CNS*1998

The Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting

July 26 - 30, 1998 Santa Barbara, California

CNS*1998 Workshop

Workshops are free to all registered attendees. Meeting attendees can attend any of the workshops. No separate workshop registrations are required. Workshops will be held in the same conference hotel as the main meeting.

Sign-up sheets for specific workshop will be posted at the conference to determine the interests and the numbers of people attending specific workshops.

There are two afternoon workshops on July 29 and 30, the last two days of the conference:

WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 1998
2:00 pm Workshops I

THURSDAY, JULY 30, 1998
2:30 pm Workshops II

Specific workshops may last for one afternoon or two afternoons, depending on how the moderators organize them.

The workshops are designed to provide an informal forum for conference attendees to discuss important issues of current interest in computational neuroscience. Interactive open discussions among participants are encouraged while keeping the presentations to a minimum. A general overview of the topics as well as alternative view points are encouraged in the discussions to foster cooperativity among researchers.

We emphasize the informality of the workshops so that the discussions will not be dominated by a single person or a single group or a single point of view, so that scientific exchange of ideas can take place. Students are especially encouraged to participate in the discussions.

Workshop Formats

There will be two types of workshop sessions this year, discussion and tutorial, both informal.

Informal discussion workshop sessions

This is the informal (round-table) discussion of a specific topic of interest selected by the moderator(s). There should not be any slide or overhead presentations, since these are not talks or lectures. Large easel writing tablets will be provided for illustration, summarization, outline or whatever you see fit that will facilitate the workshop discussion.

Example topics: Computational functions of neurons vs networks; etc.

Moderator's role

The moderator's role is to define a topic of interest, set a focus on the topic for discussion, lead the discussions, ensure everyone have a chance to participate in the discussions, and keep the discussion productive.

The moderator will also be asked to keep a summary of the discussion (a top 10 list) to be reported later at the meeting and/or posted on the CNS*98 web site.

Informal tutorial/mini-symposium sessions

This is the more structured discussion on a specific topic of interest. The moderator will present a short overview of the topic of interest, schedule a limited number of informal presentations around the key topics, and follow with interactive discussions among participants and presenters. Spontaneous presentations are also encouraged. The presentations should be limited to short durations so that discussions can follow.

Example topics: How to build a simulation model; How to add functionalities to a neural simulator; How to surf the neural net :)

Moderator's role

The moderator's role is to find an interesting topic, select the presenters, limit the time of the presentations, and then moderate the discussion to keep it productive and interactive.

The moderator will also be asked to keep a summary of the presentations (a top 10 list) to be reported later at the meeting and/or posted on the CNS*98 web site.

How to propose workshop topics

Any attendee can be volunteered to be a moderator for a specific workshop. A workshop topic can be proposed at any time before the workshop dates. You are encouraged to send workshop proposals via e-mail prior to the conference (to be posted on the CNS*98 web page), or the workshops can be proposed during the meeting to be posted on the bulletin board at the conference hotel.

Informal workshop proposals

Workshop proposals consist of:

• the name(s) of the workshop moderator, institute affiliation and contact info;
• a short title;
• a short description of the topic
  • either in a short abstract form
  • or in form of a short list of questions to be discussed;
• a short list of tentative presenters (for informal tutorial/mini-symposium workshop sessions only);
• state whether it is a one-day or two-day workshop;
• specify whether it is an informal discussion workshop or an informal tutorial/mini-symposium.

Responsibilities of workshop moderators

Organizing the proposed workshop session at the CNS meeting involves:

• writing a topic description for the proposed workshop;
• moderating the discussions during the workshop, and/or organizing presentations;
• writing a brief summary report of the high points in the discussions, and sending it back to the workshop coordinator for inclusion on the CNS*98 web site after the conference.

To suggest workshop topics, send e-mail to the workshop coordinator, David Tam, or surface mail to:

Dr. David Tam
Dept. of Biological Sciences
University of North Texas
Denton, TX 76203

This year's proposed workshops:

Informal Discussion Worshops:

• Cerebellar Functions: Upgraded
  Moderator: Witali L. Dunin-Barkowski, Russian Academy of Science
• Hippocampal Maps
  Moderators: Brad Wyble, Harvard University, and A. David Redish, University of Arizona
• (more to be announced)

Informal Tutorials/Mini-symposiums:

• (more to be announced)