Call for Papers: UCNC 2025

The 22nd International Conference on Unconventional Computation and Natural Computation (UCNC 2025) will be held at the Université Côte d'Azur, Valrose Campus, Nice, France from September 1-5, 2025.

Aims and Scope

UCNC is a forum bringing together scientists from many different backgrounds who are united in their interest in novel forms of computation, human-designed computation inspired by nature, and computational aspects of natural processes. UCNC provides a forum for such scientists to meet and discuss their work. The conference focuses on current important theoretical and experimental results and their critical evaluation.

Papers and poster presentations are sought in all areas that relate to unconventional computation and natural computation. Both theoretical and experimental papers are welcome.

Topics of Interest

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Molecular computing
• Quantum computing
• Optical computing
• Chaos computing
• Physarum computing
• Collision-based computing
• Self-assembling and self-organizing systems
• Super-Turing computation
• Cellular automata
• Neural computation
• Evolutionary computation
• Swarm intelligence
• Ant algorithms
• Artificial immune systems
• Artificial life
• Membrane computing
• Amorphous computing
• Computational systems biology
• Computational neuroscience
• Synthetic biology
• Cellular (in-vivo) computing

Paper Categories and Submission Guidelines

There are four submission categories:

1. Regular papers: Contain original research not yet communicated to other conferences or journals. Should not exceed 15 pages. Only accepted regular papers will appear in the LNCS proceedings.
2. Short papers: Intended for communicating fresh new original research which is not yet complete or still needs some development. Should not exceed 6 pages. Only accepted short papers will appear in the LNCS proceedings.
3. Late-breaking abstracts: Informal presentations of new research and/or research direction proposals as well as presentations of research that has already been presented at other conferences, with the purpose of further dissemination of results or research directions. Should not exceed 3 pages.
4. Posters: Posters should be one page in A0 format (plus 1 page abstract).

All paper categories will go through a review process suitable for the given category.

Authors Guidelines

Submitted papers must describe work not previously published, and they must neither be accepted nor under review in a journal or at another conference with refereed proceedings.

Paper Preparation

Authors are required to submit their manuscripts electronically in PDF using the LNCS style. Authors using LaTeX can download the needed macros at Springer-Verlag site. Papers should respect the page limits announced above; full proofs may appear in a clearly marked technical appendix which can be read by the reviewers.

The submission process is completely managed via the EasyChair website. Please use the following submission URL: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ucnc2025

Preparing the Final Version for the Proceedings

The final versions of accepted papers must be formatted in LaTeX using Springer-Verlag's Lecture Notes style.

• For regular papers, authors might use up to 16 pages including references, title page and acknowledgements.
• For short papers, authors might use up to 6 pages including references, title page and acknowledgements.

Please also consult the Instructions for Authors provided by Springer for the preparation and formatting of the manuscript.

The final version should be uploaded on the Easychair website in zipped format containing:

• The final source files (including bib files, images, non-standard LaTeX packages, etc.).
• A final PDF file corresponding exactly to the final source files.
• A license-to-publish agreement, signed by hand by the corresponding author on behalf of all of the authors of the paper. Use the following information to fill out the copyright form:
  • Title of the Book or Conference Name: Unconventional Computation and Natural Computation, 22st International Conference, UCNC 2025
  • Volume Editor(s) Name(s): Enrico Formenti, Luca Manzoni

For LBA and posters, you only need to upload to Easychair the pdf and LaTeX source files.

Important Requirement

At least one author of each accepted paper, late-breaking abstract and poster has to register, attend the conference and present the work.

Special Issue

A special issue of the international journal Natural Computing will be organized after the conference containing a selection of articles presented at the conference. They will be substantially extended versions of the papers presented at the conference and will undergo an independent peer review process.

Important Dates

• Conference Dates: September 1-5, 2025

• Regular & Short Papers Deadlines:

  • Submission: May 15th, 2025
  • Notification: June 15th, 2025
  • Camera ready: July 11st, 2025

• Late-breaking Abstracts & Posters Deadlines:

  • Submission: May 15th, 2025
  • Notification: June 1st, 2025