Sponsored by DIMACS, National Science Foundation, UF Engineering, UF Genetics Institute
ORGANIZERS: W. Art Chaovalitwongse, Rutgers University
.......................Panos M. Pardalos, University of Florida
.......................Leonidas D. Iasemidis, Arizona State University

Current experimental neuroscience methods have resulted in massive amounts of data, but traditional data-processing and quantitative methods are not sophisticated enough to exploit this new flood of information. The purpose of this conference is to explore new methods in experimental and quantitative neuroscience. There is an increasing number of modern research efforts in data mining, systems analysis and optimization research to advance methods needed to process the large spatial and temporal data arising in experimental and quantitative neuroscience. This conference is designed is to bring together scientists, engineers, neurobiologists and clinicians, with scientific interest and expertise in the human brain, in an attempt to share knowledge, ideas, and scientific methodology. This conference will result in lively discussions of the cross-disciplinary research and open up a new question: How do we go from the gigabytes of experimental data that we now have to concise conclusions about the function of the brain? The answer to this question will revolutionize neuroscience research and give us a greater understanding of brain function.
A major area of interest lies in the study of how neuronal circuitries of the brain support its cognitive and functioning capacities at a descriptive level of the molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity. Advances in the fields of signal processing, statistics, data mining and optimization have made it possible to discover and investigate complex patterns in the vast amount of information being generated by neuroimaging and neurophysiological signals.

PARTICIPANTS:
Researchers and practitioners working in related areas are invited to submit abstracts for possible conference presentations. Those who submit abstracts will be notified regarding whether a presentation based on the abstract can be scheduled for the conference. Accepted abstracts will be printed in the conference program and speakers will have approximately thirty minutes to present their material. The conference facilities will have projectors for presenting material from a laptop computer, as well as overhead projectors.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Session Proposals: December 15, 2005
Submission Deadlines: December 31, 2005
To submit an abstract or propose a session, please email the session title or presentation title and abstract to W. Art Chaovalitwongse (wchaoval@rci.rutgers.edu). Full papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication in special issues of international journals.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Email: wchaoval@rci.rutgers.edu
URL: http://www.ise.ufl.edu/cao/neuroscience2006/
http://dimacs.rutgers.edu/Workshops/Neuroscience/

Presented under the auspices of the DIMACS/BioMaPS/MB Center Special Focus on Information Processing in Biology.
This special focus is jointly sponsored by the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS), the Biological, Mathematical, and Physical Sciences Interfaces Institute for Quantitative Biology (BioMaPS), and the Rutgers Center for Molecular Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry (MB Center).

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION:
Further information including instructions for registration may be obtained from the conference web site or by email from wchaoval@rci.rutgers.edu. Proposals for special sessions, contributed papers and invited speakers are welcome and may be submitted via this email address.

DIMACS and CSNA (Classification Society of North America) cordially invite you to participate in the "DIMACS Workshop on Clustering Problems in Biological Networks" in conjunction with "Classification Society of North America 2006 Meeting on Network Data Analysis and Data Mining: Applications in Biology, Computer Science, Intrusion Detection, and Other areas".

SCOPE:
The purpose of this conference is to explore a wide range of advances in network clustering techniques in the study of biological networks. This workshop will provide a forum for leading as well as beginning researchers to discuss recent advances and identify current and future challenges/trends arising in the research concerning clustering problems in computational biology. This workshop is designed is to bring together scientists, engineers, biologists and clinicians, with scientific interest and expertise in biological systems, in an attempt to share knowledge, ideas, and scientific methodology.

PARTICIPANTS:
Researchers and practitioners working in related areas are invited to submit abstracts for possible conference presentations. Those who submit abstracts will be notified regarding whether a presentation based on the abstract can be scheduled for the conference. Accepted abstracts will be printed in the conference program and speakers will have approximately thirty minutes to present their material. The conference facilities will have projectors for presenting material from a laptop computer, as well as overhead projectors.
To submit an abstract or organize a session, please email the session’s and/or presentation’s title and abstract to W. Art Chaovalitwongse wchaoval@rci.rutgers.edu by April 1, 2006. Full papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication in special issues of international journals.