New Funding for High-Fidelity Nerve Mapping Research The NIH's Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions (SPARC) program awarded a U-M project $1 million in funding to develop highly-compliant microneedle arrays for peripheral nerve mapping. The team's project director and principal investigator is John Seymour. [Full Story] $7.75M for mapping circuits in the brain A new NSF Tech Hub will put tools to rapidly advance our understanding of the brain into the hands of neuroscientists. The technology exists to stimulate and map circuits in the brain, but neuroscientists have yet to tap this potential. Now, developers of these technologies are coming together to demonstrate and share them to drive a rapid advance in our understanding of the brain, funded by $7.75 million from the National Science Foundation. [Full Story] Memristor Research Highlights Neuromorphic Device Future Professor Wei Lu is leading an effort to make neuromorphic processor technology a reality. Lus group is focusing on the memristors a two-terminal device that essentially is a resistor with memory that retain its stored data even when turned off that can act like synapses to build computers that can act like the human brain and drive machine learning. [Full Story] Students Seek the Secrets of the Brain in Study Abroad Program Eight undergrad students got the chance to work on cutting edge brain research in Germany this summer through the International Program for the Advancement of Neurotechnology (IPAN). Directed by Prof. Euisik Yoon, the program sent students from around the country to two universities where they experienced a month of in-depth lab work on devices that could help us better understand the brain. [Full Story] Students from the United States visiting various work groups of BrainLinks-BrainTools this summer Four undergrad students participating in the International Program for the Advancement of Neurotechnology (IPAN)'s summer bootcamp visited the cluster of excellence at Freiburg University in Germany. The students received training in modern neuroscience research and tools. IPAN and the study abroad program are directed by Prof. Euisik Yoon. [Full Story] Leaders in Neuroscience Look to the Future Engineers and neuroscientists from around the globe gathered at Michigan to explore the future of neurotechnology and research at the International Conference for Advanced Neurotechnology (ICAN). Understanding the complexity and mysteries of the brain is one of the biggest scientific challenges of this century. ICAN is an inaugural conference to bring engineers and neuroscientists together to review the recent advancement in neurotechnology and neuroscience, define the need for next-generation tools to move neuroscience forward, and enhance the translation of technology to the scientific community. The event included guest lectures and panel discussions, as well as a student poster session. [Full Story] Novel collaboration to probe brain activity in unprecedented detail A pilot program led by Prof. Euisik Yoon will regularly bring together researchers with complementary expertise from different universities to collaborate on advancing research that may lead to a better understanding of the human brain and diseases that affect it. Yoon has been leading a key development of the Michigan Probe, a revolutionary tiny solid-state microsystem developed at U-M that can be used to probe the inner workings of the brain. [Full Story] Mapping the brain: Probes with tiny LEDs shed light on neural pathways With the help of light-emitting diodes as small as neurons, University of Michigan researchers are unlocking the secrets of neural pathways in the brain. The researchers have built and tested in mice neural probes that hold what are believed to be the smallest implantable LEDs ever made. The new probes can control and record the activity of many individual neurons, measuring how changes in the activity of a single neuron can affect its neighbors. The team anticipates that experiments using probes based on their design could lead to breakthroughs in understanding and treating neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's. [Full Story] U-M Leading International Neurotechnology 'Dream Team' for Brain Research and Education A "dream team" of experts in sensors, electronics, data analysis and neuroscience has been awarded a $5 million grant to help unravel the mysteries of the brain and cross-train an international group of neuroscientists and engineers. The project is directed by Prof. Euisik Yoon, and includes experts and partner institutions around the world. [Full Story] Prof. Raj Nadakuditi Awarded DARPA Young Faculty Award for Research that could Help Reveal the Brains Secrets Raj Nadakuditi, assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has received a 2014 DARPA Young Faculty Award for his research project, "Fundamental limits of eigen-wavefront based imaging through highly scattering random media." His research will impact the ability to investigate the structure of brain circuits through the use of optical imaging techniques. [Full Story] Mapping the brain with lasers Individual parts of the brain can be activated and de-activated by shining light on the neurons, and researchers are using this ability to chart how different areas of the brain function. To zoom in on individual neuron circuits within the brain, more precise light sources are needed. ECE professor Euisik Yoon is leading a team that will design and build these new light sources with a variety of lasers. [Full Story] How a metamaterial might improve a depression treatment A brain stimulation technique that is used to treat tough cases of depression could be considerably improved with a new headpiece designed by University of Michigan engineers. [Full Story] Computers that mimic the brain thanks to memristors (video) Prof. Wei Lu and graduate student Patrick Sheridan talk about their research developing a new type of electronic switch that mimics the behavior of a biological neuron in the human brain. Resulting computers can learn without being programmed. [Full Story] MCubing by ECE Faculty to find answers - fast Ten different ECE faculty are teaming up with colleagues across the University - from Epidemiology to Political Science, Ophthalmology to Psychiatry, Neurosurgergy to Astronomy - to pursue new initiatives deemed to have major societal impact in the U-M MCubed program. [Full Story] Kensall D. Wise: Michigan, MEMS and Microsystems Kensall D. Wise, William G. Dow Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, officially retired in June, 2011, though he continues to participate in ongoing research projects - giving his colleagues hope that he will never truly retire. (PDF story) [Full Story] A minimally-invasive brain implant to translate thoughts into movement Prof. Euisik Yoon is developing a minimally-invasive brain implant to detect and wirelessly transmit the brain's neural signals. [Full Story] A Chip to Better Control Brain Stimulators for Parkinsons IEEE Spectrum reported the research of Profs. Michael Flynn and Daryl Kipke into deep-brain stimulation to control the tremors associated with Parkinson's disease. Current technology in the marketplace stimulates the brain in a hit-or-miss fashion. The new technology being developed will enable more intelligent stimulation of the brain. [IEEE Spectrum Article] [See also: NSF Center for Wireless Integrated Microsystems] |