Projects

• Alear ('08-'11)
• ComplexDis ('07-'10)


• Finished Projects

Research

• Origins of Language
• Fluid Construction Grammar
• Talking Heads
• Publications

Members

• Prof. Dr. Luc Steels
• Joris Bleys
• Thomas Cederborg
• Joachim De Beule
• Carl Jacobs
• Martin Loetzsch
• Pieter Wellens


• Previous Members

General

• Reaching the lab
• The past
• Resources

Education

• Courses
• Thesis proposals

Joachim De Beule VUB Homepage

• Contact
• Research
• Teaching
• Publications
• Talks and other stuff
• Past

Contact

Joachim De Beule
joachim@arti.vub.ac.be
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Free University of Brussels
Pleinlaan 2
1050 Brussels
Office: ++32 2 629 37 03 Mobile: ++32 498 67 31 35

Research

I have been working on a lot of topics ranging from nuclear physics and the immune system over computer science to artificial intelligence and language. At the moment, my research focuses on complex adaptive systems (CAS) in general and on the emerging field of semiotic dynamics (which studies language as a complex adaptive system) in particular.

More concretely, I am currently working on Fluid Construction Grammar (FCG, see fcg-net.org and emergent-languages.org), on the automatic extraction of a fluid construction grammar from Framenet data and on finding analogies between semiotic dynamics and biological CAS like the immune system. I am also involved in the Artificial Language Evolution on Autonomous Robots (ALEAR) and ComplexDis European Projects.

For more information, please visit www.emergent-languages.org, and don't forget to register for the upcoming International Summer School on Embodied Language Games and Construction Grammar (29 August - 4 September 2009 Palazzone di Cortona, Tuscany, Italy), where you will have the chance to meet many interesting people and learn about the state of the art in semiotic dynamics!

Teaching

Currently, I am teaching two courses at the Computer Science Department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel: "Methods of Scientific Research" and "Semiotic Dynamics and Emergent Semantics". For more information, please visit this page.

Some Publications & (Conference) Talks

2009

• Joachim De Beule
  A Chemical Model of the Naming Game
  Proceedings of the 10th European Conference On Artificial Life
  draft available
• Vanessa Micelli, Remi Van Trijp, Joachim De Beule
  Framing Fluid Construction Grammar
  Proceedings of the 2009 annual meeting of the cognitive science society (COGSCI 2009)
  draft available
• Joachim De Beule, Vanessa Micelli, Remi Van Trijp
  Semantic Frames in Fluid Construction Grammar
  Third International conference of the French Cognitive Linguistics Association, University of Paris 10-Nanterre, May 27-29, 2009
  slides available

2008

• Joachim De Beule (2008)
  The Multiple Word Guessing Game
  5th European Conference on Complex Systems Jerusalem, September 14-19, 2008
  draft available
• Joachim De Beule (2008)
  Semiotic Dynamics and the immune system
  5th European Conference on Complex Systems Jerusalem, September 14-19, 2008.
• Joachim De Beule (2008)
  The Emergence of Compositionality, Hierarchy and Recursion in Peer-to- Peer Interactions
  In: Smith, A. D. M., Smith, K., & Ferrer i Cancho, R. (2008). The Evolution of Language: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference (EVOLANG7) pages 75-82, . Singapore: World Scientific Press. draft available

2007

• Joachim De Beule (2007)
  Compositionality, Hierarchy and Recursion in Language
  a Case Study in Fluid Construction Grammar
  Doctoral Dissertation, full-text available

2006

• Luc Steels and Joachim De Beule (2006)
  A (very) brief Introduction to Fluid Construction Gramamr
  Third International Workshop on Scalable Natural Language Understanding (ScaNaLU 2006) June 8, 2006, following HLT/NAACL, New York City
  available
• De Beule Joachim, De Vylder Bart and Belpaeme Tony (2006)
  A cross-situational learning algorithm for damping homonymy in the guessing game
  proceedings of ALIFE X. Tenth International Conference on the Simulation and Synthesis of Living Systems. Bloomington, IN. June 3-7, 2006.
  available
• Steels L. and De Beule J. (2006)
  Unify and merge in fluid construction grammars
  In: P. Vogt, Y. Sugita, E. Tuci and C. Nehaniv (eds.) Symbol Grounding and Beyond: Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on the Emergence and Evolution of Linguistic Communication, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS/LNAI) 4211, pages 197-223, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2006
  draft available
• De Beule J. and Bergen, B.K.. (2006)
  On the Emergence of Compositionality
  Proceedings of the 6th evolution of language conference, Rome, 12-15 April 2006
  draft available

2005

• Steels L., De Beule J. and Neubauer N. (2005)
  Linking in Fluid Construction Grammar
  Transactions of the Belgian Royal Society of Arts and Sciences., pages 11-18, Brussels, 2005.draft available
• De Beule J, Steels L. (2005)
  Hierarchy in Fluid Construction Grammar
  In Furbach, Ulrich, editor, Proceedings of the 28th Annual German Conference on AI, KI 2005, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (vol. 3698 ), pages 1-15, Berlin Heidelberg, 2005. Springer Verlag
  draft available
• De Beule J, De Vylder B. (2005)
  Does language shape the way we conceptualize the world?
  Proceedings of the Cognitive Science 2005 conference
  Full text available
  An extended abstract also appeared in the Proceedings of BNAIC-05, royal Flemish Academy for Science and Art (ed.)
• De Beule J. (2005)
  Simulating the syntax and semantics of linguistic constructions about time
  Evolutionary Epistemology, Language and Culture - A nonadaptationist systems theoretical approach
  Gontier, Nathalie, Van Bendegem, Jean Paul, and Aerts, Diederik. (eds.)
  Theory and Decision Library - Series A: Philosophy and Methodology of the Social Sciences. Series editor: Julian Nida-Rümelin. Dordrecht: Springer.
  Draft available

2004

• Steels L, De Beule J, Van Looveren J, Neubauer N. (2004)
  Posters on FCG presented at the third international conference on construction grammar (ICCG04)
  production poster and interpretation poster available
• De Beule J. (2004)
  Processes and the Process Engine
  AI-Memo 04-06, ARTI-lab, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2004
  Full text available
• De Beule J. (2004)
  Creating Temporal Categories for an Ontology of Time
  Proceedings of the 16th Belgian-Dutch Conference on Artificial Intelligence (BNAIC04)
  Full text available

2003

• De Beule J. (2003)
  Modeling and Simulating the Origins of Temporal Constructions in Language
  Computational Linguistics in the Netherlands (CLIN), University of Antwerp, 2003
• Steels L. and De Beule J. (2003)
  Simulating the origins of a grammar for tense and aspect
  8th International Cognitive Linguistics Conference (ICLC), University of La Rioja, Spain, 2003

2002

• De Beule J. Van Looveren J. and Zuidema W. (2002)
  From Perceprion to Language, Grounding Formal Syntax in an Almost Real World
  BNAIC, University of Leuven, 2002
• De Beule J. Van Looveren J. and Zuidema W. (2002)
  Grounding Formal Syntax in an Almost Real World
  AI-MEMO 02-03, AI-Lab, VUB Brussels
  Full text available

2001

• J. De Beule and W. Zuidema (2001)
  (Tagungsberichte) Ik2001: science and pleasure of high variety and quality
  Kunstliche Intelligenz Mai 2/01, also appeared in the BNVKI newsletter.

From the old days

• B. Decroix, J. De Beule, C. De Coster, K. Heyde, A.M. Oros and P. Van Isacker (1998)
  Particle-hole excitations in the Interacting Boson Model : IBM-2 and IBM-3
  Phys. Rev. C57 (1998), 2329
• B. Decroix, C. De Coster, K. Heyde, A.M. Oros and J. De Beule (1998)
  1+ mixed-symmetry states and dipole transitions in the extended proton-nuetron interacting boson model
  Phys. Rev. C58 (1998), 232
• B.Decroix, J. De Beule, C. De Coster and K.Heyde (1998)
  SU(4) symmetry in the extended proton-neutron interacting boson model : multiplets and symmetry breaking
  Phys. Lett. B439 (1998) 237.

Talks and other stuff

• Tutorial Chair and invited speaker at the International Summer School on Embodied Language Games and Construction Grammar (29 August - 4 September 2009 Palazzone di Cortona, Tuscany, Italy)
• Reviewer for the 11nd cognitive linguistics conference (ICLC), Berkeley, California, July 28-August 3, 2009
• Reviewer for the 1st European Lisp Symposium (ELS'08) Bordeaux, France, May 22-23, 2008.
• I presented the ALEAR european project at the International Conference on Cognitive Systems (CogSys 2008) University of Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany April 2 - 4, 2008
• I recently took up the task of Belgian editor for the newsletter of the Belgian-Dutch association of Artificial Intelligence newsletter(BNVKI)
• Member of the referee-comity for the 7th evolution of language conference (Evolang 2008), March 11-15, Barcelona
• Course on (symbolic) programming for (non-symbolic) programmers, advanced track, with Joris Bleys, at the International Summer Atelier: Modeling Language Evolution with Computational Construction Grammar (see next item)
• Co-organizer of the International Summer Atelier: Modeling Language Evolution with Computational Construction Grammar, Ettore Majorana Foundation and Center For Scientific Culture, Erice (Sicily, Italy), 14-19 July 2007, Satellite-atelier of Statistical Physics of Social Dynamics and Language
• Talk on Fluid Construction Grammar at the Constructions in Language Processing theme session of the Second International Conference of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association, Munich, 5-7 October 2006. Theme session organizers: Anatol Stefanowitsch (stefanowitsch@uni-bremen.de), Arne Zeschel (zeschel@uni-bremen.de)
• Talk on Fluid Construction Grammar at the Computational Linguistics Seminar, Universiteit van Amsterdam, September 27, 2006.
• Member of the programming commitee of the Third International Workshop on Scalable Natural Language Understanding (ScaNaLU 2006),June 8, 2006, following HLT/NAACL, New York City
• Talk on the emerge of hierarchical language in multi-agent systems at the International School on Semiotic Dynamics, Language and Complexity
• Atelier about implementing language games on robots with Martin Loetzsch at the International School on Semiotic Dynamics, Language and Complexity
• Talk on emerging argument structure constructions through communicative interactions at the Semiotic Dynamics and Emergent Grammar One-day satellite Workshop related to the European Conference on Complex Systems - Paris, 18 November 2005. abstract available.
• Talk on cross-situational learning, introducing homonymy and multiple word utterances in the naming game at the workshop on Semiotic Dynamics of Language Games, Bagnovignoni (Siena - Italy) 8-11 November 2005. draft available
• Hierarchy in FCG, at the 3rd FCG Workshop, Paris, 25-27 April, 2005
  The third in a series of small-scale workshops around the theme of (Fluid) Construction Grammar. Special invited guests are Bernd Heine and Christa Konig (Cologne).
  Additional attendants: Melanie Aurnhammer (CSL), Benjamin Bergen (Univ of Hawai, on leave at Sony CSL), Joris Bleys (VUB AI Lab), Joachim de Beule (VUB AI lab), Martin Loetzsch (CSL), Wouter Van den Broeck (VUB), Luc Steels (Sony CSL + VUB AI lab).in FCG.
• Fluid Construction Grammar, at the International Computer Science Laboratory, University of California campus in Berkeley, California, 15 Dec. 2004
• Artificiele Intelligentie en Taal, at Lingforum, Universiteit Gent, Werkgroep Linguistiek.
• Internals and Implementataion of FCG, at the 1st FCG workshop, Paris, 2-3 September 2004,
  Attendance: Joachim de Beule (VUB AI lab), Nancy Chang (ICSI, Berkeley), Moritz Gartenmeister (Uni Zurich), Martin Loetzsch (Uni Berlin), Nicolas Neubauer (Uni Osnabruck), Luc Steels (Sony CSL + VUB AI lab), Marion Wardermann (Uni Bielefeld), Andreas Witzel (Uni Dresden), Hans-Peter Zorn (Uni Karlsruhe and European Media Lab).

The Past

Since September 2000 I'm a PhD-student at the AI-Lab of the Free University of Brussels (VUB). I was born on the 13th of november 1973 in Lokeren (Belgium.) After my engineering studies at Ghent University, I started a PhD on nuclear physics at the Department of Subatomic and Radiation Physics. During that research I became more interested in Computer Science and AI. After spending a year at the Department of Control Engineering & Automation as a teaching assistent and system administrator I was able to start a PhD at the VUB - AI Lab on the origins and evolution of language.