CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS -- NIPS*99 

                   NIPS*99 Post Conference Workshops
                         December 3 and 4, 1999
                         Breckenridge, Colorado


Following the regular program of the Neural Information Processing Systems 1999 
conference, workshops on various current topics in neural information processing
will be held on December 3 and 4, 1999, in Breckenridge, Colorado. Proposals by 
qualified individuals interested in chairing one of these workshops are solicited. 
Past topics have included:

              Active Learning                 Architectural Issues         
              Attention                       Audition                 
              Bayesian Analysis               Bayesian Networks
              Benchmarking                    Brain Imaging                
              Computational Complexity        Computational Molecular Biology 
              Control                         Genetic Algorithms 
              Graphical Models                Hippocampus and Memory 
              Hybrid HMM/ANN Systems          Implementations
              Music                           Neural Plasticity 
              Network Dynamics                On-Line Learning 
              Optimization                    Recurrent Nets 
              Robot Learning                  Rule Extraction
              Self-Organization               Sensory Biophysics 
              Signal Processing               Support Vectors 
              Speech                          Time Series 
              Topological Maps                Vision Models and Applications

The goal of the workshops is to provide an informal forum for researchers to
discuss important issues of current interest. There will be six hours of workshop 
meetings per day, split into morning and afternoon sessions, with free time in 
between for ongoing individual exchange or outdoor activities. 


Concrete open and/or controversial issues are encouraged and preferred as workshop
topics. Representation of alternative viewpoints and panel-style discussions are 
particularly encouraged. 

Workshop organizers will have responsibilities including:

1) coordinating workshop participation and content, which involves arranging 
   short informal presentations by experts working in an area, arranging for 
   expert commentators to sit on a discussion panel, formulating a set of 
   discussion topics, etc.

2) moderating or leading the discussion and reporting its high points, findings, 
   and conclusions to the group during evening plenary sessions

3) writing a brief summary and/or coordinating submitted material for post
   conference electronic dissemination.


SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Interested parties should submit a short proposal for 
a workshop via e-mail by by May 28, 1999.  

Proposals should include a title, a description of what the workshop is to 
address and accomplish, the proposed length of the workshop (one day or two days),
the planned format (mini-conference, panel discussion or group discussion, 
combinations of the above, etc.), and the proposed number of speakers. The names 
of invitees and/or potential invitees should be given whenever possible. Note 
that preference will be given to workshop proposals that reserve a significant 
portion of the time for open discussion and/or panel discussion, as opposed to 
a pure "mini-conference" format. An example of a good workshop format is as 
follows:  

  Hour 1: Tutorial lecture providing background and introducing terminology 
          relevant to the topic. 
  Hours 2,3,4,5: Four half-hour lectures introducing different approaches to
          the topic, alternating with half-hour discussions following each
	  lecture.   
  Hour 6: General discussion.

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.

The proposal should motivate why the topic is of interest or controversial, why 
it should be discussed, and who the targeted group of participants is. In addition,
it should include a brief resume of the prospective workshop chair with a list of 
publications to establish scholarship in the field of interest. Submissions need 
to include contact name, address, e-mail address, phone number, and fax number if 
available.

Proposals can be mailed electronically to becker@mcmaster.ca. All proposals must 
be RECEIVED by May 28, 1999. If e-mail is unavailable, mail the proposal so that 
it will arrive by the deadline at: 

  NIPS*99 Workshops 
  c/o Rich Caruana
  School of Computer Science
  Carnegie Mellon University
  5000 Forbes Avenue
  Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA

Questions may be addressed to either of the Workshop Co-Chairs:

Sue Becker                               Rich Caruana
McMaster University                      Carnegie Mellon University
becker@mcmaster.ca                       caruana@cs.cmu.edu

	    PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MAY 28, 1999

			   -Please Post-