By Mattia Gazzola (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Talk 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 to date, successes and challenges.

Speaker Bio: Mattia Gazzola is an 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 PhD at ETH Zurich. His work lies at the interface between numerics, mechanics, robotics, biology, 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 and PRL. He is the Lead PI and co-director of the center-scale NSF Expedition “Mind in Vitro — Computing with Living Neurons”.