Meetings

Those of you interested in the intersection of
software engineering and data mining tools would find the
following relevant.  Foolow the URL for details.

Wray Buntine
============

Call for Participation in NIPS*2000 Workshop
	ON  Software Support for Bayesian Analysis Systems
	AT  Breckenridge, Colorado, December 1/2, 2000
URL: http://ase.arc.nasa.gov/nips2000

ABSTRACT:

Bayesian Analysis or Probability Modeling is an established technique
for many data analysis applications. The development of application
software for any specific analysis problem, however, is a difficult
and time-consuming task. Programs must be tailored to the specific
problem, need to represent the given statistical model correctly, and
should preferably run efficiently.  Over the last ten years, a variety
of different libraries, shells, and synthesis systems for Bayesian
data analysis has been implemented which are intended to simplify
application software development. The goal of this workshop is to
bring together developers of such generic Bayesian, neural, or
statistical software packages and tools together with the developers
of generic algorithm schemas (more recent ones amenable to automated
effort include Structural EM, Fisher Kernel method, mean-field, etc.),
and software engineering experts. It is intended as a forum to discuss
and exchange the different technical approaches as for example usage
of libraries, interpretation and visualization of statistical models,
or more automated software construction, e.g., component-oriented
programming or software synthesis based on generic algorithm schemas.
The workshop discusses the potential and problems of generic tools for
the development of efficient data analysis software tailored towards
specific applications.