Connectionist Models Summer School

“连接主义”或“神经网络”这一跨学科领域，探索的是松散地模仿人类大脑的计算机系统。这些系统由大量简单的类似神经元的计算元素组成，表现出各种智能行为，包括识别视觉图像（例如，手写识别）、通过联想存储和记忆事实、控制复杂的机械系统（例如，机器人手臂）、理解自然语言和从经验中学习的能力。近年来，该领域经历了快速发展，现在正享受着普及的爆炸式增长，这在很大程度上是由于最近理论发展的快速进步和实际应用。联结主义为解决人工智能和模式识别中的复杂问题提供了一种可能的方法，而其他方法似乎都不可行。联结主义模型在现实世界中得到了成功的应用，并为解释人类认知和感知的各个方面开辟了新的可能性。该领域的研究需要在许多领域进行广泛而深入的训练——神经生物学、认知科学、理论基础、计算方法、工程应用和硬件实现。有些学生很幸运能在一两个领域接受领导的培训，但很少有人能获得所需的全面高质量培训。为此，我们组织了暑期学校，以培养顶尖的年轻研究人员，并鼓励跨学科的研究合作。这些暑期学校为研究生提供了一个紧张和刺激的机会，让他们沉浸在这个快速变化的领域的最新研究中。历届暑期学校的成功得到了广泛认可；它们在这个领域有着极其重要的催化作用。今天，该领域许多领先的年轻研究人员都参加了以前的暑期学校，他们的研究方向和贡献都受到了这一经历的影响。下一届暑期学校将于1993年6月21日至7月3日在科罗拉多州博尔德举行。1993年暑期学校的教师将由来自美国和加拿大的大约20名主要研究人员组成。65名研究生将通过竞争激烈的录取程序选出，参加为期12天的强化课程。这笔资金将允许根据研究生的优点和对该领域做出贡献的潜力来选择研究生。

The interdisciplinary field of "connectionism", or "neural networks," explores computer systems that are loosely modeled on the human brain. These systems, composed of large numbers of simple neuron-like computing elements, exhibit a variety of intelligent behaviors, including the ability to recognize visual images (e.g., handwriting recognition), store and remember facts by association, control complex mechanical systems (e.g., robot arms), understand natural language, and learn from experience. The field has experienced rapid growth in recent years and is now enjoying an explosion of popularity, due in large part to the rapid rate of advances and practical applications of recent theoretical developments. Connectionism provides a possible approach to solving complex problems in artificial intelligence and pattern recognition for which no other approaches appear viable. Connectionist models are being used successfully in the real world and have opened new possibilities for explaining aspects of human cognition and perception. Research in the field requires remarkably broad and deep training in a number of areas--neurobiology, cognitive science, theoretical foundations, computational methods, engineering applications, and hardware implementation. Some students are fortunate enough to receive training from leaders in one or two areas, but few if any have access to the full breadth of high-quality training required. For this reason, Summer Schools have been organized to train top young researchers and to encourage interdisciplinary research collaboration. These Summer Schools provide an intense and stimulating opportunity for graduate students to become immersed in the latest research in this fast-changing field. The success of the previous Summer Schools has been widely acknowledged; they have had an extremely important catalytic effect on the field. Many of the leading young researchers in the field today attended a previous Summer School, and their research directions and contributions were influenced by the experience. The next Summer School will be held in Boulder, Colorado from June 21 through July 3, 1993. The faculty of the 1993 Summer School will consist of approximately twenty leading researchers from the US and Canada. Sixty-five graduate students will be selected by a competitive admissions process for the 12-day intensive program. This funding will allow graduate students to be selected on the basis of merit and potential for contributing to the field.