Leadership

Dr. Simon Sponberg is Dunn Family Associate Professor in the School of Physics and the School of Biological Sciences (College of Sciences). Dr. Sponberg and his research group (the Agile Systems Lab) explore how neurons precisely orchestrate motor activity at the millisecond scale, how the versatility of muscle arises from the physics of billions of organized tiny molecular motors, how animals acquire, process, and act on sensory information to rapidly control agile flight and how flowers blow in the wind (and what that does to the pollinators around them). His lab has developed methods for recording a nearly complete motor program of every spike in the motor system of a behaving insect and using multielectrode arrays to assess precise spiking activity across multiple brain regions. They welcome interdisciplinary students interested in electrophysiology, motor control, neuromuscular physiology, neurophysics, comparative neuromechanics, and computational neuroscience. He now leads an Air Force Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) bringing together neuroscientists and engineers from five universities to understand how the brains of organisms achieve fast, flexible perception and decision making in complex sensory environments.

Dr. Christopher Rozell is the Julian T. Hightower Chaired Professor in the School of Electrical & Computer Engineering (College of Engineering). Dr. Rozell's research combines aspects of neuroscience, neuroengineering, dynamical systems, control theory, and machine learning to advance our understanding of brain function and the design of effective therapies. The impact of this work includes the development of novel neurostimulation therapies for psychiatric and neurologic disorders, new models of how brain activity encodes cognitive and perceptual information, and new technologies to advance scientific discovery. In addition to his work developing intelligent interactions with the brain, Dr. Rozell's scholarly activity also includes research and creative work that advances our understanding of the ethics, policy, and public engagement issues around emerging areas such as neurotechnology and AI. Dr. Rozell is proud to be a first-generation scholar who is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our educational institutions and scientific communities. He is a co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of Neuromatch, Inc., a global nonprofit increasing access to scientific knowledge through inclusive conferences and summer schools.

Dr. Jennifer Singh is Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of History and Sociology (Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts). Dr. Singh is a sociologist who specializes in medical sociology and science and technology studies. She is an expert in qualitative research, which investigates the intersections of science, health, and society. Her book, Multiple Autisms: Spectrums of Advocacy and Genomic Science, is a multi-sited ethnography that explores a range of perspectives from scientists, activists, parents, and people living with autism surrounding the rise, implementation, and impact of autism genetics research. Her current research examines the intersectional inequities to autism services and diagnosis among low-income racial and ethnic minority communities. Accompanying this research, Dr. Singh is designing public facing materials, data visualizations, and interactive platforms that will raise awareness and mitigate autism services inequities. She teaches courses on medical sociology, sociology of science and technology, and race, medicine, and science.