Symposium Sessions

Please contact the symposium organizers with questions.

The convergence of new concepts in materials science, chemistry, electrical engineering, and biomedical engineering has led to the rise of diverse, innovative classes of neural interfacing materials, devices, and microsystems that are enabling in both neuroscience and neural engineering. Various recent materials of interest for advanced neural interfaces include micro- and nanostructures, proteins, and molecules for spatiotemporally specific recording and stimulation, and engineered microsystems and their evolving materials and form factors. These advancements are roughly grouped by modality, ranging from electrical interfacing, to optical, magnetic, ultrasonic and beyond. Still, significant challenges exist from the need to interface the man-made microelectronics, optics, and medical instrumentation with the soft, dynamic circuitry of the brain.

This symposium will focus on the latest advances in materials to compose/control/engineer neuron interfaces to produce functional implants with greater capability (e.g., resolution, throughput, longevity) than what is possible today. The focus includes fundamental materials science, device strategies, system integration, manufacturing/fabrication schemes, and potential neuroscience/biomedical/clinical applications. By bringing together interdisciplinary topics related to physics, chemistry, materials science, electrical engineering, and biomedical engineering, we aim to identify the multidisciplinary efforts necessary to advance fundamental materials science and bring new solutions to neuroscience, neural engineering, and neurosurgery.

Topics will include:

• Advanced neural electrodes
• Advanced photonic neural interfacing devices
• Advanced magnetic neural interfacing devices
• Advanced ultrasonic neural interfacing devices
• Drug delivery to the brain
• Biocompatibility of neural systems with surrounding tissues
• Electroactive materials (inorganic/organic)
• Biostability of the neuroprosthetic devices
• Limb prostheses, artificial retina, cochlear implants, nerve conduits
• Neurochemical sensing

• A tutorial complementing this symposium is tentatively planned.

Invited Speakers:

• Polina Anikeeva (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
• Francesco De angelis (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy)
• Ying Fang (National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China)
• Tim Harris (Janelia Research Campus, USA)
• Guosong Hong (Stanford University, USA)
• Jack Judy (University of Florida, USA)
• Stéphanie Lacour (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland)
• Hyunjoo Lee (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea)
• Kip Ludwig (University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA)
• Michel Maharbiz (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
• George Malliaras (Ecole de MINES Saint-Étienne, France)
• David Martin (University of Delaware, USA)
• Michael Moore (Tulane University, USA)
• Nathalia Peixoto (George Mason University, USA)
• Daniel Razansky (ETH Zürich, Switzerland)
• Jacob Robinson (Rice University, USA)
• John Rogers (Northwestern University, USA)
• Xing Sheng (Tsinghua University, China)
• Nian X. Sun (Northeastern University, USA)
• Bozhi Tian (University of Chicago, USA)
• James Weiland (University of Michigan, USA)
• Lan Yin (Tsinghua University, China)
• Myung-Han Yoon (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea)

Symposium Organizers