Computational Modelling of the Brain

Mario Negrello obtained a mechanical engineering degree in Brazil (1997), and later after a period in the industry (VW, 1999-2004) obtained his Masters degree (2006) and PhD (summa cum laude) in Cognitive Science at the University of Osnabrück in Germany, in 2009. At the Fraunhofer Institute in Sankt Augustin (Germany) for Intelligent Dynamics and Autonomous Systems, he researched artificial evolution of neural network controllers for autonomous robots (2007/08). This work was awarded a scholarship by the International Society of Neural Networks (INNS) to sponsor an eight-month period (2008/09) as a visiting researcher at the Computational Synthesis Lab at the Aerospace Engineering department of the Cornell University in USA (with Hod Lipson). In his first post doctoral period he acted a group leader at the Computational Neuroscience laboratory at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (with Erik De Schutter). He now is assistant professor in computational neuroscience in the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, where he combines empirical research and computational models (dept. head Chris De Zeeuw). He is also head of the Neurocomputing lab in Rotterdam. Mario Negrello has published in the fields of Machine Learning, Cognitive Robotics, Artificial Life, Evolutionary Robotics, Neuroethology and Neuroscience, as well as a monograph published by Springer US in the Series Cognitive and Neural systems entitled Invariants of Behavior (2012).

 

Daniele Linaro received his MSc in Electronic Engineering from the Univ. of Genoa (Italy) in 2007 and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the same university in 2011.

In the same year, he was awarded a fellowship from the Flemish Research Foundation - FWO to conduct postdoctoral work in the Laboratory of Theoretical Neurobiology and Neuroengineering at the University of Antwerp, under the supervision of Prof. Michele Giugliano, where he used dynamic-clamp to elucidate the computational capabilitie