The purpose of this workshop is to bring together researchers and other interested parties from academia, industry, and government who are interested in the application of random set theory to practical problems of both industrial and government interest. These applications include: image analysis and modeling, information and data fusion, and expert/knowledge-based systems.
The workshop will bring together, and encourage creative interdisciplinary cross-fertilization between, three communities of random-set researchers which have been largely unaware of each other: (1) theoretical statisticians, (2) those involved in imaging applications, and (3) those involved in data fusion and expert system applications. Rather than "rounding up the usual suspects" the organizers will mix experienced researchers and practitioners with complementary interests who do not normally have the opportunity for scientific interchange. The long-term result of the effort is expected to be enchancement of imaging, information fusion, and expert system technologies and the more efficient dissemination of these technologies to industry, the government, and academia.
Schedule
Current plans are that each session will consist of three one-hour talks and three shorter twenty-minute talks. In each session, the first one-hour talk will be a plenary presentation given by a researcher of world standing, whose participation will result in an infusion of technical expertise not currently available in the United States. Currently these plenary speakers are:
General Random Set Theory: Ilya Molchanov, CWI, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Image Analysis: Dominique Jeulin, Ecole de Mines de Paris, Paris,France
General Uncertainty in Expert Systems: Ulrich Hoehle, Bergische Universitat, Wuppertal,Germany
Cross-disciplinary discussion: During each session a block of time will be set aside to facilitate cross-disciplinary interaction between industrial, government, and academic participants. In particular, time will be available for short informal talks by the attendees.
Banquet: On Saturday, August 24, the workshop will conclude with an evening banquet.