BODM 2012 - NIPS 2012 Workshop: Bayesian Optimization and Decision Making

NIPS 2012 Workshop: Bayesian Optimization and Decision Making
Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA, 7 or 8 December 2012 (TBD)
Web: http://javad-azimi.com/nips2012ws/
email: nips2012.bayesopt-AT-gmail.com
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Important Dates:
* Submission deadline: 16 September 2012
* Notification of acceptance: 14 October 2012
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Workshop Overview:
There have been many recent advances in learning approaches for sequential and non-sequential decision making. These advances have occurred in different communities, each referring to the problem using different terminology: Bayesian optimization, experimental design, bandits, active sensing, automatic algorithm configuration, personalized recommender systems, etc.
Some communities focus more on theoretical aspects while others' expertise is on real-world applications. This workshop aims to bring together researchers and practitioners from these diverse subject areas to facilitate cross-fertilization by discussing challenges, findings, and sharing data. This workshop follows last year's NIPS workshop "Bayesian optimization, experimental design and bandits: Theory and applications". This year we plan to focus somewhat more on real-world applications, to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and to review the many practical applications.
We welcome contributions on theoretical models, empirical studies, and applications of the above. We also welcome challenge papers on possible applications or datasets. Topics of interest (though not exhaustive) include:
* Bayesian optimization
* Sequential experimental design and decision making
* Applications, e.g., automatic parameter tuning, active sensing, robotics
* Related areas: active learning, reinforcement learning, bandits, etc
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Invited speakers (confirmed):
* James Bergstra (Harvard University )
* Nando de Freitas (University of British Columbia)
* Carlos Guestrin (University of Washington)
* Holger Hoos (University of British Columbia)
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Submission instructions:
Submissions should be in the NIPS 2012 format, with a maximum of 4 pages (excluding references). Accepted papers will be made available online at the workshop website, but the workshop proceedings can be considered non-archival. Submissions need not be anonymous. For detailed submission instructions, see: http://javad-azimi.com/nips2012ws/
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Organizers:
* Javad Azimi, PhD Candidate, Oregon State University
* Roman Garnett, Postdoctoral Researcher, Carnegie Mellon University
* Frank Hutter, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of British Columbia
* Shakir Mohamed, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of British Columbia