Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Neuron Digest Volume 09 Number 34
Neuron Digest Wednesday, 8 Jul 1992 Volume 9 : Issue 34
Today's Topics:
Refractory Neuron
European Human Mobility Plan
Request for Aspirin/MIGRAINES Applications
Re: Neuron Digest V9 #28 (discussion + misc)
Caltech Faculty Position
bibliography2
Request for info on sensor fusion
computational biology post-docs available
NN Programming References
General query - handwriting work
Nomination Follow-up
PostDoctoral Research Position Available
Solicitation for Supporting Nominations
Send submissions, questions, address maintenance, and requests for old
issues to "neuron-request@cattell.psych.upenn.edu". The ftp archives are
available from cattell.psych.upenn.edu (128.91.2.173). Back issues
requested by mail will eventually be sent, but may take a while.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Refractory Neuron
From: pb@kailash.cse.iitb.ernet.in (Pushpak Bhattacharya)
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 11:18:05 +0700
We have been trying to make a neural network based shell for rule based
expert system. We are using the idea proposed in RUBICON by T.Samad
(IJCNN 1989). However we find it difficult to implement refractory neuron
in the existing connectionist framework. In particular how does one use
the neuron as a memory element where the ACTIVATION should should persist
over the next set of inputs ? This requires some way of disabling input
to the neuron once it has attained certain activation. There does not
seem to be any way of doing it in the connectionist framework, because it
involves taking a decision which one can implement very easily in the
symbolic framework using a flag. But how to do it with a neural net ?
Any suggestions/references in this regard will be highly appreciated.
Thanx to the responders in advance,
Pushpak Bhattacharyya
and Pramod Srivastava
Dept of Comp Science , IIT Bombay
pb@cse.iitb.ernet.in
------------------------------
Subject: European Human Mobility Plan
From: Tagliaferri Roberto <robtag@udsab.dia.unisa.it>
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 92 15:06:20 +0100
International Institute for Advanced Scientific Studies
via G. Pellegrino, 19
I-84019 Vietri sul mare (Salerno)
Italia
fax no. +39 (89) 761189
The International Institute for Advanced Scientific Studies (IIASS),
directed by prof. E.R. Caianiello and working in cooperation with the
nearby University of Salerno, is interested in participating in the
European human mobility plan in the areas of neural networks and their
applications to speech processing and pattern recognition and vision.
The researchers interested in realizing a network of groups in one of the
above areas should contact :
dr Roberto Tagliaferri
E-mail: robtag@udsab.dia.unisa.it
------------------------------
Subject: Request for Aspirin/MIGRAINES Applications
From: Russell Leighton <russ@oceanus.mitre.org>
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 92 14:48:57 -0500
Dear Aspirin/MIGRAINES user,
We are preparing a chapter describing Aspirin/MIGRAINES for the upcoming
book "Neural Networks Simulation Environments" to be published
winter/spring 1993. There are now more that 450 registered A/M sites
around the world, and we would like to briefly mention some of the ways
that A/M has been used by others in that chapter.
We would appreciate a short note describing any results you have using
the A/M. "Short" means no more than a couple of sentences per
application. Of particular interest are successful results that you have
published (please include a full citation of the publication), but any
work using A/M is of interest. Finally, if you have one or two
attractive, relatively self-explanatory, postscript figures that were
produced from your use of A/M that you would be willing to let us use in
the chapter, we would appreciate seeing them as well. Of coarse, any of
your work or figures that we use will be properly cited and/or credited.
Please forward this note to other users of A/M.
Sincerely,
The Developers
- Russell Leighton <russ@dash.mitre.org>
- Alexis Wieland <alexis@CS.UCLA.EDU>
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Neuron Digest V9 #28 (discussion + misc)
From: Maciek Sitnik <MSITNIK%PLEARN.BITNET@SEARN.SUNET.SE>
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 92 12:00:12 +0700
[[ Editor's Note: Normally I do not publish such broad questions. I
usually ask the submitter to do a bit of homework to narrow the inquiry
and not have others do *all* the work. However, I am more lenient about
readers from countries which may not have as intact a library and journal
system as others. So, especially if any readers know of literature in
Polish or accesible to this researcher, please respond. -PM ]]
Dear All,
I would be grategul for guiding me through literature dealing with
handwritten characters recognition.
1. 'Classical' and neural approach
2. Comparison
3. Working Algorithms
4. etc.
Thanks for your help,
Maciek Sitnik <msitnik@plearn.bitnet>
Warsaw University of Technology, Poland
tel. +48-22-425491
fax +48-22-570764
------------------------------
Subject: Caltech Faculty Position
From: Jim Bower <jbower@cns.caltech.edu>
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 92 09:28:57 -0800
DIVISION OF BIOLOGY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
The Division of Biology at the California Institute of Technology seeks
applicants for a faculty position in integrative neurophysiology/
computational neuroscience. Preference is given to individuals who
combine behavioral, physiological, and computational approaches. Women
and minority candidates are encouraged to apply. Applicants should send
curriculum vitae, a statement of research interests, selected reprints,
and also have at least three letters of recommendation sent directly to:
Ms. Marilyn Tomich
Division of Biology 156-29
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA 91125.
The deadline for application is August 15, 1992.
The California Institute of Technology is an
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
------------------------------
Subject: bibliography2
From: Harry Jerison <IJC1HJJ@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU>
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 92 17:49:00 -0800
[[ Editor's Note: Many thanks to Harry Jerison for these references. I
hope to make them part of my "summer reading." -PM ]]
Re requests for references, here are two for people who want to learn
more about constraints in wet systems: how brains are actually connected
and how much there is of the parts. Mine is to a monograph-size
extension of a lecture I gave a couple of years ago. The other is of a
book I reviewed (to appear later in 1992) for "Contemporary Psychology."
The books:
Braitenberg, V. & Schuez, A. (1991) Anatomy of the Cortex: Statistics and
Geometry. New York, Heidelberg, Berlin. Springer-Verlag (249 pp. $35)
Jerison, H.J. (1991) Brain Size and the Evolution of Mind. 59th James
Arthur Lecture on the Evolution of the Human Brain. New York,
American Museum of Natural History, 79th St. & Central Park West NY
10024 (99 pp. $10.00)
Though a for-profit publisher, Springer priced the Braitenberg-Schuez
book remarkably low. My book is a bargain on a per-page basis, if I say
so myself. This is because James Arthur gave the museum the money for
the lectureship, and publication is subsidized and non-profit.
Harry Jerison
------------------------------
Subject: Request for info on sensor fusion
From: FOO@EVAX0.ENG.FSU.EDU
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 92 11:17:13 -0500
[[ Editor's Note: I have *no* knowledge on this subject. Any help from
you readers. -PM ]]
Recently I have been doing some work on sensor fusion for the Air Force.
Will someone kind enough to provide me with pointers to literature on
visible and IR sensor fusion. Any assistance is very much appreciated.
Simon Y. Foo, Ph.D.
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
FAMU/FSU
Tallahassee, FL 32306
email: foo@evax0.eng.fsu.edu
------------------------------
Subject: computational biology post-docs available
From: rickl@ai.mit.edu (Richard H. Lathrop)
Date: 30 Jun 92 16:09:00 +0000
Please post and circulate the following announcement to interested parties.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP / RESEARCH ASSOCIATE POSITIONS
**** COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR BIOLOGY ****
The BioMolecular Engineering Research Center at Boston University
in consortium with the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT.
Two POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP / RESEARCH ASSOCIATE positions are available
in computational molecular biology. The research will center on problems
of sequence-based analysis related to protein structure and function.
Problems under current investigation include: comparative sequence and
structural analyses; functional pattern recognition and discovery;
protein folding domain modeling; protein structure prediction; machine
learning and AI approaches; database mining; and harnessing massively
parallel computation.
One position is available for a molecular biologist to apply advanced
computational methods to problems of biological relevance, and to provide
assistance in developing new methods. This position will involve the
discovery and exploration of new structure/function relationships at both
the sequence and the 3-d structure levels. A second position is
available for a computer scientist to design and implement new
computational methods, and to provide assistance in applying them to
biological problems. This position will involve machine learning and
biological structure modeling on a massively parallel computer. Both
positions will require active collaboration with experimental molecular
biologists and computer software developers.
The positions are available immediately. Candidates must have a strong
background and a PhD in molecular biology, computer science, or a related
field. Salary $32,000 to $42,000 commensurate with experience. Send
curriculum vitae and three letters of reference to:
Dr. Temple F. Smith
BMERC, Boston University
36 Cummington St.
Boston, MA 02215
or
Dr. Richard H. Lathrop
MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab, NE43-795
545 Technology Sq.
Cambridge, MA 02139
Boston University and MIT are Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity
employers.
------------------------------
Subject: NN Programming References
From: SchwartzM@DOCKMASTER.NCSC.MIL
Date: Wed, 01 Jul 92 10:27:00 -0500
In an effort to return the favor to some of those who have responded to
my prior requests for text resources on programming applications in
neural network techniques, I have come across two very interesting
references and would like to share them for what it's worth.
The first is titled "Neural Networks: Algorithms, Applications and
Programming Techniques" by James A. Freeman and Daivd M. Skapura.
Published by Addison-Wesley 1991. This book has a good variety of
examples of program code, principally in Pascal, that have immediate
benefit to folks like myself who like to see more concrete examples of NN
applications, as opposed to abstract conceptual presentations. Not that
I am knocking such references, but to see this in code REALLY helps with
comprehension. The authors of this book are engineers at Loral Space
Information Systems and have done a variety of work for NASA, according
to the bio info.
The other is brand new. It is titled "Neural Networks in C++: An Object
Oriented Framework For Bulding Connectionist Systems" by Adam Blum.
Published By John Wiley 1992. This also comes with a companion disk with
a variety of C++ Class Libraries for use with example code provided in
the text. This text actually contains complete listings of C++ source
for the implementation of several NN programs for image recognition, text
processing and forecasting. I have found this author's writing style to
be quite pleasing, straightforward and easy to comprehend. This author
is active in ACM SIGIR and SIGART and IEEE according to the bio info.
For those looking for good info on NN application building and code
examples, I believe that these books fit the bill well. Again, thanks to
those who have responded to my prior requests for references.
Marc Schwartz
Director, Clinical Services
Summit Medical Systems, Inc.
Minneapolis, MN
e-mail: SchwartzM at dockmaster.ncsc.mil
voice: 612-473-3250
------------------------------
Subject: General query - handwriting work
From: johannes@scribes.english.uiuc.edu (John Block Friedman)
Date: Wed, 01 Jul 92 14:38:06 -0700
Please excuse my writing to the subscribe address but this is the only
one I have. I'd like to ask a general question of Neuron members. I am
doing some research on "teaching" computers to identify and group
specimens of medieval handwriting by means of giving numerical values to
the strok emotions which make up the letters and mapping similarities
between segments. Though I know next to nothing about neural nets, I
understand that they can be "taught" to recognize patterns and recall
that Yann Le-Cunn did some work for the US postal service in recognizing
the writing of zip code numbers. It strikes me that perhaps nets might
offer a better solution to my problem in handwriting recognition than
either the feature space or cluster analysis approaches I have tried, and
I wonder if any Neuron member has any interest in this application of
nets. Also if anyone could tell me of a neural net simulator shareware
program that would work with a Next or a Macintosh and where I could get
one. Thank you again and sorry to pose such an uninformed question.
------------------------------
Subject: Nomination Follow-up
From: worth@cns.bu.edu (Andrew J. Worth)
Organization: International Student Society for Neural Networks (ISSNNet)
Date: 01 Jul 92 22:43:45 +0000
ISSNNet Nomination Follow-up
There has been a good response to the call for nominations so far. Now
is a time of change for ISSNNet and now is the time for YOU to make your
mark in your society.
The official nomination period from June 1st through 30th has ended but
nominations will still be accepted up until a "reasonable" amount of time
before the final ballots are sent out on August 1st, 1992. If you meant
to nominate someone (even yourself) but never got around to it, this is
your chance. Send in the electronic nomination form below, or else use
the forms that you may have picked up at IJCNN-92 Baltimore.
All four officer positions are up for election:
Position: Duties:
============== =================================================
President Chief execute officer and Spokesperson. The
President is responsible for making sure that the
society continues to function as described in the
Bylaws.
Vice President Assist the President.
Director Oversees practical organizational matters.
Responsible for elections.
Treasurer Responsible for all monies.
Qualifications for potential nominees: The nominee must be enrolled at a
recognized academic institution (proof of student status will be
required) AND HAVE RELIABLE ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC MAIL. Each nomination
must be supported by at least 10 student members. No more than two
Officers may belong to the same Area of Jurisdiction (Country, State,
Province, Region, etc. with at least five student members). Moreover, the
President and Vice President may not belong to the same Area of
Jurisdiction.
---------------------------- cut here ------------------------------
ISSNNet NOMINATION FORM
Please include as much information about the nominee as possible. Add
lines where necessary. If using surface mail, please type.
NOMINEE INFORMATION:
Position: (Pick one) [President, Vice President, Director, Treasurer]
Name (Last, First): ______________________________________
University: ______________________________________
Surface
Address: ______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
Email: ______________________________________(please type!)
Phone: ______________________________________
----------------------------- cut here -------------------------------
Return your nomination with the above information to:
issnnet@cns.bu.edu
or to
ISSNNet Elections
P.O. Box 15661
Boston, MA 02215 USA
Your student society needs your support!
Andy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew J. Worth (617) 353-6741 ISSNNet, Inc.
ISSNNet Acting Director P.O. Box 15661
issnnet-acad-progs@cns.bu.edu Boston, MA 02215 USA
worth@cns.bu.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Subject: PostDoctoral Research Position Available
From: GDK@IPG.PH.KCL.AC.UK
Date: Fri, 03 Jul 92 18:29:13 +0000
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH POSITION AVAILABLE
Department of Physics
King's College London
A postdoctoral research position has become available for twenty months
(in the first instance) from 1 October 1992 working on a UK four partner
collaborative project on optoelectronic implementations of neural
networks.
Working as part of a team of ten researchers involved in all aspects of
artificial neural network and optoelectronic processing research, the
postdoctoral reseacher will be responsible for computer simulations of
the optoelectronic system and the development of learning algorithms
suitable for quantised hardware.
King's College is one of the largest and most prestigious colleges in the
University of London. Situated at the centre of London the college is at
the heart of the city's diverse social and cultural activities.
The salary will be in the range 14,173 to 16,978 Pounds Sterling
depending on age and experience.
Further details are available from:
Dr T J Hall
Department of Physics
King's College London
Strand
London
WC2R 2LS
------------------------------
Subject: Solicitation for Supporting Nominations
From: issnnet@cns.bu.edu (Student Society Account)
Organization: Boston University
Date: 07 Jul 92 21:17:55 +0000
[[ Editor's Note: Some readers may remember my publishing a previous
"self-announcement" for an elected office in different organization.
Again, I offer this without comment or sanction (pro or con). Note that,
for whatever reason, this note came through the "official" mail address
of ISSNN. In any case, this new student society deserves support. See
the message above about ISSNN itself. I hope members will make their
opinion known. -PM
My name is Rick Gilmore, and I am a candidate for the office of Treasurer
of ISSNNet. This fall, I am beginning a Ph.D. program in psychology at
Carnegie Mellon University. This message outlines my qualifications for
office and my interests in the position and asks that readers submit
nominantions in support of my candidacy.
I invite students and others interested in the future of ISSNNet to
contact me directly to discuss how to realize the Society's fullest
potential.
QUALIFICATIONS
- B.A. in cognitive science, Brown University, 1985
- Five years of nonprofit/association management experience, including
fundraising, public relations, membership marketing, financial
management, and volunteer recruitment/training. Since September 1991, I
have been program director at the International Neural Network Society
(INNS) in Washington, DC.
- Two years of management consulting experience, involved in
international trade issues in Asia and Eastern Europe.
- Volunteer leadership experience with the Colorado State Society
(President 1989-91), Brown University Club of Washington, DC (Vice
President 1990-91), and D.C. Cares (Project Coordinator 1991).
WHY I AM RUNNING
I believe that an active, organized student society can make significant
contributions to the neural network field by providing support,
encouragement, and exposure to the next generation of scientists. I plan
to draw upon my professional and volunteer experiences to help the
officers build a solid organizational and financial infrastructure for
ISSNNet.
This will most certainly mean maintaining productive relationships with
the leading professional societies in the field (IEEE NNC, INNS, and
others), as well as creating the internal structure necessary to carry
out ISSNNet's mission.
Of course, ISSNNet's highest priority is to provide ongoing support for
students committed to learning about and contributing to the neural
network field.
SUPPORTING NOMINATIONS REQUESTED
Per ISSNNet's bylaws, I am seeking supporting nominations for my campaign
for Treasurer. Please respond with a message in support of my nomination
to:
Andrew Worth, ISSNNet worth@park.bu.edu
or
Rick Gilmore 70731.2711@compuserve.com
I welcome discussions with members about specific ideas or suggestions.
Thank you for your interest in ISSNNet.
Rick Gilmore
3616 Connecticut Avenue, NW #201 5738 Kentucky Avenue #2
Washington, DC 20008 Pittsburgh, PA 15232
202-466-4667 (day)
202-966-5112 (eve)
[THRU JULY 30] [AFTER JULY 30]
------------------------------
End of Neuron Digest [Volume 9 Issue 34]
****************************************
