Nobelist Richard Feynman expressed the essence of computational science: “What I cannot create, I do not understand.”

“Thinking computationally” involves specifying the (often hidden) mechanisms, constraints, and costs underlying scientific phenomena, from neuroscience to nanotechnology, enabling us to understand complex systems so thoroughly that we can actually build them in computer simulations.

The Neukom Institute provides teaching, research, mentoring, and inspiration to the next generation of leaders in the multidisciplinary sciences, including robotics, perception, learning, education, neuroscience, novel computer architecture design, and more.

A catalyst for multidisciplinary collaboration at Dartmouth, the Institute currently involves students and faculty from Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Biology, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Neuroscience, the Medical School, the Tuck School, Fine Arts, Economics, Linguistics & Cognitive Sciences, Education, and Philosophy, all engaged in joint grant proposals, cross-listed classes, individual research, laboratory experiments, engineering projects, undergraduate theses, and much more.

A primary focus of research in the Institute is centered on computational analysis of biological and psychological phenomena.  For instance, analyses of brain circuitry are leading to computational brain simulations, and hardware implementations.  These in turn are being used to operate brain-based robots, or “brainbots.” We are also using these models to run software and hardware simulations of language learning, visual recognition, and early developmental learning.  Fundamental questions of computation are raised in the context of how our brains compute; and, reciprocally, computational science is used to understand the complex systems of the brain.  How do our brains store and retrieve memories?  How do genes build organs and bodies?  How are different human languages related to one another?  What mental steps occur in everyday decision-making?  How did the human brain evolve from previous hominid brains?  How do we perceive and distinguish among different sights and sounds?  These and many more topics are being studied by teams of students and faculty via Institute collaborations.

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