|
Jon Newman PhD Candidate |
|
|
|
Jon Newman PhD Candidate |
|
Contact Information
|
|
I am a graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. I would really like to (and plan to) understand how networks of neurons and glial cells selectively store new information in reaction to sensory perturbation while retaining and recalling old information. Besides nerd stuff, I like frisbee (which might be considered dork stuff), cycling, and various types of music (but not all types).
The fantastic success of the physical sciences in the past century is largely due to the synergistic relationship between those studying theory and those pursuing experimental work. All successful physicists respect and understand both sides of this scientific relationship. As a result, theoretical work is presented with potential experiments in mind and experiments have a formal purpose. It is my opinion that this healthy relationship is largely absent from the biological sciences. Perhaps this is most obvious when studying the brain, which requires abstraction simply to describe function, let alone the mechanics governing function. For instance, there is an obvious disconnect between work elucidating the compendium of single neuron behaviors in the language of dynamical systems theory and behavioral studies in awake behaving animals. However, this disconnect need not exist!
I feel that as a bioengineer who is trained in both technical concepts (dynamical systems, controls, electronics, electromagnetics, and mechanics) and the biological sciences, I have an opportunity to act as bridge between theory presented as mathematical formalism and 'wet lab' experiment. I firmly believe that in order to understand the brain (that is to develop laws satisfactory for the implementation of successful control), the mountains of observations and anecdotal studies that have been amassed through the years must be cast into a formal language. In physics, this means the language of mathematics. In genetics, this means the language of nucleotides. By understanding and respecting both sides of the story, I plan to help make this a reality.
|
|