E-LETTER on Systems, Control, and Signal Processing ISSUE No. 10, 25 April 1988 Editors: Bradley W. Dickinson Dept. of Electrical Engineering Princeton University Princeton, NJ 08544 bradley@princeton.edu Eduardo D. Sontag Dept. of Mathematics Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 08903 sontag@fermat.rutgers.edu (arpanet) or sontag@pisces (bitnet) Welcome to the tenth issue of the E-LETTER. We remind you that items for posting can be emailed to either of the editors. PLEASE SEND CONTRIBUTIONS, since the eletter can only be useful if everyone participates! Back issues of the newsletter can be requested from Sontag at either of the above addresses. NOTE: if you are using an editor to read this mailing (for instance, gnuemacs running the rmail command,) and if at any point you wish to skip to the next article, you can accomplish this by searching for the string: *.* *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.* CHANGES TO MAILING LIST The following are changes to the mailing list which was included with issue #2. An up-to-date copy of the complete list can be obtained from sontag@fermat.rutgers.edu. As usual, you may have to adjust the format depending on your mailer. Here we mix uucp, csnet, and arpanet formats. Corrected and updated addresses: crowley@hqafsc-vax.arpa (Jim Crowley) bengt%mond@ubrinf (Bengt Martensson) venu@uicsl.csl.uiuc.edu (Venugopal V. Veeravalli) gersho%abacus@hub.ucsb.edu (Allen Gersho) allegra!houxa!milito (Rodolfo Milito) fmatl9@irishmvs.bitnet (Yih-Fang Huang) kassam@pender.seas.upenn.edu (Saleem Kassam) trant@tekgvs.tek.com (Tran Thong) ycj@tekgvs.tek.com (Y.C. Jenq) vaccaro%ecl1.span@star.stanford.edu (Rick Vaccaro) New addresses: mh@lafite.bellcore.com (Mike Honig) pmc@thumper.bellcore.com (Pedro Crespo) wekowe@bellcore.com (Victor Wei) adaptive!shynk@hub.ucsb.edu (John Shynk) allegra!alice!srq (Schuyler Quackenbush) rmm%gteedsp@gatech.edu (Russell Mersereau) mcclella%gteedsp@gatech.edu (Jim McClellan) sebald@ucsd.edu (A. V. Sebald) faron!rg@mitre-bedford.arpa (Richard Games) lkg@tesla.ee.cornell.edu (Lov Grover) cao@decwrl.dec.com (Xi-Ren Cao) ackner@rascals.stanford.edu (Reuven Ackner) steve@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Steve Christensen) t-elfving@linnea.liu.se (Tommy Elfving) herman@cis.upenn.edu (Gabor T. Herman) wieselth@nrl-css.arpa (Jeffrey Wieselthier) nehorai@yalevms.bitnet (Arye Nehorai) roy%thor@hub.ucsb.edu (Sumit Roy) didi%mond@ubrinf (Diedrich Hinrichsen) rohlicek@bbn.com (Robin Rohlicek) bobby@hot.caltech.edu (Bobby Bodenheimer) zenios@wharton.upenn.edu (Stavros A. Zenios) *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.* >From delliott@note.nsf.gov (Dave Elliott) The following is an official NSF announcement that may be of interest: National Science Foundation Division of International Programs Japan Initiative Fact Sheet In an effort to increase the number of U.S. researchers doing work in Japan, the National Science Foundation (NSF) began implementing its "Japan Initiative" in 1988. The goals of the Initiative are: to increase the number of scientists and engineers in the U.S. who can operate with ease in Japan's research community and follow developments in the Japanese science and engineering literature, to increase American recognition of the potential benefits of cooperative research with Japanese institutions, and to build relations between the U.S. and Japanese research communities. NSF will accomplish these goals in the following ways: 1. Provide funds for scientists and engineers to undertake long-term research stays (six to fifteen months) in Japan. Recipients of long-term research grants will receive a monthly stipend, round-trip airfare (for themselves and up to three dependents) to Japan, and a modest dependent's allowance. Although the program is primarily aimed at scientists and engineers embarking on their research careers, it also will consider proposals from senior researchers for sabbaticals or other long-term research visits to Japan. 2. Provide fellowships for scientists and engineers at the graduate, post-graduate, and senior levels to study the Japanese language; help develop better curricula and course materials for teaching Japanese to such students. NSF will support Japanese language study aimed at facilitating a researcher's stay in Japan or developing the ability to read Japanese technical literature. The application deadlines are May 15, October 15, and December 15; NSF program announcement 88-10 gives further details. NSF will also accept proposals to develop improved course materials for teaching technical Japanese. 3. Identify and secure opportunities for American researchers at Japanese research institutes, including corporate facilities. NSF will assist U.S. researchers in arranging long-term stays at Japanese laboratories. The NSF office in Tokyo will continue to elicit commitments from Japanese companies to accept qualified American researchers. That office can also contact Japanese labs, both national and private, to facilitate replies to applications from U.S. scientists and engineers. 4. Fund survey teams to visit Japan, to report on the state of the art in specific disciplines, with an emphasis on opportunities offered in Japan for U.S. researchers to advance their work. NSF's International Information and Analysis section (INT/I&A) accepts proposals to collect information on the state of research abroad on selected topics. See I&A's separate brochure (NSF 87-67) for details. The 1988 budget for all four parts of the program is $800,000. NSF hopes to send ten to fifteen researchers in the first year, and plans gradually to expand the long-term fellowship program. Language fellowships could number 40 or 50 in the first year and increase to twice that number. For further information, contact NSF at the following address: Division of International Programs National Science Foundation Washington, D.C. 20550 Attn: Japan Initiative, Room 1208 Tel: (202) 357-9558 Electronic mail: cwallace@note.nsf.gov *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.* >From crowley@hqafsc-vax.arpa (Maj. James M. Crowley) The Department of Defense has announced a fiscal year 1988 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program, similar to those of past years. Details on the equipment grants and how to make proposals are described in the brochure "Defense University Research Instrumentation Program" which was mailed to all university business offices. This program will be administered through the Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency. The program is designed to provide funds for the acquisition of research equipment. Proposals are sought for instrumentation in the $50,000 to $1,000,000 range. Past awards averaged $135,000. Note that while ARO, ONR, AFOSR, and DARPA are jointly participating in this program, ONR will serve as the collection point for all proposals; they will forward it to the designated agency. Deadlines. Funds are for fiscal year 88. Thus the deadlines are rather short: proposals must be received by 31 May 1988. For further details, consult the announcement/ brochure which was sent to your university. If you have questions or don't have access to the announcement, you should call the Program Manager in your area of research at any of the participating agencies. James M Crowley, Maj, USAF (202) 767-5025 crowley@hqafsc-vax.arpa *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.* >From sebald@ucsd.edu (Tony Sebald). Two faculty position announcements. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION PROFESSOR POSITION AVAILABLE The Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences is seeking a distinguished individual to fill a position at the full Professor level in the Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences Department (AMES). UCSD intends to establish an academic and research program in Robotics and Automation. The individual sought will be expected to provide a leadership role in developing this new program and work in concert with other faculty members. Research focus in intelligent control of complex systems is especially attractive. Examples of appropriate specialties would include design of image based systems, control of discrete event processes, neurocomputing, implications of systems architecture and various communication protocols on the design of decentralized systems. Examples of campus-related activities that suggest the need for a focused program include work in prosthetics at associate medical facilities, space-related work at the Cal Space Institute and undersea autonomous vehicle applications at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Duties associated with the position include developing and conducting a program of scholarly research, supervising student programs of study and research at the graduate level, teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, establishing appropriate laboratories to support the teaching and research programs, and participating in the administrative functions of the University. Qualifications include an earned PhD in an appropriate discipline, internationally recognized credentials in Robotics, well-established leadership abilities, demonstrated experience in the procurement and management of extramurally funded research projects, and teaching experience. Applicants at all professional levels may be considered. Salary and rank commensurate with qualifications based upon UC pay scales. Applicants should respond with a sufficiently detailed resume ("Immigration status of Non-citizen should be stated in the resume") to support the position requisites and the names of at least five references to: Professor A. V. Sebald, Chairman, Robotics Search Committee Position F6 Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences B-010 University of California, San Diego La Jolla, California 92093 Applications received by July 1, 1988 will receive full consideration. University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer --------------------------------- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION ASSISTANT PROFESSOR POSITION AVAILABLE The Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences is seeking a promising individual to fill a position at the assistant Professor level in the Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences Department (AMES). UCSD intends to establish an academic and research program in Robotics and Automation. The individual sought will be expected to assist in developing this new program and work in concert with other faculty members. Research focus in intelligent control of complex systems is especially attractive. Examples of appropriate specialties would include design of image based systems, control of discrete event processes, neurocomputing, implications of systems architecture and various communication protocols on the design of decentralized systems. Examples of campus-related activities that suggest the need for a focused program include work in prosthetics at associate medical facilities, space-related work at the Cal Space Institute and undersea autonomous vehicle applications at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Duties associated with the position include developing and conducting a program of scholarly research, supervising student programs of study and research at the graduate level, teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, assisting in the establishment of appropriate laboratories to support the teaching and research programs, and participating in the administrative functions of the University. Qualifications include an earned PhD in an appropriate discipline and evidence of research potential. Applicants at all professional levels may be considered. Salary and rank commensurate with qualifications based upon UC pay scales. Applicants should respond with a sufficiently detailed resume ("Immigration status of Non-citizen should be stated in the resume") to support the position requisites and the names of at least five references to: Professor A. V. Sebald, Chairman, Robotics Search Committee Position A6 Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences B-010 University of California, San Diego La Jolla, California 92093 Applications received by July 1, 1988 will receive full consideration. University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.* >From spong@uicsl.csl.uiuc.edu (Mark W. Spong) CALL FOR PAPERS TWENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL ALLERTON CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATION, CONTROL, AND COMPUTING SEPTEMBER 28-30, 1988 The Twenty-Sixth Annual Allerton Conference on Communication, Control, and Computing will be held September 28-30, 1988 at Allerton House, Monticello, Illinois, the conference center of the University of Illinois. Topics: communication systems, information theory and coding, detection and estimation, stochastic processes, communication networks, control systems, adaptive control, optimization, dynamic games, large scale systems, robotics and automation, manufacturing systems, signal and image processing, combinatorial and geometric algorithms, computational complexity, parallel and distributed computation, VLSI algorithms, testing, and fault-tolerant computing. Professor Jack Keil Wolf of the University of California at San Diego will present a plenary lecture on ``New Results for Magnetic and Optical Recording Channels.'' Submit, for regular papers (20 min.), a title and a five to ten page extended abstract; for short papers (10 min.), a title and a thousand word summary to: Allerton Conference, c/o Professor M. W. Spong University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Coordinated Science Laboratory, 1101 West Springfield Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801. spong@uicsl.uiuc.edu Telephone: (217)333-4281 Deadline: July 15, 1988. Notification by August 25, 1988. PROCEEDINGS to include regular papers in full (10 pages) and two-page abstracts of short papers. *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.* >From the Editors. Two calls for papers. 1989 International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Portland, Oregon, May 9-11, 1989. Papers describing original work in all aspects of circuits and systems are invited. Four copies of a 400 word, 1 page summary of the paper, which clearly describes the salient concepts and the novel features of the work, should be sent to Prof. Andreas Antoniou, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, CANADA by October 1, 1988. Proposals for special sessions may be submitted to Prof. Vijai Tripathi, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR, 97331 by October 1, 1988. For further information contact the General Chairman, Dr. Tran Thong, Tektronix, Inc., P.O. Box 500, MS 50-370, Beaverton, OR, 97077; email: trant@tekgvs.tek.com telex: 151754 20th Japan Association of Automatic Control Engineers Symposium on Stochastic Systems Theory and Its Applications, Mita Press, Osaka, Japan, November 16-18, 1988. The aim of this symposium is to provide a forum for discussion of recent advances in stochastic processes, stochastic systems, and their practical applications. Date for receipt of abstracts: June 10, 1988. For information, write to The 20th SSS Secretariat, Division of Control Sciences, Dept. of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606, Japan. *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.* >From grossman@cartan.berkeley.edu (Bob Grossman) Meeting announcement. AI and Discrete Event Control Systems July 7 and 8, 1988 NASA-Ames Research Center Moffett Field, California The conference will consist of hour long talks, each followed by a half hour of discussion. The following is a list of speakers: Hamid Berenji, NASA-Ames Research Center The Role of Approximate Reasoning in AI-based Control Peter Caines, McGill University Dynamical Logic Observers for Finite Automata, Part 1 James Demmel, Courant Institute Hierarchical Control Studies in Dextrous Manipulation Using the Utah/MIT Hand Russel Greiner, University of Toronto Dynamical Logic Observers for Finite Automata, Part 2 Michael Heymann, Israel Institute of Technology tba Robert Hermann, NASA-Ames Research Center Input-Output Maps and Partially Ordered Structures Peter Ramadge, Princeton University Discrete Event Systems, Modeling and Complexity Stan Rosenschein, CSLI, Stanford University Real Time AI Systems Gerry Sussman, MIT tba For more information: Robert Grossman (415) 642-8196 Department of Mathematics grossman@cartan.berkeley.edu University of California, Berkeley grossman@ucbcarta.bitnet Berkeley, CA 94720 *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.* >From shore@wrl.EPI.COM (John Shore) New product announcements available. Entropic Processing, Inc. has information about two new products available upon request. The first one is Entropic Signal Processing System (ESPS), a UNIX-based signal processing software package, currently available for Sun 3, Masscomp, and Convex computers. The second is a family of Digital Audio Processor Interfaces (DAPIs); this equipment provides professional quality switching, amplification, attenuation, and filtering required when connecting digital data acquisition equipment (A/D, D/A) to audio or telephone equipment. Contact: Entropic Processing, Inc. Washington Research Laboratory 600 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E., Suite 202 Washington, D.C. 20003 (202-547-1420) esps@wrl.epi.com (for ESPS information) dapi@wrl.epi.com (for DAPI information) *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.* End of issue 10.