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PhD positions at LMU Munich

by Stefan Glasauer

Two PhD positions are available at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München for a fixed term of 36 months, starting 1st September 2015. Both positions are linked to the research projects “Dynamic prior and contextual calibration”, which is a part of the newly funded German research group “active perception”. The project aims to uncover the mechanism underlying dynamic contextual calibration in multimodal environments, and to develop a general Bayesian framework describing the prior updating mechanisms in contextual calibration. In particular, we plan to focus on central tendency effects (for a review, see Shi, Church & Meck, 2013, Petzschner & Glasauer, 2015) in multimodal magnitude estimation. The project is expected to establish a general computational framework to examine whether the brain uses multiple modality-specific priors or an amodal prior in contextual calibration, and how the brain resolves inconsistencies among priors, as well as how action priors are taken into consideration in magnitude estimation. Successful candidates should have an excellent M.Sc. degree, or equivalent (or be currently working towards one) in a field of cognitive or computational neuroscience. Computational modeling and programming skills in MATLAB and R are essential. Good verbal and written communication skills in English, interest and some experience in multi-disciplinary research are highly desirable. Successful candidates will be paid according to German salary scale 65% TVL-13. One candidate will work in Department of Psychology, LMU under the supervision of Zhuanghua Shi, and the other candidate in the Center for Sensorimotor Research, LMU under the supervision of Stefan Glasauer. Applicants should send a completed application form along with a cover letter detailing their research experience and interests, a CV and two academic references electronically to either Zhuanghua Shi (shi(a)psy.lmu.de) or Stefan Glasauer (s.glasauer(a)lrz.uni-muenchen.de) The closing date for applications is August 1st, 2015. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview at the beginning of August. We regret that we may not be able to respond to all applications. Applicants who have not received an offer by the end of August 2015 should consider their application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. LMU Munich is an equal opportunity employer. Applications of women and disabled persons – given similar qualification – are preferred. Applicants with children are welcome. Part-time employment is possible in principle. ------------- Dr. Zhuanghua Shi Experimental Psychology, Department Psychologie LMU München Tel: (+49) 89 2180 5213 Fax: (+49) 89 2180 5211 Lab: http://www.psy.lmu.de/exp/mlab/

July 6, 2015

Event-Driven Retina IC Designer Position

by bernabe

Apologies for Cross-Posting --------------------------- The Sevilla Microelectronics Institute (www.imse-cnm.csic.es) from the Spanish Research Council (www.csic.es) is seeking a post-doc (or highly experienced researcher) with strong analog IC design experience, preferably in vision sensors (but not mandatory). The work to be carried out will be in collaboration with French company Chronocam (http://www.chronocam.com) with the goal of developing new generations of Event-Driven Dynamic Vision Sensors. Salary is negotiable depending on experience and qualifications. Contract is for one year, extensible to two. Later on, if progress is satisfactory, the contract could be extended further or the candidate could be incorporated into Chronocam's staff. Interested candidates please contact directly bernabe(a)imse-cnm.csic.es. -- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bernabe Linares-Barranco, PhD, IEEE Fellow Full Professor (Profesor de Investigacion) CSIC Instituto Microelectronica Sevilla (IMSE) Phone: 34-954-466643/66 National Microelectronics Center, CNM-CSIC Fax: 34-954-466600 Av. Americo Vespucio s/n E-mail: Bernabe.Linares(AT)imse-cnm.csic.es 41092 Sevilla, SPAIN URL: http://www.imse-cnm.csic.es/~bernabe -------------------------------------------------------------------------

July 6, 2015

Post-doc in multimodal neuroimaging in Munich, Germany

by Igor Yakushev

A postdoctoral position is available immediately in the Neuroimaging group (Head: Dr. Igor Yakushev) at the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Technische Universität München (TUM), Munich, Germany. Projects with include the modeling of cerebral networks and disease trajectories on the basis of brain images, as obtained using PET (amyloid, FDG), DTI, and fMRI. The group's clinical focus is neurodegenerative disorders, in particular Alzheimer’s disease. Existing data sets will provide the basis for prompt data analysis and publications. The research group is integrated into the TUM Neuroimaging Center, which possesses a broad methodological and thematic expertise: http://www.tumnic.mri.tum.de/tumnic/index.html The Dept. of Nuclear Medicine offers exciting opportunities for neuroimaging research in an interdisciplinary environment and access to state-of-the-art technology including a hybrid PET/MR scanner. You should hold a PhD or equivalent degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., computer sciences, engineering, physics, mathematics, neuroscience, medicine). Experience in image analysis tools (SPM, FSL, FreeSurfer) is desirable. Solid knowledge of programming (Matlab, Java) and statistics (SPSS, SAS, R) is advantageous. Salary is according to TV-L. The position is limited for two years, with a possibility of extension. Applications will be considered until the position has been filled. Interested researchers should submit their applications including CV, two recommendation letters (or names and contact details of personal references), and a brief letter of motivation to Dr. Yakushev at igor.yakushev(a)lrz.tum.de

July 5, 2015

Autumn school on sensorimotor foundations of social cognition

by Alexander Maye

"The sensorimotor foundations of social cognition" Autumn school Boltenhagen, Baltic Sea, Germany October 11-17, 2015 Description Sensorimotor approaches predict that social cognition does not primarily result from maintaining and running complex models of intentions and beliefs of other agents, but rather from patterns and regularities in the dynamic sensorimotor coupling between them. The school will take stock of concepts and models that follow this emerging view and illuminate them from the perspectives of relevant fields like social psychology, social cognitive neuroscience, robotics and philosophy of mind. Tangible outcomes of the school will be a set of articles on selected aspects of sensorimotor accounts of social cognition which will be authored by the participants and published in Scholarpedia (scholarpedia.org) The school will be the first in a series which is funded and organized by the EU H2020 project "Socializing sensorimotor contingencies - socSMCs" (socSMCs.eu). This year the school is organized by the Dept. of Neurophysiology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (uke.de/neurophysiology). The registration fee is 300Ä and covers participation in the school, accommodation in a single room, breakfast, lunch and three dinners. A reduced fee of 200Ä is requested from participants willing to share a double room. Participants will have to cover their own travel expenses. Content The five-day school will be structured around the following themes: * Enactive and embodied views on social cognition * Non-reductionist, interaction-based approaches to social cognition * Entrainment vs. emulation and mindreading * Dynamical systems theory and social cognition * Neural mechanisms of social interaction: toward a second-person neuroscience * Mutual prediction and adaptation in social interaction * Motor resonance during human-robot interaction The school will comprise keynote lectures in the mornings and discussion groups in the afternoons which serve for in-depth discussions of topics from the keynote lectures. Results from these discussions will be summarized and structured in drafts for Scholarpedia articles. Confirmed Speakers: Luciano Fadiga, University of Ferrara and IIT Genua, Italy Tom Froese, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico D.F. Mattia Gallotti, University College London, UK Peter E. Keller, University of Western Sydney, Australia Christian Keysers, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, John A Michael, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary Albert Newen, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany Andreas Roepstorff, Aarhus University, The Netherlands Giulio Sandini, IIT Genua, Italy Cordula Vesper, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary Kai Vogeley University of Cologne, Germany Date and location The school will take place from Oct. 11-17, 2015, in Boltenhagen, a nice little beach resort at the Baltic Sea and close to Hamburg (http://www.iberotel.de/iberotel-boltenhagen-ostsee-deutschland.html) Important dates: - Application deadline: August 2, 2015 - Notification of acceptance: August 14, 2015 - Summer school: October 11-17, 2015 - Technical program: October 12-16, 2015 How to apply: The school is open to PhD students and postdocs who are working on the themes addressed. Interested participants shall submit written information on their scientific background, projects involved, and motivation to attend. Admission will be on a competitive basis. Applications should be sent via email to school2015(a)socSMCs.eu. Please state on a single page (11pt font): - Your scientific background and degree - Your motivation to come to this school - The topic of your thesis (if appropriate) - Any prior knowledge in the field Further information: The forerunner project "Extending sensorimotor contingencies to cognition - eSMCs" (2011-2014) funded previous schools in this series like "The future of the embodied mind", held 2011 in San Sebasti·n, Spain (summerschool2011.esmcs.eu), the "Barcelona cognition, brain and technology summer school" in 2012 (bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt11, co-funded) and "Embodiment and Morphological Computation", held at the University of Zurich in 2013 (www.ifi.uzh.ch/ailab/summerschool2013) For further questions, please contact us: school2015(a)socSMCs.eu. -- _____________________________________________________________________ Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf; Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts; Gerichtsstand: Hamburg | www.uke.de Vorstandsmitglieder: Prof. Dr. Burkhard Göke (Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr. Dr. Uwe Koch-Gromus, Joachim Prölß, Rainer Schoppik _____________________________________________________________________ SAVE PAPER - THINK BEFORE PRINTING

July 3, 2015

Postdoctoral Position in Computational Neuroscience at IUPUI

by Yaroslav Molkov

A postdoctoral/research associate position in computational neuroscience for the duration of up to two years is available in the externally funded project focusing on multiscale computational modeling of motor control mechanisms, involving interactions between basal ganglia, thalamus, cerebellum, cortex, and spinal cord in connection with realistic simulation of pathological changes in motor control during Huntington’s disease. This collaborative project is performed jointly by the groups of Drs. Ilya Rybak (Dept. of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA) and Yaroslav Molkov (Dept. of Mathematical Science, Indiana University – Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN, USA). Applicants must have a PhD degree in Neuroscience, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or a related discipline, a strong research record, and excellent C++ programming skills. Previous experience in computational neuronal modeling is a plus. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Dr. Molkov ( ymolkov(a)iupui.edu) by email. To apply, please send an email along with (1) curriculum vitae; (2) a cover letter describing previous research experience and interests; (3) the names and contact information of three references. ================================= Yaroslav Molkov, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Indiana University - Purdue University at Indianapolis Department of Mathematical Sciences 402 N. Blackford St, LD 270, Indianapolis, IN 46202 Office: LD 224U Phone: (317) 274-6934 Fax: (317) 274-3460 Email: ymolkov(a)iupui.edu

July 2, 2015

Call for posters/registration: Orbitofrontal Cortex and Cognition in the City of Lights, Sept 30 – Oct 2, 2015 @ Paris, France

by Mehdi Khamassi

[Please accept our apologies if you get multiple copies of this message] Dear colleagues, It is our great pleasure to invite you to the Third Quadrennial Meeting on Orbitofrontal Cortex Function, entitled "Orbitofrontal Cortex and Cognition in the City of Lights", which will take place in Paris, France, on Sept 30th – Oct 2nd 2015. Online registration is now open at http://ofc2015.isir.upmc.fr The deadline for poster submission is: July, 31st. The deadline for registration is: August 31st. Registration fees (250 euros) also include the social event. Please circulate widely and encourage your colleagues and team members to attend. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX AND COGNITION IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS (OFC 2015) Sept 30-Oct 2, 2015, Paris, France Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Hôpital La Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France. & Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France. http://ofc2015.isir.upmc.fr ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRESENTATION: The Third Quadrennial Meeting on Orbitofrontal Cortex Function which will take place in Paris, France, on Sept 30th – Oct 2nd 2015 at the Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Paris, France. The objective of this three day meeting is to bring together researchers with a deep interest in the role of the orbitofrontal cortex in supporting cognition (behavior, learning, decision-making) across species. The meeting is the third, following up on similar meetings in 2007 and 2011. As such, it is intended to focus specifically on new ideas and research that has influenced the field over the past 4 years and that appear likely to lead the way into the next 4 years. The meeting consists of both invited talks and poster sessions. The invited talks are loosely organized into six different sessions that are titled to reflect the various stages of processing underlying cognition. Talks will be relatively short with ample time for questions and discussion after each talk and sub-group of talks. Poster sessions will be interspersed to allow participants to interact and present their own unique findings of relevance to advancing our understanding of this fascinating brain region. CONFIRMED SPEAKERS: Tim Behrens (Oxford University, UK) Yogita Chudasama (McGill University, Canada) Howard Eichenbaum (Boston University, USA) Lesley Fellows (McGill University, Canada) Jay Gottfried (Northwestern University, USA) Shannon Gourley (Emory University, USA) Christina Gremel (UCSD, USA) Ben Hayden (University of Rochester, USA) Patricia Janak (John Hopkins, USA) Thorsten Kahnt (Northwestern University, USA) Daeyeol Lee (Yale University, USA) Elisabeth Murray (NIMH, USA) Yael Niv (Princeton University, USA) John O'Doherty (Caltech, USA) Camillo Padoa-Schioppa (Washington Univ. St Louis, USA) Mathias Pessiglione (INSERM-ICM, France) Angela Roberts (Cambridge University, UK) Peter Rudebeck (Mount Sinai School, USA) Matthew Rushworth (Oxford University, UK) Geoffrey Schoenbaum (NIDA-NIH, USA) Wolfram Schultz (Cambridge University, UK) Matthew Shapiro (Mount Sinai School, USA) Philippe Tobler (University of Zurich, Switzerland) Jonathan Wallis (University of California at Berkeley, USA) Catharine Winstanley (University of British Columbia, Canada) IMPORTANT DATES: July 31, 2015 Deadline for Poster Submission August 31, 2015 Deadline for Registration Sept 30-Oct 2, 2015 Symposium Venue ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: Jay Gottfried (Northwestern University, USA) Mehdi Khamassi (CNRS / UPMC, Paris, France) Elisabeth Murray (NIMH, USA) Mathias Pessiglione (INSERM / ICM, France) Geoffrey Schoenbaum (NIDA-NIH, USA) CONTACT INFORMATION : Website, registration, poster submission and detailed program: http://ofc2015.isir.upmc.fr Contact: ofc2015 [ at ] isir.upmc.fr / ofc2015-registration(a)isir.upmc.fr -- Mehdi Khamassi, PhD Researcher (CNRS) Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique (UMR7222) CNRS - Université Pierre et Marie Curie Pyramide, Tour 55 - Boîte courrier 173 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France tel: + 33 1 44 27 28 85 fax: +33 1 44 27 51 45 cell: +33 6 50 76 44 92 http://people.isir.upmc.fr/khamassi

July 2, 2015

Postdoc position in Computational Neuroscience in the Clopath lab.

by Claudia Clopath

Postdoc position in Computational Neuroscience in the Clopath lab. ----------------------------------------------------- Computational Neuroscience Laboratory Headed by Dr. Claudia Clopath Department of Bioengineering Imperial College London -----------------Requirements:----------------- The Computational Neuroscience Laboratory, headed by Dr. Claudia Clopath, is looking for a talented Postdoc, interested in working in the field of computational neuroscience, specifically addressing questions of learning and memory. The perfect candidate has a strong mathematical, physical or engineering background (or equivalent), and a keen interest in biological and neural systems. A PhD in the field of computational neuroscience is a plus. PostDoc funding is secured for at least 2 years. -----------------Research topic:----------------- Learning and memory are among the most fascinating topic of neuroscience, yet our understanding of it is only at the beginning. Learning is thought to change the connections between the neurons in the brain, a process called synaptic plasticity. Using mathematical and computational tools, it is possible to model synaptic plasticity across different time scales, which helps understand how different types of memory are formed. The PostDoc candidate will be working to build those models of synaptic plasticity, and study the functional role of synaptic plasticity in artificial neural networks. ----------------- The lab:----------------------- The Computational Neuroscience Laboratory is very young and dynamic, and publishes in prestigious journals, such as Nature and Science. It is part of the Department of Bioengineering, which conducts state-of-the-art multidisciplinary research in biomechanics, neuroscience and neurotechnology. The lab is at Imperial College London, the 3rd ranked university in Europe, is in the top 10 worldwide, and is located in the city centre of London. More information can be found at: http://www.bg.ic.ac.uk/research/c.clopath/lab/ <http://www.bg.ic.ac.uk/research/c.clopath/> ----------------- How to apply:----------------- Candidates should send a single pdf file, consisting of a 1-page motivation letter and CV (including publication list) to clopathlab.imperial(a)gmail.com, with the subject containing 'Postdoc2015'. In addition, candidates should organize two letters of reference to be sent to clopathlab.imperial(a)gmail.com. The position is open until filled but the earlier applications will be considered first.

July 1, 2015

Increased Impact Factor (2014/15) and Table of Contents Alert: Cognitive Computation journal (Springer): Vol.7, No.3 / June 2015 Issue

by Dr Amir Hussain

Dear Colleagues: (with advance apologies for any cross-postings) We are delighted to announce the publication of Volume 7, No.3 / June 2015 Issue, of Springer's Cognitive Computation journal - www.springer.com/12559 ================================================================ Important News: Increased Impact Factor & Six bi-monthly Journal Issues from 2015! ================================================================ As you will know, Cognitive Computation was selected for coverage in Thomson Reuter’s products and services in 2011. Beginning with V.1 (1) 2009, this publication is now indexed and abstracted in: ♦ Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch®) ♦ Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition ♦ Current Contents®/Engineering Computing and Technology ♦ Neuroscience Citation Index® Cognitive Computation received its first Impact Factor (IF) of 1.0 in 2011 The IF for 2014 has increased to 1.44 (Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports® 2014) Many congratulations to the editors, reviewers and authors! Want to be part of the growing success? Visit the journal homepage (http:// springer.com/12559) for instructions on submitting your research. ================================= Quarterly to Bi-monthly Issues, from 2015!! ================================= Due to continuously growing number of high quality submissions, the number of Issues has increased from four (quarterly Issues) to six (bi-monthly Issues) each year, starting Feb 2015! ======================================== The June 2015 Issue comprises two invited papers - the first by Guang-Bin Huang: "What are Extreme Learning Machines? Filling the Gap Between Frank Rosenblatt’s Dream and John von Neumann’s Puzzle", and the second by Asim Roy: "On Findings of Category and Other Concept Cells in the Brain: Some Theoretical Perspectives on Mental Representation"). These are followed by eight regular papers. The full listing of published articles (Table of Contents) for this June 2015 Issue can be viewed here (and also at the end of this message, followed by an overview of the previous Issues/Archive listings): http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/7/3/ <http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/6/3/> A list of the journal's most downloaded articles (which can always be read for FREE) can be found here: http://www.springer .com/biomed/neuroscience/journal/12559?hideChart=1#realtime Other 'Online First' published articles not yet in a print issue can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/121361/?Content+Status=Accepted All previous Volumes and Issues of the journal can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/volumesAndIssues/12559 ============================================ Reminder: Cognitive Computation "LinkedIn" Group: ============================================ To further strengthen the bonds amongst the interdisciplinary audience of Cognitive Computation, we have set-up a "Cognitive Computation LinkedIn group", which has over 800 members already! We warmly invite you to join us at: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3155048 For further information on the journal and to sign up for electronic "Table of Contents alerts" please visit the Cognitive Computation homepage: http://www.springer.com/12559 or follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/CognComput for the latest On-line First Issues. For any questions with regards to LinkedIn and/or Twitter, please contact Springer's Publishing Editor: Marleen Moore: Marleen.Moore(a)springer.com Finally, we would like to invite you to submit short or regular papers describing original research or timely review of important areas - our aim is to peer review all papers within approximately six-eight weeks of receipt. We also welcome relevant high quality proposals for Special Issues - four are already planned for 2015-16 (for CFPs, see: http://www.springer.com/biomed/neuroscience/journal/12559?detailsPage=press ) With our very best wishes to all aspiring readers and authors of Cognitive Computation, Professor Amir Hussain, PhD (Editor-in-Chief: Cognitive Computation) E-mail: ahu(a)cs.stir.ac.uk (University of Stirling, Scotland, UK) Professor Igor Aleksander, PhD (Honorary Editor-in-Chief: Cognitive Computation) (Imperial College, London, UK) http://www.springer.com/12559 NEW: Open Access Springer/BMC journal: Big Data Analytics ( http://www.bdataanalytics.com/) - Now accepting submissions! NEW: Springer Series on Socio-Affective Computing: http://www.springer.com/series/13199 Also consider your work for related Book Series: SpringerBriefs on Cognitive Computation: http://www.springer .com/series/10374 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Alert -- Cognitive Computation Vol 7 No 3, June 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What are Extreme Learning Machines? Filling the Gap Between Frank Rosenblatt’s Dream and John von Neumann’s Puzzle Guang-Bin Huang http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-015-9333-0 On Findings of Category and Other Concept Cells in the Brain: Some Theoretical Perspectives on Mental Representation Asim Roy http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9307-7 Models for Computational Emotions from Psychological Theories Using Type I Fuzzy Logic Aladdin Ayesh, William Blewitt http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9287-7 Models for Computational Emotions from Psychological Theories Using Type-II Fuzzy Logic Aladdin Ayesh, William Blewitt http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9286-8 Is Attentional Refreshing in Working Memory Sequential? A Computational Modeling Approach Sophie Portrat, Benoît Lemaire http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9294-8 Uncertain Graph Classification Based on Extreme Learning Machine Donghong Han, Yachao Hu, Shuangshuang Ai, Guoren Wang http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9295-7 Optimization of Multiuser MIMO Cooperative Spectrum Sensing in Cognitive Radio Networks Yongqiang Hei, Wentao Li, Min Li, Zhuo Qiu, Weihong Fu http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9297-5 Word Polarity Disambiguation Using Bayesian Model and Opinion-Level Features Yunqing Xia, Erik Cambria, Amir Hussain, Huan Zhao http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9298-4 Imbalanced Learning for Air Pollution by Meta-Cognitive Online Sequential Extreme Learning Machine Chi-Man Vong, Weng-Fai Ip, Chi-Chong Chiu, Pak-Kin Wong http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9301-0 Daniel D. Hutto and Erik Myin: Radicalizing Enactivism: Basic Minds without Content Paulo De Jesus http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-014-9306-8 --------------------------------------------------------- Previous Issues/Archive: Overview: --------------------------------------------------------- All previous Volumes and Issues can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/volumesAndIssues/12559 Alternatively, the full listing of the Inaugural Vol. 1, No. 1 / March 2009, can be viewed here (which included invited authoritative reviews by leading researchers in their areas - including keynote papers from London University's John Taylor, Igor Aleksander and Stanford University's James McClelland, and invited papers from Ron Sun, Pentti Haikonen, Geoff Underwood, Kevin Gurney, Claudius Gross, Anil Seth and Tom Ziemke): http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/1/1/ The full listing of Vol. 1, No. 2 / June 2009, can be viewed here (which included invited reviews and original research contributions from leading researchers, including Rodney Douglas, Giacomo Indiveri, Jurgen Schmidhuber, Thomas Wennekers, Pentti Kanerva and Friedemann Pulvermuller): http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/1/2/ The full listing of Vol.1, No. 3 / Sep 2009, can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/1/3/ The full listing of Vol. 1, No. 4 / Dec 2009, can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/1/4/ The full listing of Vol.2, No. 1 / March 2010, can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/2/1/ The full listing of Vol.2, No. 2 / June 2010, can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/2/2/ The full listing of Vol.2, No. 3 / Aug 2010, can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/2/3/ The full listing of Vol.2, No. 4 / Dec 2010, can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/2/4/ The full listing of Vol.3, No.1 / Mar 2011 (Special Issue on: Saliency, Attention, Active Visual Search and Picture Scanning, edited by John Taylor and Vassilis Cutsuridis), can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/3/1/ The Guest Editorial can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/hu2245056415633l/ The full listing of Vol.3, No.2 / June 2011 can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/3/2/ The full listing of Vol. 3, No. 3 / Sep 2011 (Special Issue on: Cognitive Behavioural Systems, Guest Edited by: Anna Esposito, Alessandro Vinciarelli, Simon Haykin, Amir Hussain and Marcos Faundez-Zanuy), can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/3/3/ The Guest Editorial for the special issue can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/h4718567520t2h84/ The full listing of Vol. 3, No. 4 / Dec 2011 can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/3/4/ The full listing of Vol. 4, No.1 / Mar 2012 can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/4/1/ The full listing of Vol. 4, No.2 / June 2012 can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/4/2/ The full listing of Vol. 4, No.3 / Sep 2012 (Special Issue on: Computational Creativity, Intelligence and Autonomy, Edited by: J. Mark Bishop and Yasemin J. Erden) can be viewed here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9956/4/3/ The full listing of Vol. 4, No.4 / Dec 2012 (Special Issue titled: "Cognitive & Emotional Information Processing", Edited by: Stefano Squartini, Björn Schuller and Amir Hussain, which is followed by a number of regular papers), can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/4/4/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 5, No.1 / March 2013 Special Issue titled: Computational Intelligence and Applications Guest Editors: Zhigang Zeng & Haibo He, which is followed by a number of regular papers), can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/5/1/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 5, No.2 / June 2013 Special Issue titled: Advances on Brain Inspired Computing, Guest Editors: Stefano Squartini, Sanqing Hu & Qingshan Liu, which is followed by a number of regular papers), can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/5/2/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 5, No.3 / Sep 2013 Special Issue titled: In Memory of John G Taylor: A Polymath Scholar, Guest Editors: Vassilis Cutsuridis & Amir Hussain, which is followed by a number of regular papers), can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/5/3/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 5, No.4 / Dec 2013, which includes regular papers (including an invited paper by Professor Ron Sun, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA, titled: Moral Judgment, Human Motivation, and Neural Networks), and a Special Issue titled: Advanced Cognitive Systems Based on Nonlinear Analysis. Guest Editors: Carlos M. Travieso and Jesús B. Alonso, can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/5/4/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 6, No.1 / Mar 2014, can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/6/1/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 6, No.2 / June 2014, can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/6/2/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 6, No.3 / Sep 2014, can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/6/3/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 6, No.4 / Dec 2014 (Special Issue on Modeling emotion, behaviour and context in socially believable robots and ICT interfaces, Guest Editors: Anna Esposito, Leopoldina Fortunati, and Giuseppe Lugano) can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/6/4/page/1 The full listing of Vol. 7, No.1 / Feb 2015 can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/7/1/ (with the first six papers part of a Special Issue on "Neural Signal Processing", Guest Edited by: Jordi Sole´-Casals, Francois-Benoit Vialatte, Justin Dauwels. The Guest Editorial titled: "Alternative Techniques of Neural Signal Processing in Neuroengineering" is available (for free download) here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-015-9317-0) The full listing of Vol. 7, No. 2 / April 2015, can be viewed here: http://link.springer.com/journal/12559/7/2/ This comprises a Special Issue on "Sentic Computing", Guest Edited by: E. Cambria and A. Hussain. The Guest Editorial titled: "Sentic Computing" is available (for free download) here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12559-015-9325-0 -- The University is ranked in the QS World Rankings of the top 5% of universities in the world (QS World University Rankings, 2014) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

June 30, 2015

Reminder: Summer school on nonlinear methods, application deadline 10th of July

by Michael von Papen

Dear all, This is a reminder for the upcoming Cologne Summer School on non-linear analysis methods for master's degree and PhD students. Deadline for applications is 10th of July, 2015. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cologne Summer School 2015: *Non-Linear Methods for Complex Systems Analysis* Date: Mon-Fri 28.09-02.10.2015 Location: *University of Cologne*, Germany ------------------------------------------------------------------- This one-week summer school brings together *master's degree and PhD students from international universities* for an interdisciplinary hands-on learning experience. The workshop will introduce non-linear analysis methods using the Python toolbox pyunicorn. With the techniques presented in the summer school, such as complex networks and phase space concepts, the students will be able to characterize highly complex systems. Such systems are frequently encountered, e.g., in *biology, chemistry, economics, geoscience, neuroscience, and physics*. Lectures and computer labs will be led by Dr. Reik Donner and Marc Wiedermann from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. For the complete program visit *complexsystems.uni-koeln.de/summerschool.html*. The application deadline is 10.07.2015. The summer school is organized by the Competence Area 3: Quantitative Modeling of Complex Systems of the University of Cologne. Contact: Dr. Michael von Papen (/vonpapen(a)geo.uni-koeln.de/) ------------------------------------------------------------------- *Information* The Competence Area 3: Quantitative Modeling of Complex Systems of the University of Cologne hosts a summer school to introduce novel and groundbreaking methods for the analysis of scientific data. For this matter, we bring together master's degree and PhD students from the University of Cologne and from international universities for an interdisciplinary learning experience. The aim of the summer school is not only to teach new analysis methods, but also to foster scientific collaboration and discussion between students of different fields of study. This year, the summer school of the Competence Area 3 will introduce non-linear analysis methods to study highly complex systems, which cannot be sufficiently characterized with linear methods. Such systems are frequently encountered, e.g., in biology, chemistry, economics, geoscience, neuroscience, and physics. The one-week summer school will take place from Monday to Friday, September 28 - October 2, at the University of Cologne, Germany. The strongly interdisciplinary hands-on course consists of lectures and computer labs and will provide the students with novel analysis techniques and concepts. Amongst others, the workshop will cover topics such as detrended fluctuation analysis, complex networks, scaling analysis, synchronization, transfer entropy, and causality, which help to characterize systems that are governed by non-linear processes. The summer school is led by *Dr. Reik Donner and Marc Wiedermann* from the *Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research* based on their lectures at the Humboldt University, Berlin, and their popular short-courses at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly. They will introduce the Python toolbox /pyunicorn/ for non-linear analysis along with prominent examples of modern analysis frameworks highlighting the methodological variety of complex systems based data analysis (see program below). The techniques that are taught in the summer school will be illustrated by applications to real-world data from different fields of study. The course materials will be made available to the participants after the course, including example codes for the platform-independent open-source software Python and the toolbox pyunicorn. The course will be held in English. For questions, please contact Mitch von Papen (vonpapen(a)geo.uni-koeln.de) *Program* The summer school consists of approximately the same amount of lectures and computer labs. During the lectures, the basics of the analysis methods are explained. Subsequently, these methods are applied to synthetic and real-world data in computer labs. The students work on a project in small groups and present and discuss their results at the end of the workshop. The students are introduced to the concepts of several non-linear analysis methods and will gain experience in applying the toolbox pyunicorn as well as in interpreting the results. Ideally, the summer school will enable the students to use the learned techniques on their own scientific data after the summer school. The approximate schedule for the summer school is given below. Note however, that changes may occur due to group dynamics. /Monday, September 28th/ 09:00 a.m. | Lecture 1: Introduction - linear vs. non-linear methods, Stationarity, uni- and multivariate correlation analysis, classical early warning methods, non-linearity tests and surrogate data 11:00 a.m. | Lecture 2: Long-range dependence and scaling analysis, Persistence and anti-persistence, power spectrum, Hurst exponent, detrended fluctuation analysis 02:00 p.m. | Tutorial 1: Introduction to Python, Why Python in science?, important packages for scientific computing, common data types, structure of pyunicorn 04:00 p.m. | Tutorial 2: Assignment of group projects, (6 groups a 5 persons) 07:00 p.m. | Social get-together at local brewery /Tuesday, September 29th/ 09:00 a.m. | Lecture 3: Introduction to complex networks, Mathematical representation of networks, structural network characteristics, basic network models, identification of power-laws, interconnected and multi-layer networks 11:00 a.m. | Lecture 4: Inferring networks from data, Functional network analysis (correlation networks, examples from climatology, neurophysiology and economics), visibility graphs 02:00 p.m. | Tutorial 3: tbd 04:00 p.m. | Tutorial 4: tbd /Wednesday, September 30th/ 09:00 a.m. | Lecture 5: Information theory and entropy, Basic concepts, Shannon-, Renyi- and Tsallis-entropies as statistical quantifiers, Kolmogorov-Sinai (source) entropy and estimation via block entropies, order patterns and permutation entropy, mutual information, transfer entropy and causality, independent component analysis 11:00 a.m. | Lecture 6: Synchronization, Definition and types of synchronization, phase synchronization: order parameters and phase dynamics from data, generalized synchronization 02:00 p.m. | Tutorial 5: tbd 04:00 p.m. | Tutorial 6: tbd /Thursday, October 1st/ 09:00 a.m. | Lecture 7: Phase space concepts, Phase space of dynamical systems, embedding, fractal dimensions, correlation integral and relation with entropies, entropy estimates from embedded data 11:00 a.m. | Lecture 8: Recurrence analysis, Recurrence in phase space; recurrence plots, quantification analysis and networks; multivariate generalizations; applications: synchronization analysis, coupling direction 02:00 p.m. | Tutorial 7: tbd 04:00 p.m. | Tutorial 8: tbd /Friday, October 2nd/ 09:00 a.m. | Presentation and discussion of projects 1-3 from the tutorials 11:00 a.m. | Presentation and discussion of projects 4-6 from the tutorials 02:00 p.m. | Open discussion: Outlook on contemporary developments in the field 03:30 p.m. | End of day 5: Farewell -- ------------------------------------------ UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE Institute of Geophysics & Meteorology Coordinator of Competence Area III: Quantitative Modeling of Complex Systems Dr. Michael von Papen Pohligstr. 3 (R 3.224) 50969 Cologne Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-2841 Email: vonpapen(a)geo.uni-koeln.de http://complexsystems.uni-koeln.de

June 30, 2015

Postdoctoral Positions in Computational Neuroscience at Sandia National Laboratories

by Chance, Frances S.

Colleagues, We are seeking postdoctoral researchers to join an interdisciplinary research program focused on understanding neural computation at the circuit level. Example research topics of interest include computational models of visual cortex, neural circuitry underlying perception, and the neural basis of decision-making. Candidates should have a strong background in neuroscience, and an interest in understanding of relations between neuroscience, cognitive science, and computation. Experience or familiarity with related machine-learning fields is also desired. Our department is part of a highly interdisciplinary community of researchers with interests spanning systems neuroscience and brain-inspired computing, engineering, and computer science. Successful applicants will be expected to conduct high-quality research, maintain a successful publication record in peer-reviewed journals, and develop collaborations with this vibrant and growing community. This position is located at Sandia's Albuquerque, NM, USA site. To view the full job advertisement and to apply, visit http://www.sandia.gov/careers/ and click "View All Jobs". Go to the Advanced Search, then search for Job Opening ID 650197. Please contact Frances Chance (fschanc(a)sandia.gov<mailto:fschanc@sandia.gov>) or Brad Aimone (jbaimon(a)sandia.gov<mailto:jbaimon@sandia.gov>) with any questions.

June 29, 2015

Computational Neuroscience Positions at Sandia National Laboratories

by Chance, Frances S.

Colleagues, We are seeking computational neuroscientists to join an interdisciplinary research program focused on understanding neural computation at the circuit level. Preference will be given to candidates using computational approaches, broadly defined, to understand visual cortex and perception, but we welcome applicants from all areas of computational neuroscience. Example research topics of interest include computational models of visual cortex, neural circuitry underlying perception, and the neural basis of decision-making. Candidates should have a strong background in neuroscience, and an understanding of relations between neuroscience, cognitive science, and computation. Experience or familiarity with related machine-learning fields is also desired. Our department is part of a highly interdisciplinary community of researchers with interests spanning systems neuroscience and brain-inspired computing, engineering, and computer science. Successful applicants will be expected to conduct high-quality research, maintain a successful publication record in peer-reviewed journals, and develop collaborations with this vibrant and growing community. Staff members at Sandia are expected both to contribute to ongoing projects and to develop new lines of research with potential for application in solving complex problems. This position is located at Sandia's Albuquerque, NM, USA site. Multiple positions for varying levels of experience are available. For more information and to apply, visit http://www.sandia.gov/careers/ and click "View All Jobs". Go to the Advanced Search, then search for Job Opening ID 650198. For questions please contact Frances Chance (fschanc(a)sandia.gov<mailto:fschanc@sandia.gov>) or Brad Aimone (jbaimon(a)sandia.gov<mailto:jbaimon@sandia.gov>).

June 29, 2015

Workshop on "Spike Initiation: Models & Experiments" at CNS2015 - 22/7/2015, Prague

by Giugliano Michele

Apologies for cross-posting. We would like to announce the following event ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Workshop on "Spike Initiation: Models & Experiments"<http://www.namasen.net/drupal/sites/CNS2015Workshop/CNS2015_Workshop_-_Spik…> as part of the CNS2015<http://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2015-prague> programme July 22nd, 2015, Prague, Czech Republic ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The workshop gathers leading experimentalists and theoreticians to discuss a pivotal element for our quantitative understanding of neuronal excitability: the initiation of action potentials. Phenomenological, electrophysiological, and computational aspects of spike initiation will be discussed by addressing the following questions: · What models can quantitatively account for experimental observations? · How is spike initiation regulated at different time scales? · What is the role of the various ionic channels expressed in the axonal initial segment? · What is the significance of neuronal morphology and spatial distribution of channels? · What are the functional consequences of spike initiation properties? The workshop is organised as a symposium of the CNS2015 conference<http://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2015-prague> (see here<http://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2015-workshops-program>). Organizers: Romain Brette, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France, Michele Giugliano, University of Antwerp (UA), Wilrijk, Belgium. Speakers: Romain Brette, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France, Martina Michalikova, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany. Andreas Neef, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Goettingen, Germany. Florence Cotel, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Michele Giugliano, University of Antwerp (UA), Wilrijk, Belgium. Maarten Kole, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Christian Pozzorini, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland. Nadim Farzan, Federated Dept Biological Sciences, NJIT & Rutgers Univ, Newark, USA. William Spain, Washington University, Seattle, Washington, USA. Find more information online: http://www.frontiersin.org/events/Spike_Initation_Models__Experiments/3036 Michele Giugliano and Romain Brette — Michele Giugliano, PhD Dept. of Biomedical Sciences University of Antwerp Campus Drie Eiken (CDE) - D.T.657 Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Wilrijk (Belgium) url: http://www.uantwerpen.be/michele-giugliano

June 29, 2015

Early bird registration extended: Swinburne Brain Imaging Symposium 2015: Principles and Applications of Magnetoencephalography

by David Liley

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION EXTENDED TO 26th July 2015 Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, is hosting a workshop to promote the unique capabilities of magnetoencephalography for basic and clinical research and clinical decision making. Running over two days from 29 to 30 July 2015 it will feature invited talks from some of the fields most important research leaders and a MEG data analysis hands-on computer workshop. Invited Speakers: Mark Woolrich (Oxford) Krish Singh (Cardiff) Vladimir Litvak (UCL) Suresh Muthukumaraswamy (Auckland) Blake Johnson (Macquarie) In addition to the keynote speakers and computer workshop there will also be an open poster session for registrants to present their work in any of the following or related thematic areas: magnetoencephalography, electroencephalography, clinical monitoring, neuroimaging, TMS, tDCS, tACS or brain-computer interfaces Poster abstract submission deadline: CLOSED Invited Symposia & Cocktail Poster Session – 29-30 July 2015: Early bird registration: full: AU$300; Student/Post-docs: AU$80. Early bird registration deadline: 26th July 2015. Standard registration: full: AU$450; Student/Early Career Researcher: AU$120. Hands-on MEG Data analysis workshop (spaces limited to 30) – 30 July afternoon: SOLD OUT For further information on the invited speakers as well as the preliminary workshop program, and how to submit abstracts and register visit: http://www.research.swinburne.edu.au/our-research/events/neuroimaging-sympo… Please forward this notice to anyone that you think might be interested. On behalf of the organizing committee David Liley, MBChB, PhD Brian Cornwell, PhD Email: megsymposium(a)swin.edu.au<mailto:megsymposium@swin.edu.au> --------------------------- Prof David Liley Brain and Psychological Sciences Research Centre Swinburne University of Technology P.O. Box 218 Hawthorn VIC 3122 Australia ph: +61 3 9214 8812<tel:%2B61%203%209214%208812>

June 29, 2015

Fully funded PhD position available at Ulster University (UK), in Brain-inspired Self-repairing Electronic Systems.

by Harkin, Jim

A fully funded PhD position is available at the Intelligent Systems Research Center, Ulster University, UK, in Brain-inspired Self-repairing Electronic Systems. Background Applications are invited for a PhD studentship in Brain-inspired Self-repairing Electronic Systems. The proposed PhD project work is part of the recently funded 3½ year EPSRC project ‘SPANNER’ (EP/N00714X/1) which investigates the development of brain-inspired self-repairing systems, and is in collaboration with the Department of Electronics, University of York. The PhD project will build upon existing investigations at Ulster into the development of highly reliable, large-scale computing systems, where hardware building block have been developed to support brain inspired hardware architectures. In particular, at Ulster we have shown that astrocyte cells interact with neurons to detect when a fault has occurred in the connections making up a network of neurons. We have also developed computer models that demonstrate not only how faults are detected but also how the brain performs repairs. The proposed PhD project will investigate the development of a novel self-repair strategy for computing systems. The concept will explore current thinking on how the human brain performs repair using “astrocyte” cells (glia cells), and will explore how the key principle of this mechanism can be used in the context of electronic systems to provide a novel repair strategy in hardware. Currently an existing software model of a self-repairing astrocyte-neuron network is available and this will be an initial functional specification for the self-repairing hardware strategy. The key research aim is to use the software model of the astrocyte-neuron network and explore how to effectively and efficiently map it to FPGA hardware. Synapse and neuron building blocks for FPGAs have been demonstrated by the Ulster team and will be initially used in the hardware design. The research will look to optimise the FPGA implementation for scalability and this will include the design of astrocyte cells, 3-terminal synapses and interconnectivity between cells, synapses and neurons. An FPGA-based implementation of a demonstrator will be explored to showcase the levels of resilience to injected faults. The successful candidate will be located at the Intelligent Systems Research Centre on the Magee campus of the Ulster University however, aspects of the work will require short research visits to collaborate with project partners at the University of York. Requirements Candidates should hold, or expect to hold a first or upper second class honours degree in Electronic/Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science or a cognate area. Applications will be considered on a competitive basis with regard to the candidate’s qualifications, skills experience and interests. Successful candidates will enrol as of 1st October 2015, on a full-time programme of research studies leading to the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Award The studentship will comprise fees and an annual stipend of £14,057. It will be awarded for a period of up to three years subject to satisfactory progress and is tenable in the Faculty of Computing and Engineering. Further Information If you wish to receive further information please contact: Dr. Jim Harkin (jg.harkin(a)ulster.ac.uk<mailto:jg.harkin@ulster.ac.uk>) Procedure For more information on applying go to www.ulster.ac.uk/research<http://www.ulster.ac.uk/research> Apply online via www.ulster.ac.uk/applyonline<http://www.ulster.ac.uk/applyonline> Closing date and interviews The closing date for receipt of completed applications is 10th July 2015. Interviews will be held in July 2015. ________________________________ This email and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee and may contain information which is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager at postmaster(a)ulster.ac.uk and delete this email immediately. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ulster University. The University's computer systems may be monitored and communications carried out on them may be recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes. Ulster University does not guarantee that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or 100% secure. Unless expressly stated in the body of a separate attachment, the text of email is not intended to form a binding contract. Correspondence to and from the University may be subject to requests for disclosure by 3rd parties under relevant legislation. The University of Ulster was founded by Royal Charter in 1984 and is registered with company number RC000726 and VAT registered number GB672390524.The primary contact address for Ulster University in Northern Ireland is Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry BT52 1SA

June 28, 2015

Post-doctoral research position in vision and memory (I2R, Singapore)

by Cheston Tan

We are seeking an exceptional postdoctoral researcher in visual recognition, learning and memory. The position is available immediately, at the Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) in Singapore. The project is part of a large multidisciplinary grant (PI: Prof. Tomaso Poggio of MIT) involving multiple universities and research institutions in Singapore (SBIC/CIRC, Duke-NUS Medical School, NUS/NUH, NTU, SINAPSE). The candidate will work on visual recognition, learning and memory algorithms with a strong multidisciplinary team at I2R, and with Prof. Poggio. Collaborators include Prof. Brown Hsieh (Duke-NUS Medical School), Prof. Gabriel Kreiman (Harvard Medical School), Prof. Zhao Qi (National University of Singapore) and Dr. Demis Hassabis (Google/DeepMind). Candidates must have a PhD in computer science, neuroscience, engineering, psychology or related fields. Strong programming and quantitative skills are required. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English. Interest in biologically-inspired approaches preferred. The appointment will be for up to 2 years (possibly with extension), with internationally-competitive salaries and benefits. Other benefits include: - Funding for international conferences and training courses - Collaboration opportunities with an excellent network of international scientists - Opportunities for attachments at MIT and the Center for Brains, Minds and Machines (http://cbmm.mit.edu/) Interested candidates should send a CV, statement of research interests and three references to Dr. Cheston Tan (cheston(a)alum.mit.edu) Position will be open until filled; send applications sooner rather than later if interested. More information: - Dr. Cheston Tan: http://www.mit.edu/~cheston/CV_short.pdf - Dr. Lim Joo-Hwee: http://www.i2r.a-star.edu.sg/profile/dr-lim-joo-hwee - Institute for Infocomm Research: http://www.i2r.a-star.edu.sg/ - Working in Singapore: http://www.contactsingapore.sg/professionals/why_singapore/

June 27, 2015

ICDM Workshop HealthMining 2015 and HISS Special Issue (Deadline: July 20, 2015)

by william

[Please accept our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this email] CALL FOR PAPERS HEALTHMINING 2015 - The ICDM Workshop on Data Mining and Decision Analytics on Public Health and Wellness (URL: http://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk/~healthmining2015/) In conjunction with the IEEE International Conference on Data Mining (ICDM 2015) AIMS and SCOPE For many years, data mining and decision analytics techniques have already been extensively applied to various domains, such as smart environments, social networks, marketing, and web technology. The focus of this workshop is mainly on the issues and challenges of data mining techniques with the purpose of improving human well-being and quality of life. It is expected that the workshop may increase the diversity of application areas that can benefit from data mining. At the same time, it is also desirable that the discussion and vision of this workshop would also offer further insights into, as well as new tools for, the issues of data collection, processing, system modeling, simulation and optimization arising from various public health topics. The objective of this workshop is to serve as a venue for researchers to discuss how data mining and analytics methods can contribute to improving public health quality in clinical, medical/biomedical, and healthcare systems in smart ways, including evidence-based medicine, personalized treatment and healthcare, assistive technology and active surveillance and control of diseases. In addition to mining statistical regularities, associations, or causalities from large-scale health-related datasets, it would be more desirable to further investigate how the results can effectively and efficiently support decision-making, system modeling, optimization, and simulation in various healthcare systems. TOPICS OF INTEREST - Large-scale data acquisition and management issues for public health - Social and other network-based analysis for public health - Medical big data mining and innovative applications - Mining risk patterns in medical data - Mental and physical health data integration - Biomarker discovery and biomedical data mining - Clinical data mining for practice knowledge building - Data mining from clinical decision-making, and practitioner reflection - Data mining from genetic data of diseases - Data mining for disease profiling and personalized treatment - Data mining for (active) syndromic surveillance - Data mining for infectious/chronic disease epidemiology and control - Data mining for exploring hidden patterns in clinical systems - Data mining for medical/biomedical, and healthcare systems - Data mining for assistive environments - Data modeling and information management for pervasive assistive environments - Data mining and knowledge modeling for wellness - Spatiotemporal data exploration and mining of diseases - Unstructured data mining in medicine and healthcare - Semantic data mining in medicine and healthcare - Scalable data integration in medicine and healthcare - Evidence-based decision-support systems - Healthcare knowledge abstraction, classification, and summarization - Healthcare knowledge computerization, execution, inference, and representation >>> SPECIAL ISSUE <<< Selected papers of the workshop will be invited for revision to be included in a special issue to be published in Health Information Science and Systems (URL: http://www.hissjournal.com/) IMPORTANT DATES - Paper Submission Due: Jul 20, 2015 - Paper Notification Date: Sep 1, 2015 - Workshop Date: Nov 13, 2015 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE - William K. Cheung, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong - Jiming Liu, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong - Parisa Rashidi, University of Florida, USA - Fei Wang, University of Connecticut, USA -- Dr. William K. Cheung Associate Professor and Associate Head CS Dept, Hong Kong Baptist University http://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk/~william Tel: (+852) 3411-5965 Fax: (+852) 3411-7892 "A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit." --- Proverbs 17:22 Department of Computer Science: http://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk HKBU Faculty of Science: http://www.sci.hkbu.edu.hk Disclaimer: http://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk/disclaimer Department of Computer Science: http://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk HKBU Faculty of Science: http://www.sci.hkbu.edu.hk Disclaimer: http://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk/disclaimer

June 27, 2015

Fully funded PhD position in Neural Learning / Robotics / Evolutionary Neural Networks

by Andrea Soltoggio

A fully funded PhD position is available at the Deep Automation, Learning and Evolution Lab at Loughborough University, UK, on the topics of Neural Learning / Robotics / Evolutionary Neural Networks. Loughborough University is ranked 11th in the 2016 UK League Table Ranking (http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/loughborough/performance , and is located in Loughborough, a town well connected to London by a 1h20m journey by train. Research. The focus is on developing new neural learning algorithms with possible applications to a variety of automation and machine learning problems, e.g. vision, robotics, autonomous vehicles, manufacturing technology. We seek an outstanding candidate, capable of defining their own research project and bringing novel ideas and initiatives to the lab. Working environment. The student, based at the Computer Science Department, School of Science, will have access to a number of robotic platforms, from humanoid robots, to UAVs and a number of industrial and service robots, as well as a High Performance Computing cluster and GPUs. Interdisciplinary research is encouraged across laboratories, including Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering, the Intelligent Automation Lab, and the Centre for Information Management. The research group collaborates with leading national and international industrial partners. Requirements. The ideal candidate holds (or is about to obtain) a first-class honour undergraduate/postgraduate degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Electrical or Electronic Engineering, or has authored publications in recognised conferences/journals. Independent working skills are valued as well as the capability of working in a team. Collegiality and interpersonal skills are essential. Excellent English language skills are highly desired (see requirements here http://www.lboro.ac.uk/international/englang/index.htm) Period/Scholarship. Start: October 2015. Duration: 3 years. Scholarship: £14,057 per annum plus tuition fees at the UK/EU rate (currently £4,052 p.a.) Enquiries and applications. Interested candidates are invited to establish a preliminary contact with me (a.soltoggio(a)lboro.ac.uk<mailto:a.soltoggio@lboro.ac.uk>), possibly including a CV, the names and addresses of two referees, and a statement of research interest (maximum 300 words), before submitting the full application at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/apply/research/ Best regards, Andrea Soltoggio -- Dr. Andrea Soltoggio Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence Department of Computer Science and Centre for Information Management (CIM) School of Business and Economics Haslegrave Building, N.2.03 Loughborough University LE11 3TU, UK Phone: +44 (0) 1509 635748<tel:%2B44%20%280%29%201509%20635748> Email: a.soltoggio(a)lboro.ac.uk<mailto:a.soltoggio@lboro.ac.uk> Web: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/compsci/staff/dr-andrea-soltoggio.html

June 25, 2015

Job: Post-doctoral Scientist - Investigating the Feasibility of Controlling Hearing-aid Directionality Using In-Ear Electrodes to Measure Eye Position.

by Bernd Porr

Dear all, this is something for somebody who has a strong background in signal processing / biomed signal processing. If interested please contact Owen Brimijoin <owen(a)ihr.gla.ac.uk>. Best /Bernd Porr -------------------------------------------------------------------- Salary: £27,084 – 29,567 Grade: MRC - 4a Contract Type: Fixed Term, 24 months Hours: Full Time Closing Date:31 July 2015 Interview Date: 26 August 2015 The successful applicant will be based at the MRC/CSO Institute of Hearing Research (IHR) in Glasgow within the Auditory Disability and Impairment group headed by Dr William Whitmer. The successful applicant will join a small group of researchers but will work most closely with Drs Owen Brimijoin (IHR), Bernd Porr (Glasgow Uni), and Graham Naylor (Oticon) on a project investigating the feasibility of using in-ear measurements of eye position to guide hearing aid directionality. The project will use electrooculograms (EOG), optical eye and head tracking, digital signal processing, microphone arrays, as well as our extensive audiological and auditory testing facilities. Your work will consist of writing signal-processing algorithms to combine the output of an EOG amplifier, gyroscopes, and other extra-cochlear signals to yield a reliable measure of eye position that can be used to aim the directional beam of an experimental hearing aid. The work will continue with implementing these algorithms in Matlab and/or C, designing experiments to test benefit, statistical analysis of results, and delivery of these results for dissemination (conference abstracts and presentations, invited lectures and seminars, and published manuscripts in specialized and generic journals). -- http://www.berndporr.me.uk http://www.linux-usb-daq.co.uk http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3293421/ +44 (0)7840 340069

June 25, 2015

PhD fellowship on attention, mind wandering and human interaction with highly automated systems

by Arnaud Delorme

We are searching for a PhD candidate with a master degree in engineering, psychology or neuroscience and an interest in human/brain machine interfaces. Expertise in EEG and/or oculometry is expected The subject of the thesis is linked to the difficulties for human operator to control/monitor highly automated system. This performance problem remains difficult to characterize. The first goal of this project is to characterize the OOL (Out Of the Loop) performance problem at the physiological level. Particularly, we propose to document the relation between vigilance, attention and the degradation of the monitoring activities. Using EEG recordings and oculometric measures in supervisory task, we propose to study the dynamics of vigilance and attentional mechanisms during the emergence of OOL performance problem and their respective impact on the monitoring activities. These results will help us to characterize the state of the brain leading to the degradation of the monitoring activities and to develop tools for OOL episodes detection. This project will be co-directed by three researchers in interdisciplinary fields, Bruno Berberian (ONERA) who is expert in human control of highly automated systems, Arnaud Delorme (CerCo) who is expert in vigilance process and EEG signal processing, and Aurélie Campagne (LPNC) who is expert in the characterization of neurophysiological correlates of cognitive states for applications in passive brain-computer interfaces. The location of the PhD will be Salon de Provence primarily and secondarily in Grenoble. If you are interested, please send your CV, two contacts for reference, a motivation letter (max one page) and reference letters (optional) to Bruno Berberian<Bruno.Berberian(a)onera.fr>. Please group all documents into one PDF for easier processing.

June 24, 2015

Gordon Research Conference on Eye Movements

by Emilio Salinas

Readers of this list may be interested in the upcoming Gordon Research Conference on Eye Movements. This year's theme, "Integrating Perception and Action for Optimal Vision", promises to provide fresh perspectives on core oculomotor issues. The meeting is meant as an immersive experience in which participants share ideas over meals and jointly participate in scheduled and unscheduled social activities. The format provides unparalleled opportunity for participants at all career stages to share their most novel findings, foster new collaborative efforts, and chart the future directions of oculomotor research. WHAT: Call for applications for the 2015 Gordon Research Conference on Eye Movements (main meeting) and Gordon Research Seminar on Eye Movements (1-day forum for students and postdocs) DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: June 28th WHEN: July 26-31 (GRC), July 25-26 (GRS) WHERE: Bentley University, Waltham MA (just outside of Boston) HOW: Apply online - GRC application; GRS application DETAILS: http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?id=14523 Emilio Salinas, on behalf of Terry Stanford & John Van Opstal (GRC Chairs) Doug Crawford & Marc Sommer (GRC Vice-chairs) Jaime Kaminer and Martin Bohlen (GRS Chairs)

June 24, 2015

Rapid image categorization via edge co-occurrences

by James A. Bednar

We are pleased to announce the publication of an open-access paper demonstrating a novel method for categorizing images using the statistics of their edge co-occurrences. The success of this low-level method in matching both correct and incorrect classifications by humans suggests a reinterpretation of longstanding claims for rapid hierarchical processing in the visual cortex. Laurent U. Perrinet Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone Aix Marseille Universite, CNRS James A. Bednar Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation University of Edinburgh _______________________________________________________________________________ Laurent U. Perrinet and James A. Bednar. Edge co-occurrences can account for rapid categorization of natural versus animal images. Scientific Reports, Nature Publishing Group, 5:11400, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep11400 Abstract: Making a judgment about the semantic category of a visual scene, such as whether it contains an animal, is typically assumed to involve high-level associative brain areas. Previous explanations require progressively analyzing the scene hierarchically at increasing levels of abstraction, from edge extraction to mid-level object recognition and then object categorization. Here we show that the statistics of edge co-occurrences alone are sufficient to perform a rough yet robust (translation, scale, and rotation invariant) scene categorization. We first extracted the edges from images using a scale-space analysis coupled with a sparse coding algorithm. We then computed association for different categories (natural, man-made, or containing an animal) by computing the statistics of edge co-occurrences. These differed strongly, with animal images having more curved configurations. We show that this geometry alone is sufficient for categorization, and that the pattern of errors made by humans is consistent with this procedure. Because these statistics could be measured as early as the primary visual cortex, the results challenge widely held assumptions about the flow of computations in the visual system. The results also suggest new algorithms for image classification and signal processing that exploit correlations between low-level structure and the underlying semantic category. -- The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

June 23, 2015

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER IN SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE

by Santamaria, Cookie

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

June 22, 2015

Development of model description languages

by Erik De Schutter

Postdoctoral researcher and staff scientist positions are available in the Computational Neuroscience Unit (https://groups.oist.jp/cnu) of Prof. Erik De Schutter at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University. We are looking for a postdoc with a computer science or engineering background who is interested in the development of XML-based methods for model description and simulation. You will collaborate with international colleagues on further development of NIneML (http://nineml.net) and deploy it within the research group. Previous experience related to collaborative projects in computational neuroscience or systems biology preferred. You will interact with other researchers and students in the lab who are working on cerebellar modeling projects or analyzing cerebellar recordings. We offer attractive financial and working conditions in an English language graduate university that emphasizes interdisciplinary research, located on the beautiful subtropical island Okinawa. Send curriculum vitae, a summary of research interests and experience, and the names of three referees to Prof. Erik De Schutter at erik(a)oist.jp

June 22, 2015

SPIKY and PySpike – Two free software packages for monitoring spike train synchrony

by Thomas Kreuz

Dear all, we would like to draw your attention to our two most recent papers and to two new software packages. *1. Two new papers:* This paper provides a detailed description of *SPIKY* (see 2.) and introduces our new measure *SPIKE-synchronization*: • Kreuz T, Mulansky M, Bozanic N: SPIKY: A graphical user interface for monitoring spike train synchrony. JNeurophysiol <http://jn.physiology.org/content/113/9/3432> 113, 3432 (2015) [PDF] <http://www.fi.isc.cnr.it/users/thomas.kreuz/images/Kreuz_JNeurophysiol_2015…>. An overview of all three of our measures (*ISI-distance, SPIKE-distance and SPIKE-synchronization*) and their mathematical properties can be found in • Mulansky M, Bozanic N, Sburlea A, Kreuz T: A guide to time-resolved and parameter-free measures of spike train synchrony. IEEE Proceedings (in press) and arXiv [PDF] <http://arxiv.org/pdf/1502.02027v2.pdf> (2015). *2. SPIKY, graphical user interface (Matlab) for monitoring spike train synchrony* Implementations of ISI-distance, SPIKE-distance, and SPIKE-Synchronization Distances, time profiles, distance matrices, selective averaging, triggered averages, dendrograms, etc. Plotting, movie generation Spike train generator, event detector (for continuous data such as EEG) Matlab with C backend (MEX) Matlab fallback if no MEX-compiler is not available Extensive documentation includes many illustrative movies Matlab source codes and all relevant papers are available on our *SPIKY download page* http://www.fi.isc.cnr.it/users/thomas.kreuz/Source-Code/SPIKY.html For further information about new features and updates please check the *SPIKY Facebook page* https://www.facebook.com/SPIKYgui Here you'll also find a lot of documentation including many images and movies that illustrate how to use SPIKY. All of these movies can also be found on the *SPIKY Youtube channel* https://www.youtube.com/user/SPIKYgui1 *3. PySpike, open source Python library hosted on github* Implementations of ISI-distance, SPIKE-distance, and SPIKE-Synchronization Library of functions to compute distances and profiles (bivariate and multivariate), distance matrices, selective averages, etc. Helper functions for plotting, spike train generation Cython backend for optimal performance (factor 100-200 over plain Python) Python fallback if Cython is not available Extensive unit-tests that cover the API as well as the numerics Automatic build and test runs Documentation The github issues system can be used to file bug reports or request new functionality and features. *PySpike webpage* http://www.pyspike.de *PySpike github page* https://github.com/mariomulansky/PySpike Any feedback on both the papers and the software packages is very welcome. Best wishes, Thomas Kreuz -- Institute for complex systems, CNR Via Madonna del Piano 10 50119 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy) Tel: +39-349-0748506 Email: thomas.kreuz(a)cnr.it Webpage: http://www.fi.isc.cnr.it/users/thomas.kreuz/

June 21, 2015

Research Associate Position in Computational Neural Modeling (Duke University)

by Angel V. Peterchev

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE in COMPUTATIONAL NEURAL MODELING DUKE UNIVERSITY Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences An opportunity exists to join a research team working to understand and advance transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS is a non-invasive form of brain stimulation used widely as a neuroscience research tool as well as a treatment for psychiatric and neurological disorders (FDA approved for depression since 2008). We have an ongoing NIH-funded project that combines computational modeling at several scales with single neuron recordings in pre-clinical models. We seek a highly-motivated individual who is interested in developing and applying computational models of TMS. The parallel experimental component of the study provides unique opportunities to validate and calibrate computational models. This is a full-time position with University Benefits and provides exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary research and career development. This position will be jointly mentored by Angel V. Peterchev, PhD<https://sites.google.com/site/dukebrainstimulation/> (Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine) and Warren M. Grill, PhD<http://www.bme.duke.edu/faculty/warren-grill> (Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering), providing exposure to both clinical and engineering research settings. A PhD in biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, neuroscience, physics, or math is required, as are excellent communication skills. Previous experience in computational neural modeling is required, and previous experience with neural stimulation is desirable. For consideration submit a CV and the names and contact information of three professional references as a .pdf file attachment to: Angel V. Peterchev, PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, and Electrical & Computer Engineering angel.peterchev(a)duke.edu<mailto:angel.peterchev@duke.edu> Duke University is an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer.

June 21, 2015

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2015 Best Illusion of the Year Contest!

by Susana Martinez-Conde

Congratulations to the winners of the 11th annual Best Illusion of the Year Contest <http://illusionoftheyear.com/> ! Online voters around the world chose the best illusions of the year from Thursday, June 11th 7pm EST to Friday, June 12th 7PM EST. First Place and an award of $3,000 USD went to "Splitting Colors <http://illusionoftheyear.com/2015/splitting-colors/> ," a color illusion by Mark Vergeer from KU Leuven, Belgium. Second Place and an award of $2,000 USD went to "Ambiguous Garage Roof <http://illusionoftheyear.com/2015/ambiguous-garage-roof/> ," a perspective illusion by Kokichi Sugihara from Meiji University, Japan. Third Place and an award of $1,000 USD went to "The Day it Rained on Lowry <http://illusionoftheyear.com/2015/the-day-it-rained-on-lowry/> ," a motion illusion by Michael Pickard from VisuallyDirectedDesign.com in the UK. Enjoy the winning illusions and all Top 10 Finalists <http://illusionoftheyear.com/cat/top-10-finalists/2015/> at http://illusionoftheyear.com Illusion submissions <http://illusionoftheyear.com/about-the-contest/submission-instructions/> are now accepted for the 12th edition of the Best Illusion of the Year Contest, to be held in 2016. On behalf of the Executive Board of the Neural Correlate Society: Jose-Manuel Alonso, Stephen Macknik, Susana Martinez-Conde, Luis Martinez, Xoana Troncoso, Peter Tse The Neural Correlate Society is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote the public awareness of neuroscience research. ----------------------------------- Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Physiology & Pharmacology Director, Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience Scholar, Empire Innovator Program State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center 450 Clarkson Ave, Brooklyn NY 11203, USA Email: <mailto:smart@neuralcorrelate.com> smart(a)neuralcorrelate.com Phone: +1 718-270-4520 <http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com/> http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com

June 19, 2015

CFP 7th International Joint Conference on Computational Intelligence - IJCCI 2015

by Calendar Sites

Please note that the dates of the UPCOMING DEADLINES have been slightly changed. ____________________________________________________________________________ _____ CALL FOR PAPERS 7th International Joint Conference on Computational Intelligence IJCCI 2015 Website: http://www.ijcci.org/ November 12 14, 2015 Lisbon, Portugal <http://www.ijcci.org/Glossary.aspx#11> <http://www.ijcci.org/Glossary.aspx#11> Regular Papers Paper Submission: July 14, 2015 (extended) Authors Notification: September 18, 2015 Camera Ready and Registration: October 2, 2015 <http://www.ijcci.org/Glossary.aspx#12> <http://www.ijcci.org/Glossary.aspx#12> Position Papers Paper Submission: July 14, 2015 Authors Notification: September 21, 2015 Camera Ready and Registration: October 5, 2015 <http://www.ijcci.org/Glossary.aspx#46> Doctoral Consortium Paper Submission: September 3, 2015 Authors Notification: September 17, 2015 Camera Ready and Registration: September 29, 2015 <http://www.ijcci.org/Glossary.aspx#42> Special Sessions Special Session Proposal: June 26, 2015 Paper Submission: September 2, 2015 Authors Notification: September 17, 2015 Camera Ready and Registration: September 25, 2015 Tutorials, Demos and panels Proposals: July 27, 2015 Sponsored by: INSTICC-Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication INSTICC is Member of: WfMC Workflow Management Coalition OMG Object Management Group FIPA Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents Technically Co-sponsored by: IFAC International Federation of Automatic Control IEEE SMC - Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society In Cooperation with: AI*IA Associazione Italiana per l'Intelligenza Artificiale INNS - The International Neural Network Society AAAI Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence EUSFLAT European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Technology APPIA Portuguese Association for Artificial Intelligence International Fuzzy Systems Association Logistics Partner: SCITEVENTS Science and Technology Events The purpose of IJCCI is to bring together researchers, engineers and practitioners on the areas of Fuzzy Computation, Evolutionary Computation and Neural Computation. IJCCI is composed of three co-located conferences, each specialized in at least one of the aforementioned main knowledge areas. ECTA 2015 - 7th International Conference on Evolutionary Computation Theory and Applications PROGRAM CO-CHAIRS Agostinho Rosa, IST, Portugal Juan Julian Merelo, University of Granada, Spain CONFERENCE TOPICS * Genetic Algorithms * Machine Learning * Cognitive Systems * Artificial Life * Representation Techniques * Evolutionary Multiobjective Optimization * Game Theory and Applications * Evolution Strategies * Evolutionary Robotics and Intelligent Agents * Society and Cultural Aspects of Evolution * Concurrent Co-operation * Co-evolution and Collective Behavior * Biocomputing and Complex Adaptive Systems * Bio-inspired Hardware and Networks * Swarm/Collective Intelligence * Evolutionary Art and Design * Hybrid Systems * Memetic Algorithms FCTA 2015 - 7th International Conference on Fuzzy Computation Theory and Applications PROGRAM CO-CHAIRS António Dourado, University of Coimbra, Portugal José M. Cadenas, University of Murcia, Spain CONFERENCE TOPICS * Fuzzy Hardware, Fuzzy Architectures * Soft Computing and Intelligent Agents * Mathematical Foundations: Fuzzy Set Theory and Fuzzy Logic * Approximate Reasoning and Fuzzy Inference * System Identification and Fault Detection * Fuzzy Information Retrieval and Data Mining * Fuzzy Information Processing, Fusion, Text Mining * Learning and Adaptive Fuzzy Systems * Complex Fuzzy Systems * Pattern Recognition: Fuzzy Clustering and Classifiers * Fuzzy Image, Speech and Signal Processing, Vision and Multimedia * Industrial, Financial and Medical Applications * Type-2 Fuzzy Logic * Neuro-fuzzy Systems * Fuzzy Systems Design, Modeling and Control * Real-time Learning of Fuzzy and Neuro-fuzzy Systems * Fuzzy Control * Fuzzy Systems in Robotics: Sensors, Navigation and Coordination * Software for Fuzzy Systems and Control NCTA 2015 - 7th International Conference on Neural Computation Theory and Applications PROGRAM CHAIR Kurosh Madani, University of Paris-EST Créteil (UPEC), France António Ruano, University of Algarve, Portugal CONFERENCE TOPICS * Pattern Recognition * Industrial, Financial and Medical Applications * Computational Neuroscience * Neural Network Software and Applications * Neuroinformatics and Bioinformatics * Learning Paradigms and Algorithms * Supervised and Unsupervised Learning * Adaptive Architectures and Mechanisms * Support Vector Machines and Applications * Complex Artificial Neural Network Based Systems and Dynamics * Higher Level Artificial Neural Network Based Intelligent Systems * Bio-inspired and Humanoid Robotics * Image Processing and Artificial Vision Applications * Intelligent Artificial Perception and Neural Sensors * Modular Implementation of Artificial Neural Networks * Neural based Data Mining and Complex Information Processing * Neural Multi-agent Intelligent Systems and Applications * Self-organization and Emergence * Stability and Instability in Artificial Neural Networks * Neural Network Hardware Implementation and Applications * Neural Computation issues in Social Behaviour Emergence PUBLICATIONS All accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings, under an ISBN reference, on paper and on CD-ROM support. SCITEPRESS is a member of CrossRef ( <http://www.crossref.org/> http://www.crossref.org/) and every paper is given a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). All papers presented at the conference venue will be available at the <http://www.scitepress.org/DigitalLibrary/Default.aspx> SCITEPRESS Digital Library . A short list of presented papers will be selected so that revised and extended versions of these papers will be published by Springer in a <http://www.springer.com/series/7092> SCI Series book. The proceedings will be submitted for indexation by Thomson Reuters Conference Proceedings Citation Index (ISI), INSPEC, DBLP, EI (Elsevier Index) and Scopus. AWARDS The awards will be announced and bestowed at the conference closing session. Please check the websites for further information: http://www.ecta.ijcci.org/BestPaperAward.aspx <http://www.fcta.ijcci.org/BestPaperAward.aspx> http://www.fcta.ijcci.org/BestPaperAward.aspx <http://www.ncta.ijcci.org/BestPaperAward.aspx> http://www.ncta.ijcci.org/BestPaperAward.aspx IJCCI KEYNOTE LECTURES <http://www.ijcci.org/KeynoteSpeakers.aspx#1> Julian Togelius, New York University, United States <http://www.ijcci.org/KeynoteSpeakers.aspx#2> Yaochu Jin, University of Surrey, United Kingdom <http://www.ijcci.org/KeynoteSpeakers.aspx#3> Anna Esparcia-Alcázar, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain <http://www.ijcci.org/KeynoteSpeakers.aspx#4> Edwin Lughofer, Johannes Kepler University, Austria IJCCI CONFERENCE CHAIR Joaquim Filipe, Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal / INSTICC, Portugal Please check further details at the conference website ( <http://www.ijcci.org/> http://www.ijcci.org/) IJCCI SECRETARIAT Address: Av. D. Manuel I, 27A, 2º esq. 2910-595 Setúbal - Portugal Tel.: +351 265 100 033 Fax: +44 203 014 8813 e-mail: ijcci.secretariat(a)insticc.org

June 19, 2015

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

by Birgit Ahrens

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

June 19, 2015

NEST, The Neural Simulation Tool, now available on GitHub

by Hans Ekkehard Plesser

Dear Colleagues! Development of the widely used Neural Simulation Tool NEST for large-scale spiking neuronal network models has now moved to GitHub at https://github.com/nest/nest-simulator The code on GitHub is based on the code base for the coming NEST 2.6.1 bugfix release and is available under GNU Public License version 2 or later. By cloning NEST from our GitHub repository, you will have immediate access to all improvements in the NEST master repository. We would also like to encourage community development contributions to NEST. If you would like to contribute to NEST, you should fork NEST on GitHub and submit your contributions via pull requests. More information: - About the NEST Simulator: http://www.nest-simulator.org - About contributing to NEST: https://nest.github.io/nest-simulator/ - About the NEST Initiative: http://www.nest-initiative.org - User mailing list: http://mail.nest-initiative.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nest_user - Video about NEST: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0YEiren7D0 About NEST: NEST is a simulator for spiking neural network models that focuses on the dynamics, size and structure of neural systems rather than on the exact morphology of individual neurons. The development of NEST is coordinated by the NEST Initiative. NEST is ideal for networks of spiking neurons of any size, for example: • Models of information processing e.g. in the visual or auditory cortex of mammals, • Models of network activity dynamics, e.g. laminar cortical networks or balanced random networks, • Models of learning and plasticity. Best regards, Hans Ekkehard Plesser President, The NEST Initiative -- Dr. Hans Ekkehard Plesser, Associate Professor Section Head Dept. of Mathematical Sciences and Technology Norwegian University of Life Sciences PO Box 5003, 1432 Aas, Norway Phone +47 6723 1560 Email hans.ekkehard.plesser(a)nmbu.no Home http://arken.umb.no/~plesser

June 19, 2015

Post-doc position at QMUL in 3D vision

by Miles Hansard

Post-doc position at Queen Mary, University of London: Geometric Evaluation of Stereoscopic Video. A research assistant is sought for this EPSRC project, which will develop a new approach to the evaluation of 3D content, based on computational models of visual perception. Ideas from computer vision will be used to model the geometry of binocular viewing, including the role of eye-movements. A prototype computer vision system will be developed, for the automatic analysis of disparity statistics in stereoscopic video. The output of this system will be targeted at depth-grading and other post-production tasks. The project is in conjunction with a high-profile graphics and visual effects company. There will also be opportunities to work on stereoscopic VR HMD applications. Expertise in scientific programming, including C++ and Matlab, is essential (OpenCV, R, and GPU programming would be useful). Previous work in augmented reality, 3D reconstruction, or psychophysical methods would be an advantage. Please contact Miles Hansard at Queen Mary, University of London (http://www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/~milesh/) for further information. All nationalities are eligible to apply. For details and procedure see: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ATW277/research-assistant/ -- http://www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/~milesh/

June 18, 2015

Aspect of Neuroscience 2015 - invitation for the conference

by Daniel Borek

Dear Friends, On behalf of the Board of the Neurobiology Student Scientific Association operating at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Warsaw I would like to invite you to the 5th International Conference " Aspects of Neuroscience" that will be held in Warsaw, Poland, from November 27th to 29th 2015. As in the following years, this time the Conference also consists of poster and report symposia. November symposia will be devoted to: Neurobiology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Clinical Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics. Each of the thematic symposium will be preceded by a lecture delivered by one of the guests, a specialist of a given domain. During the last editions of the conference we had privilege to host such outstanding neuroscientists as Prof. Semir Zeki, Prof. Richard Frackowiak or Prof. Bruce Graham. The conference is intended for students, doctoral students and research workers related to neuroscience. The student lectures will take place simultaneously in two rooms, in basic and extended version. The basic session provides an opportunity to present theoretical and review talks for the students who do not conduct their own research yet. We would like the conference to gather academics with different background and level of expertise, who share the common passion for neuroscience. Language of conference is English. Registration for the conference will be open from July 1st. More information about conference and the whole Project: www.neuronauka.org/eng Find us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AspectsOfNeuroscience?fref=ts Yours sincerely, Daniel Borek Neurobiology Student Scientific Association at the University of Warsaw Organizing Committee of the International Conference of Students and Young Scientists "The Aspects of Neuroscience"

June 18, 2015

NEURAL COMPUTATION - July 1, 2015

by Terry Sejnowski

Neural Computation - Volume 27, Number 7 - July 1, 2015 Available online for download now: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/neco/27/7 ----- Articles Unifying Blind Separation and Clustering for Resting-State EEG/MEG Functional Connectivity Analysis Jun-ichiro Hirayama, Takeshi Ogawa, and Aapo Hyvarinen Attentional Bias Through Oscillatory Coherence Between Excitatory Activity and Inhibitory Minima Sebastian Blaes, Thomas Burwick Letters Clusterless Decoding of Position From Multiunit Activity Using a Marked Point Process Filter Xinyi Deng, Daniel F. Liu, Kenneth Kay, Loren M. Frank, and Uri T. Eden A Hebbian/Anti-Hebbian Neural Network for Linear Subspace Learning: A Derivation From Multidimensional Scaling of Streaming Data Cengiz Pehlevan, Tao Hu, and Dmitri B. Chklovskii Learning Slowness in a Sparse Model of Invariant Feature Detection Thusitha N. Chandrapala, Bertram E. Shi On the Spike Train Variability Characterized by Variance-to-mean Power Relationship Shinsuke koyama Comments and Correction on "U-Processes and Preference Learning" (Neural Computation Vol. 26, Pp. 2896-2924, 2014) Wojciech Rejchel, Hong Li, Chuanbao Ren, and Luoqing Li ------------ ON-LINE -- http://www.mitpressjournals.org/neuralcomp SUBSCRIPTIONS - 2015 - VOLUME 27 - 12 ISSUES Student/Retired $75 Individual $134 Institution $1,075 MIT Press Journals, One Rogers Street, Cambridge, MA 02142-1209 Tel: (617) 253-2889 FAX: (617) 577-1545 journals-cs(a)mit.edu ------------

June 18, 2015

Open position in Juelich, Germany: Koordinator Software Development

by Martina Reske

Das Forschungszentrum Jülich betreibt interdisziplinäre Spitzenforschung und stellt sich drängenden Fragen der Gegenwart. Es leistet Beiträge zur Lösung großer gesellschaftlicher Herausforderungen in den Bereichen Energie und Umwelt sowie Information und Gehirn. Mit mehr als 5.500 Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeitern gehört es als Mitglied der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft zu den großen interdisziplinären Forschungszentren Europas. Das Supercomputing Centre, als Standort eines der leistungsfähigsten Rechner, übernimmt eine führende Rolle in der europäischen Exascale Strategie. Das Institut für Neurowissenschaften und Medizin (INM) erforscht im Rahmen des Programms “Decoding the Human Brain” die Organisation des menschlichen Gehirns auf seinen verschiedenen räumlichen und zeitlichen Skalen. Die moderne neurowissenschaftliche Grundlagenforschung erfordert Modellierung und Simulation auf Hochleistungsrechnern, um der Komplexität des Gehirns zu begegnen und Einsicht in seine Arbeitsweise zu gewinnen. Das entstehende Wissen ermöglicht dann die Translation in die klinische Anwendung, um neurologische und mentale Erkrankungen besser zu verstehen, zu diagnostizieren und zu therapieren – Aufgaben, die in einer älter werdenden Gesellschaft von höchster Bedeutung sind. Darüber hinaus werden aber auch Impulse für neue Rechnergenerationen und deren Betrieb gegeben. Das INM-6, Computational and Systems Neuroscience, erstellt mathematische Modelle der Dynamik und Funktion neuronaler Schaltkreise. Dazu gehören die modellgetriebene Analyse der Aktivität und Struktur des Gehirns sowie die Simulation biologisch realistischer Modelle. Die Entwicklung entsprechender Simulationstechnologie und Analysewerkzeuge ist eine wesentliche Komponente der Forschung. Das INM-6 entwickelt zusammen mit seinen Partnern in einem Open Source Ansatz den führenden Code für Simulationen auf der Gehirnskala mit der Auflösung von Nervenzellen (NEST), ist gleichzeitig Teil des Institute of Advanced Simulation (IAS-6, Theoretical Neuroscience) und beherbergt die Coordination Site (BCOS) des nationalen Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience. Verstärken Sie diesen Bereich als Koordinator Software Entwicklung (w/m) Ihre Aufgaben: * Koordination der Roadmap und der Releases der Simulations-Software NEST * regelmäßige Vorbereitung von und Teilnahme an Koordinierungstreffen und Videokonferenzen zusammen mit oder in Vertretung der Institutsleitung * direkte Betreuung von Wissenschaftlerinnen/Wissenschaftlern und Doktorandinnen/Doktoranden in Bezug auf Software-Entwicklung * Erstellen von Projektberichten und Anträgen * Repräsentation der Simulations-Software auf internationalen Tagungen * Beteiligung an der Weiterentwicklung von Programmen zur Analyse neuronaler Vielkanaldaten * Vertretung des Koordinators Wissenschaftliches Rechnen Ihr Profil: * ein abgeschlossenes Hochschulstudium der Informatik, Mathematik oder Physik * tiefe Kenntnisse/Erfahrungen in C und C++, Python sowie parallelem und verteiltem Rechnen * Fähigkeit und Bereitschaft zu eigenverantwortlichem Handeln, Führungsfähigkeit * Fähigkeit und Bereitschaft selbstständig Projektberichte abzufassen * Erfahrung im Projekt- und Qualitätsmanagement * neurowissenschaftliche Grundkenntnisse, insbesondere neuronaler Dynamik sind von Vorteil * sicheres Auftreten und Kommunikationsvermögen sowie ausgeprägte Fähigkeit zur kooperativen Zusammenarbeit in einer interdisziplinären Arbeitsumgebung * hohe soziale Kompetenz und Fähigkeit zur kooperativen Zusammenarbeit im Team * Bereitschaft zu Reisen * strukturierte und systematische Arbeitsweise * überdurchschnittliches mündliches und schriftliches Kommunikationsvermögen in deutscher und englischer Sprache Unser Angebot: * Integration in ein interdisziplinäres und internationales Institut * Arbeit in einem kreativen Team mit internationaler Perspektive * Zugang zu modernsten Supercomputern und neuromorpher Hardware * die Möglichkeit, Design-Entscheidungen in einem großen Software-Projekt wesentlich mitzubestimmen und zu prägen * enge Zusammenarbeit mit dem Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) und seiner Exascale Strategie insbesondere dem Simulation Laboratory Neuroscience * hohe Sichtbarkeit durch Vertretung der Institutsleitung bei internationalen Projekttreffen * Beteiligung an Publikationen in der Spitzenforschung zur Simulationstechnologie * Arbeit auf Weltniveau an der Grenze zwischen Neurowissenschaft und Technologie an den komplexesten bekannten Systemen * ein grüner wachsender Campus mit den besten weltweit verfügbaren wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen, nahe den kulturellen Zentren Köln, Düsseldorf und Aachen * eine zunächst auf 2 Jahre befristete Stelle mit der Möglichkeit einer längerfristigen Perspektive * Vergütung und Sozialleistungen nach dem Tarifvertrag des öffentlichen Dienstes (TVöD-Bund) Das Forschungszentrum Jülich möchte mehr Mitarbeiterinnen in diesem Bereich beschäftigen. Wir sind daher an der Bewerbung von Frauen besonders interessiert. Bewerbungen schwerbehinderter Menschen sind uns willkommen. Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Bewerbung, möglichst über unser Online-Bewerbungssystemhttp://www.fz-juelich.de/SharedDocs/Stellenangebote/_common/dna/2015-126-DE-INM-6.html?nn=363560 bis zum 07.07.15 unter Angabe der Kennziffer 2015-126. -- Dr. Martina Reske Scientific Coordinator Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6) Computational and Systems Neuroscience & Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6) Theoretical Neuroscience Jülich Research Centre and JARA Jülich, Germany Work +49.2461.611916 Work Cell +49.151.26156918 Fax +49.2461.619460 www.csn.fz-juelich.de<http://www.csn.fz-juelich.de> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt, Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 17, 2015

Postdoctoral Position in Computational Neuroscience at IUPUI

by Yaroslav Molkov

A postdoctoral/research associate position in computational neuroscience for the duration of up to two years is available in the externally funded project focusing on multiscale computational modeling of motor control mechanisms, involving interactions between basal ganglia, thalamus, cerebellum, cortex, and spinal cord in connection with realistic simulation of pathological changes in motor control during Huntington’s disease. This collaborative project is performed jointly by the groups of Drs. Ilya Rybak (Dept. of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA) and Yaroslav Molkov (Dept. of Mathematical Science, Indiana University – Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN, USA). Applicants must have a PhD degree in Neuroscience, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or a related discipline, a strong research record, and excellent C++ programming skills. Previous experience in computational neuronal modeling is a plus. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Dr. Molkov ( ymolkov(a)iupui.edu) by email. To apply, please send an email along with (1) curriculum vitae; (2) a cover letter describing previous research experience and interests; (3) the names and contact information of three references. ================================= Yaroslav Molkov, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Indiana University - Purdue University at Indianapolis Department of Mathematical Sciences 402 N. Blackford St, LD 270, Indianapolis, IN 46202 Office: LD 224U Phone: (317) 274-6934 Fax: (317) 274-3460 Email: ymolkov(a)iupui.edu

June 17, 2015

Postdoctoral position in computational neuroscience

by Maxim Bazhenov

Applications are invited for post-doctoral research positions in the laboratory of Dr. Maxim Bazhenov at the University of California, Riverside to study role of sleep in memory and learning. This computational neuroscience project involves close collaboration with several experimental laboratories. The ultimate goal of this work is to understand how the interaction among brain areas during different stages of sleep leads to consolidation of memory for recent learning. The successful candidate will be responsible for the design of the anatomically realistic brain network models based on existing experimental data. These models will be used to understand network dynamics that are involved in the processes of memory consolidation, as well as guide data analysis and produce novel experimental predictions. Qualified applicants are expected to have experience in computational/theoretical neuroscience and neural modeling. 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 at maksim.bazhenov(a)ucr.edu -- Maxim Bazhenov, Ph.D. Professor, Cell Biology and Neuroscience University of California Riverside, CA 92521 Ph: 951-827-4370 http://biocluster.ucr.edu/~mbazhenov/

June 16, 2015

PhD in computational neuroscience, Zurich

by Jean-Pascal Pfister

Applications are invited for one PhD student position at the Institute of Neuroinformatics (ETHZ, UZH) in Zurich. The position is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation grant entitled "Inference and Learning with Spiking Neurons". The PhD student will be supervised by Jean-Pascal Pfister in the Theoretical Neuroscience Group. There are several lines of evidence indicating that the human brain performs near Bayesian optimal inference in a wide range of tasks, but it remains unclear how this inference can be implemented in the brain. 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. The candidate should hold a Diplom/Master degree in Physics, Mathematics, Machine learning, Computational Neuroscience or a related field. He/she should have a very strong mathematical background, good programming skills and interests in theoretical neuroscience. The position is offered for a period of three years, starting before the 1st of September 2015. Salary scale is provided by the Swiss National Science Foundation (www.snf.ch) The applicant 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 (jpfister(a)ini.uzh.ch) Deadline for application is 15th of July 2015 or until the position is filled. Jean-Pascal Pfister --------------------------------- Prof. Jean-Pascal Pfister Theoretical Neuroscience Group Institute of Neuroinformatics University of Zurich and ETH Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 8057 Zurich, Switzerland www.ini.uzh.ch/~jpfister <http://www.ini.uzh.ch/~jpfister> Tel: +41 44 635 30 79

June 16, 2015

PhD/Postdoc positions for neural processor project NPP

by Michael Pfeiffer

We have a number of available PhD and postdoc positions available now for the Neuromorphic Processor Project (NPP). NPP is a 3 year project that started 1 May 2015. NPP will develop theory, architectures, and FPGA implementations targeting specific applications of deep neural network technology in vision and audition. Deep learning has become the state-of-the-art machine learning approach for sensory processing applications, and this project aims towards real-time, low-power, brain-inspired solutions targeted at full-custom SoC integration. A particular aim of the NPP is to develop efficient data-driven deep neural network architectures that can enable always-on operation on battery-powered mobile devices in conjunction with event-driven sensors. PhD and postdoc positions are available now in theory, hardware architectures, and applications of these networks. For the theory part of the project we are specifically looking for PhD candidates with experience in deep neural networks and/or spiking neural networks, or deep learning applications in vision and audition. The project team includes academic partners in the USA, Canada, and Spain. The project is coordinated by the Institute of Neuroinformatics (INI) at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich (www.ini.uzh.ch ). INI is a joint institute of the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich and has been cited in IEEE Spectrum and Scientific American as one of the world’s leading organizations in the development of neuromorphic sensing and computing technology. The lead NPP PI is Prof. Tobi Delbruck. Other NPP PIs at INI are Dr. Shih-Chii Liu, Dr. Michael Pfeiffer, and Prof. Giacomo Indiveri. Please see https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MLoZRAYu_--ZH2ORIoqLPLzJs2spXRM0kO2A2QZ… for more details and information on how to apply. Best regards, Michael Pfeiffer, Tobi Delbruck, Shih-Chii Liu, and Giacomo Indiveri -- ========================================= Dr. Michael Pfeiffer Group leader, Program coordinator NSC Institute of Neuroinformatics University of Zurich and ETH Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland Tel. +41 44 635 30 45 Fax +41 44 635 30 53 pfeiffer (at) ini.phys.ethz.ch http://www.ini.uzh.ch/~pfeiffer/ =========================================

June 15, 2015

4th Edition of Complex Systems Primer available

by Claudius Gros

Dear Colleagues, It is a pleasure to announce the availability of the 4th edition of the textbook Complex and Adaptive Dynamical Systems: A Primer (Springer Complexity, Softcover) ISBN: 978-3-319-16264-5 (Print) 978-3-319-16265-2 (Online) by Claudius Gros Complex and adaptive dynamical systems are ubiquitous and the brain constitutes a prominent example. The goal of this book is to provide a general entry point to complex and dynamical systems based on network architectures. ------------------------------------------------------- cover-text: ---------- This primer offers an introduction to the central concepts at the basis of our modern understanding of complex and emergent behavior, together with a detailed coverage of the mathematical methods. All calculations are presented step by step and are straightforward to follow. This new forth edition is fully reorganized and comes with new chapters, figures and exercises. The core of modern complex system sciences are presented in the first chapters, covering network theory, dynamical systems, bifurcation and catastrophe theory, chaos and adaptive processes together with the principle of self-organization in reaction-diffusion systems and social animals. Modern information theoretical principles are treated in further chapters, together with the concept of self-organized criticality, gene regulation networks, hypercycles and coevolutionary avalanches, synchronization phenomena, absorbing phase transitions and the cognitive system approach to the brain. Technical course prerequisites are the standard mathematical tools for an advanced undergraduate course in the natural sciences or engineering. Each chapter comes with exercises and suggestions for further reading, with the solutions to the exercises being provided in the last chapter. ------------------------------------------------------- content: -------- * Chapter 1: Graph Theory and Small-World Networks * Chapter 2: Bifurcations and Chaos in Dynamical Systems * Chapter 3: Dissipation, Noise and Adaptive Systems * Chapter 4: Self Organization and Pattern Formation * Chapter 5: Complexity and Information Theory * Chapter 6: Cellular Automata and Self-Organized Criticality * Chapter 7: Random Boolean Networks * Chapter 8: Darwinian Evolution, Hypercycles and Game Theory * Chapter 9: Synchronization Phenomena * Chapter 10: Elements of Cognitive System Theory * Chapter 11: Solutions to the exercises ------------------------------------------------------- Sincerely, Claudius Gros ***************************************** *** Prof. Dr. Claudius Gros *** *** +49 (0)69 798 47818 *** *** http://itp.uni-frankfurt.de/~gros *** ***************************************** ----------------------------------------------------------- --- Complex and Adaptive Dynamical Systems, A Primer --- --- A graduate-level textbook, Springer (2008/10/13/15) --- -----------------------------------------------------------

June 15, 2015

Interdisciplinary PhD Position in Computational Neuroscience of Vision: Active Efficient Coding (AEC)

by Jochen Triesch

Apologies for cross posting. Please forward to interested students. We have an open PhD student position in my lab (http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/de/neuro/triesch) at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) in Frankfurt, Germany to explore the new area of active efficient coding (AEC), a recently formulated generalization of the efficient coding hypothesis to active perception. The basic idea of AEC is that sensory systems learn to use their motor degrees of freedom to contribute to the efficient encoding of sensory signals. Along these lines, we have developed computational models for the self-calibration of active stereo and motion vision [1,2,3]. These models simultaneously learn a sensory representation with sparse coding approaches and controllers for their eye movements through reinforcement learning. Both learning components aim to maximize the overall coding efficiency of the system, which leads to fully self-calibrating sensory-motor loops for active stereo vision (dispartiy tuning and vergence control) and motion vision (motion tuning and pursuit movements). To the best of our knowledge, these models are the first ever to demonstrate how such self-calibration can emerge from a generic efficient coding objective. We have also validated the approach on robots such as the iCub (http://www.icub.org) The work will be performed in a stimulating interdisciplinary environment with ample opportunities for collaboration with neuromorphic engineers, neuroscientists, roboticists, psychologists, and clinicians across the globe. Possible research directions include better understanding how and why such self-calibration can go awry in clinical conditions such as strabism and amblyopia, implementations on neuromorphic hardware and many others. We are seeking an outstanding and highly motivated PhD student for this project. Applicants should have obtained a Masters degree (or equivalent) in Computational Neuroscience or a related field. The ideal candidate will have excellent programming skills (Matlab, Python, C/C++), very good analytic skills, and a broad knowledge of computational neuroscience, machine learning, computer vision, robotics, signal processing and statistics. Furthermore, specific expertise in visual neuroscience, information theory, sparse coding models, and reinforcement learning are desirable. Experience with programming Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) would be a plus. The position can be filled immediately. The Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies is a research institution dedicated to fundamental theoretical research in various areas of science. It is embedded into Frankfurt's recently established natural science research campus. Frankfurt itself is the hub of one of the most vibrant metropolitan areas in Europe. It boasts a rich culture and arts community and repeatedly earns highest rankings in worldwide surveys of quality of living. Applications should include a statement of research interests, CV and contact information for at least two references. Send applications to application(a)fias.uni-frankfurt.de. Review of applications will begin immediately. [1] A Unified Model of the Joint Development of Disparity Selectivity and Vergence Control. Zhao Y, Rothkopf CA, Triesch J, Shi B. IEEE Int. Conf. on Development and Learning and Epigenetic Robotics (ICDL), 2012. (Paper of excellence award.) http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6400876 [2] Robust active binocular vision through intrinsically motivated learning L. Lonini, S. Forestier, C. Teulière, Y. Zhao, B. Shi, J. Triesch, frontiers in Neurorobotics, 2013. http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbot.2013.00020/full [3] Self-calibrating smooth pursuit through active efficient coding C. Teulière, S. Forestier, L. Lonini, C. Zhang, Y. Zhao, B. Shi, J. Triesch, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 2014 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921889014002486 -- Prof. Dr. Jochen Triesch Johanna Quandt Research Professor Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/~triesch/ Tel: +49 (0)69 798-47531 Fax: +49 (0)69 798-47611

June 14, 2015

CFP: The First International Workshop on Computational Models of the Visual Cortex (CMVC) as part of the BICT, New York, 3-5 Dec 2015

by George Azzopardi

Dear All, We are pleased to announce The First International Workshop on Computational Models of the Visual Cortex (CMVC) as part of the BICT (Bio-inspired Information and Communication Technologies) conference, which will be held in New York City, New York, 3-5 December (http://bionetics.org/2015/show/home) Background Much has been advanced since the early works of the Nobel prize winners Hubel and Wiesel about the function of neurons in the primary visual cortex of cats’ brains. That work has been the source of inspiration of abundant neurophysiological studies to unveil the functionality of neurons in different areas of visual cortex. These experiments resulted in large amounts of data, which could then be used to design computational models to behave similarly to certain neurons in visual cortex. The contribution of such models is two-fold. They contribute to the better understanding of how visual information is processed in the brain, and they also contribute for the development of more robust algorithms in computer vision applications. The aim of this workshop is to bring together recent development of computational modelling of the visual cortex of the brain: Single cell modeling. Hierarchy of visual cortex areas Feedforward, feedback and inhibitory mechanisms. The appearance of neuronal properties: sparsity and selectivity. Circuitry: hierarchical representations and connections between layers. Selecting where to look: saliency and attention. Object recognition Contour detection Stereo Learning Important Dates Full papers due: July 31, 2015 Authors Notified: August 31, 2015 Camera-ready due: September 30, 2015 Paper submission We invite you to submit regular papers (up to 8 pages each), short papers (up to 4 pages each) or poster/demo papers (up to 2 pages each) in ACM's paper template. Up to two extra pages are allowed for each paper with extra page charges. See http://bionetics.org/2015/show/initial-submission for more details. Paper Submission Only PDF format is acceptable. Papers must be submitted to EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=cmvc2015 For more information about the CMVC workshop please visit: http://cmvc.bionetics.org/2015/show/home Sincerely yours, Antonio Rodriguez-Sanchez, PhD George Azzopardi, PhD Co-chairs of CMVC’2015

June 13, 2015

CFP: 3rd International Workshop on Smart Sensor Protocols and Algorithms (SSPA 2015) - Munich, Germany, October 5-7, 2015

by Sandra Sendra

[Please accept our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this email] *********************** CFP ******************************* 3rd International Workshop on Smart Sensor Protocols and Algorithms (SSPA 2015) http://jlloret.webs.upv.es/sspa2015/ in conjunction with The 8th IFIP Wireless and Mobile Networking Conference (WMNC' 15) Munich, Germany, October 5-7, 2015. http://www.wmnc2015.com/ SCOPE: Smart Sensor protocols and algorithms make use of several methods and techniques (such as machine learning techniques, decision making techniques, knowledge representation, network optimization, problem solution techniques, and so on), to establish communication between network devices. They can be used to perceive the network conditions, or the user behavior, in order to dynamically plan, adapt, decide, take the appropriate actions, and learn from the consequences of their actions. The algorithms can make use of the information gathered from the protocol in order to sense the environment, plan actions according to the input, take consciousness of what is happening in the environment, and take the appropriate decisions using a reasoning engine. Goals such as decide which scenario fits best its end-to-end purpose, or environment prediction, can be achieved with smart protocols and algorithms. Moreover, they could learn from the past and use this knowledge to improve future de! cisions. In this workshop, researchers are encouraged to submit papers focused on the design, development, analysis or optimization of smart sensor protocols or algorithms at any communication layer. Algorithms and protocols based on artificial intelligence techniques for network management, network monitoring, quality of service enhancement, performance optimization and network secure are included in the workshop. This conference edition once again targets to gather researchers from academia and industrial sectors to present analytical research, simulations, practical results, position papers addressing the pros and cons of specific proposals, and advances in sensor protocols and algorithms. The topics suggested by the conference can be discussed in term of concepts, state of the art, standards, deployments, implementations, running experiments and applications. TOPICS OF INTEREST: Authors are invited to submit complete unpublished papers, which are not under review in any other conference or journal, including, but are not limited to, the following topic areas: - Reasoning and learning techniques for sensing environment pollution - Smart route prediction in vehicular sensor networks - Smart data aggregation in vehicular sensor networks - Smart multimedia network protocols and algorithms for WSNs - Application layer, transport layer and network layer cognitive protocols - Cognitive radio network protocols and algorithms - Automatic protocols and algorithms for environment prediction - Algorithms and protocols to predict data network states - Intelligent synchronization techniques for sensor network protocols and algorithms - Smart sensor protocols and algorithms for e-health - Software applications for smart algorithms design and development in WSNs - Dynamic protocols based on the perception of their performance - Smart protocols and algorithms for Smartgrids - Protocols and algorithms focused on building conclusions for taking the appropriate actions - Smart Automatic and self-autonomous WSNs - Artificial intelligence applied in protocols and algorithms for WSNs - Smart security protocols and algorithms in WSNs - Smart cryptographic algorithms for communication in WSNs - Artificial intelligence applied to power efficiency and energy saving protocols and algorithms - Smart routing and switching protocols and algorithms in WSNs - Cognitive protocol and algorithm models for saving communication costs - Any kind of intelligent technique applied to QoS, content delivery, network Monitoring and network mobility management - Smart cooperative protocols and algorithms WSNs - Problem recognition and problem solving protocols for WSNs - Genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic and neural networks applied to WSNs IMPORTANT DATES: Submission deadline: 17th of July 2015 Author notification: 14th of August 2015 Camera-ready version: 27th of August 2015 Workshop Dates: 5-7th of October 2015 SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Authors are invited to submit original and unpublished papers. Papers presenting original and unpublished work are invited and will be evaluated based on originality, significance, technical soundness, and clarity of exposition. All submissions should be written in English. Authors guidelines can be found at: http://jlloret.webs.upv.es/sspa2015/cfp.html The IEEE LaTeX and Microsoft Word templates, as well as related information, can be found at: http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/pubs/transactions/stylesheets.html. Only PDF files will be accepted for the review process and all submissions must be done through EDAS. To submit a paper, please click on the following link: https://edas.info/newPaper.php?c=19893&track=71089 SPECIAL ISSUES: The extended version of selected papers will be invited to submit to a Special Issue on Smart Protocols and Algorithms in the International Journal Network Protocols and Algorithms (1943-3581). Network Protocols and Algorithms is an online international journal, peer-reviewed, indexed by many prestigious data bases and published by Macrothink Institute. COMMITTEES: General Chairs Jaime Lloret Mauri, Universitat Polit�cnica Val�ncia, Spain TPC Chairs Miguel Garcia Pineda, Universidad de Valencia, Spain Sandra Sendra, Unviversitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain Web Chair Alejandro C�novas Solbes, Universitat Polit�cnica Val�ncia, Spain

June 13, 2015

Tentative program now available for IWSP7: Epilepsy Mechanisms, Models, Prediction & Control

by Levin Kuhlmann

The tentative full program of talks and events for the 7th International Workshop on Seizure Prediction (IWSP7: Epilepsy Mechanisms, Models, Prediction & Control; at Melbourne, Australia; 3-6 August 2015) is now available for download at the following link: http://www.iwsp7.org/program/IWSP7_MEMBC15_Tentative_Program.pdf At a glance, the first day on Monday August 3 will be an educational day, giving people an opportunity to learn more about epilepsy from the perspectives of the different disciplines of science, engineering & medicine. On the first night there will be a networking reception and the poster session. The next two days will involve a full schedule of talks with the conference dinner on the night of Tuesday August 4. On Thursday August 6 there will be an overlap day between IWSP7 and the Melbourne Epilepsy meeting (ME@MBC'15 - which brings together the best of Melbourne Epilepsy research). IWSP7 registrants will also have the option to freely participate in the ME@MBC'15 events including its second day on the morning of Friday August 7. A final full program for IWSP7 including abstracts will be available soon. Don't forget to register for IWSP7 before the early bird deadline of 30th June 2015 and save! Go to www.iwsp7.org<http://www.iwsp7.org> to register. More details on the conference are provided below. The 7th International Workshop on Seizure Prediction (IWSP7: Epilepsy Mechanisms, Models, Prediction & Control) will bring together world leading epileptologists, engineers, physicists, mathematicians, neurosurgeons and neuroscientists to focus on epilepsy research in Melbourne Australia from 3-6 August 2015. Invited Speakers Catalina Alvarado-Rojas, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia (Cross-frequency coupling and seizure prediction) Samuel Berkovic, University of Melbourne, Australia (Genetics and individual-specific nature of epilepsy) Sydney Cash, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA (Cortical physiology and epilepsy) Antonio Dourado, University of Coimbra, Portugal (Seizure Prediction and the EPILEPSIAE project) Bin He, University of Minnesota, USA (EEG-based imaging to localise seizure and high frequency activity) Louis Lemieux, University College London, UK (Multi-modal imaging of human epileptic zone and networks) Liset Menendez de la Prida, Instituto Cajal - CSIC, Spain (Sources of functional heterogeneity in the cellular activity of hippocampal microcircuits in temporal lobe epilepsy) Martha Morrell, Stanford University, Neuropace, USA (Responsive seizure control and its clinical implications) Philippe Ryvlin, Lyon University, France (Vagal nerve stimulation and seizure prediction) Bjoern Schelter, University of Aberdeen, UK (Recent advances in data-based modelling and their role in epilepsy research) Steven Schiff, Penn State University, USA (Unification of spikes, seizures and spreading depression) Piotr Suffczynski, University of Warsaw, Poland (Modelling of neuronal and ionic dynamics during ictogenesis) John Terry, University of Exeter, UK (Modelling multiscale brain networks: seizure initiation, evolution and prediction) Gregory Worrell, Mayo Clinic, USA (Forecasting epileptic seizures in dogs) Abstract submission is now Closed. Early bird registration: full: AU$465; Student/Early Career Researcher: AU$165. Early bird registration deadline: 30th June 2015. Standard registration: full: AU$565; Student/Early Career Researcher: AU$265. 44 generous travel stipends have been awarded to participants submitting the best abstracts as determined by the IWSP7 Scientific Advisory Board. General topics covered: seizure prediction, detection and control; seizure mechanisms, animal models and human neurophysiology; neuroimaging of epilepsy/seizure localisation; computational modelling of epilepsy; epilepsy networks; high frequency oscillations; model-based estimation, statistical signal processing or control theory applied to epilepsy. For information on the tentative conference program, and how to register visit: http://www.iwsp7.org Please forward this notice to anyone that you think might be interested. We would also like to draw your attention to two partner events: Melbourne Epilepsy which brings together Melbourne's best epilepsy researchers and will overlap at the same venue with IWSP7 on August 6th, and finish by 1pm on August 7th. Attendance is free for IWSP7 registrants. Swinburne Brain Imaging Symposium 2015: Principles and Applications of Magnetoencephalography is a meeting on MEG and neuroimaging occurring in Melbourne in the week preceding IWSP7 from June 29-30 2015. http://www.research.swinburne.edu.au/our-research/events/neuroimaging-sympo… We look forward to seeing you at IWSP7! On behalf of the local organizing committee Levin Kuhlmann, PhD David B. Grayden, PhD Mark J. Cook, MD Anthony N. Burkitt, PhD Dean R. Freestone, PhD Tatiana Kameneva, PhD Alan Lai, PhD Elma O'Sullivan-Greene, PhD Andre Peterson, BSc (hons) Email: organizingcommittee(a)iwsp7.org<mailto:organizingcommittee@iwsp7.org>

June 13, 2015

Nonlinear Dynamics in Computational Neuroscience, Turin 7-9 sept 2015 (few places left)

by Alessandro Torcini

Few places left for registration at SICC workshop on Nonlinear Dynamics in Computational Neuroscience: from Physics and Biology to ICT to be held on September 07-09, 2015 in Turin, Italy Organizers: Fernando Corinto (Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy) and Alessandro Torcini (ISC-CNR, Florence, Italy) This workshop "Nonlinear Dynamics in Computational Neuroscience: from Physics and Biology to ICT” offers an unique opportunity to meet researchers working across (and between) disciplines linked to Computational Neuroscience. In particular, computational neuroscients, neurophysiologists and neural engineers will have the opportunity to present their most recent results to a young audience, constituted mainly by PhD students, and to interact directly among them. The program ranges from nonlinear dynamical approaches to the understanding of neural computation to physiology, from the simulations of brain circuits to the development of engineering devices and platforms for neuromorphic computation. The speakers will be specifically advised to perform didactic presentations of their results in order to allow the active participation to the discussion of young PhD students from different disciplines as well as to researchers interested in the field of Computational Neuroscience. Specific poster sessions will be organized with the purpose on one side to allow the young participants to present their latest results and on the other side to increase the opportunity of networking among the participants and renowed experts of the discipline. This workshop represents the 10th of a series of tutorial workshops annually organized by the Italian Society of Chaos and Complexity (SICC) to explore the emergence of new research fields, where nonlinear dynamics and control theory can play a relevant role. These workshops have been traditionally devoted to an audience mainly constituted by PhD students or young researchers working in complex systems. A poster session will be running during all the event and aimed to let all the participants to present their recent results. More information on the workshop can be found in the web page: http://www.neuro-eng-comp.polito.it/workshop/ Confirmed invited speakers include Cristina Becchio (University of Turin, Italy) Ruben Moreno Bote (CIBERSAM - Barcelona, Spain) George Bourianov (Intel/University of Texas at Austin, USA) Emilio Carbone (University of Turin, Italy) Stephen Coombes (University of Nottingham, UK) Steve Furber (The University of Manchester, UK) Julius Georgiou (University of Cyprus, Cyprus) Viktor Jirsa (INSERM - Marseille, France) Luke P. Lee (UC Berkeley, USA) Stefano Luccioli (ISC CNR - Florence, Italy) Maurizio Mattia (ISS - Roma, Italy) Benedetto Sacchetti (University of Turin, Italy) Maria Sanchez-Vives (IDIBAPS - Barcelona, Spain) Ronald Tetzlaff (TU Dresden, Germany) The poster can be downloaded from here http://goo.gl/CDY0Eg The workshop is kindly supported by the: SICC - Italian Society for Chaos and Complexity, IEEE CASS Outreach 2015 Initiative, CRT Foundation, Marie Curie Initial Training project NETT - Neural Engineering Transformative Technologies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Italy)

June 12, 2015

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

by Lorenz, C.M.

PhD Traineeship in the Dutch Research Consortium 'Language in Interaction' Maximum salary: € 2,717 gross/month Closing date: 05 July 2015, 23:59 CET More information: http://www.ru.nl/newstaff/vacaturebeschrijving?tk=uk&recid=556519 The Dutch research consortium 'Language in Interaction' invites applications for a 4-year PhD traineeship on the topic of computational cognitive models of psycholinguistic processes. You will carry out research as a member of one of the PI-groups of the Centre for Language Studies at Radboud University under supervision of Dr. Stefan Frank. The Netherlands has an outstanding track record in the language sciences. The research consortium 'Language in Interaction', sponsored by a large grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific research (NWO), brings together many of the excellent research groups in the Netherlands with a research programme on the foundations of language. The consortium has representatives from seven universities and one research institute in the Netherlands. These are Radboud University (RU), University of Amsterdam (UvA), University of Maastricht (UM), Leiden University (LU), Utrecht University (UU), Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), Tilburg University (TiU), and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (MPI). Excellence in the domain of language and related relevant fields of cognition is combined with state-of-the-art research facilities and a research team with ample experience in complex research methods and utilization. Together, this consortium realizes both quality and critical mass for studying human language at a scale not easily found anywhere else in the world. The current position will be embedded in the Centre for Language Studies at Radboud University. This centre conducts research in an international setting. English is the lingua franca. Your graduate training will take place in the International Max Planck Research School for Language Sciences. Click here for more information on this PhD position and how to apply. http://www.ru.nl/newstaff/vacaturebeschrijving?tk=uk&recid=556519

June 12, 2015

postdoc in computational neuroscience

by Máté Lengyel

Postdoctoral Fellow in Computational Neuroscience University of Cambridge We are seeking a highly creative and motivated postdoctoral fellow (research associate or senior research associate) to work jointly in the groups of Guillaume Hennequin and Mate Lengyel at the Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge (http://learning.eng.cam.ac.uk/) Our groups study dynamics and computation in neural circuits using a combination of approaches from dynamical systems, control theory, and statistical inference. The jointly led project will combine normative with bottom-up approaches to study the neural implementation of challenging computations. Areas of interest include balanced network dynamics, synaptic plasticity, and Bayesian inference. The successful candidate will have a strong analytical background and demonstrable interest in theoretical neuroscience. They should have or be close to completion of a PhD or equivalent in computational neuroscience, physics, mathematics, computer science, machine learning or a related field. Previous experience in computational neuroscience is not required, but preference will be given to candidates with sufficient programming skills to run numerical simulations, or expertise with neural network models, analysis of dynamical systems, and Bayesian techniques. The appointment will be for 1 year initially (extendable subject to funding) starting 1 October 2015 or as soon as possible thereafter. Salary depends on experience and is in the range £28,695 - £48,743 p.a. Further information: http://www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/7261/ http://www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/7176/ For informal queries, please contact Guillaume Hennequin <g.hennequin(a)eng.cam.ac.uk> or Mate Lengyel <m.lengyel(a)eng.cam.ac.uk>. Mate Lengyel -- Mate Lengyel, PhD Computational and Biological Learning Lab Cambridge University Engineering Department Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK tel: +44 (0)1223 748 532, fax: +44 (0)1223 765 587 email: m.lengyel(a)eng.cam.ac.uk web: www.eng.cam.ac.uk/~m.lengyel

June 12, 2015

PhD positions in language and sensorimotor cognition, Otago University, New Zealand

by Alistair Knott

We are seeking applications for PhD positions in neural network modelling of human language: specifically, in developing neural network models of the interface between language and the sensorimotor system. Projects include modelling the interface between language and visual attention/visual object classification mechanisms, and modelling the interface between language and action execution/action perception mechanisms. The positions are based at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Otago in New Zealand, under the supervision of Alistair Knott and Lubica Benuskova. The department has an active neural networks programme, with five academic staff working in this area, and two more working in related areas of computer vision. The PhD projects relate to an ongoing project funded by the New Zealand Marsden fund, Does language mirror the structure of sensorimotor cognition?, funded by the New Zealand Marsden Fund. Otago University’s PhD scholarships are open to qualified students from any country, and cover both course fees and living expenses. To be considered for a PhD scholarship, applicants must have at least a four-year undergraduate degree in Computer Science. Applicants must also have a research project worth at least 25% of a full-time load in their final year, and must have an 'A' average or better in their final year of study. To be considered for the current PhD projects, applicants must also have some experience in Artificial Intelligence, Linguistics or Cognitive Science. If you have questions about the PhD projects, please contact Alistair Knott (alik(a)cs.otago.ac.nz) If you wish to apply for a PhD position, please email Alistair Knott (alik(a)cs.otago.ac.nz) attaching an electronic copy of your transcript for your Bachelor's degree. If you have a Master's degree, or are currently enrolled in one, please attach your Master's transcript (up to the present) and, if possible, an abstract of your thesis. If you have publications, please select your single best publication and send a PDF version of that, identifying the conference or journal that accepted it in sufficient detail to allow verification. **Kindly don't send zip files, as our antivirus software quarantines them.** The deadline for applications is June 30th. Otago University is in Dunedin, a university town on the South-East coast of New Zealand's South Island. Dunedin sits on a spectacular harbour, with unspoiled beaches for wildlife and surfing, and lies within a few hours' drive of Queenstown and Wanaka in the Southern Alps. For more information about Otago, Dunedin, and our department: - http://www.otago.ac.nz/ - http://www.otago.co.nz/ - http://www.cs.otago.ac.nz/

June 11, 2015

CFP The 9th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies - BIOSTEC 2016

by Calendar Sites

CALL FOR PAPERS The 9th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies BIOSTEC 2016 Website: http://www.biostec.org/ 21 - 23 February, 2016 Rome, Italy Regular Papers Paper Submission: September 10, 2015 Authors Notification: December 2, 2015 Camera Ready and Registration: December 16, 2015 Position Papers Paper Submission: November 2, 2015 Authors Notification: December 4, 2015 Camera Ready and Registration: December 18, 2015 Workshops Workshop Proposal: September 11, 2015 Doctoral Consortium Paper Submission: December 3, 2015 Authors Notification: December 11, 2015 Camera Ready and Registration: December 22, 2015 Special Sessions Special Session Proposal: September 23, 2015 Paper Submission: November 23, 2015 Authors Notification: December 9, 2015 Camera Ready and Registration: December 17, 201 <http://www.ic3k.org/Glossary.aspx#43> Tutorials, Demos and Panels Proposals October 16, 2015 Sponsored by: INSTICC - Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication INSTICC is Member of: WfMC Workflow Management Coalition OMG Object Management Group FIPA Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents In Cooperation with: AAAI Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence EUROMICRO ESEM - European Society for Engineering and Medicine ISfTeH - International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth BMES - Biomedical Engineering Society EURASIP - European Association for Signal Processing Logistics Partner: SCITEVENTS Science and Technology Events The purpose of BIOSTEC is to bring together researchers and practitioners, including engineers, biologists, health professionals and informatics/computer scientists, interested in both theoretical advances and applications of information systems, artificial intelligence, signal processing, electronics and other engineering tools in knowledge areas related to biology and medicine. BIOSTEC is composed of five co-located conferences, each specialized in a different knowledge area. BIODEVICES 2016 The 9th International Conference on Biomedical Electronics and Devices Program Chair James Gilbert, University of Hull, United Kingdom CONFERENCE TOPICS * Emerging Technologies * Biomedical Instrumentation * Biomedical Equipment * Biomedical Sensors * Biomedical Metrology * Health Monitoring Devices * Low-power Design * Electrical Bio-impedance * Bio-electromagnetism * Biorobotics * Biocomputing and Biochips * Implantable Electronics * Wireless Systems and Biotelemetry * Biomaterials * MEMS * Nanotechnologies * Biomechanical Devices * Artificial Limbs * Technologies Evaluation * Electrocardiography and Heart Monitoring * Computational Physiology (virtual organs) * Brain-computer Interfaces * Spectroscopic Applications * Imaging and Visualization Devices * Rehabilitation Technology * Lab on a Chip and Microfluidic Devices * Mobile and Wearable Devices BIOIMAGING 2016 The 3rd International Conference on Bioimaging Program Chair Haim Azhari, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Israel CONFERENCE TOPICS * Medical Imaging and Diagnosis * Image Processing Methods * Image Fusion Methods * Feature Recognition and Extraction Methods * Biomechanical Imaging * Image Archiving and Communication * Telemedicine and Virtual Environments * Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) * Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Fmri) * Single-photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) * Positron Emission Tomography (PET) * High Resolution Research Tomography (HRRT) * Magnetoencephalography (MEG) * Ultrasound and Optical Imaging * Optical Elastography * X-ray Microscopy * Biophotonics * Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) * Conventional Microscopy * Confocal Microscopy * Fluorescent Microscopy * Quantitative Bioimaging * Structural Biology * Brain Function Analysis * Hemodynamics Imaging * Histology and Tissue Imaging BIOINFORMATICS 2016 The 7th International Conference on Bioinformatics Models, Methods and Algorithms Program Chair Hesham Ali, University of Nebraska at Omaha, United States CONFERENCE TOPICS * Simulation * Computational Intelligence * Genomics and Proteomics * Sequence Analysis * Structural Bioinformatics * Image Analysis * Visualization * Databases and Data Management * Data mining and Machine Learning * Biostatistics and Stochastic Models * Pharmaceutical Applications * Systems Biology * Algorithms and Software Tools * Web Services in Bioinformatics * Computational Molecular Systems * Immuno- and Chemo-informatics * Pattern Recognition, Clustering and Classification * Structure Prediction * Model Design and Evaluation * Transcriptomics * Next Generation Sequencing * Structural Variations BIOSIGNALS 2016 The 9th International Conference on Bio-inspired Systems and Signal Processing Program Chair Carla Quintão, FCT-UNL, Portugal CONFERENCE TOPICS * Speech Recognition * Neural Networks * Biometrics * Pattern Recognition * Medical Signal Acquisition, Analysis and Processing * Wearable Sensors and Systems * Real-time Systems * Evolutionary Systems * Acoustic Signal Processing * Time and Frequency Response * Wavelet Transform * Medical Image Detection, Acquisition, Analysis and Processing * Physiological Processes and Bio-signal Modeling, Non-linear Dynamics * Cybernetics and User Interface Technologies * Electromagnetic fields in biology and medicine * Fuzzy Systems and Signals * Monitoring and Telemetry * Cardiovascular Signals * Image Analysis and Processing * Detection and Identification * Motion Control HEALTHINF 2016 The 9th International Conference on Health Informatics Program Co-chairs Jan Sliwa, Independent, Switzerland Carolina Ruiz, WPI, United States CONFERENCE TOPICS * Datamining * Knowledge Management * Decision Support Systems * Interoperability * Telemedicine * Medical and Nursing Informatics * Confidentiality and Data Security * Wearable Health Informatics * Semantic Interoperability * Therapeutic Systems and Technologies * Physiological Modeling * Databases and Datawarehousing * Cognitive Informatics * Affective Computing * Human-machine Interfaces for Disabled Persons * ICT, Ageing and Disability * Design and Development Methodologies for Healthcare IT * Mobile Technologies for Healthcare Applications * Evaluation and Use of Healthcare IT * Healthcare Management Systems * E-Health * Development of Assistive Technology * Electronic Health Records and Standards * Software Systems in Medicine * Pervasive Health Systems and Services * e-Health for Public Health * Clinical Problems and Applications * Data Visualization * Pattern recognition and Machine Learning * Practice-based Research Methods for Healthcare IT BIOSTEC KEYNOTE LECTURE Hayit Greenspan, Tel Aviv University, Israel PUBLICATIONS All accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings, under an ISBN reference, on paper and on CD-ROM support. SCITEPRESS is member of CrossRef ( <http://www.crossref.org/> http://www.crossref.org/) All papers presented at the conference venue will be available at the <http://www.scitepress.org/DigitalLibrary/Default.aspx> SCITEPRESS Digital Library. The proceedings will be submitted for indexation by Thomson Reuters Conference Proceedings Citation Index (ISI), INSPEC, DBLP, EI (Elsevier Index) and Scopus. AWARDS The awards will be announced and bestowed at the conference closing session. Please check the websites for further information: http://www.biodevices.biostec.org/BestPaperAward.aspx http://www.bioimaging.biostec.org/BestPaperAward.aspx http://www.bioinformatics.biostec.org/BestPaperAward.aspx http://www.biosignals.biostec.org/BestPaperAward.aspx http://www.healthinf.biostec.org/BestPaperAward.aspx BIOSTEC CONFERENCE CO - CHAIRS Ana Fred, Instituto de Telecomunicações / IST, Portugal Hugo Gamboa, CEFITEC / FCT - New University of Lisbon, Portugal Please check further details at the conference website http://www.biostec.org/ BIOSTEC Secretariat Address: Av. D. Manuel I, 27A, 2º esq. 2910-595 Setúbal - Portugal Tel.: +351 265 100 033 Fax: +44 203 014 8813 e-mail: biostec.secretariat(a)insticc.org

June 11, 2015

Deep Learning and Continuous Time Computing - Track at SAC 2016 - Call for Papers

by Davide Zambrano

Dear all, Please consider joining our track at SAC2016. Apologies for cross posting. Best regards. ————————————————————————————————————— ACM Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC) 2016 The 31st Annual ACM Symposium on Applied Computing in Pisa, Italy, April 3 – 8, 2016. (webpage : http://www.acm.org/conferences/sac/sac2016/) Deep Learning and Continuous-Time Computing (webpage : http://event.cwi.nl/sac2016/) ————————————————————————————————————— SAC 2016: For the past thirsty years, the ACM Symposium on Applied Computing has been a primary gathering forum for applied computer scientists, computer engineers, software engineers, and application developers from around the world. SAC 2016 is sponsored by the ACM Special Interest Group on Applied Computing (SIGAPP), and will be hosted by the University of Pisa and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna University, Italy. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the objectives of Machine Learning: how to create computers capable of intelligent behavior. Deep Learning in artificial neural networks represents a remarkable step toward this direction. Current state-of-the-art AI in the form of deep neural networks has recently demonstrated breakthrough performance in various AI-cognitive tasks, from image and speech recognition to natural language generation and playing ATARI games. However, in real-world applications like video processing or robot control, a deep neural network has then to be updated continuously, causing a high computational load. Specialized acceleration hardware is being developed for deep learning in continuous-time environments. In addition, or alternatively, Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) represent another possible solution for efficient continuous-time representation and computing in deep neural networks. This Track aims to consolidate the current state-of-the-art in deep learning, continuous-time computing, spiking neural networks and related acceleration hardware tools (such as GPUs, SpiNNaker or Neuromorphic Silicon systems) showing recent and future progresses of this rising and growing research field. ————————————————————————————————————— Topics of interests: Deep learning Continuous-time learning Spiking Neural Networks Asynchronous computation Large scale parallel simulations and computing Neuromorphic computing ————————————————————————————————————— Important Dates are published on the Conference or Track webpages. ————————————————————————————————————— Track Program Committee: Sander Bohte, CWI Amsterdam (NL) (Track Chair — email to s.m.bohte(a)cwi.nl ) Davide Zambrano, CWI Amsterdam (NL) (Track Chair — email to d.zambrano(a)cwi.nl ) Thomas Nowotny, University of Sussex (UK) Steven Furber, University of Manchester (UK) Karl Tuyls, University of Liverpool (UK) Shih-Chii Liu, University of Zurich/ETH Zurich (CH) Robert Babuska, Delft University of Technology (NL) Andre Gruning, University of Surrey (UK) Max Welling, University of Amsterdam (NL) Narayan Srinavasa, HRL Laboratories LLC (USA) Eleni Vasilaki, University of Sheffield (UK) ————————————————————————————————————— Important notice: Paper registration is required, allowing the inclusion of the paper, poster, or SRC abstract in the conference proceedings. An author or a proxy attending SAC MUST present the paper. This is a requirement for including the work in the ACM/IEEE digital library. No-show of registered papers, posters, and SRC abstracts will result in excluding them from the ACM/IEEE digital library. ————————————————————————————————————— Dr. Davide Zambrano PostDoc at CWI, Amsterdam (NL) MSc in Biomedical Eng. - PhD in Biorobotics D.Zambrano(a)cwi.nl Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) Science Park, 123 1098 XG - Amsterdam

June 11, 2015

two postdoctoral positions in recording and statistical analysis of population activity

by Gergo Orban

We are inviting applications for two postdoctoral positions at the Pattern Research Group which is affiliated with the MTA Wigner ResearchCentre for Physics (Budapest, Hungary) and MTA Institute for Experimental Medicine and is sponsored by a prestigious National Brain Research Program grant. The primary focus of the research group is the characterization of activity patterns of large-scale neural populations in the hippocampus and the understanding of the computational principles underlying its dynamically changing states. The unparalleled performance of the nervous system is due to the fast and parallel processing of information that is achieved by the coherent activity of networks of neurons. Recent advancements in recording techniques provides access to high temporal resolution data from hundreds of identified neurons during task performance of animals. Understanding the organizational principles underlying the high-dimensional activity patterns has become a fundamental challenge of neurobiology. We are seeking highly motivated candidates for one post in computational/theoretical neuroscience and one in electrophysiology to work on a project that is based on a strong collaboration between neurophysiology and theoretical neuroscience. Details of the two posts can be found below. Postdoctoral fellow in theoretical/computational neuroscience The ideal candidate has a strong mathematical background, preferably with a PhD in physics, computer science, or mathematics or other quantitative disciplines. Besides mathematical skills, the position requires competence in programming (e.g. matlab, R, python, or C++). Candidates with training or research experience in statistics, machine learning, computational modelling, dynamical systems are especially encouraged to apply. Training in neuroscience is not required but the applicant has to demonstrate his/her willingness to acquire the necessary background for the project. High dimensional neuronal data is recorded by the experimental part of the group (Attila Gulyas, Institute for Experimental Medicine) but the candidate will have the opportunity get experience with cutting-edge neuronal recording techniques to design of novel experiments based on the analysis of the recorded data. The successful applicant will be co-supervised by Gergő Orbán and András Telcs. Postdoctoral fellow or PhD student in hippocampal electrophysiology The ideal candidate has a strong background in in vitro or in vivo electrophysiology or optical imaging to take part of this challenge and to work on a project that is based on a strong collaboration between neurophysiology and theoretical neuroscience. The primary task of the candidate will be to set up the equipment and to monitor the activity of large (>100) populations of hippocampal neurons in vitro, and later in head-restrained mice using optical imaging techniques and genetically expressed Ca2+ indicators. Preprocessing and to a given depth the analysis of the rough data also expected. The high-level analysis of the recorded data is performed by the theoretical part of the group (led by András Telcs and Gergő Orbán, MTA Wigner Centre for Physics) but basic knowledge of statistics is essential and previous experience with signal processing or programming (Igor, Python, Matlab or similar language) is advantageous and contribution to that part of the project is expected, based on the load of the experimental part. The applicant will be supervised by Attila Gulyás. The expected starting date of the position is 1 September 2015 but the start date of the position is negotiable. Initial appointment is made for one year but can be extended to three years upon successful evaluation. The work is based in the PATTERN lab at the MTA Wigner Institute (Budapest, Hungary) but requires regular interactions with the experimental partners at the Institute for Experimental Medicine (Budapest). For further information please visit the project website, http://pattern.wigner.mta.hu <http://pattern.wigner.mta.hu/>. For informal inquiries please contact Gergo Orban (orban.gergo(a)wigner.mta.hu <mailto:orban.gergo@wigner.mta.hu>) or Andras Telcs (telcs.szit.bme(a)gmail.com <mailto:telcs.szit.bme@gmail.com>). Please send applications, including CV, a research statement and contact information of two references by email to András Telcs before 30 June.

June 10, 2015

Postdoctoral position on assessing auditory cognition to implement neurofeedback in hearing aids

by Tobias Reichenbach

Applications are invited for a Research Associate to work on project in auditory cognitive neuroscience at Imperial College London. The project is part of an exciting multi-centre effort with the Universities of Southampton and Manchester to employ neurofeedback for building 'smart' hearing aids. The successful candidate will join the group of Tobias Reichenbach (http://www.bg.ic.ac.uk/research/reichenbach) The project is further embedded in the Centre for Neurotechnology at Imperial College (http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/neurotechnology <http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/neurotechnology>). The project's goal is to develop experimental paradigms and associated data analytics to predict a person's speech comprehension based on non-invasive electroencephalographic (EEG) measurements of his or her brain activity in response to natural speech. This will employ advanced data analytics to correlate EEG responses to key aspects of speech, such as its envelope. The project will further investigate how these EEG assessments can be employed to fit and adapt the settings of a hearing aid in order to maximize its usefulness for a hearing-impaired person. Applicants should have a PhD (or equivalent) in computing, engineering, neuroscience or physical sciences with experience in signal processing as well as neuroimaging. For an informal discussion please contact Dr Tobias Reichenbach (email: reichenbach(a)imperial.ac.uk <mailto:a.kedgley@imperial.ac.uk>; telephone: +44 (0)20 759 46370). Our preferred method of application is online via our website http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/employment <http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/employment>. (Select “Job Search” then enter the job title or vacancy reference number into “Keywords”). Please complete and upload an application form as directed quoting reference number EN20150202FH. Alternatively, if you are unable to apply online, please email Edit Toth on etoth(a)imperial.ac.uk <mailto:etoth@imperial.ac.uk> to request an application form. The preferred starting date is September 2015. Applications received before the 6th of July 2015 will receive full consideration. ------------------------------------------- Tobias Reichenbach Lecturer, Biophysics of Hearing Editor, Heliyon Department of Bioengineering Imperial College London South Kensington Campus SW7 2AZ London, UK http://www.bg.ic.ac.uk/research/reichenbach/

June 10, 2015