ECSS09: Informatics among the sciences: Paris, 7-9 October

Informatics among the sciences: Paris, 7-9 October After Berlin and Zurich, the fifth edition of the European Computer Science Summit will take place in Paris on October 8-9, 2009, with a special workshop for new (and not so new) department heads on October 7 and the first ever ACM Europe award reception on October 8. ECSS (http://www.informatics-europe.org/ECSS09/) is focused on the place of Informatics is science, with the double theme Informatics among the Sciences Scientific principles in Informatics The speakers are an impressive group of world-class researchers who will present their latest advances and debate the future of the field. The president of the ACM, Wendy Hall (Southampton University), will discuss the importance of Web Science; Joseph Sifakis from CNRS, 2007 Turing Award, will talk about embedded systems; Georg Gottlob from Oxford University will explore the links between Logic and Informatics. As reflected in the conference theme, ECSS is not just about informatics but about its service to and relationship with the entire spectrum of modern science, where it plays an increasingly crucial role but also confronts ever more daunting challenges. The keynote speakers include experts from other disciplines such as Alain Berthoz from the Collège de France in Paris on the new frontiers between Informatics and Cognitive Neuroscience; Marko Tadic from Zagreb University on the latest contributions of Computer Science to Linguistics; and Alain Finkel from École Normale Supérieure on mental representations in Computer Science. Complementing these presentations by prestigious researchers from Academia, ECSS includes a wide range of contributions from industry and government. Keynoters include Mark Harris from Intel, Kahil Rouhana from the European (INFSO DG) and Yrjö Neuvo from the European Institut for Innovation and Technology who will present their views about the future role and the place of Computer Science in their own areas and engage in debate with the ECSS community. In addition to invited presentations, the ECSS program, prepared by the Program Committee under the direction of Antoine Petit, director of INRIA Rocquencourt, includes submitted contributions on topics of wide interest to the informatics community as well as panels and workshops, and presentations of Informatics Europe reports and initiatives. The Department Chair workshop on Oct. 7 is an opportunity for deans, department chairs, institute heads, provosts and other members of department or institute management to hone their skills, learn from others' experience and talk with their peers. As the experience of the 2008 session shows, the workshop is particularly rewarding to new chairs. The workshop will be opened by a keynote by Willy Zwaenepoel, dean of the School of Computer and Communication Sciences at EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne), formerly of Rice University. ECSS is also the venue for the official launch of ACM Europe, a new initiative of the ACM to recognize the contributions of European computer science and expand its services for European ACM members. The launch will occur as part of a special reception at ECSS on October 8, including the first ever ACM Award Ceremony outside of North America, honoring European Turing Award winners and ACM Fellows. It will be hosted by the ACM President, Professor Dame Wendy Hall from the University of Southampton and the Chair of the ACM Europe Council, Fabrizio Gagliardi from Microsoft Research Europe, and will be attended by many luminaries of computer science. ECSS is the yearly conference of Informatics Europe, the association of European computer science and IT departments (http://www.informatics-europe.org) . The mission of Informatics Europe is to foster the development of quality research and teaching in information and computer sciences. Informatics Europe currently has 52 members including university departments and technology companies. For information about Informatics Europe and ECSS please visit the above Web sites. The deadline for early and discounted ECSS registration is September 15.null