NaBIC 2009 to Honor Outstanding Doctoral Dissertations

NaBIC 2009 will highlight the excellent research by doctoral candidates in the field of Nature and Biologically Inspired Computing. Both the winner and the runner up will be recognized at the opening ceremonies of the conference with a plaque and will have an opportunity to present a summary of their dissertations during one of the regular research sessions. In addition, the winner will receive an honorarium and free registration to the conference.

Eligibility
The final dissertation defense should take place by the submission deadline. The final dissertation defense must not have taken place prior to January 1st of the current calendar year (e.g. not prior to 2008 for the 2009 award). Nominations are limited to one doctoral dissertation per department or academic unit. Submissions must be received by the Chair of the Doctoral Dissertation Award Committee by the submission deadline (July 31, 2009). Each nominated dissertation must also have been successfully defended by the candidate, and the final version of each nominated dissertation must have been accepted by the candidate's academic unit. An English version of the dissertation must be submitted with the nomination.

Submission Procedure
All nomination materials must be submitted electronically to the Chair of the Doctoral Dissertation Award Committee. All nomination materials must be in English. PDF format is preferred for all materials. Late submissions will not be accepted. A nomination must include:

1.  A nomination letter, written by the dissertation advisor of the candidate. This letter must include full contact information for both the advisor and the nominee as well as a one- or two-page summary of the significance of the dissertation.
2. An endorsement letter signed by the department head.
3. One PDF copy of the doctoral dissertation.
4. The nomination may include up to two supporting letters from other individuals, discussing the significance of the dissertation.

Submission Deadline: September 30, 2009

Outstanding Doctoral Dissertations Award Committee
Andries Engelbrecht, University of Pretoria, South Africa (Chair)

Dipankar Dasgupta, The University of Memphis, USA (Co-chair)
Ivan Jordanov, University of Portsmouth, UK
S. G. Ponnambalam, Monash University, Malaysia
Gary Grewal, University of Guelph, Canada

Please submit a copy of the PDF copy of the doctoral dissertation through the following link

http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=nabicse2009

and all other documents as a zipped archive to Prof. Engelbrecht <engel@cs.up.ac.za> with a copy to <nabic.system@gmail.com>

NaBIC 2009 Best Paper Award

The Program Committee may designate up to three papers accepted to the conference as Best Papers as follows.

- Best Paper of the Conference

- Best Student Paper of the Conference

- Best Innovative Paper of the Conference

Each author on each of the selected papers will receive a certificate or plaque with the name of the award, the name of the paper, and the names of the authors of the paper and free registration and other gifts depending on the sponsors.

The main criterion for selection is the same as for being a top-rated paper in the conference: introduction of a strong new technique, solution of a long-standing open problem, introduction and solution of an interesting and important new problem, etc. These are the characteristics associated with giving a paper the highest score.  If a paper qualifies for the Best Student Paper Award, it should not be disqualified from being considered for the Best Paper Award, and vice versa; a paper meriting both Awards should be given both Awards.

Best Paper Award Committee
Ernesto Damiani, University of Milan, Italy (Chair)

Patrick Siarry, University Paris 12, France (Co-chair)

Ramon Sagarna, University of Burmingham, UK
Ying Tan, Peking University, China
Dominique Laurent, University Cergy-Pontoise, France
 

NaBIC 2009 Innovation Award

NaBIC Innovation Award is given to one individual or one group of collaborators who has made significant technical innovations in the field of Nature and Biologically Inspired Computing that have been transferred to practice in significant ways, or that have significantly influenced direction of research and development in the field.

Angelov, Plamen , University of Lancester, UK
Abdelhamid Bouchachia, University of Klagenfurt, Austria

Andri Riid, Estonia