AGENTLINK UPDATE # 64 – 26th September 2004 This is the email newsletter of AgentLink -- Europe's Network of Excellence for Agent-based Computing. The AgentLink WWW site is http://www.AgentLink.org/ IMPORTANT: Please take the time to ensure that every member of your group receives a copy of the AgentLink update. If you have a group mail alias, why not get this alias to be added to the mailing list? To subscribe/unsubscribe to this mailing list simply send a request to mailto: coordinator@agentlink.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Agentlink News Issue 15 now available * Call for proposals for hosting the Third European Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems (EUMAS'05) * Agentlink III: Call for Research Event Support Proposals (Call open March 2004 October 2005) * Final Call for Proposal to Host The 2nd AgentLink III Technicall Forum (TF2) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Agentlink News Issue 15 now available The fifteen issue of the AgentLink newsletter is now available online at: http://www.agentlink.org/newsletter/ As usual, hardcopies will be sent to all AgentLink members in due course. Deadline for contributions for the next issue: 31st October 2004. AgentLink Newsletter Issue #15 Feature: - The Semantic Web and Software Agents: Partners, or Just Neighbours? Ian Dickinson Agent Research Project Report - The AgentcitiesUK Network Julian Padget Standards Report - Latest News from the Standardisation World Monique Calisti Agent Research Overviews - Communication about Ontological Discrepancies Robbert-Jan Beun and Rogier M. van Eijk - Sociologically Inspired Engineering David Hales and Bruce Edmonds - Electronic Institutions and Agents Ulises Cortés Network Partner Project Reports (Part 1) - REWERSE Reasoning on the Web François Bry and Uta Schwertel - MUSCLE Multimedia Understanding through Semantics, Computation and Learning Eric Pauwels and Remi Ronchaud - Knowledge Web: Realizing the Semantic Web Ying Ding - Network-Partner Event Calendar Event Reports - Agent Based Simulation Helder Coelho - Knowledge and Games Workshop Sieuwert van Otterloo - Workshop on Deontic Logic in Computer Science Alessio Lomuscio - Symposium on Adaptive Agents and Multi-Agent Systems Daniel Kudenko - European Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems Mark dInverno, Carles Sierra, and Franco Zambonelli - Symposium on Logic-Based Agent Verification Michael Fisher Book Review - Developing Intelligent Agent Systems by Lin Padgham and Michael Winikoff Terry Payne Site Report - Cybele: An Agent Infrastructure for Modelling, Simulation, and Decision Support Vikram Manikonda, Goutam Satapathy, and Renato Levy Events Calendar We are always interested in receiving articles for the newsletter. If you are interested in writing a short, high level article, or want to provide a report on projects or industrial agent systems, then email editor@agentlink.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Call for proposals for hosting the Third European Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems (EUMAS'05) Following the success of EUMAS'03, the first European Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems, the EUMAS Advisory Board has selected Barcelona as the next EUMAS venue. In order to be able to announce the location for 2005, we are soliciting the proposals for hosting the workshop in December 2005. EUMAS'03 was held in Oxford, UK, and attracted 140 participants over 2 days; we expect EUMAS'05 to be of similar size, and to retain the informal nature of the EUMAS workshop series. See http://www.eumas.org for details. The proposers are expected to suggest local organization committee (local chair, finance chair and possibly sponsorship chair) while the general chair and the programme chair will be selected by EUMAS AB. The plan is that EUMAS AB will retain 50% of the workshop profit and 50% will remain with the organisers. EUMAS AB will not undertake any financial risks asociated with a possible failure of the workshop. While there is no set format for proposals, potential applicants should address the following aspects: 1. Organisational structure. - who is the proposed local organiser(s)? - what experience do the above have in organising similar events? 2. Workshop venue. - where do you propose for the workshop? - what previous events have taken place at this site? - what is their previous record in hosting events of this size? - what are the attractive features of this venue? - how accessible is the venue? 3. Organisational timetable. - what suggested timetable do the organisers have for publicity, submissions, reviews and acceptance (subject to discussion)? - are there any invited speakers proposed already? - are there additional, co-located, events? 4. Funding. - what is the outline budget for the event? - what are the expected costs for participants? - are there any potential sponsors and support organisations. Proposers are expected to have received prior approval from their respective organisations to host the event (including authorisation for any advance financial obligations). Proposals should be submitted to EUMAS AB chair, Michal Pechoucek (pechouc@labe.felk.cvut.cz) by email before October 31st 2004. The Advisory Board expect to make a decision on this before the end of November 2004. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Agentlink III: Call for Research Event Support Proposals (Call open March 2004 October 2005) The Agentlink III project is committed to supporting European Research activities in the area of Agent Technology and under its research coordination action is able to provide various types of support for research and scientific events related to Agent technology. The objective of this support is to pump-prime research in strategically important areas, support emerging new areas, encourage inter-disciplinary links and support access to leading events in particular for students from under-resourced regions. The call for support proposals is open from March 2004 and Agentlink therefore warmly welcomes proposals for support from the community Further information on event support can be found at: http://www.agentlink.org/activities/eventsupport/index.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Final Call for Proposal to Host The 2nd AgentLink III Technical Forum (TF2) AgentLink III is now calling for proposals from Universities, research groups or companies in an EC member state to host the 2nd Technical Forum (TF2). This second event is scheduled for February 2005, with the exact dates to be agreed in collaboration with the successful proposer. We expect between 100-150 participants, divided into a maximum of 5 simultaneous groups. The meeting is expected to run for 3 days. Details of the 1st Technical Forum can be found on the AgentLink III web-pages: http://www.agentlink.org/activities/al3-tf/index.html Currently, the known requirements for TF2 are: - A lecture or meeting room able to hold plenary sessions (100-150 participants) - Nearby seminar or lecture rooms able to host 5 simultaneous groups (each with 20-30 participants) -- possibility to occasionally accommodate 6 simultaneous group welcome. - Each room equipped with data projectors, overhead projectors, etc. - Ideally, access to Internet (wired or wireless) - Provision of teas, coffees, etc, twice per day. (Participants are expected to find their own meals.) - Good access to travel connections (air, rail, road links) - Nearby access to reasonable hotels or accommodation (ie, hotels in the 2* - 3* range) - Good access to nearby restaurants for lunch and dinner. The exact requirements for TF2 may change as the planning goes forward. AgentLink III will pay for the venue and room hire, the costs of equipment hire, and the costs of teas/coffees. Depending on costs, we may also pay for a welcoming reception. AgentLink's criteria for selection of a location will include: - Cost-effectiveness - Travel convenience (access to airports, etc) - Balance across the EU: We wish to ensure that AgentLink III events are spread throughout the EU. - Preference for New Accession States: We wish to ensure that some AgentLink III events are held in new member states - Professionalism of the proposal and the proposal team. To submit a proposal to host AgentLink III Technical Forum 2, please send an email to Professor Andrea Omicini, at Andrea.Omicini@agentlink.org by 30 September 2004, with the following informatiom: 1. Name and address of organization offering to host the event. 2. Name and details (email, telephone, fax) of contact person. 3. People potentially contributing to the organisation. 4. Preferred dates in February 2005 for the meeting. 5. Details of travel connections (airports, etc). 6. A list of nearby hotels or accommodation in the 2* and 3* range, with current daily rates. 7. The expected total cost. 8. The expected component costs for: a) venue hire b) hire of each seminar room c) tea/coffee per participant d) equipment hire per item (eg, data projector) e) a welcoming reception per participant. 9. Details of any financial subsidies available from the host institution. 10. Details of any assumptions on which these costs are based (for example: the minimum number of participants). 11. Information on any other requirements you have. 12. A statement of willingness to host AgentLink III Technical Forum 2 in February 2005. 13. A paragraph presenting the case for your location as the venue for TF2. Prior to proposal submission, feel free to contact Professor Omicini for any clarifications. PROPOSED TIMETABLE: 30.09.04: Deadline for submission of proposals to host TF2 31.10.04: Decision by AgentLink II of selected proposer 30.11.04: Completion of negotiations with selected proposer and official public announcement of location. February 2005: AgentLink III Technical Forum 2.