Workshop on the FUture of Neural Networks (FUNN 2003)

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                     1st International Workshop on
                the Future of Neural Networks (FUNN 2003)

               July 5, 2003, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
      Workshop affiliated to ICALP 2003, June 30 - July 4, 2003

                http://www.cwi.nl/~sbohte/funn/funn.html
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SCOPE AND TOPICS

Neural Networks are inspired by the highly interconnected neural
structures in the brain and the nervous system. In the last twenty
years the field has become popular and many of the neural networks
have found their way into practical applications. 

On the more foundational level, there has been quite some recent
development in the field. It is even to such an extent, that
researchers that have not been in touch with the field for some years,
have the feeling that it has completely changed. Some examples of
developments:

- The introduction of more biological plausible neural networks, like
  spiking neural networks.
- The combination of several networks, possibly combined with other
  formalisms, into ensembles that can yield a better performance than
  networks in isolation.
- The emergence of unifying frameworks for different types of networks,
  like the Support Vector Machines.
- The integration with statistics, most noticeably in the shift towards
  graphical formalisms like Belief Networks.
- The spin-off of successful new areas like Independent Component
  Analysis.

The workshop will focus on the foundational aspects of new
developments which include, but are not limited to the above mentioned
topics.  We hope to bring researchers together, have presentations on
the latest developments and have discussions about the future of the
field of neural networks. 

SUBMISSION

Authors are invited to send a contribution for review to funn@liacs.nl.
Contributions should have a maximum length of 12 pages (llncs style) in 10 pt.
font. See http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/authors.html for further
instructions. Contributions must be in postscript or pdf format.  Accepted
papers will be published in an informal workshop proceedings.  We plan to have
a special issue of the journal Natural Computing (Kluwer) based on extended
versions of selected workshop papers.

PARTICIPATION, REGISTRATION & COST 

The cost of participating in the workshop is 75 euro. This includes a lunch
and the workshop proceedings. Further details can be found in the call for
participation, which will be published well in advance of the workshop. 


IMPORTANT DATES

April 27, 2003 : Submission deadline
May 24, 2003   : Notification of acceptance
July 5, 2003  : Meeting date

WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS

Sander Bohte      CWI Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Michiel van Wezel Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Joost Kok         Leiden University, The Netherlands
Erkki Oja         Helsinki University of Technology, Finland

CONTACT

For more information, please contact Sander Bohte (sbohte@cwi.nl) or Michiel
van Wezel (mvanwezel@few.eur.nl).