Groups > Self-Organizing Systems
Our research focuses on natural and artificial systems in which the overall behaviors, which are often quite complex, emerge from the interactions of a host of simple components, without any form of global direction during either the formation or the maintenance of the emergent structure.
Self-organizing systems include everything from the purely physical, such as convection currents in gases and liquids, to the physicochemical, such as reaction-diffusion patterns, to the biological realm, where some of the most impressive examples appear. These include flocking in birds, nest-building in social insects, and the general process of embryogenesis.
However, the self-organizing system that most captures the SOS group's attention is the brain. We study two aspects of self-organization in neuroscience: 1) the emergence of intelligent behavior from the interactions of large neural populations, and 2) the emergence of sophisticated neural controllers, such as the mammalian brain, via an evolutionary process.
Self-organizing systems include everything from the purely physical, such as convection currents in gases and liquids, to the physicochemical, such as reaction-diffusion patterns, to the biological realm, where some of the most impressive examples appear. These include flocking in birds, nest-building in social insects, and the general process of embryogenesis.
However, the self-organizing system that most captures the SOS group's attention is the brain. We study two aspects of self-organization in neuroscience: 1) the emergence of intelligent behavior from the interactions of large neural populations, and 2) the emergence of sophisticated neural controllers, such as the mammalian brain, via an evolutionary process.
Faculty
PhD Students
