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Twenty-Second Annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems 

You are invited to participate in the Twenty-Second Annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, which is the premier scientific meeting on Neural Computation.

The NIPS Conference, Symposia and Tutorial Program will be held at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver, in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

The NIPS Conference features a single track program, with contributions from a large number of intellectual communities. Presentation topics include: Algorithms and Architectures; Applications; Brain Imaging; Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence; Control and Reinforcement Learning; Emerging Technologies; Learning Theory; Neuroscience; Speech and Signal Processing; and Visual Processing.  All papers are rigorously reviewed. The Conference begins on Monday, December 8, 2008 with Poster and Demo Sessions and an opening night banquet.

A new feature on the NIPS schedule this year is four Mini Symposia to be held in parallel during Thursday afternoon of December 11, 2008 at the Hyatt Vancouver. The Mini Symposia will provide in depth explorations of current topics in a format that is less formal than a plenary session but more structured than a workshop. See the topics and speakers here. Attendence at the Mini-Symposia will be open to anyone who is registered for the main NIPS Conference or the NIPS Workhsop in Whistler.

A one-day Tutorial Program will take place on Monday, December 8, 2008 prior to the opening of the Conference.  The program will offer a choice of six two-hour tutorials by leading scientists. The topics span a wide range of subjects including Neuroscience, Learning Algorithms and Theory, Bioinformatics, Image Processing, and Data Mining.

The Poster Sessions will take place Monday through Wednesday evenings, December 8 – 10, 2008, during the Conference.  The sessions offer high-quality posters and an opportunity for researchers to share their work and exchange ideas in a collegial setting.  The majority of contributions accepted at NIPS are presented as posters.

The Demonstrations component of the Conference takes place on Tuesday, December 9 and Wednesday, December 10, 2008 between 7:30 p.m. and midnight. It enables researchers to highlight scientific advances, systems, and technologies in ways that go beyond conventional poster presentations. It provides a unique forum for demonstrating advanced technologies — both hardware and software — and fostering the direct exchange of knowledge.

The Post-Conference Workshop Program takes place in Whistler, B.C. at the Westin Resort and Spa and the Hilton Whistler Resort and Spa Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13, 2008. There will be between 15 and 20 workshops covering a wide range of topics from Neuroscience to Machine Learning.  The workshop program schedule allows time for informal discussions, skiing and other winter sports.

2008 NIPS Poster