[alife] ALife XI

[Titus Brown]

CALL FOR PAPERS: Artificial Life XI

The Eleventh International Conference on the Simulation and Synthesis
of Living Systems
5th - 8th August 2008, Winchester, UK
www.alifexi.org

Artificial life investigates the fundamental properties of living
systems through simulating and synthesizing biological entities and
processes in artificial media.  Summer 2008 will see the international
ALife conference hosted by the University of Southampton, UK, bringing
the meeting to Europe for the first time in its 21-year history.  Over
the last two decades, some of the highly speculative ideas that were
discussed at the field's inception have matured to the extent that new
conferences and journals devoted to them are being established:
synthesising artificial cells, simulating massive biological networks,
exploiting biological substrates for computation and control, and
deploying bio-inspired engineering are all now cutting-edge practice.
The ALife XI conference provides an opportunity for those working
across these topics to get together and exchange ideas and results.
To this end, the conference will present a selection of the best
current work in the field, highlight new directions for investigation,
and present high-profile keynote speakers.

Papers are welcome in all areas of the field, including:
Synthesis and origin of life, self-organization
Self-replication, artificial chemistries
Evolution and adaptation, evolutionary dynamics
Evolutionary games, coevolution
Development, differentiation, and regulation
Generative representations
Synthetic biology
Self-organizing technology, self-* computing
Computational ecosystems
Unconventional and biologically inspired computing
Bio-inspired robots and embodied cognition
Autonomous agents, evolutionary robotics
Collective behavior, communication, cooperation
Artificial consciousness; the relationship between life and mind
Philosophical, ethical, and cultural implications
Mathematical and philosophical foundations of ALife
New and creative syntheses

All authors are encouraged to explain how their work sheds light on
the fundamental properties of living systems and makes progress on the
important open questions identified at previous meetings.

The conference will be held in Winchester, a beautiful historic city
in southern England known for its 11th-century cathedral and
12th-century castle.  Winchester is set in forested countryside about
an hour southwest of London and Heathrow airport, and a few miles from
the host institution, the University of Southampton.

PAPER/ABSTRACT FORMAT
There are two options for submission: either full paper format or
abstract format.  Full papers have an 8 page maximum length, while
abstracts are limited to 500 words.  Every submission will be subject
to full peer review. All accepted submissions will be allocated a
30-minute oral presentation slot with no distinction being made
between the two submission formats.  All formatting guidelines
(including word and latex style files) and submission instructions
will be available on the conference submission webpage:
http://www.alifexi.org/submissions/.

PUBLICATION
Both full-paper and abstract submissions will be published by MIT
Press in a single online proceedings volume.  The best 15-20 papers
will have the opportunity to be published in special issues of the
journal Artificial Life.

IMPORTANT DATES
29 February 2008: Full paper submission deadline
18 April 2008: Notice of acceptance for full papers
25 April 2008: Abstract submission deadline
9 May 2008: Camera ready deadline
5-8 August 2008: Conference dates

ORGANIZATION
Seth Bullock (chair), Jason Noble, Richard Watson, Mark Bedau.
Host institution: School of Electronics and Computer Science,
University of Southampton, UK.

CONTACT
For further information about the conference program, travel,
accommodation, and local arrangements, please see the website
www.alifexi.org.  For questions about the submission and reviewing
process, please email submissions at alifexi.org.  For all other
questions, contact questions at alifexi.org.