MechE Colloquium: Mind in Vitro — Computing with living neurons
Event details
| Date | 11.03.2025 |
| Hour | 12:00 › 13:00 |
| Speaker | Prof. Mattia Gazzola, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, Mechanical Science & Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
Abstract: Can computing systems be built out of living neurons? Can they achieve basic hallmarks of cognition such as learning, attention, curiosity, or creativity, so pervasive in biology yet elusive in modern computing? In the Mind in Vitro Expedition we imagine computers and robots that are human-designed but living. That can be programmed, but whose behaviors are not specified, and instead, emerge. These systems will grow, heal, learn and explore. In this talk, I will discuss our vision, progress, successes, and challenges.
Biography: Mattia Gazzola is the Charles Conrad Kritzer Associate Professor in the Mechanical Science and Engineering Department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He joined UIUC in Fall 2016 after a postdoc at Harvard and a PhD at ETH Zurich. His work lies at the interface between mechanics, biology, robotics, and computing. His studies were awarded with the ETH Medal, Early and Advanced Swiss National Science Foundation Fellowships, NSF CAREER, and featured on the cover of several scientific journals including Science, Nature, PNAS, PRL. He is the Lead PI and co-director of the center-scale NSF Expedition "Mind in Vitro–Computing with Living Neurons".
Biography: Mattia Gazzola is the Charles Conrad Kritzer Associate Professor in the Mechanical Science and Engineering Department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He joined UIUC in Fall 2016 after a postdoc at Harvard and a PhD at ETH Zurich. His work lies at the interface between mechanics, biology, robotics, and computing. His studies were awarded with the ETH Medal, Early and Advanced Swiss National Science Foundation Fellowships, NSF CAREER, and featured on the cover of several scientific journals including Science, Nature, PNAS, PRL. He is the Lead PI and co-director of the center-scale NSF Expedition "Mind in Vitro–Computing with Living Neurons".
Practical information
- General public
- Free