PARIS
8-12 August 2011
Important dates in 2011
| Feb 21 | Workshop submission |
| Feb 28 | Workshop notification |
| Apr 17 | Paper submission |
| May 27 | Paper notification |
| June 14 | Camera-ready |
| June 14 | End of early rates |
| July 23 | End of standard rates |
| July 24 | Start of late rates |
| Aug 8-12 | Conference |
Organization
- René Doursat (general chair)
- Hugues Bersini
- Paul Bourgine
- Mario Giacobini (program chair)
- Tom Lenaerts (program chair)
- Marco Dorigo
Poster
Download the ECAL'11 poster by clicking on the image below:
Refocusing on biology and complex systems
Francisco Varela (1946-2001)
Welcome to ECAL 2011! Back then, in the early 1990's, the first two ECAL conferences in Paris and Brussels were mainly centered on theoretical biology and the physics of complex systems. Today, we feel that Alife can look back on these origins and take more inspiration from new developments at the intersection between computer science and theoretical biology—thus it is our wish to refocus the conference on complex biological systems. Closing a loop, this ECAL will mark the 20th anniversary of the 1st ECAL and will be framed as a tribute to the late Francisco Varela, co-organizer in 1991 with two of this year's committee members (Paul Bourgine, CREA, and Hugues Bersini, IRIDIA). We look forward to seeing you in Paris.
Keynote Speakers
Pioneers Panel Discussion
In addition to an exceptional selection of keynote speakers, the ECAL 2011 organizing committee is also thrilled to announce a 2-hour panel discussion involving several internationally renown pioneers of Artificial Life. They will talk about the most impressive achievements of Alife in the past, since inception of the field, and point to what they think are the most promising research directions for the future.
Art Exhibit & Performance
Inspiration, imagination and aesthetics are an integral part of science -- and they are of particular importance in the Alife community, which fuels some of the most creative and provocative research at the edge (of chaos) between biology and technology. Accordingly, ECAL 2011 has the great pleasure to welcome prominent visual artists and musicians (some of them scientists, too), who will showcase their exciting work in the exhibit rooms and the auditorium. Be ready for a unique stimulation of your mind, your various sensory modalities, and your sense of humor!
Satellite Workshops & Tutorials
The ECAL 2011 conference is pleased to give artificial life researchers the opportunity to organize satellite workshops and tutorials in two "bookend" sessions, on the first day (Monday 8 August) and last afternoon (Friday 12 August). Workshops and tutorials are dedicated to the same general topics as the main conference, while allowing for more focused interactions among participants. Fourteen proposals have been accepted.
Location
The conference will be held at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris. The Cité Internationale was created in the pacifist context of the 1920s to support exchanges among students of the whole world. It is located on a wooded park in the south of the French capital and represents the largest student housing and facilities in the Paris region (5,600 beds). The grounds of the Cité Internationale accommodate 40 residences, doubling as an outdoor exhibit of architecture. The eclecticism of the buildings expresses the diversity of the countries that contributed to their construction. Residences evoke the architecture of their country of origin (e.g., English colleges), others originate from the international modern movement (decorative arts, Le Corbusier).