Events & Calls for Paper

Join us for the third IRiS Ignite! This event is a biennial conference that re-imagines the traditional academic conference to forge novel connections and stimulate new interdisciplinary conversations on the broad topic of sensing, including work on perception, sensor technology development, and ethical innovations in sensing research. We aim to bring together scholars, innovators, artisans, and entrepreneurs from across disciplines, including engineering, psychology, biology, philosophy, chemistry, medicine, physics, ethics, the humanities, and the fine and performing arts.

IRiS Ignite will be composed of an integrated program that places scientific research alongside scholarship in the humanities, and artistic performances alongside work in the social sciences. By co-locating these diverse perspectives, we hope to foster new ideas, unexpected connections, and support holistic innovation.  

Inspiration for IRiS Ignite comes from the IRiS Alloy Discussion Series, a monthly gathering around a specific topic pertaining to sensing. We have seen firsthand how moments of unexpected insight arise when people connect across disciplines through open exploration of a common topic.

The IRiS Annual Event will include two invited plenary talks, a program of 15-minute lectures, a poster session, an art exhibition, and musical performances.

We encourage you to be creative in your contributions to this event. We have deliberately avoided topic suggestions because we want to encourage imagination and creativity. Anything that has a relationship to sensing or perception is welcome! There are no restrictions: artists are invited to present research, and scientists are welcome to share poetry. Come with an open mind, and be ready for inspiration and new ideas.

Regular tickets cost $45, and student/postdoc tickets cost $25. Registration comes with free refreshments at breaks and a meal for both days. Students participating in the poster session will be considered for a number of awards. Abstract submission closes on Wednesday, September 7th at 5 PM EST. Registration deadline is September 25th at 5PM EST. In-person registration will be available at an increased price.

Contributed Presentation Options

• Lecture: 12-minute talks with a 3-minute Q&A
• Performance: artistic, musical, and poetic performances
• Poster: an open-hall poster session will take place during a 1.5-hour period
• Visual art: displays will be intermixed with academic posters at the poster session

Join us for the third IRiS Ignite! This event is a biennial conference that re-imagines the traditional academic conference to forge novel connections and stimulate new interdisciplinary conversations on the broad topic of sensing, including work on perception, sensor technology development, and ethical innovations in sensing research. We aim to bring together scholars, innovators, artisans, and entrepreneurs from across disciplines, including engineering, psychology, biology, philosophy, chemistry, medicine, physics, ethics, the humanities, and the fine and performing arts.

IRiS Ignite will be composed of an integrated program that places scientific research alongside scholarship in the humanities, and artistic performances alongside work in the social sciences. By co-locating these diverse perspectives, we hope to foster new ideas, unexpected connections, and support holistic innovation.  

Inspiration for IRiS Ignite comes from the IRiS Alloy Discussion Series, a monthly gathering around a specific topic pertaining to sensing. We have seen firsthand how moments of unexpected insight arise when people connect across disciplines through open exploration of a common topic.

The IRiS Annual Event will include two invited plenary talks, a program of 15-minute lectures, a poster session, an art exhibition, and musical performances.

We encourage you to be creative in your contributions to this event. We have deliberately avoided topic suggestions because we want to encourage imagination and creativity. Anything that has a relationship to sensing or perception is welcome! There are no restrictions: artists are invited to present research, and scientists are welcome to share poetry. Come with an open mind, and be ready for inspiration and new ideas.

Regular tickets cost $45, and student/postdoc tickets cost $25. Registration comes with free refreshments at breaks and a meal for both days. Students participating in the poster session will be considered for a number of awards. Abstract submission closes on Wednesday, September 7th at 5 PM EST. Registration deadline is September 25th at 5PM EST. In-person registration will be available at an increased price.

Contributed Presentation Options

• Lecture: 12-minute talks with a 3-minute Q&A
• Performance: artistic, musical, and poetic performances
• Poster: an open-hall poster session will take place during a 1.5-hour period
• Visual art: displays will be intermixed with academic posters at the poster session

A Population Doctrine in Neuroscience Workshop

We are pleased to announce an interdisciplinary 2-day workshop held at the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. The workshop will focus on topics related to a shift in neuroscience from the investigation of single neurons to populations of neurons. The investigation of single neurons has been supported by the so-called neuron doctrine, which posits the neuron as the fundamental structural and functional unit of the nervous system. As the focus moves away from single neurons and toward populations of neurons, some have called for a new, population doctrine. But the conceptual and methodological commitments of a potential population doctrine, as well as its significance, remain under explored.

The goal of the workshop is to arrive at an interdisciplinary perspective on the nature and significance of the population doctrine and its relation to what came before. In particular, we aim to bring neuroscientists, philosophers, and historians together to answer the following questions:

-What is the population doctrine? How is it related to the neuron doctrine?

-What are the conceptual, explanatory, ontological, and methodological commitments of the population doctrine? For example,

-Are population level measures and analyzes simply providing a more compact representation of neural activity or are they providing unique insights that are not otherwise accessible?

-What are the explanatory advantages of population measures over single-unit measures?

-Does the form of explanation change or is the population doctrine just “more of the same”?

Keynote Speakers:

• Rosa Cao (Stanford University)
• Rafael Yuste (Columbia University)