Neuroarchitectonic Devices using Atomic Switches

IMT Distinguished Lecture (please note the updated time at 3pm)

Abstract: In recent years there has been an ever-increasing explosion of “Big Data” mainly in the form of unstructured data sets. Likewise, the growth of our awareness of complexity and emergent behavior has been recognized in networks ranging from social media, economics, bio complexity and the weather.  Together with the slowing down of Moore’s law, these factors have promulgated a search for alternative forms of computation that can handle and assess risk in complex environments. As a consequence Neuromorphic computational approaches using hardware implementing memristive approaches has gained in interest. Atomic Switch Networks (ASN’s) are devices inspired by the electrical and structural characteristics of the neocortex. Single atomic switches have been shown to exhibit both long-term and short-term memorization based on their history of excitation dynamics. When connected together in a massively dense network using nanoarchitectonics they additionally display emergent behavior observable using multielectrode arrays similar to EEG to follow their spatio-temporal dynamics. A number of architectures using spike timing dependent plasticity (STDP), Hopfield networks and Reservoir computation  (RC) are promising methods to implement neuromorphics.  RC approaches essentially take time series data are suitable for problems such as ASN devices have been used as a potential hardware platform. 

Bio: Dr. James K. Gimzewski is a professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles and member of the California NanoSystems Institute. His current research includes STM and AFM of graphene and its nanomechanics, fabrication of atomic switch networks to emulate the neocortex and the mechanobiology of cells, exosomes and actin bound with neuronal binding proteins. Dr. Gimzewski is a Fellow of the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering. He has received honorary Doctorates (DSc hc & PhD hc) from the University of Aix II in Marseille, France and from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. He was Principal Investigator & satellite co-director of the WPI program, MANA, at the National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS) in Tsukuba, Japan. He is currentlyo Scientific director of the UCLA Art|Sci Center. Prior to joining the UCLA faculty in 2001, he was a group leader at IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, where he conducted research in nanoscale science and technology for more than 18 years. Dr. Gimzewski pioneered research on mechanical and electrical contacts with single atoms and molecules using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM).