SYMPOSIUM @ SISTA 2013 Honorary doctorates 'brainstormers'

Tuesday February 5th, 2013 - Leuven, Belgium
Prof. Tamás Roska - Prof. Leon Chua

Leon Chua (born 1936) is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is recognised as the father of the theory of non-linear circuits and cellular neural networks and was the first to describe the existence of the 'memristor', a new element for electric circuit design with the ability to improve a computer's memory. In recent years, the memristor has been used as a model for the functioning of brain cells, leading to an improved understanding of them. 

Tamás Roska (born 1940) is Professor of Information Technology at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest. Building on Chua's theory, he was instrumental in developing the Cellular Neural Network Computer (CNN) and achieved major breakthroughs in real-time image processing. After the Cold War, he played a leading role in re-establishing the Faculty of Information Technology at his university.

KU Leuven is honouring Chua and Roska, who have collaborated with one another intensively over many years, with a shared honorary doctorate for their groundbreaking insights into electronics and information technology. Their work has enabled the design of technology that emulates the workings of the brain. They have opened the way for a variety of visual, tactile and other applications that will lead the revolution in communication between man and machine.

Promotor: Professor Joos Vandewalle, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering-ESAT.