Subject: NC'98 / NEURAL COMPUTATION
From: ICSC Planning <[email-masked]>
To: Prospective Authors <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 16:56:37 -0600

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:    [email-masked]
  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:    [email-masked]
            [email-masked]
  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:    [email-masked]
  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

NC’98 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 

[email-masked] 

or else by fax or mail (2 copies) to the following address:

  ICSC Canada 
  P.O. Box 279
  Millet, Alberta T0C 1Z0
  Canada
  Email: [email-masked]
  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: [email-masked]
  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:  [email-masked] 
  or:     [email-masked]
  Fax:    +43-1-1707-56256
  Phone:  +43-1-1707-47149