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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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