NIPS*96 Call for Papers/Workshops

[John Lazzaro <lazzaro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

                              CALL FOR PAPERS

         Neural Information Processing Systems -- Natural and Synthetic
                  Monday December 2 - Saturday December 7, 1996
                              Denver, Colorado


This is the tenth meeting of an interdisciplinary conference which brings
together cognitive scientists, computer scientists, engineers, neuro-
scientists, physicists, and mathematicians interested in all aspects of neural
processing and computation.  The conference will include invited talks and
oral and poster presentations of refereed papers.  The conference is single
track and is highly selective.  Preceding the main session, there will be one
day of tutorial presentations (Dec. 2), and following will be two days of
focused workshops on topical issues at a nearby ski area (Dec. 6-7).  Major
categories for paper submission, with example subcategories, are as follows:

Algorithms and Architectures:  supervised and unsupervised learning
algorithms, constructive/pruning algorithms, decision trees, localized basis
functions, layered networks, recurrent networks, Monte Carlo algorithms,
combinatorial optimization, performance comparisons

Applications:  database mining, DNA/protein sequence analysis, expert systems,
fault diagnosis, financial analysis, medical diagnosis, music processing,
time-series prediction

Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science:  perception, natural language,
human learning and memory, problem solving, decision making, inductive
reasoning, hybrid symbolic-subsymbolic systems

Control, Navigation, and Planning:  robotic motor control, process control,
navigation, path planning, exploration, dynamic programming, reinforcement
learning

Implementation:  analog and digital VLSI, optical neurocomputing systems,
novel neuro-devices, simulation tools, parallelism

Neuroscience:  systems physiology, signal and noise analysis, oscillations,
synchronization, mechanisms of inhibition and neuromodulation, synaptic
plasticity, computational models

Speech, Handwriting, and Signal Processing:  speech recognition, coding, and
synthesis, handwriting recognition, adaptive equalization, nonlinear noise
removal, auditory scene analysis

Theory:  computational learning theory, complexity theory, dynamical systems,
statistical mechanics, probability and statistics, approximation and
estimation theory

Visual Processing:  image processing, image coding and classification, object
recognition, stereopsis, motion detection and tracking, visual psychophysics


Review Criteria:  All submitted papers will be thoroughly refereed on the
basis of technical quality, significance, and clarity.  Novelty of the work
is also a strong consideration in paper selection, but, to encourage
interdisciplinary contributions, we will consider work which has been
submitted or presented in part elsewhere, if it is unlikely to have been seen
by the NIPS audience.  Authors should not be dissuaded from submitting recent
work, as there will be an opportunity after the meeting to revise accepted
manuscripts before submitting final camera-ready copy.


Paper Format:  Submitted papers may be up to seven pages in length, including
figures and references, using a font no smaller than 10 point.  Submissions
failing to follow these guidelines will not be considered.  Authors are
encouraged to use the NIPS LaTeX style files obtainable by anonymous FTP at
the site given below.  Papers must indicate (1) physical and e-mail addresses
of all authors; (2) one of the nine major categories listed above, and, if
desired, a subcategory; (3) if the work, or any substantial part thereof, has
been submitted to or has appeared in other scientific conferences; (4) the
authors' preference, if any, for oral or poster presentation; this preference
will play no role in paper acceptance; and (5) author to whom correspondence
should be addressed.


Submission Instructions:  Send six copies of submitted papers to the address
below; electronic or FAX submission is not acceptable.  Include one
additional copy of the abstract only, to be used for preparation of the
abstracts booklet distributed at the meeting.  SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY
MAY 24, 1996.  From within the U.S., submissions will be accepted if mailed
first class and postmarked by May 21, 1996.


Mail submissions to:

   Michael Jordan
   NIPS*96 Program Chair
   Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, E10-034D
   Massachusetts Institute of Technology
   79 Amherst Street
   Cambridge, MA  02139  USA


Mail general inquiries and requests for registration material to:

   NIPS*96 Registration
   Conference Consulting Associates
   451 N. Sycamore
   Monticello, IA  52310

   fax: (319) 465-6709  (attn: Denise Prull)

   e-mail: nipsinfo@salk.edu


Copies of the LaTeX style files for NIPS are available via anonymous ftp at

   ftp.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.206.173) in /afs/cs/Web/Groups/NIPS/formatting

The style files and other conference information may also be retrieved via
World Wide Web at

   http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Web/Groups/NIPS


NIPS*96 Organizing Committee: General Chair, Michael Mozer, U.  Colorado;
Program Chair, Michael Jordan, MIT; Publications Chair, Thomas Petsche,
Siemens; Tutorial Chair, John Lazzaro, Berkeley; Workshops Co-Chairs, Michael
Perrone, IBM, and Steven Nowlan, Lexicus; Publicity Chair, Suzanna Becker,
McMaster; Local Arrangements, Marijke Augusteijn, U. Colorado; Treasurer,
Eric Mjolsness, UCSD; Government/Corporate Liaison, John Moody, OGI;
Contracts, Steve Hanson, Siemens, Scott Kirkpatrick, IBM, Gerry Tesauro,
IBM.  Conference arrangements by Conference Consulting Associates,
Monticello, IA.



            DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF SUBMISSIONS IS MAY 24, 1996

                            - please post -


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                          CALL FOR PROPOSALS

                   NIPS*96 Post Conference Workshops
                         December 6 and 7, 1996
                           Snowmass, Colorado


Following the regular program of the Neural Information Processing Systems
1996 conference, workshops on current topics in neural information processing
will be held on December 6 and 7, 1996, in Snowmass, Colorado.  Proposals by
qualified individuals interested in chairing one of these workshops are
solicited.  Past topics have included:

   Active Learning, Architectural Issues, Attention, Audition, Bayesian
   Analysis, Bayesian Networks, Benchmarking, Computational Complexity,
   Computational Molecular Biology, Control, Neuroscience, Genetic Algorithms,
   Grammars, Hybrid HMM/ANN Systems, Implementations, Music, Neural Hardware,
   Network Dynamics, Neurophysiology, On-Line Learning, Optimization,
   Recurrent Nets, Robot Learning, Rule Extraction, Self-Organization,
   Sensory Biophysics, Signal Processing, Symbolic Dynamics, Speech,
   Time Series, Topological Maps, and Vision.

The goal of the workshops is to provide an informal forum for researchers to
discuss important issues of current interest.  There will be two workshop
sessions a day, for a total of six hours, with free time in between for
ongoing individual exchange or outdoor activities.

Concrete open and/or controversial issues are encouraged and preferred as
workshop topics.  Representation of alternative viewpoints and panel-style
discussions are particularly encouraged.

Workshop organizers will have responsibilities including:

1) coordinating workshop participation and content, which involves
   arranging short informal presentations by experts working in an area,
   arranging for expert commentators to sit on a discussion panel and
   formulating a set of discussion topics, etc.

2) moderating or leading the discussion and reporting its high points,
   findings, and conclusions to the group during evening plenary sessions

3) writing a brief summary and/or coordinating submitted material for
   post-conference electronic dissemination.


Submission Instructions
-----------------------

Interested parties should submit via e-mail a short proposal for a workshop
of interest by May 20, 1996.

Proposals should include a title, a description of what the workshop is to
address and accomplish, the proposed length of the workshop (one day or two
days), the planned format (mini-conference, panel discussion, or group
discussion, combinations of the above, etc), and the proposed number of
speakers.  Where possible, please also indicate potential invitees
(particularly for panel discussions).  Please note that this year we
are looking for fewer "mini-conference" workshops and greater variety of
workshop formats.  Also, the time allotted to workshops has been increased to
six hours each day.  We strongly encourage that the organizers reserve a
significant portion of time for open discussion.

The proposal should motivate why the topic is of interest or controversial,
why it should be discussed and who the targeted group of participants is.
In addition, please send a brief resume of the prospective workshop chair,
a list of publications, and evidence of scholarship in the field of interest.
Submissions should include contact name, address, e-mail address, phone
number and fax number if available.

Proposals should be mailed electronically to mpp@watson.ibm.com.  All
proposals must be RECEIVED by May 20, 1996.  If e-mail is unavailable, mail
so as to arrive by the deadline to:

  NIPS*96 Workshops
  c/o Michael P. Perrone
  IBM T. J. Watson Research Center
  P.O. Box 218, 36-207
  Yorktown Heights, NY 10598


Questions may be addressed to either of the Workshop Co-Chairs:

Michael P. Perrone                  Steven J. Nowlan
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center     Motorola, Lexicus Division
mpp@watson.ibm.com                  steven@lexicus.mot.com



              PROPOSALS MUST BE SENT BY MAY 20, 1996

                           -Please Post-