*********************************************** * * * DEPARTMENT OF * * COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS (CNS) * * AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY * * * *********************************************** Stephen Grossberg, Chairman Gail A. Carpenter, Director of Graduate Studies The Boston University Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems offers comprehensive advanced training in the neural and computational principles, mechanisms, and architectures that underly human and animal behavior, and the application of neural network architectures to the solution of technological problems. Applications for Fall, 1994 admission and financial aid are now being accepted for both the MA and PhD degree programs. To obtain a brochure describing the CNS Program and a set of application materials, write, telephone, or fax: Department of Cognitive & Neural Systems Boston University 111 Cummington Street, Room 240 Boston, MA 02215 617/353-9481 (phone) 617/353-7755 (fax) or send via email your full name and mailing address to: cns(a)cns.bu.edu Applications for admission and financial aid should be received by the Graduate School Admissions Office no later than January 15. Late applications will be considered until May 1; after that date applications will be considered only as special cases. Applicants are required to submit undergraduate (and, if applicable, graduate) transcripts, three letters of recommendation, and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. The Advanced Test should be in the candidate's area of departmental specialization. GRE scores may be waived for MA candidates and, in exceptional cases, for PhD candidates, but absence of these scores may decrease an applicant's chances for admission and financial aid. Non-degree students may also enroll in CNS courses on a part-time basis. Description of the CNS Department: The Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems (CNS) provides advanced training and research experience for graduate students interested in the neural and computational principles, mechanisms, and architectures that underlie human and animal behavior, and the application of neural network architectures to the solution of technological problems. Students are trained in a broad range of areas concerning cognitive and neural systems, including vision and image processing; speech and language understanding; adaptive pattern recognition; cognitive information processing; self- organization; associative learning and long-term memory; computational neuroscience; nerve cell biophysics; cooperative and competitive network dynamics and short-term memory; reinforcement, motivation, and attention; adaptive sensory-motor control and robotics; active vision; and biological rhythms; as well as the mathematical and computational methods needed to support advanced modeling research and applications. The CNS Department awards MA, PhD, and BA/MA degrees. The CNS Department embodies a number of unique features. It has developed a curriculum that consists of twelve interdisciplinary graduate courses each of which integrates the psychological, neurobiological, mathematical, and computational information needed to theoretically investigate fundamental issues concerning mind and brain processes and the applications of neural networks to technology. Nine additional advanced courses, including research seminars, are also offered. Each course is typically taught once a week in the evening to make the program available to qualified students, including working professionals, throughout the Boston area. Students develop a coherent area of expertise by designing a program that includes courses in areas such as Biology, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Psychology, in addition to courses in the CNS curriculum. The CNS Department prepares students for thesis research with scientists in one of several Boston University research centers or groups, and with Boston-area scientists collaborating with these centers. The unit most closely linked to the department is the Center for Adaptive Systems (CAS). Students interested in neural network hardware work with researchers in CNS, the College of Engineering, and at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Other research resources include distinguished research groups in neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, and neuropharmacology at the Medical School and the Charles River campus; in sensory robotics, biomedical engineering, computer and systems engineering, and neuromuscular research within the Engineering School; in dynamical systems within the Mathematics Department; in theoretical computer science within the Computer Science Department; and in biophysics and computational physics within the Physics Department. In addition to its basic research and training program, the Department conducts a seminar series, as well as conferences and symposia, which bring together distinguished scientists from both experimental and theoretical disciplines. 1993-94 CAS MEMBERS and CNS FACULTY: Jacob Beck Daniel H. Bullock Gail A. Carpenter Chan-Sup Chung Michael A. Cohen H. Steven Colburn Paolo Gaudiano Stephen Grossberg Frank H. Guenther Thomas G. Kincaid Nancy Kopell Ennio Mingolla Heiko Neumann Alan Peters Adam Reeves Eric L. Schwartz Allen Waxman Jeremy Wolfe