ANNOUNCEMENT / CALL FOR PAPERS International ICSC/IFAC Symposium on NEURAL COMPUTATION / NC'98 To be held at the Technical University of Vienna September 23 - 25, 1998 http://www.compusmart.ab.ca/icsc/nc98.htm SPONSORS - IFAC International Federation of Automatic Control - IEEE Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Section Austria - OeCG Oesterreichische Computer Gesellschaft - OeVE Oesterreichischer Verband fuer Elektrotechnik - Siemens AG, Vienna, Austria - TU University of Technology, Vienna - ICSC International Computer Science Conventions, Canada/Switzerland ************************************************* SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZATION - HONORARY CHAIR Prof. Tomaso Poggio Co-Director Center for Biological and Computational Learning Massachusetts Institute of Technology, E25-201 Cambridge, MA 02139 / USA Email: tp-temp@ai.mit.edu Web Site: http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/poggio/ - SYMPOSIUM CHAIR Dr. Michael Heiss ECANSE Siemens AG Austria Gudrunstrasse 11 A-1100 Vienna / Austria Phone: +43-1-1707-47149 Fax: +43-1-1707-56256 Email: michael.heiss@siemens.at m.heiss@ieee.org Web Site: http://www.siemens.at/~ecanse/heiss.html - SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZER ICSC International Computer Science Conventions P.O. Box 279 Millet, AB T0C 1Z0 / Canada Phone: +1-403-387-3546 Fax: +1-403-387-4329 Email: icsc@compusmart.ab.ca Web Site: http://www.compusmart.ab.ca/icsc - PROGRAM COMMITTEE Shai Ben-David, Israel Horst Bischof, Austria Hans H. Bothe, Germany Martin Brown, U.K. Frans M. Coetzee, USA Juan Lopez Coronado, Spain Georg Dorffner, Austria K. Fukushima, Japan Wulfram Gertner, Switzerland Stan Gielen, Netherlands C. Lee Giles, USA C.J. Harris, U.K. J. Herault, France Kurt Hornik, Austria Nikola Kasabov, New Zealand Bart Kosko, USA Fa-Long Luo, Germany Wolfgang Maass, Austria Giuseppe Martinelli, Italy Fazel Naghdy, Australia Sankar K. Pal, India Y.H. Pao, USA Martin Pottmann, USA Raul Rojas, Germany Tariq Samad, USA V. David Sanchez A., USA Robert Sanner, USA Bernd Schuermann, Germany J.S. Shawe-Taylor, U.K. Peter Sincak, Slovakia George D. Smith, U.K. Nigel Steele, U.K. Piotr Szczepaniak, Poland Csaba Szepesvzari, Hungary Henning Tolle, Germany S. Usui, Japan J. Vandewalle, Belgium A. Weinmann, Austria T. Yamakawa, Japan The symposium is organized under the honorary patronage of Prof. Alexander Weinmann, University of Technology, Vienna. ************************************************* NATIONAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE M. Budil - T. Gruenberger - E. Thurner - B. Knapp - M. Kuehrer - C. Stroh ************************************************* PURPOSE OF THE CONFERENCE NC98 will bring together scientists and practitioners in the field of Artificial Neural Networks. The conference will concentrate on the computational aspects of Neural Networks in the widest sense, from convergence theory, numerical aspects and hybrid systems through to neural software and hardware. In addition the conference will provide a venue for the discussion of commercial and other practical applications of the technology. It is hoped that participants will have a common interest in, and a fascination for, self-learning systems in nature, their theoretical modeling and interpretation, and in their computational implementation ************************************************* TOPICS Contributions are sought in areas based on the list below, which is indicative only. Contributions from new applications areas will be particularly welcome. Neural Network Theory - Mathematical, computational background - Mathematical theories of networks in dynamical systems - Neural network architectures and algorithms - Neural models for cognitive science and brain functions - Convergence - Numerical aspects - Statistical properties - Artificial associative memories - Self-organization - Hybrid systems - Neuro-Fuzzy - Knowledge extraction from neural networks - Genetic algorithms - Optimization - Radial basis function networks - CMAC - Pre-filtering and pre-selection of input-data - Chaos-theoretical methods for data evaluation - Vector quantization Tools and Hardware Implementation - Rapid prototyping tools - Graphical programming tools - Simulation and analyzation tools - Heuristics for neural network design - Neuro-computers - Electronic and optic implementations - Neuro-chips - Spiking-Neurons - Parallel processing Applications - Pattern recognition - Signal processing - Neural filters - Speech recognition - Robotics - Control - System Identification - Time series prediction - Sales forecast - Electrical power load forecast - X-ray image analysis ************************************************* SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM Prof. Tomaso Poggio, Honarary Chairman of NC'98 will give an invited plenary talk on 'Learning Sparse Representations'. NC'98 will include other invited plenary talks, contributed sessions, invited sessions, poster sessions, workshops and demonstrations. Various projects are under consideration. ************************************************* WORKSHOPS, TUTORIALS AND OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS Proposals should be submitted as soon as possible to the Symposium Chairman or the Symposium Organizer. Deadline for proposals: January 31, 1998. Tutorials and workshops will partly be organized prior to the conference on September 21-22, 1998. ************************************************* EXHIBITION An exhibition may be arranged at the conference site, displaying products, services and literature related to the conference topics technolgy. Interested exhibitors are requested to contact the Symposium Organizers for further information. Conference participants may display any written information related to the conference topic at the information desk (papers, call for papers, product information). For non-participants we offer a handling charge of US$ 100 for each 5 kilograms. ************************************************* SUBMISSION OF PAPERS Prospective authors are requested to send an abstract of 1000 - 2000 words for review by the International Program Committee. All abstracts must be written in English, starting with a succinct statement of the problem, the results achieved, their significance and a comparison with previous work. The abstract should also include: - Title of conference (NC'98) - Type of paper (regular, demonstration, poster, tutorial or invited) - Title of proposed paper - Authors names, affiliations, addresses - Name of author to contact for correspondence - E-mail address and fax # of contact author - Topics which best describe the paper (max. 5 keywords) Contributions are welcome from those working in industry and having experience in the topics of this conference as well as from academics. The conference language is English. Tutorial papers and demonstrations are also encouraged. It is recommended to submit abstracts by electronic mail to icsc@compusmart.ab.ca or else by fax or mail (2 copies) to the following address: ICSC Canada P.O. Box 279 Millet, Alberta T0C 1Z0 Canada Email: icsc@compusmart.ab.ca Fax: +1-403-387-4329 Submissions for poster presentations (minimum 4 pages) are accepted until June 30, 1997. These papers will neither be reviewed, nor included in the proceedings and later amendments are still possible. ************************************************* DEMONSTRATION SESSIONS Instead of submitting a paper, proposals for a 20 minute demonstration of a practical application can also be submitted. A regular 220V power outlet and a VHS-video recorder will be available at the demonstration room. The proposal should follow the above abstract submission guidelines. Only the abstract of the demonstration will be printed in the conference proceedings. ************************************************* POSTER SESSIONS Poster presentations are encouraged for people who whish to receive peer feedback on research, which is not yet ready for publication. Practical examples of applied research are particularly welcome. Poster sessions will allow the presentation and discussion of respective papers. Papers for poster presentations should contain at least 4 pages and be submitted to the symposium organizers until June 30, 1998 to be included in the conference program. These papers will neither be reviewed, nor included in the proceedings and later amendments are thus still possible. ************************************************* INVITED SESSIONS Prospective organizers of invited sessions are requested to send a session proposal (consisting of 4-5 invited paper abstracts, the recommended session-chair and co-chair, as well as a short statement describing the title and the purpose of the session to the Symposium Chairman or the Symposium Organizer. All invited sessions should start with a tutorial paper. ************************************************* SIEMENS BEST PRESENTATION AWARD The best presentation of each session will be honored with a best presentation award. ************************************************* PUBLICATIONS Conference proceedings (including all accepted papers) will be published by ICSC Academic Press and be available for the delegates at the symposium in printed form or on CD-ROM. Authors of a selected number of innovative papers will be invited to submit extended manuscripts for publication in a special issue of the Elsevier Journal on Neurocomputing. ************************************************* IMPORTANT DATES - Submission of Abstracts: January 31, 1998 - Notification of Acceptance: March 31, 1998 - Delivery of full papers: May 31, 1998 - Submission of poster presentations: June 30, 1998 - Tutorials and Workshops: September 21-22, 1998 - NC'98 Symposium: September 23-25, 1998 ************************************************* ACCOMMODATION Accommodation at reasonable rates will be available at nearby hotels. Full details will follow with the letters of acceptance. ************************************************* SOCIAL AND TOURIST ACTIVITIES A social program, including a reception and a "Heurigen Dinner" will be organized and also be available for accompanying persons. Discover, why Vienna is one of the most favored conference cities worldwide. The month of September is the best time for a visit to Vienna. Visit the Stephansdom, relax at the prater where you can take a trip with the Riesenrad, eat the world's best pastries (e.g. the original Sacher-Torte) in one of the famous coffee houses, listen to an opera at the Vienna State Opera, or visit one of the many museums, such as the famous Klimt Collection in the Belvedere Castle. Post-conference tours to Wachau, Salzburg or Prag may be organized. Please mail your preferences to the symposium organizer. Further tourist information is available from http://www.aaf.or.at/tom/Wien/ http://info.wien.at/e/index.htm http://info.wien.at/e/wienkart.htm http://austria-info.at/ http://www.magwien.gv.at/gismap/cgi-bin/wwwgis/adrsuche/ ************************************************* FURTHER INFORMATION Full updated information is available from http://www.compusmart.ab.ca/icsc/nc98.htm or contact - ICSC Canada, P.O. Box 279, Millet, Alberta T0C 1Z0, Canada E-mail: icsc@compusmart.ab.ca Fax: +1-403-387-4329 Phone: +1-403-387-3546 - Dr. Michael Heiss, Symposium Chair NC'98 PSE NLT2 ECANSE, Siemens AG Austria, Gudrunstrasse 11, A-1100 Vienna, Austria Email: michael.heiss@siemens.at or: m.heiss@ieee.org Fax: +43-1-1707-56256 Phone: +43-1-1707-47149