Informatics High School Summer Camp

In case you know high-school age students who might be interestested in a summer learning opportunity, the School of Informatics will be hosting an Informatics High School Summer Camp.

June 21-25, 2009
IU – Bloomington

The Informatics High School Summer Camp is designed to give high school students the chance to interact with IU faculty/staff and students, and learn about the latest trends in information technology, the internet and Web design, networking, new media, databases, gaming and more.

More details can be found on the website: http://www.informatics.indiana.edu/summercamp/

Colloquia: Rebecca Knickmeyer

You are invited to the 2009 Spring IU Animal Behavior Colloquia.

Friday, May 1, 2009
2:00 p.m.
Student Building, Room 150

Rebecca Knickmeyer, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, will present, "Sex on the Brain: Gonadal steroids and genetic factors in human neurodevelopment."

Abstract:
Relative risk levels for many psychiatric disorders are dramatically different in males and females. Early-onset neurodevelopmental disorders occur significantly more often in males then females, including autism, ADHD, and early onset persistent antisocial behavior. Other conditions, such as schizophrenia, occur at similar rates in males and females, but the sexes differ in age of onset, symptomatology and course of disease. It has been hypothesized that the prevalence and expression of these disorders is related to sex differences in brain development and that sex chromosome effects and early exposure to gonadal hormones (especially androgens and estrogens) are strong candidates for a causal role. The speaker will discuss strategies for studying sex hormone and sex chromosome effects in human populations. She will characterize sex-differences in brain morphology during infancy and childhood, review evidence linking variation in prenatal testosterone exposure to social and communicative development and present recent data on whether early testosterone exposure and sex chromosome abnormalities predict variation in neonatal brain morphology.

Sponsored by the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB). This speaker is part of the A501 Animal Behavior Seminar on “Hormones and Human Behavior” organized by Dr. Michael Muehlenbein.

Symposium: Critical Period for Language

Multiple Perspectives on the Critical Period for Language will be hosted by The Ohio State University Department of Linguistics.

June 5-6, 2009
10 Page Hall
The Ohio State University

The traditional view of the critical period for language - going back to Lenneberg - is that it is part of a biological process: the decline in language ability reflects a maturational change in brain development. This view makes two strong predictions, namely, that children will be better at acquiring language than adults and that short of some kind of brain disorder, there's no way to change that fact.

We wish to address two related issues in this event: First, to what extent do language acquisition abilities decline in adulthood? Second, to the extent that adults are worse than children in acquiring language, what is the mechanism that causes this decline? We plan to consider these
questions from many different perspectives that include different dimensions of language (Phonology, Syntax), different empirical approaches (Linguistics, Psychology, Neuroscience), and different empirical domains (L1 acquisition, L2 acquisition, Computational Linguistics). The goal of the symposium is to bring together scholars with a range of views and thereby foster debate and discussion.

Featuring invited talks by:
JAMES FLEGE, University of Alabama, Birmingham
SILVINA MONTRUL, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
ANN SENGHAS, Barnard College
JASON ZEVIN, Sackler Institute

Registration is FREE! Please pre-register by sending an e-mail containing your name and affiliation to springsym@ling.osu.edu

For more information, please visit:
www.ling.ohio-state.edu/~springsym/

The Symposium is made possible through the generous support of the Targeted Investment in Excellence in the College of Humanities, The Ohio State University.

Lecture: Eva Anton

The Linda & Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science & The Program in Neuroscience are pleased to present the following talk.

Eva Anton, Ph.D., University of North Carolina School of Medicine, will present, "Mechanisms of neuronal placement and differentiation in the developing cerebral cortex."

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
4:00 p.m.
Psychological & Brain Sciences Building
Room PY101
IUB

Midwest Computational Linguistics Colloquium - May 2-3

The IU Computational Linguistics group is hosting the Sixth Midwest Computational Linguistics Colloquium (MCLC) this coming Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3 (in Ballantine 006). This is a less formal venue for researchers, generally from the midwest, to get together to present
ideas and research results.

This year's program promises a range of different interesting topics, and we welcome anyone from the IU community to join us for all or part of it:
http://cl.indiana.edu/~mclc09/program.html

Hope to see you there!

Markus Dickinson & Sandra Kuebler (organizers)
http://cl.indiana.edu/~mclc09/

Lecture: David Lazer

You are invited to the next Networks and Complex Systems talk.

Monday, May 4, 2009
6:00 p.m.
Wells Library 001

"Life in the network: The coming age of computational social science" will be presented by David Lazer, Director of the Program on Networked Governance at Harvard University, and Associate Professor of Public Policy.

Abstract:
An increasing fraction of human interactions are digitally captured. These digital breadcrumbs, combined with substantial computational power, create enormous opportunities for ground breaking science. This talk will discuss what some of the potential opportunities are for developing an improved understanding of collective human behavior, as well the potential barriers to the emergence of a "computational social science." In particular, the objective of this talk will be to spur discussion regarding how to bridge the gap between various methods for data mining and enhancing understanding of human behavior.

Certificate in History and Philosophy of Science

The Department of History and Philosophy of Science has created a CERTIFICATE in the following subjects/tracks. This enables students to gain accreditation in History and Philosophy of Science by fulfilling twenty-five (25) interdisciplinary credit hours, thirteen credit hours in HPSC and twelve credit hours in other units, to be determined in consultation with the HPSC Director of Undergraduate Studies.

This program aims to give both undergraduates majoring in the sciences and undergraduates majoring in the humanities a unique opportunity to bridge the ever widening gap between the notorious “two cultures." The program is organized and administered within the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, but it also involves a wide spectrum of other units across the University, such as, for example, the Departments of Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, English, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Psychology, Religious Studies, and Sociology, and the Schools of Business, Education, Journalism, and Public and Environmental Affairs. In this way, the program involves several different tracks integrating the sciences and humanities in a variety of ways: (1) Life Sciences, Health, and Disease; (2) Science, Communication, and the Public; (3) Technology, Science Policy, and the Environment; (4) Physics, Computation, and Cognition; (5) Science, Religion, and Magic.

Students must complete 25 credit hours – 24 hours of course work divided into eight 3 credit hour courses, with an extra credit hour given for a capstone research project. Four of the courses, totaling 12 credit hours, will be in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, and the remaining four, also totaling 12 credit hours, will be spread across the other curricular units involved in the program in accordance with the chosen track. Each student’s plan for a particular track must be approved by the Director of the program.

A core course in the history of science, offered every semester under the presently existing course number X102, is required for all students in the program. Three other HPSC courses, one of which must be at least at the 300 level, are also required. Four courses from other relevant units, adapted to the particular track elected by the student, will then complete the program. In non-HPSC courses, we require that at least one be at the 300 level or above. Four courses (including both HPSC and non-HPSC courses) will be at the 300/400 level.

For more information contact hpscdept@indiana.edu, or stop by Goodbody Hall, Room 130, or call (812) 855-3622.

Colloquium: David Lazer

We invite you to a special end-of-the-semester Cognitive Science presentation.

Monday, May 4
4:00-5:00 p.m.
Dogwood Room of the Indiana University Memorial Union

Dr. David Lazer, Director of the Program on Networked Governance at Harvard University, and Associate Professor of Public Policy, will present, "How we think together: the role of social networks in collective problem solving."

Abstract:
How does the way that we are connected affect how we collectively solve problems? This presentation builds on work I have done on the network structure of exploration and exploitation. This work found that well connected systems perform well in the short run, but poorly in the long run at solving problems. Here I present two sequels: in the first I find that there may be evolutionary pressures on individuals to become better connected, creating a “tragedy of the network” where systems become progressively better connected, and thus with lower capacity to explore/innovate. In the second, I examine experimental data where small groups are given a version of the traveling salesman problem. The frequency of communication in these groups is manipulated, where the question that I examine is how communication bandwidth affects collective performance.

Colloquium: Mehrnoosh Sadrzadeh

You are cordially invited to attend the following School of Informatics Colloquium.

Friday, May 1, 2009
3:00 p.m.
LH 102

Mehrnoosh Sadrzadeh, Oxford University, will present, “Aximo: implementation of a decision procedure for information update.”

Abstract:
In scenarios of multi-agent systems, agents communicate with each other to acquire new information. All of us take part in such scenarios when talking, emailing, and bidding or shopping on the net. The complexity of information flow in these scenarios, makes the development of an automated reasoner for them a must. Challenges arise in the closer-to-real-life versions of these scenarios, when the agents are not honest or the communication channel is not safe. These cause misinformation flow and increase the complexity of reasoning. I shall present a syntax and an automated decision procedure for proving epistemic properties of interactive scenarios of multi-agent systems. The novelty of the decision procedure is its use of the categorical rules of adjunction to reduce the epistemic and dynamic modalities. The implementation of the decision procedure, a C++ program called Aximo written by S. Richards, consists of a rewrite system and a recursive reasoner. I go through the termination and complexity of the program, show its soundness with regard to an algebraic axiomatics, and demo its applicability by proving properties of honest and also dishonest versions of the the muddy children puzzle as well as a coin toss scenario. I may hint on how the same procedure can be extended to reason about classical and quantum security protocols.

Cognitive Lunch Abstract for April 29

The next Cognitive Lunch will be held Wednesday, April 29.

Time: 12:10-1:10 p.m.
Place: Psychology Conference Room (room 128)

"Why Translation is Not Mechanical and Why Translators Cannot be Invisible" will be presented by Douglas Hofstadter, Center for Research on Concepts and Cognition, Indiana University.

Abstract:
I will discuss the nature of translation, showing why artistic decisions are involved left and right in every act of translation. Although translators often say that their goal is to be "invisible servants" of their author, this is a vain and naïve hope. I'll use some hopefully entertaining examples to demonstrate why this is the case. (Incidentally, Professor Robert Goldstone has informed me [Personal communication, 24 April 2009] that this talk would qualify as a "cognitive lunch" since -- so he assures me -- translation is a highly cognitive phenomenon.)

Lecture: Alessandro Flammini

You are invited to the following Networks and Complex Systems talk.

April 27, 2009
6:00 p.m.
Wells Library 001

"Optimal Transportation Networks" will be presented by Alessandro Flammini, School of Informatics, Indiana University, Bloomington.

Abstract:
Our current understanding of networks structure and evolution is largely based on the description of the dynamical processes that have shaped them. Alternative approaches based on principles of optimality have been proposed, but certainly are not mainstream. Although there are good reasons for that, I will discuss examples where such approaches are fruitful, focusing especially on the case of road networks.

Survey: Major in Animal Behavior

Survey for Interest in an Undergraduate Major in Animal Behavior

To All IU Undergraduates:

The Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB) is conducting a survey of all students to gauge potential interest in establishing an Animal Behavior major on the IU Bloomington campus. At the present time, CISAB offers a minor and area certificate in animal behavior, but not a major. However, several current and former students have expressed an interest in seeing a major in this area, and we are in the process of assessing current interest in this possibility.

IF YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN AN ANIMAL BEHAVIOR MAJOR AT IU AND/OR WOULD HAVE MAJORED IN ANIMAL BEHAVIOR IF IT WERE AVAILABLE TO YOU, PLEASE LET US KNOW.

Please e-mail us at CISAB@indiana.edu and let us know if you are interested in seeing IU develop an animal behavior major. Any other comments/ideas/suggestions you wish to share with us are welcome as well.

If you would like to know more about the existing animal behavior MINOR and AREA CERTIFICATE, please visit our website: http://www.indiana.edu/~animal/academics/undegrees.html

Thank for your participation in our informal survey; we’re interested in hearing your thoughts.

Sincerely,
Greg Demas
Director, Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior

Robotics Open House

You are cordially invited to join us for the Cognitive Science Robotics Open House.

What: Cognitive Science Robotics Open House
When: Friday, May 1, 4-7 p.m.
Where: The West Wing of IUB’s Eigenmann Hall, 8th floor

Are you fascinated by robots? On May 1, the Cognitive Science Robotics groups, led by Professor Randall Beer and Professor Matthias Scheutz invite you to a Robotics Open House.

The Open House will feature presentations about research going on in both groups and will include various live demonstrations on robots and in computer simulations. In particular, you will see CRAMER, the friendly interactive humanoid, an autonomous Segway platform moving to natural language commands, an autonomous robot photographer taking pictures, an autonomous walking hexapod controlled by a neural network, a robotic vocal tract producing natural sounds, a robotic head with attached arm showing binocular vision-guided reaching, a gantry robot, as well as various computer simulations of artificial agents performing tasks in simulated environments, and demos of gesture recognition and natural language processing.

To learn more, visit: http://cogs.indiana.edu/openhouse/

Colloquia: Christopher Coe

You are cordially invited to the 2009 Spring IU Animal Behavior Colloquia.

Monday, April 27, 2009
2:30 p.m.
Indiana Memorial Union, Dogwood Room

Christopher Coe, W.B. Cannon Professor of BioPsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, will present, "The Psychological and Social Context of Immune Competence."

Abstract:
While it was once thought that the immune system functioned in a largely autonomous manner, it is now clear that both psychological state and neuroendocrine processes can significantly influence immune responses. In fact, this type of immunomodulation is critical for regulating immunity and sustaining health. This presentation will review lessons learned from studies in psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) and provide examples from both animal and human research. The PNI perspective is particularly important for understanding the greater disease vulnerability of young and aged individuals during the maturation and senescence of the immune competence across the life span.

Sponsored by the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB) and the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

This speaker is part of the A501 Animal Behavior Seminar on “Hormones and Human Behavior” organized by Dr. Michael Muehlenbein.

Lecture: David Waltz

SCHOOL OF INFORMATICS DISTINGUISHED COLLOQUIUM

Friday, April 24, 2009
3:00 p.m.
Lindley Hall 102

David Waltz, Columbia University, will present, "Machine Learning and Pasteur’s Quadrant in CS: Research with Relevance as well as Rigor.”

Abstract:
CS research has traditionally been curiosity-driven, emphasizing rigor over relevance. Application-driven CS research, emphasizing engineering for specific tasks, carries far less academic prestige. In his 1997 book, Pasteur’s Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation, Donald Stokes argues that, contrary to usual assumptions, these two alternatives are not the ends of a spectrum -- characterized at one end by Edison (relevance without rigor) and Bohr (rigor without relevance) – but that relevance and rigor are in fact orthogonal dimensions. Using this insight he makes the case for research that is high in both these dimensions (Pasteur’s Quadrant). Much of the research in Machine Learning (ML) has in fact been from Pasteur’s Quadrant – e.g. algorithms for character recognition, recommender systems, web search, protein structure prediction, etc. This talk will present ML research from CCLS - Columbia's Center for Computational Learning Systems – that strives for both rigor and relevance in three main areas: 1) learning systems for predictive maintenance for the electric power grid, largely done in conjunction with Con Edison, 2) learning to translate natural language, with a concentration on translating to and from Arabic - standard as well as dialects, and 3) predicting epileptic seizures using implanted electrode arrays. This talk will use these examples -- along with others from CS -- to argue for exploring Pasteur’s Quadrant in CS. It will also discuss some of the special challenges such work entails. For example, challenging applications typically involve large amounts of data that require large - and less academically rewarding – efforts in data cleaning and systems engineering in addition to driving research on understanding, new algorithms and valuable applications.

Career Events

Featured Job and Internship Postings

Don't forget to check the full-time, part-time, and internship postings on myIUcareers. Below is a preview of what is currently available:
Full-time positions:
* Provident Funding - Mortgage Professional
* First Investors Corporation - Financial Services Representative
* Chatteris Educational Foundation - Chatteris Native-speaking English Tutor (CNET)
* The Hope Foundation - Web Designer

Internships:
* Philip Morris U.S.A. - Territory Sales Manager Internship
* Westlake Design - Graphic Design Intern
* Buskirk-Chumley Theater - Front of House Staff

Part-time positions:
* IU Academic Assistant Dean's Office, College of Arts and Sciences - Student Worker (Non-Work Study)
* WXIN - FOX59/ WTTV 4 - Part-Time Non-Linear Editor (Non-Work Study)
* Big Red Hot Air Balloons LLC - Hot Air Balloon Chase Team (Non-Work Study)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

SustaIN: INDIANA´S GREEN IDEAS AND NETWORKING EVENT Wednesday, April 22, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Crowne Plaza at Union Station, Indianapolis, IN

SustaIN: is a unique forum for students, business professionals, and the general public to meet with and learn from Indiana's research and industry leaders about green and sustainability initiatives and practices.

Visit https://sustain.uc.iupui.edu/ for more information.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

BENEFITS OF myIUcareers:
Participate in on-campus interviews for internship and full-time employment/Access online postings for part-time, internship, fellowship, and full-time positions/View the IU Career Development Center and Arts and Sciences Career Services calendar of interviews and events and RSVP for workshops and employer information sessions/ Obtain contact information for employers actively partnered with the Career Development Center and Arts and Sciences Career Services.

Beth Kreitl, MS, NCC
Associate Director, Student Services
Career Development CenterArts & Sciences Career Services
Indiana University Bloomington
812.855.9888 (p)812.855.2121 (f)
kbethany@indiana.edu www.iucareers.com

Lecture: Lauri Karttunen

Department of Linguistics announces the following Distinguished Alumnus Lecture:

Lauri Karttunen (Ph.D. 1969), PARC and Stanford University, will present, "Computing Textual Inferences."

Friday, April 24
4:00 p.m.
Ballantine 228

Co-sponsored by: Cognitive Science, Computer Science, IULC

Abstract:
The ultimate goal of computational linguistics is to build systems that understand natural language. It is unlikely that we will get there in my lifetime but I will try in this talk to convince you that progress is being made.

One indication that a human has understood a piece of text is that she can answer questions about it. A computer should be able to do the same, but not in the the way that search engines such as Google operate. If you type the query “Who was the 21st president of the US?”
into a search box, Google comes back with a set of links to relevant articles with several highlighted passages that contain the answer: Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the US. But Google does not understand the question. It extracts the string was the 21st president of the US and retrieves from its index all documents that contain it. But if you ask a question like “Did Robert Downey Jr. win an Academy award?” Google does not find the document that has the answer, “Robert Downey Jr. failed to win an Academy Award this week for his performance in Tropic Thunder,” because Google cannot make the obvious inference that failed to win implies not to win. None of the current search engines that all rely on string matching can deliver the simple NO answer in such cases.

Much progress has been made in recent years on computing such inferences. From statements such as Robert Downey Jr. failed/managed to win an Academy Award we can conclude the truth or falsity of Robert Downey Jr. won an Academy award. From Joe failed not to get lost in Peru we can infer that Joe got lost in Peru. Inferences of this type are called LOCAL TEXTUAL INFERENCEs because they are based on the semantic properties of the particular lexical items such as fail (to), manage (to) and not and require no chains of reasoning or world knowledge. My 1971 IU Linguistics Club publication "The Logic of English Predicate Complement Constructions" established the semantic classification of verbs that take infinitival complements such as fail, manage, bother, happen, forget, remember, force, allow, hesitate, etc. It is satisfying to see that these distinctions have been implemented in the current state-of-the-art systems for computing textual inferences.

Local textual inference is in many respects a good test bed for computational semantics. It is task oriented. It abstracts away from particular meaning representations and inference procedures. It allows for systems that make purely linguistic inferences but it also allows for systems that bring in world knowledge and statistical reasoning. Because shallow statistical approaches have plateaued out, there is a clear need for deeper processing. The system I will describe in the final part of the talk is the Bridge system (a bridge from language to understanding) developed at the Palo Alto Research Center by the Natural Language Theory and Technology group. I will explain how the system infers, among other things, that Joe failed not to get lost in Peru implies that he did, why Nobody moved contradicts A girl danced, and how the system concludes that every small boy saw a cat from Every boy saw a small cat?

Student Reviewers Needed

Student Reviewers are needed for the Indiana Undergraduate Journal of Cognitive Science.

The Indiana Undergraduate Journal of Cognitive Science is seeking enthusiastic students to join the editorial board for the fall 2009 semester. As a student reviewer, you would be responsible for reviewing and editing a share of the submissions made to the journal, and be involved in the decision making process to determine which submissions ultimately get published. This is a unique opportunity for undergraduate students interested in the publication process of a scientific journal. Interested students should send an email to Brenden Sewell at brrsewel@indiana.edu

Cognitive Lunch Abstract for April 22

The next Cognitive Lunch will be held Wednesday, April 22.

Time: 12:10-1:10 p.m.
Place: Psychology Conference Room (Room 128)

"The Dynamics of Information Flow in Embodied Relational Categorization" will be presented by Paul Williams, Cognitive Science Program, Indiana University.

Abstract:
Information theory provides a powerful set of tools and concepts for the analysis of embodied cognitive systems. To date, such analyses have typically ignored the temporal behavior of such systems, instead collapsing over time to apply static measures of information structure. However, as I will discuss, the same basic concepts of information theory can also be used to explore the behavior of a system as it unfolds through time, giving rise to a notion of information flow.

In this talk, I will present results from an information-theoretic analysis of a model agent that performs a simple kind of relational categorization. I will demonstrate how, using techniques to characterize the structure of information flow, we can rigorously formulate and address questions such as how the agent extracts and stores information about stimulus features, and how it integrates information about multiple features. Finally, I will argue that when applied in this way information-theoretic techniques are in fact closely related to those of dynamical systems theory, and provide a complementary picture of how the behavior of a system emerges through the specific interactions of its components.

2009 Gill Award Symposium and Ceremony

The Linda and Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science at Indiana University-Bloomington is pleased to announce the 2009 Gill Award Symposium and Ceremony to be held Wednesday, May 20, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Whittenberger Auditorium located in the Indiana Memorial Union. The annual Gill Symposium is held to honor two scientists whose research has had profound impact on shaping the field and enhancing public understanding of neuroscience.

2009 Gill Award
Daniel Johnston
University of Texas at Austin
http://www.utexas.edu/neuroscience/Neurobiology/DanJohnston/index.html
Keynote Lecture: Active Dendrites are the Colorful Wings of the Mysterious Butterflies

2009 Gill Young Investigator Award
Linda Hsieh-Wilson
California Institute of Technology
http://www.hhmi.org/research/investigators/hsieh-wilson_bio.html
Keynote Lecture: Uncovering Roles for Carbohydrates in Axonal Growth and Regeneration

NEW THIS YEAR! Attendees must register for the free symposium via the link below. One registration per person please.
http://www.indiana.edu/~gillctr/registrationform.shtml

Announced by:
Misty Theodore
The Linda and Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science
Indiana University
1101 E. 10th Street, Room 345
Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone: (812) 856-1930
Fax: (812) 856-7187
Email: mtheodor@indiana.edu
The Gill Center – http://www.indiana.edu/~gillctr/index.shtml
Program in Neuroscience – http://www.indiana.edu/~neurosci/

Colloquium: Eunice E. Santos

You are cordially invited to attend this School of Informatics colloquium (please note special day, time, and place):

Monday, April 20, 2009
4:00 p.m.
IMU State Room East

Eunice E. Santos, Virginia Tech, will present, “Computational Socio-Cultural Modeling.”

Abstract:
Understanding and analyzing how human beings respond, adapt, and react is a major scientific endeavor. Human beings are inherently complex and how we behave and interact is not easily modeled or quantified. At the same time, real-world decisions are made based on supposed expectations of human behavior. So much of classic computational modeling has focused on exploring physical and biological phenomena which are based on scientific theory. Whereas, in human modeling, socio-cultural factors are a critical component and not readily expressed in mathematical terms. As such, the realm of socio-cultural modeling creates a need to understand how or when to leverage the classical approaches coupled with the need to incorporate such socio-cultural research concepts. Success of the work can only be accomplished through true interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research spanning multiple fields including computer science, engineering, mathematics, and the social sciences. In this talk, we discuss the way forward for effective and efficient computational socio-cultural modeling. I will present new work in socio-cultural representation, the capability to infuse such factors into social networks analysis, and new techniques for efficient real-time analysis of human network constructs.

Colloquium: Ryan Newton

You are cordially invited to attend this School of Informatics Colloquium (please note special day, time, and place):

Monday, April 20, 2009
10:00 a.m.
IMU Maple Room

Ryan Newton, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will present, “WaveScope: Stream Programming on Heterogeneous Wireless Devices.”

Abstract:
How do we maintain programmer productivity in an era with an exploding number of networked processing cores and increasing diversity among them? In this talk I offer a partial solution in the form of WaveScope, a programming environment for embedded, distributed stream-processing that we have used in a variety of sensor network applications. Sensor networks are a prime example of heterogeneous parallelism; they are distributed collections of phones, low-power embedded devices, and PCs containing a variety of processing cores. WaveScope is based on an asynchronous dataflow model and is suited for applications from signal processing to financial analysis and distributed data processing. A WaveScope program generates a graph of communicating actors; the compiler profiles these actors on various target platforms and then solves the partitioning problem: spreading actors across heterogeneous devices as well as across homogeneous multicores. To achieve performance and platform portability, the WaveScope solution involves a variety of compiler and runtime techniques; in this talk I will focus on multi-stage programming, domain specific optimizations, and program partitioning.

Lecture: Jeff Elman

You are invited to the final Cognitive Science Colloquium of the semester.

April 20, 2009
4:00-5:30 p.m.
PY 101

Jeff Elman, Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, will present, "The role of event knowledge in sentence processing: Arguments against a mental lexicon."

Abstract:
For many years, rules were where the action lay in language research. Words were seen as arbitrary, unsystematic, and relatively uninteresting. Over the past decade, however, there has been increasing interest in the lexicon as the locus of users' language knowledge. There is now a considerable body of linguistic and psycholinguistic research that has led many researchers to conclude that the mental lexicon contains richly detailed information about both general and specific aspects of language. Words are in again, it seems. But this very richness of lexical information poses representational challenges for traditional views of the lexicon. In this talk I will present a body of psycholinguistic data, involving both behavioral and event-related potential experiments, that suggest that event knowledge plays an immediate and critical role in the expectancies that comprehenders generate as they process sentences. I argue that this knowledge is on the one hand precisely the sort of stuff that on standard grounds one would want to incorporate in the lexicon, but on the other hand cannot reasonably be placed there. I suggest that in fact, lexical knowledge (which I take to be real) may not properly be encoded in a mental lexicon, but through a very different computational mechanism.

Lecture: Luis Rocha and Manuel Marque-Pita

You are invited to attend the following Networks and Complex Systems Talk.

April 20, 2009
6:00 p.m.
Wells Library 001

Luis Rocha and Manuel Marque-Pita, Indiana University, Bloomington will present, "Emergent Computation In Complex Network Dynamics."

Abstract:
Complex systems approaches to biological modeling often aim at the discovery of the "laws" of Biology. This endeavor entails a trade-off between generality and predictability. I argue that complex systems approaches, on their search for universal principles, have erred too much on the side of generality with very few examples of successful modeling of actual biological systems. In particular, we focus on the study of emergent computation in networks of automata. While there have been advances toward understanding the structure of natural networks, as well as some modeling of specific biological systems as networks of automata, it is still largely an open question how the dynamics of complex networks can lead to emergent, collective computation and how to control or "program" it to perform specific tasks. We discuss a new methodology based on Holland's schemata, for characterizing the dynamics of large automata networks, such as cellular automata and Boolean networks. We focus on examples from the systems biology literature, such as the segment polarity network of the Drosophila Melanogaster (21 nodes), and a large biochemical intracellular signal transduction network (139 nodes). We discuss how our approach is useful to characterize regulation, control, robustness, modularity and collective computation in networks of automata.

Paid IRS Internships

Marsha Franklin and Joelene Bergonzi are the IUB campus liaisons for the following program. Interested students should speak with Marsha or Joelene about earning credit for this internship, or others with the Washington Center. For more information, please call the Department of Political Science, Woodburn Hall 210, (812) 855-6308.

Paid IRS Internships: Summer 2009

The Washington Center is seeking applicants for internship opportunities with the Internal Revenue Service in Florence, Kentucky for summer 2009. An internship with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would provide students with substantial financial assistance as well as housing in Florence, KY for the duration of the internship. For priority consideration at the IRS, students need to submit materials by Wednesday April 22, 2009. After that date, applicants will be considered on a space-available basis.

This program gives interns the opportunity to develop skills, make professional contacts, build their resumes and explore future career opportunities within the IRS. Students will need to commit to 10-weeks at the agency, beginning in late May.

With the IRS, students are given a lot of leverage to make their own projects and pursue their own interests. Work will be substantive in nature; the exact tasks will vary by major and interest area.

Applicants must:
• be U.S. citizens.
• have a 3.5 GPA or above.
• be enrolled as a junior or senior undergraduate student in fall 2009.

Desired Majors: Humanities, History, Political Science, Communications, Business, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Finance, Liberal Arts, and other related majors.

Compensation: Interns will receive financial assistance covering the cost of housing and will also be awarded a bimonthly stipend. Those who do not need housing in Florence will have their stipends adjusted accordingly.

Application Procedures: Send a resume, a short statement of interest and an unofficial transcript to The Washington Center’s Office of Federal Relations at federalrelations@twc.edu by Wednesday April 22.

Announced by:
Danielle Gaquin
danielle.gaquin@twc.edu
The Washington Center
1333 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202)238-7900
E-mail: info@twc.edu

Workshop on Quantum Logic

Announcing an informal workshop on Quantum Logic Inspired by Quantum Computation at Indiana University, May 11-12, 2009

Our aim is to organize a small workshop that would bring together people who are developing new areas of logic coming from quantum computation, and also people who are interested in related projects coming from areas of philosophical logic, mathematics, and theoretical computer science.

Information on speakers may be found at www.indiana.edu/~iulg/qliqc.

There is no formal registration and all are welcome, but we would appreciate knowing ahead if you plan to come. Please write to Jamie Chapman if you plan to come: jchapman at indiana.edu.

Organizers:
Michael Dunn, Indiana University
Larry Moss, Indiana University
Zhenghan Wang, Microsoft Station Q

Sponsors:
IU Department of Mathematics
IU Program in Pure and Applied Logic
IU School of Informatics
National Science Foundation

Lecture: Klaus-Armin Nave

The Linda & Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science & The Program in Neuroscience are pleased to present the following talk.

Klaus-Armin Nave, Ph.D., Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, will present, "Axon-glia interactions and mouse models of human myelin disease."

Wednesday, April 22, 2009
4:00 p.m.
Room PY101
Psychological & Brain Sciences Building

Themester: “Evolution, Diversity and Change”

Themester is a College-wide initiative designed to create, explore, and encourage interdisciplinary opportunities for students, faculty and the community. For Fall 2009, the chosen theme is, “Evolution, Diversity and Change.” Within this program, a collection of courses have been identified by departments in the College for their connection to the current theme. These classes have been identified with the Registrar under Other Special Course Offerings as “Themester at the College” with the report code of BLTC. The curriculum bundle may also be accessed at the Themester website (www.themester.indiana.edu).

The intent of the College is that students in these classes will be given special opportunities to explore and experience their education across disciplines, including the potential to combine learning with other classes, hear from guest lecturers and speakers both in class and at campus-wide events, and explore other opportunities such as plays, movies, and exhibits. Students in these classes will receive information about Themester events in the campus and community through an e-mail listserve. And, student work may be nominated by faculty as exemplars of the Themester theme and interdisciplinary cooperation. Selected works will then be recognized and published in an electronic monograph to be retained by the IU Libraries.

For more information, please see the Themester website at www.themester.indiana.edu.

*****************************************

Top 10 Reasons to Enroll in Themester at the College Classes:

(10) It’s easy! Just look for “Themester at the College” in the Registrar’s Special Course Listings when you sign up for Fall 2009 classes.
(9) Connect your coursework with campus and community events.
(8) Stay informed about interdisciplinary opportunities through the Themester email account.
(7) Discover interconnected events and exhibitions throughout the campus.
(6) See a great play and perhaps discuss it in class.
(5) Learn how your class relates to other areas of study through exploration and guest lecturers.
(4) A chance to have your work recognized for its interdisciplinary value and published in an electronic monograph.
(3) Learn from world-class experts on how the theme of “evolution, diversity and change” impacts their field.
(2) What is this “evolution” thing, and how do I do it?
(1) Get more information at www.themester.indiana.edu.

Lab Manager Position

Announcing a Lab Manager Position in Cognitive and Language Development at New York University.

The NYU Infant Cognition and Communication Laboratory (http://www.psych.nyu.edu/niccl/) under the direction of Dr. Athena Vouloumanos and the NYU Center for Child Language (http://www.psych.nyu.edu/gary/babylab/babylabhome.html) under the direction of Dr. Gary Marcus are seeking a full-time lab manager to coordinate research on language acquisition and cognitive development in infants and young children beginning at the end of August 2009 and based at NYU's Greenwich Village campus.

Job duties include: (1) conducting experiments with infants, young children and adults; (2) training and supervising a staff of undergraduate research assistants; (3) general administrative duties, including data management and maintenance of budgets, lab web pages and participant recruiting systems; and (4) providing general support for the professors and other researchers in the laboratory.

Candidates should have: a bachelor's degree in psychology or a related scientific field such as cognitive science; one or more years of research experience; the ability to work independently; keen attention to detail; excellent public relations skills; and the ability to interact warmly and professionally with parents and children. Strong organizational, computational, managerial, problem-solving, and analytic skills are essential.

Please send a letter of interest describing your research experiences and career goals, a current resume, unofficial college transcript, and two or more reference letters to Christina Starmans at psych.niccl@nyu.edu.

For best consideration, please apply by April 30, 2009.

Cognitive Lunch Abstract for April 15

The next Cognitive Lunch will be held Wednesday, April 15.

Time: 12:10-1:10 p.m.
Place: Psychology Conference Room (Room 128)

"An LDA Approach to the Neural Correlates of Configural Learning" will be presented by Leslie Blaha, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University.

Abstract:
The purpose of my current study is to employ linear discriminant analysis (LDA; Philiastides & Sajda, 2006) to characterize the changes in ERPs over the entire course of a perceptual learning task. Configural learning is the perceptual learning process by which participants develop configural processing strategies or representations characterized by extremely efficient parallel information processing (Blaha & Townsend, under revision). Participants performed a perceptual unitization task in which they learned to categorize novel images. Correct categorization responses required exhaustive feature identification, which encouraged unitization of images into unified object percepts. Linear discriminator accuracy, measured by Az, increased each day of training, showing significant differences in neural signals between categories on and after training day 3 or 4 for all participants. Additionally, the LDA training window starting time resulting in discriminator performance of 65% accuracy or better shifted from 450-500ms to 300ms after stimulus onset at the completion of training. LDA results are consistent with our earlier report (Blaha & Busey, VSS 2007) of peak ERP amplitude differences between categories after training at approximately 170ms and 250ms after stimulus onset. These EEG results are consistent with the hypothesis that perceptual unitization results in configural perceptual processing mechanisms.

Students Needed: ASCS-Q 294

The Career Development Center is looking for experienced juniors and seniors to share their advice with freshmen and sophomores in our Q294 (Basic Career Development) course.

If you have had experience with student organizations, volunteer work, internships, and/or study abroad programs, this is a great chance to inspire other students. It is also a great experience to add to the “Presentation” portion of your resume. The Q294 student panel sessions are:

April 27
11:15 a.m.
2:30 p.m.
4:00 p.m.

April 28
11:15 a.m.

For more details and for the location of each workshop, please contact:
Alexa Yarnelle
Assistant Director
Career Development Center and Arts & Sciences Career Services
Indiana University, Bloomington
625 N. Jordan Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47405
812-855-0299 812-855-2121 (fax)
ayarnell@indiana.edu www.iucareers.com

Lecture: Tibor Harkany

The Linda & Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science and The Program in Neuroscience are pleased to present the following:

Tibor Harkany, Ph.D., University of Aberdeen School of Medical Sciences and The Karolinska Institutet, will present, "Endocannabinoid signaling during brain development."

Wednesday, April 15, 2009
4:00 p.m.
Psychological and Brain Sciences, Room PY101

Abstract:
Endocannabinoids (eCB) function as retrograde messengers at both excitatory and inhibitory synapses, and control various forms of synaptic plasticity in the adult brain. The molecular machinery required for specific eCB functions during maintenance of synaptic homeostasis is becoming well established. However, eCB signaling plays surprisingly fundamental roles in controlling the acquisition of neuronal identity during CNS development. Recent work suggests that selective recruitment of regulatory signaling networks to CB1 cannabinoid receptors dictates neuronal state-change decisions. In addition, the spatial localization and temporal precision of eCB action emerges as a novel organizer in developing neuronal networks. At the moment, we are far from understanding the molecular logic and chronodynamics of how eCB signaling networks specify in the embryonic brain, and how their specific neurodevelopmental functions relate to and define their retrograde control of neurotransmitter release at mature synapses. Important open questions include: where and when eCBs are produced in the developing brain; the molecular identity of eCBs and whether they represent ‘active’ signals; whether respective receptors and intracellular signal transduction cascades differ from those in the postnatal brain; how eCB signaling integrates with other regulatory systems; and how the relative power of this newly-emerging signaling entity contributes to define neurodevelopmental processes. In this talk, I will summarize contemporary discoveries establishing eCB-driven cellular identification events in the developing cerebrum, and define a unifying concept of how eCB signaling provides positional signals for excitatory and inhibitory afferents along the dendritic tree of cortical neurons, thus shaping the complexity of cortical connectivity.

RA/Lab Tech Positions

The lab at Harvard University's Department of Psychology is searching for two research assistants to begin this summer or fall.

Our ideal applicant:
*has an undergraduate degree in psychology, linguistics or cognitive science
*has a strong interest in the psychology of language (development or comprehension)
*is equally comfortable with toddlers and tech manuals
* thrives on variety

The two research assistants would split responsibility for coordinating our lab (training undergraduate assistants, managing the summer internship program, maintaining equipment, coordinating the use of space, organizing meetings, handling financial paperwork etc). Both would also conduct research. One position focuses on moment-to-moment language comprehension in typically-developing children and children with autism spectrum disorders. The second focuses on language development in children who are internationally adopted. One position would start in June, the other could start as late as September (doesn't matter which).

Skills that would be put to good use include:
*Knowledge of Russian or Mandarin Chinese
*Experience with CHILDES and corpus analyses
*Knowledge of ToBI prosodic coding
*Experience with tobii eye-trackers
*Coursework in semantics, pragmatics or syntax
*Experience with kids on the autism spectrum
*A sense of humor
*Infinite patience
*Experience with E-prime
*Experience with ERP
*Ability to multitask

Our lab is embedded in larger communities both within Harvard and in the wider Boston area, which offer rich resources for students interested in developmental psychology, psycholinguistics and linguistics. Research assistants are encouraged to make use of these resources.

Potential applicants should send an e-mail message to:
Professor Jesse Snedeker
snedeker@wjh.harvard.edu
including letter of interest, CV, and three references (e-mail addresses and telephone numbers are best).

Gender Incidents Team Media Contest

The Gender Incidents Team is sponsoring a media contest (video, poster, essay, poem, etc.) to raise awareness of “the pervasiveness of negative and sexist communication in our culture” and promote more positive modes of communication. The contest is titled, “It’s OK to be Offended.” You may have received posters for the contest already or have seen them on campus.

The deadline for submissions is April 30.

There will be prizes for the top three submissions, and the best submissions will also be used to educate and raise awareness about these issues with the incoming class of new undergraduates. Students are encouraged to submit an entry if they are interested.

For more information, contact Brandi Masterson at the Office for Women's Affairs: owa@indiana.edu or visit http://www.indiana.edu/~owa/.

LEAD IU

LEAD IU is pleased to announce our schedule of courses for Fall 2009. Our EDUC U-495 leadership seminar courses provide students with a theoretical framework that serves to inform and enhance their curricular and co-curricular experience. Many of these courses also fulfill requirements for the Minor in Leadership offered by HPER. If you have any specific questions regarding U-495 courses, or the LEAD IU program itself, please feel free to contact us at leadiu@indiana.edu or visit our website at: http://leadiu.indiana.edu/

R.J. Woodring
Graduate Assistant, LEAD IU
Student Activities- The Office for Student Organizations and Leadership Development
Indiana University
Indiana Memorial Union Room 371
Bloomington, IN 47408
Phone: 812-855-4311
E-mail: rwoodrin@indiana.edu

Student Academic Center Employment

For undergraduate students who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or higher, the following opportunity is available.

The Student Academic Center has several different employment possibilities for undergraduates during the academic year 2009-2010.

l. Supplemental Instruction Leader for Math courses: M014, M025 and M027. This is a 10-hour per week position where SI leaders work two four-hour evening shifts from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm Sunday through Thursday evenings within the residential halls facilitating collaborative learning sessions for the students enrolled in the above math classes. Two hours a week are spent in staff/training meetings with the SI coordinator, usually on Fridays. The pay is $9.00 per hour. Applicants must have earned a B+ or higher in M119 and/or M211 or received IUB credit for one of these courses through testing.

2. Supplemental Instruction Leader for Economics E201 or Economics E202: This is a 10-hour per week position where SI leaders periodically attend two to three sections of Econ. E201 or Econ. E202; facilitate up to 6 hours of collaborative learning sessions; and attend 1 hour of staff/training meeting per week. The pay is $9.00 per hour. Applicants must have earned a B or higher in the following Economics courses preferably here at IUB: at least E201 and E202; and possibly a 300 level economics course such as E321 and E322.

3. Undergraduate Teaching Intern for Educ. X101: Learning Strategies for Finite Math (M118): This position is a 10-hour per week position. The UGTI attends a section of Educ X101 each week for approximately 3 hours total and facilitates at least two 2-hour evening peer learning sessions. In addition there are two hours of staff meeting/training hours each week. Students must have earned at least a B+ in M118 or S118 here at IUB. The salary is $9.00 per hour.

4. Undergraduate Teaching Intern for Educ X156: College and Life Long Learning: This position is a 10-hour per week position. The UGTI attends either the Tuesday evening or Wednesday evening weekly workshop from 7 to 8:00 pm. Each UGTI is assigned up to seven students to meet with individually for an hour weekly conference to discuss the workshop topic and to help each student become a more effective and efficient learner. The salary is $9.00 per hour.

Students interested in any one or more of these work positions should call the Student Academic Center at 855-7313 to set up an interview appointment with Sharon Chertkoff, Ph.D.

Sharon Chertkoff, Ph.D.,
Basic Skills and Outreach Coordinator,
Student Academic Center,
Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education,
316 N. Jordan Ave.
Bloomington, IN 47405
(812) 855-7313 phone
(812) 855-5474 fax
http://sac.indiana.edu/

Career Events This Week

There will be two career fairs this week.

Check the IU Career Development Center web site for information on the following events:

* FEATURED JOB AND INTERNSHIP POSTINGS
* UPWARD BOUND INFORMATION SESSIONS (2 SESSIONS)
* U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE INFORMATION SESSIONS (2 SESSIONS)
* DIVERSIFY YOUR OPTIONS: NETWORKING EVENT
* I’M GRADUATING…NOW WHAT?
* SUMMER JOBS FAIR
* WEST EUROPEAN CAREER NIGHT
* CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (CIA) INFORMATION SESSION
* IU BLOOMINGTON SPRING CAREER FAIR
* MOVING TO NEW YORK CITY? - A PRACTICAL HOW-TO INFORMATION SESSION
* DIRECT ACTION RESEARCH TRAINING CENTER (DART) INFORMATION SESSION
* artWORKS: THE INNER WORKINGS OF A THEATER COMPANY

For more information, please visit www.iucareers.com

Beth Kreitl, MS, NCC
Associate Director, Student Services
Career Development CenterArts & Sciences Career Services
Indiana University Bloomington
(812) 855-9888

Conference: NA-CAP

The 2009 North American Conference on Computing and Philosophy presents NA-CAP@IU 2009: Networks and Their Philosophical Implications.

Date: June 14-16, 2009
Place: Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

In recent years, across several different academic disciplines, including biology, computer science, cognitive science, informatics, philosophy and psychology, a shift in the study of complex systems is readily visible. This shift away from a focus on the individual components of a system to the interrelations between them has provided the groundwork for what might broadly be called a "network" perspective, as it has become increasingly clear that simple components can produce astoundingly complex and varied behavior when they work in consort. Evidence for this observation is seen everywhere from biological neural networks, stigmergic systems, and animal behavior to networked computing, social networking, and dynamic systems. This conference will explore the philosophical implications of this network perspective as it applies to the broader scope of topics studied by our association.

Conference highlights include keynote lectures from William Bechtel (University of California, San Diego) and Olaf Sporns (Indiana University), both of whom will speak about new research in biological networks. The conference will additionally feature panel sessions on Logic Pedagogy and Networks and Social Network Effects. The IACAP is also pleased to acknowledge this year's recipient of the Goldberg Graduate Award, Matteo Turilli (University of Oxford) for his paper, "Translating Ethical Requirements into Software Specifications," which he will be presenting at this conference.

Individual conference sessions will be dedicated to:
o Biological and Artificial Networks
o Computation and Representation
o Modeling, Epistemology and Cooperation
o Networks, Networked Computing and Robotics
o Bayesian and Semantic Networks
o Group Cognition, eTrust and Network Neutrality
o Social Networks, Privacy and the Self

Details are available on our Program page at:
http://ia-cap.org

Cognitive Lunch Abstract for April 8

The next Cognitive Lunch will be held Wednesday, April 8
Time: 12:10-1:10
Place: Psychology Conference Room (room 128)

"A Bayesian Framework for Active Learning" will be presented by Stephen E. Denton and John K. Kruschke, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University.

Abstract:
Bayesian approaches to learning involve incrementally updating degrees of belief across a space of hypotheses whenever an observer passively observes a stimulus and outcome. But these approaches also provide a framework for models of active learning, because uncertainty across beliefs can be evaluated and thus the expected uncertainty reduction for candidate stimuli can be computed. Bayesian models of active learning predict that an active learner would select the stimulus for which expected uncertainty across all hypotheses is minimized. Our research contrasts four possible hypotheses spaces consisting of two simple cue-combination models and two possible priors. To tease apart the models, we performed an automated search of associative learning structures for which the models make maximally different predictions. Human participants were tested on these same learning structures in the context of an allergy diagnosis task. At various points in training we asked which cues they would find most informative to learn about; i.e., we assessed the participant's active learning preferences. The model and prior combinations that best mimic human active learning will be discussed.

Book Signing: Jerry Slocum

Join us at the Lilly Library for an opening reception and book signing with Jerry Slocum.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Lilly Library
4:00-6:00 p.m.

Jerry Slocum, who gave IU an amazing puzzle collection (http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/overview/puzzles.shtml) will be back in town.

Slocum just wrote a new a book: "The Cube: The ultimate guide to the world's bestselling puzzle: Secrets, stories, and solutions." Co-author Wei-Hwa Huang (four-time World Puzzle Champion) will also be in town to demonstrate cube-solving tricks and techniques.

Lecture: Olaf Sporns

Please join us for the next Networks and Complex Systems Talk.

April 6, 2009
6:00 p.m.
Wells Library 001

Olaf Sporns, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, will present, "Complex Brain Networks."

Abstract:
The human brain is a complex network. My talk will be about emerging links between the connectivity structure of the brain and its functional dynamics, and about how we might construct a computational network model of the brain. We now know that structural brain networks exhibit a number of topological features, including small-world attributes, modularity, and hubs. How do these structural features relate to functional characteristics of brain networks, to their dynamic patterns, to their processing power, robustness, or capacity to support flexible behavior? I will review recent work on complex brain networks that aims to identify how brain networks are organized and how they process and integrate information. I will also outline how these efforts may inform the design of a comprehensive structural and dynamic model of the human brain.

Reference: Bullmore, E.T, Sporns, O. (2009) Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10, 1-13.

Lecture: Arthur F. Kramer

Please join us for the Horizons of Knowledge Lecture sponsored by the Speech and Hearing Sciences PhD Organization, Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Cognitive Science Program, School of HPER, Speech Research Laboratory, and Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory.

April 6, 2009
4:00 pm
Woodburn Hall, Room 120
Reception to follow: IMU Women's Faculty Club

Dr. Arthur F. Kramer
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology:
Human Perception and Performance

"Enhancing Cognitive & Brain Function of Older Adults"

Abstract:
The presentation will provide a brief but critical review of the literature on the relationship of cognitive training, intellectual engagement, and fitness training on cognition and brain function of older adults. In the presentation I will contrast the effects of cognitive and fitness training with regard to the breadth of their effects on cognition and dementia. The presentation will include a description of the results of a recent meta-analysis, which included longitudinal fitness studies conducted over the past thirty-five years that were conducted to examine the methodological and theoretical factors that influence the fitness-cognition relationship. This analysis revealed robust benefits of fitness training on neurocognitive function. I will also describe the results of recent and on-going cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in which we are examining changes in cognition and brain function, as indexed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related brain potentials, with fitness and cognitive training interventions. Finally, I'll conclude by describing issues for future research and potential applications of what we have already learned, as well as what we still need to learn.

CogSci Colloquium: Michael Spivey

Please join us on Monday for a Cognitive Science Colloquium by Michael Spivey (UC Merced; formally Cornell). Dr. Spivey will be talking about research leading to his new book "The Continuity of Mind" (2007). Hope to see you all there.

April 6, 2009
4:00-5:30 p.m.
PY 101

Michael Spivey, Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, Merced, will present, "On the Continuity of Mind."

Abstract:
Rather than a sequence of logical operations performed on discrete symbols, real-time cognition is better described as continuously changing patterns of neuronal activity. The continuity in these dynamics indicates that, in between describable states of mind, much of our mental activity does not lend itself to the linguistic labels relied on by much of psychology. I will discuss eye-tracking and computer-mouse-tracking evidence for this temporal continuity in spoken word recognition, sentence comprehension, categorization, and even decision-making. I will also provide simulations and geometric visualizations of mental activity depicted as a continuous trajectory through a neuronal state space. In this theoretical framework, close visitations of labeled attractors may constitute word recognition events and object recognition events, but the majority of the mental trajectory traverses unlabeled regions of state space, resulting in multifarious mixtures of mental states.