Monday, September 30, 2013

[Comp-neuro] Lecturer and research Position (Akademische/r Assistent/in) in Neuro-Robotics

Lecturer and research Position (Akademische/r Assistent/in) in Neuro-Robotics

The position is available at Chemnitz University of Technology in the Department of Computer Science within the Professorship of Artificial Intelligence. It requires teaching and research. Teaching is required about 4 hours per week within the semester and involves lectures and exercises in robotics and neuro-robotics as well as exercises in artificial intelligence or image processing.

The candidate is expected to contribute to research in neuro-robotics, e.g. to develop brain inspired models of motor or cognitive processes run on robotic platforms. He or she should have a PhD in computer science or related fields, e.g. electrical engineering. Prior experience in robotics or neuro-computational modeling is advantageous. Good English language skills are necessary. Good German is initially not required, but the candidate should have an interest to learn the German language.

We offer a stimulating international and interdisciplinary environment. Available and recently ordered robotic platforms include an iCub head, two Nao, a Koala with stereo pan-tilt vision and several K-Junior V2 robots.

The salary is according to German standards (E 13 TV-L or A 13). The position is initially for 4 years, but can be extended. The starting date is April 2014 or earlier.

Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the state of Saxony and close to scenic mountains. Major cities nearby are Leipzig and Dresden with a rich tradition of music and culture.

Further details (in german) can be found here:
http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/verwaltung/personal/stellen/257030_AA_Rab.php

Applications should be sent by email (preferably in PDF format) to (fred.hamker@informatik.tu-chemnitz.de). The deadline was on 30.09.2013, but applications will be considered until the position is filled. In addition to a CV the candidate should provide an overview of his planned research for the next 4 years.

[Comp-neuro] Neuroscience Gateway Portal workshop at SFN 2013 meeting

The Neuroscience Gateway Portal workshop at the SFN 2013 meeting
is for neuroscientists who are interested in running simulations on
high performance computing resourses. The NSG http://www.nsgportal.org/
is designed to make this task much easier. It already has Brian,
MOOSE, NEST, NEURON, PGENESIS, and PyNN installed, and free CPU
time is available. Come to the NSG workshop to see how your own
research might benefit from this tool.

The workshop will run from 9 AM to noon on Saturday, November 9,
just a couple of blocks from the convention center. Attendance is
limited to 20 participants, and the registration deadline is
Friday, October 25, so be sure to sign up now at
http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/nsg2013/nsg2013.html

--Ted
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Sunday, September 29, 2013

[Comp-neuro] Second Call for Papers: AISTATS 2014, Seventeenth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics

==============================================================================
AISTATS 2014 Call for Papers
Seventeenth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics
April 22 - 25, 2014, Reykjavik, Iceland
http://www.aistats.org

Colocated with a MLSS Machine Learning Summer School
==============================================================================

AISTATS is an interdisciplinary gathering of researchers at the intersection
of computer science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics,
and related areas. Since its inception in 1985, the primary goal of AISTATS
has been to broaden research in these fields by promoting the exchange of
ideas among them. We encourage the submission of all papers which are in
keeping with this objective at http://www.aistats.org.


Keynote Speakers:
-----------------
Peter Buhlmann, ETH Zurich
http://stat.ethz.ch/~buhlmann/
Talk title TBA

Andrew Gelman, Columbia University
http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~gelman/
Talk title: Weakly Informative Priors: When a little information can do a lot
of regularizing

Michael I. Jordan, University of California, Berkeley
http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~jordan/
Talk title: On the Computational and Statistical Interface and "Big Data"


Tutorial Speakers:
------------------
Roderick Murray-Smith, University of Glasgow
http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~rod/
Talk title TBA

Christian P. Robert, Ceremade - Universite Paris-Dauphine
https://www.ceremade.dauphine.fr/~xian/
Talk title: Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC), methodology and
applications

Havard Rue, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
http://www.ntnu.edu/employees/havard.rue
Talk title: Bayesian computing with INLA


Paper Submission:
-----------------
Proceedings track: This is the standard AISTATS paper submission track. Papers
will be selected via a rigorous double-blind peer-review process. All accepted
papers will be presented at the Conference as contributed talks or as posters
and will be published in the Proceedings. A selected set of papers will be
designated as "notable papers" which will be clearly distinguished in the
Proceedings.

Highlight talks track: We will include talks on recent high-impact work on
AISTATS themes. This is an opportunity to raise discussion and get additional
exposure to already published work, in particular in journals. The talks will
be selected based on one-page abstracts and the existing papers, and they do
not lead to a paper in the Proceedings.

Late-breaking posters track: Some time at the conference will be set aside for
"breaking news" posters having a one-page abstract. These are reports on
ongoing or unpublished projects, projects already published elsewhere,
partially developed ideas, negative results etc, and are meant as informal
forums to encourage discussion. The review process of the late-breaking
posters will be very light-touch and presentation at the Conference will not
lead to publication in the Proceedings.


Solicited topics include, but are not limited to:

* Models and estimation: graphical models, causality, Gaussian processes,
approximate inference, kernel methods, nonparametric models, statistical and
computational learning theory, manifolds and embedding, sparsity and
compressed sensing, ...
* Classification, regression, density estimation, unsupervised and
semi-supervised learning, clustering, topic models, ...
* Structured prediction, relational learning, logic and probability
* Reinforcement learning, planning, control
* Game theory, no-regret learning, multi-agent systems
* Algorithms and architectures for high-performance computation in AI and
statistics
* Software for and applications of AI and statistics

For a more detailed list of keywords, see http://www.aistats.org/keywords.php.


Submission Requirements for Proceedings Track:
----------------------------------------------
Electronic submission of papers is required. Papers may be up to 8
double-column pages in length, excluding references. Authors may optionally
submit also supplementary material. Formatting and submission information is
available at http://www.aistats.org/submit.php.

All accepted papers will be published in the Proceedings in the Journal of
Machine Learning Research Workshop and Conference Proceedings series. Papers
for talks and posters will be treated equally in publication.


Submission Deadlines:
---------------------
Submissions will be considered if they are received by the following strict
deadlines.

Proceedings track paper submissions: 1 November, 2013, 23:59 UTC
Highlight talk abstract submissions: 24 January, 2014, 23:59 UTC
Late-breaking poster abstract submissions: 24 January, 2014, 23:59 UTC

See the conference website for additional important dates:
http://www.aistats.org/dates.php.


Colocated Events:
-----------------
A Machine Learning Summer School (MLSS) will be held after the conference
(April 25th-May 4th). April 25 will be an AISTATS/MLSS joint tutorial + MLSS
poster session day. The summer school features an exciting program with talks
from leading experts in the field, see http://mlss2014.hiit.fi for details.


Venue:
------
AISTATS 2014 will be held in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, in Grand Hotel
Reykjavik. Reykjavik and its environs offer a unique mix of culture and varied
nature, from glaciers to waterfalls to geysers and thermal pools. This is a
unique opportunity to spend an AISTATS afternoon break at a geothermal warm
beach, the famous Blue Lagoon.

Reykjavik is easily reachable by several airlines; travel information will be
available on http://www.aistats.org.


Program Chairs:
---------------
Samuel Kaski, Aalto University and University of Helsinki
Jukka Corander, University of Helsinki

Local Chair: Deon Garrett, School of Computer Science, Reykjavik University
and Icelandic Institute for Intelligent Machines


Senior Program Committee:
-------------------------
Edoardo Airoldi, Harvard University
Cedric Archambeau, Amazon
Peter Auer, University of Leoben
Yoshua Bengio, Universite de Montreal
Carlo Berzuini, University of Manchester
Jeff A. Bilmes, University of Washington
Wray Buntine, NICTA
Lawrence Carin, Duke University
Guido Consonni, Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Koby Crammer, The Technion
Emily B. Fox, University of Washington
Aapo Hyvarinen, University of Helsinki
Timo Koski, KTH
Jan Peters, Technische Universitat Darmstadt
Volker Roth, Universitat Basel
Scott Sisson, University of New South Wales
Suvrit Sra, Max-Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems
Masashi Sugiyama, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Joe Suzuki, Osaka University
Bill Triggs, Centre National de Recherche Scientifique
Jean-Philippe Vert, Mines ParisTech and Curie Institute
Stephen Walker, University of Texas at Austin
Kun Zhang, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems
To be completed.


The European meetings of AISTATS are organized by the European Society for
Artificial Intelligence and Statistics.

============== for more information see http://www.aistats.org ===============
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Saturday, September 28, 2013

[Comp-neuro] postdoctoral positions in theoretical neuroscience

     Up to 2 postdoctoral positions are available in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Goldman at the University of California at Davis.  The lab works on a broad range of problems in computational neuroscience ranging from neural coding to dynamics and plasticity of single neurons and networks.  Immediate funding is available for a range of projects related to working memory, neural integration, motor learning, and decision-making as described below.  The postdoctoral candidate also would have flexibility to work on a range of issues of his or her choosing.  Candidates are expected to have strong training in an analytically rigorous discipline such as theoretical neuroscience, physics, mathematics, computer science, or engineering.  The postdoctoral candidate will have ample opportunity to interact within the vibrant computational and systems neuroscience communities at UC Davis and in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.    

     Candidates should send a CV, brief statement of previous research and future research interests, and email addresses and phone numbers of three references to:  Mark Goldman, msgoldman@ucdavis.edu.

 

Recent topics of particular interest to the laboratory are:

 

1) Dynamics of memory and motor-related neural activity: 

     Challenging the attractor picture of working memory.  In the traditional attractor picture of working memory, memory storage results from positive feedback processes that lead to the formation of self-sustained attractors.  In one project, we are exploring how functionally feedforward, rather than feedback, network architectures can generate flexible codes for storing memories and producing a broad range of input-output transformations.  In a second project, we are utilizing methods from engineering control theory to show how balanced cortical networks can utilize negative feedback to stabilize persistent patterns of neural activity. 

     Multi-scale modeling of neural integration.  The oculomotor neural integrator is a model system for understanding the mathematical integration of inputs and the maintenance of persistent neural activity.  We seek to determine the respective roles of cellular and circuit mechanisms of memory storage in this system.  Multi-scale models, from ion channels to behavior, will be generated based upon electrophysiological and optical imaging recordings from the laboratories of David Tank at Princeton University and Emre Aksay at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. 

     Role of the granule cell layer in cerebellar motor learning.  The eye movement system provides a highly tractable setting for studying motor learning because it is well-characterized experimentally and has fewer degrees of freedom than more complicated movement systems.  In collaboration with whole-circuit optical imaging experiments in the Aksay laboratory and genetic manipulations and electrophysiological recordings in Jennifer Raymond’s laboratory at Stanford University, we are modeling the neural dynamics and coding of cerebellar granule neurons and their relation to Purkinje cell firing and the plasticity of eye movement behaviors. 

 

2) Collective intelligence and decision-making in ant colonies:  In collaboration with Deborah Gordon’s laboratory at Stanford University, we are using the foraging behavior of desert ants as a model system to quantitatively understand social decision-making.  Desert ants have strong ecological pressure to make wise choices as to when to leave the nest to forage for food.  We are modeling how the decision-making processes of individual ants result in adaptive whole-colony behavior.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

[Comp-neuro] A NIDA-INSERM Fellowship opportunity in computational neuroscience of addiction to be hosted by the Group for Neural Theory, ENS, Paris (France)


Announcing a fellowship funding opportunity through a collaborative US-French NIDA/INSERM agreement. A recent call for proposals will allow a US postdoctoral fellow, once funded, to come and work in Franc.  The Group for Neural Theory at the Institute for the Study of Cognition, Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, France has been chosen as a potential host and will sponsor an application from a qualified candidate. 

The fellow will work in the group of Boris Gutkin, which focuses on computational modelling of addictive processes. Potential project include circuit level models of drug action in the dopaminergic brain system (nicotine, alcohol and interactions), system levels models for drug affects on the interaction between the pre-frontal cortex and the basal ganglia, computational modeling of cognitive control and drug induced pathologies, computational models of drug induced homeostatic pathology and its cognitive consequences.  Eventual project will be need to be developed together with the fellowship candidate at the time of application. 

The potential fellowships are one year renewable once.

ATTENTION: Deadline Oct 15 2013. 

Potential applications, holding either a US passport of US permanent residence are invited to contact Boris Gutkin  as soon as possible.

For more information about the GNT please see: www.gnt.ens.fr


Boris Gutkin, PhD
Research Director CNRS
Group for Neural Theory
Laboratoire des Neurosciences Cognitives, INSERM U 960
Department of Cognitive Studies
Institute for the Study of Cognition
Ecole Normale Superieure
Paris. France
boris.gutkin@ens.fr
www.gnt.ens.fr



[Comp-neuro] A NIDA-INSERM Fellowship opportunity in computational neuroscience of addiction to be hosted by the Group for Neural Theory, ENS, Paris (France)


Announcing a fellowship funding opportunity through a collaborative US-French NIDA/INSERM agreement. A recent call for proposals will allow a US postdoctoral fellow, once funded, to come and work in Franc.  The Group for Neural Theory at the Institute for the Study of Cognition, Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, France has been chosen as a potential host and will sponsor an application from a qualified candidate. 

The fellow will work in the group of Boris Gutkin, which focuses on computational modelling of addictive processes. Potential project include circuit level models of drug action in the dopaminergic brain system (nicotine, alcohol and interactions), system levels models for drug affects on the interaction between the pre-frontal cortex and the basal ganglia, computational modeling of cognitive control and drug induced pathologies, computational models of drug induced homeostatic pathology and its cognitive consequences.  Eventual project will be need to be developed together with the fellowship candidate at the time of application. 

The potential fellowships are one year renewable once.

ATTENTION: Deadline Oct 15 2013. 

Potential applications, holding either a US passport of US permanent residence are invited to contact Boris Gutkin  as soon as possible.

For more information about the GNT please see: www.gnt.ens.fr


Boris Gutkin, PhD
Research Director CNRS
Group for Neural Theory
Laboratoire des Neurosciences Cognitives, INSERM U 960
Department of Cognitive Studies
Institute for the Study of Cognition
Ecole Normale Superieure
Paris. France
boris.gutkin@ens.fr
www.gnt.ens.fr


[Comp-neuro] Invitation to submit articles to Scientific World Journal

Dear colleagues,

 

Together with the other guest editors [Paolo Massobrio (University of Genova, Italy), Danny Eytan (The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada), Paolo Bonifazi (Tel Aviv University, Israel) and Paul Tiesinga (Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands)], I have the pleasure to invite you to submit original research articles as well as reviews to the special issue titled ‘Hybrid Systems to Investigate the Computational and Learning Properties of Neuronal Assemblies’ to be published in The Scientific World Journal (http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/).

The Scientific World Journal is open access and with an impact factor of 1.730. You can find the call for paper here: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/si/438539/cfp/.

 

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

·         Encoding of inputs and retrieval of memories in cultured and simulated neuronal networks

·         Learning and adaptation in cultured networks

·         Electrophysiological experiments in closed-loop systems

·         Mathematical neuronal network models as tools to deduce computational properties of neural circuits

·         Hybrid systems: living networks coupled to artificial ones

·         Software and hardware strategies to manipulate and control neuronal dynamics

 

Deadline for article submission: March 7th, 2014; Publication date: May 16th, 2014.

 

We look forward to receiving your contribution!

 

Best regards

Michela Chiappalone

 

Lead Guest Editor

The Scientific World Journal

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr Michela Chiappalone, PhD

NeuroTech Group

Department of Neuroscience and Brain Technologies (NBT)

Italian Institute of Technology (IIT)

Via Morego 30

16163 Genova (Italy)

 

e-mail : michela.chiappalone@iit.it

web-site : www.iit.it

direct phone :  +39 010 71781743

 

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

[Comp-neuro] 1-day conference celebrating Open Access in Berlin. Nov 18th

Hey folks,

**DO YOU WANT TO BRING DOWN THE PAYWALLS?**

As a member of the Organising Committee for this special event I'd
like to invite YOU to the Berlin 11 Satellite Conference for Students
& Early Stage Researchers on November 18th, 2013 in Berlin, Germany!

We've been hard at work behind the scenes, and
we are excited to announce today that the conference website is now
online at: http://www.righttoresearch.org/act/berlin11.

We are also excited to share that the conference will include
presentations from Jack Andraka (Winner, 2012 Intel Science Fair),Alek
Tarkowski (Former Member of the Board of Strategic Advisors to the
Prime Minister of Poland), Cameron Neylon, (Director of Advocacy for
the Public Library of Science), and Heather Joseph (Executive Director
of SPARC).

This exciting, first of its kind meeting reflects the importance of
students and early stage researchers as the next generation of
scholars and the impact these groups are already having in opening up
scholarly communication. The conference will convene a discussion with
leaders and innovators in the Open Access movement about the current
state of Open Access and what participants can do to be catalysts for
change locally, nationally, and beyond.

On the conference website, you can now apply to attend the satellite conference.
http://www.righttoresearch.org/act/berlin11/apply
The short application shouldn't take much time and is necessary to
ensure a diverse, representative, and active group of participants for
this unique meeting. With generous support from the Max Planck
Society, many participants will have the opportunity to have their
travel and accommodation expenses covered by travel scholarships,
which you can request directly from the application! Applications are
due by midnight on October 14th.

You can find more information, including a complete list of speakers
and available logistical details, on the conference website.

I hope you will apply today and look forward to seeing many of you at
the conference on November 18th!

Best,

Ross

--
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Ross Mounce | @rmounce
PhD Student (writing-up)
Fossils, Phylogeny and Macroevolution Research Group
University of Bath
http://about.me/rossmounce
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
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[Comp-neuro] postdoctoral position to study information coding in the olfactory system

Applications are invited for NIH-funded post-doctoral position in the laboratory of Dr. Maxim Bazhenov at the University of California, Riverside to study information coding in the olfactory system. This project involves close collaboration with laboratory of Dr. Mark Stopfer at NIH. For relevant references see, Assisi et al., Neuron 2011, 69(2):373-86; Ito et al., Neuron 2009, 64(5):692-706; Assisi at al., Nature Neurosci, 2007, 10(9):1176-84. The ultimate goal of this work is to understand mechanisms and functions of biological rhythms and the role of neuronal dynamics in information processing.

 

The successful candidate will be responsible for design and analysis of the network models of olfactory system based on existing experimental data. These models will be used to understand underlying neural mechanisms, as well as guide data analysis and produce novel experimental predictions. Qualified applicants are expected to have experience in computational/theoretical neuroscience and conductance-based 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@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/