Research Seminars
A number of groups within the School of Life Sciences and Department of Informatics run seminar series that are of interest to EASy members. Some talks, particularly from the 'Alergic' and 'Mind and Life' seminars are available for download as videos under the Creative Commons license.
Alergic
Alergic (Artificial life reading group in COGS) meetings are a regular internal seminar series, where presentations on recent work in Artificial Life and Adaptive behaviour research are given. About 200 people are on the Alergic mailing list, and audience numbers at seminars are typically in the range of 15 to 60 people. Alergic has weekly or fortnightly talks, usually in room 5c11 in Informatics, on wednesdays from 4.30 to 5.30pm. To be added to the Alergic email list, which is primarily of local Sussex interest, please notify Adrian Thompson.
The Mind and Life Seminars
A new philosophy seminar/reading/discussion group organized by members of
the CCNR but open to everyone will start meeting regularly on Wednesday
afternoons to discuss topics related to cognitive science, philosophy of
mind, phenomenology, psychology, robotics and philosophy of biology in a
relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The aim is to provide a constructive and
collective learning environment for the discussion of complex ideas at the
forefront of modern perspectives in the sciences and philosophies mind and
life. This will be done in a seminar-style meeting featuring
presentations, demonstrations, open discussion (and perhaps even practical
sessions). We also aim at facilitating dialogue and exploring possible
collaborations between people engaged in theoretical, modelling and
empirical work.
Topics of interest include: biological autonomy, enactive cognitive science,
dynamical systems approaches to cognition, interactions between science and phenomenology,
social cognition, developmental systems theory, novel approaches in AI and robotics,
life/mind continuity, emotions, embodiment, autopoiesis, constructivism,
history of AI, cybernetics, robotics, and cognitive science, phenomenological reduction
(practical issues).
COGS
COGS fosters interaction and collaboration among all those working in Cognitive Science at Sussex, including researchers and students in Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Linguistics, Neuroscience and Philosophy. It is a pioneering, internationally recognised centre for interdisciplinary investigation into the nature of cognition, be it natural or artificial.
BioInformatics and Vision
The BioInformatics and Vision Seminars are informal weekly sessions about new techniques, interesting papers or work in progress in bioinformatics, pattern recognition and vision. The series has a very wide remit across applications such as molecular biology, evolutionary techniques, computer vision and statistical pattern recognition. They are open to anyone, their aim is mainly to share expertise and to initiate discussions.
CogPhi
CogPhi is a University of Sussex Reading Group made up of postgraduates and faculty interested in the Philosophy of Cognitive Science. We meet at 3pm on Thursdays during term time and holidays in Pevensey 1, 2A1. Interested students and staff from all departments/disciplines are welcome.
E-Intentionality
e-in-TEN-tion-al-i-ty n: "We needed a name and deliberately didn't want to make it boring, like 'The Philosophy of AI and Cognitive Science Research Group Work in Progress Seminar'. We wanted it to help forge a common approach, without being too restrictive. We noticed that a lot of people's work had 'e-' words in them: 'evolutionary', 'embodied', 'experiential', 'externalist'.... As for 'intentionality', we wanted something that would circuMScribe all these things we're interested in, and systems that exhibit "aboutness" seemed a good take on this. But why did we really choose that name? Come and buy us a drink, and we'll tell you."
activate.d
The Dynamical Systems Approach to Life and Cognition (DSaLC for short) understands life and cognition as the ongoing coupling between agents and their environment. The aim of this reading group is to promote the discussion on how DSaLC tackles a range of topics. We have regular meetings twice a month, during term time, and organise other activities, including workshops and talks by invited speakers.
Philosophy Society
Everybody is welcome to come to the weekly Philosophy Society, which all Philosophy students are encouraged to attend. A talk is given by a visiting philosopher, or one of the Sussex tutors or students. This lasts for approximately one hour, and is followed by a further hour of discussion, which is then continued informally in the bar. These meetings are entertaining as well as instructive, and always well attended.
Centre for Study of Evolution
The CSE (Centre for the Study of Evolution) runs a weekly in-house seminar series where CSE members and invited guests present recent results of their own research or current advances in their field from the literature, in an informal atmosphere which encourages discussion and debate. All are welcome to join in.
Human-Centred Technology Group (HCT)
The seminars are directed towards a general HCI audience. In particular, one of the functions of these seminars is to inform non-specialists and graduate students about recent trends, ideas and results in some areas of HCI, learning technologies, or a closely related field.
Natural Language and Computational Linguistics
The "Natural Language & Computational Linguistics" (NLCL) seminar series.
Biology and Environmental Science
Seminars in the biology department. Research groups include: Centre for Environmental Research; Centre for Study of Evolution; Developmental Genetics; Genome Damage and Stability; Hearing Research; Learning and Memory; Plant Stress Unit; Sussex Centre for Neuroscience and Sussex Bat Research Group.
Informatics
Informatics departmental seminars
Psychology
Seminars and events by one of the largest Psychology departments in the UK.