Valentino Braitenberg Award 2014 goes to Alexander Borst

On September 3rd, 2014, at 5 p.m. the second Valentino Braitenberg Award for Computational Neuroscience will be presented to Alexander Borst from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried. The award will be handed over at the Bernstein Conference in Göttingen.

Main research focus of the biologist is neural information processing at the level of individual neurons and small neural circuits. As an example for neural computation, Alexander Borst studies visual course control in the fruit fly Drosophila. "This is a tractable system for the following reasons: It involves computations of modest complexity, these computations are implemented in circuits that contain a rather limited number of neurons (typically less than 100), and each of these neurons can be genetically targeted allowing manipulation and recording of its activity", Borst explains.

For a comprehensive picture of information processing in the visual system, Alexander Borst combines precise anatomical reconstructions of the neuronal elements with detailed characterizations of their physiological response properties and their functional role in behavior. Computational modeling allows him and his research group to confirm their findings in a theoretical framework and make predictions for future experiments. Finally, they use their knowledge to engineer artificial flying vehicles equipped with camera systems that implement fly-inspired motion detection algorithms.

The Braitenberg Award will be conferred on September 3rd, 2014, within the framework of the Bernstein Conference in Göttingen which takes place in the Central Lecture Hall (ZHG), Platz der Göttinger Sieben 5. The award ceremony - including a lecture by the awardee - will take place at 5 p.m.

Alexander Borst's website at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried.

Valentino Braitenberg Award for Computational Neuroscience

The award is named after Prof. Dr. Valentino Braitenberg (1926, Bozen - 2011, Tübingen). Valentino Braitenberg was a pioneer of the modern research field of Computational Neuroscience and has significantly contributed to the development of biological cybernetics and also inspired robotics and artificial intelligence.

Please find further information on the Award's website.