Thursday, January 27, 2011


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Wednesday, March 23rd 2011

The City College of New York
The Great Hall
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031



Program

8:30 AM  – 9:30 AM                 Breakfast
Session 1 (Chair: Ruth Stark, The City College of New York)
09:30 AM – 09:45 AM             Introductions by President Lisa Staiano-Coico
09:45 AM – 10:00 AM             Introduction by Dean Ruth Stark, Division of Science
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM             Lewis Kay (University of Toronto)
11:00 AM – 11:15 AM             Break
Session 2 (Chair: David Eliezer, Weill Cornell Medical College)
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM             Chad Rienstra (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
12:00 PM – 12:45 PM             Hashim Al-Hashimi (University of Michigan)
12:45 PM – 2:00 PM               Lunch Buffet
Session 3 (Chair: Ming-Ming Zhou, Mount Sinai School of Medicine)
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM                  Lila Gierasch (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
2:45 PM – 3:30 PM                  Charalampos Kalodimos (Rutgers University)
3:30 PM – 4:15 PM                  Kevin Gardner (University of Texas Southwestern Medical
                                                    Center)
4:15 PM – 4:30 PM                  Break
Session 4 (Chair: David Cowburn, Albert Einstein College of Medicine)
4:30 PM – 5:30 PM                  Ad Bax (NIH)
5:30 PM – 5:45 PM                  Concluding Remarks

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

MaxEnt 2011
Waterloo, Canada
10-15 July 2011


Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that the 31st International Workshop on Bayesian Inference and Maximum Entropy Methods in Science and Engineering (MaxEnt 2011) will be hosted in Waterloo, Canada, from 10-15 July 2011. The key details of the workshop are given below. Please refer to www.maxent2011.org for more details.

For over 30 years, the MaxEnt workshops have explored the use of Bayesian and Maximum Entropy methods in scientific and engineering applications. The workshop invites work on all aspects of probabilistic inference, including novel techniques and applications, and work that sheds new light on the foundations of inference. This meeting will feature a special session on the Principle of Maximum Entropy Production (MEP).

In previous workshops, areas of application have included Astronomy and Astrophysics, Genetics, Geophysics, Medical Imaging, Material Science, Nanoscience, Source Separation, Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Plasma Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, Climate Studies, Engineering and Robotics. Foundational issues involving probability theory and information theory, and the novel application of inference to illuminate the foundations of physical theories, have also been of keen interest.

Waterloo is a leading center of science and technology in Canada, hosting the University of Waterloo (consistently ranked the top Canadian university for innovation, and regarded as one of the finest Canadian universities for science and technology) and Perimeter Institute (a world-class institute for theoretical physics), and home to such cutting-edge technology companies as Research in Motion (maker of the Blackberry) and Maplesoft.

Confirmed Invited Speakers (growing list):

Arieh Ben-Naïm, Dept. of Chemistry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ralph Lorenz, Applied Physics Lab, Johns Hopkins University
Gerald Pollack, Dept. of Bioengineering, University of Washington
John Skilling, Maximum Entropy Data Consultants, Kenmare, Ireland
Jos Uffink, Institute for History and Foundations of Science, Utrecht University, Netherlands


Important Dates:

Abstract Deadline: 2 April 2011
Notification of Acceptance: 30 April 2011
Papers Due: 26 June 2011

Organizers:

Philip Goyal (Chair), Dept. of Physics, University at Albany (SUNY).
Adom Giffin, Applied Physics Group, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University.
Arsen Hajian, Dept. of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, and Tornado Medical Systems, Waterloo, Canada.
Kevin H. Knuth, Dept. of Physics, University at Albany (SUNY).
Edward Vrscay, Dept. of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo.


Advisory Committee:

G. L. Bretthorst, Washington University, USA.
A. Caticha, University at Albany (SUNY), USA.
J. Center, Autonomous Exploration, USA.
V. Dose, IPP, Germany.
G. Erickson, Boise State University, USA.
R. Fischer, IPP, Germany.
P. M. Goggans, University of Mississippi, USA.
K. Hanson, LANL, USA.
K. H. Knuth, University at Albany (SUNY), USA.
T. Loredo, Cornell University, USA.
A. Mohammad-Djafari, LSS-CNRS, France.
C. Rodriguez, University at Albany (SUNY), USA.
J. Skilling, Maximum Entropy Data Consultants, Ireland.
C. Ray Smith, University of Mississippi, USA.
Udo von Toussaint, IPP, Germany.

Friday, January 21, 2011


Biomarkers for Brain Disorders: Challenges and Opportunities
27 February–2 March 2011

This exciting new Wellcome Trust Scientific Conference will discuss methodological aspects of biomarker identification across a spectrum of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, strategies for diagnostic assay development and pathways for regulatory approval. Specific attention will be given to results from consortia such as the Alzheimer Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), and to the prioritization of approaches not yet included in large consortia efforts, such as functional measures of brain activity captured by fMRI or electrophysiological recordings.

Topics:
Strategies for building large biorepositories
Technologies for molecular profiling and biomarker discovery: is multimodality the key?
Building and validating biochemical and functional assays
Measuring brain function in health and disease
Clinical studies of biomarkers in neurological disease (e.g. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and other CNS indications)
Paths for regulatory approval

Abstract deadline: 17 January 2011
Registration deadline: 24 January 2011

Courses and Conferences are held at the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge – home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of expertise in genomics and bioinformatics. For full details, please visit, www.wellcome.ac.uk/conferences

Thursday, January 20, 2011

MRI Development Engineer Position
Center for Functional MRI

University of California, San Diego
The Center for Functional MRI  (CFMRI) at the University of California, San
Diego (UCSD) invites applications for a MRI Development  Engineer
position.  The development engineer has overall responsibility for all
activities related to the technical operations of the 7T small animal imaging
system at the CFMRI. This includes: (1) management of technical
operations; (2) development, testing, and maintenance of MRI pulse
sequences and reconstruction algorithms; and (3) development, testing,
and maintenance of specialized hardware associated with the imaging
system.
The UCSD Center for Functional MRI is equipped with two researchdedicated GE 3T short- bore scanners and a 7T small animal imaging
scanner with Bruker Avance II console, More information about the Center
is available at our website: http://cfmriweb.ucsd.edu.
Interested applicants should apply at http://jobs.ucsd.edu (Posting #56141).
Specific  inquiries may be directed to Thomas Liu, Ph.D.,  Director of the
CFMRI, at ttliu@ucsd.edu.
2 POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS, INTERPERSONAL DECISION NEUROSCIENCE, VIRGINIA TECH CARILION RESEARCH INSTITUTE

The Laboratory for Interpersonal Decision Neuroscience (PI: Brooks King-Casas) is currently accepting applications for two postdoctoral fellows. The laboratory investigates behavioral and neural computations underlying normative and pathological social behavior using methods of behavioral economics, social psychology, and decision neuroscience.  Current projects focus on social reward learning, individual differences in social behavior, as well as pharmacological influences on social choice.

The laboratory is part of the newly established Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute (http://www.vtc.vt.edu/research/faculty/brooks-king-casas.html), and is affiliated with the Virginia Tech Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, as well as the Salem VA Medical Center and Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center.  The VTCRI provides full access to outstanding computing and neuroimaging infrastructure, including three research-dedicated Siemens 3T Trio scanners. In addition, the laboratory is currently collaborating with clinical research teams focused on pathological social behavior associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, mild traumatic brain injury, addiction, and personality disorders. The VTCRI is located in historic Roanoke, VA, and enjoys many outdoor opportunities along the Blue Ridge Parkway and southern Appalachian Mountains.

Successful candidates will have broad interests in interdisciplinary work in social behavior, and demonstrated expertise and creativity in one or more of the following fields: cognitive or computational neuroscience, bioengineering, behavioral economics, affective or social neuroscience, and experimental psychopathology.

To inquire for more information, please contact Nina Lauharatanahirun (nina1@vt.edu) or 540-526-2068. To apply, please visit http://listings.jobs.vt.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=192736.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011


Madrid-MIT M+Vision Fellowship

Dear Colleagues,

We previously announced the new Madrid-MIT M+Vision Fellowship program in translational imaging. This is an exciting and well-resourced opportunity for young people with leadership capabilities and an abiding interest in biomedical imaging to make their mark as part of a global partnership venture.  We are pleased to share some new information: 

-       An new application deadline of January 25, 2011
-       Updated website with information on the program details and FAQs.
-       “Office hours” during which program faculty will be available via audio-conference and Skype to answer questions regarding the program and the application process. Details can be found at: http://mvision.madrid.org/news_infosessions.htm

Please share this information with your colleagues and visit our web site, http://mvision.madrid.org/apply, for updated information or email questions to apply@mvision.madrid.org.

Sincerely,
M+Vision Team

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Bayesian Modeling for Cognitive Science, A WinBUGS Workshop
August 22 - August 26 2011

University of Amsterdam
Roetersstraat 15, 1018 WB
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

url:   http://bayescourse.socsci.uva.nl
email: bayescourse@gmail.com

****
Target audience
****
This workshop is meant for researchers who want to learn how to apply
Bayesian inference in practice. Most applications we discuss are taken
from the field of cognitive science. Because the workshop is based on
a set of book chapters and concrete exercises of varying difficulty,
the course material is appropriate for researchers with a wide range
of prior knowledge and interests.

Although some basic knowledge of Bayesian inference is an advantage,
this is not a prerequisite. In the course we use WinBUGS in
combination with R or Matlab (the choice is yours), and therefore some
basic knowledge of either R or Matlab is also an advantage.

****
Summary
****
In this workshop, plenary lectures provide the theoretical background
of Bayesian statistics, and practical computer exercises teach you how
to use the popular WinBUGS program and apply it to a wide range of
different statistical models. After completing this workshop, you will
have gained not only a new understanding of statistics, but also the
technical skills to implement models that are appropriate for the
substantive hypotheses that you seek to test.

****
Course materials
****
For several years now, Michael Lee and Eric-Jan Wagenmakers have been
working on a course book about Bayesian graphical modeling. This book
is used to teach graphical modeling courses at UCI, OSU, UW, and UvA.
A thoroughly updated and restructured version of this course book will
form the basis of this workshop. At the start of the workshop, you
will receive a printed copy of the latest version of the book, a
memory stick with all the computer code, and a printed copy of the
solutions to the exercises.

****
Costs
****
Early bird student: 400 euros (register before: February 1st 2011)
Student: 500 euros
Early bird non-student: 500 euros (register before: February 1st 2011)
Non-student: 600 euros

****
More information can be found at the following website:
http://bayescourse.socsci.uva.nl/