[alife] ECAL 2007 Workshop on Machine Epigenesis -- *** Submission Deadline Extended ***

[Hiroki Sayama]

(Apologies if you received multiple copies)


*** Submission Deadline Extended ***

ECAL 2007 Workshop on Machine Epigenesis
Lisbon, Portugal
September 10, 2007
Website: http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~sayama/ME2007/


We would like to announce that the paper submission deadline for the
ECAL 2007 Workshop on Machine Epigenesis has been extended as follows:

Paper submission deadline:   ** May  18, 2007 **
Notification of acceptance:  ** June  1, 2007 **
Camera-ready submissions:    ** June 15, 2007 **


The revised CFP is attached. We will look forward to your submission!

Best regards,
William R. Buckley
Hiroki Sayama


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



[[[[ CALL FOR PAPERS - EXTENDED SUBMISSION DEADLINE ]]]]

ECAL 2007 Workshop on Machine Epigenesis
Lisbon, Portugal
September 10, 2007
Website: http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~sayama/ME2007/


[[Motivation and Topics]]

Creating a machine that exhibits life-like behavior has been the very
core motivation of Artificial Life since its onset.  Self-replication
has remained the prime study since von Neumann, however, biological
systems show a far wider range of generative hehavior, including
differentiation and morphogenesis of multicellular structures from a
single zygote, and adaptive de-differentiation and regeneration of
parts in case of system failure.  These characters remain largely
missing in manmade, engineered systems, as well indicated by the late
John Maynard-Smith in his writing:

"One reason why we find it so hard to understand the development of
form may be that we do not make machines that develop: often we
understand biological phenomena only when we have invented machines
with similar properties... [and] we do not make 'embryo' machines ..."
              - John Maynard-Smith, The Problems of Biology (1986)

The Workshop on Machine Epigenesis aims to address this issue -- the
means, methods and models of machine epigenesis.  It is expected to
establish a field of research on any constructional and epigenetic
processes of machines and to initiate a collective effort of
formalization of models of such epigenetic machines.  Here a "machine"
is broadly construed to include abstract automata, electro-mechanical
devices, molecular structures, and any other physical or informational
instantiation. Topics to be covered in the workshop include (but are
not limited to):

- Formal theories and abstract models of machine epigenesis
- Theories of universal and non-universal constructors
- Physical implementation of epigenetic machines
- Self-replicating and self-repairing machines
- Self-organization in modular and swarm robots
- Biological analogs relevant to the realization of machine epigenesis
- Philosophical and ethical issues in creating epigenetic machines
- Extending the mechanist model of living systems - philosophy


[[Format]]

The workshop will be organized to provide an open opportunity for
participation by any person engaged in relevant research, or who may
have relevant opinion, all presented within the framework of an open
forum discussion.  During the discussion each submitted paper will be
briefly presented in an informal setting (typically in 5~10 minutes)
and then examined and debated.  While the debate will take place
between those researchers who submit papers, audience participation
will be facilitated, primarily through comments and questions.


[[Paper Submission]]

Readers are invited to submit a paper on original research or
discussion on any aspect of machine epigenesis.  Papers should be
formatted following the guidelines for the ECAL 2007 proceedings
(http://www.ecal2007.org/submissions.htm).  Papers should not exceed
10 pages in length and must be made in PDF format.

Papers should be submitted electronically by email addressed to both
the program chairs.  Submitted papers will be reviewed and judged by
the Programme Committee members based on their relevance to the
workshop and conference, originality, clarity of the presentation, and
overall quality.


[[Important Dates]]

Paper submission deadline:   May  18, 2007
Notification of acceptance:  June  1, 2007
Camera-ready submissions:    June 15, 2007


[[Proceedings]]

Accepted papers will be included in the Workshop Proceedings CD-ROM
that will be distributed to all ECAL 2007 attendees.  Workshop
participants shall have the opportunity to publish an expanded paper
in a special issue of the International Journal of Unconventional
Computing.


[[Program Chairs]]

William R. Buckley (California Evolution Institute)
Hiroki Sayama (Binghamton University, SUNY)


[[Program Committee]]

Andrew Adamatzky (Univertisy of the West of England, UK)
William R. Buckley (California Evolution Institute, USA)
Gregory Chirikjian (Johns Hopkins University, USA)
Pavel O. Luksha (Mandarin-Invest / Exelance, Russia)
Barry McMullin (Dublin City University, Ireland)
Chrystopher Nehaniv (University of Hertfordshire, UK)
Ferdinand Peper (NICT/KARC, Japan)
Hiroki Sayama (Binghamton University, USA)
Wei-Min Shen (University of Southern California, USA)
Jacqueline Signorini (Universite de Paris VIII, France)
Gianluca Tempesti (University of York, UK)


[[Contacts]]

William R. Buckley, Chair
California Evolution Institute
Phone: +1-415-793-7102
Email: wrb at calevinst.org

Hiroki Sayama, Co-Chair
Department of Bioengineering
Binghamton University, State University of New York
Phone: +1-607-777-4439
Email: sayama at binghamton.edu


-- 
Hiroki Sayama, D.Sc.
Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering
Binghamton University, State University of New York
P.O. Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000
Tel 607-777-4439, Fax 607-777-5780
Email: sayama at binghamton.edu
Web: http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~sayama/