Tübingen – Neuroscientists meet near the Neckar

The international Bernstein Conference Computational Neuroscience 2013 will be held from September 25th – 27th at the University of Tübingen. At the conference, the latest findings in neuroscience are presented and the Bernstein Award 2013 for young scientists is awarded. A science slam and a short film contest provide the general public an opportunity to learn about current issues in brain research.

How does the brain process information and create thoughts? This question is pursued by the interdisciplinary research area of Computational Neuroscience. About 500 scientists from the fields of biology, medicine, computer science, psychology, physics and mathematics are expected in Tübingen to discuss the latest findings in Computational Neuroscience.

On Wednesday September 25th, at 13:30 h, the conference will be opened with a “duet” lecture in the Neue Aula of the University of Tübingen (Geschwister-Scholl-Platz). Two neuroscientists from the New York University report on how they were able to gain new insights into information processing in the brain by a combination of theoretical and experimental research.

A highlight of the conference is the presentation of the Bernstein Award for Computational Neuroscience 2013 on Wednesday, September 25th, at 15:50 h. The award will be conferred by Dr. Christiane Buchholz from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and is followed by the keynote address of the winner. The award, which is endowed with 1,25 million euro, is one of the most attractive prizes for young neuroscientists. The prize money is provided over a period of five years, and enables outstanding junior scientists to establish an independent research group at a German research institution. Media representatives will have the chance to meet the laureate during a press conference before the award ceremony, which will take place at 12:30 h at Großer Senat of the Neue Aula.

The general public is offered an entertaining insight into the field of Computational Neuroscience during an evening event on Wednesday, September 25th, at 20:00 h, in the lecture hall 2 of the Neue Aula. During a “Science Slam”, scientists present their research in short talks and fight for the favor of the audience. At the end, the public audience selects the winner for the most successful presentation. Following the slam, there is the possibility of watching the short films of the “Neurovision Film Contest”. No registration is required for the public event, and admission is free. However, the number of places will be limited to 150 spectators.

The “Neurovision Film Contest” calls to visualize topics from brain research in short films, and will be held for the third time in connection with the Bernstein Conference. The film submissions will be judged by both the conference audience and a jury of scientists and journalists. Media representatives are invited to attend the award ceremony on Friday, September 27th, at 17:30 h, at Großer Festsaal of the Neue Aula.

During the scientific symposia of the Bernstein Conference and seven satellite workshops, 64 internationally renowned scientists will give lectures and about 250 scientists will present poster contributions. The conference is organized by a team led by Professor Matthias Bethge from the Bernstein Center Tübingen, at which scientists work together from the University of Tübingen, the University Hospital of Tübingen and the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics. The Bernstein Conference is the annual meeting of the Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience, which is funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). With this funding initiative, the BMBF has supported the new discipline of Computational Neuroscience since 2004 with over 170 million euros. The network is named after the German researcher Julius Bernstein, who provided the first biophysical explanation for the propagation of nerve signals.

Media representatives are cordially invited to the entire conference, the press conference, and the award ceremonies. More information can be obtained on the website www.bernstein-conference.de, and from the Bernstein Coordination Site in Freiburg (Mareike Kardinal: mareike.kardinal@bcos.uni-freiburg.de, Tel: +49 (0)761-2039585).

All dates at a glance:

For the interested public
• Science Slam & Neurovision Film Contest:
Wednesday, September 25th, 20:00 h, at Neue Aula, Lecture Hall 2
For journalists
• Press conference to the Bernstein Award:
Wednesday, September 25th, 12:30 h, at Neue Aula, Großer Senat
• Official opening & Bernstein Award Ceremony:
Wednesday, September 25th, 15:30 h, at Neue Aula, Festsaal
• Awards Neurovision Film Contest
Friday, September 27th, 17:30 h, at Neue Aula, Festsaal
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Matthias Bethge
University of Tübingen
Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN), and
Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics and
Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience
Phone +49 7071 29-89017
Email matthias [at] bethgelab.org