In the spring semester of 2011, the SCGP started a new Minicourse on Computational Neuroscience. Its purpose is to bridge a gap between Physics and Maths community and the Neuroscience community. The interplay between theoretical physics, mathematics and neuroscience has always been crucial for the development of new theories of brain functions, starting from the Hopfield network of associative memory in 1982, which is based on the theory of spin glasses in statistical mechanics. Since then, many physicists and mathematicians borrowed ideas and techniques from their field of expertise and successfully applied it to the study of the brain and networks of neurons. With this mini course, we hope to stimulate intellectual curiosity possibly leading to interdisciplinary collaborations, between various Departments on campus.
Fall Semester
The Neuroscience activities for the Fall 2011 Semester will include:
- Weekly group meetings/seminars, along the same lines.
- A Della Pietra lecture featuring a reknowned scientist, with focus on Computational Neuroscience.
- The Physics graduate course 687 on “Topics in biological physics.” Instructor: Luca Mazzucato. This is going to be an introductory course in Computational Neuroscience for graduate students with quantitative backgrounds. Giancarlo La Camera will contribute with two special lecture.
All Activities:
Organizers
Luca Mazzucato luca.mazzucato@stonybrook.edu
Michael R. Douglas michael.douglas@scgp.stonybrook.edu
Giancarlo La Camera giancarlo.lacamera@stonybrook.edu
Useful references:
For any questions regarding these activities please contact Luca Mazzucato (lmazzucato at scgp.stonybrook.edu)