re : epia ' 97 - call for participation call for participation epia ' 97 8th portuguese conference on artificial intelligence university auditorium , coimbra , portugal october 6 - 9 , 1997 under the auspices of the portuguese association for artificial intelligence the 8th portuguese conference on artificial intelligence will be held at coimbra , portugal , october 6 - 9 , 1997 . as in previous issues , ( ' 89 , ' 91 , ' 93 and ' 95 ) , epia ' 97 will be run as an international conference , english being the official language . the conference covers all areas of artificial intelligence , including theoretical areas , foundational areas , and applications . the scientific program consists of invited lectures , tutorials , parallel workshops , and paper presentations . eight well-known researchers will present invited lectures and tutorials . the conference proceedings will be published by springer verlag and made available to the attendees . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * invited lectures tom mitchell oskar dressler ( cmu - usa ) ( occ ' m software gmbh - germany ) luis moniz pereira francisco varela ( unl - portugal ) ( cnrs - france ) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * tutorial program daniel o'leary ( usc - usa ) , on ai and finance ramon de mantaras ( csic - spain ) , on kdd and data mining pedro barahona ( unl - portugal ) , on constraint programming felix costa ( ul - portugal ) , on neurocomputing * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * the venue ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ coimbra is the most important city of central portugal . situated on the banks of river mondego and a mere 40km from the sea , coimbra is a two-hour train journey from the international airports of lisbon and oporto . the university of coimbra is one of the oldest in the world , its history dating back to the 13th century . grown up around its university , coimbra reflects a deep academic life , where cultural tradition and irreverence merge together to offer a splendid well being for residents and visitors . because of its immense historical heritage and unique romantic atmosphere , coimbra is one of the favorite tourist destinations in portugal . its population is approximately 100 , 000 . at the beginning of october , the temperature ranges from 20c to 22c ( 68f to 72f ) during the day . lightweight clothing is therefore recommended . as it rains from time to time during this part of the year , it is also advisable to bring an umbrella . transport ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ the closest international airports are located in lisbon and oporto , respectively 200km and 120km away from coimbra . the conference will arrange a limited number of shuttle buses for attendees , from lisbon and oporto airports to coimbra , and back . places in these buses will be subjected to previous reservation . the trips from these airports to coimbra may also be made by train , bus or car . detailed and up-to - date information will be made available at the epia ' 97 web site . accommodations ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ epia ' 97 has booked a limited number of rooms at reduced conference fees in several hotels covering a wide range of prices . transfers between some of the hotels and the university auditorium will be made available free of charge to the attendees who make their reservations through professional tours , the epia ' 97 official travel agency . accommodations for students - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - a limited number of low rate rooms in fairly good residentials and hotels is available for those registering as students for the conference . reservations - - - - - - - - - - - the reservation is considered to be effective when the payment for all the days of stay has been made . the deadline for reservations is september 30 . enquires and requests for accommodation forms should be directed to the epia ' 97 official travel agency : professional tours av . d . afonso henriques , 45 3000 coimbra portugal fax : + 351 . 39 . 401033 phone : + 351 . 39 . 402011 the accomodation form may also be found at epia ' 97 web site . tours ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ the conference program includes a scheduled tour for both the participants and their companions on saturday , october 10 ( tour 1 ) . three other tours are scheduled on the conference days for the participants companions ( tour 2 , your 3 and tour 4 ) . tour 1 - figueira da foz beach ( october 10 , full day , 2 , 100 pt , not including lunch ) tour 2 - coimbra : historical places ( october 7 , half day , 2 , 200 pte , including entrance fees ) tour 3 - nazare / batalha / fatima ( october 8 , full day , 5 , 800 pte including lunch ) tour 4 - conimbriga roman ruins ( october 9 , half day , 1 , 700 pte , including entrance fees ) social events ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ three social events are included in the social program : welcome party ( on october 6 ) , a special event ( on october 7 ) and a farewell dinner ( on october 9 ) . the welcome party and the farewell dinner are included in the conference fee , except for students for whom it is optional . the special event is not included in the conference fee . conference registration form ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ please fill in the registration form , which may be found at epia ' 97 web site , and mail or fax it with the corresponding conference fee to the epia ' 97 official address . the registration fee covers your attendance at the conference , the conference proceedings , a copy of the working notes for the workshops ( or tutorials ) you attend , coffee breaks , and the farewell dinner . method of payment ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ payments can be made by check to the order of epia ' 97 or by credit card ( visa , american express , mastercard and eurocard ) . all payments are in portuguese escudos ( pte ) . all refunds requests must be in writing and postmarked by september 15 , 1997 . a 7500 pte processing fee will be levied on all refunds granted . no refunds will be granted after this date . those registering as full-time students must include legible proof of their student status . conference proceedings and farewell dinner are not included when applying reduced conference fee for students . student scholarships ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ a limited number of student scholarships is available . to apply , you must submit proof of your full-time student status in a degree-bearing program , such as a letter from your faculty advisor or a copy of your current registration receipt . note that student body cards will not suffice . these scholarships are intended to assist those who would not otherwise be able to attend the conference , and in particular , those students from the less well-off countries . to apply for a scholarship , please contact epia ' 97 at the official address given below . mailing list ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ we have set up an automated mailing list facility to easily distribute up to date information to those who wish to attend the conference . you may find instructions on how to add yourself to the mailing list at the epia ' 97 web site . insurance ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ the epia ' 97 committee can accept no liability for personal injuries , or for loss of or damage to property belonging to conference participants , either during or as a result of the conference . program committee ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ bernardete ribeiro ( portugal ) carlos bento ( portugal ) cristiano castelfranchi ( italy ) ernesto morgado ( portugal ) eugenio oliveira ( portugal ) gabriel pereira lopes ( portugal ) helder araujo ( portugal ) helder coelho ( portugal ) john self ( uk ) larry medsker ( usa ) luis moniz pereira ( portugal ) luis monteiro ( portugal ) manuela veloso ( usa ) miguel filgueiras ( portugal ) nuno mamede ( portugal ) oskar dressler ( germany ) pavel brazdil ( portugal ) pedro barahona ( portugal ) philippe dague ( france ) ramon de mantaras ( spain ) rosa vicari ( brazil ) stefano nolfi ( italy ) stuart shapiro ( usa ) takeo kanade ( usa ) xue mei wang ( usa ) yves kodratoff ( france ) conference & program co - chairs ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ernesto costa amilcar cardoso ( ernesto @ dei . uc . pt ) ( amilcar @ dei . uc . pt ) dep . eng . informatica universidade de coimbra - portugal sponsors ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ reitoria da universidade de coimbra companhia de seguros fidelidade junta nacional de investogacao cientifica e tecnologica ( jnict ) livraria julio figueiredo luso - american development foundation ( flad ) fundacao calouste gulbenkian dep . eng . informatica - uc conference official address ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ epia ' 97 dep . eng . informatica voice : + 351 ( 39 ) 7000004 universidade de coimbra - polo ii fax : + 351 ( 39 ) 701266 pinhal de marrocos email : epia97 @ alma . uc . pt 3030 coimbra , portugal url : http : / / alma . uc . pt / ~ epia97 / * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * we envite you to visit the epia ' 97 web site at http : / / alma . uc . pt / ~ epia97 to find additional information on the conference and on coimbra and its historical university . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
