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SUMMARY:IEM Distinguished Lecturers Seminar: Biomolecular synapses and neu
 rons for neuromorphic signal processing at the edge of biology
DTSTART:20251007T121500
DTEND:20251007T130000
DTSTAMP:20260601T103344Z
UID:8a931f33638847a4ba79952b25548ad6e310237143f9e5465bbaae74
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Andy Sarles\, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace En
 gineering (MAE)\, University of Tennessee\, Knoxville\, USA\nAbstract\nThe
  efficiency and adaptability of the human brain have inspired significant 
 research into developing neuromorphic devices\, networks\, and algorithms 
 that can sidestep limitations of transistor-based architectures and which 
 offer greater functionality for information processing applications at the
  edge of computing networks. In general\, neuromorphic systems draw inspir
 ation from the functions and\, especially\, the activity-dependent adaptat
 ions of pulse-generating neurons and neural synapses. Despite significant 
 progress in solid-state materials\, devices\, and circuits that collocate 
 synaptic plasticity and memory\, most emulate only basic synapse and neuro
 n functions and few are bio-compatible. These gaps motivate research on ne
 w material systems that could enable a greater suite of neural functionali
 ties\, including the ability to integrate sensing and neuromorphic computi
 ng in close proximity to living cells and tissues—at the edge of biology
 . Establishing such capabilities could enable new types of implantable or 
 wearable\, smart bioelectronics and transform how we monitor\, predict\, a
 nd control biological activities that benefit health\, physical performanc
 e\, and diagnosis and treatment of disease and injury. In this presentatio
 n\, I will discuss my group’s research on an emerging class of ionic neu
 romorphic computing systems consisting of biomolecular membranes that clos
 ely emulate the voltage- and ion-responsive neuronal cell membranes. Speci
 fically\, I will show how membrane-based biomolecular synapses can exhibit
  various types of short-term synaptic plasticity in response to voltage-st
 imuli\, including memory resistance\, memory capacitance\, and sensory ada
 ptation. I will also describe efforts to explore the computational power o
 f these synapse-inspired behaviors\, and discuss our recent efforts to int
 egrate stimuli-responsive biomembranes with organic electrochemical transi
 stors for hybrid functionality.\n\nBio\nAndy Sarles is a Professor and the
  James Conklin Faculty Fellow in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospac
 e Engineering (MAE) at the University of Tennessee\, Knoxville. Sarles rec
 eived a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee an
 d M.S. and PhD. degrees in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech. He j
 oined the MABE faculty at University of Tennessee in 2011. Sarles also hol
 ds joint faculty appointments in the departments of Chemical and Biomolecu
 lar Engineering (CBE) and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EEC
 S). Sarles’ interdisciplinary research interests include engineered smar
 t materials\, transport and signaling through biomimetic interfaces and ti
 ssue-inspired materials\, revealing nanomaterial-membrane interactions\, a
 nd artificial synapses and neurons for neuromorphic computing. He is a Fel
 low of ASME and is the recipient of a 2018 NSF CAREER Award\, the 2017 Gar
 y Anderson Early Achievement Award from ASME\, and a 3M Non-Tenured Facult
 y Grant. He is currently an associate editor for npj Unconventional Comput
 ing and an editorial board member for Smart Materials and Systems.\n\n 
LOCATION:BM 5202 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==BM%205202 https://epfl.zoom.u
 s/j/69222849127
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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