Abstract:

The purpose and promise of electronic noses is realization of the exquisite selectivity and sensitivity that of the mammalian olfactory system. In biology, this feat is achieved by a co-evolutionary adaptation of an inherently stochastic development and noisy signal transduction processes through a layered neural network backend. In this talk, I will discuss the enabling facility, in terms of the total cost of manufacturing and its discriminatory power in operation, of adaptive neural information processing in the context of olfaction by means of a speciality nanostructured hollow core infrared filtering/guiding fibers. I will argue, by telling an account of my personal journey from nano to bio to neuro, that the recent revival of neuro-computation has now become a great asset, an indispensable enabling component in nanotechnology.

Short Biography of the Speaker:

My doctorate work was on residual stress analysis using X-ray and neutron diffraction that I finished at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. After that, as a post-doc at UNAM, Bilkent University, I worked on the synthesis of infrared materials, fabrication of multilayer thin films, polymer nanostructured fibers and building infrared spectroscopy systems. These work resulted in the design of a new optoelectronic based olfaction system. Since 2011, I am a faculty member at the aeronautical Enginering Department at the University of the Turkish Aeronautical Association and my current research involves integrating neurocomputation to nanostructured systems, specifically focusing on breath biopsy.