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Introduction
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Since 1993, the area of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) has been present in all EPIA Conferences, both as individual tracks and as autonomous workshops. Focusing on a fundamental subject of Artificial Intelligence, the 6th edition of Multi-Agent Systems: Theory and Applications - MASTA 2011 Thematic Track, will be a forum for presenting and discussing the most recent and innovative work on MAS.

Departing, from the end of the 1980’s, from the two main branches of Decentralized Artificial Intelligence and Distributed Problem Solving, research on MAS has developed in areas of increasing specialization and autonomy as diverse as agent theories and architectures, cognitive modelling, coordination, negotiation and argumentation, social organization and social simulation, swarm intelligence, and agent-oriented programming.

Agent technology has been used to solve real-world problems in a range of industrial and commercial applications, including manufacturing, supply chain management, process control, telecommunications, air traffic control, transportation systems, and business process management.

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Aims and Scope
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Research on MAS has a vigorous, exciting tradition and has led to important theories and systems. However, new trends and concerns are still emerging and form the basis of current and future research. This thematic track is intended to provide a discussion forum on the most recent and innovative work in all areas of MAS.

The unifying focus of the thematic track will be on methodological aspects. Both theoretical and practical research should be situated in the context of existing or new methodologies. This will not preclude any specific topic, but preference will be given to research work that establishes some connection with the methodological aspects or to successful applications built upon some methodology.

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Topics of Interest
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Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

* Agent theories, Architectures and Languages;
* Cognitive models, including emotions and philosophies;
* Formal Methods for Modelling Agents and MAS;
* Cooperation, Coordination and Teamwork;
* Automated Negotiation and Computational Argumentation;
* Multi-Agent Evolution, Adaptation and Learning;
* Trust and Reputation in MAS;
* Communication: protocols and languages;
* Artificial Social Systems;
* Agent-Oriented Software Engineering;
* Multi-Agent Simulation and Modelling;
* Norms and Institutions in MAS;
* Ethical and Legal issues raised by Agents and MAS;
* Industrial and Commercial Applications;
* Scalability and Performance of MAS.

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Submission Information
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Submission of papers is made electronically through the Conference website (epia2011.appia.pt). Authors must remove their names from the papers and should take reasonable care not to indirectly disclose their identity (blind reviewing process).

Papers should be no longer than 12 pages, including figures and references, and should be formatted according to the Springer's LNCS/LNAI format, following the instructions on Springer’s website (http://www.springer.com/computer/lncs?SGWID=0-164-6-793341-0).

Papers of higher quality will be published in Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI), by Springer (proceedings indexed by the Thomson ISI Web of Knowledge). All other accepted papers will be published in the local proceedings.

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Important Dates
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* Full Paper Submission: May 10, 2011
* Notification of Acceptance: June 10, 2011
* Camera-ready Papers: July 1, 2011
* Conference Date: October 10-13, 2011

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Organizing Committee
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Paulo Urbano
Departamento de Informática
Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa
Edifício C6, Piso 3, Campo Grande
1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
pub [at] di [dot] fc [dot] ul [dot] pt

Cesar Analide
Departamento de Informática
Universidade do Minho
Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
analide [at] di [dot] uminho [dot] pt

Fernando Lopes
Departamento de Modelação e Simulação
Laboratório Nacional de Energia (LNEG)
1649-038 Lisbon, Portugal
fernando [dot] lopes [at] ineti [dot] pt

Henrique Lopes Cardoso
Departamento de Engenharia Informática
Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto
Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
hlc [at] fe [dot] up [dot] pt

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Additional Information
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Additional information can be found at the Conference website (epia2011.appia.pt/masta) or asked for by e-mail, using the address masta2011 [at] appia [dot] pt.

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Steering Committee
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Eugénio Oliveira, Universidade do Porto, Portugal
Helder Coelho, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
João Balsa, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
Luís Reis, Universidade do Porto, Portugal

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6th Multi-Agent Systems: Theory and Applications - MASTA @ EPIA 2011
Thematic Track @ EPIA 2011 Lisbon, PORTUGAL
http://epia2011.appia.pt/masta masta2011@appia.pt
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