Natural and Synthetic NIPS*2010 Post-Conference Workshops
December 10 and 11, 2010 Whistler Resort & Spa and Westin Hilton, BC, CANADA

Following the regular program of the Neural Information Processing Systems 2010 conference in Vancouver, BC, Canada, workshops on a variety of current topics in neural information processing will be held on December 10 and 11, 2010, in Whistler, BC, Canada. We invite researchers interested in chairing one of these workshops to submit proposals for workshops. The goal of the workshops is to provide an informal forum for researchers to discuss important research questions and challenges. Controversial issues, open problems, and comparisons of competing approaches are not only encouraged but preferred as workshop topics. Representation of alternative viewpoints and panel-style discussions are also particularly encouraged.

Potential workshop topics include, but are not limited to:
Active Learning, Attention, Audition, Bayesian Networks, Bayesian Statistics, Benchmarking, Biophysics, Brain-Machine Interfaces, Brain Imaging, Cognitive Neuroscience, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Computational Complexity, Control, Genetic/Evolutionary Algorithms, Graphical Models, Hippocampus and Memory, Human-Computer Interfaces, Implementations, Kernel Methods, Mean-Field Methods, Music, Network Dynamics, Neural Coding, Neural Plasticity, Neuromorphic Systems, On-Line Learning, Optimization, Perceptual Learning, Robotics, Rule Extraction, Self-Organization, Signal Processing, Spike Timing, Speech, Supervised/Unsupervised Learning, Time Series, Topological Maps, and Vision.

Detailed descriptions of previous workshops may be found at:
http://nips.cc/Conferences/2009/Program/schedule.php?Session=Workshops

There will be six hours of workshop meetings per day, split into morning and afternoon sessions, with free time between the sessions for ongoing individual exchange or outdoor activities. Selected workshops may be invited to submit proceedings for publication in the post-NIPS workshops monographs series published by the MIT Press.

Workshop organizers have several responsibilities, including:

• Coordinating workshop participation and content, including arranging short informal presentations by experts, arranging for expert commentators to sit on discussion panels, formulating discussion topics, etc.
• Providing the program for the workshop in a timely manner for the workshop booklet.
• Moderating the discussion, and reporting its findings and conclusions to the group during the evening plenary sessions.
• Writing a brief summary and/or coordinating submitted material for post-conference electronic dissemination.

Submission Instructions

A nips.cc account is required to submit the Workshops application. Please follow the url below and check the required format for the application well before the deadline for workshop proposals. You can edit your application online right up until the deadline.

Interested parties must submit a proposal by 23:59 UTC on July 2, 2010 (note that this deadline is earlier than previous years, to allow workshops more time for their calls for submissions). Proposals should be submitted electronically at the following url:

https://nips.cc/Workshops

Preference will be given to workshops that reserve a significant portion of time for open discussion or panel discussion, as opposed to a pure "mini-conference" format.

We suggest that organizers allocate at least 50% of the workshop schedule to questions, discussion, and breaks. Past experience suggests that workshops otherwise degrade into mini-conferences as talks begin to run over. For the same reason, we strongly recommend that each workshop include no more than 12 talks per day.

NIPS does not provide travel funding for workshop speakers. In the past, some workshops have sought and received funding from external sources to bring in outside speakers. In any case, the organizers of each accepted workshop can name two individuals to receive free registration for the workshop program.

Neil D. Lawrence
University of Manchester
NIPS*2010 Workshops Chair