Center: Brain-Inspired Nano Systems


Introduction to the Center for Brain-Inspired Nano Systems (BRAINS) by its directors Prof. Wilfred van der Wiel and Prof. Hans Hilgenkamp.

Our mission is to develop efficient hardware for information processing.

The Center for Brain-Inspired Nano Systems (BRAINS) was established in 2018, combining core expertise in nanoscience and nanotechnology with expertise from computer science, applied mathematics, artificial intelligence and neuroscience, to lay the scientific foundations for a new generation of powerful, energy-efficient computing hardware. Artificial and biological neural networks, in particular the brain, form a main inspiration. It is our ambition to understand the key features underlying the functioning of the brain, and translate those into hardware. Our research includes, but is not limited to reconfigurable, memristive and adaptive materials, artificial neurons and synapses, evolution in materio and neuromorphic architectures. We look at the connection between our hardware and conventional (CMOS) electronics, and at the interface with biological systems. Societal implications and philosophical aspects are studied.

BRAINS is an inter-faculty center of the University of Twente with over 10 principal investigators from the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, the Digital Society Institute and the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social sciences. The center aims to provide coherence and visibility. With its focus and critical mass BRAINS hopes to be a valuable partner in national and international consortia.

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