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TUCS Newsletter 30.5.2012

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TUCS GP spring application round

The spring 2012 application round was hosted during 1.-31.3.2012. TUCS GP received 56 applications for the programme before the deadline, 19 from Finnish applicants and 37 from foreign applicants. 18 of the applicants were female and 38 male. In this application round the TUCS Board granted 14 funded positions with 2 years of funding and 2 funded positions with 1 year of funding.

 

Best dissertation award for Dr. Antti Airola

Pattern Recognition Society of Finland (Hatutus ry) has awarded TUCS GP Dr. Antti Airola for the best dissertation of the year in 2012. The award will be granted in Helsinki on May 28th as a part of a symposium held there.

Antti Airola, Kernel-Based Ranking: Methods for Learning and Performance Estimation. TUCS Dissertations 144. Turku Centre for Computer Science, 2011. http://tucs.fi/publications/view/?pub_id=phdAirola11a

http://tucs.fi/news/article/20120521.hatutus.php

 

Guest lecture at Department of Mathematics, University of Turku: Artur Jez

Artur Jez will give a talk on Thursday 31.5. at 12 in MS-3. All interested are welcome.

Title: Fully compressed pattern matching by recompression

Abstract: In this talk I will consider the a fully compressed pattern matching problem. The compression is represented by straight-line programs (SLPs), i.e. context-free grammars generating exactly one string; the term fully means that both the pattern and the text are given in the compressed form. The problem is approached using a recently developed technique of local recompression: the SLPs are refactored, so that subwords of the pattern and text are encoded in both SLPs in the same way. To this end, the SLPs are locally decompressed and then recompressed in a uniform way. Thus, in the end, the pattern matching reduces to a search of a particular nonterminal in the derivation tree for the text.

This technique yields an O((n+m) log M) algorithm for compressed pattern matching, where n (m) is the size of the compressed representation of the text (pattern, respectively), while M is the size of the decompressed pattern. Since M is at most 2^m, this substantially improves the previously best O(m^2n) algorithm.

Since LZ compression standard reduces to SLP with log( N / n) overhead and in O(n log(N/n)) time (where N is the size of the decompressed text and n the size of the LZ representation), the presented algorithm can be applied also to the fully LZ-compressed pattern matching problem, yielding an O((n log(N/n) + m log(M/m)) log M) running time.

 

Guest lecture at Department of Mathematics, University of Turku: Solomon Marcus

Academician Solomon Marcus (Bucharest, Romania) will give a talk on Monday 4.6. at 12 in XXIII. All interested are welcome.

Title: From Turing to Von Neumann

Abstract: They interacted and inspired each other. We focus main attention on their work on the brain and, more generally, on their interest in biology, trying to situate historically and conceptually John von Neumann's unfinished research program towards the unification of discrete and continuous involvement of mathematics in the study of biological systems. Turing was involved in a similar program. An evolutionary trajectory of theories from Leibniz, Boole, Bohr and Turing to Shannon, McCullogh-Pitts, Wiener and von Neumann powered the emergence of the information paradigm. As both Turing and von Neumann were interested in automata, they were deeply challenged by seeing the brain as an automaton. Turing's research was done in the context of the achievements in logic (formalism, intuitionism, logicism, constructivism, Hilbert's, Kleene's and Gödel's work). Turing's 1937 paper, proposing a theoretical machine exclusively built on the paper, has been the preliminary theoretical step towards von Neumann's 1948 programmable electronic computer. John von Neumann's research program is outlined in "The general and logical theory of automata" (1951), "Probabilistic logics and the synthesis of reliable organisms from unreliable components" (1956) and his posthumous book The Computer and the Brain (1958) and in his unfinished book The theory of Self-Reproducing Automata, completed and published by A. Burks (1966).

Inspired by Turing's universal machine, von Neumann described in 1948, i.e., five years before Watson and Crick, the structure of the DNA copying mechanism for biological self-reproduction. A lot of questions and problems appear when confronting these historical facts with the evolution of ideas in the contemporary fields of computational biology and biological computing. Some of them are pointed out in this presentation.

 

TUCS short course by Teturo Kamae

Dr. Teturo Kamae gave a TUCS short course consisting of three lectures: "Maximal pattern complexity applied to pattern recognition problems" (23.5), "Uniform sets and uniform complexity" (24.5), "Characterizations of super-stationary sets" (29.5). He also gave a Fidipro distinguished lecture on "Super-stationary structure of dynamical systems" (30.5). All these events took place at Department of Mathematics, University of Turku.

 

INFORTE.fi events for Summer and Fall 2012

“Partial Least Squares Path Modeling: Introduction and Application”, 4-5 July 2012, Jyväskylä

Information and registration: http://inforte.jyu.fi/events/PLS

More seminars on research methods for Ph.D. students have been requested. Partial least squares regression (PLS regression) is a statistical method that bears some relation to principal components regression; instead of finding hyperplanes of minimum variance between the response and independent variables, it finds a linear regression model by projecting the predicted variables and the observable variables to a new space.

Location: Agora, University of Jyväskylä (Mattilanniemi 2, Jyväskylä)
Speaker: Dr. Jörg Henseler (Institute for Management Research, Radboud University Nijmegen)
Organiser: Mikko Siponen, University of Oulu

Register now before you book your summer vacations, and enjoy the seminar together with the beautiful summer milieu of Agora and Jyväskylä.

“Developing and Validating Process Theory”, 16-17 August 2012, Jyväskylä

Information and registration: http://inforte.jyu.fi/events/process_theory

“The course seeks to provide an encompassing view of the recent debates around the nature of process theory and its uses in the IS domain. The focus is on theories relevant for IS scholars that view change consisting of a set of discrete events and their sequences. To this end I will explore pertinent issues in such process theories and process theorizing using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. I also look at pivotal issues in IS research that draw upon this ontological stance like the nature of associated scientific knowledge and process theories, how related process theorizing relates to uses of different research methods, and issues of ontology and epistemology related to process accounts. We will examine the motivation, structure and logic of such process theories and discuss methodological issues related to their formulation and validation. Some specific areas of process theorizing are, however, not covered including longitudinal designs using panel data and related econometric models.”

Location: Agora, University of Jyväskylä (Mattilanniemi 2, Jyväskylä)
Speaker: Prof. Kalle Lyytinen (Iris S. Wollstein)
Organiser: Mikko Siponen, University of Oulu

“Software Patenting”, 21-22 August 2012, Tampere

Information and registration: http://inforte.jyu.fi/events/software-patenting
More information to be added closer to the event.

Location: Tietotalo (TB207), Tampere Univresity of Technology (Korkeakoulunkatu 1, Tampere)
Speakers: Dr. Shmuel Ur (Shmuel Ur Innovations), Harri Koivisto (Papula-Nevinpat)
Organiser: Mika Katara, Tampere University of Technology

“Social Network Analysis”, 13-14 September 2012, Helsinki

Information and registration: http://inforte.jyu.fi/events/social-network-analysis
More information to be added closer to the event.

Location: Helsinki
Speaker: Professor Molly Wasko (University of Alabama at Birmingham)
Organiser: Virpi Tuunainen, Aalto-University

“Contingency Management based on ICT”, 8-9 October 2012, Turku

Information and registration: http://inforte.jyu.fi/events/CM_ICT
More information to be added closer to the event.

Location: Turku
Speakers: Mayumi Hori (Hakuoh University), Masakazu Ohashi (Chuo University)
Organiser: Reima Suomi, University of Turku

 

TUCS GP travel report: EDCC 2012 by Inna Pereverzeva

 

News at http://tucs.fi

Publication Forum Project aims at quality classification of scientific publication channels, especially journals and book publishers, in all research fields. The project was launched in August 2010 at the initiative of the Universities Finland. It is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and is based in the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies. The Publication Forum Project rates publication channels in two categories: domestic and foreign scientific publication channels (level 1), and the leading scientific publication channels (level 2). The level 1 covers the central publication channels of domestic and foreign origin that meet the criteria of scientific publication channel. The level 2 covers the leading scientific publication channels, in which the researchers from different countries publish their best research. Each panel rates to the level 2 at most 20 % of the journals and series belonging to its area of research. This share is calculated from the number of publication channels on the panels list. A panel may also choose to classify 25% of the level 2 journals and series in its list to level 3 to mark out the world top publication channels in its field. The list of book publishers is shared by all panels (though it is of concern mainly to social science and humanities panels), and at most 100 publishers can be rated to level 2.

We will be launching from July 2nd a new feature in the TUCS input publication interface, where the users of our platform will be able to select the journal/conference publishing their article from the list of the Ministry of Education (if it is on the list) and get instant information on the level (number of points) of that publication forum. Once the new feature is launched online, the form fields for “publisher”, “conference”(new) and “journal” will be more intelligent. As you start typing the name into the field, a list of suggested matches will appear below the field. Once you have typed enough to distinguish the name you are writing, it will appear on the list and you can click it (or use the up and down arrow keys and enter) to auto-complete the name in the field. In cases of publication channels that are not on the 1–3 point lists, the name will not be on the list, and the list will disappear, once you have typed far enough for it to be distinguished from all names in the list, or you can press the esc-key to close the list. There is also an indicator to the right of the name field that shows the ranking of the publisher, conference or journal you have typed in the field.

The instructions on how to use these intelligent fields will also be found on the TUCS Publication Database User’s Guide, which we have already published! You can find the whole guide on our web site at TUCS > PUBLICATIONS > Publication Input Guide. Also the publication submission form has been embedded with info-icons, where you can click to open a popup window with the part of the guide describing the part of the form around the info-icon. Be sure not to have popups blocked from the TUCS web site on your browser, when you want to use this new feature.

Link: http://www.tsv.fi/julkaisufoorumi/

 

Courses on transferable skills at University of Turku

Continuous seminars & courses

First Article Language Checking Service
Time: 1.3.-31.12.2012- nb! summer break 15.6.-15.8.2012
Target group: PhD students at the University of Turku working on their first article for publication (in English)
Organizers: The University of Turku Language Centre and UTUGS
http://www.utu.fi/tutkimus/tutkijakoulu/LanguageChecking.html

Frontiers of Science Seminars
Time: on Thursdays at 12.00
Place: Mauno Koivisto Centre auditorium, BioCity (Tykistökatu 6, Turku)
Organizers: Biomaterials Research, Centre for Reproductive and Developmental Medicine, Diagnostic Technologies and Applications, Receptor Program, Systems Biology Program, Program for Infection Biology and Infectious Diseases, Doctoral Programmes participating in Turku BioNet
http://www.biocity.turku.fi/index.php?id=2042

Tieteen popularisointi – näin kerron tutkimuksestani (1 op)
Tohtorikoulutettava kirjoittaa väitöskirjatutkimuksestaan lyhyen (max. 4500 merkkiä) ja yleistajuisen jutun, luetuttaa tekstin ensin ohjaajallaan ja jatkaa tekstin työstämistä Suomen Akatemian tiedottajan Risto Alatarvaan kanssa. Valmis juttu julkaistaan Suomen Akatemian Tietysti.fi-sivustolla.
Järjestäjä: UTUGS ja Suomen Akatemia
Lisätietoja: Eeva Sievi (eeva.sievi-at-utu.fi, 040-1612970) ja Risto Alatarvas (risto.alatarvas-at-aka.fi, 040-828 0648)

'Suomen kielen klinikka' for international students and staff
Target group: all non-Finnish speakers at the university who already are at the level of being able to express themselves in written and oral Finnish (=B to C-level)
Further information: Markku Nikulin (marnik-at-utu.fi)
Organizer: suomen kielen oppiaine
http://www.utu.fi/tutkimus/tutkijakoulu/SuomenKielenKlinikka.pdf

MAY

TuBS PhD student Symposium 'Immunology, Neurobiology and Cancer - Personalized Science'
Time: 31.5.2012 (for details, see the programme)
Place: Mauno Koivisto Centre, BioCity, Turku
Registration: by Friday, April 13th 2012 via eRegistration
Organizers: TuBS PhD students
http://www.tubs.utu.fi/TuBS_PhD_symposium2012.pdf

 

Open jobs at University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University

University of Turku: http://www.utu.fi/ajankohtaista/avoimet/

Åbo Akademi University: https://www.abo.fi/personal/rekrytering

 

“A propos” from the Academy of Finland

The Academy of Finland has published the latest issue of its newsletter “A propos”. It can be read (in Finnish only) at http://suomenakatemia-apropos.mailpv.net/a/s/19673085-dec0ad68d78db64e20475aa555f3b3b0/220632

 

Latest publications at TUCS

Edited books:

Edited special issues of journals:

Articles in journals:

Articles in proceedings:

Chapters in edited books:

Technical reports: