Bringing Leadership Together Across Neuroscience, AI, and Neurotechnology

About the Symposium

The intersection of neuroscience, advanced neurotechnologies, and artificial intelligence represents one of the most dynamic frontiers in modern science. Federal agencies—including the NIH, DoD, and NSF—are rapidly expanding investments in neuro-AI, emphasizing the convergence of biological intelligence and engineered computation. Purdue is strategically positioned to lead this effort, given its strengths in neuroscience, neuroengineering, AI systems, and computational modeling. The Purdue Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Neuro-AI Symposium would formalize this leadership, catalyze interdisciplinary collaboration, and align campus strengths with evolving national research priorities.

This initiative builds directly on Purdue’s growing momentum. Recent successes—most notably the DoD MURI award focused on energy-efficient brain computation and the use of cutting-edge neurotechnologies—demonstrate federal recognition of Purdue’s excellence in cognitive and computational neural dynamics and its growing strength in electrical and optical neurotechnologies. Federal directives such as the NIH BRAIN Initiative and NSF-funded Neural and Cognitive Systems programs further illustrate a broad and mature research ecosystem. The Purdue Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Neuro-AI Symposium provides a cohesive institutional mechanism to integrate these communities, foster new collaborations, and elevate Purdue’s visibility with federal program managers and industry partners.

Purdue’s existing infrastructure provides an exceptional foundation. The College of Engineering, the BIRCK Nanotechnology Center, PIINs, and the Institute for Physical-AI collectively offer world-class capabilities in microfabrication, neural interfacing, and AI-driven analysis. Coordinating these resources through a cross-cutting symposium would transform distributed excellence into a unified campus identity in Neuro-AI, creating new pathways for center-scale funding and student recruitment in this emerging domain.

Symposium

Symposium Speakers and Themes:

Speakers and Themes for the 2-day Symposium and Panel Discussion

Plenary

  • Nicholas Hatsoupolous (U Chicago)
  • Ken Shepard (CU)

Theme 1

BMI’s / AI

  • Marco Capogrosso (Pitt)
  • Rajesh Rao (UW)
  • Chethan Pandarinath (GaTech)
  • Maria Dadarlat (Purdue)

Theme 2

NeuroTechnology (Probes)

  • Lan Luan (Rice)
  • Jia Liu (Harvard)
  • Shadi Dayeh (UCSD)
  • Jianguo Mei (Purdue)

Theme 3

Neuro-Optics

  • Alipasha Vazihiri (Rockefeller)
  • Weijian Yang (UC Davis)
  • Fang Huang (Purdue)

Theme 4

Neural Dynamics

  • Fernando-Ruiz (Cornell)
  • Yuri Vlassov (University of Illinois)
  • Dima Rinberg (NYU)
  • Krishna Jayant (Purdue)

Theme 5

Neuro-AI

  • Brad Aimone (Sandia)
  • Rajit Manohar (Yale)
  • Joseph Makin (Purdue)
  • Shreyas Sen (Purdue)

Symposium Agenda:

Schedule of Events

Friday, May 22, 2026

The Purdue Neuroscience, Neurotechnology and Neuro-AI Symposium - Friday Schedule
Time Description Location
8 – 8:45 am Breakfast and Coffee Stewart Center 214 ABCD
8:45 am Opening Remarks Stewart Center 214 ABCD
9 am Plenary Talk with Ken Shepard, Lau Family Professor of Electrical Engineering and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University Stewart Center 214 ABCD
10:05 – 11:50 am Theme 1: BMI's / AI

  • Marco Capogrosso, University of Pittsburgh
  • Rajesh Rao, University of Washington
  • Chethan Pandarinath, Georgia Tech
  • Maria Dadarlat, Purdue University
Stewart Center 214 ABCD
Noon – 1:15 pm Lunch served Stewart Center 214 ABCD
1:15 – 3:35 pm Theme 2: Neurotechnology (Probes)

  • Lan Luan, Rice University
  • Jia Liu, Harvard University
  • Shadi Dayeh, University of California, San Diego
  • Jianguo Mei, Purdue University
Stewart Center 214 ABCD
3:40 – 5:40 pm Theme 3: Neuro-Optics

  • Alipasha Vazihiri, The Rockefeller University
  • Weijuan Yang, The University of California, Davis
  • Fang Huang, Purdue University
Stewart Center 214 ABCD
6 pm Poster Session Stewart 206
6:30 pm Dinner served Stewart 214 ABCD

Saturday, May 23, 2026

The Purdue Neuroscience, Neurotechnology and Neuro-AI Symposium - Saturday Schedule
Time Description Location
8 – 8:45 am Breakfast and Coffee Stewart Center 214 ABCD
9 am Plenary Talk with Nicholas Hatsopoulos, A.J. Carlson Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, Professor of Neurology, Professor of Neuroscience Institute, Committee on Computational Neuroscience, Committee on Neurobiology, The University of Chicago Stewart Center 214 ABCD
10:05 am – 12:20 pm Theme 4: Neural Dynamics

  • Fernando-Ruiz, Cornell University
  • Yuri Vlassov, University of Illinois
  • Dima Rinberg, New York University
  • Krishna Jayant, Purdue University
Stewart Center 214 ABCD
12:30 pm Lunch served Stewart Center 214 ABCD
1:15 - 3:55 pm Theme 5: Neuro-AI

  • Brad Aimone, Sandia National Laboratories
  • Rajit Manohar, Yale University
  • Joseph Makin, Purdue University
  • Shreyas Den, Purdue University
Stewart Center 214 ABCD
4 – 5 pm Panel Discussion: AI for Neuro or Neuro for AI
Moderated by Chris Rochet, Purdue University

  • Krishna Jayant, Purdue University
  • Ananth Grama, Purdue University
  • Program Officers
Stewart Center 214 ABCD

Krishna Jayant

Contact:

Leslie A. Geddes Assistant Professor
Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering