Bing Brunton - Agile movement and embodied intelligence: Computation and comparative considerations
290 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305
John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Rotunda, E241
Agile movement and embodied intelligence: Computation and comparative considerations
Abstract
I will tell several research stories with the broad theme of developing data-intensive approaches to connect brain and behavior. They all highlight my love of natural behaviors, dynamical systems, and open science. These vignettes feature several fun collaborations, including joint work with experimental neurobiologists, mathematicians, and engineers. In particular, I will ask how insects and birds perform dexterous, coordinated movements in uncertain, complex environments. This ability is enabled by the sensation of mechanical forces to inform rapid corrections in body orientation. In a set of results that combine biomechanics, sparse sensing mathematical theory, and neural encoding, we find that, far from being a bug, neural encoding by biological sensors is a feature that acts as a transformation superbly matched to detect body rotation. Our ongoing and future work explores biological principles that achieve agile movements, including understanding and designing neural-inspired sensors, actuators, and controllers.
Bing Brunton
University of Washington
Bing Brunton joined the faculty at University of Washington (UW) in 2014 to build an interdisciplinary research program at the intersection of biology, neuroengineering, and data science. She is currently an Associate Professor and H. Stewart Parker Faculty Fellow at the Department of Biology, with affiliations at the eScience Institute for Data Science, the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, and the Department of Applied Mathematics. She studied at Caltech (2006, B.S. in Biology, focus on biophysics) and then Princeton (2012, Ph.D. in Neuroscience, focus on computational and systems neuroscience). Her postdoctoral work (2012--2014, University of Washington) expanded her expertise in applied mathematics, dynamical systems, and neuroengineering.
About the Wu Tsai Neuro MBCT Seminar Series
The Stanford Center for Mind, Brain, Computation and Technology Seminars (MBCT) explores ways in which computational and technical approaches are being used to advance the frontiers of neuroscience. It features speakers from other institutions, Stanford faculty and senior training program trainees.