IIT Madras commences winter course on Machine Intelligence and Brain Research

IIT Madras started with its winter course on Machine Intelligence and Brain Research of the Center for Computational Brain Research (CCBR) on January 2.

 IIT Madras commenced its Winter Course on Machine Intelligence and Brain Research of the Center for Computational Brain Research (CCBR) on January 2, 2020. The course is designed to provide an interactive perspective on intelligence and brains in general from a neuroscience and engineering viewpoint.

The winter course will conclude on January 10 on campus. The course had over 400 registrations with course credits being offered to 50 IIT Madras students. This year's workshop includes fundamental and research lectures from distinguished speakers from all over the world as well as hands-on tutorials on fundamentals of neuroanatomy, machine learning and data analysis on brain signals.

The CCBR was established at IIT Madras to focus on the two emerging fields of neuroscience and brain research.

Speaking on the inaugural Session Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras said, "We are hoping to see a large amount of global collaboration in this centre, which is already working with researchers across the world. This is the fifth edition of the annual workshop with students benefitting tremendously as they gain exposure to the latest advances in Computational Brain Research and the intersection between biotechnology, machine learning, and brain research."

Three internationally renowned scientists are spearheading the centre’s activities. They are the CCBR Chair Professors - Prof Partha Mitra from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA, Prof Mriganka Sur from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA and Prof Anand Raghunathan from Purdue University, USA - in collaboration with the faculty, and researchers of IIT Madras.

The center's activities focus on three distinct areas namely the circuitry of the brain, the functions of the brain and brain-inspired computing. Some of the goals that the center is working towards include understanding the basic principles of the organization of the brain across species, understanding the fundamental functions of brain networks.

Delivering a lecture on 'Brain wiring and brain disorders,' Prof. Mriganka Sur, Newton Professor of Neuroscience and NR Narayana Murthy Chair, IIT Madras, said, "Brain disorders and diseases occur across the lifespan. They often have a lifelong disease burden and are expected to overtake heart disease and cancer as the most debilitating of diseases. There is a major need for mechanism-based biological understanding and treatments. This will require new approaches, tools, and collaborations across different fields."

Meanwhile, the institute also launched the 'Prof. Subra Suresh Institute Lecture Series' at Bengaluru today on January 4. The lecture series was launched in honour of one of its most illustrious alumni Prof. Subra Suresh, a Distinguished Alumnus Awardee (1997) and currently a Distinguished University Professor and President of the prestigious Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Director of IIT Madras, Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, said that the lecture series will place the spotlight on academic excellence and creativity - two hallmarks of any great academic institution.

Prof. Subra Suresh Institute Lecture Series will bring leading international scholars, engineers and scientists to IIT Madras on a periodic basis, up to twice every year, to discuss key advances in scientific discoveries and technological innovation. The inaugural lecture in this semi-annual lecture series is planned for October 2020 at the IIT Madras campus.

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