Location:
Scottish Microelectronics Centre, Room 1.03/4
Date:
Wednesday, May 10, 2023 - 13:00 to 14:00
Date: Wednesday 10th May 2023, talk 13:00 - 14:00, with pizza at 12:30
Location: Scottish Microelectronics Centre, Room 1.03/4
Dendrites in Nature and Engineering
Prof Michael N. Kozicki (Arizona State University)
Abstract: The dendrite, from the Greek dendron, meaning “tree,” is a structure that develops with a continuously branching tree-like form. Such patterns are ubiquitous in nature at vastly different scales, e.g., from desert washes to the neurons in the brain, which indicates their importance and the universality of their topology. In mathematical terms, a dendrite is merely a system of non-crossing line segments which connect a set of points in a way that the total length of the construct is as short as possible. Given their geometric frugality, they are essentially natural solutions to optimization problems involving the transport of mass, energy, or information from many points in space to a single locus, or vice-versa. This talk presents a broad-ranging examination of dendrites, showing where (and why) they are found in the natural world, and addressing their remarkable characteristics, which include a fractal topology and a seemingly paradoxical high information entropy which resides within a form that possesses a low structural entropy. We will examine dendrites formed by two processes that are relevant to the industrial world - diffusion limited aggregation (DLA) in electrodeposition and Saffman-Taylor (ST) instability in viscous fluid/air interactions. We’ll also consider the consequences of the appearance of dendrites in a few engineered systems, including (1) resistive memory cells which display a statistical distribution of conduction quantization in the on-state that indicates a branching rather than previously-assumed single filament form of the atomic-scale conductive pathways, and (2) Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) for digital identity applications which depend upon the stochasticity and harvestable entropy inherent in DLA and ST patterns.
Bio: Michael Kozicki joined Arizona State University in 1985 from the semiconductor industry and is currently a Professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering and Senior Global Futures Scientist. His research focuses on the development of novel materials, processes, and devices in applications ranging from information storage to digital identity. He has almost 70 US patents granted and several commercialized products, achievements which led to his election as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2015. Dr. Kozicki is also a founder of several start-up companies, including DENSEC ID.
All are welcome – we look forward to seeing you there.
Event Contact Name:
Jamie Marland
