[Editor], 'Newsletter Section', Psycoloquy 941227 URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/psycoloquy/psycol-941227-[editor]-newsletter PSYCOLOQUY ISSN 1055-0143 Tue, 27 December 94 Newsletter Section (1) Announcement: NEH Summer Seminar, July/Aug '95, Chapel Hill, NC (2) Announcement: Graduate Study in Cog Sci at U of Pennsylvania (3) Announcement: NSF Grant Competition (4) Announcement: Rutgers Grad Program in Behavioral & Neural Sciences (5) Announcement: Minds and Machines Volume 4, Number 4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bill Lycan Subject: (1) Announcement: NEH Summer Seminar, July/Aug '95, Chapel Hill, NC SOCIETY FOR PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY 1995 NEH Summer Seminar for College Teachers PROBLEMS OF CONSCIOUSNESS Director: WILLIAM G. LYCAN Location: Department of Philosophy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3125 Dates: July 10 - August 18, 1995 E-Mail: conscious@unc.edu The past decade has seen at least a small explosion of published work on the general topic of consciousness. But it is not very satisfactory. There is not even a clear and shared sense of what is meant by the label, "consciousness." The seminar will address several different problems regarding the nature of conscious experience: What makes a psychological state a conscious state, as opposed to an un-, sub-, pre-, or otherwise nonconscious state? In what sense are sensory experiences "subjective" or perspectival, and does that render them inaccessible to science? Is there an "explanatory gap" between brain science and the felt character of experience, and if so, what follows? What is the metaphysical nature of the phenomenal properties we experience in sensation, such as color? There will be readings from philosophers and from psychologists; participants will be encouraged also to work on their own projects. ------------------------------ From: saul@cogito.psych.upenn.edu (Saul Sternberg) Subject: (2) Announcement: Graduate Study in Cog Sci at U of Pennsylvania Graduate Study in the Cognitive Science of Perception, Action, and Information Processing at the University of Pennsylvania Recent additions to the faculty, as well as other developments at the University, have strengthened the opportunities at Penn for students with interests in the psychology and cognitive neuroscience of perception, action, and information-processing. Faculty within the Department of Psychology have interests in the sensory and perceptual psychology of vision and audition, sensory-motor integration, the control of eye movements and other action sequences, visual attention, and object recognition, among other areas. They approach problems in these areas with experimental, quantitative, and neuroscientific methods. Faculty and students in psychology have connections with several other organizations at the university that provide rich sources of training and opportunities for collaboration; these include, among others, the Institute for Neuroscience, the Institute for Research in Cognitive Science, the General Robotics and Active Sensory Perception Lab, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. The Graduate Group in Psychology also extends the set of available faculty beyond the Psychology Department itself. Further information, including applications information, can be obtained in several ways: (1) Through the world-wide web: Start with the URL http://www.upenn.edu, and find the Psychology Department gopher server. Or start with the URL http://matia.stanford.edu/cogsci.html, and select Academic Programs, and Pennsylvania. When you are there, see the Brochure for Applicants and the Brochure supplement, under Information about Psychology Graduate Program. (2) Use gopher. Type the command: gopher psych.upenn.edu. Then see the Brochure for Applicants and the Brochure supplement, under Information about Psychology Graduate Program. (3) Send email to: perception.action@psych.upenn.edu. ------------------------------ From: pchapin@nsf.gov Subject: (3) Announcement: NSF Grant Competition The following "Dear Colleague" letter describes a major new grant competition for NSF in High Performance Computing and Communication which should be of interest to some readers of PSYCOLOQUY. While there will be a regular program announcement, we are taking the unusual step of publicizing this through electronic mailing lists and bulletin boards because of the very tight timing constraints. Please note that pre-proposals are expected to be due by February 13, 1995. Only persons affiliated with U.S. institutions are eligible to apply for these grants. If you participate in another mailing list or bulletin board which you consider relevant, your assistance in disseminating this message would be much appreciated. Inquiries should be addressed to rvoigt@nsf.gov (Robert G. Voigt). Paul Chapin, NSF Dear Colleague: The National Science Foundation (NSF) intends to announce opportunities for support of multidisciplinary group-oriented research for Fiscal Year 1995 in connection with the U.S. High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program, including the new Information Infrastructure Technology and Applications (IITA) component and the National Information Infrastructure (NII). This activity builds on the success of the Grand Challenge Application Groups and National Challenge Groups competitions held previously to include five distinct but interrelated components: GRAND CHALLENGES: to prepare the groundwork for the HPCC goal of sustained teraflop computing on important application problems utilizing parallel, distributed and heterogeneous computing systems and high performance networks; NATIONAL CHALLENGES: to demonstrate the solution of problems beneficial to a broad spectrum of society which contain an extensive information processing component, and which could benefit greatly by building an underlying information infrastructure; ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES: to accelerate progress in developing those technologies that will enable the community to take full advantage of high performance computing and communications systems in solving problems represented by the Grand Challenges and National Challenges. Computer Science Challenges: focus is on the development of computing technology ranging from computer architecture through systems software to algorithms. Mathematical Sciences Challenges: focus is on advances in the mathematical sciences ranging from algorithms through the development of tools to the essential use of computation in extending mathematical frontiers. Problem Solving Environments: focus is on the development of computational environments that take advantage of unique characteristics of specific problems in order to shorten the problem solving cycle. Pre-proposals will be required. It is anticipated that deadline for submission of pre-proposals will be February 13, 1995. Details will be given in the announcement which will be available on STIS shortly; it will be referenced in the NSF Mosaic home page accessible via http://www.nsf.gov. Until then, inquiries should be directed to Robert G. Voigt, rvoigt@nsf.gov. Robert G. Voigt Acting HPCC Coordinator ------------------------------ From: gluck@pavlov.rutgers.edu (Mark Gluck) Subject: (4) Announcement: Rutgers Grad Program in Behavioral & Neural Sciences Seeking Applications for Fall 1995 for Ph.D. Program in BEHAVIORAL AND NEURAL SCIENCES Rutgers University, Newark Target date for applications is JANUARY 20, 1995 If you are considering graduate study in Cognitive, Integrative, Molecular, or Computational Neuroscience, you may be interested in Rutgers' new interdisciplinary research-oriented graduate program in Behavioral and Neural Sciences (BNS). The BNS aims to provide students with a rigorous understanding of the basic tenets and underpinnings of modern neuroscience. The program emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of this endeavor, and offers specific research training in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience and Molecular, Cellular and Systems Neuroscience. These research areas represent different but complementary approaches to contemporary issues in behavioral and molecular neuroscience and can emphasize either human or animal studies. The graduate program is offered by two distinct university units: the newly established Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience (CMBN) and the Institute of Animal Behavior (IAB). These two units work together but each has its own special emphasis. Research at the CMBN emphasizes integration across levels of analysis and traditional disciplinary boundaries. The CMBN is one of the leading places in this country for the study of the neural bases of behavior and cognition in humans and other animals. Behavioral research areas include the study of memory, language (both signed and spoken), motor-control, and vision. Clinically relevant research areas are the study of the physiological and pharmacological aspects of schizophrenia, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease and molecular genetics of reading disorders and well as neuroendocrinology. We have a computational program for students interested in pursuing neural-network models as a tool for understanding psychological and biological issues. There is also a strong focus on single cell (patch clamp, intracellular and extracellular) electrophysiology and multi-unit recording, systems analysis, neuroanatomy and in vivo microdialysis. The IAB offers a unified program in psychobiology and ethological patterns of behavior, with an emphasis on evolution, development and reproduction, as well as the neurogenesis and recovery of function from brain damage. Other Information: At present the CMBN supports up to 40 students with 12-month renewable assistantships for a period of four years. The current stipend for first year students is $12,750; this includes tuition remission and excellent healthcare benefits. The IAB supported students receive D.S. Lehrman Fellowships which include a 12-month stipend of approximately $10,500 for four years and tuition remission. In addition, the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company's Foundation has provided four Excellence Awards which increase students' stipends by $5,000. Several other fellowships are offered. More information is available in our graduate brochure. The Rutgers-Newark campus (as distinct from the New Brunswick campus), is 30 minutes outside New York City, and close to other major university research centers at NYU, Columbia, and Princeton, as well as major industrial research labs in Northern NJ, including ATT, Bellcore, Siemens, and NEC. For More Information or an Application: If you are interested in applying to our graduate program, or possibly applying to one of the labs as a post-doc, research assistant or programmer, please contact us via one of the following: Dr. Gyorgy Buzsaki or Dr. Mark A. Gluck CMBN, Rutgers University 197 University Ave. Newark, New Jersey 07102 Phone (Secretary, Ann Kutyla): (201) 648-1080 (Ext. 3200) Fax: (201) 648-1272 Email: buzsaki@axon.rutgers.edu or gluck@pavlov.rutgers.edu We will be happy to send you info on our research and graduate program, as well as set up an a possible visit to the Neuroscience Center here at Rutgers-Newark. Internet Information: Additional information on this program can be obtained over the internet via World Wide Web at: http://www.cmbn.rutgers.edu/ Please be warned that it is still under construction. ------------------------------ From: james fetzer Subject: (5) Announcement: Minds and Machines Volume 4, Number 4 MINDS AND MACHINES Journal for Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy, & Cognitive Science (ISSN 0924-6495) Since my last message, our sixteenth issue has been sent to the publisher. (1) The Editorial Board consists of Jon Barwise, Andy Clark, Robert Cummins, Fred Dretske, Jerry Fodor, Clark Glymour, Stevan Harnad, John Haugeland, Jaakko Hintikka, David Israel, Philip Johnson-Laird, Frank Keil, Henry Kyburg, John McCarthy, Donald Nute, Zenon Pylyshyn, Barry Richards, David Rumelhart, Roger Schank, John Searle, Brian Smith, Paul Smolensky, Stephen Stich, and Terry Winograd. (2) Unexpected problems have interfered with the production of this issue, including a change of institutions by Stevan Harnad, the guest editor, from Princeton to Southampton. These difficulties have finally been resolved. We hope to have our next issue out in record time and thereby "catch-up". (3) The final contents of issue 4 of volume 4 assume the following form: CONTENTS Volume 4, Number 4 (November 1994) Introduction: What Is Computation (And Is Cognition That)? STEVAN HARNAD Articles STEVAN HARNAD / Computation is Just Interpretable Symbol Manipulation; Cognition Isn't DAVID J. CHALMERS / On Implementing a Computation RONALD L. CHRISLEY / Why Everything Doesn't Realize Every Computation BRUCE J. MACLENNAN / "Words Lie in Our Way" ROBERT W. KENTRIDGE / Symbols, Neurons, Soap-Bubbles and the Neural Computation Underlying Cognition C. FRANKLIN BOYLE / Computation as an Intrinsic Property SELMER BRINGSJORD / Computation, Among Other Things, Is Beneath Us Barring any unforeseen problems, this should be the contents of issue 4/4. End of PSYCOLOQUY Digest ******************************