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MSc. SCHOLARSHIP AT JAUME I UNIVERSITY, SPAIN

by Enric Cervera Mateu

MSc. SCHOLARSHIP AT JAUME I UNIVERSITY,SPAIN The purpose of this announcement is to grant one scholarship for the training of research personnel at UJI Robotic Intelligence Laboratory, Universitat Jaume I, Castellon, Spain, an internationally renowned research center. The goal of this scholarship is to train qualified personnel for R&D tasks, and is aimed at university degree holders from non-Spanish universities, with a recent degree in science/engineering with outstanding performance, fulfilling requirements for admittance to a master degree. The beneficiary is also expected to join a research team within the framework of an on-going project related to robotic research, working with state-of-the-art equipment such as a humanoid torso with anthropomorphic head and multifinger hands, and/or teams of humanoid robots. http://robinlab.uji.es The research will typically pertain to bio-inspired approaches about learning and multimodal sensorimotor coordination of head, eyes and limbs movements during the planning and execution of manipulation or interaction tasks. After getting acquainted with the computational models and the humanoid torso available at the Lab, the beneficiary is expected to extend it by modeling additional mechanisms and implementing other tasks and capabilities. Coordination between eyes, head, arm and hand movements and multimodal integration will be central from both theoretical and practical viewpoints. In this context, the student will have freedom to pursue his/her own research goals according to his/her background and interests. This scholarship is intended for brilliant young graduates and experience in robotics is desirable but not required. Interest in theoretical neuroscience, mental development, or interdisciplinary bio-inspired research would be a plus. Scholarship period The period of validity covered by the scholarships is two years or until defending one’s doctoral thesis, should this be earlier. If, in the period of one month before the end of the scholarship, the beneficiary applicant has obtained the university master’s degree, or has been admitted to a doctorate programme in research phases, he/she may apply for an extension of an additional scholarship up to 12 months, with a view to prolonging his/her research period. The beneficiary applicant may take a master’s degree during this period, namely the "Master on Intelligent Systems. Service Robotics" at the UJI Department of Engineering and Computer Science. http://www.uji.es/UK/infoest/estudis/postgrau/oficial/sistemint.html Scholarship stipend 1. Scholarships’ stipend will be €1,200 monthly (gross). The corresponding IRPF (income tax) will be deducted from this amount. 2. The scholarship also includes an additional stipend of: a) €1,600 to cover costs of travel and settling in Castellon, during the first year of the scholarship. b) €1,200 per year, where applicable, for registration fees for university master’s during the first two years of the scholarship. 3. UJI shall take out an accident insurance and public liability insurance, plus health insurance with coverage for the whole period of the scholarship, if applicants are citizens of countries that have no arrangements with the Spanish Social Security or if insurance coverage of such arrangements were not sufficient. Requirements of beneficiary These scholarships are open to persons fulfilling the following requirements within the period of submission of applications: a) An Engineering or Science degree from a non-Spanish university, fulfilling requirements for admittance to a master degree. b) Having obtained the degree after 1 January 2011. c) Knowledge of Spanish or English (with good speaking skills) for the proposed training. d) Not being in possession of a PhD. Applications The scholarship candidate shall submit the following documents NO LATER THAN MAY 16, 2014 24:00 CET (strict) to robinlab(a)uji.es a) Personal data (see below) b) Photocopy of national identity card of your country. Citizens of EU member states should also include a photocopy of NIE (residence permit) in the event of possessing one. c) Photocopy of valid passport, if not a citizen of the EU. Also a photocopy of NIE (residency permit) in the event of possessing one. d) Photocopy of official academic transcript including the name of obtained degree, showing courses taken and grades achieved together with dates, as well as its translation into English or Spanish. e) Photocopy of academic degree or deposit made for the issuance of degree. f) Applicant’s updated résumé. g) Statement of motivation about your research interests h) 2 reference letters i) Supporting documents of knowledge of Spanish or English. Admission Beneficiaries must join the corresponding research body within the scheduled period as provided in the award decision. In the event that he/she does not join within the scheduled period, the scholarship will be canceled, unless the beneficiary has been granted an adjournment period (to be authorized only by the General Director of Scientific Policy) for a maximum period of three months from the date specified in the award decision. Beneficiary may not recover said adjournment period. Temporary suspension of scholarship The voluntary suspension, previously authorized by the General Director of Scientific Policy, shall not exceed 6 months from the whole period of scholarship and during such suspension period no stipend shall be paid. For further information contact: Mail_to: robinlab(a)uji.es UJI Robotic Intelligence Lab http://robinlab.uji.es ****** Personal data (see (a) above) NATIONAL ID / PASSPORT NO. OR EQUIVALENT: SURNAME: NAME: NATIONALITY: DATE OF BIRTH (YYYY/MM/DD): GENDER: ADDRESS FOR NOTIFICATION ADDRESS (STREET / SQUARE): No..: POSTCODE: COUNTRY: PROVINCE: CITY: PHONE : MOBILE PHONE: E-MAIL: SUMMARY OF ACADEMIC RECORD ACADEMIC DEGREE: UNIVERSITY: STUDIES END DATE (YYYY/MM/DD):

May 2, 2014

2 PhD positions at the Institute of Neuroinformatics, Zurich, Switzerland

by Jean-Pascal Pfister

Applications are invited for two PhD student positions at the Institute of Neuroinformatics (ETHZ, UZH) in Zurich. The positions are funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation grant entitled "Inference and Learning with Spiking Neurons". The PhD students will be supervised by Jean-Pascal Pfister in the Theoretical Neuroscience Group. There are several lines of evidence showing that the brain combines unreliable sensory informations in a Bayesian optimal way. The aim of the project is to determine how Bayesian inference and learning can be implemented at the level of neurons and synapses. The Institute of Neuroinformatics in Zurich (which is a joint institute belonging to both the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) and the University of Zurich) offers an ideal environment for studying Computational Neuroscience due to the presence of multiple theoretical and experimental labs. Candidates should hold a Diplom/Master degree in Physics, Mathematics, Machine learning, Computational Neuroscience or a related field. They should have a strong analytical background and demonstrate interest in theoretical neuroscience. Preference will be given to candidates with good programming skills. The position is offered for a period of three years, starting on the 1st of September 2014 at earliest. Salary scale is provided by the Swiss National Science Foundation (www.snf.ch) Applicants should submit (by email) a CV, a statement of research interests, 2 reference letters, marks obtained for the Diploma/Master, abstract of the Diploma/Master to Jean-Pascal Pfister (pfister(a)pyl.unibe.ch) Deadline for application is 30th of Mai 2014 or until the positions are filled. --------------------------------- Jean-Pascal Pfister, PhD Theoretical Neuroscience Group Physiology Department, University of Bern 5 Bühlplatz, CH-3012 Bern, CH e-mail: pfister(a)pyl.unibe.ch URL: http://www.physio.unibe.ch/~pfister/ tel: ++41 31 631 35 09 From the 1st of September 2014: Institute of Neuroinformatics University of Zurich and ETH Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 8057 Zurich, Switzerland

May 2, 2014

Workshop and lecture series on "Cognitive neuroscience of auditory and cross-modal perception"

by Norbert Kopco

Workshop and lecture series on "Cognitive neuroscience of auditory and cross-modal perception" 26 - 30 May 2014 (Lectures 26 - 28 May, Consultations 29 - 30 May) Web: http://pcl.upjs.sk/Workshop2014/ Venue: Institute of Computer Science Faculty of Science, P. J. Safarik University Jesenna 5, 040 11 Kosice, Slovakia Organizers: doc. Norbert Kopco, PhD. (norbert.kopco(a)upjs.sk) - scientific program Beata Tomoriova, PhD. (beata.tomoriova(a)upjs.sk) - technical Perception and Cognition Lab Contact: kogneuro(a)gmail.com Objectives: This workshop and lecture series will include introductory lectures and advanced research talks on a range of topics related to the neural processes of auditory, visual and cross-modal perception. The talks will illustrate multidisciplinary character of cognitive neuroscience research, covering behavioral, neuroimaging, and modeling approaches, as well as applications of the research in auditory prosthetic devices. The workshop is aimed at early-stage and advanced students and young researchers, and it will provide ample opportunities for direct interactions between the lecturers and the attendees. Themes: spatial hearing vision and crossmodal perception neural modeling methods in cognitive neuroscience: behavioral experiments, imaging (EEG, fMRI), modeling applications: cochlear implants, hearing aids Format of lectures on 26 - 28 May: 14 one-hour lectures by experts on individual topics (2 lectures per expert) student / attendee session with short 10-min presentations and/or posters by the students small modeling / data analysis assignments prepared by the experts for the students Some of the lecturers will be available for individual consultations by appointment following the lectures on 29 - 30 May 2014 Program: TBA Speakers (and tentative topics): Simon Carlile (University of Sydney) Six degrees of spatial separation - The portal for auditory perception (abstract) The plastic ear: Perceptual relearning and auditory spatial perception (abstract) Pierre Divenyi (Stanford University) Cocktail-party effect deficit in aging: what formant transition processing tells us Phonemic restoration: done by our brain or our tongue? Frederick (Erick) Gallun (US Dept. of Veterans Affairs and Oregon Health & Science University) Impacts of age and hearing loss on spatial release from masking (abstract) Characterizing attentional resources using the auditory dual-task (abstract) Bernhard Laback (Austrian Academy of Sciences) Binaural cues in electric hearing Spectral localization cues in acoustic and electric hearing Aaron Seitz (University of California, Riverside) Cognitive Neuroscience of Perceptual Learning: Specificity and Transfer Cognitive Neuroscience of Perceptual Learning: Mechanisms Guiding Learning Christopher Stecker (Vanderbilt University) Integration of spatial information across multiple cues Neuroimaging of spatial hearing Arash Yazdanbakhsh (Boston University) Neural and computational models of vision: Fundamental problems of vision (abstract) Neural and computational models of vision: Neural models and their implementation in early vision (abstract) Registration: The workshop is open to all interested students/scientists. Registration is free of charge but required (mostly for organizational reasons). In order to register, please send an email to kogneuro(a)gmail.com stating your name and affiliation, dates on which you are planning to attend. In case you would like to have a presentation please send us an abstract (up to 200 words) and an indication whether you prefer poster or oral presentation no later than May 19. Travel, accommodation, visitor information: Attendants are kindly requested to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements. Travel:The Kosice Airport is served by Austrian Airlines and Czech Airlines (via Vienna, Prague, Bratislava) and by low-cost airline Wizzair (London Luton Airport). Alternatively you can fly to Budapest and take a 3.5-hr shuttle bus to Kosice (for example, using the cassoviaexpres shuttle company which also offers shuttle bus from the Krakow airport). More information about how to get to Kosice (also by train or bus) can be found here. Accomodation:There are several hotels close to workshop venue, for example Hotel Yasmin, Hotel Maraton (for more hotel options please see http://www.booking.com, http://www.hotels.com, for hostels see: http://www.hostels.com, http://www.hostelworld.com) Visitor information: Kosice was one of the European Capitals of Culture in 2013, for current events see http://www.visitkosice.eu/ , http://www.mickosice.sk/, http://slovakia.travel/ , or http://www.slovakia.com/ Funding: This workshop / lecture series is organized within the Project implementation: SOFOS – knowledge and skill development of the academic staff and students at the University of Pavol Jozef Safarik in Kosice with emphasis on interdisciplinary competencies and integration into international research centres, ITMS: 26110230088, supported by the Research & Development Operational Programme funded by the ESF. -- doc. Norbert Kopco, Ph.D. Inst of Computer Sci, Faculty of Science, Safarik Univ, Kosice, Slovakia Visiting Scholar: Ctr for Computational Neurosci (CompNet), Boston Uni & Martinos Ctr for Biomed Imaging, Harvard Med School - Mass Gen Hospital Phone: +1 (617) 575 9556 Fax: +1 (484) 727 9884 Email: kopco(a)bu.edu Web: http://cns.bu.edu/~kopco

May 1, 2014

Phd position in the Human Brain Project: Principles of Brain Computation and Learning

by Wolfgang Maass

We are inviting applications for a fully funded Phd position at the Graz University of Technology (Faculty for Computer Science) for research on Principles of Brain Computation and Learning in the Human Brain Project https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/ It is planned to combine this Phd position with a part-time position as University Assistant, thereby providing the first step for a possible university career. Our Lab in Graz focuses currently on the development of new paradigms for probabilistic inference and learning in networks of spiking neurons (either in brain networks, or in neuromorphic hardware). Preceding results on which we will build can be found on http://www.igi.tugraz.at/maass/publications.html Excellent research skills, a genuine interest in answering fundamental open questions about computation and learning in networks of spiking neurons, and the capability to work in an interdisciplinary research team are expected. Applications are especially invited by students who have a strong background in a theoretical area related to machine learning, computational theory or probabilistic models, and who also have substantial experience in programming and computer simulations. Our doctoral program will lead to a Phd in Computer Science. Please send your CV, information about your grades, and a letter describing your scientific interests and goals by May 21 to my assistant Regina Heidinger: regina.heidinger(a)igi.tugraz.at It would be helpful if you could include names and email addresses of referees, and pdf files of your master thesis and/or other publications. -- Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Maass Institut fuer Grundlagen der Informationsverarbeitung Technische Universitaet Graz Inffeldgasse 16b , A-8010 Graz, Austria Tel.: ++43/316/873-5822 Fax ++43/316/873-5805 http://www.igi.tugraz.at/maass/Welcome.html

April 30, 2014

CoSMo 214: extended deadline! - May 5, 2014

by Gunnar Blohm

Due to continues interest, we have decided to extend the application deadline for CoSMo 2014! This is a tremendous opportunity for students and postdocs to get hands-on training in computational neuroscience. *Extended deadline: May 5, 2014* http://www.compneurosci.com/CoSMo/ Best Gunnar Blohm, Konrad Körding, Paul Schrater (organizers) -- ------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Gunnar BLOHM Assistant Professor in Computational Neuroscience 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/

April 29, 2014

Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, PhD Programme

by Peter Dayan

Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London 4 year PhD Programme The Gatsby Unit is a centre for theoretical neuroscience and machine learning, focusing on unsupervised, semi-supervised and reinforcement learning, neural dynamics, population coding, Bayesian and nonparametric statistics, kernel methods, and applications of these to the analysis of perceptual processing, neural data, machine vision and bioinformatics. It provides a unique opportunity for a critical mass of theoreticians to interact closely with each other, and with other world-class research groups in related departments at UCL, including the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, with which we will shortly share a building, and Biosciences, Computer Science, Functional Imaging, Physics, Physiology, Psychology, Neurology, Ophthalmology and Statistics, the cross-faculty Centre for Computational Statistics and Machine Learning, and also with other UK and overseas universities. The Unit has openings for exceptional PhD candidates. Applicants should have a strong analytical background, a keen interest in neuroscience and/or machine learning and a relevant first degree, for example in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics, Psychology or Statistics. The PhD programme lasts four years, including a first year of intensive instruction in techniques and research in theoretical neuroscience and machine learning. All students are fully funded, regardless of nationality. The Unit also welcomes applications from students with pre-secured funding or who are currently soliciting other scholarship/studentships. We will review applications as soon as they are complete (including a CV, statement of research interests and letters from three referees) until the positions are filled. Early application is thus advised. Full details of our programme, and how to apply, are available at: http://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/teaching/phd For further details of research interests please see http://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/research.html and the individual faculty webpages at http://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/members.html

April 29, 2014

Postdoc EEG data analysis and source modeling

by Thomas Knoesche

The Research & Development Unit „MEG and Cortical Networks“ at the Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science at Leipzig offers a position as POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER in the area of Medical Signal Processing and Biophysical Modelling. The research project aims at the development of fast and effective processing techniques for EEG data. The task of the successful applicant will be to develop methods for artefact identification and correction, spatial interpolation and source reconstruction. The successful applicant holds a PhD degree in informatics, mathematics, physics, biomedical engineering, electrical engineering or similar. Experience with the measurement and analysis of brain signals is an advantage, but not essential. A keen interest in the biological foundations of cognition should be present. Decent programming skills are of importance. In order to increase the proportion of female staff members, applications from female scientists are particularly encouraged. Disabled applicants are preferred if qualification is equal. The position is available for 2 years. Payment is according to the German scale TVöD 13. The selection procedure starts as the applications come in. Please send your application by email, citing the code number "PD 14" to: PD Dr.habil. Thomas R. Knösche Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Stephanstraße 1A, 04103 Leipzig, Germany [phone: +49 341 9940-2619] [email: knoesche(a)cbs.mpg.de]

April 29, 2014

Fully funded PhD position in the Neural Computation Lab Italian Institute of Technology

by Stefano Panzeri

I have an open fully funded PhD position in computational neuroscience in my laboratory at the Italian Institute of Technology in Trento. Stipend, tuition fees and research expenses of the successful candidate will be fully covered by the Italian Institute of Technology. The topic of investigation is how neuronal populations encode and exchange sensory information. The successful candidate will begin the PhD in November 2014 and will be registered with the Doctoral Programme at the University of Trento (ranked 1 st in Italy according to the Times Higher Education). All PhD courses are given in English, and the working language of the research institute is English. The selection requires a Master level degree (Laurea Magistrale or equivalent), a certifiable B2 level of English (or BA/BS/MA/MSc done entirely in English), and a proposed research project. There are no constraints on nationality for the applicants. *The deadline for applications is* *Tuesday May 13, 2014 at 4:00 p.m Italian Time.* Please visit the Doctoral Programme’s website http://www.unitn.it/en/drcimec/10140/admission-doctoral-school-cognitive-an… for information pertaining to the timeline of the application process and for a link to the actual online application. Note that the candidates will have to apply for the topic “computational neuroscience” (see http://www.unitn.it/en/drcimec/32957/30th-cycle-topics-2014-call) and submit with application a brief summary of the proposed research project applicants will submit. This brief document should be intended as a description of the candidate’s research interests within computational neuroscience rather than a detailed research project. Interested candidates are strongly encouraged to write to me ( stefano.panzeri(a)iit.it) as soon as possible attaching their CV to discuss the application further. However, applications will be formally considered only if submitted through the above official link of the University of Trento PhD selection programme. Regards Stefano Panzeri Research Professor Italian Institute of Technology Neural Computation Laboratory – Rovereto (Trento) Italy http://cncs.iit.it/people/iit-unitn-neural-computation/senior-researcher/st… http://cncs.iit.it/research-labs/neural-computation.html

April 29, 2014

NEURON Summer Course openings

by Ted Carnevale

Space is still available in the NEURON Summer Course, but you'll have to act quickly to make sure you qualify for the early registration rates. NEURON Fundamentals June 21-24 This addresses all aspects of using NEURON to model individual neurons, and also introduces parallel simulation and the fundamentals of modeling networks. Parallel Simulation with NEURON June 25-26 This is for users who are already familiar with NEURON and need to create models that will run on parallel hardware. Apply by Friday, May 9, and pay only $1050 for the Fundamentals course $650 for the Parallel Simulation course $1600 for both Registration fees for applications received after May 9 are $1200 for Fundamentals $750 for Parallel Simulation $1800 for both These fees cover handout materials plus food and housing on the campus of UC San Diego. Registration is limited, and the registration deadline is Friday, May 30, 2014. For more information and the on-line registration form, see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/courses --Ted

April 28, 2014

INNS Request for nominations: Hebb, Helmholtz, Gabor, and Young Investigator awards

by Schmidhuber Juergen

The International Neural Network Society's Awards Program is established to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the field of Neural Networks. Up to three awards, at most one in each category, of up to $1,000 ($500 cash award plus up to $500 travel award), are presented annually to senior, highly accomplished researchers for outstanding contributions made in the field of Neural Networks. The Hebb, Helmholtz and Gabor Awards: - The Hebb Award - recognizes achievement in biological learning. - The Helmholtz Award - recognizes achievement in sensation/perception. - The Gabor Award - recognizes achievement in engineering/application. - Young Investigator Awards: Up to two awards of $500 each are presented annually to individuals with no more than five years postdoctoral experience and who are under forty years of age, for significant contributions in the field of Neural Networks. Nominations: 1. The Awards Committee should receive nominations of no more than two pages in length, specifying: - The award category (Hebb, Helmholtz, Gabor, or Young Investigator) for which the candidate is being nominated. - The reasons for which the nominee should be considered for the award. - A list of at least five of the nominee's important and published papers. 2. The curriculum vitae of both the nominee and the nominator must be included with the nomination, including the name, address, position/title, phone, fax, and e-mail address for both the nominee and nominator. 3. The nominator must be an INNS member in good standing. Nominees do not have to be INNS members. If an award recipient is not an INNS member, they shall receive a free one-year INNS membership. 4. Nominators may not nominate themselves or their family members. 5. Individuals may not receive the same INNS Award more than once All nominations will be considered by the Awards Committee and selected ones forwarded to the INNS Board of Governors, along with the Committee's recommendations for award recipients. Voting shall be performed by the entire BoG. The INNS Award Committee members must be INNS Governors in the year that they are appointed. The 2014 Committee consists of Prof. Jürgen Schmidhuber, Prof. Leonid Perlovsky, and Prof. Hava Siegelmann. Please email the 2015 nominations along with their attachments directly to the chair of the Awards Committee at juergen(a)idsia.ch, with a copy to the Secretary of the Society at bill(a)billhowell.ca by June 1, 2014. Please use the following subject line in the email: INNS award nomination. Please find additional information here: http://www.inns.org/awards Jürgen Schmidhuber http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/

April 28, 2014

CFA: Two postdoctoral positions in mathematical modeling and machine learning for collective behavior

by Kristiaan Pelckmans

CFA: Two postdoctoral positions in mathematical modeling and machine learning for collective behavior Dear all, We have openings for two postdocs on our project for relating social behavior to brain morphology. A full description of the applications can be found at http://www.uu.se/en/jobs/jobs-detail-page/?positionId=36625 Best, -Kristiaan Pelckmans

April 28, 2014

Post-doc (or PhD student) in Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience

by Pieter Roelfsema

Post-doc (or PhD student) in Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience - What is the role of the cortical layers? A post-doc (or PhD student) position is available to study computational models about the roles of the different layers of the cerebral cortex in the Vision & Cognition group (head Pieter Roelfsema) at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam. What roles do the different cortical layers play in visual processing? This project, funded by the Human Brain Project, aims to build computational models for the unique contributions of the different cortical layers to perceptual processing. We recently discovered that the cortical layers have different roles in visual perception (Self et al., Curr. Biol, 2013). We now wish to understand this subdivision of labor by making models of the layers and the interactions between them that take place in the visual cortex during perception. The candidate will have close interactions with researchers addressing laminar processing with high-field fMRI. The successful applicant will have a solid computational background and an interest in cognitive neuroscience, preferably affinity with neuroimaging, and good programming skills. Appointment: The position involves a temporary appointment for 2-4 years. To apply, please send application letter, CV and two letters of recommendation to: Tini Eikelboom The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience Meibergdreef 47 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands Telephone: +31-20-5664587 E-mail: t.eikelboom(a)nin.knaw.nl<mailto:t.eikelboom@nin.knaw.nl>

April 28, 2014

Two PhD Positions and one Postdoc Position in Machine Learning / Sensory Data Processing

by Jörg Lücke

The Machine Learning research group at the University of Oldenburg, Germany, is seeking to fill Two PhD Research Positions and one (postdoctoral) Research Associate Position All positions are part of the Machine Learning group which develops learning and inference technology for sensory data. We pursue basic research, develop new technology, and apply our approaches to different tasks. Our research hereby combines modern probabilistic data descriptions, modern computer technology and insights from the neurosciences. We contribute to the improvement of current methods for computer hearing, pattern recognition and computer vision as well as to the understanding of biological and artificial intelligence. Research will be conducted in close collaboration with leading international and national research labs. Our research field can be considered as part of the Data Sciences, Computational Sciences, or Big Data approaches (to name some terms recently used in the media). Salary levels of the positions are based on the TV-L scale of the German public sector (Öffentlicher Dienst). After the deduction of health insurance, pension tax and other taxes, the salary for the PhD positions amounts to approximately 1600 EUR per month, and to about 2000 EUR per month for the (postdoctoral) Research Associate Position. Depending on the experience of the candidates, the salary can be higher. But please note that the only definite sources for all information on the positions including salary, job description and application/selection procedure are the central websites of the University of Oldenburg. For the PhD positions see: http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/stellen/?stelle=63323 For the postdoc position see: http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/stellen/?stelle=63322 Depending on the skills and interests of the candidates, the research focus will be on the development of new probabilistic learning algorithms and/or their applications to high-dimensional sensory data. Projects can emphasize basic research for general purpose learning and pattern recognition, or applications of algorithms to specific tasks. Candidates for the PhD positions have to hold a Master degree in Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics or a closely related subject (at the latest at the time when the contract is signed). Analytical/mathematical skills and programming skills (e.g. python, matlab, C++) are required for all candidates. Experiences with Machine Learning algorithms are desirable. Experiences with acoustic data, other types of sensory data, and an interest in the neurosciences are a plus but are not strictly required. The candidates for the (postdoctoral) Research Associate position have to hold a Master degree or (preferably) a PhD/Doctoral degree in Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics or a closely related subject (alternatively, a statement can be provided that a PhD/Doctoral degree will be issued when the position is taken or shortly thereafter). Analytical/mathematical skills, programming skills, and experience with Machine Learning algorithms are required. Experiences with acoustic data, other types of sensory data, and an interest in the neurosciences are a plus but are not strictly required. The (postdoctoral) Research Associate position is suitable for part-time work. All positions can be filled immediately and are available for initially two years with an option for extension. The appointed researchers will be part of a very new working environment. The research group is currently established through a strategic investment into Machine Learning technology at Oldenburg. The group is located in a new building, and the Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all is part of the German Excellence Initiative which funds top-tier research in Germany. The cluster comprises many interdisciplinary research groups that are currently set up or that are extended. As a consequence, many new PhD, postdoc and faculty positions allow for interesting collaboration opportunities and provide an attractive scientific and social environment. The city of Oldenburg is one of Germany's cities with the highest rated living quality, it is close to the North See and near to the cities of Bremen and Hamburg. For more information about the Machine Learning research group visit: http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/ml/ For more information about the Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all visit: http://hearing4all.eu/EN/ The University of Oldenburg is dedicated to increasing the percentage of women in science. Therefore, female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply. According to § 21 III NHG (legislation governing Higher Education in Lower Saxony) preference will be given to female candidates in cases of equal qualification. Handicapped applicants will be given preference if equally qualified. Please send your application including the usual documents (including contact details for reference letters) preferably electronically (PDF) to Jörg Lücke <joerg.luecke(a)uni-oldenburg.de> or per mail to: Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Fakultät VI, Machine Learning, z.Hd. Frau Jennifer Köllner, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany. Please use “Research Position (PhD)” as subject line for applications to the PhD positions, and “Research Associate Position (postdoc)” for applications to the (postdoctoral) Research Associate position. The application deadline is 15 June 2014. Applications received after this date are not guaranteed to enter the selection process. -- Jörg Lücke (PhD) Associate Professor Machine Learning Lab and Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics School of Medicine and Health Sciences University of Oldenburg 26111 Oldenburg Germany www.uni-oldenburg.de/ml

April 28, 2014

BCBT2014 summer school

by BCBT, Bústia Compartida

*Barcelona Cognition, Brain and Technology Summer School (BCBT2014)* University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain. September 1-12, 2014 http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt14/ Join us for the annual *"Barcelona Cognition, Brain and Technology summer school - BCBT2014 *" (see* http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt14 <http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt14>*) to be held from September 1-12, 2014 in Barcelona Spain. The BCBT summer school is part of a series of events organized by the Convergent Science Network of Biomimetics and Neurotechnology (*http://csnetwork.eu/ <http://csnetwork.eu/>*) and is positioned at the interface between biology and future and emerging technologies with an emphasis on the principles underlying brains and their translation to avant-garde technologies. BCBT promotes a shared systems-level understanding of the functional architecture of the brain and its possible emulation in artificial systems. This is the 7th year of BCBT, which has ran with great success in previous years thanks to an excellent line-up of outstanding speakers (see bcbt.upf.edu for previous editions of the school). BCBT lectures are available online (see *http://csnetwork.eu/ <http://csnetwork.eu/>*) as well as the CSN *Podcast interviews *with many of the BCBT speakers. BCBT caters to students and researchers involved in projects that are in the ambit of "BIO-ICT convergence", "Brain Inspired ICT", "Cognitive systems-robotics". BCBT will offer up to 30 student slots for the practical workshops while as many researchers can register to attend the presentations and discussion sessions as they are interested. The atmosphere of the BCBT summer school is informal with the goal to stimulate in-depth discussion. There are presentations in the morning, usually 2, with the afternoons reserved for tutorials and projects for student participants and road-mapping workshops or further discussion for senior scientists. For the 2014 edition we plan a *1st week* of the school addressing *Evolutionary and Developmental aspects of nervous systems and behavior*(*Session 1*, 1-5 Sept*)*, while the *2nd week* will include presentations aimed at the investigation of *Core Brain Systems* with emphasis on the basal ganglia (*Session 2*, 8-9 Sept) followed by roadmapping sessions (*Session 3*, 10-11 Sept). Friday 12 is reserved for the presentation of the student projects to which everybody is invited. *Application deadline: August 2nd, 2014* For more information, and to apply, please go to http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt14/home BCBT2014 is supported by the Convergent Science Network of Biomimetics and Neurotechnology (*http://csnetwork.eu/ <http://csnetwork.eu/>*). and is co-organized by Paul Verschure (BCBT Chair) SPECS, University Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, ES Tony Prescott (BCBT Co-Chair) University of Sheffield, UK Leah Krubizer (BCBT Co-Chair) UC Davis, CA, USA Anna Mura (BCBT Co-Chair) SPECS, University Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, ES

April 25, 2014

Invitation to NeuroFutures Summit - Seattle, June 16-18, 2014.

by Rad Roberts

We are pleased to invite you to the 2014 NeuroFutures Summit. Who/what/why: The NeuroFutures Summit will bring together research, industry, and clinical thought leaders to explore how innovations in neuromodulation, brain mapping, neuroimaging, computational neuroscience, and brain computer interfaces will transform our understanding of neural systems and enable life-changing medical treatments. Participants will learn the state of the art, present and discuss their work, and interact with neurotechnology leaders in a small conference setting. The abstract deadline for poster presenters is May 16th, 2014. Over thirty speakers are confirmed. See agenda below. When: Public lecture 6-8pm June 16th followed by the technical conference on June 17th and 18th, 2014. Where: Hotel Deca and the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Website: Visit www.neurofutures.us to learn more. We hope you can join us. Sincerely, The organizers: Rad Roberts, Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, University of Washington, Dan Rizzuto, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Bill Rooney, Oregon Health and Science University, and Bobby Heagerty, Oregon Health and Science University. NeuroFutures Summit Agenda June 16th- 18th, 2014 University of Washington, Seattle, WA <http://www.neurofutures.us> www.neurofutures.us Monday, June 16th, 6pm - 8pm Public lecture: The Brain on Circuit Training: Finding and Fixing Misfiring Neural Circuitry. A presentation by Dr. Andres Lozano with an interactive discussion moderated by David Heil. Tuesday, June 17th Functional Mapping Informs BCI and Neuromodulation Innovations Richard Buxton, UCSD, Kim Burchiel, OHSU, Richard Andersen, Caltech Measuring, Mapping, and Modifying Cognitive Function. Justin Sanchez, DARPA, Tom Grabowski, U of Washington, Brian Kopell, Mt. Sinai Hospital. Lunch, posters, informal discussion. Structure and Target Selection in Neuromodulation Chris Kroenke, OHSU, Andres Lozano, U of Toronto, David Newell, Swedish Neuroscience Institute. Mining Shared Neural Data Sets Magali Haas, Orion Bionetworks, Julie Harris, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Mike Hawrylycz, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Paul Fearn, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Northwest NeuroNeighborhood Resources and Partnering Opportunities I. Bart Keogh, Radia Inc., Rajesh Rao, U of Washington, John Henson, Swedish Neuroscience Institute. Evening reception at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. Wednesday, June 18th The Past, Present, and Future of Closed-loop Neuromodulation. Milton Morris, Cyberonics, Eberhard Fetz, U of Washington, Tim Denison, Medtronic. Ryder Gwinn, Swedish Neuroscience Institute. De-coding Commands and Learning Modes in the Motor Cortex. Chet Moritz, U of Washington, Jeff Ojemann, U of Washington, Adrienne Fairhall, U of Washington. Neurotechnology Development and Brain Mapping: A Virtuous Cycle Ed Lein, AIBS, Craig Forest, Georgia Institute of Technology. Northwest NeuroNeighborhood Resources and Partnering Opportunities II. Norman Beauchamp, U of Washington. Bob Wilcox, Viket Medical. Lunch, posters, informal discussion. Generating and Handling Large Neural Data Sets. Hanchuan Peng, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Tim Blanche, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Bing Brunton, U of Washington, Matt Reynolds, U of Washington. Neural engineering approaches for hearing, sight, and memory prostheses. Adrian KC Lee, U of Washington, Josh Jacobs, Drexel University

April 25, 2014

Reminder: Abstract submission closes April 27 for Neuroinformatics 2014

by Malin Sandström

Welcome to the 7th INCF Congress of Neuroinformatics in Leiden, the Netherlands, August 25 - 27, 2014 Neuroinformatics 2014 includes keynote lectures (Margarita Behrens, Mitya Chklovskii, Daniel Choquet, Ila Fiete, Michael Milham, and Felix Schürmann), workshops, and a special symposium on population-based neuroimaging, hosted by the INCF Netherlands Node. The last day to submit your abstract is April 27, submit it here: http://www.neuroinformatics2014.org/abstracts Registration is open at http://www.neuroinformatics2014.org/registration Watch the NI2014 promo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEudq3SOwK0 We kindly ask that you print and display the congress poster at your institution: it's available for download at http://www.neuroinformatics2014.org/documents/a0_poster_nov_2013 We're looking forward to seeing you in August! -- 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

April 25, 2014

International Workshop on The Versatile Action of Noise, June 22-27, 2014 in Bremen

by Alberto Bernacchia

Dear Colleagues, we are organizing an international workshop on *The Versatile Action of Noise: Applications from Genetic to Neural Circuits* at Jacobs University Bremen, Germany from June 22-27, 2014. http://noise-workshop.user.jacobs-university.de/<https://exchange.jacobs-university.de/owa/redir.aspx?C=gZfK3TmIBkiF8b5kI43d…> Stochastic mechanisms, often summarized under “noise”, are ubiquitous in artificial and biological networks. In applications to genetic circuits the goal is to trace back the various manifestations of noise to a few sources on underlying levels like the stochastic fluctuations in biochemical reactions, to follow the propagation and modification of noise towards the cellular level and to pursue the interaction of different sources of noise with respect to their mutual repression or amplification. In applications to neural systems the focus is on microscopic noise, e.g. the thermal fluctuations on channel dynamics, the effect of synaptic noise on neuronal firing, but also on large-scale collective fluctuations of brain areas, information loss, effects of large-scale noise on attention and decision-making, as well as on bridges between the different levels. A comparison between both types of applications should reveal parallels in how natural systems transform or utilize noise. It is the tools of theoretical physics that provide a deeper understanding of its role, in particular when it acts counterintuitive. Advanced methods from statistical physics and nonlinear dynamics allow for predicting the action of noise on excitable media like neural systems, extinction events in various populations and noise-induced rare events. *We invite applications from graduate students, PhD students and postdocs with a background in theoretical physics, applied mathematics with an interest in biological applications and neuroscience. Applicants from the experimental side should be interested in the mathematical modeling and analysis of experimental data.* The fee is *150 Euro* *for early registration until April 30* and 250 Euro afterwards, including accommodation in the guesthouse on campus and all meals, for the period of the workshop. The workshop is generously supported by the WE-Heraeus foundation. For registration please visit our website. Selected abstracts will be invited for oral presentation, we shall also have poster sessions. Kind regards Hildegard Meyer-Ortmanns and Alberto Bernacchia *Invited speakers:* *Michael Assaf * (*Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem);*Jan Benda* * (Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen);*Michael Breakspear ** (QIMR and UNSW Berghofer, Sidney, Australia);*Thierry Emonet ** (Yale University, New Haven, U.S.A.);*Tobias Galla ** (Manchester University, Manchester);*Jordi Garcia-Ojalvo ** (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona );*Benjamin Lindner ** (Humboldt University, Berlin);*Wolfgang Maass * *(Graz Technical University, Graz);*Ralf Metzler * *(Potsdam University, Potsdam);*Sidney R. Nagel* (The University of Chicago, U.S.A.);*Simone Pigolotti* * (Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona);*Joachim Rädler ** (Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich);*Jaime de la Rocha* (*) (Institut D’ Invest. Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona);*Lutz Schimansky-Geier**(Humboldt University, Berlin);*Susanne Schreiber**(Humboldt University, Berlin);*Pieter Rein Ten Wolde ** (FOM Institute AMOLF, Amsterdam);*Raúl Toral ** (IFISC, UIB-CSIC, Palma de Mallorca) *confirmed *Topics include:* § The effects of extrinsic noise on cellular decision making; § Correlated fluctuations in genetic networks; § Propagation of noise of sequential gene regulation; § Error rates in biological copying; § Single cell response and decision making under noise; § The generation of transcriptional noise in bacteria; § Costs and benefits of biochemical noise; § Noise in large-scale cortical rhythms; § Noise-induced order in collective neural populations; § Computations by noisy networks of spiking neurons § Noise and irregular firing in cortical circuits; § Cellular mechanisms of temperature-compensation in receptor neurons; § Coherent noise, scale invariance and intermittency in large systems; § Shaping noise for population success; § Quasi-cycles induced by noise; § Interplay between noise and delay. § *Scientific Organization* *Prof. Dr. Hildegard Meyer-Ortmanns*<https://exchange.jacobs-university.de/owa/redir.aspx?C=gZfK3TmIBkiF8b5kI43d…>/ Statistical Physics Group / Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH / School of Engineering and Science / Campus Ring 8 / 28759 Bremen / Germany / Tel: ++49 (0) 421 / 200-3221 / Tel: ++49 (0) 421 / 200-3249 / Email: h.ortmanns(a)jacobs-university.de<https://exchange.jacobs-university.de/owa/redir.aspx?C=gZfK3TmIBkiF8b5kI43d…> *Prof. Dr. Alberto Bernacchia*<https://exchange.jacobs-university.de/owa/redir.aspx?C=gZfK3TmIBkiF8b5kI43d…>/ Computational Neuroscience Group / Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH / School of Engineering and Science / Campus Ring 6 / 28759 Bremen / Germany / Tel: ++49 (0) 421 / 200-3542 / Tel: ++49 (0) 421 / 200-3249 / Email: a.bernacchia(a)jacobs-university.de<https://exchange.jacobs-university.de/owa/redir.aspx?C=gZfK3TmIBkiF8b5kI43d…>

April 24, 2014

Special issue of the Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience

by Olivier Faugeras

Dear all, I am pleased to announce that a Special Issue of the Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience on Uncertainty and the Brain has just appeared in Open Access at: http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/series/UB Uncertainty and the Brain Edited by: Dr Olivier Faugeras, Prof Michele Thieullen Theoretical and applied neuroscientists are in great need of stochastic models to account for sources of uncertainty in neural tissues in a mathematically rigorous framework allowing for quantitative descriptions and predictions. Collection published: 17 April 2014 Editorial ** *Editorial for the Special Issue on Uncertainty in the Brain <http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/content/4/1/7>* Olivier Faugeras, Michèle Thieullen /The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience/ 2014, *4*:7 (17 April 2014) ** *Measuring Edge Importance: A Quantitative Analysis of the Stochastic Shielding Approximation for Random Processes on Graphs <http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/content/4/1/6>* Deena R Schmidt, Peter J Thomas /The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience/ 2014, *4*:6 (17 April 2014) Research ** *How Uncertainty Bounds the Shape Index of Simple Cells <http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/content/4/1/5>* D Barbieri, G Citti, A Sarti /The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience/ 2014, *4*:5 (17 April 2014) ** *Fokker--Planck and Fortet Equation-Based Parameter Estimation for a Leaky Integrate-and-Fire Model with Sinusoidal and Stochastic Forcing <http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/content/4/1/4>* Alexandre Iolov, Susanne Ditlevsen, André Longtin /The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience/ 2014, *4*:4 (17 April 2014) ** *Goodness-of-Fit Tests and Nonparametric Adaptive Estimation for Spike Train Analysis <http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/content/4/1/3>* Patricia Reynaud-Bouret, Vincent Rivoirard, Franck Grammont, Christine Tuleau-Malot /The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience/ 2014, *4*:3 (17 April 2014) ** *Large Deviations for Nonlocal Stochastic Neural Fields <http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/content/4/1/1>* Christian Kuehn, Martin G Riedler /The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience/ 2014, *4*:1 (17 April 2014) ** *A Density Model for a Population of Theta Neurons <http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/content/4/1/2>* Grégory Dumont, Jacques Henry, Carmen Tarniceriu /Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience/ 2014, *4*:2 (17 April 2014) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Olivier Faugeras : Professor : Equipe INRIA NeuroMathComp Team : co-editor in chief, Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience : http://www-sop.inria.fr/members/Olivier.Faugeras/index.en.html : Email: olivier.faugeras(a)inria.fr : Tel: +334 92 38 78 31 : Sec: +334 92 38 78 30 : ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 24, 2014

[RSS2014] CfP: First Workshop on Affordances: Affordances in "Vision for Cognitive Robotics" (in conjunction with RSS 2014)

by Karthik Mahesh Varadarajan

====================================================================== *Call for Papers- First Workshop on Affordances: Affordances in Vision for Cognitive Robotics* (in conjunction with RSS 2014), July 13, 2014, Berkeley, USA http://affordances.info/workshops/RSS.html ====================================================================== Based on the Gibsonian principle of defining objects by their function, "affordances" have been studied extensively by psychologists and visual perception researchers, resulting in the creation of numerous cognitive models. These models are being increasingly revisited and adapted by computer vision and robotics researchers to build cognitive models of visual perception and behavioral algorithms in recent years. This workshop attempts to explore this nascent, yet rapidly emerging field of affordance based cognitive robotics while integrating the efforts and language of affordance communities not just in computer vision and robotics, but also psychophysics and neurobiology by creating an open affordance research forum, feature framework and ontology called AfNet (theaffordances.net) In particular, the workshop will focus on emerging trends in affordances and other human-centered function/action features that can be used to build computer vision and robotic applications. The workshop also features contributions from researchers involved in traditional theories to affordances, especially from the point of view of psychophysics and neuro-biology. Avenues to aiding research in these fields using techniques from computer vision and cognitive robotics will also be explored. Primary topics addressed by the workshop include the following among others - Affordances in visual perception models - Affordances as visual primitives, common coding features and symbolic cognitive systems - Affordances for object recognition, search, attention modulation, functional scene understanding/ classification - Object functionality analysis - Affordances from appearance and touch based cues - Haptic adjectives - Functional-visual categories for transfer learning - Actions and functions in object perception - Human-object interactions and modeling - Motion-capture data analysis for object categorization - Affordances in human and robot grasping - Robot behavior for affordance learning - Execution of affordances on robots - Affordances to address cognitive and domestic robot applications - Affordance ontologies - Psychophysics of affordances - Neurobiological and cognitive models for affordances The workshop also seeks to address key challenges in robotics with regard to functional form descriptions. While affordances describe the function that each object or entity affords, these in turn define the manipulation schema and interaction modes that robots need to use to work with objects. These functional features, ascertained through vision, haptics and other sensory information also help in categorizing objects, task planning, grasp planning, scene understanding and a number of other robotic tasks. Understanding various challenges in the field and building a common language and framework for communication across varied communities in are the key goals of the proposed workshop. Through the course of the workshop, we also envisage the establishment of a working group for AfNet. An initial version is available online at www.theaffordances.net. We hope the workshop will serve to foster greater collaboration between the affordance communities in various fields. *Paper Submissions* Paper contributions to the workshop are solicited in four different formats - *Conceptual papers* (1 page): Authors are invited to submit original ideas on approaches to address specific problems in the targeted areas of the workshop. While a clear presentation of the proposed approach and the expected results are essential, specifics of implementation and evaluations are outside the scope of this format. This format is intended at exchange and evaluation of ideas prior to implementation/ experimental work as well as to open up collaboration avenues. - *Design papers* (3 pages): Authors submitting design papers are required to address key issues regarding the problem considered with detailed algorithms and preliminary or proof-of-concept results. Detailed evaluations and analyses are outside the scope of this format. This format is intended at addressing late-breaking and work in progress results as well as fostering collaboration between research and engineering groups. - *Experimental papers* (3 pages): Experimental papers are required to present results of experiments and evaluation of previously published algorithms or design frameworks. Details of implementation and exhaustive test case analyses are key to this format. These papers are geared at benchmarking and standardizing previously known approaches. - *Full papers* (5 pages): Full papers must be self-inclusive contributions with a detailed treatment of the problem statement, related work, design methodology, algorithm, test-bed, evaluation, comparative analysis, results and future scope of work. Submission of original and unpublished work is highly encouraged. Since the goal of this workshop is to bring together the various affordance communities, extended versions/ summary reports of recent research published elsewhere, as adapted to the goals of the workshop, will also be accepted. These papers are required to clearly state the relevance to the workshop and the necessary adaptation. The program will be composed of oral as well as Pecha-Kucha style presentations. Each contribution will be reviewed by three reviewers through a single-blind review process. The paper formatting should follow the RSS formatting guidelines (Templates: Word<http://www.roboticsconference.org/paper-template-word.zip> andLaTeX <http://www.roboticsconference.org/paper-template-latex.tar.gz>). All contributions are to be submitted via Microsoft Conference Management Tool <https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/A2014/Default.aspx> in PDF format. Appendices and supplementary text can be submitted as a second PDF, while other materials such as videos (though, preferably as links on vimeo or youtube) as a zipped file. All papers are expected to be self-inclusive and supplementary materials are not guaranteed to be reviewed. Please adhere to the following strict deadlines. In addition to direct acceptance, early submissions may be conditionally accepted, in which case submission of a revised version of the paper based on reviewer comments, prior to the late submission deadline is necessary. The final decision on acceptance of such conditionally accepted papers will be announced along with the decisions for the late submissions. *Important Dates* - Initial submissions (Early): 23:59:59 PDT May 5, 2014 - Notification of acceptance (Early submissions): May 15, 2014 - Initial submissions (Late): 23:59:59 PDT May 27, 2014 - Notification of acceptance (Late submissions): June 5, 2014 - Submission of publication-ready version: June 10, 2014 - Workshop date: July 13, 2014 *Organizers* Karthik Mahesh Varadarajan <http://www.karthikmahesh.com/> (varadarajan(at) acin.tuwien.ac.at), TU Wien Markus Vincze <http://www.acin.tuwien.ac.at/index.php?id=231&L=1> (vincze(at)tuwien.ac.at), TU Wien Trevor Darrell <http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~trevor/> (trevor(at) eecs.berkeley.edu) UC. Berkeley Juergen Gall <http://www.vision.ee.ethz.ch/~gallju/>(gall(at)iai.uni-bonn.de), Univ. Bonn *Speakers and Participants* (To be updated) Abhinav Gupta (Affordances in Computer Vision), Carnegie Mellon University Ashutosh Saxena (Affordances in Cognitive Robotics), Cornell University Lisa Oakes (Psychophysics of affordances)*, UC. Davis TBA (Neurobiology of affordances)* *Program Committee* Irving Biederman (USC) Aude Olivia (MIT) Fei-Fei Li (Stanford University) Martha Teghtsoonian (Smith College) Derek Hoiem (UIUC) Barbara Caputo (Univ. of Rome, IDIAP) Song-Chun Zhu (UCLA) Antonis Argyros (FORTH) Tamim Asfour (KIT) Michael Beetz (TUM) Norbert Krueger (Univ. of Southern Denmark) Sven Dickinson (Univ. of Toronto) Diane Pecher (Erasmus Univ. Rotterdam) Aaron Bobick (GeorgiaTech) Jason Carso (UB New York) Juan Carlos Niebles (Universidad del Norte) Tamara Berg (UNC Chapel Hill) Moritz Tenorth (Univ. Bremen) Dejan Pangercic (Robert Bosch) Roozbeh Mottaghi (Stanford) Alireza Fathi (Stanford) Xiaofeng Ren (Amazon) David Fouhey (CMU) Tucker Hermans (Georgia Tech) Tian Lan (Stanford) Amir Roshan Zamir (UCF) Hamed Pirsiavash (MIT) Walterio Mayol-Cuevas (Univ. of Bristol)

April 23, 2014

new MATLAB toolbox for Granger causality analysis

by Anil Seth

Dear all, Lionel Barnett and I are pleased to announce the availability of our wholly new MATLAB toolbox for implementing Granger causality analysis. This new free software is a wholesale revision of my previous ‘GCCA’ toolbox which has been available since 2010 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19961876) and which has enjoyed a wide uptake within the neuroscience community and beyond. Granger causality is a powerful analysis method which can be used to detect directed functional connectivity in stationary time-series data, of the sort often (but not always) found in neuroscience datasets. The new ‘multivariate Granger causality’ ‘MVGC’ toolbox offers a range of enhancements. It easily handles conditional spectral analyses. It requires only estimation of the ‘full’ regression model, avoiding biases inherent in estimation of both full and reduced models. It is accompanied by a fully functional help system integrated into the online MATLAB documentation. And much else besides. The toolbox can be downloaded here: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/sackler/mvgc/ A paper describing the toolbox and the basic concepts and maths underlying Granger causality has been recently published in Journal of Neuroscience Methods: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165027013003701 … which is the appropriate citation for any published work utilizing the software. Preparation of the toolbox was supported by the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, which is funded by the Dr. Mortimer and Dame Theresa Sackler Foundation. We hope you find it useful! Best regards Anil Seth and Lionel Barnett ------------------------------------------- Anil K. Seth, D.Phil. Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Co-Director, Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science University of Sussex www.anilseth.com<http://www.anilseth.com> a.k.seth(a)sussex.ac.uk<mailto:a.k.seth@sussex.ac.uk>

April 23, 2014

DecMeg2014 data analysis competition

by Emanuele Olivetti

DecMeg2014 data analysis competition Biomag 2014 Decoding Challenge - Brain Decoding Across Subjects https://www.kaggle.com/c/decoding-the-human-brain Decoding mental states from functional neuroimaging data is a data analysis paradigm adopted both in neuroscience studies and in brain-computer interface applications. Decoding means determining, from the recorded brain activity, what stimulus was provided to a subject. In this competition, a large number of trials, from a face vs. scrambled face visual task, are available from multiple subjects. The brain activity was recorded by means of magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG recordings from various subjects and the category of the associated visual stimuli are given to the participants of the competition in order to train their prediction algorithms. With their algorithms, the participants will have to predict the category of the stimulus of a different set of MEG recordings, from other subjects. Each submission to the competition will be scored according to the accuracy of prediction. Decoding across subjects is a difficult task because of the variability in head shape, cortical folding and functional organisation. For MEG data, the literature on decoding across subjects is still in early stages and this competition aims at raising the awareness about this complex scientific problem. This competition is associated with the the 19th International Conference on Biomagnetism, Biomag 2014, Halifax (Canada), August 24-28, 2014. The competition begins: April 21st, 2014. The competition ends: July 27th, 2014. Prizes: 1st 3,000 USD, 2nd 1,500 USD, 3rd 500 USD. Organizers: Emanuele Olivetti, Seyed Mostafa Kia and Paolo Avesani (NeuroInformatics Lab, Bruno Kessler Foundation and University of Trento, IT), e-mail: decmeg2014(a)list.fbk.eu . Scientific steering committee: Ole Jensen (Donders Institute, NL), Nathan Weisz (University of Trento, IT), Richard Henson (MRC/CBU, UK) and Alexandre Gramfort (Telecom ParisTech, CNRS, CEA / Neurospin). We would also like to thank Daniel Wakeman (Martinos Center, MGH, USA). The awards for this competition are funded by Elekta Oy, MEG International Services Ltd (MISL), Fondazione Bruno Kessler and Besa Gmbh. Relevant links: - competition website: https://www.kaggle.com/c/decoding-the-human-brain - Biomag 2014: http://www.biomag2014.org - NeuroInformatics Lab: http://nilab.fbk.eu - Elekta Oy: http://www.elekta.com - MISL (CTF MEG): http://www.ctfmeg.com - Fondazione Bruno Kessler: http://www.fbk.eu - Besa GmbH: http://www.besa.de Please feel free to forward this message to your colleagues or contacts who might be interested in this competition.

April 22, 2014

NEURON Summer Course deadline approaching

by Ted Carnevale

The early registration deadline for the NEURON Summer Course is Friday, May 9, less than three weeks from today. Applicants who sign up by that date are eligible for reduced registration fees. NEURON Fundamentals June 21-24 This course shows how to model individual neurons and networks of neurons, and introduces parallel simulation. The early registration fee is $1050, but after May 9 registration goes up to $1200. Parallel Simulation with NEURON June 25-26 This is for users who are already familiar with NEURON and now need to parallelize an existing model or create a new model that will run on parallel hardware. The early registration fee is $650, but after May 9 it goes up to $750. Sign up for both courses by May 9 and pay only $1600, or wait until May 10 or later and pay $1800. Registration is limited, and the final registration deadline is Friday, May 30, 2014. For more information about these courses see http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/courses or contact Ted Carnevale ted dot carnevale at yale edu 203-494-7381

April 22, 2014

CoSMo 2014: application deadline approaching!

by Gunnar Blohm

Just a quick reminder that the application deadline for the summer school on Computational Sensory-Motor Neuroscience (CoSMo 2014) is approaching fast: Apr 28, 2014!!! http://www.compneurosci.com/CoSMo/ Best Gunnar Blohm, Konrad Körding, Paul Schrater -- ------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Gunnar BLOHM Assistant Professor in Computational Neuroscience 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/

April 22, 2014

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

by asdm＠fi.upm.es

Dear colleagues, We would like to remind you that the early registration period for the Advanced Statistics and Data Mining Summer School will finish on June 2nd. The summer school will be held in Madrid, from June 23rd to July 4th. This year's programme comprises 12 courses and runs for 2 weeks. Attendees may register in each course independently. Extended information on course programmes, price, venue, accommodation and transport is available at the school's website: http://www.dia.fi.upm.es/ASDM Please, send this information to your colleagues, students, and whoever you think may find it interesting. Best regards, Pedro Larranaga, Concha Bielza, Bojan Mihaljevic and Laura Anton-Sanchez. -- School coordinators. *** List of courses and brief description *** * Week 1 (June 23rd - June 27th, 2014) * 1st session: 9:30 - 12:30 Course 1: Bayesian Networks (15 h) Basics of Bayesian networks. Inference in Bayesian networks. Learning Bayesian networks from data. Real applications. Course 2: Time Series(15 h) Basic concepts in time series. Descriptive methods for time series. Linear models for time series. Extensions. 2nd session: 13:30 - 16:30 Course 3: Supervised Pattern Recognition (15 h) Introduction. Assessing the performance of supervised classification algorithms. Preprocessing. Classification techniques. Combining multiple classifiers. Comparing supervised classification algorithms. Course 4: Bayesian Inference (15 h) Introduction: Bayesian basics. Conjugate models. MCMC and other simulation methods. Regression and Hierarchical models. Model selection. 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: Feature Subset Selection (15 h) Introduction. Filter approaches. Wrapper methods. Embedded methods. Advanced topics. Practical session. * Week 2 (June 30th - July 4th, 2014) * 1st session: 9:30 - 12:30 Course 7: Statistical Inference(15 h) Introduction. Some basic statistical test. Multiple testing. Introduction to bootstrap methods. Introduction to Robust Statistics. Course 8: Bayesian Classifiers (15 h) Discrete predictors. Gaussian Bayesian networks-based classifiers. Other Bayesian classifiers. Bayesian classifiers for: positive and unlabeled data, semi-supervised learning, data streams, temporal data. 2nd session: 13:30 - 16:30 Course 9: Text Mining (15 h) Introduction. Fundamentals. Language Modeling. Text Classification. Information Extraction. Course 10: 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. 3rd session: 17:00 - 20:00 Course 11: Support Vector Machines and Convex Optimization (15 h) Introduction. SVM models. SVM learning algorithms. Convex non differentiable optimization. Course 12: Hidden Markov Models (15 h) Introduction. Discrete Hidden Markov Models. Basic algorithms for Hidden Markov Models. Semicontinuous Hidden Markov Models. Continuous Hidden Markov Models. Unit selection and clustering. Speaker and Environment Adaptation for HMMs. Other applications of HMMs.

April 22, 2014

2nd call for papers - 2014 IEEE International Workshop on Machine Learning for Signal Processing (MLSP)

by 2014 IEEE International Workshop on Machine Learning fo Signal Processing

2014 IEEE International Workshop on Machine Learning for Signal Processing (MLSP) September 21-24, 2014 Reims, France http://mlsp2014.conwiz.dk CALL FOR PAPERS The 24th MLSP workshop in the series of workshops organized by the IEEE Signal Processing Society MLSP Technical Committee will present the most recent and exciting advances in machine learning for signal processing through keynote talks, tutorials as well as special and regular single-track sessions. Prospective authors are invited to submit papers on relevant algorithms and applications including, but not limited to: - Learning theory and techniques - Graphical models and kernel methods - Data-driven adaptive systems and models - Pattern recognition and classification - Distributed, Bayesian, subspace/manifold and sparsity-aware learning - Multiset data analysis and multimodal data fusion - Perceptual signal processing in audio, image and video - Cognitive information processing - Multichannel adaptive and nonlinear signal processing - Applications, including: speech and audio, image and video, music, biomedical signals and images; communications; bioinformatics; biometrics, computational intelligence, genomic signals and sequences; social networks; games, and smart grid. DATA ANALYSIS AND SIGNAL PROCESSING COMPETITION Data Analysis and Signal Processing Competition is being organized in conjunction with the workshop. The goal of the competition is to advance the current state-of-the-art in theoretical and practical aspects of signal processing domains. The problems are selected to reflect current trends, evaluate existing approaches on common benchmarks, and identify critical new areas of research. Winners will be announced and awards given at the workshop. BEST STUDENT AWARD The MLSP Best Student Paper Award will be granted to the best overall paper for which a student is the principal author and presenter. This author must be a registered student at the time of paper submission to be eligible for this award. The award will be presented during the conference and consists of a honorarium (to be divided equally between all student authors of the paper), and a certificate for each such author. The award will be selected by a subcommittee of the program committee. The selection is based on the quality, originality, and clarity of the submission. PAPER SUBMISSION Prospective authors are invited to submit a double column paper of up to six pages using the electronic submission procedure at http://mlsp2014.conwiz.dk/paper_submission.htm Accepted papers will be published on memory sticks to be distributed at the workshop. The presented papers will be published in and indexed by IEEE Xplore. SCHEDULE: - Submission of full paper: May 5, 2014 - Notification of acceptance: June 27, 2014 - Advance registration before: July 25, 2014 - Camera-ready paper: July 25, 2014 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: General Chair Mamadou Mboup Contact general chair at mlsp2014-chair(a)conwiz.dk Program Chairs Tülay Adali Eric Moreau Contact program chairs at mlsp2014-programchairs(a)conwiz.dk Data Competition Chair Vince Calhoun Special Session Chair Jean-Yves Tourneret Publicity Chair Marc Van Hulle Web and Publication Chair Jan Larsen Kevin Guelton Local Arrangement Chairs Valeriu Vrabie Hassan Fenniri

April 22, 2014