{ "143689-21893651": { "datetime_modified":"20260203T112836", "datetime_start":"20260218T160000", "datetime_end":"20260218T170000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-02-18", "date_end":"2026-02-18", "time_start":"16:00:00", "time_end":"17:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"CCMB\/DCMB Weekly Seminar Series featuring Jack Van Horn, PhD (Professor of Psychology and Data Science University of Virginia)", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"CCMB\/DCMB Weekly Seminar Series featuring Jack Van Horn, PhD (Professor of Psychology and Data Science University of Virginia): \"Digital Neural Organoids: Learning via Waves, Geometry, and Space\"", "event_subtitle":"\"Digital Neural Organoids: Learning via Waves, Geometry, and Space\"", "event_type":"Workshop \/ Seminar", "event_type_id":"21", "description":"Abstract\nHow does information move through the brain, and could the physical shape of a system be just as important as its connections? In this lecture, I will explore a new way of thinking about neural networks\u2014where signals travel as waves across curved surfaces, and learning happens by slowly reshaping the space through which those waves flow. Using networks inspired by cells arranged as 3D \u201cdigital neural organoids\u201d, I will illustrate how activity spreads across layered, spherical networks, forming wavefronts, spirals, and rhythmic patterns. These waves are not just visual curiosities: their timing, direction, and stability determine how well information reaches key regions of the system. By modulating the positions of individual nodes, the network trains itself, focusing signals inward, synchronizing their arrival, and reducing noise\u2014much like adjusting the shape of a lens to bring an image into view. The lecture will include animated visualizations of nested organoid surfaces changing over time, directing signals toward a central core, and sometimes swirling into persistent spatial patterns that can store information. No particularly advanced mathematics is required. Instead, I hope to build intuition around familiar ideas\u2014waves, flow, and geometry\u2014to show how learning and computation might emerge from space itself. This fresh perspective opens new ways to think about brain development, artificial intelligence, and the future of biologically inspired computing.", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"143689-21893651@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/143689", "building_id":"1000190", "building_name":"Medical Science Unit I", "campus_maps_id":"104", "room":"4B700", "location_name":"Medical Science Unit I", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Artificial Intelligence","Bioinformatics","Biology","Biosciences","Life Science","Research"], "website":"https:\/\/umich.zoom.us\/j\/93929606089?pwd=SHh6R1FOQm8xMThRemdxTEFMWWpVdz09", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"DCMB Seminar Series", "group_id":"3754", "website":"" }, { "group_name":"Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics DCMB", "group_id":"5384", "website":"" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_143689_original-1.png" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21893651 } , "144798-21895957": { "datetime_modified":"20260129T161720", "datetime_start":"20260218T160000", "datetime_end":"20260218T170000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-02-18", "date_end":"2026-02-18", "time_start":"16:00:00", "time_end":"17:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"Information Session: Accelerated Master\u2019s Degree Program in Transcultural Studies", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"Information Session: Accelerated Master\u2019s Degree Program in Transcultural Studies: Earn your MA in one additional year!", "event_subtitle":"Earn your MA in one additional year!", "event_type":"Presentation", "event_type_id":"16", "description":"Join us to learn more about Transcultural Studies, an interdisciplinary accelerated master's degree program designed to enable current undergraduate students in LSA to earn their MA degree with one additional year of study beyond their bachelor\u2019s degree.\n\nTuesday, February 17, 2026 @ 4 PM\nWednesday, February 18, 2026 @ 4 PM\n\nThe fall application cycle is open to current LSA juniors.\nFall term applications are due March 15, 2026.\n\n-----------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nDo you anticipate pursuing a PhD or a career involving international travel, cross-cultural partnerships, or collaborative work in a diverse workplace? U-M's accelerated MA program in Transcultural Studies can help you develop the historical, theoretical, and practical knowledge you need to navigate forward-looking graduate education and career pathways in an increasingly cosmopolitan and interconnected world. Transcultural Studies uses approaches from across the Humanities and Social Sciences to foster a critical and historically informed understanding of human communication and interaction across perceived boundaries of culture, nationality, race, and religious identity.\n\nThis interdisciplinary program is intended to provide both advanced training and a capstone experience for current LSA undergraduates who anticipate pursuing a PhD or working in business or non-profit contexts where intercultural competency and a critical framework for thinking systematically about connections, comparisons, and translations among human communities will be desirable skills.", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"144798-21895957@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/144798", "building_id":"null", "building_name":"Off Campus Location", "campus_maps_id":"1", "room":"", "location_name":"Virtual", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Admissions","Graduate School","Information Session","Interdisciplinary","Transcultural Studies","Undergraduate Students"], "website":"https:\/\/myumi.ch\/rA5Rj", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Comparative Literature", "group_id":"1103", "website":"" }, { "group_name":"History of Art", "group_id":"1034", "website":"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/histart\/events" }, { "group_name":"Department of Afroamerican and African Studies", "group_id":"1144", "website":"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/daas\/" }, { "group_name":"Department of Film, Television, and Media", "group_id":"2347", "website":"" }, { "group_name":"Romance Languages & Literatures RLL", "group_id":"2963", "website":"https:\/\/lsa.umich.edu\/rll" }, { "group_name":"Department of American Culture", "group_id":"3309", "website":"http:\/\/lsa.umich.edu\/ac" }, { "group_name":"Asian Languages and Cultures", "group_id":"3364", "website":"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/asian" }, { "group_name":"Department of Anthropology", "group_id":"3469", "website":"https:\/\/lsa.umich.edu\/anthro" }, { "group_name":"Department of History", "group_id":"3470", "website":"" }, { "group_name":"Department of English Language and Literature", "group_id":"3604", "website":"" }, { "group_name":"Germanic Languages & Literatures", "group_id":"3621", "website":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/umichGerman\/" }, { "group_name":"Program in Transcultural Studies", "group_id":"4043", "website":"" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/01\/event_144798_original-1.png" }, "occurrence_count":2, "first_occurrence":21895956 } }