
Genetic Algorithms Digest   Monday, December 6, 1993   Volume 7 : Issue 32

 - Send submissions to GA-List@AIC.NRL.NAVY.MIL
 - Send administrative requests to GA-List-Request@AIC.NRL.NAVY.MIL
 - anonymous ftp archive: FTP.AIC.NRL.NAVY.MIL (Info in /pub/galist/FTP)

Today's Topics:
	- What GA software do you use?
	- PPSN call for papers and additional info
	- aaai-94 call for papers

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CALENDAR OF GA-RELATED ACTIVITIES: (with GA-List issue reference)

EP94 3rd Ann Conf on Evolutionary Programming, San Diego (v7n7) Feb 24-25, 94
IEE94 Colloquium on Molecular Bioinformatics, London, UK (v7n21)   Feb 28, 94
SPIE, Neural & Stoch. Methods in Image & Sig Proc, Orlando(v7n18) Apr 5-8, 94
FLAIRS-94 Workshop on Artif Life and AI, Pensacola Beach, FL(v7n23) May 4, 94
The IEEE Conference on Evolutionary Computation, Orlando(v7n26) Jun 26-30, 94
FOGA94 Foundations of GAs Wkshop, Estes Park, Colorado(v7n26)Jul 30-Aug 3, 94
SAB94 3rd Intl Conf on Sim of Adaptive Behavior, Brighton(v7n11) Aug 8-12, 94
ECAI-94, 11th European Conference on AI, Amsterdam (v7n23)       Aug 8-12, 94
ISRAM94 Special Session on Robotics & GAs, Maui, Hawaii (v7n22) Aug 14-17, 94
PPSN-94 Parallel Problem Solving from Nature, Israel (v7n32)     Oct 9-14, 94

(Send announcements of other activities to GA-List@aic.nrl.navy.mil)

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From: sscott@cse.unl.edu (Stephen Scott)
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 93 17:03:14 CST
Subject: What GA software do you use?

I'm interested to know what are the most popular software packges in
the GA community.  I noticed there are many listed in the FAQ, but I'd
like to know which are the most widely used and general-purpose.  I
plan to compare some of the best (most popular) with some of our GAs
here.  The main comparisons would be on speed, flexibility and ease of
use.

Please e-mail me at sscott@cse.unl.edu and tell me what GA package(s)
you use, what application(s) you're using them on, and how well you
like them (i.e. how easy is it to use, how flexible is it, how fast is
it, etc.).  After I have (hopefully) accumulated several responses, I
will summarize and post the results.

Thanks in advance,
Steve Scott

-- 
Steve Scott             
sscott@cse.unl.edu      
Room 114 Ferguson Hall  
(402) 472-3485          

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From: yuval@wisdom.weizmann.ac.il (Davidor Yuval)
Date: Thu, 25 Nov 93 17:38:14 +0200
Subject: PPSN call for papers and additional info

             INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EVOLUTIONARY COMPUTATION
           THE THIRD PARALLEL PROBLEM SOLVING FROM NATURE (PPSN III)

                      JERUSALEM, ISRAEL, OCTOBER 9-14, 1994

                    FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE:

Y. Davidor            H.-P. Schwefel              R. Maenner
Conference Chair      Programme Co-Chair          Programme Co-Chair
C/O Ortra Ltd.        Universitaet Dortmund       Universitaet Mannheim
P.O. Box 50432        Lehrstuhl Informatik XI     Lehrstuhl fuer Informatik V
Tel Aviv 61500,       D-44221 Dortmund,           D-68131 Mannheim 1,
Israel                Germany                     Germany      
Tel.: +972-3-664 825  Tel.: +49-231-755 4590      Tel.: +49-621-292 5758
Fax:  +972-3-660 952  Fax:  +49-231-755 2450      Fax:  +49-621-292 5756
                      schwefel@LS11.informatik.    maenner@mp-sun1.informatik.
                               uni-dortmund.de             uni-mannheim.de

PPSN STEERING COMMITTEE:

Y.  Davidor (Israel)      B.  Manderick (The Netherlands)
K.  De Jong (USA)         H.  Muhlenbein (Germany)
H.  Kitano (Japan)        H.-P. Schwefel (Germany)
R.  Maenner (Germany)                                        

The International Conference on Evolutionary Computation - The Third
Parallel Problem Solving from Nature (PPSN III) will be held in Jerusalem,
Israel between 9-14 October, 1994. This meeting will bring together an
international community from academia, government and industry interested
in algorithms suggested by the unifying theme of natural computation.

Natural computation is a common name for the design, theoretical and
empirical understanding of algorithms gleaned from nature.  Characteristic
for natural computation is the metaphorical use of concepts,  principles  and
mechanisms underlying natural systems.  Examples are genetic algorithms,
evolutionary programming and evolution strategies inspired by the evolutionary
processes of mutation, recombination, and natural selection in biology,
simulated annealing inspired by many-particle systems in physics, and
algorithms inspired by multi-cellular systems like neural and immune networks.

Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to: evolution
strategies, evolutionary programming,  genetic algorithms and classifier
systems, other forms of evolutionary computation, simulated annealing, neural
and immune networks, machine learning and optimization using these methods,
their relations to other learning paradigms, and mathematical description of
their behaviour.

The conference programme committee will particularly welcome application
papers dealing with these techniques to solve real problems in manufacturing,
design, planning and engineering providing these are of the highest level. The
application type of papers should either exhibit outstanding performance in
solving particular problems in contrast to other techniques or address real
problems of significant and unique importance to science.

5 hard copies of original work in the related topics typed in 12pt single
column and maximal length of 10 pages including all figures and references
should be sent to H.-P. Schwefel, programme co-chair by March 1, 1994.  One
copy should contain the names of the authors, affiliation, and full addresses.
The remaining 4 copies should be anonymous and contain only the title and body
of paper including figures and references. This procedure is adopted to
enhance anonymous peer review.

The conference will be held in a kibbutz 10 minutes from the Old City of
Jerusalem on top of the Judean mountain range overlooking Bethlehem and
Jerusalem.  The conference programme will include visits to historical,
religious and contemporary monuments in Israel.


IMPORTANT DATES:

March 1, 1994 - Submission of full paper
May 30,  1994 - Notification to authors
July 1,  1994 - Submission of revised, final camera ready papers


GENERAL INFORMATION

Venue

The conference will be held at the Mitzpeh Rachel Kibbutz Congress Center on
the southern outskirts of Jerusalem, overlooking Bethlehem.  A swimming pool
and tennis courts are on the premises and there is easy access by public
transportation to the center of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is an excellent location for an international convention. Just 40
minutes from the Ben Gurion International Airport, Jerusalem offers a variety
of cultural and religious experiences that link its historic past to its
dynamic present.

History will come alive as you discover the shrines of the world's great
religions, stroll around the walls of the Old City, visit the reconstructed
city's main streets, and enjoy the extensive collections in Jerusalem's
numerous museums that house amongst its treasures, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the
Billy Rose sculpture garden, archaeological finds, calligraphy and other
works of art.

As the  birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, and as one of Islam's holy
cities, Jerusalem is a captivating, uniquely significant city to millions of
people throughout the world. The conference will offer participants an
opportunity to combine a scientific gathering with the natural beauty of a
country  that enjoys a pleasant Mediterranean climate and a unique city,
Jerusalem.

Language

The official language of the conference is English. All lectures, posters
and printed material will be in English.

Climate

The weather in October in Jerusalem is sunny and mild during the day.  The
temperature is cooler in the evenings. Some rain may be expected, but not
very likely.

Clothing

Informal for all occasions.  Do not forget to pack a swimsuit, head covering,
sunglasses and comfortable walking shoes. A jacket or sweater is recommended
for evenings.

Visas

Participants from most countries do not require entry visas. If needed, visas
will be granted to all bona fide participants provided that application to the
local representative of Israel is made at least three months before arrival in
Israel.

Social Program

A special program and excursions are planned for the participants of the
conference and their accompanying persons.

Second Announcement

Further information and the second announcement will be mailed upon request.
Please advise your colleagues who may be interested in participating in the
conference.

Travel, Tours and Accommodation

The conference committee has appointed Ortra Ltd. as the official organizer
and travel agent of the conference.  Rooms have been reserved at the Mitzpeh
Rachel hotel (conference venue). Ortra Ltd. will  offer pre/post conference
tourist services. Further information will be published in the second
announcement.

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR INTENTION FORM NO LATER THAN JANUARY 10, 1994

==========================================================================
                               CUT HERE
==========================================================================


           INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EVOLUTIONARY COMPUTATION
         The Third Parallel Problem Solving From Nature (PPSN III)
                    Jerusalem, Israel, October 9-14, 1994

(Please return to Ortra Ltd., P.O.Box 50432, Tel-Aviv 61500, Israel
or by Fax to 972-3-660952)

                              INTENTION FORM

Surname:                              First Name:

Institution:

Address: []Institution   []Home (please indicate)

e-mail:                                 Fax. No.

[] I intend to participate in the conference.
[] Please send me the second announcement.
[] I wish to present a paper on:
[]  Please find attached names and addresses of colleagues who may be
    interested in attending the conference.

Signature:                               Date:


------------------------------

From: Nils Nilsson <nilsson@CS.Stanford.EDU>
Date: Sun, 28 Nov 93 13:50:03 PST
Subject: aaai-94 call for papers

I am the "area chair" for "Neural Nets, Fuzzy Systems, Genetic Algorithms, and
Reinforcement Learning" at the next AAAI Conference.  We are hoping to get many
high quality papers in areas of AI that the national conference might have  
previously under-emphasized.  Thus, I am sending the attached call for papers  
around to various lists with the hope that we'll get some great papers in
these areas.  Thanks,  -Nils Nilsson

----------

TWELFTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
			      AAAI-94
			SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
		     JULY 31 - AUGUST 4, 1994

Call for Papers

AAAI-94 is the twelfth national conference on artificial 
intelligence (AI). The purpose of the conference is to 
promote research in AI and scientific interchange among AI 
researchers and practitioners.
Papers may represent significant contributions to any 
aspects of AI: a) principles underlying cognition, perception, 
and action; b) design, application, and evaluation of AI 
algorithms and systems; c) architectures and frameworks for 
classes of AI systems; and d) analysis of tasks and domains 
in which intelligent systems perform.
One of the most important functions served by the national 
conference is to provide a forum for information exchange 
and interaction among researchers working in different sub-
disciplines, in different research paradigms, and in different 
stages of research. Based on discussions among program 
committee members during the past few years, we aim to 
expand active participation in this year's conference to 
include a larger cross-section of the AI community and a 
larger cross-section of the community's research activities. 

Accordingly, we encourage submission of papers that: 
describe theoretical, empirical, or experimental results; 
represent areas of AI that may have been under-represented 
in recent conferences; present promising new research 
concepts, techniques, or perspectives; or discuss issues that 
cross traditional sub-disciplinary boundaries. As outlined 
below, we have revised and expanded the paper review 
criteria to recognize this broader spectrum of research 
contributions. We intend to accept more of the papers that 
are submitted and to publish them in an expanded 
conference proceedings.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION
Authors must submit six (6) complete printed copies of their 
papers to the AAAI office by January 24, 1994. Papers 
received after that date will be returned unopened. 
Notification of receipt will be mailed to the first author (or 
designated author) soon after receipt. All inquiries regarding 
lost papers must be made by February 7, 1994. Authors 
should also send their paper's title page in an electronic mail 
message to abstract@aaai.org by January 24, 1994. 
Notification of acceptance or rejection of submitted papers 
will be mailed to the first author (or designated author) by 
March 11, 1994. Camera-ready copy of accepted papers will 
be due about one month later.

PAPER FORMAT FOR REVIEW
All six (6) copies of a submitted paper must be clearly 
legible. Neither computer files nor fax submissions are 
acceptable. Submissions must be printed on 8 1/2" x 11" or 
A4 paper using 12 point type (10 characters per inch for 
typewriters). Each page must have a maximum of 38 lines 
and an average of 75 characters per line (corresponding to 
the LaTeX article-style, 12 point). Double-sided printing is 
strongly encouraged.

LENGTH
The body of submitted papers must be at most 12 pages, 
including title, abstract, figures, tables, and diagrams, but 
excluding the title page and bibliography. Papers exceeding 
the specified length and formatting requirements are subject 
to rejection without review.

BLIND REVIEW
Reviewing for AAAI-94 will be blind to the identities of the 
authors. This requires that authors exercise some care not to 
identify themselves in their papers. Each copy of the paper 
must have a title page, separate from the body of the paper, 
including the title of the paper, the names and addresses of 
all authors, a list of content areas (see below) and any 
acknowledgements. The second page should include the 
exact same title, a short abstract of less than 200 words, and 
the exact same content areas, but not the names nor 
affiliations of the authors. The references should include all 
published literature relevant to the paper, including 
previous works of the authors, but should not include 
unpublished works of the authors. When referring to one's 
own work, use the third person, rather than the first person. 
For example, say "Previously, Korf [17] has shown that...", 
rather than "In our previous work [17] we have shown 
that...". Try to avoid including any information in the body 
of the paper or references that would identify the authors or 
their institutions. Such information can be added to the final 
camera-ready version for publication. Please do not staple 
the title page to the body of the paper.

ELECTRONIC TITLE PAGE
A title page should also be sent via electronic mail to 
abstract@aaai.org, in plain ASCII text, without any 
formatting commands for LaTeX, Scribe, etc. Each section of 
the electronic title page should be preceded by the name of 
that section as follows:

title: <title>
author: <name of first author> 
address: <address of first author> 
author: <name of last author>
address: <address of last author>
abstract: <abstract> 
content areas: <first area>, ..., <last area>

To facilitate the reviewing process, authors are requested to 
select 1-3 appropriate content areas from the list below. 
Authors are welcome to add additional content area 
descriptors as needed.

AI architectures, artificial life, automated reasoning, control, 
belief revision, case-based reasoning, cognitive modeling, 
common sense reasoning, computational complexity, 
computer-aided education, constraint satisfaction, decision 
theory, design, diagnosis, distributed AI, expert systems, 
game playing, genetic algorithms, geometric reasoning, 
knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation, machine 
learning, machine translation, mathematical foundations, 
multimedia, natural language processing, neural networks, 
nonmonotonic reasoning, perception, philosophical 
foundations, planning, probabilistic reasoning, problem 
solving, qualitative reasoning, real-time systems, robotics, 
scheduling, scientific discovery, search, simulation, speech 
understanding, temporal reasoning, theorem proving, user 
interfaces, virtual reality, vision

SUBMISSIONS TO MULTIPLE CONFERENCES
Papers that are being submitted to other conferences, 
whether verbatim or in essence, must reflect this fact on the 
title page. If a paper appears at another conference (with the 
exception of specialized workshops), it must be withdrawn 
from AAAI-94. Papers that violate these requirements are 
subject to rejection without review.

REVIEW PROCESS
Program committee (PC) members will identify papers they 
are qualified to review based on each paper's title, content 
areas, and electronic abstract. This information, along with 
other considerations, will be used to assign each submitted 
paper to two PC members. Using the criteria given below, 
they will review the paper independently. If the two 
reviewers of a paper agree to accept or reject it, that 
recommendation will be followed. If they do not agree, a 
third reviewer will be assigned and the paper will be 
discussed by an appropriate sub-group of the PC during its 
meeting in March. Note that the entire review process will be 
blind to the identities of the authors and their institutions. In 
general, papers will be accepted if they receive at least two 
positive reviews or if they generate an interesting 
controversy among the reviewers. The final decisions on all 
papers will be made by the program chairs.
Questions that will appear on the review form appear below. 
Authors are advised to bear these questions in mind while 
writing their papers. Reviewers will look for papers that 
meet at least some (though not necessarily all) of the criteria 
in each category.

	Significance
	How important is the problem studied? Does the approach 
	offered advance the state of the art? Does the paper 
	stimulate discussion of important issues or alternative 
	points of view?

	Originality
	Are the problems and approaches new? Is this a novel 
	combination of existing techniques? Does the paper point 
	out differences from related research? Does it address a 
	new problem or one that has not been studied in depth? 
	Does it introduce an interesting research paradigm? Does 
	the paper describe an innovative combination of AI 
	techniques with techniques from other disciplines? 
	Does it introduce an idea that appears promising or might 
	stimulate others to develop promising alternatives?

	Quality
	Is the paper technically sound? Does it carefully evaluate 
	the strengths and limitations of its contributions? Are its 
	claims backed up? Does the paper offer a new form of evidence 
	in support of or against a well-known technique? Does the 
	paper back up a theoretical idea already in the literature 
	with experimental evidence? Does it offer a theoretical 
	analysis of prior experimental results?

	Clarity
	Is the paper clearly written? Does it motivate the research? 
	Does it describe the inputs, outputs, and basic algorithms 
	employed? Are the results described and evaluated? Is the 
	paper organized in a logical fashion? Is the paper written in 
	a manner that makes its content accessible to most AI 
	researchers?

	Publication
	Accepted papers will be allocated six (6) pages in the 
	conference proceedings. Up to two (2) additional pages may 
	be used at a cost to the authors of $250 per page. Papers 
	exceeding eight (8) pages and those violating the instructions 
	to authors will not be included in the proceedings.

	Copyright
	Authors will be required to transfer copyright of their paper 
	to AAAI.

Paper Submissions & Inquiries
Please send papers and conference registration inquiries to:

AAAI-94
American Association for Artificial Intelligence
445 Burgess Drive Menlo Park, CA 94025-3496

Registration and call clarification inquiries (ONLY) may be 
sent to the Internet address: NCAI@aaai.org. 

Please send program suggestions and inquiries to:
Barbara Hayes-Roth, Program Cochair
Knowledge Systems Laboratory
Stanford University
701 Welch Road, Building C
Palo Alto, CA 94304
bhr@ksl.stanford.edu

Richard Korf, Program Cochair
Department of Computer Science
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA 90024
korf@cs.ucla.edu

Howard Shrobe, Associate Program Chair
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA, 02139
hes@reagan.ai.mit.edu

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End of Genetic Algorithms Digest
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