FBTC 2008
A Satellite Workshop of ICALP 2008
July 12, 2008, Reykjavik, Iceland
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Program Committee
Invited Speaker
Carolyn Talcott Workshop Email
fbtc2008 AT mcs.le.ac.uk Workshop Organizers
Nicola Cannata
Irek Ulidowski |
Aim:
In computational theory, several formal approaches make use of biology as inspiration
for the development of problem solving techniques. Most of them are taken from complex,
inherently concurrent, systems. Some examples of "biologically inspired computing"
are artificial immune systems, cellular automata, genetic algorithms, membrane computing,
neural networks, organic computing, swarm intelligence.
On the other hand, concurrency has itself begun to inspire an emerging research area in Biology. Regev and Shapiro coined in 2002 the Cells-as-Computation metaphor as the "much-needed abstraction for biomolecular systems". Computers and biomolecular systems both start from a small set of elementary components from which, layer by layer, more complex entities are constructed with evermore sophisticated functions. In computational systems biology, the abstractions, tools and methods used to specify and study concurrent and distributed systems can therefore be naturally adopted to model and better understand the complex biomolecular systems. In this workshop we intend to explore this "cross-fertilization" between computational sciences and biology, with a special attention to concurrent models in biology and formal foundations in bio-inspired computing. Concurrency theory permits hypotheses generation and testing. Models can therefore be simulated, analyzed, checked and validated. A growing "arsenal" of theoretical models, logics, and tools for understanding concurrent systems has been developed. We recognize that concurrency permeates not only computer systems but also nature and living organisms. We can find concurrency at the molecular level as well as at those of cells, organs, individuals, communities and ecological systems. Also, biologically inspired computing could benefit from concurrency theory. Specific topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
History: The first edition of the workshop, FBTC2007, took place in Lisbon on 8 September 2007 as a satellite event of CONCUR 2007. It was organized by Nicola Cannata and Emanuela Merelli. Thirteen papers were submitted, of which ten were selected by the Program Committee to be presented at the workshop. An invited lecture was given by Prof. David Harel, of The Weizmann Institute of Science, titled On the Benefits of Viewing Biological Artifacts as Concurrent Reactive Systems. Approximately thirty participants attended the workshop. The final version of the proceedings will appear as a volume in the ENTCS series. Paper submission: We solicit unpublished papers reporting on original research on the topics of interest of FBTC workshops. The title and the abstract of each paper should be sent to the email address of the workshop by Wednesday 19 of March, and papers should be submitted via EasyChair by Sunday 30 of March 2008. Prospective authors may need to register with EasyChair first if they do not have an account there yet. Papers should take the form of a pdf file in ENTCS format, whose length should not exceed 15 pages. Please follow the instructions for downloading the correct prentcsmacro.sty file for FBTC 2008. If necessary, detailed proofs of technical results and other additional information can be included in a clearly-labelled "Appendix for referees". This is in addition to 15 pages stated above; and the material may be read at the discretion of the PC but will be included in the final version of the paper. Submissions from the PC members are allowed.
Proceedings: Bound preliminary proceedings will be available at the meeting. The final proceedings of the workshop will appear as a volume in the ENTCS series. Important (Revised) Dates:
Sponsors:
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