessandro Gozzi, PhD Senior Scientist, Group Leader Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems @ UNITN Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto, Italy Tel: +39 0464 808 701 alessandro.gozzi(a)iit.it

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Postdoc position at LMU Munich
by Stefan Glasauer March 18, 2016

March 18, 2016

Post-doctoral position in Computational Neuroscience Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position in Computational Neuroscience at the Center for Sensorimotor Research at the Ludwig-Maximilian University (LMU) Munich (Germany) in association with the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN). Project: US-German Collaborative Research Proposal "Information Processing in Cerebral Cortex for Visual-Oculuomotor Behavior" The project will be performed in close collaboration with the Washington National Primate Research Center (University of Washington, Seattle, US). The successful candidate's task is to perform data analysis and computational modeling of neuronal data acquired in Seattle. A strong background in mathematics and neuroscience as well as a strong interest in Computational Neuroscience is required. The position is limited to three years. Please submit your application preferably in one single PDF-document, including cover letter, CV, list of publications, research proposal/interests and relevant certificates to sglasauer(a)lmu.de The LMU is an equal opportunity employer. For further information please contact: Prof. Dr. Stefan Glasauer Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich Center for Sensorimotor Research Feodor-Lynen-Str. 19, D-81377 Munich, Germany sglasauer(a)lmu.de http://www.bccn-munich.de/people/stefan-glasauer

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job opening
by Tasos_UPatras March 18, 2016

March 18, 2016

Dear colleagues (with advance apologies for any cross-postings), Please find below a job opening in Cognitive Engineering lab of Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology (SINAPSE) (http://www.sinapseinstitute.org <http://www.sinapseinstitute.org/>) Research Assistant (RA) (Application oriented in Video Game Development) The Singapore Institute For Neurotechnology (SINAPSE) at the National University of Singapore is looking to hire a motivated individual for Research Assistant position for a period of 1 year. The successful candidates will be involved in a project aiming to develop Virtual reality (VR)-based brain augmentation systems including realistic simulations and real-time brain states analysis. Specifically the RA will develop applications, using Unity programming language, in high-definition head-mounted 3-D Virtual Reality (VR) system (Oculus Rift 2) to provide various stimuli. A remote EEG system will be used to monitor the brain activity in real time. Applicants should have either a degree in Computer Sciences and/or working experience in video game developing industry. Candidates with experience in VR game development (both Oculus Rift and room-size VR) and experience with Unity3D game engineering, and proficiency in C++ or Javascript (middleVR preferred) will be preferred. Remuneration will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Interested applicants should submit their curriculum vitae to Prof. Anastasios (Tassos) Bezerianos (lsiba(a)nus.edu.sg) Applications will be open until 30 April 2016, or sooner if the position is filled. Best Regards Tassos prof. Anastasios (Tasos) Bezerianos, BS,MS,PhD

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Job opening
by Tasos_UPatras March 18, 2016

March 18, 2016

Dear colleagues (with advance apologies for any cross-postings), Please find below a job opening in Cognitive Engineering lab (http://sinapseinstitute.org/projects/cognitiveengr/ <http://sinapseinstitute.org/projects/cognitiveengr/>) of Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology (SINAPSE) . Research Assistant/Engineer Position (Science/Engineering oriented for EEG studies) The Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology (SINAPSE) at the National University of Singapore is looking to hire a motivated individual for Research Assistant/Engineer position for a period of 1 year. The successful candidates will be involved in experiments focused on (1) mental fatigue, (2) mental work load and (3) interventions for brain enhancement. Specifically the RA will be mainly responsible for conducting experiments for recording EEG in laboratory conditions and in Augmented / Virtual Reality Environment. Applicants should have honors degree in Engineering or Physics or Master degree in Biomedical Engineering and/or experience in conducting EEG experiments in the field. The ideal candidate(s) should have a strong background in statistics, and should be able to work independently on tasks such as literature review, subject recruitment, data collection and data management. Ability to program in MATLAB would also be advantageous. Remuneration will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Interested applicants should submit their curriculum vitae to Prof. Anastasios (Tassos) Bezerianos (lsiba(a)nus.edu.sg <mailto:lsiba@nus.edu.sg>). The positions will be open until 30 April 2016 or sooner if the position is filled. Best Regards Tassos prof. Anastasios (Tasos) Bezerianos, BS,MS,PhD

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Postdoctoral position in visual neurophysiology
by Adam Kohn March 17, 2016

March 17, 2016

Postdoctoral position in visual neurophysiology Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York NY A postdoctoral position is available in the Kohn lab, at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. Our lab studies visual processing, cortical plasticity, population coding, perceptual decision making, and corticocortical communication and circuitry. Our experiments involve multielectrode recordings from the visual system of anesthetized and awake, behaving non-human primates. We complement neurophysiological recordings with human perceptual experiments, computational modeling, and optogenetic manipulations. We have robust collaborations with several computational and theoretical neuroscience groups, developing new methods for understanding population codes and corticocortical communication. Einstein offers a vibrant, supportive community of researchers. It is located in a quiet neighborhood of New York, only a short subway ride from Manhattan. The New York City area offers numerous opportunities to interact with experts in a wide variety of neuroscience topics. Experience in neurophysiology, programming, quantitative methods, or behavioral training are desired. Inquires about the position and applications (CV and names and contact information for references) should be sent to adam.kohn(a)einstein.yu.edu<mailto:adam.kohn@einstein.yu.edu>. The position will remain open until filled. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer committed to hiring minorities, women, individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.

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PhD studentship in computational/cognitive neuroscience
by Ulrik Beierholm March 17, 2016

March 17, 2016

We have a PhD studentship available with full funding (tuition + stipend) for a project doing computational modeling of human perception, using parametric and non-parametric Bayesian statistical inference methods (PI Dr. Ulrik Beierholm). The funding is only available for EU citizens (sorry!), with starting date October 2016. The studentship will be in the Department of Psychology at Durham University, UK, but with potential for interactions with colleagues in Computer Science, Economics etc. The applicant should have a Master's degree (or similar) in a related topic (neuroscience, psychology, computer science, statistics etc.) with a minimum of a UK upper second (2:1) or an average grade of B for international students. The applicant should also have some programming experience (preferably Matlab or Python), but while the project will involve some experimental work (mainly psychophysics) the applicant does not need any previous experimental experience. The Department offers an exciting and friendly multidisciplinary research environment. The department has excellent technical facilities, including a 3T MRI scanner, EEG labs, laboratories for brain stimulation (TMS, tdCS), motion analysis systems (Vicon, Optitrack), Psychophysiological Research (Biopac), and behavioural experiments, including multiple eye trackers and an acoustically controlled testing chamber. There is also access to the Durham HPC cluster (Hamilton) for numerical simulations. Durham is a beautiful city in the Northeast of England, home to Durham Cathedral, which is part of UNESCO Durham World Heritage Site. Durham University is consistently ranked among the top 100 Universities worldwide (QS World Rankings 2014). If interested email the PI (ulrik.beierholm(a)durham.ac.uk) with any questions. Applications are made through: https://www.dur.ac.uk/psychology/postgraduate/how_to_apply/ Further information about doing a PhD at Durham can be found here: https://www.dur.ac.uk/psychology/postgraduate/phd/ Applications will be processed as they arrive, but we expect to reach a decision before end of April. ------------------------------------------- Ulrik Beierholm, PhD Lecturer in Computational Neuroscience School of Psychology, University of Birmingham http://beierholm.net

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REMINDER: Call for Workshops - Bernstein Conference 2016, extended deadline
by Margret Franke March 17, 2016

March 17, 2016

The Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience and the Bernstein Center Berlin invite proposals for Satellite Workshops directly preceding the Bernstein Conference 2016 in Berlin. ********************************************************************************** Call for Workshop proposals: Workshops: September 20-21, 2016 Main Bernstein Conference: September 21-23, 2016 Deadline for proposal submission: April 3, 2016 Notification of acceptance: April 22, 2016 Conference Registration starts: May 2, 2016 Early Registration Deadline: July 24, 2016 ********************************************************************************** The Bernstein Conference started out as the annual meeting of the Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience and has become the largest annual 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, and formats are expected that foster debate beyond a mere series of talks. SCHEDULE: September 20, 2016, 14:00 – 18:30. September 21, 2016, 9:00 – 12:30. 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. Organizers get a waiver for the main conference fee. 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/2016/satellite-workshops>. Deadline for submission of Workshop Proposals: March 18, 2016 CONTACT: <bc16_ws(at)bccn-berlin.de> We are looking forward to welcoming you in Berlin! The program committee ------------------------------- Michael Brecht Gustavo Deco Alain Destexhe Sophie Denève Udo Ernst Adrienne Fairhall Sonja Grün John-Dylan Haynes Andreas Herz Philipp Hövel Richard Kempter Klaus Obermayer Stefan Rotter Susanne Schreiber Henning Sprekeler -- Margret Franke Managing Director Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin phone: (030) 2093-9110 fax: (030) 2093-6771

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1 year postdoc on multisensory and haptic perception
by Marc Ernst March 17, 2016

March 17, 2016

--------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Year Postdoctoral Positions available --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- In the Applied Cognitive Psychology Group headed by Marc Ernst Ulm University, Germany -------------------------------------------------------------- The Applied Cognitive Psychology Group, Ulm University, headed by Prof. Marc Ernst, is inviting applications for 1 year postdoctoral positions on human haptic perception, multisensory interactions and motor control. The positions are within the framework of the European Project "WearHap" (www.wearhap.eu <http://www.wearhap.eu/>), in which 11 renowned university labs from all over Europe with backgrounds in Neuroscience, Psychology, Engineering, and Computer Science work together on the scientific and technological foundations of wearable haptic systems for humans and robots. Our goal in this project is to understand and model the human haptic abilities and to transfer the acquired knowledge towards technical applications developed within this collaborative project. The positions will be embedded in a highly interdisciplinary and international research group lead by Prof. Marc Ernst. The focus of the department is on multisensory perception, perception and action, perceptual learning and human-computer interaction. For the experimental work the group is predominantly relying on behavioral methods from psychophysics and cognitive science. For this, there are many state-of-the-art virtual reality setups available, including different projection systems for visual stimulation, force feedback devices and tactile displays for work on the human haptic system, a noise attenuation camber with an audio setup for work on the auditory system and a treadmill setup including tacking for studies on human locomotion/navigation. For the quantitative modeling of human behavior the group heavily relies on statistical approaches, such as the Bayesian Framework to human perception and action. The successful candidates should fit in with these interests and should have a background in cognitive science, psychology, biology, computer science, engineering or some field related to cognitive psychology. Programming experience will be advantageous. The positions are initially immediately for 1 year until the end of the project. The aim however will be to secure further funding of this line of research in order to also extend this position beyond 1 year. Salary is according to German Public Service regulations. Applications will be considered until the positions are filled. The application should include a cover letter stating the candidates research interests, curriculum vita, reprints (if available), and names of up to three referees. Electronic submissions are preferred. Please send your application documents to the following e-mail address stating the ID: 2013-09-WEARHAP in the subject line: applications(a)marcernst.de <mailto:applications@marcernst.de> ------------------------------------------------ Prof. Dr. Marc O. Ernst Applied Cognitive Psychology Ulm University mail(a)marcernst.de <mailto:mail@marcernst.de>

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postdoc position: computational modeling of neurodegenerative disease (2nd call)
by Christina M. Weaver March 17, 2016

March 17, 2016

*** Second announcement – submit by March 24, 2016 for full consideration *** POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW in Computational Neuroscience Job Description The interdisciplinary research team of Drs Christina Weaver (Mathematics, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster PA) and Jennifer Luebke (Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston MA) is launching a project to explore structural and functional abnormalities of neurons in two different mouse models of Huntington’s Disease, and how these abnormalities might contribute to system-level dysfunction. Computational modeling of cortical and striatal neurons (both spatially extended compartmental models and point neuron models) will be conducted in tandem with empirical studies of these same neurons using in vitro slice electrophysiology and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The neuron models developed in this project will be incorporated into models of local microcircuits and larger cortico-striatal networks, likely in collaboration with other research teams, and will be used to inform future experiments. As part of this project, one postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience is available, starting in April 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter. Computational modeling of the empirically characterized neurons will use parameter optimization algorithms developed in the Weaver lab. For an overview of our interdisciplinary approach, see our joint publications including Luebke et al., *Cerebral Cortex* (2015), PMID 24323499 and Coskren et al., *J. Comput. Neuro*. (2015), PMID 25527184. The Weaver lab will have close, ongoing collaborations with the Luebke lab, including several visits to Boston where the empirical studies will take place. Initial appointment is for one year, and may be extended to a total of three years. The candidate will be hired by Franklin & Marshall College, though a remote employment arrangement may be possible. Applicants should have a strong background in computational neuroscience, and have a keen interest in interdisciplinary approaches to neuroscience that integrate modeling, imaging, and physiological experiments. Review of applications will begin immediately, and will continue until the position is filled. Interested applicants should send their CV, a brief statement of current and future research interests, and the contact information of three references to christina.weaver(a)fandm.edu. Required Skills Ph.D. or equivalent in computational neuroscience or a related field from an accredited institution Excellent written and verbal communication skills Experience with NEURON compartmental modeling software, conductance-based modeling of single neurons, and/or automated parameter optimization is preferred. Franklin & Marshall College is committed to having an inclusive campus community where all members are treated with dignity and respect. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, the College does not discriminate in its hiring or employment practices on the basis of gender, sex, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, family or marital status, sexual orientation, or any protected characteristic. Christina M. Weaver, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Mathematics Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Franklin & Marshall College P.O. Box 3003 Lancaster, PA 17604-3003 Phone: (717) 291-3872 Fax: (717) 358-4507 Email: christina.weaver(a)fandm.edu

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PhD position at LMU Munich, Germany
by Stefan Glasauer March 16, 2016

March 16, 2016

We are looking for a PhD student with a strong interest in human movement sciences and motor learning. How is sensorimotor adaptation acquired and forgotten? Scientific background: Human movement control is highly efficient at minimizing sensorimotor errors and is forced to adjust its strategies to slow changes of a large variety of factors. The motor system is subject to growth, aging, or muscle weakness; the external mechanical environment may change its resistance against the movement; and the sensory system, providing the most important information to estimate the actual and desired state of the ensemble of body and environment, is also subject to systematic changes. Sensorimotor adaptation is often defined as the gradual change of the generated motor commands in response to such systematic changes, but it has been recently recognized that sensorimotor adaptation does not only involve the acquisition of gradual changes in stimulus-response mechanisms, but also different types of meta-learning reflected in 1) gradual changes in the processing of sensorimotor errors driving the adaptation (error sensitivity) and in 2) adjustments of the stability (retention) of the acquired adaptive change. Current project and methods: The current project will investigate dynamics of error sensitivity and retention across repeated sequences of sensorimotor adaptation and deadaptation. Of special interest is the dependence of error sensitivity and retention on error size and consistency. Adaptation experiments will be performed in reaching movements under distorted visual feedback of the hand and in saccadic eye movements to targets displaced during the movement. The data acquisition and analysis is centered on movement trajectories recorded in humans. Candidates should have a strong interest in motor control and learning mechanisms. Skills in mathematical analysis of dynamic systems and computer programming are desirable. The project involves cooperation with laboratories in Toronto (CA) and Seattle (USA). Contact: Dr. Ing. Thomas Eggert e-mail: eggert at lrz.uni-muenchen.de Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany Literature: Straube, A., Deubel, H., Ditterich, J., & Eggert, T. (2001). Cerebellar lesions impair rapid saccade amplitude adaptation. Neurology, 57 (11), 2105-2108. Krüger M, Borbely B, Eggert T, Straube A (2012) Synergistic control of joint angle variability: influence of target shape. Hum Mov Sci 31:1071-1089 doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2011.12.002 Borbély BJ, Straube A, Eggert T (2014) Motor synergies during manual tracking differ between familiar and unfamiliar trajectories. Experimental Brain Research 232:889-901 Henriques, D.Y., Filippopulos, F., Straube, A., & Eggert, T. (2014). The cerebellum is not necessary for visually driven recalibration of hand proprioception. Neuropsychologia, 64C, 195-204.

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Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics MSc
by Dietmar Heinke March 16, 2016

March 16, 2016

We invite applications for our MSc program in Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. The CNCR MSc course is highly interdisciplinary encompassing psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, computational modelling, neuroimaging, robotics, and patient rehabilitation. The course is designed for those who are interested in applying knowledge of neural systems, brain function, and modelling to research in human cognition, perception, sensory and motor systems as well as the design of bio-inspired and biologically plausible robotic systems. It has a strong research focus with hands-on modules and practical applications. The course is aimed both at students from psychology/neuroscience with a strong quantitative background and at students from computer science and physics who want to apply their knowledge to psychology/neuroscience. The course is organised jointly through the Schools of Psychology and Computer Science. Details about the MSc can be found on this web-page: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/taught/psych/computation-n… Further enquires can be made via email: pg-psychology-admissions(a)contacts.bham.ac.uk<mailto:pg-psychology-admissions@contacts.bham.ac.uk> Application deadline: 30.June. Applications made after this deadline may be considered.

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3 PhD studentships in London
by Alonso, Eduardo March 16, 2016

March 16, 2016

Dear all, City University London is offering 3 fully-funded PhD studentships. Doctoral studentships will provide, for 3 years, an annual bursary of £16,000. They also include full tuition fees. The main focus is the development of computational models of learning and behaviour, with a particular interest in the application of Deep Learning architectures and algorithms. In addition, we want to explore how the resulting models could inform research in learning impairments associated with neurodevelopment disorders. Submission deadline is the 26th of May, with successful applicants starting in Oct 2016. If you are interested, please contact me. Dr Eduardo Alonso Reader in Computing Deputy Head of Department Department of Computer Science School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering City University London London EC1V 0HB United Kingdom T: +44 (0)20 7040 4049 E: E.Alonso(a)city.ac.uk http://www.city.ac.uk/people/academics/eduardo-alonso

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A funding opportunity for Assistive Technology for ALS patients
by Neta Zach March 15, 2016

March 15, 2016

The ALS Association and Prize4Life's are happy to anounce the launch of a new program to promote ALS technology development- *the ALS Assistive Technology Challenge* <http://www.alsa.org/research/als-assistive-technology-challenge-2.html>*- *a program focused around accelerating the development of communication technologies for locked in patients with development funds of over $500,000. *In the challenge, open until July 29, teams can participate in a $400,000 challenge to develop a prototype that will enable communication for ALS patients. The top finalists will be invited to present their prototype in December 2016 in Dublin where the award winner will be selected. *You can read about it more *here <http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-als-association-and-prize4life-…>.*

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Faculty Position in Neural Data and Imaging Sciences, Sabanci Univ., Istanbul
by Mujdat Cetin March 15, 2016

March 15, 2016

*Faculty Position in Neural Data and Imaging Sciences at Sabancı University* http://ee.sabanciuniv.edu/en/full-time-faculty-position-neural-data-and-ima… The Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (FENS) at Sabancı University, İstanbul, Turkey invites applications for a full-time faculty position in the area of Neural Data and Imaging Sciences with a targeted start date of Fall 2016. The ideal candidate for this position would have a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering, computer science, biomedical engineering, computational neuroscience, or a related field, as well as a strong research and publication record in the area of information extraction from challenging neural data. Particular research areas of interest include but are not limited to neuroinformatics, big neural sensor data analytics, biomedical imaging, brain informatics, signal processing of neural activity, computational neuroimaging, neural image analysis, machine learning for understanding the brain, and connectomics. Sensing/imaging modalities of interest include but are not necessarily limited to MRI, fMRI, DTI, PET, EEG, MEG, ECoG, and several forms of microscopy. Application areas of interest include, but are not limited to healthcare, neurotechnology, brain-computer interfaces, neurorehabilitation, and neurorobotics. The faculty member will have a primary affiliation with the Electronics Engineering program but will be expected to conduct collaborative research with other programs in FENS as well. Applications from candidates at all ranks are encouraged. For candidates at the Assistant Professor level, post-doctoral research experience is a plus. Successful candidates are expected to develop externally-funded internationally-recognized research programs; teach undergraduate and graduate courses; advise and mentor graduate and undergraduate students; and undertake service responsibilities. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to benefit from the state-of-the-art infrastructure of the brand-new Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM), as well as to be involved in the Professional Master’s Program in Data Analytics. Sabancı University, a privately funded premier academic institution, established in 1996 in its state-of-the-art campus located in suburban İstanbul. The university offers 13 undergraduate programs and 38 graduate programs in three faculties (Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, School of Management). The University aims to establish a high standard of academic excellence and a research-oriented atmosphere for its international faculty and students, while nurturing productive relationships particularly with the industries in the region which constitute the industrial heartland of Turkey. The medium of instruction is English. In 2015, Sabancı University ranked 13th globally in the Times Higher Education (THE) ranking of the top 100 universities under 50 years old, and 21st in the THE Asia university rankings. In the recently announced THE ranking of the world’s best small universities in 2016, Sabancı University ranked 10th globally. It ranked first among all universities in Turkey in the University Entrepreneurship and Innovation Index of the Ministry of Science, Industry, and Technology in 2015. Detailed information about the Electronics Engineering Program at Sabancı University can be found at http://ee.sabanciuniv.edu/ Applicants should submit their applications online through https://crm.sabanciuniv.edu/acadcv/application.php and provide a cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, statement of teaching interests, and at least three professional references. Review of applications will begin on May 1, 2016 and will continue until the position is filled. -- Mujdat Cetin Technical Program Co-chair, IVMSP 2016 -- http://ivmsp2016.org Technical Co-chair, FUSION 2016 -- http://fusion2016.org Faculty Member Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Sabanci University Orhanli, Tuzla 34956, Istanbul, Turkey Phone : +90 (216) 483-9594 Fax : +90 (216) 483-9550 E-mail : mcetin(a)sabanciuniv.edu Web : http://spis.sabanciuniv.edu

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Fully funded postdoctoral position in Machine Learning and Computational Biology at Royal Holloway University of London
by Alberto Paccanaro March 15, 2016

March 15, 2016

[Apologies for cross-posting] Application deadline: 10th April 2016 ==================================================== Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position at the Department of Computer Science of Royal Holloway, University of London. The successful candidate will work with Prof Alberto Paccanaro on different projects in the area of Systems Biology and Network Medicine -- please see http://www.paccanarolab.org/ for a description of the research carried out in the lab. Candidates should have a PhD degree in a relevant quantitative field (e.g. Computer Science, Statistics, Engineering), a strong background in machine learning and a keen interest in computational biology. Previous experience in the area of graphical models would be an asset for this position. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate with members of the interdisciplinary Centre for Systems and Synthetic Biology (Computer Science and Biological Sciences) at Royal Holloway and collaborators at Imperial College, University of Tennessee and Yale University. The post is therefore ideal for someone with a computer science or maths background who is looking to move into computational biology. This post is based in the Department of Computer Science in Egham, Surrey where the College is situated in a beautiful, leafy campus near to Windsor Great Park and within commuting distance from London (see http://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/) This is a full time post, available immediately, or as soon as possible thereafter for a fixed term period of 30 months. The salary is in the range £33,789 to £39,902 per annum inclusive of London Allowance. The position is funded by a joint BBSRC/NSF grant. To apply go to: https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx?ref=0316-094 For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Prof Alberto Paccanaro, alberto(a)cs.rhul.ac.uk. The Human Resources Department can be contacted with queries by email at: recruitment(a)rhul.ac.uk. Please quote the reference: 0316-094. Closing Date: Midnight, 10th April 2016. Interview Date: To be confirmed. The College is committed to equality and diversity, and encourages applications from all sections of the community. -- ===================================== Prof. Alberto Paccanaro Department of Computer Science Royal Holloway, University of London Phone: +44 1784 414239 Homepage: http://www.cs.rhul.ac.uk/home/alberto/ Lab page: http://www.paccanarolab.org

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ICLR 2016 Registration Open
by Hugo Larochelle March 15, 2016

March 15, 2016

4th International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR 2016) Website: http://www.iclr.cc/ Location: Caribe Hilton, San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 2-4, 2016 Registration to ICLR 2016 is now open: http://www.iclr.cc/doku.php?id=iclr2016:registration The lower early registration fees and hotel rates are available until April 1st. For more information on ICLR 2016, please visit http://www.iclr.cc/doku.php?id=iclr2016:main. We look forward to seeing you in Puerto Rico! Yoshua Bengio, Université de Montreal, General Chair Yann LeCun, New York University and Facebook, General Chair Hugo Larochelle, Twitter and Université de Sherbrooke, Senior Program Chair Brian Kingsbury, IBM Watson Group, Program Chair Samy Bengio, Google, Program Chair

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Funded vision science PhD opportunities at Royal Holloway, University of London
by Durant, Szonya March 15, 2016

March 15, 2016

Please see opportunities below to work with me (Szonya Durant) as supervisor and Angelika Lingnau or Jonas Larsson in the Department of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London. There are two main proposed areas: Investigating the neural representation of action recognition categories What are the neural sources and function of expectation signals in human visual processing? Both projects involve EEG and fMRI methods, but experience is not essential and training will be provided as part of the PhD. Please email szonya.durant(a)rhul.ac.uk<mailto:szonya.durant@rhul.ac.uk> for more detail on these projects and the application process. Strong students from Psychology/Neuroscience/Cognitive Science/Computer Science/Biological Science/Physics/Mathematics are encouraged to apply. Suitable candidates (in collaboration with the supervisor) will need to develop a PhD proposal, which the department will use to evaluate applications - the department deadline for proposals is the 15th of April (so please get in touch asap). There are 4 paid studentships available in the department for UK and EU students. ********************************************************************** Szonya Durant Department of Psychology Royal Holloway, University of London Egham TW20 0EX 01784 276522

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A new julia package for modelling spiking neural network
by Yao Lu March 15, 2016

March 15, 2016

SpikingNetworks.jl <https://github.com/YaoLuCNS/SpikingNetworks.jl> is a julia package for computational neuroscientists to simulate large scale spiking neural network. It is inspired by Brain2 <http://briansimulator.org/>, and achieve most of the functionalities in Brian2 with faster speed, cleaner syntax and flexibility. Julia <http://julialang.org/> is a technical computing language, which relies on LLVM to achieve efficiency comparable to C. Julia has MATLAB-like syntax and is user-friendly to MATLAB users. This this package aims at experienced computational neuroscientists who want faster speed. Yao Lu

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PhD studentships at Keele University - Closing Date: 15 April 2016
by Peter Andras March 14, 2016

March 14, 2016

*Fully Funded Computer Science PhD Studentships at Keele University* The Faculty of Natural Sciences at Keele University is pleased to announce up to 7 fully-funded PhD studentships for UK/EU students for start in September/October 2016, as well as opportunities for part-funded PhD studentships for suitable candidates. Applications are invited from high quality prospective doctoral candidates in Computer Science and other disciplines. We welcome candidates with a good fit to our research specialisms and the expertise of our academic staff. Candidates are expected to have a 1st class or 2.1 class undergraduate degree or a Distinction level MSc degree in a relevant subject (or equivalent in the case of candidates from other EU countries). One of our focus areas in Computer Science is *Computational Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering*. A selection of topics of interests in this area is provided below. *Computational Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering*: computational modelling of the stomatogastric nervous system; bio-inspired robot control; computational modelling of cognitive behaviour in bees; neuro-control of evolving artificial creatures; neuro-control of robotic swarms; computational analysis of neuroimaging and multi-electrode array data; human and animal behaviour analysis using accelerometer data; virtual reality and robotics for rehabilitation engineering; analysis and modelling of the impact of neuromodulators in biological neural systems; big data analytics and neuro-degenerative disorders. *Funding* Each fully-funded studentship includes an annual tax-free stipend at RCUK rate plus tuition fees (currently £14,296 for stipend and £4,121 for fees). The funding is available for 3 years. Each studentship has an associated research expense budget (£2,000 – £3,000 per year, depending on the nature of the project, to cover project related consumables and conference travel). Opportunities are also available for candidates from the UK/EU and overseas who can demonstrate that they can fully or partially self-fund. If you are interested in this route, please contact Professor Peter Andras at p.andras(a)keele.ac.uk for a discussion. *Closing Date* The *closing date* for applications is Friday *15 April 2016* Full details and application procedures can be found on the website: http://www.keele.ac.uk/pgresearch/howtoapply/ For the purpose of research proposal applicants should submit an outline of their research interests or of a particular research project that the applicant would like to work on (max. 2 pages). Please send any questions by email to Lisa Cartlidge ( l.j.cartlidge(a)keele.ac.uk) or Ann Billington (a.billington(a)keele.ac.uk)

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Postdoctoral Position in Computational Neuroscience/Biophysical Modeling
by Gabbiani, Fabrizio March 14, 2016

March 14, 2016

Postdoctoral Position in Computational Neuroscience/Biophysical Modeling Computational and Applied Mathematics Rice University and Department of Neuroscience Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Texas ----- A postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience is available at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine, in the laboratories of Steven Cox (Rice University) and Fabrizio Gabbiani (Baylor College of Medicine). Our research focuses on understanding the biophysical mechanisms underlying the implementation of non-linear operations by neurons and neuronal circuits. The postdoctoral research associate will model the cellular and network mechanisms underlying collision avoidance behaviors using advanced mathematical techniques and computer simulations. Modeling will be supported by a large data set of experimental data gathered using electrophysiology, pharmacology, calcium imaging, high-speed video imaging and telemetry. We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with a strong background in computational modeling of single neurons and neuronal circuits. Experience with Matlab and NEURON is required. The position is available for one year, with possibility of renewal for a second year, contingent of performance and funding availability. Salary will be commensurate with level of experience, based on an NIH scale. Applications will be accepted until April 15, 2016. Our labs are located at Rice University and in the adjacent Texas Medical Center, close to many of Houston's cultural and outdoor amenities. For further information about Rice University, the Texas Medical Center and Houston please visit http://www.explore.rice.edu/explore/General_Information.asp or https://www.bcm.edu/about-us/life-in-houston For further informal inquiries and to apply, please send CV, the names and full contact information of two to three references, as well as one to two representative publications to cox(a)rice.edu and gabbiani(a)bcm.edu. Equal Opportunity Employer: Females / Minorities / Veterans/ Disabled / Sexual Orientation / Gender Identity.

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Eleventh Advanced Statistics and Data Mining Summer School (Madrid, June 27th - July 8th, 2016)
by asdm＠fi.upm.es March 14, 2016

March 14, 2016

Dear colleagues, The Technical University of Madrid (UPM) will once more organize the 'Madrid UPM Advanced Statistics and Data Mining' summer school. The summer school will be held in Boadilla del Monte, near Madrid, from June 27th to July 8th. This year's edition comprises 12 week-long courses (15 lecture hours each), given during two weeks (six courses each week). Attendees may register in each course independently. No restrictions, besides those imposed by timetables, apply on the number or choice of courses. Early registration is now *OPEN*. Extended information on course programmes, price, venue, accommodation and transport is available at the school's website: http://www.dia.fi.upm.es/ASDM There is a 25% discount for members of Spanish AEPIA and SEIO societies. Please, forward 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 27th - July 1st, 2016) * 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. Practical demonstration: Weka. 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 4th - July 8th, 2016) * 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: Big Data with Apache Spark (15 h) Introduction. Spark framework and APIs. Data processing with Spark. Spark streaming. Machine learning with Spark MLlib. 2nd session: 13:45-16:45 Course 9: Text Mining (15 h) Introduction. Language Modeling. Text Similarity. Text Classification. Information Extraction. Practical session: Python, with Jupyter notebooks. 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 Regularized Learning (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.

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Reminder: Deadline is tomorrow (March 15) for Fellowships for IBBM Course in Park City, Utah
by Rob MacLeod March 14, 2016

March 14, 2016

Dear Colleagues, Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is the deadline for all submissions for fellowships to the Image Based Biomedical Modeling (IBBM) Summer Course in July, 2016. We encourage you to forward this email to your group and your community. If you have any question please let me know. Fellowship Application Deadline : March 15, 2016 Early Bird Registration Deadline: May 15, 2016 Registration Deadline: June 10, 2016 We look forward to welcoming you to Utah this summer. Best, The IBBM Team Park City Summer Course in Image Based Biomedical Modeling July 11-21, 2016 Newpark Resort in Park City, Utah ibbm.sci.utah.edu <http://ibbm.sci.utah.edu/> Contact: ibbm(a)sci.utah.edu <mailto:ibbm@sci.utah.edu> For Graduate Students, Postdocs, Faculty, and Industry. We invite students underrepresented in health-related sciences to apply. This course creates field-specific expertise and hands-on experience in bioelectric or biomechanical problems that arise in current biomedical research and clinical practice. It provides training in numerical methods, image analysis, and computational tools necessary to carry out end-to-end, image-based, subject-specific simulations in bioelectricity or biomechanics, using freely available software. Organizers: Rob Macleod, Jeff Weiss, and Ross Whitaker Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

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CIBB2016 - Computational Intelligence methods for Bioinformatics and Biostatistics
by Andrea Bracciali March 14, 2016

March 14, 2016

[Apologies for cross-postings] ======================================================================= CALL FOR PAPERS and SPECIAL SESSIONS ======================================================================= ======================================================================= CIBB 2016 13th International Meeting on Computational Intelligence methods for Bioinformatics and Biostatistics University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland UK September 1-3 2016 http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/events/cibb2016/ cibb2016(a)gmail.com ======================================================================= Scope The main goal of this 13th edition of the CIBB international conference is to provide a multi-disciplinary forum open to researchers interested in the application of computational intelligence, in a broad sense, to open problems in bioinformatics, biostatistics, systems and synthetic biology and medical informatics. Cutting edge methodologies capable of accelerating life science discoveries will be discussed. Following its tradition and roots, this year's meeting will bring together researchers from the international scientific community interested in advancements and future perspectives in bioinformatics and biostatistics. Also, looking at current trends and future opportunities at the edge of computer and life sciences, the application of computational intelligence to system and synthetic biology, and the consequent impact on innovative medicine will be of great for the conference. Theoretical and experimental biologists are also invited to participate in order to present novel challenges and foster multidisciplinary collaboration. The scientific program of CIBB 2016 will include Keynote Speakers, tutorials and special sessions. Contributed papers will be presented in plenary oral sessions, special sessions, or poster sessions. Topics of interest include, but are not restricted to: · Next generation sequencing bioalgorithms · Multi-omics data analysis · High dimensional statistical analysis of omics data · Algorithms for alternative splicing analysis · Algorithms for molecular evolution and phylogenetic analysis · Methods for the visualization of high dimensional complex omic data · Software tools for bioinformatics · Methods for comparative genomics · Methods for functional classification of genes · Methods for unsupervised analysis, validation and visualization of structures discovered in bio-molecular data · Health-Informatics and Medical Informatics. · Methods for the integration of clinical and genetic data · Heterogeneous data integration and data fusion for diagnostics · Algorithms for pharmacogenomics · Biomedical text mining and imaging · Methods for diagnosis and prognosis within personalized medicine · Statistical methods for the analysis of clinical data · Prediction of secondary and tertiary protein structures · Mass spectrometry data analysis in proteomics · Algorithms for molecular evolution and phylogenetic analysis · Bio-molecular databases and data mining · Mathematical modeling and automated reasoning on biological and synthetic systems · Computational simulation of biological systems · Methods and advances in systems biology · Spatio-temporal analysis of synthetic and biological systems · Network systems biology · Models for cell populations and tissues · Methods for the engineering of synthetic components · Modelling and engineering of interacting synthetic and biological systems · Software tools for bioinformatics, biostatistics, systems and synthetic biology Publication Accepted papers will be presented at the conference (at least one author is expected to register), and will be published on proceedings for conference distribution. Extended and revised versions of the papers presented at CIBB 2016 will be invited for a post-conference monograph. This is traditionally published in the Springer series of Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics (LNBI), (arrangements undergoing). Continuing the tradition of CIBB, we are planning to publish best papers in one (or more, as appropriate) special issue of an international scientific journal (such as BMC Bioinformatics, in the latest editions). Paper Submission Papers must be prepared following the guidelines illustrated on the CIBB web site and should be long between 4 and 6 pages. Papers should be submitted in PDF format on the Easy Chair conference system (link available on the web site). Tutorials and Special Sessions CIBB 2016 will run a number of Tutorials and Special Sessions. Any topic of interest for the conference is eligible for a tutorial. Tutorials typically last from one to three hours. Special sessions focus on a specific, possibly cutting-edge, topic of interest for CIBB 2016. Special session organisers will be responsible for call dissemination, reviewing process and organizing oral presentations. Typically, a special session will have at least 4 accepted papers and may have an invited speaker (to be negotiated). Tutorial proposals including title, one page long abstract, and short CV of presenters, are due by 15th March 2014. Please send proposals to cibb2016(a)gmail.com. Special Session proposals including the session's title and scope, short CV of sessions chairs, preliminary list of at least 4 potential authors are due by 15th March 2014. Proposals of special sessions will be evaluated as soon as they are submitted. A special session must have at least 4 accepted papers. Please send proposals to cibb2016(a)gmail.com Important Dates Tutorial and Special Session proposal: 25th March 2016 Paper submission deadline: 15th May 2016 Notification of acceptance: 22nd June 2016 Final paper due: 8th July 2016 Conference: 1st -3rd September 2016 General Chairs Andrea Bracciali, University of Stirling, UK David Gilbert, Brunel University London, UK Gilbert MacKenzie, UL, ENSAI and Keele, UK Biostatistics Technical Chair Marco Bonetti, Università Bocconi, Italy Bioinformatics Technical Chair Ivan Merelli, ITB-CNR, Italy Local Organizing Committee Chairs Leslie Smith, University of Stirling, UK Giulio Caravagna, Edinburgh University, UK Publicity Chair Francesco Masulli, University of Genoa, Italy Special Session and Tutorial Chair Claudia Angelini, IAC-CNR, Italy Publication Chair Riccardo Rizzo, ICAR-CNR, Italy Steering Commitee Pierre Baldi, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA Elia Biganzoli, University of Milan, Italy Clelia Di Serio, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Italy Alexandru Floares, Oncological Institute Cluj-Napoca, Romania Jon Garibaldi, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom Nikola Kasabov, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand Francesco Masulli, University of Genova, Italy and Temple University, PA, USA Leif Peterson, TMHRI, Houston, Texas, USA Roberto Tagliaferri, University of Salerno, Italy

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PhD student position available at Newcastle University
by Roman Bauer March 14, 2016

March 14, 2016

Dear all, I invite applications for a fully-funded three-year PhD student position at the Institute of Neuroscience at Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne (UK). The successful candidate will work under the supervision of Dr Roman Bauer and Dr Evelyne Sernagor, and do computational modeling as well as wet-lab work on neuronal development in the retina. There is also the possibility for the student to be involved in a collaborative project with CERN openlab and Intel as a project partner. Applicants should be highly motivated and should have a strong background in physics, computer science, neuroscience or a related disciplince. Good computational skills and experience in a major programing language such as C++ or Java are required. The Institute of Neuroscience (IoN) is a well-established research institute integrating over 75 principal investigators, and was ranked in UK top 10 for overall quality of research. The university's Faculty of Medical Sciences, of which IoN is part of, is ranked in the top 50 worldwide for biomedical and health sciences in the Leiden Ranking. More details on this job posting can be found here: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/funding/sources/allstudents/12mrea.html Best regards, Roman Bauer

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PostDoc position: developing computational models of optogenetic stimulation in epilepsy patients
by Marcus Kaiser March 13, 2016

March 13, 2016

Dear all, a 3-year PostDoc position for developing computational models of optogenetic stimulation in epilepsy patients is available within my lab as part of the CANDO project at Newcastle University. *** About CANDO *** CANDO (Controlling Abnormal Network Dynamics using Optogenetics, http://www.cando.ac.uk/) is a world-class, multi-site, cross-disciplinary project to develop a cortical implant for optogenetic neural control. The goal is to create a first-in-human trial in patients with focal epilepsy. This seven year, £10M Innovative Engineering for Health Award, funded by the Wellcome Trust <http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/> and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) <http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/> involves a team of over 30 neuroscientists, engineers and clinicians based at Newcastle University <http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ion/>, Imperial College London <http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/electricalengineering>, University College London <https://www.ucl.ac.uk/medphys> and The Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust <http://www.newcastle-hospitals.org.uk/>. *** Available RA position *** As part of this project, the lab of Prof. Marcus Kaiser ( http://www.dynamic-connectome.org/ ) is seeking a talented and enthusiastic research fellow with a PhD awarded, or a PhD thesis about to be submitted, in computational biology or related subjects. Objectives of this position are, first, to develop a detailed simulation of human brain activity at the local and global level of epilepsy patients. Second, the effect of stimulation on ongoing activity will be studied. Third, dynamical systems theory and extensive simulations will be used to find optimal stimulation approaches that can reach desired oscillation patterns with minimal stimulation. Simulations will be informed by invasive recordings and non-invasive brain connectivity measurements in human epilepsy patients. Good communication skills, very strong dynamics modelling skills, and a track record of previous peer-reviewed journal publications. You will have experience with modelling brain rhythms and dynamical systems. The position will include brief visits to our partners in the UK and abroad. *** Research Environment *** Neuroinformatics at Newcastle University in the UK covers a range of topics from electrophysiology to neuroimaging. We are among the pioneers in connectome analysis and the establishment of large-scale neuroscience data management and analysis platforms, e.g. through the £4m EPSRC-funded CARMEN project. Our strength is a close collaboration between computational, experimental, and clinical researchers. We currently have a team of 12 faculty members in the areas of Neuroinformatics and Neurotechnology which is growing to 15 members by the end of this year: http://neuroinformatics.ncl.ac.uk/ *** How to Apply *** To apply, follow the information at http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AUD320/research-assistant-associate-computational… The deadline is Thursday 7 April. For further information, contact Prof. Marcus Kaiser, Marcus.Kaiser(a)ncl.ac.uk Best, Marcus -- Marcus Kaiser, Ph.D. @ConnectomeLab <https://twitter.com/ConnectomeLab> Professor of Neuroinformatics Interdisciplinary Computing and Complex Biosystems (ICOS) Research Group School of Computing Science Newcastle University Claremont Tower Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK Lab website: http://www.dynamic-connectome.org/ Neuroinformatics@Newcastle: http://neuroinformatics.ncl.ac.uk/ -- Best, Marcus -- Marcus Kaiser, Ph.D. @ConnectomeLab <https://twitter.com/ConnectomeLab> Professor of Neuroinformatics Interdisciplinary Computing and Complex Biosystems (ICOS) Research Group School of Computing Science Newcastle University Claremont Tower Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK Lab website: http://www.dynamic-connectome.org/ Neuroinformatics@Newcastle: http://neuroinformatics.ncl.ac.uk

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An Invitation and CfP for International Conference on Artificial Intelligence 2016 in Poland
by Grace Allas March 13, 2016

March 13, 2016

CALL FOR PAPERS *** *All registered papers will be submitted to IEEE for potential inclusion to IEEE Xplore* AIPR2016 - The Third International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Pattern Recognition Lodz University of Technology, Lodz, Poland September 19-21, 2016 http://sdiwc.net/conferences/aipr2016/ --------------------------------------------------- RESEARCH TOPICS ARE NOT LIMITED TO: • Agent-based Systems • AI and Evolutionary Algorithms • Ant Colony Optimization • Approximate Reasoning • Artificial Immune Systems • Artificial Intelligence in Modeling and Simulation • Artificial Intelligence in Scheduling and Optimization • Artificial Life • Automated Problem Solving • Bioinformatics and Computational Biology • Biometric Authentication • Brain-machine Interfaces • Camera Networks and Vision • Case Studies • Cognitive Systems and Applications • Collective Intelligence • Computer Vision • Data Mining • Decision Support Systems • Differential Evolution • Distributed AI Systems and Architectures • Emerging Technologies • Evolutionary Data Mining • Evolutionary Design • Evolutionary Scheduling • Expert Systems • Fuzzy Computing with Words • Fuzzy Control and Intelligent Systems • Fuzzy Decision Making and Decision Support Systems • Fuzzy Logic and Fuzzy Set Theory • Fuzzy Optimization and design • Fuzzy Pattern Recognition • Fuzzy Systems for Robotics • Game Theory • Hardware Implementations • Heuristic Searching Methods • Integration of AI With Other Technologies • Intelligent Agents • Intelligent Data Mining and Farming • Intelligent Databases • Intelligent Information Systems • Intelligent Networks • Intelligent Tutoring Systems • Intelligent User Interface • Intelligent Web-based Business • Knowledge Engineering • Knowledge Networks and Management • Knowledge-based Recognition • Knowledge-intensive Problem Solving Techniques • Machine Learning • Modeling and Identification • Molecular and Quantum Computing • Motion and Tracking Algorithms and Orientation Estimation • Multi-agent Systems • Multimedia Systems and Applications • Natural Language Processing • Neural Network Theory, Architectures and Applications • Novel Noise Reduction Algorithms • Particle Swarm Optimization • Printing Technologies • Robotics and Related Fields • Rough Sets and Rough Data Analysis • Segmentation Techniques • Signal and Speech Processing • Social Impact of AI • Software Tools for AI • Speech Understanding • Structural and Syntactic Pattern Recognition • Supervised and Unsupervised Learning • Type-2 Fuzzy Logic • Various Applications • Watermarking Methods and Protection • Web Intelligence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IMPORTANT DATES Submission Deadline : Open from now until August 19, 2016 Notification of Acceptance : 4-7 weeks from the submission date Camera Ready Submission : Open from now until September 09, 2016 Registration Deadline : Open from now until September 09, 2016 All the registered papers will be submitted to IEEE for potential inclusion to IEEE Xplore as well as other Abstracting and Indexing (A&I) databases. Paper Submission: http://sdiwc.net/conferences/aipr2016/openconf/openconf.php Write us for more details: aipr16(a)diwc.net NOTE: Please see other co-conferences: - The Third International Conference on Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Education Technologies (CSCEET2016) http://sdiwc.net/conferences/csceet2016/ - The International Conference Numerical Methods and Applied Mathematics (NMAM2016) http://sdiwc.net/conferences/nmam2016/ ---------------------------------------

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Ph.D. and PostDoctoral positions on Secure and Fault-Tolerant Implants (2nd call)
by C. Strydis March 13, 2016

March 13, 2016

** Apologies if you receive multiple copies ** Dear colleagues, This is the 2nd call for new job postings in the field of secure and fault-tolerant implants: Our Neural Computing & Implants Lab (www.erasmusbrainproject.nl) of the Neuroscience Department of the Erasmus Medical Center, the Netherlands, is conducting research on next-generation implantable medical devices (IMDs). IMDs are resource-constrained embedded systems with unique functional and quality requirements. The overall objective of the research performed is to deliver techniques at the implant architecture, compiler, system and communication level for achieving by-design IMD security, privacy and fault tolerance. The selected candidates are expected to work on one or more of these intertwining subjects. This research will be part of the SHARCS Horizon 2020 EU-funded project (www.sharcs-project.eu) Collaborative partners are the Delft University of Technology, the Chalmers University of Technology and the National Technical University of Athens. The research group has a solid track record in contributing to design principles of high-performance and low-power embedded computing systems. Erasmus MC is a partner in the HiPEAC European Network of Excellence and an official collaborator in the H2020 Flagship: Human Brain Project (HBP - www.humanbrainproject.eu) Where HBP works on fully simulating the cerebral cortex, Erasmus MC is adding in accurate simulations of the cerebellar cortex. For more details please check the posting here: https://www.hipeac.net/jobs/9013/one-phd-position-and-one-postdoctoral-posi… We would appreciate if you could further disseminate our postings. Kind regards, Christos Strydis -- ============================== Christos Strydis, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Neuroscience Department Erasmus Medical Center Wytemaweg 80 (12th floor) Office Ee1210a 3015 CN Rotterdam Tel: +31 - 10 - 70 - 43294 Fax: +31 - 10 - 70 - 44734 E-mail: C.Strydis(a)erasmusmc.nl Web: www.erasmusbrainproject.com/index.php/strydis ==============================

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Ph.D. and PostDoctoral positions on, High-Performance Brain Simulations (2nd call)
by C. Strydis March 13, 2016

March 13, 2016

** Apologies if you receive multiple copies ** Dear colleagues, This is the 2nd call for new job postings in the field of High-Performance Brain Simulations: Our Neural Computing & Implants Lab group (www.erasmusbrainproject.nl) of the Neuroscience Department of the Erasmus Medical Center, the Netherlands, is conducting research on high-performance, large-scale simulations of the human cerebellum. Depending on the neuronal-network size and the modeling accuracy desired, brain-model simulations can rapidly grow to be become exascale order-of-magnitude applications for HPC platforms. By capitalizing on the long-standing expertise and track record of the Neuroscience Department, the overall objective of the research performed is dual: to re-construct in hardware (''in silico'') the human cerebellar cortex and -- in the process -- to develop novel tools for the automatic, seamless and fast simulation of any brain-model ensembles on popular HPC platforms, such as FPGAs, NVidia GP-GPUs, Intel Xeon Phis and Maxeler Dataflow Engines. The selected candidates are expected to work on these topics. This research will be part of the VINEYARD Horizon 2020 EU-funded project (www.vineyard-h2020.eu) Erasmus MC is a partner in the HiPEAC European Network of Excellence and an official collaborator in the H2020 Flagship: Human Brain Project (HBP - www.humanbrainproject.eu) Where HBP works on fully simulating the cerebral cortex, Erasmus MC is adding in accurate simulations of the cerebellar cortex. Collaborative partners are the Delft University of Technology, the Chalmers University of Technology and the National Technical University of Athens. For more details please check the posting here: https://www.hipeac.net/jobs/9011/one-phd-position-and-one-postdoctoral-posi… We would appreciate if you could further disseminate our postings. Kind regards, Christos Strydis -- ============================== Christos Strydis, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Neuroscience Department Erasmus Medical Center Wytemaweg 80 (12th floor) Office Ee1210a 3015 CN Rotterdam Tel: +31 - 10 - 70 - 43294 Fax: +31 - 10 - 70 - 44734 E-mail: C.Strydis(a)erasmusmc.nl Web: www.erasmusbrainproject.com/index.php/strydis ==============================

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Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), Summer 2016
by Alexey Kuznetsov March 11, 2016

March 11, 2016

The Department of Mathematical Sciences at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis is currently recruiting students for a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) titled, "IUPUI REU Program in mathematics with applications to medical sciences, biophysics, and inverse problems." Eight undergraduate students will be accepted into the NSF-funded program for Summer 2016. Students may submit applications at the following website: math.iupui.edu/reu. -- Alexey Kuznetsov Associate Professor Dept. of Mathematical Sciences, IUPUI Science Building, LD 270, 402 N. Blackford St., Indianapolis, IN

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[visum2016] Summer School :: (last) Call for participation!
by Ricardo Sousa March 10, 2016

March 10, 2016

Call for Participation 4th VISion Understanding and Machine intelligence summer school Porto, Portugal 7-14 July, 2016 http://www.fe.up.pt/visum/ |Facebook: http://goo.gl/FbVNtq We invite everyone with interests in computer vision to attend the 4th *VISion Understanding and Machine intelligence summer school, *at ATMOSFERA M in Porto, Portugal. At visum you can find an expert multicultural environment, aiming to foster junior researchers’ awareness of computer vision topics, as well as to enhance all attendees’ knowledge regarding the state of the art, provided by leading international experts on the field. Being an area of great potential in industrial applications with a strong increase in the number of researchers in these last years, *visum* summer school will be an incredible opportunity. Important Dates Application March, 21 Notification of Acceptance March, 25 Early Registration April, 22 Late Registration May, 13 Scholarships *In partnership with APRP, we will provide a grant that covers the registration for an APRP member. Grant will be given according to the relevance of the applicant’s CV. Visum will comprise three main tracks 1. Fundamental subjects 2. Examples of computer vision applications 3. Industrial session Each one with extensive practical “hands-on” sessions *Topics* Biometrics Julian Fierrez Universidad Autónoma de Madrid ES Structure From Motion João Paulo Costeira Instituto Superior Técnico PT Document Image Analysis Alicia Fornes Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona ES Human Activity Hatice Gunes University of Cambridge UK Deep Learning Dan Ciresan Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence CH Modelling and Simulation Mauricio Reyes University of Bern CH *Applications* To be announced Industry Track EyeSee Follow Inspiration Movvo Venue visum will take place at ATMOSFERA M, Rua Júlio Dinis, nº 158/160, Porto, Portugal. Location visum will take place in Porto, Portugal’s second-largest city, European Best Destination 2012 and Lonely Planet’s top 10 for 2013. Here, you can find famous baroque style monuments, the worldwide known Port Wine cellars, always having the World Heritage Douro River as the background of this youthful, active and charming city. visum’s program includes social activities. Please visit our webpage for up to date information: http://www.fe.up.pt/visum/. We are looking forward for your participation! *visum organising committee* Ana Rebelo, INESC TEC, Universidade do Porto Eduardo M. Pereira, INESC TEC, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto Hélder P. Oliveira, INESC TEC, Universidade do Porto Kelwin Fernandes, INESC TEC, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto Luís F. Teixeira, INESC TEC, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto Pedro Ferreira, INESC TEC, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto Tiago Esteves, INEB, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto *Follow us on:* Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/visum/402527539813446 Google+: https://plus.google.com/104076275960053201744/posts Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/visumschool __ Ricardo Sousa, PhDhttp://rsousa.orghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/rsousa email: rsousa _at_ rsousa.org

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CoSMo 2016 - FREE participation!
by Gunnar Blohm March 10, 2016

March 10, 2016

It is our pleasure to announce that thanks to external funding from NIH and Brain Canada, *CoSMo 2016 attendance will be free of charge*! In addition, a limited number of travel scholarships will be available. *Application deadline: Apr 11, 2016* For more information and to apply, please go to <http://www.compneurosci.com/CoSMo/>http://www.compneurosci.com/CoSMo/ Scholarship information and the application form can be found here: http://www.compneurosci.com/CoSMo/application.html Best, Gunnar Blohm, Paul Schrater, and Konrad Körding -- ------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Gunnar BLOHM Associate Professor in Computational Neuroscience Association for Canadian Neuroinformatics and Computational Neuroscience (CNCN) Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Departments of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics, and Psychology, School of Computing, and Canadian Action and Perception Network (CAPnet) Queen’s University 18, Stuart Street Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6 Tel: (613) 533-3385 Fax: (613) 533-6840 Email: Gunnar.Blohm(a)QueensU.ca Web: http://www.compneurosci.com/

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v5.7 of NeuroMorpho.Org released on 30 May, 2014
by NeuroMorpho Administrator March 10, 2016

March 10, 2016

Version 5.7 of NeuroMorpho.Org was released on 30 May, 2014. The release included 29 new data sets (1341 reconstructions), including from three new animal species (dragonfly, moth, and sheep). The database now contains 11,335 reconstructions from 144 contributing labs. More than 3.2 million reconstructions were downloaded in over 130,000 unique visits from 146 countries. Please visit the What's new<http://neuromorpho.org/neuroMorpho/WIN.jsp> page for details on data included in this release, including new species strains, brain regions, cell types, and experimental conditions. The Acknowledgements <http://neuromorpho.org/neuroMorpho/acknowl.jsp> include details on contributing labs, and the About<http://neuromorpho.org/neuroMorpho/about.jsp> page provides an updated overview of the repository content. A new user-friendly functionality, OntoSearch<http://neuromorpho.org/neuroMorpho/OntoSearch.jsp>, was introduced in this release, enabling more powerful searches of species and strains with automated synonym translation, taxonomical relations, and keyword auto-completion. The literature coverage database was also updated to include publications through March 2014. We are continuously grateful to all the data owners who freely share their data with the community. We always appreciate any and all feedback and comments. Sincerely, The NeuroMorpho.Org team -- Ruchi Parekh, Ph.D. NeuroMorpho.Org Project Lead Postdoctoral Research Fellow Center for Neural Informatics, Structures, and Plasticity Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study MS2A1, George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030 (USA) Ph - +1-703-993-4382<tel:%2B1-703-993-4382> www.neuromorpho.org<http://www.neuromorpho.org/> nmadmin(a)gmu.edu<mailto:nmadmin@gmu.edu>?

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summer internship at Siemens Healthcare (Princeton, NJ)
by Francisco Pereira March 10, 2016

March 10, 2016

Our team at Medical Imaging Technologies, Siemens Healthcare, in Princeton NJ, has a summer intern position, working in a project investigating the representation of semantic information in the brain and how it is used in language. Our goal is to build a computational model of the process of sentence comprehension in a text passage, using text corpora and other linguistic resources, and validate it using behavioral and brain imaging data. The main role of the intern will be to help in developing and implementing methods to extract information from text corpora, as well as models for emulating human performance on a variety of benchmark psychological tests. Examples of tasks you might be asked to do: - generate distributed semantic representations for words/concepts, sentences and passages - extract and combine structured information from text corpora or resources such as WordNet, FrameNet and various knowledge bases - prepare and process text corpora (parse, convert to other formats, etc) - implement evaluation tasks to benchmark the models developed It is an unusual position in that you would be doing machine learning tasks to further cognitive neuroscience goals, gaining experience in both areas. In addition to the core research, we will also be delivering a system to the funding agency; hence, this is a fast-paced project with multiple opportunities for publication. This work is being carried out in collaboration with researchers at MIT, MGH and Princeton University and funded by the IARPA Knowledge Representation in Neural Systems program ( http://www.iarpa.gov/index.php/research-programs/krns ). Requirements: - current student in a graduate program in Computer Science/Electrical Engineering/Machine Learning - experience developing software in MATLAB, Python or Perl - experience in Computational Linguistics and NLP tasks (e.g. using frameworks such as CoreNLP or NLTK) - availability for at least 3 months (a longer period is possible, and the timeline is flexible) If interested, please send your resume to francisco-pereira(a)siemens.com (your email can serve as a cover letter, if there is anything you would like to elaborate on). thank you! Francisco

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PhD position Mainz, Germany
by Matthias Kaschube March 10, 2016

March 10, 2016

On behalf of Simon Rumpel, University Mainz: 3yr Graduate studentship position Long-term dynamics of sound-evoked activity patterns in mouse auditory cortex University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany A graduate student position is available in the Systemic Neurophysiology Research Group at the University Medical Center of the Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. The research group of Simon Rumpel is interested in understanding neuronal mechanisms of auditory perception and memory. Combining behavioral training and chronic in vivo two-photon imaging techniques in mice, we have monitored the dynamics of individual synaptic connections (e.g. Moczulska et al., 2013, PNAS; Loewenstein et al., 2015, J. Neurosci.) and analyzed how sounds are encoded in neuronal populations in the neocortex (Bathellier et al., 2012, Neuron). We are looking for a highly motivated individual with a strong interest in learning a variety of experimental and theoretical approaches to solve complex biological problems. The focus of the project is on the establishment and application of chronic imaging of sound-evoked activity patterns in transgenic mouse lines at the mesoscopic scale. This involves in-depth training in physiology, imaging methodology and data analysis. This project is part of an ongoing collaboration with Matthias Kaschube’s computational neuroscience group at the FIAS in Frankfurt and is ideally suited for a person with a background in physics or a related discipline interested to move into the neurosciences. The starting date is September 2016 or later. The applicant should have a master’s degree or diploma at the time of admission, have excellent communication skills, and should be interested in working in a collaborative and international environment. In-depth knowledge in programming (e.g. Matlab) and hardware control is a requirement and previous experience in imaging or neuroscience would be beneficial. · We offer a highly interactive environment with state-of-the-art research facilities and equipment. · The student will be embedded in the Focus Program in Translational Neurosciences (FTN) of the Mainz Neuroscience community (http://www.ftn.uni-mainz.de/eng/index.php <http://www.ftn.uni-mainz.de/eng/index.php>). For further information, or to apply, please contact Prof. Simon Rumpel ( <mailto:sirumpel@uni-mainz.de>sirumpel(a)uni-mainz.de <mailto:sirumpel@uni-mainz.de>). Applications should include a motivation letter including research interests, the CV and email addresses of 1-2 referees. Application deadline is April 30th 2016 -- Prof. Dr. Simon Rumpel Working Group Systemic Neurophysiology Institute of Physiology Focus Program Translational Neurosciences (FTN) University Medical Center Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch Weg 19 55128 Mainz, Germany Tel: +49 (0) 6131 39-27355 E-Mail: sirumpel(a)uni-mainz.de <mailto:sirumpel@uni-mainz.de>

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Recent advances in recurrent network theory workshop at MPI-DS (May 25 - 27)
by farzad March 9, 2016

March 9, 2016

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[UKCI 2016] Call for Papers
by Teng Teck Hou March 9, 2016

March 9, 2016

[Apologies for the cross-postings] ########################################################### CALL FOR PAPERS The 16th Annual UK Workshop on Computational Intelligence, UKCI-2016 September 7-9, 2016, Lancaster, United Kingdom http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/ukci2016/ ########################################################### The 16th Annual UK Workshop on Computational Intelligence, UKCI-2016 this year is being hosted by Lancaster University. UKCI is the premier UK event for presenting leading research on all aspects of Computational Intelligence. The aim of this Workshop is to provide a forum for the academic community and industry to share ideas about developing and using Computational Intelligence (CI) techniques, the new trends and to exchange views and ideas. CI is a rapidly expanding research field, attracting a large number of scientists, engineers and practitioners working in areas such as fuzzy systems, neural networks, evolutionary computation, evolving systems and machine learning. A growing number of companies are employing CI techniques to improve previous solutions and to deal with new problems. These include evolving systems that allow high performance in spite of changes which are either external or internal to the system, thereby increasing the re-usability of developed systems. This also include smart, intelligent and autonomous systems, self-learning, self-adapting, self-calibrating and self-tuning. UKCI-2016 will take place in Lancaster House Hotel, located conveniently within the campus of Lancaster University, few miles from the city centre including Lancaster Castle. The city offers excellent transport links, with easy access to the M6, railway station and ferry links. Beyond the array of activities within the city, Lancaster is close to Britain’s premier tourist area – Lake District, and is home to theatres, museums, Ashton Memorial and Williamson park. #################### Important dates ##################### - Special Session proposals: March 20th, 2016 - Submission of Abstracts: March 20th, 2016 - Paper submission: April 1st, 2016 - Notification of paper acceptance: June 15th, 2016 - Camera-ready submission: July 15th, 2016 ########################################################## #################### Plenary speakers #################### - Jose Principe, Distinguished Professor, University Of Florida, USA - Trevor Martin, Bristol University and Senior Researcher, British Telecom, UK - Xin Yao, School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, UK - Stephen Fubrer, School of Computer Science, University of Manchester, UK ########################################################## #################### Organizing committees ############### * Honorary Chair - Prof. Janusz Kacprzyk, Fellow Polish Academy of Sciences * General Chair - Prof. Plamen Angelov, Lancaster University * Programme Chairs - Prof. Qiang Shen, Aberystwyth University - Prof. Chrisina Jane, Robert Gordon University * Publication Chair - Dr. Alexander Gegov, Portsmouth University * International Liaison - Ms Azliza Mohd Ali, Lancaster University * Finance Chair - Ms Carol Airey, Lancaster University * Local Organisation Chairs - Dr. John Mariani, Lancaster University - Mr Richard Gnosill, Lancaster University * Publicity Chair - Dr. Teng Teck Hou, Singapore Management University * Awards Chair - Prof. Araceli Sanchis de Miguel, Carlos III University, Spain * Special Session Chair - Prof. Ahmad Lotfi, Nottingham Trent University - Dr. Xiao Jun Zeng, Manchester University ########################################################## ############# Paper Submission and Publication ########### * Papers for UKCI 2016 should be submitted electronically through the Conference website at http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/ukci2016/call-for-papers/, and will be refereed by experts in the fields and ranked based on the criteria of originality, significance, quality and clarity. * Selected papers will be considered for publication, following substantial extension, in a Special Issue of the Soft Computing Journal (Springer). ########################################################## #################### Awards ############################## * A best regular paper and a best student paper will be selected for this award * This best paper award consists of a plaque and a €200 honorarium * The best paper awards are sponsored by Springer ########################################################## ###### Topics and Areas include, but not limited to ###### Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) * Computational intelligence methodology * Computational intelligence for big data * Making Sense from Data (streams) * Knowledge representation * Fuzzy logic, fuzzy systems, approximate reasoning; * New Machine Learning Methodologies * Artificial Neural Networks * Evolutionary computation, swarm intelligence, artificial immune systems, memetic computing, Nature-inspired computing * New and emerging computational intelligence approaches from hybrid learning and systems, molecular and quantum computing * Software agents and multi-agent systems, intelligent control * Intelligent Video Analytics * Applications of computational intelligence techniques in engineering, healthcare, finances, (cyber)security, signal, image and video processing ########################################################## #################### Call for Special Session Proposals ######################### * UKCI-2016 will retain its traditional format of a single track with special sessions on selected “hot” topics. * Please email proposals for special sessions to ukci2016(a)lancaster.ac.uk by 20th March 2016 ########################################################## #################### Co-Sponsors ######################### * Springer * Department of Engineering and the School of Computing and Communications, Lancaster University ##########################################################

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TENSS 2016 Call for Applications
by Tomas Hromadka March 9, 2016

March 9, 2016

Dear colleagues, Please find below an announcement about the fifth edition of the Transylvanian Experimental Neuroscience Summer School (TENSS). We would be very grateful if you could forward this announcement to potentially interested people. Also, if you want to support TENSS, please check our crowdfunding campaign: http://igg.me/at/tenss-ed/x. Transylvanian Experimental Neuroscience Summer School (TENSS) June 1-19, 2016. The Pike Lake, Transylvania, Romania www.tenss.ro TENSS will concentrate top-level international expertise to teach a dozen students techniques and concepts in experimental systems neuroscience. We will focus on modern optical and electrophysiological methods to study the connectivity and function of neuronal circuits. The course is designed to be intensive and highly interactive, including both lab sessions and theoretical lectures. Coursework will take place in a land of myth and legend, beyond large forests (Transylvania), on the shores of a picturesque natural reserve called Pike Lake. Applications are welcome from interested (and interesting) graduate students and postdocs. Please note that there is a significant number of fee waivers and travel support grants available for supporting our applicants. Application deadline – March 20th, 2016 Notification of acceptance – April 7th, 2016 Summer School – June 1-19th, 2016 Confirmed lecturers: Albeanu, Florin – Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY, USA Bhalla, Upinder – National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, India Burrone, Juan – King’s College, London, UK Dickinson, Michael – Caltech, USA Engert, Florian – Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA Freund, Tamás – Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary Hangya, Balázs – Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary Hromádka, Tomáš – Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia Hübener, Mark – Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany Ji, Na – HHMI, Janelia Research Campus, VA, USA Kampff, Adam – Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London, UK Keller, Georg – Friedrich Miescher Institute, Basel, Switzerland Kodandaramaiah, Suhasa – University of Minnesota, MN, USA Monyer, Hannah - University of Heidelberg, Germany Mrsic-Flögel, Tom – Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland Mureșan, Raul – Romanian Institute of Science and Technology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Murthy, Venkatesh – Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA Portugues, Ruben - Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany Singer, Wolf – Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany Svoboda, Karel – HHMI, Janelia Research Campus, VA, USA Watson, James – Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY, USA Zador, Tony - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY, USA Organizers: Mureșan, Raul – Romanian Institute of Science and Technology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Kampff, Adam – Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London, UK Albeanu, Florin – Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY, USA Information about how to apply can be found here: http://tenss.ro/apply/. Best regards, TENSS Organizing Committee contact(a)tenss.ro -- Center for Cognitive and Neural Studies (Coneural) Romanian Institute of Science and Technology Str. Ciresilor 29 400487 Cluj-Napoca, Romania Tel: +40-364-800171; Fax: +40-364-800172 tenss.ro

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CfP: IEEE RO-MAN Workshop on Neuroscience Methods in Human-Robot Interaction
by Burcu Ayşen Ürgen March 8, 2016

March 8, 2016

IEEE RO-MAN 2016 Workshop on Neuroscience Methods in Human-Robot Interaction (New York City, 26-31st August, 2016) Neuroscience methods such as brain imaging are increasingly used to address research questions in robotics, robot-human communication and interaction. This workshop will provide an overview of state-of-the-art work at the intersection of human-robot interaction and human neuroscience, to show how cross-disciplinary collaboration can be a win-win, and to help increase communication between researchers from different yet complementary disciplines, with the hope of catalysing new ideas and collaborations. Neuroscientists with expertise in several topics of interest for RO-MAN 2016 <http://www.ro-man2016.org/> (e.g., embodiment, empathy, social cognition, body movements, gestures, facial expressions, anthropomorphism, learning and imitation, social presence, inference of human states, machine learning and brain-machine interfaces) will introduce the methods used, and present empirical work exemplifying their application to robotics, highlighting not only how such studies have led to insights on neural mechanisms of interaction, communication, and collaboration, but also how the findings inform the design and development of new robots, robot-human collaborative systems, interaction modalities and interfaces. We will solicit papers from the broader community that address these themes. Robotics and neuroscience both being active, rapidly developing, and high priority research areas, and the combination of expertise across disciplines holding great promise for advances in both theory and applications, the workshop will serve an important role by bringing together researchers coming from different backgrounds. Panel sessions will address challenges for interdisciplinary and novel research and discuss ideas for increasing synergy and impact future work. *SPEAKERS* Ayse P. Saygin, PhD (UC San Diego, USA) Emily S. Cross, PhD (Bangor University, UK) Thierry Chaminade, PhD (Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, FRANCE) Susanne Quadflieg, PhD (University of Bristol, UK) James Thompson, PhD (George Mason University, USA) *WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS* Burcu A. Urgen, PhD (University of Parma, ITALY) Ayse P. Saygin, PhD (UC San Diego, USA) Emily S. Cross, PhD (Bangor University, UK) Workshop website: http://neurorobotics.ucsd.edu/ *CALL FOR PAPERS* We solicit full paper submissions from cognitive and social neuroscientists and human-robot interaction researchers with expertise in several topics of interest for RO-MAN 2016 including but not limited to embodiment, empathy, social cognition, nonverbal communication via body movements, gestures, facial expressions, anthropomorphism, learning and imitation, social presence, social knowledge, inference of human states, machine learning and brain-machine interfaces. The submitted papers are intended to include applications of various neuroimaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to topics of relevance to RO-MAN 2016. Observational and behavioural studies may be suitable as long as they are highly cross-disciplinary. Theoretical papers that address the theme of the workshop and RO-MAN 2016 may also be included. The expectation from submissions is to highlight not only how neuroscience studies involving robotics have led to insights on the human cognitive and neural mechanisms of interaction, communication, and collaboration, but also how the findings inform the design and development of new robots, robot-human collaborative systems, interaction modalities and interfaces. *EVALUATION* All submissions will be evaluated by a minimum of two reviewers. The reviewers will evaluate each submission based on how informative the study has been both to human neuroscience AND human-robot interaction as well as the quality of the research methodology. All accepted papers will be published in workshop proceedings. Each paper accepted for an oral or poster presentation has to be presented by one of the authors. *IMPORTANT DEADLINES* Full paper submissions due 05/15/2016. Notifications will be sent by 05/18/2016. Final versions will be submitted by 05/20/2016. *PAPER GUIDELINES* All full paper submissions should follow the guidelines specified in the main conference website, check here <http://www.tc.columbia.edu/conferences/roman2016/submissions/papers/>. *HOW TO SUBMIT* The papers should be emailed to neuroscience.robotics.workshop(a)gmail.com by the deadline: 05/15/2016. -- Burcu Aysen Urgen, PhD Email: burcu.urgen(a)gmail.com Website: http://www.burcuaysenurgen.com

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Postdoctoral Position in Computational Neuroscience, RIKEN Brain Science Institute
by Taro Toyoizumi March 8, 2016

March 8, 2016

[Laboratory] Postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience at RIKEN Brain Science Institute Lab for Neural Computation and Adaptation (Lab head: Taro Toyoizumi) webpage: http://toyoizumilab.brain.riken.jp/ [Job description] Our lab is interested in dynamic information processing by neural circuits and the modeling of activity-dependent plasticity in the brain. We seek a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with a strong analytical background and interest in neuroscience. Applicants should have a PhD in physics, neuroscience, mathematics, computer science, or a related area. Candidates who want to bridge theory and experiment in close collaboration with an experimental lab are also encouraged to apply. Current interest of the lab includes: - Elucidating how complex activity dynamics are generated by neural circuits and how the network dynamics influence information processing (PLoS Comput. Biol. 2015; Phys. Rev. E 2011) - Modeling Hebbian and homeostatic synaptic plasticity across developmental stages (Neuron 2014; Neuron 2013) - A statistical mechanics approach to characterize neural codewords and its engineering application (Sci. Rep. 2015; Phys. Rev. E 2015) A high-performance computer cluster is accessible for simulations and data analyses. [Required documents] 1. Complete CV 2. List of publications 3. Contact information for three references [Conditions] 2-year postdoc position with possibility of extension (Full-time position with an annual contract up to 5 years based on the evaluation) RIKEN Brain Science is an international research institute. We use English as the common language for research and for administration. The institute is located in greater Tokyo area, about 30 min from the center of the city by train. webpage: http://www.brain.riken.jp/en/ [Start of Employment] April 1st, 2016 or later (negotiable) [Send application to] toyoizumilab(a)brain.riken.jp [Contract information] Taro Toyoizumi, Ph.D. 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan RIKEN Brain Science Institute Email: toyoizumilab(a)brain.rikne.jp

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PostDoc position in bio-inspired neural networks for robot control
by Falotico Egidio March 7, 2016

March 7, 2016

A postdoc position is available at The BioRobotics Insititute, Scuola Superiore SantAnna, Pisa, Italy. http://www.santannapisa.it/en/istituto/biorobotica/biorobotics-institute The position is part of the Human Brain Project SP10 Neurorobotics. The work will be carried out under the supervision of Prof. Cecilia Laschi. The initial appointment is for one year, funding is available for up to 2 years. Start date is 1st April 2016, or as soon as possible thereafter. Position description Goal: Design and development of a sensory-motor coordination control system based on bio-inspired neural network for robots acting in simulated environment. Description: The main research activity concerns the development of brain-inspired computational algorithms for robot control. In particular, the objective of this research is the modelling and implementation in a neural simulator of bio-inspired neural networks for the control of robots performing sensory-motor tasks in simulated environment. The research activity requires in-depth knowledge, proven by previous research or professional activity, of neural computational models. The ideal candidate has also programming experience with C,C++, python, languages. Preference will be given to knowledge of spiking neural networks for robot control. Context The postdoc will be enrolled in the Human Brain Project and in particular in the SP10-Neurorobotics For more information please refer to: http://www.neurorobotics.net/ https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/it/neurorobotics-platform To apply For any question and for application instructions please send an email to Egidio Falotico (egidio.falotico(a)sssup.it) by March 12th. -- Egidio Falotico Computer Scientist PhD in BioRobotics PhD in Cognitive Science The BioRobotics Institute Polo Sant'Anna Valdera - Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna Viale Rinaldo Piaggio, 34 - 56025 - Pontedera (PI) - Italy Phone: +39 050 883 457 e-mail: e.falotico(a)sssup.it

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NBT Analytics is looking for a lead programmer
by Simon-Shlomo Poil March 7, 2016

March 7, 2016

Dear all, NBT Analytics is looking for a lead programmer. This Amsterdam based startup focuses on offering comprehensive EEG analyses for clinical trials, with the aim of improving drug development for CNS disorders. Get in touch if interested! Please read more here: http://www.nbt-analytics.com/#career Best regards, -- Dr. Simon-Shlomo Poil Co-founder / Chief Technology Officer NBT Analytics BV Amsterdam Health and Technology Center Paasheuvelweg 25 1105BP Amsterdam The Netherlands Website: https://www.nbt-analytics.com <http://www.nbt-analytics.com/> -- NBT Analytics BV http://www.nbt-analytics.com IMPORTANT: This message and any attachments are intended for the individual or entity named above. It may contain confidential, proprietary or legally privileged information. No confidentiality or privilege is waived or lost by any mistransmission. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not read, copy, use or disclose this communication to others; also please notify the sender by replying to this message, and then delete it from your system. Thank you.

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Fellowships (fee reduction): Summer Systems Neuroscience study abroad in Budapest
by Érdi Péter March 7, 2016

March 7, 2016

Dear Community: Due to the generous support of an anonymous donor, we are now able to offer Fellowships for the Summer study abroad program: http://sysneuro-semester.org/; June 12 - Aug 5 2016, Budapest, leading to a strong fee reduction $3500 (tuition + accommodation). The original fee was $7000. Acceptance on rolling basis, conditional by the closing date of March 21st, 2016. Act rapidly! Systems Neuroscience is a study abroad summer program for undergraduates. Applications and inquiry: bscs(a)bscs-us.org (cc to negyessy.laszlo(a)wigner.mta.hu) Péter Érdi Program Director

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ICDL-EPIROB 2016: approaching deadline ( April 1st ) for papers and workshops submission
by Arnaud Blanchard March 7, 2016

March 7, 2016

Approaching deadline ( April 1st ) for papers and workshops submission Call for Papers & Call for Workshops IEEE ICDL-EPIROB 2016 The Sixth Joint IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning and on Epigenetic Robotics Cergy-Pontoise / Paris, France September 19-22th, 2016 http://www.icdl-epirob.org <http://www.icdl-epirob.org/> == Conference description IEEE ICDL-Epirob is the premier forum for advances in epigenetic robotics and developmental psychology with the focus on learning and development in biological and artificial systems. This single-track conference brings together researchers from cognitive sciences, computer sciences, and robotics to explore their shared interests in autonomous learning and development. The design and study of both robotic and simulated embodied and situated computational models that are inspired by the principles of human development will be presented at the conference. A special event -- the «Babybot challenge» — will see renowned psychologists challenging engineers and modelers in how to use the tools of developmental robotics to replicate and extend the key findings. This year, thanks to special funding from Paris-Seine University, six renowned invited speakers will cover the different facets of the conference. We invite you to participate in IEEE ICDL-Epirob by sharing your research, insights, experience, and enthusiasm. A social event “on the paths of the impressionists” will allow you to discover the old city of Pontoise and Auvers sur Oise where Vincent Van Gogh painted some of his most famous masterpieces. Excursions to Paris, Versailles and Giverny will be proposed for spouses. == Keynote speakers * Tamim Asfour (http://h2t.anthropomatik.kit.edu/english/21_66.php <http://h2t.anthropomatik.kit.edu/english/21_66.php>) * Karl Friston (http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/~karl <http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/~karl>) * Julie Grezes (http://iec-lnc.ens.fr/social-cognition-group/membres-100/faculty-177/grezes… <http://iec-lnc.ens.fr/social-cognition-group/membres-100/faculty-177/grezes…>) * Tony Prescott (https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/psychology/staff/academic/tony-prescott <https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/psychology/staff/academic/tony-prescott>) * One more to be confirmed == Call for submissions of workshops and papers We invite submissions for this exciting window into the future of developmental sciences. Submissions which establish novel links between brain, behavior and computation are particularly encouraged. == Topics of interest include (but are not limited to): * the development of perceptual, motor, cognitive, emotional, social, and communication skills in biological systems and robots; * embodiment; * general principles of development and learning; * interaction of nature and nurture; * sensitive/critical periods; * developmental psychology; * developmental stages; * grounding of knowledge and development of representations; * architectures for cognitive development and open-ended learning; * neural plasticity; * statistical learning; * reward and value systems; * intrinsic motivations, exploration and play; * interaction of development and evolution; * use of robots in applied settings such as autism therapy; * epistemological foundations and philosophical issues. Any of the topics above can be simultaneously studied from the neuroscience, psychology or modeling/robotic point of view. == Submissions will be accepted in several formats: 1. Full six-page paper submissions: Accepted papers will be included in the conference proceedings and will be selected for either an oral presentation or a featured poster presentation. Featured posters will have a 1 minute "teaser" presentation as part of the main conference session and will be showcased in the poster sessions. 2. Two-page poster abstract submissions: To encourage discussion of late-breaking results or for work that is not sufficiently mature for a full paper, we will accept 2-page abstracts. These submissions will NOT be included in the conference proceedings. Accepted abstracts will be presented during poster sessions. 3. Tutorials and workshops: We invite experts in different areas to organize either a tutorial or a workshop to be held on the first day of the conference. Tutorials are meant to provide insights into specific topics as well as overviews that will inform the interdisciplinary audience about the state-of-the-art in child development, neuroscience, robotics, or any of the other disciplines represented at the conference. A workshop is an opportunity to present a topic cumulatively. Workshop can be half- or full-day in duration including oral presentations as well as posters. Submission format: two pages. == Call for Tutorials and Workshops We invite experts in different areas to organize a tutorial or workshop, which will be held on the first day of the conference. Participants in tutorials and workshops are asked to register for the main conference. Tutorials are meant to provide insights into specific topics as well as overviews that will inform the interdisciplinary audience about the state-of-the-art in child development, neuroscience, robotics, or any of the other disciplines represented at the conference. A workshop is an opportunity to present a topic cumulatively. Workshops can be half- or full-day in duration including oral presentations as well as posters. We would like to receive applications in pdf format for organizing a workshop with the following informations: * title / workshop or tutorial * organiser's name, research structure and coordinate (email) * how many invited presentations/ and 'open' presentations * is there a call for posters? * what is the timetable * website address ? Proposals should be sent to Sofiane Boucenna sofiane.boucenna(a)u-cergy.fr <mailto:sofiane.boucenna@u-cergy.fr>, Verena Hafner hafner(a)informatik.hu-berlin.de <mailto:hafner@informatik.hu-berlin.de> & Alex Pitti alexandre.pitti(a)u-cergy.fr <mailto:alexandre.pitti@u-cergy.fr> == Important dates * April 1st, 2016, paper and workshops submission deadline * June 1st, 2016, author notification * July 1st, 2014, final version (camera ready) due * September 19th-22nd, 2014, conference == Program committee General chairs: * Minoru Asada Osaka (Japan). * Philippe Gaussier, Cergy-Pontoise (France). Program chairs: * Verena Hafner, Berlin (Germany) * Alexandre Pitti, Cergy-Pontoise (France) Bridge chairs: • David Cohen, Paris (France) • Mathew Schlesinger, Southern Illinois (USA) Publication chairs: * Sofiane Boucenna, Cergy-Pontoise (France) Publicity chairs: * Arnaud Blanchard, Cergy-Pontoise (France) * Manuel Lopes, Bordeaux (France) * Yulia Sandamirskaya, Zürich (Switzerland) Local chairs: * Pierre Andry, Cergy-Pontoise (France) * Nicolas Cuperlier, Cergy-Pontoise (France) Finance chairs: * Ghilès Mostafaoui, Cergy-Pontoise (France)

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2nd Call for Papers: Extracellular Space
by Reinoud Maex March 7, 2016

March 7, 2016

JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE NEUROSCIENCE http://www.worldscinet.com/jin Call for Papers! Special Issue on Extracellular Space In experimental neuroscience, most electric signals are picked up from the electrolytic (or colloidal) solution that constitutes extracellular (interneuronal) space, yet the origin of these potentials is incompletely understood. Even more, theoreticians have recently argued about the physical principles underlying these phenomena. The present special issue invites experimental and theoretical work that can shed light on electric phenomena in extracellular space, with an emphasis on extracellular potentials and endogenous electric field interactions. The contributions solicited are original research papers and comprehensive reviews on methodological aspects. Submission deadline: 30 September 2016 Contact: Dr. Reinoud Maex reinoud.maex(a)ens.fr Questions that may be addressed are (but are not limited to): 1. The nature of extracellular potentials - What is nature of the electric currents, and what is the velocity (distribution) of the ions involved? Since membrane currents underlie the extracellular currents, what are the relative contributions of synaptic versus voltage-gated channels, excitatory versus inhibitory synapses, capacitive currents? How important are Lorenz forces between currents (due to the generated magnetic fields) and is there a contribution of polarization currents? - Is extracellular space purely resistive, or is a capacitive component involved, and what factors (such as ionic concentration, Debye shielding, etc.) contribute to its resistivity? 2. Modeling of extracellular potentials and electric field interactions - What level of detail is needed to model extracellular electrical phenomena, and which formalism can be employed? How valid is the cable equation, or need slow concentration changes of the major ionic components involved be modeled explicitly? How can LFP calculations be incorporated in simulation software? - Can volume transmission be simulated adequately as volume conductors? Are ephaptic coupling effects adequately simulated in one dimension? 3. Neuronal inference from measured extracellular potentials - What is the importance of the electrode characteristics for the proper interpretation of the measured signals? - What are the underlying assumptions, and limitations, of current-source-density analysis? How valid is the dipole approximation? Why are recent experiments being interpreted in terms of monopoles, and can single-compartmental model neurons generate local field potentials at all? - What can be learned from the power density distribution of signal frequencies? 4. Neurostimulation - What is the effect on neurons of an externally applied current or potential, and what mechanism (or rationale) underlies deep brain stimulation? 5. Physiological roles of extracellular potentials and endogenous electrical fields - Do extracellular potentials contribute to neuron-neuron and neuron-glia communication? Can there be a role for extracellular potentials in the homeostasis, clearance, and volume regulation of extracellular space, and in the control of blood flow and of the blood-brain-barrier. - What is the integrative role of endogenous electrical fields in brain function?

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Research scientist positions at Vicarious
by Dileep George March 7, 2016

March 7, 2016

Vicarious is a research startup with a long term mission to build the first human-level artificial intelligence. We believe that perception, action, reasoning, and language are intimately intertwined and need to be tackled in an integrated framework. Our work is multi-disciplinary and draws upon machine learning, graphical models, neuroscience, cognitive science, and software engineering. Vicarious is one of the few places where you'd hear cortical columns, probabilistic inference, Piagetian learning, stochastic gradient descent, and parallel implementation all discussed in the same meeting. Our strategy involves looking at the whole problem of intelligence while we make progress on different aspects of it. Trying to tackle the whole problem imposes constraints on how the different parts should behave. We have open positions for researchers to work on the following: (1) Visual perception and sensorimotor learning (2) Concept acquisition and reasoning (3) Reinforcement learning and planning (4) Grounded language understanding You will be joining a tight-knit team of scientists and engineers. Using inductive biases drawn from neuroscience, our system requires orders of magnitude less training data than traditional machine learning techniques. Our underlying framework combines advantages of deep architectures and generative probabilistic models. We use modern software engineering practices, and we strive to maintain a codebase and a culture that are a joy to work in. Visit http://www.vicarious.com/about.html for more information about the team. Qualifications/characteristics we are looking for (all are not required, but the more the better): • PhD in CS/EE/Computational Neuroscience or related disciplines. • skilled with graphical models, inference algorithms, deep learning, computer vision, machine learning, optimization • skilled in designing experiments to understand how a complex system works/fails • excellent software engineering skills • curious about how the brain works and interested in exploring how machine learning can benefit from biological constraints • willingness to pursue contrarian ideas Desired personal qualities • Integrity • Ability to admit when wrong • Altruism • Fearlessness working outside your comfort zone • Patience with others • Intellectual breadth • Sense of humor Visit http://careers.vicarious.com to learn more about the open positions and to apply.

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Final Call for Papers: ECCV 2016
by Hamdi Dibeklioglu March 6, 2016

March 6, 2016

Final Call for Papers – European Conference on Computer Vision 2016 Papers in the main technical program must describe high-quality, original research. Topics of interest include all aspects of computer vision and pattern recognition including, but not limited to: • 3D computer vision • Computational photography, sensing and display • Face and gesture • Low-level vision and image processing • Motion and tracking • Optimization methods • Physics-based vision, photometry and shape-from-X • Recognition: detection, categorization, indexing, matching • Segmentation, grouping and shape representation • Statistical methods and learning • Video: events, activities and surveillance • Applications Paper submission deadline: Monday, 14 March 2016 - 11:59 PST. Supplementary materials deadline: Monday, 21 March 2016. Announcement of decisions: Friday, 1 July, 2016. In addition to the main technical program, the conference will include tutorials, workshops, demonstrations, and exhibits. For more information, see http://www.eccv2016.org

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CfP: 2nd Int. Workshop on Machine learning, Optimization & big Data - MOD 2016 - Paper submission deadline: March 31, 2016
by Giuseppe Nicosia March 6, 2016

March 6, 2016

[Apologies if you receive multiple copies of this announcement] [Please kindly help forward it to potentially interested attendees] 2nd International Workshop on Machine learning, Optimization and big Data - MOD 2016 An Interdisciplinary Workshop: Machine Learning, Optimization and Data Science without Borders, Volterra (Pisa) -Tuscany, August 26-29, 2016 http://www.taosciences.it/mod/ modworkshop2016(a)gmail.com CALL FOR PAPERS Paper submission deadline: March 31, 2016 http://www.taosciences.it/mod/call-for-papers/ https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=mod2016 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS + Nello Cristianini, Bristol University, UK + George Michailidis, University of Florida, USA + Stephen H. Muggleton, Imperial College London, UK + Panos Pardalos, University of Florida, USA Other Keynote Speakers will be announced soon POST-PROCEEDINGS by Lecture Notes in Computer Science - Springer JOURNAL SPECIAL ISSUE Computational Optimization and Applications Journal - Springer INDUSTRIAL PANEL + Adam Gibson, Data Scientist and co-founder at Skymind, San Francisco, USA - TBC + Giovanni Giuffrida, CEO and co-founder at Neodata Group, Italy + Andy Petrella, Data Scientist and co-founder at Data Fellas, Liège, Belgium - TBC + Daniele Quercia, Head of Social Dynamics group at Bell Labs, Cambridge, UK + Fabrizio Silvestri, Principal Research Scientist at Yahoo London, UK SPECIAL SESSIONS + Deep Learning: Theory, Architectures, Algorithms and Applications + Data-driven Algorithmics – Data for informed decisions + Multi-Objective Optimization Algorithms The MOD 2016 workshop will consist of four days of workshop sessions and special sessions. We invite submissions of papers, abstracts and posters on all topics related to Machine learning, Optimization and Big Data including real-world applications for the workshop proceedings. MOD 2016 Types of Submissions When submitting a paper to MOD 2016, authors are required to select one of the following four types of papers: + Long paper: original novel and unpublished work (max. 12 pages in Springer LNCS format); + Short paper: an extended abstract of novel work (max. 4 pages); + Work for oral presentation only (no page restriction; any format). For example, work already published elsewhere, which is relevant and which may solicit fruitful discussion at the workshop; + Work for poster presentation only. The poster format for the presentation is A0 (118.9 cm high and 84.1 cm wide, respectively 46.8 x 33.1 inch). For research work which is relevant and which may solicit fruitful discussion at the workshop. MOD 2016 Post-Proceedings All accepted long papers will be published in a volume of the series 'Lecture Notes in Computer Science' from Springer after the Workshop. Instructions for preparing and submitting the final versions (camera-ready papers) of all accepted papers will be available later on. All the other papers (short papers, abstract of the oral presentations, poster presentations) will be published on the MOD 2016 web site. Journal Special Issue on Computational Optimization and Applications Journal The top 8-10 accepted articles will have the opportunity to publish a revised and expanded version of their conference paper in the Computational Optimization and Applications Journal – Springer. MOD 2016 Submission System All papers must be submitted using EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=mod2016 The deadline is March 31, 2016 Important Dates for the MOD 2016 Post-Proceedings + Paper Submission Deadline: March 31, 2016 + Decision Notification to Authors: May 1st, 2016 + Camera Ready Submission Deadline: June 1st, 2016 + Deadline for early Registration as Presenting Author: June 1st, 2016 + Late registration: June 2 – August 29, 2016 + On-Site registration: August 26-29, 2016 + MOD 2016 Workshop: August 26-29, 2016 MOD 2016 Program Committee The current MOD 2016 Program Committee includes 300+ confirmed Program Committee members: http://www.taosciences.it/mod/program-committee/ Any questions regarding the submission process can be sent to workshop organizers: modworkshop2016(a)gmail.com We look forward to seeing you in Tuscany! Giovanni Giuffrida, Giuseppe Nicosia & Panos Pardalos - MOD 2016 Chairs. http://www.taosciences.it/mod/ modworkshop2016(a)gmail.com MOD 2015 Edition: http://www.taosciences.it/mod-2015/MOD 2015 MOD 2015 Keynote Speakers: Vipin Kumar, University of Minnesota, USA Panos Pardalos, University of Florida, USA Tomaso Poggio, MIT, USA -- Giuseppe Nicosia, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Computer Engineering Dept of Mathematics & Computer Science University of Catania Viale A. Doria, 6 - 95125 Catania, Italy P +39 095 7383048 nicosia(a)dmi.unict.it http://www.dmi.unict.it/nicosia ================================================================== 3rd International Synthetic & Systems Biology Summer School - SSBSS 2016 * Biology meets Computer Science & Engineering * July 8-14, 2016 - Volterra (Pisa), Tuscany, Italy http://www.taosciences.it/ssbss/ ================================================================== 2nd International Workshop on Machine learning, Optimization & big Data - MOD 2016 August 26-29, 2016 - Volterra (Pisa), Tuscany, Italy http://www.taosciences.it/mod/ ==================================================================

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PhD Studentship ? Interdisciplinary Neuroscience (Deadline March-31)
by mliou March 6, 2016

March 6, 2016

<Apologies for cross-posting> TIGP-Interdisciplinary Neuroscience (INS) ━ Apply Now (Deadline March-31) The Interdisciplinary Neuroscience (INS) graduate program aims to study neuroscience using integrated approaches from chemistry, molecular and cellular biology, physiology, imaging, and computer science. Historically, it has been a great challenge to integrate distinct disciplines in order to discover the causes and to explore efficacious treatments for neurological and psychiatric disorders. Therefore, the Neuroscience Program at Academia Sinica (NPAS) has decided to establish the INS graduate program, in training students at the PhD level to perform neuroscience research with multidisciplinary approaches, by teaming up the School of Life Sciences and the School of Medicine at the National Yang-Ming University (NYMU) in 2013 and the Institute of Clinical Medicine at the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in 2014. Note that NPAS is an on-campus research program that promotes interaction and collaboration under the goal of promoting excellence in neuroscience research and education at the international level. Program Features: 1. Neural Development/Degeneration, 2. Molecular/Cellular Neuroscience, 3. Clinical/Translational Neuroscience, 4. Physiology/Systems Neuroscience, 5. Cognitive/Social Neuroscience, 6. Neuroinformatics/Neural Applied Sciences. Application Features: 1. Integrated neuroscience course, 2. Diverse seminar and international symposiums, 3. Well-equipped core facilities and research resources, 4. Satisfactory stipends and travel grant award, 5. Degree requirement. Requirements: 1. Bachelor/Master degree, 2. English requirements: TOEFL, IELTs or GEPT, 3. GRE, M.S. thesis, or research publication, 4. Transcript, 5. Two recommendation letters, 6. Statement of purpose. For more information, please visit our website: <http://npas.programs.sinica.edu.tw/ins/> http://npas.programs.sinica.edu.tw/ins/ Vira Yang TIGP Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program 128 Academia Road, Section 2 NanKang, Taipei 115, Taiwan, R.O.C. Tel: +886-2-27873282 Email: tigpins at gate.sinica.edu.tw

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PhD positions in computational neuroscience
by Mark van Rossum March 5, 2016

March 5, 2016

3 YEAR PhD IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. We invite applications for our PhD programme in COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE at the University of Edinburgh. Applicants need to have UK citizenship, or have been in the UK for the last 3 years. The studentships are ideal for students who want to apply their computational and analytical skills to problems in neuroscience and related fields. The following supervisor have openings: Peggy Seriès: Bayesian approaches to cognition and perception; computational psychiatry. Mark van Rossum: Synaptic plasticity; coding in the visual system; noise in the nervous system. Matthias Hennig: Models of neural networks; homeostasis and development; visual and auditory neuroscience; analysis of large-scale electrophysiological recordings The PhD project can be done in collaboration with one of the many affiliated departments and institutes. Edinburgh has been voted as 'best place to live in Britain', and has many exciting cultural and student activities. Students with a strong background in either computer science, mathematics, physics or engineering are particularly welcome to apply. Motivated students with other backgrounds will also be considered. Application procedure: For more info see http://www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroscience and contact one of the supervisors listed above. Next, apply at http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/postgraduate/degrees/index.php?r=site/view&id=… -- Mark van Rossum, Reader, School of Informatics, U Edinburgh Forum Rm 2.52, 44-131-6511211 The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

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Brain Connectivity Workshop 2016 - REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
by Demian Battaglia March 5, 2016

March 5, 2016

Brain Connectivity Workshop 2016, Marseille (France) Registration is open now! (reduced rates until March 30th) When: 22nd to 24th June, 2016 Link to official website: http://bcw2016.org We are happy to announce the 15th edition of the Brain Connectivity Workshop (BCW) to take place in Marseille from the 22nd to the 24th of June 2016. The Brain Connectivity Workshop (BCW) is a well-established workshop series, which has been held annually in Europe, USA, Australia and Asia for the last 14 years. BCW is an official satellite of the annual meeting of OHBM, which is held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2016. BCW attracts every year a public of 100-200 participants working in cognitive, computational and clinical neurosciences. The discussions are centered on all themes around brain connectivity including structural and functional imaging, modeling, brain function and clinics. BCW is highly influential in the field due to the traditionally high quality of speakers and a long track record of innovation. For instance, both, the Connectome and The Virtual Brain have been born within the BCW community. The typical BCW format —a first educational day of lectures held by international authorities in their fields, followed by two days of shorter talks with ample time for discussion provides a unique forum for creativity, controversy and brainstorming. BCW 2016, introduced by a first day of tutorials by experts in their field, will feature focused sessions on themes such as perturbing the brain, mapping the brain, and brain dynamics in function (cognition) and dysfunction (epilepsy). NB: Please note that European Cup of Football will be held in France during this period and hotels are going to be booked fast! Confirmed educational lecturers (day 1) and workshop speakers (days 2-3) include: Fabrice Bartolomei (Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France) Michael Breakspear (QIMR, Brisbane, Australia) Vince Calhoun (University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM) Karl Friston (UCL, London, UK) Jorge Gonzalez-Martinez (Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH) Marc Goodfellow (University of Exeter, Exeter, UK) Charles Gray (Montana State University, Bozeman, MT) Claudius Gros (Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) Martin Hoffman-Apitius (Fraunhofer Institute SCAI, St Augustin, Germany) Esther Krook-Magnuson (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN) Pierre Luppi (Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Lyon, France) Randy McIntosh (Baycrest Research Center, Toronto, ON) Lionel Naccache (ICM, Paris, France) Ivan Soltesz (UC Irvine, CA) Olaf Sporns (Indiana University, Bloomington, IN) William Stacey (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI) Gregor Thut (University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK) Stephan Van Gils (University of Twente, Ae Enschede, The Netherlands) Michael Wibral (Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) A special evening lecture will be delivered by Patrick Chauvel (Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France). A detailed program is coming soon. Organizing committee Viktor Jirsa, Chair (INS, Aix-Marseille University, UMR 1106 INSERM) Demian Battaglia, Christian Bénar, Mireille Bonnard, Monique Esclapez (INS, Aix-Marseille University) Andrea Brovelli (INT, Aix-Marseille University), Maxime Guye (CRMBM, Aix-Marseille University, UMR 7339 CNRS & APHM) Ingo Bojak (University of Reading, UK). An event sponsored by: University Aix-Marseille, Ville de Marseille, Brain Products, Bionics, Springer EPJ Nonlinear Biomedical Physics Journal, Codebox, Institute of System Neuroscience Inserm, Institute of Neuroscience Timone, Center for Magnetic Resonance in Biology and Medicine, Mediterranean Society of Neuroscience (IBRO member)

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Due March 7: MBL Methods in Computational Neuroscience Course Applications
by Mark Steven Goldman March 5, 2016

March 5, 2016

Applications are open for the Methods in Computational Neuroscience course at the Marine Biology Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. The course will run from July 27 to August 24, 2016, and the online application form can be found at: https://ws2.mbl.edu/studentapp/studentapp.asp?courseid=MCN The course application deadline is *March 7*. The course covers a range of topics in computational neuroscience including neuronal biophysics, neural coding & information processing, circuit dynamics, learning & memory, motor control, and cognitive processing & disease. In addition, numerous tutorials and problem sets will cover a broad range of computational and mathematical modeling methods. The course strongly emphasizes the collaboration between theory and experiment in solving neuroscience problems, and lectures will be given by a mixture of theorists and experimentalists. The Final weeks of the course are primarily reserved for work on projects that students design in collaboration with the resident faculty. Further information can be found on the MCN website: http://www.mbl.edu/mcn/ 2016 Course Directors: Michale Fee, MIT Mark Goldman, UC Davis 2016 Confirmed Faculty: Larry Abbott, Columbia University Steve Baccus, Stanford University Carlos Brody, Princeton University Emery Brown, MIT Dmitri Chklovskii, Simons Foundation Peter Dayan, University College London Sophie Deneve, Ecole Normale Superieure Uri Eden, Boston University Bard Ermentrout, University of Pittsburgh Adrienne Fairhall, University of Washington Ila Fiete, UT Austin Loren Frank, UCSF Jack Gallant, UC Berkeley Surya Ganguli, Stanford University Maria Geffen, University of Pennsylvania John Huguenard, Stanford University Nancy Kopell, Boston University Eve Marder, Brandeis University Bartlett Mel, University of Southern California Ken Miller, Columbia University Terry Sejnowski, Salk Institute Sara Solla, Northwestern University Haim Sompolinsky, Hebrew University Michael Stryker, UCSF Josh Tenenbaum, MIT Daniel Wolpert, Cambridge University

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Postdoctoral postions in sensory neuroscience
by Rinberg, Dmitry March 4, 2016

March 4, 2016

A postdoctoral positions are available in the Rinberg lab (www.rinberglab.com) at the NYU Neuroscience Institute, to study olfactory information processing in an awake behaving animal. The lab is using electrophysiology, imaging, optogenetics, and psychophysics to understand how features of olfactory stimuli are represented in neuronal activity of an awake mouse, and how these features are read by higher brain areas. Postdoctoral researchers will engage in both experimental and computational studies of multineuronal coding in awake, behaving mice. These include, but are not limited to, measurement and analysis of electrophysiological and imaging signals from olfactory bulb and olfactory cortices of the mouse, olfactory psychophysical experiments, and developing new methods for multiunit recordings and stimulations in behaving mice. Candidates with physics and computational backgrounds are very welcome to apply. Interested applicants should send a cover letter, CV, and arrange for reference letters to be e-mailed to Dima Rinberg (rinberg(a)nyu.edu) ------------------------------------------------------------ This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain information that is proprietary, confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender by return email and delete the original message. Please note, the recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. The organization accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email. =================================

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Postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience
by Maxim Bazhenov March 4, 2016

March 4, 2016

Applications are invited for post-doctoral research position in the laboratories of Drs. Nikolai Rulkov and Maxim Bazhenov at the University of California, San Diego to develop novel computational models of large-scale brain dynamics. This project involves close collaboration with experimental and theoretical groups. The ultimate goal of this research is understanding how the large-scale brain dynamics arises from individual dynamics of spiking neurons and synaptic interactions. The successful candidate will be responsible for the design of new classes of thalamic, cortical and hippocampal neuron models based on the discrete time (difference) equations. These models will be used to model brain network dynamics during sleep and wakefulness, as well as guide data analysis and produce novel experimental predictions. Qualified applicants are expected to have experience in dynamical systems, conductance-based neuronal modeling and theory of digital signal processing. Programming experience with C/C++ is required. Knowledge of PYTHON or MATLAB is a plus. The University of California offers excellent benefits. Salary is based on research experience. The initial appointment is for 1 year with a possibility of extension. Applicants should send a brief statement of research interests, a CV and the names of three references to Maxim Bazhenov (bazhenov(a)salk.edu) and Nikolai Rulkov (nrulkov(a)ucsd.edu)

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Postdoc in Warsaw - kernel-based method of electrophysiological source imaging
by Daniel Wójcik March 4, 2016

March 4, 2016

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

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Summer School on Dynamic Field Theory...
by John Spencer (PSY) March 4, 2016

March 4, 2016

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

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Deadline extension | CENICS 2016 || July 24 - 28, 2016 - Nice, France
by Sandra Sendra March 4, 2016

March 4, 2016

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

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Postdoctoral position in Theoretical Neuroscience
by Yashar Ahmadian March 4, 2016

March 4, 2016

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

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Human Brain Project workshop on Neurorobotics @ Biorob2016 - Call for Contributions
by Falotico Egidio March 3, 2016

March 3, 2016

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

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Faculty position in Image and Vision Computing at Edinburgh
by Barbara Webb March 3, 2016

March 3, 2016

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

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postdoc position in reinforcement learning & sleep
by Benoît Girard March 3, 2016

March 3, 2016

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

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Open positions in research, data science, and machine learning at Spotify
by Zachary Nichols March 2, 2016

March 2, 2016

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

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Post-Doc Position Bioinformatics in Marseille, France: Large-scale brain modeling and machine learning Neurodegenerative Diseases
by OTTEN Lisa March 2, 2016

March 2, 2016

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

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Call for Submissions: Doctoral Symposium on Foundations and Applications of Self-* Systems (FAS*W)
by Jan-Philipp Steghöfer March 1, 2016

March 1, 2016

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

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SSBSS 2016 Call for Oral Presentations/Posters: 8-14 July 2016, Volterra (Pisa) Tuscany, Italy - 3rd Int. Synthetic & Systems Biology Summer School - Application DEADLINE: March 31, 2016
by Giuseppe Nicosia March 1, 2016

March 1, 2016

* Our sincere apologies if you receive multiple copies of this announcement * Please help us distributing in your circles (emails, blogs, and social networks) the call for participation and call for oral talks/posters for SSBSS 2016. Together we will make SSBSS a great event! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd International Synthetic and Systems Biology Summer School - SSBSS 2016, 8-14 July 2016, Volterra (Pisa) - Tuscany, Italy ssbss.school(a)gmail.com http://www.taosciences.it/ssbss/ https://www.facebook.com/ssbss.school/ https://twitter.com/SchoolSsbss The Synthetic and Systems Biology Summer School (SSBSS) is a full-immersion five-day residential summer school at the Volterra Learning Center (Pisa - Tuscany, Italy) on cutting-edge advances in systems and synthetic biology with lectures delivered by world-renowned experts. The school provides a stimulating environment for students (from Master students to PhD students), Post-Docs, early career researches, academics and industry leaders. Participants will also have the chance to present their results (with Oral Talks and Posters), and to interact with their peers, in a friendly and constructive environment. SSBSS 2016 DEADLINES: Application: March 31, 2016 Notification Acceptance: April 10, 2016 Oral Presentation/Poster Submission: March 31, 2016 Notification of Decision for Oral/Poster Presentation: April 10, 2016 http://www.taosciences.it/ssbss/#application-form SPEAKERS * Yaakov (Kobi) Benenson, Synthetic Biology Group@Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland Lecture 1: The practice of mammalian synthetic biology Lecture 2: Mammalian cell classifiers * Leonidas Bleris, Bioengineering Department, The University of Texas at Dallas, USA Lecture 1: Genome Editing Technologies and Therapeutic Modalities Lecture 2: Benchmark Circuits and Topological Properties * Domitilla Del Vecchio, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, USA Lecture 1: Modularity in genetic circuits: Dream versus Reality Lecture 2: Engineering Modularity in Genetic Circuits * Diego Di Bernardo, Dept of Chemical Materials and Industrial Production Engineering University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy Lecture 1: "Engineering and Control of Biological Circuits in Yeast" Lecture 2: "Engineering and Control of Biological Circuits in Mammalian Cells * Barbara Di Ventura, Synthetic Biology Group, BioQuant/DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany Lecture 1: Using blue light to control protein localization in living mammalian cells Lecture 2: Using split inteins for protein engineering in living cells * J. Gootenberg, Feng Zhang's Group, Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, USA Lectures: TBA * Markus Herrgard, Technical University of Denmark - Biosustain, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Denmark Lecture 1: "Developing an Integrated Cell Factory Design Tool" Lecture 2: "Using Automated Laboratory Evolution to Optimize Cell Factories” * Shalev Itzkovitz, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel Lecture 1: "Single Molecule Approaches for Studying Gene Expression in Intact Mammalian Tissues" Lecture 2: "Systems Biology of Stem Cell-Maintained Tissues” * Francesco Ricci, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy Lecture 1: "DNA Nanotechnology Tools and Reactions for Synthetic Biology" Lecture 2: "Nature-inspired DNA-based Nanodevices More speakers will be announced soon! INDUSTRIAL PANEL * Speakers TBA Next Generation Sequencing Workshop – Afternoon July 12th, 2016 * “How fast can we align sequences?” Mario Guarracino, CNR, Italy * “Advanced Bioinformatics tools for NGS” – TBC Luca Zammataro, Yale University, USA Tutorials: * “Detection and analysis of contaminating sequences in NGS sequencing data” Ilaria Granata, CNR, Italy * “Detection and interpretation of circular RNAs in RNA-seq experiments” Parijat Tripathi, CNR, Italy Scientific Committee Jole Costanza, Italian Institute of Technology, Italy Diego Di Bernardo, TeleThon Institute of Genetics & Medicine - TIGEM and University of Napoli "Federico II", Italy Barbara Di Camillo, University of Padova, Italy Simone Furini, University of Siena, Italy Emanuele Domenico Giordano, University of Bologna, Italy Massimo Gulisano, University of Catania, Italy Mario Guarracino, ICAR-CNR, Italy Markus Herrgard, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Paolo Magni, University of Pavia, Italy Giuseppe Narzisi, New York Genome Center, USA Giuseppe Nicosia, University of Catania, Italy Wieslaw Nowak, Nicholas Copernicus University, Poland Danilo Porro, University of Milano Bicocca, Italy Francesco Ricci, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy Gianna Maria Toffolo, University of Padova, Italy Renato Umeton, MIT, USA Luca Zammataro, Yale University, USA School Directors Diego Di Bernardo, TeleThon Institute of Genetics & Medicine - TIGEM and University of Napoli "Federico II", Italy Giuseppe Nicosia, University of Catania, Italy Luca Zammataro, Yale University, USA See you in Tuscany in July! The Organizing Committee. ssbss.school(a)gmail.com http://www.taosciences.it/ssbss/ https://www.facebook.com/ssbss.school/ https://twitter.com/SchoolSsbss * Apologies for multiple copies. Please forward to anybody who might be interested * * Other Events in Tuscany: * 2nd International Workshop on Machine learning, Optimization and big Data - MOD 2016 An Interdisciplinary Workshop: Machine Learning, Optimization and Data Science without Borders, Volterra (Pisa) -Tuscany, August 26-29, 2016 http://www.taosciences.it/mod/ modworkshop2016(a)gmail.com CALL FOR PAPERS Paper submission deadline: March 31, 2016 http://www.taosciences.it/mod/call-for-papers/ https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=mod2016 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS + Nello Cristianini, Bristol University, UK + George Michailidis, University of Florida, USA + Stephen H. Muggleton, Imperial College London, UK + Panos Pardalos, University of Florida, USA Other Keynote Speakers will be announced soon POST-PROCEEDINGS by Lecture Notes in Computer Science - Springer JOURNAL SPECIAL ISSUE Computational Optimization and Applications Journal - Springer -- Giuseppe Nicosia, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Computer Engineering Dept of Mathematics & Computer Science University of Catania Viale A. Doria, 6 - 95125 Catania, Italy P +39 095 7383048 nicosia(a)dmi.unict.it http://www.dmi.unict.it/nicosia ================================================================== 3rd International Synthetic & Systems Biology Summer School - SSBSS 2016 * Biology meets Computer Science & Engineering * July 8-14, 2016 - Volterra (Pisa), Tuscany, Italy http://www.taosciences.it/ssbss/ ================================================================== 2nd International Workshop on Machine learning, Optimization & big Data - MOD 2016 August 26-29, 2016 - Volterra (Pisa), Tuscany, Italy http://www.taosciences.it/mod/ ==================================================================

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PhD position in computational neuroscience at Frankfurt University
by Claudius Gros Feb. 29, 2016

Feb. 29, 2016

I would like to brink your attention our PhD-program in Computational Neurosciences / Complex Dynamical Systems At the Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Frankfurt am Main, Field(s): computational neurosciences, complex systems, theory neural networks, simulated robotics, dynamical systems. Application deadline: April 22, 2016 Contact: Prof. Claudius Gros E-mail: cgr[(a)]itp.uni-frankfurt.de Address: Institute for Theoretical Physics, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, We are developing new models and generative principles for the brain using a range of toolsets from dynamical systems theory and computational neurosciences. Examples are new objective functions and generating functionals for the sensory-motor loop, transient state dynamics and self-limiting Hebbian plasticity rules. Several subjects are available for the announced PhD thesis including the generation of attractor metadynamics through short-term synaptic plasticity and/or the generation of motor primitives through self-organized embodiment within the sensory-motor loop. The work will include analytical investigations and numerical simulations of neural networks and/or of simulated robots, using the toolset of dynamical systems theory. The candidate should have a Diploma/Master in physics with an excellent academic track record and good computational skills. Experience or strong interest in the fields of complex systems, computational neurosciences, dynamical systems theory and/or artificial or biological cognitive systems is expected. The degree of scientific research experience is expected to be on the level of a German Diploma/Master. The appointment will start summer 2016, for up to three years. Interested applicants should submit a curriculum vitae and a list of publications, and arrange for letters of reference to be sent to the address above Claudius Gros http://www.itp.uni-frankfurt.de/~gros ***************************************** *** Prof. Dr. Claudius Gros *** *** +49 (0)69 798 47818 *** *** http://itp.uni-frankfurt.de/~gros *** ***************************************** ----------------------------------------------------------- --- Complex and Adaptive Dynamical Systems, A Primer --- --- A graduate-level textbook, Springer (2008/10/13/15) --- -----------------------------------------------------------

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High performance environment for collaborative neuroscience research
by Ted Carnevale Feb. 28, 2016

Feb. 28, 2016

Please accept our apologies if you have already received a similar message from another source-- Dear colleague: We are trying to gauge the interest among the neuroscience community in a collaborative environment that provides secure data storage and sharing, combined with high performance computing resources like those offered by NSG*. We would greatly appreciate your participation in this survey https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1vY7xXaeXFDb63EbgmgvQ7ZbUNpIopvh6UuTpwYeDmz… which will take about 10 minutes to complete. Please feel free to bring this to the attention of your collaborators or students who might also be interested. Ted Carnevale, Neuroscience Department, Yale University Amit Majumdar, San Diego Supercomputer Center, UCSD *--NSG is the Neuroscience Gateway https://www.nsgportal.org which provides free supercomputing cycles to neuroscientists for using tools such as NEURON, Brian, GENESIS, MOOSE, NEST, PyNN, and FreeSurfer.

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ICANN 2016 Barcelona - EXTENSION of the Last Call for contributions
by Antonio Javier Pons Rivero Feb. 28, 2016

Feb. 28, 2016

*EXTENSION of t**he **Last Call**for Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation and/or Full **P**aper Contribution* *www.icann2016.org* *ICANN 2016 * 25th Annual Conference on Artificial Neural Networks BarcelonaTech (UPC), Barcelona, Spain 6 - 9 September 2016* Special event*: ENNS 25th Anniversary ============================================================ /The International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks (ICANN) is the annual flagship conference of the European Neural Network Society (ENNS). In 2016 the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (BarcelonaTech) will organis//e the 25th ICANN Conference from //the //6th to //the //9th //of //September 2016 in Barcelona, Spain, in collaboration with the Universit//at//Pompeu Fabra (UPF)./ *INVITED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS* 1. *Wlodek Duch *(Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland) 2. *Erkki Oja *(Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland) 3. *Joaquin Fuster *(University of California at Los Angeles, USA) 4. *Murray Shanahan* (Imperial College London, UK) 5. *Günther Palm*(University of Ulm, Germany) 6. *Stephen Coombes *(University of Nottingham, UK) 7. *Etienne Koechlin*(Pierre and Marie Curie University, France) *IMPORTANT DATES* */EXTENDED Submission of abstracts and papers: /**1 April 2016 **//EXTENDED /Submission of /**/d/**/emonstration proposals: /**1 April 2016 */Notification of acceptance:/8 May 2016 /Camera-ready paper and registration: /15 May 2016 /Conference dates:/6-9 September 2016 *CONFERENCE TOPICS* ICANN 2016 will feature the main tracks /Brain Inspired Computing/ and /Machine Learning Research/, with strong cross-disciplinary interactions and applications. All research fields dealing with Neural Networks will be present at the conference. A non-exhaustive list of topics includes: * Brain Inspired Computing: Cognitive models, Computational Neuroscience, Self-organisation, Reinforcement Learning, Neural Control and Planning, Hybrid Neural-Symbolic Architectures, Neural Dynamics, Recurrent Networks, Deep Learning. * Machine Learning: Neural Network Theory, Neural Network Models, Graphical Models, Bayesian Networks, Kernel Methods, Generative Models, Information Theoretic Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Relational Learning, Dynamical Models. * Neural Applications for: Intelligent Robotics, Neurorobotics, Language Processing, Image Processing, Sensor Fusion, Pattern Recognition, Data Mining, Neural Agents, Brain-Computer Interaction, Neural Hardware, Evolutionary Neural Networks. *** CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEE**S* Early registration fees have been kept particularly low for this kind of event because ENNS and ICANN aim to fully implement the academicnot-for-profit policy. Undergraduate students (Bachelor and Master level): 90 EUR PhD Students: 200 EUR Regular delegates: 250 EUR *ENNS members have a reduction of 40 EUR* Students can apply for ENNS funded travel grants to attend (see the conference website). *CALL FOR CONTRIBUTED SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATIONS* All scientific communications presented at ICANN 2016 will be reviewed and scientifically evaluated by a panel of experts. The conference will feature three categories of communications: - oral communications (15'+5') - poster communications (on permanent display and with a 2-hour presentation) - demonstrations Authors willing to present original contributions for any category must submit a manuscript of a maximum length of 8 pages.Accepted papers of contributing authors will be published in Springer-Verlag Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) series. Selected papers will be invited after the conference for a full journal paper submission. Authors willing to present a contribution for oral communications and posters without submitting a full manuscript must submit a 1-page abstract. The abstracts will be published all together in a proceedings section without an author index. In case of programme constraints the priority will be given to original contributions accompanied by a full paper submission. Submission of communications will be online. More details are available on the conference website (http://icann2016.org/index.php/contributors/submission) *BEST PAPER AWARDS* ENNS will sponsor a maximum of four best paper awards, two in the Brain Inspired Computing track (one poster and one oral communication) and, analogously, two in the Machine Learning Research track. All awardees will be presented during the final ceremony. *ORGANISATION** General Chair:*/ Antonio J. Pons Rivero/(UPC Barcelona, Spain)* Local**co-Chairs:* /Jordi Garcia-Ojalvo/(UPF Barcelona, Spain), /Paul Verschure/(UPF Barcelona, Spain) *Organising Committee Chairs:*/ Daniel Malagarriga/(UPC Barcelona, Spain), /Lara Escuain/(UPC Barcelona, Spain), /Caroline Kleinheny/(ENNS Lausanne, Switzerland) *Honorary Chair: *Alessandro E. P. Villa * Communication* *Chair:*/ Paolo Masulli/(ENNS Lausanne, Switzerland) *********************************************** Antonio J. Pons Rivero General Chair of ICANN 2016 Terrassa School of Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering (ETSEIAT) Nonlinear dynamics, nonlinear optics and lasers Group BarcelonaTech (UPC) Edifici GAIA Rbla. Sant Nebridi, 22 08222 Terrassa, Spain Caroline Kleinheny Secretary of the European Neural Network Society University of Lausanne Internef 137k, Quartier UNIL Dorigny 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland ***********************************************

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CNS*2016 Abstract Deadline extension to March 6, 2016
by Tam, Nicoladie Feb. 27, 2016

Feb. 27, 2016

Abstract Deadline extension to March 6, 2016 This is one and only extension of the abstract submission CNS*2016 Call for Abstracts Organization for Computational Neurosciences (OCNS) 25th Annual Meeting Jeju, South Korea July 2-7, 2016 The main meeting (July 3-5) will be preceded by a day of tutorials (July 2) and followed by two days of workshops (July 6-7). Invited Keynote Speakers: * Nicolas Brunel, University of Chicago, USA * Alain Destexhe, CNRS, France * Mitsuo Kawato, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute (ATR), Japan * Tatyana Sharpee, Salk Institute, USA Abstract submission<https://ocns.memberclicks.net/cns-2016-abstract-submission> deadline extension: March 6, 2016, 11 pm, Pacific Time, USA Travel award<http://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2016-travel-awards> application deadline extension: March 6, 2016 Apply for membership<http://www.cnsorg.org/join-ocns> by March 1, 2016 to ensure the member registration rate for your abstract submission Workshop proposals<http://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2016-call-for-workshops> are now being accepted. Note that one of the authors has to register as sponsoring author for the main meeting before abstract submission is possible. In case the abstract is not accepted for presentation, the registration fee will be refunded. For up-to-date conference information, please visit: http://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2016

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Postdoctoral position in Multisensory perception and action at New York University Abu Dhabi
by Robert Volcic Feb. 26, 2016

Feb. 26, 2016

The Psychology Department at New York University Abu Dhabi is inviting applications for a fully funded postdoctoral associate position in the area of Psychology with interests in human perceptual and motor systems. The postdoctoral associate will work under the supervision of Dr. Robert Volcic (http://volcic.github.io) and will carry out behavioral studies on human multisensory perception (mainly vision and touch) and action (reaching and grasping). The lab will be equipped with a state of the art system for 3D visualization, a head tracking system, and a motion capture system for monitoring reaching and grasping movements. Moreover, the postdoctoral associate will have access to an eye movement tracker, and to fMRI and EEG facilities. Applicants must hold (or be close to completing) a Ph.D. in Psychology, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Biology, or related fields. Prior experience in vision/haptic/motor research is important as is programming efficiency. Applications will be accepted immediately and will be considered on a rolling basis. Please visit our website at http://nyuad.nyu.edu/about/careers/faculty-positions.html for instructions and information on how to apply. To be considered, all applicants must submit a cover letter, a curriculum vitae with full publication list, a statement of research interests, representative publications, expected date of availability, and names of two referees, all in PDF format. If you have any questions, please e-mail robert.volcic(a)nyu.edu. The preferred start date is September 1st, 2016. A later start date is possible based on the needs of the applicant. The duration of employment is for two years with the possibility to renew. This position is based in Abu Dhabi (U.A.E.). The terms of employment are competitive and include housing and other benefits. About NYUAD: New York University has established itself as a Global Network University, a multi-site, organically connected network encompassing key global cities and idea capitals. The network has three foundational degree-granting campuses: New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai, complimented by a network of eleven research and study-away sites across five continents. Faculty and students will circulate within this global network in pursuit of common research interests and the promotion of cross-cultural and interdisciplinary solutions for problems both local and global. Entering its sixth year, NYU Abu Dhabi has recruited a cohort of faculty who are at once distinguished in their research and teaching. Our students are drawn from around the world and surpass all traditional recruitment benchmarks, both US and global. NYU Abu Dhabi’s highly selective liberal arts enterprise is complimented by an institute for advanced research, sponsoring cutting-edge projects across the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences, and Engineering. EOE/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled

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CoSMo 2016 registration open
by Gunnar Blohm Feb. 26, 2016

Feb. 26, 2016

*Sixth Annual Computational Sensory-Motor Neuroscience Summer School (CoSMo 2016)* University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA July 31 - August 14, 2016 We would like to invite you to join us for the sixth annual Computational Sensory-Motor Neuroscience Summer School. The course is about experimental, computational and medical aspects of sensory-motor neuroscience with a focus on active learning. Covered topics include multi-sensory integration, motor learning & control, computational methods, sensory-motor transformations and neural coding / decoding. An important focus is on doing research as opposed to just hearing about it. Each teaching module will take up two days with morning lecture sessions. Afternoon sessions involve hands-on Matlab programming, simulation and data-analysis. Newly acquired computational tools can also be applied in 2-week evening group research projects. The course is aimed at students and post-doctoral fellows from diverse backgrounds including Life Sciences, Psychology, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics and Engineering. Basic knowledge in calculus, linear algebra and Matlab is expected. Enrollment will be limited to 40 trainees. *Application deadline: Apr 11, 2016* For more information and to apply, please go to <http://www.compneurosci.com/CoSMo/>http://www.compneurosci.com/CoSMo/ Scholarship information and the application form can be found here: http://www.compneurosci.com/CoSMo/application.html The school is co-organized by Drs Gunnar Blohm, Paul Schrater, and Konrad Körding. This year, it receives funding from the NIH through a Brain Initiative R25 grant and from The Brain Canada Foundation. -- ------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Gunnar BLOHM Associate Professor in Computational Neuroscience Association for Canadian Neuroinformatics and Computational Neuroscience (CNCN) Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Departments of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics, and Psychology, School of Computing, and Canadian Action and Perception Network (CAPnet) Queen’s University 18, Stuart Street Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6 Tel: (613) 533-3385 Fax: (613) 533-6840 Email: Gunnar.Blohm(a)QueensU.ca Web: http://www.compneurosci.com/

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Neuroimaging Data Analyst Position at the University of Illinois at Chicago (Summer/Fall 2016)
by Sylvia Morelli Feb. 25, 2016

Feb. 25, 2016

Drs. Sylvia Morelli and K. Luan Phan are considering applications for a neuroimaging data analyst to work jointly in the Empathy and Social Connection Lab (http://www.morellilab.com/ <http://www.morellilab.com/>) and the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program (http://www.psych.uic.edu/research/mood-and-anxiety-disorders-research-progr… <http://www.psych.uic.edu/research/mood-and-anxiety-disorders-research-progr…>) at University of Illinois at Chicago. The data analyst will have the opportunity to analyze several data sets related to social cognitive affective neuroscience (e.g., empathy, social networks, reward learning, decision-making, emotional processing and regulation, fear learning and extinction) in healthy and psychiatric populations (e.g., anxiety and depression), as well as pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy treatment response. The analyst will implement the latest approaches developing in the field of imaging neuroscience — including but not limited to pattern classification, prospective prediction, machine learning, effective connectivity, connectomics/graph theory, computational modeling – and train others (faculty, postdocs, graduate students) on conventional and new analysis techniques. The position will involve analyzing data across multiple modalities including self-report, behavior, psychophysiology (SCR, startle), EEG/ERP, DTI, structural MRI and functional MRI – at single-unit and integrated levels. The data analyst will work amongst diverse investigators across disciplines (e.g., neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry). Successful applicants will have a Masters- or PhD-level degree in neuroscience, psychology, computer science, statistics/biostatistics or mathematics and/or a record of extensive experience in analyzing structural and functional MRI data. Applicants should also be fluent in SPM (or AFNI/BrainVoyager), statistical packages (e.g., Matlab and R), and programming languages (e.g., Unix). Excellent communication (verbal and written) and organizational skills are required. The position will be fully funded for at least 2 years with the potential for a longer-term position. We will review applications beginning March 1, until the position is filled. Applicants should send a CV, a statement describing their qualifications for the position and relevant experience, and the names of 2-3 references that may be contacted for a recommendation to Dr. Morelli (smorelli(a)uic.edu <mailto:smorelli@uic.edu>) and Dr. Phan (klphan(a)psych.uic.edu <mailto:klphan@psych.uic.edu>).

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2 Postdoc positions in modeling dendritic integration and synaptic plasticity
by Walter Senn Feb. 25, 2016

Feb. 25, 2016

Dear Colleagues, dear all, We are inviting applications for 2 postdoc positions (for at least 2 years, earliest start April 1, 2016) in computational neuroscience at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Our research is devoted to models of synaptic plasticity and dendritic integration that serve as a computational paradigm for learning in neuronal networks. We have recently suggested to consider “Learning by the dendritic prediction of somatic spiking” (Neuron 2014) that assigns an intrinsic computational task to neurons and dendrites. This concept will be extended by including dendritic nonlinearities and considering networks of such neuronal prediction elements. The 2 positions are: 1) Postdoc for modeling dendritic integration. We have shown how the error-backpropagation algorithm translates to a dendritic tree that displays NMDA-spikes in individual dendritic branches (PLoS Comp Biol 2016). Along these ideas a biophysical model of dendritic integration will be worked out that makes also contact to Bayesian integration. 2) Postdoc for modeling synaptic plasticity and learning in networks. The neurons as intrinsic prediction elements will be connected to form a network that mimics various learning tasks and that is particularly suited for imitation learning. You will profit from generous travel funding and from collaborations in- and outside the Human Brain Project, and you will also enjoy the beautiful city and surrounding of Switzerland’s capital. Ideal candidates have a strong background in computational neuroscience and machine learning. Please send CV, letter of motivation, and publication list by March 11 to Walter Senn (senn(a)pyl.unibe.ch) and Sabine Herzog (herzog(a)pyl.unibe.ch) With best wishes Walter Senn PS: For recent work of our group see http://www.physio.unibe.ch/~senn/neuroscience.aspx

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Call for Applications: Paul J. Salem Postdoctoral Scholars in Computational Brain Science – Brown Institute for Brain Science
by Michael J Frank Feb. 25, 2016

Feb. 25, 2016

The Brown Institute for Brain Science Initiative for Computation in Brain and Mind <http://compneuro.clps.brown.edu> is seeking applicants for the Paul J. Salem Postdoctoral Scholarships in Brain Science. The postdoctoral scholars will lead an exciting new project at the interface between machine learning and neuroscience. In particular, we are looking for computational neuroscientists interested in the application and development of novel machine learning methods for the analysis of neural recordings. Candidates are expected to have a solid background in modern machine learning and signal processing as well as demonstrated interest in experimental neuroscience. In addition, to conducting primary research with large neural data sets, candidates will be involved in the mentoring of students, and the organization of workshops. Candidates are expected to interact closely with the Neurotechnology group within the Brain Institute. The initial appointment is for 12 months with the potential to renew. The salary is competitive. The start date is negotiable although funding is available now. Research group: *The Initiative for Computation in Brain and Mind (ICBM;* <http://compneuro.clps.brown.edu>http://compneuro.clps.brown.edu) which began Fall 2013 within the Brown Institute for Brain Science, creates an exciting intellectual environment that fosters synergistic collaborations across departments. Groups affiliated with the initiative work on two core levels of computation. The first level focuses on theoretical neuroscience, including computational perception, control over action and learning, and fundamental questions in neuronal networks (synaptic plasticity, circuits, networks, oscillations). The second level focuses on applications and neurotechnology, including brain-machine interfaces, advanced neural data analysis, computer vision, computational psychiatry, and robotics. ICBM has 16 core computational faculty (http://compneuro.clps.brown.edu/people/) spanning six departments, and many more faculty who incorporate computation for theory development, analysis, or both. Computational neuroscience tools at Brown have been applied in projects including brain-machine control of robotic arms in paralyzed humans; models of visual systems in biological organisms and their innovative application for classifying animal behavioral patterns; predicting and quantifying effects of genetics, disease, medications, and brain stimulation on motor and cognitive function; identification of the source of neural rhythms and their roles in sensorimotor function; development of fundamental theories of brain plasticity, and learning; state-of-the art models of machine learning and reinforcement learning in computer science. The Brown Institute for Brain Science (BIBS) advances multidisciplinary research, technology development, and training in the brain sciences. BIBS unites more than 100 faculty from departments across Brown, spanning basic and clinical departments, and physical and biological sciences. BIBS creates opportunities and essential support to advance interdisciplinary research efforts among these groups including training funds to support interdisciplinary scholarship and research. Requirements: Candidates must have received their PhDs within 3 years of the application deadline, and will work under the supervision of faculty members at Brown University who are affiliated with the Initiative for Computation in Brain and Mind. They must have a strong background in computational neuroscience and machine learning, with a track record of relevant publications at top venues (such as NIPS or ICML). Excellent programming skills are required (C/C++/Matlab/Python). Application: Please send your applications by email to cbm-info(a)brown.edu. Please include a brief statement of interests, a curriculum vitae, a list of publications and 2-3 letters of reference (addressed directly to cbm-info(a)brown.edu) There is no deadline for the application but applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible as the position will be filled as soon as a suitable applicant is found. ------------------------------ Michael J Frank, PhD, Professor Laboratory for Neural Computation and Cognition Brown University http://ski.clps.brown.edu (401)-863-6872

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[IEEE ICCI*CC'16:] RE: IEEE ICCI*CC'16 Update
by Yingxu Wang Feb. 24, 2016

Feb. 24, 2016

Dear Colleague, The 15th IEEE International Conference on Cognitive Informatics and Cognitive Computing (ICCI*CC'16) will be held at Stanford University, CA, USA during Aug. 22-23, 2016 (http://www.ucalgary.ca/icci_cc/iccicc-16) The IEEE ICCI*CC series is a flagship conference of its field sponsored by IEEE Computer, Computational Intelligence, and SMC Societies. It forms a transdisciplinary field that studies the internal information processing mechanisms of the brain, the underlying abstract intelligence (aI) theories and denotational mathematics, and their engineering applications in cognitive computing, computational intelligence, and cognitive systems. Paper submission is via Easy Chair at: https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iccicc2016. Submission deadline is approaching on Feb. 29, 2016. Special session papers may get a grace period by coordination of the session chairs. The conference will be featured by a number of keynote speeches that highlight the cutting-edge theories and novel technologies for cognitive systems and computational intelligence inspired by the brain such as: a) Natural Language Understanding vs. Natural Language Precisiation Prof. Lotfi A. Zadeh, UC Berkeley, USA b) Hebbian Learning and the LMS Algorithm Prof. Bernard Widrow, Stanford \university, USA c) Deep Learning and Deep Thinking by Cognitive Robots and Computational Intelligent Systems Prof. Yingxu Wang, University of Calgary, Canada You are welcome to submit a paper to IEEE ICCI*CC'16 or to organize a special session related to the theme of the conference. The Proceedings of ICCI*CC'16 will be published by IEEE CS Press and indexed by EI, DBLP, and IEEE eXplore. Selected papers from the proceedings will be published in leading international journals and IEEE transactions. We look forward to having an opportunity to meet you at IEEE ICCI*CC'16. Best regards, Prof. Yingxu Wang IEEE ICCI*CC'16 Co-Chair _______________________________________________ This message was sent to all subscribers of ieeeicci13-L To unsubscribe, see instructions at: http://www.ucalgary.ca/it/email/mailman E-mail: ieeeicci13-L(a)mailman.ucalgary.ca Homepage: http://mailman.ucalgary.ca/mailman/listinfo/ieeeicci13-l

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1st Call for Abstracts: the 8th Int'l Workshop on Guided Self-Organization (GSO-2016, Cancun, Mexico, 7 July 2016)
by Joseph Lizier Feb. 24, 2016

Feb. 24, 2016

Dear All, This is an announcement and Call for Abstracts for the Eighth International Workshop on Guided Self-Organization (GSO-2016) to be held on July 7, 2016 at ALIFE XV in Cancun, Mexico: http://guided-self.org/gso8/ The GSO Workshop will bring together invited experts and researchers in self-organizing systems, with particular emphasis on the information- and network-theoretic foundations of GSO and the information dynamics of complex systems. The following topics are of special interest: information-theoretic measures of complexity, nonlinear dynamics, complex networks, information-driven self-organization (IDSO), applications of GSO to complex networks, distributed computation, machine learning, swarm intelligence, bio-inspired systems, computational neuroscience, systems biology, cooperative and modular robotics, etc. Submissions to the workshop are extended abstracts (one page). If interested in participating, please send an extended abstract (by May 29, 2016) by email to: prokopenko.mikhail(a)gmail.com The notifications are expected by June 10, 2016. Authors of accepted submissions will present the content to the workshop. We expect that selected papers of GSO-2016 will be published in a special issue (research topic) of Frontiers of Robotics and AI, or Artificial Life journals. Please consult above website for more information. Best wishes, Mikhail Prokopenko Carlos Gershenson Daniel Polani <apologies for possible cross-posting>

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Postdoc in Bordeaux, France. Application deadline 01/04/2016.
by Nicolas P. Rougier Feb. 24, 2016

Feb. 24, 2016

Postdoc in Bordeaux, France at the Neurodegenerative Diseases Institute <http://www.imn-bordeaux.org/en/> Application deadline 01/04/2016. Details & application at INRIA website <http://www.inria.fr/en/institute/recruitment/offers/post-doctoral-research-…>. Actor–critic models of the basal ganglia We developed a model of the basal ganglia (Piron et al., 2016) that introduces an action selection mechanism that is based upon the competition between a positive feedback through the direct pathway and a negative feedback through the hyperdirect pathway. The model also exploits the parallel organization of circuits between the basal ganglia and the cortex using segregated loops: one loop allows to choose the cue and one loop allows to make the actual motor selection. Learning occurs between the cognitive cortex and the cognitive striatum using a simple reinforcement learning where the values of the different cues are updated after each decision. As in most computational models of the basal ganglia, this model relies on an actor-critic architecture where the dopamine signal is used to encode the temporal difference prediction error signal in the critic (Joel et al., 2002; Khamassi et al., 2005). However, this algorithm is not very elaborated and its implementation is not biologically plausible since values are stored outside the model. The objectives of this postdoc is thus to review and to re-implement (Python) main actor-critic models of the literature in order to compare them on a common set of decision tasks (two-arm bandit task for example) in terms of biological plausibility and performances. Special attention will be given to the "Primary Value and Learned Value Pavlovian Learning Algorithm" model (O'Reilly, 2007) and the AGREL model (Roefselma et al. 2005). From these replications (that will be published in ReScience <http://rescience.github.io/>), the most plausible and compatible mechanisms will be implemented in our own model of the basal ganglia in order to replace the current reinforcement learning algorithm (Guthrie et al., 2013, Piron et al. 2016). Profiles PhD in computational neuroscience or computer science (machine learning) with strong experience in Python & the scientific Python stack (numpy, scipy, matplotlib, git/github). References • Joel, D., Niv, Y., & Ruppin, E. (2002). Actor–critic models of the basal ganglia: New anatomical and computational perspectives. Neural Networks, 15(4-6), 535–547. • Khamassi, M., Lachèze, L., Girard, B., Berthoz, A., Guillot, A. (2005). Actor-critic models of reinforcement learning in the basal ganglia: From natural to artificial rats. Adaptive Behavior, 13 (2). • Guthrie, M., Leblois, A., Garenne, A., & Boraud, T. (2013). Interaction between cognitive and motor cortico-basal ganglia loops during decision making: a computational study. Journal of Neurophysiology, 109(12). • C. Piron, D. Kase, M. Topalidou, M. Goillandeau, H. Orignac, T. N'Guyen, N.P. Rougier, T. Boraud, The globus pallidus pars interna in goal oriented and habitual behavior. Resolving an old standing paradox, Movement Disorders, (2016), to appear. • O'Reilly, R. C., Frank, M. J., Hazy, T. E., & Watz, B. (2007). PVLV: The Primary Value and Learned Value Pavlovian Learning Algorithm. Behavioral Neuroscience, 121(1). • Roelfsema, P.R., van Ooyen A. (2005). Attention-gated reinforcement learning of internal representations for classification. Neural Computation. Nicolas P. Rougier

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Postdoc and PhD positions and further opportunities in the Bernstein group “Neural network dynamics and computation” (Raoul-Martin Memmesheimer)
by Memmesheimer, Raoul M. Feb. 23, 2016

Feb. 23, 2016

Postdoc and PhD positions and further opportunities in the Bernstein group “Neural network dynamics and computation” (Raoul-Martin Memmesheimer) There are fully funded positions available at the PhD and at the postdoctoral researcher level in my future group at FIAS Frankfurt, with an envisaged starting date of July 2016. At an earlier career stage, you can write your Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis, or do a short-term internship to get to know research in theoretical neuroscience/neurophysics. Depending on the project and the need, financial support is available. Optimal backgrounds of applicants include theoretical neuroscience and/or theoretical physics, computer science, mathematics, quantitative biology. Under the overarching topic “Bridging the scales: Spiking in artificial and biological neural computation”, we aim to develop spiking networks for the solution of artificial intelligence problems and we aim to understand healthy and pathological spike patterns. Your theoretical work in the group may delineate principles underlying effective computations with spiking neurons, investigate the origins of pathological dynamics in the hippocampus, or explore the impact of coupling nonlinearities found in this brain region. Some of the planned projects are directly guided by recent experimental results and aim at explanations that have been requested by experimentally working collaborative partners. Others have a higher level of abstraction and explore rather principal questions. For the different projects, collaborative partnerships have been arranged with experimentally working scientists at Heidelberg University (group of A. Draguhn) and Bonn University (group of H. Beck), and with theoretically working groups at Columbia University (group of L. Abbott), Radboud Unversity (group of H.J. Kappen) and FIAS Frankfurt (group of Jochen Triesch). Of course I am also happy to discuss your own ideas for your future research in the group. If you are interested in more information, see my website (www.memmesheimer.net) contact me via email (rm3354(a)cumc.columbia.edu) at CoSyne 2016, or, if you are in the neighborhood, drop by at my office at Columbia University. -- Raoul-Martin Memmesheimer Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, USA Web: www.memmesheimer.net Phone: +1 (646) 774 7329 Email: rm3354(a)cumc.columbia.edu<mailto:rm3354@cumc.columbia.edu>

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2016 Summer workshop on the dynamic brain: applications open
by Adrienne Fairhall Feb. 23, 2016

Feb. 23, 2016

View online Announcing the Summer Workshop on the Dynamic Brain, co-hosted by the Allen Institute for Brain Science and the Computational Neuroscience Program at the University of Washington and directed by Drs. Christof Koch and Adrienne Fairhall. This intensive, two-week, projects-based, interdisciplinary course aims to give advanced students in neuroscience, biology, physics, engineering and computer science a rapid introduction to the current state of understanding of the neurobiology of sensory processing, including anatomy, physiology and neural coding. The workshop will include data analyses, Python and other software boot-camps, and lectures, taught by faculty from the University of Washington and the Allen Institute for Brain Science, on topics focused on the mammalian cortex and closely associated satellite structures. Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Feedback | Privacy Policy Copyright ©2016. Allen Institute for Brain Science. All Rights Reserved.

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Post-doctoral Research Fellow - Computational Modelling of Deep brain Stimulation for Parkinson's disease
by Olga Grant Feb. 23, 2016

Feb. 23, 2016

Post-doctoral Research Fellow - Computational Modelling of Deep brain Stimulation for Parkinson's disease Highly motivated candidates are invited to join an exciting new project to develop multiscale models of the neuromuscular system for closed-loop deep brain stimulation (DBS). We are seeking a post-doctoral research fellow to develop models of the electric field around the implanted electrode during deep brain stimulation and its interaction with surrounding neurons. Despite the success of DBS, the mechanisms by which it works are not yet understood. This project aims to address this question and to design closed-loop control strategies for DBS through a combination of computational modelling and experimentation. The project represents an exciting opportunity for enthusiastic candidates to work on a new multidisciplinary research project funded by the European Research Council (ERC). The Neuromuscular Systems and Neural Engineering Lab is a multidisciplinary research group led by Prof. Madeleine Lowery in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at University College Dublin. Our research involves applying engineering principles, in particular mathematical modelling, signal analysis and experimentation, to understand how the nervous system controls muscle in healthy and diseased states. Through this research we aim to improve our understanding of the neuromuscular system to address fundamental questions in the control of human movement and to develop improved therapeutic and rehabilitation strategies. Candidates should hold a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical/Electronic Engineering or a related discipline, with prior experience in electromagnetic finite element analysis and/or computational neural modelling. Excellent communication, analytical and programming skills are required. Full details of the position and the application process are available through the UCD Human Resources website ( <https://www.ucd.ie/hr/jobvacancies/> https://www.ucd.ie/hr/jobvacancies/) . Informal enquiries may be made to Prof. Madeleine Lowery UCD School of electrical Electronic & Communications Engineering University College Dublin Belfield Dublin 4 Ireland madeleine.lowery(a)ucd.ie Tel. +353 1 716 1911 ____________________________________ Dr Olga M Grant Research Project Manager School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering Tel +353 (1) 7161778

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Postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience (sensory processing & decision-making)
by Ralf Haefner Feb. 23, 2016

Feb. 23, 2016

A postdoctoral position is available in the computational neuroscience group of Ralf Haefner in the department for Brain & Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester (NY). The focus of our group is on understanding the neural basis of perceptual decision-making. Based on the assumption that the brain performs probabilistic inference using an internal model of the world, we ask questions such as: What is the nature of the internal model? How is it learnt? How are posterior beliefs represented by spiking responses of populations of neurons? What algorithm does the brain use to compute its beliefs? How do cognitive priors influence sensory processing? What is the role of attention in a probabilistic inference framework? What is the role of feedback connections to sensory areas more generally? In order to answer these questions, we perform studies ranging from purely theoretical at the interface of neuroscience and machine learning, to neural data analysis, to psychophysics. Our collaborations with electrophysiology labs inside our department (Greg DeAngelis, Jude Mitchell) and externally (e.g. Born lab at Harvard Medical School, Cumming lab at NIH) allow for the testing of theoretical models using state-of-the-art cortical population recordings in behaving animals and, if desired, the opportunity to record your own data. We also collaborate with the theoretical groups of Jakob Macke (Caesar Institute, Bonn) and Stefano Panzeri (IIT in Trieste). For past work indicative of future directions see... Haefner et al. NatNeuro 2013: http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v16/n2/full/nn.3309.html Smolyanskaya et al. Neuron 2015: http://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273(15)00561-9 Haefner et al. Neuron 2016 (accepted): http://arxiv.org/abs/1409.0257 …and our presentations at the upcoming COSYNE 2016: Poster II-17 (Main Meeting, Fri): Chicharro et. al at Poster III-1 (Main Meeting, Sat): Lange et al. at Talk in “choice-related feedback” Workshop (Tue), Haefner et al. We’re looking for a motivated candidate with strong mathematical and programming skills. The ideal candidate would also be familiar with (or quick to pick up) machine learning techniques, especially relating to inference in probabilistic models, and/or any relevant neuroscience background. The successful candidate with join a highly collaborative department with a strong tradition in probabilistic modeling across a wide range from sensory processing to linguistics (https://www.bcs.rochester.edu/research/index.html <https://www.bcs.rochester.edu/research/index.html> ). The city of Rochester is located on the shore of Lake Ontario in upstate New York on the edge of the finger lakes region, and has a high quality of life (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester,_New_York <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester,_New_York> ). Start date and duration are flexible. Please send applications including a brief research statement, a CV and names of 2-3 references by email. I'll be at COSYNE for both conference and workshops and available to meet there in person. Ralf Haefner Assistant Professor Brain & Cognitive Sciences University of Rochester (NY) rhaefner(a)bcs.rochester.edu <mailto:rhaefner@bcs.rochester.edu>

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Postdoc positions: computational modeling of neurodegenerative disease
by Christina M. Weaver Feb. 23, 2016

Feb. 23, 2016

Two postdoctoral positions, one empirical and one computational, are available in the interdisciplinary research group of Drs. Jennifer Luebke (Boston University School of Medicine, Boston MA) and Christina Weaver (Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster PA) starting as early as April 2016. The research project involves the assessment of the detailed structure and function of cortical and striatal neurons in mouse models of Huntington’s disease, and computational modeling of these neurons. Experimental approaches will make extensive use of in vitro slice electrophysiology (whole-cell patch-clamp recordings) and cellular imaging techniques (primarily confocal fluorescence microscopy). Computational modeling of the empirically characterized neurons will use parameter optimization algorithms developed in the Weaver lab, and will eventually be incorporated into local microcircuits and larger cortico-striatal networks. For an overview of our interdisciplinary approach, see our joint publications including Luebke et al., *Cerebral Cortex* (2015), PMID 24323499 and Coskren et al., *J. Comput. Neuro*. (2015), PMID 25527184. Applicants should have a strong background in neuroscience and/or modeling, and have a keen interest in imaging, biophysical, and computational approaches in neuroscience research. Review of applications will begin March 10, 2016, and will continue until the positions are filled. Interested applicants should send their CV, a brief statement of current and future research interests, and the contact information of three references to christina.weaver(a)fandm.edu or jluebke(a)bu.edu. Required Skills * For Empirical position (Boston, MA): Experience with electrophysiology and/or confocal imaging is preferred. Additional background or strong interest in computational neuroscience is a plus. * For Modeling position (based in Lancaster, PA with occasional travel to Boston): Experience with NEURON compartmental modeling software and/or automated parameter optimization is preferred. * Excellent written and verbal communication skills * Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent from an accredited institution * We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor. Job Location Boston, Massachusetts and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States Position Type Full-Time/Regular Salary Conditions and remuneration will be according to the regulations of the National Institutes of Health for postdoctoral trainees. Bottom of Form Christina M. Weaver, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Mathematics Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Franklin & Marshall College P.O. Box 3003 Lancaster, PA 17604-3003 Phone: (717) 291-3872 Fax: (717) 358-4507 Email: christina.weaver(a)fandm.edu

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