Dr. Hod Lipson
Columbia University

April 20, 2016
11:00am – 12:00pm
Mildred and Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall

*Co-Sponsored by the School of Engineering and the School of Science

“Robotic Scientists: Automating discovery, from cognitive robotics to computational biology”

Abstract: Can robots discover scientific laws automatically? Despite the prevalence of computing power, the process of finding natural laws and their corresponding equations has resisted automation. This talk will outline a series of recent research projects, starting with self-reflecting robotic systems, and ending with machines that can formulate hypotheses, design experiments, and interpret the results to discover new scientific laws. We will see examples from psychology to cosmology, from classical physics to modern physics, from big science to small science.

Speaker Bio: Hod Lipson is a professor of engineering at Columbia University in New York City. His work on self-aware and self-replicating robots, and the automation of scientific discovery, has received widespread media coverage including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, CNN, and the National Public Radio. Lipson has co-authored over 200 technical papers and speaks frequently at high-profile venues such as TED and the US National Academies. Hod directs the Creative Machines Lab, which pioneers new ways to make machines that create, and machines that are creative. For more information visit http://hodlipson.com.