[Please circulate among your students.]

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	      Joint 9th International Conference on 

	     RELATIONAL METHODS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE

		and 4th International Workshop on 

		 APPLICATIONS OF KLEENE ALGEBRA  
    
		       (RelMiCS/AKA 2006)


		  29 August - 2 September 2006
			 Manchester, UK


		   www.cs.man.ac.uk/relmics06/


BACKGROUND:

  The RelMiCS Conference is the main forum for the relational
  calculus as a conceptual and methodological tool.  The AKA
  Workshop is a forum on topics related to Kleene algebras. As in
  previous years, the two events are co-organised; they have joint
  programme committee and joint proceedings.  Special focus will be
  on formal methods for software engineering, logics of programs
  and links with neighbouring disciplines. For detailed topics
  please consult the conference website.

THE PHD TRAINING PROGRAMME:

  This year, for the first time, the RelMiCS/AKA conference
  includes a PhD Training Programme that comprises two tutorials, a
  student session and attendance of the conference and co-located
  workshops. If you are currently doing a PhD in the general area
  of the conference or are interested in learning more about
  relations or Kleene algebra, then we would like to invite you to
  apply for participation. The tutorials will teach you the
  theoretical background and an exemplary application of relational
  methods to a formal software engineering task. The student
  session will allow you to present your ongoing work and to
  establish contacts with other students.  The conference and
  workshops will provide you with an overview of work in your area
  of research and allow you to discuss it with leading
  international experts.  Overall, the programme will provide a
  solid background on mathematical foundations in combination with
  interesting applications.


TUTORIALS:

  * Foundations of Relations and Kleene Algebra
    Peter Jipsen, Chapman University, USA
  * Relational Methods for Program Refinement
    John Derrick, Sheffield, UK


RELMICS/AKA INVITED SPEAKERS:

  * Ernie Cohen, Microsoft, USA
  * Roger D. Maddux, Iowa State University, USA
  * Jeff Sanders, Oxford University, UK


IMPORTANT DATES:

  Application Submission:         30.05.2006
  Notification:                   30.06.2006
  Camera-ready papers:            31.07.2006
  Student session and tutorials:  29.08.2006
  RelMiCS/AKA 2006:               30.08.-02.09.2006


APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

  Applications must be in English, in postscript or pdf format and
  contain

  * an extended abstract of at most 5 pages, LNCS-style, describing
    original, completed or ongoing, PhD work
  * a short CV,
  * a letter of support by your PhD-supervisor or head of
    department.

  Abstracts should provide sufficient information to judge their
  relevance to the programme. Participants will be selected by the
  organisers and members of the conference programme committee.
  This includes rewiewing of the extended abstracts submitted.
  Accepted students are expected to present their work at the
  student session.  Their extended abstracts will be published
  within a research report at the University of Manchester and at
  the conference website. Papers submitted by PhD-students to the
  RelMiCS/AKA conference can also be considered for the programme.

  All applications should be sent to Georg Struth
  (g.struth@dcs.shef.ac.uk).


PROGRAMME FEES:

  Grant support for students is currently being negotiated.
  Reduced RelMiCS/AKA conference fees will be available for all
  participants.  Further information will be published at the
  conference website.


ORGANISATION: 

  General Chair:
    Renate Schmidt, Manchester, UK, schmidt@cs.man.ac.uk

  PhD Programme Chair:
    Georg Struth, Sheffield, UK, g.struth@dcs.shef.ac.uk

  Local Organisation: 
    Renate Schmidt, Manchester, UK, schmidt@cs.man.ac.uk
    Zhen Li, Manchester, UK
    David Robinson, Manchester, UK
    Iain Hart & ACSO, Manchester, UK