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NanoManufacturing

Michael De Volder, Engineering Department - IfM
 
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This is a superlist of research seminars in Cambridge open to all interested researchers. Weekly extracts of this list (plus additional talks not yet on talks.cam) are emailed to a distribution list of over 200 Cambridge researchers by Research Services Division. To join the list click here https://lists.cam.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/biophy-cure For more information see http://www.cure.group.cam.ac.uk or email drs45[at]rsd.cam.ac.uk
Updated: 45 min 55 sec ago

Fri 30 May 14:00: Title to be confirmed

Tue, 29/04/2025 - 11:02
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Wed 05 Nov 14:30: Title to be confirmed

Tue, 29/04/2025 - 10:46
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Fri 13 Jun 14:00: Title to be confirmed

Tue, 29/04/2025 - 09:54
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Fri 06 Jun 14:00: Title to be confirmed

Tue, 29/04/2025 - 09:53
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Fri 16 May 14:00: Title to be confirmed

Tue, 29/04/2025 - 09:52
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Wed 28 May 15:05: Hard and soft equivariance priors via Steerable CNNs

Tue, 29/04/2025 - 09:18
Hard and soft equivariance priors via Steerable CNNs

Equivariance can enhance the data efficiency of machine learning models by incorporating prior knowledge about a problem. Thanks to their flexibility and generality, steerable CNNs are a popular design choice for equivariant networks. By leveraging concepts from harmonic analysis, these networks model symmetries through specific constraints on their learnable weights or filters. This framework facilitates the practical implementation of a wide variety of equivariant architectures – e.g. to most Euclidean isometries, including E(3), E(2) and their subgroups.

However, unknown or imperfect symmetries can sometimes lead to overconstrained weights and suboptimal performance. This challenge motivated the study of strategies to enforce softer priors into the models. In the second half of this talk, we will discuss a novel probabilistic approach to learning the degrees of equivariance in steerable CNNs. The method replaces the equivariance constraint on the weights with an expectation over a learnable distribution, which is analytically computed by leveraging its Fourier decomposition.

Link to join virtually: https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/87421957265

This talk is being recorded. If you do not wish to be seen in the recording, please avoid sitting in the front three rows of seats in the lecture theatre. Any questions asked will also be included in the recording. The recording will be made available on the Department’s webpage

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Fri 02 May 08:45: A novel approach to the maxillary nerve: The Palatine Technique

Tue, 29/04/2025 - 09:16
A novel approach to the maxillary nerve: The Palatine Technique

Iliana graduated from the University of Thessaloniki in 2017. After undertaking 4 internships and spending a couple of years in first opinion practice, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a veterinary anaesthesiologist. She started her residency at the University of Cambridge in 2023.

Chaired by Muriel Dresen and Olivier Restif

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Wed 07 May 14:00: Synthesis RIG Postdoc Seminar - Dr Antti Lahdenpera and Dr Sona Krajcovicova

Mon, 28/04/2025 - 21:47
Synthesis RIG Postdoc Seminar - Dr Antti Lahdenpera and Dr Sona Krajcovicova

“Strategies for controlling enantioselectivity in radical reactions” and “Novel Synthetic Approaches for Next-Generation Therapeutics”

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Fri 30 May 13:00: Gravitational Wave Signatures of Dark Matter in Neutron Star Mergers

Mon, 28/04/2025 - 19:30
Gravitational Wave Signatures of Dark Matter in Neutron Star Mergers

Binary neutron star mergers provide insights into strong-field gravity and the properties of ultra-dense nuclear matter. These events offer the potential to search for signatures of physics beyond the standard model, including dark matter. We present the first numerical-relativity simulations of binary neutron star mergers admixed with dark matter, based on constraint-solved initial data. Modeling dark matter as a non-interacting fermionic gas, we investigate the impact of varying dark matter fractions and particle masses on the merger dynamics, ejecta mass, post-merger remnant properties, and the emitted gravitational waves. Our simulations suggest that the dark matter morphology – a dense core or a diluted halo – may alter the merger outcome. Scenarios with a dark matter core tend to exhibit a higher probability of prompt collapse, while those with a dark matter halo develop a common envelope, embedding the whole binary. Furthermore, gravitational wave signals from mergers with dark matter halo configurations exhibit significant deviations from standard models when the tidal deformability is calculated in a two-fluid framework neglecting the dilute and extended nature of the halo. This highlights the need for refined models in calculating the tidal deformability when considering mergers with extended dark matter structures. These initial results provide a basis for further exploration of dark matter’s role in binary neutron star mergers and their associated gravitational wave emission and can serve as a benchmark for future observations from advanced detectors and multi-messenger astrophysics.

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Tue 27 May 13:00: Title to be confirmed

Mon, 28/04/2025 - 17:42
Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

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Tue 13 May 13:00: Explainable AI in Neuroscience: From Interpretability to Biomarker Discovery

Mon, 28/04/2025 - 17:31
Explainable AI in Neuroscience: From Interpretability to Biomarker Discovery

Explainability plays a pivotal role in building trust and fostering the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, particularly in high-stakes domains like neuroscience where decisions directly affect patient outcomes. While progress in AI interpretability has been substantial, there remains a lack of clear, domain-specific guidelines for constructing meaningful and clinically relevant explanations. In this talk, I will explore how explainable AI (XAI) can be effectively integrated into neuroscience applications. I will outline practical strategies for leveraging interpretability methods to uncover novel patterns in neural data, and discuss how these insights can inform the identification of emerging biomarkers. Drawing on recent developments, I will highlight adaptable XAI frameworks that enhance transparency and support data-driven discovery. To validate these concepts, I will present illustrative case studies involving large language models (LLMs) and vision transformers applied to neuroscience. These examples serve as proof of concept, showcasing how explainable AI can not only translate complex model behavior into human-understandable insights, but also support the discovery of novel patterns and potential biomarkers relevant to clinical and research applications.

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Tue 13 May 14:00: Title to be confirmed

Mon, 28/04/2025 - 15:54
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Mon 19 May 14:00: Title to be confirmed

Mon, 28/04/2025 - 15:53
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Fri 23 May 16:30: Brain Mechanisms of Attention: Sensory Selection to Free Will The host for this talk is Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

Mon, 28/04/2025 - 13:55
Brain Mechanisms of Attention: Sensory Selection to Free Will

The Host for this talk is Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

ABSTRACT : Selective attention relies on intricate neural mechanisms that shape how the brain processes information. In this lecture, I will present findings from our research on the neural underpinnings of voluntary spatial, feature, and object attention, utilizing EEG , fMRI and eye-tracking methods. I will highlight key findings related to attentional control within the frontal and parietal cortices, as well as how these mechanisms influence sensory and perceptual processing. In addition, I will present studies investigating voluntary attention in free-choice conditions, where individuals exert their free will to direct attention without external guidance. This presentation is framed by our Specificity of Control (SpoC) model of attention, which emphasizes the microstructural organization

The host for this talk is Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

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Fri 02 May 13:00: The Black Hole Threshold

Mon, 28/04/2025 - 12:16
The Black Hole Threshold

Numerical evolutions show that, in spherical symmetry, as we move through the solution space of GR to the threshold of black hole formation, the resulting spacetimes tend to display a surprising degree of simplicity. A heuristic description of this behavior, called critical collapse, has been built around this empirical fact. Less is known when symmetry is dropped. In this presentation I will review the current status of the topic, focusing in particular on the struggle to understand the situation in axisymmetry.

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Thu 01 May 13:00: Opening the Box of Chocolates: a Tasting Introduction to Studies of Cacao and Chocolate

Mon, 28/04/2025 - 11:43
Opening the Box of Chocolates: a Tasting Introduction to Studies of Cacao and Chocolate

Taking the form of a guided tasting, this talk will explore some of the key questions around the science and history of cacao cultivation and chocolate production.

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Thu 19 Jun 14:00: Four Generations of High-Dimensional Neural Network Potentials

Mon, 28/04/2025 - 11:30
Four Generations of High-Dimensional Neural Network Potentials

Machine learning potentials (MLPs) have become an important tool for atomistic simulations in many fields, from chemistry to materials science. The reason for the popularity of MLPs is their ability to provide very accurate energies and forces, which are essentially indistinguishable from the underlying reference electronic structure calculations. Still, the computational costs are much reduced enabling large-scale simulations of complex systems. Almost two decades ago, in 2007, the introduction of high-dimensional neural network potentials (HDNNP) by Behler and Parrinello paved the way for the application of MLPs to condensed systems containing a large number of atoms. Still, the original second-generation HDNN Ps, like most current MLPs, are based on a locality approximation of the atomic interactions that are truncated at some finite distance. Third-generation MLPs contain long-range electrostatic interactions up to infinite distance and overcome this restriction to short-range energies. Still, there are surprisingly many systems in which long-range electrostatic interactions are insufficient for a physically correct description, since non-local phenomena like long-range charge transfer are essential. Such global effects can be considered in fourth-generation HDNN Ps. In this talk the evolution of HDNN Ps will be discussed along with some key systems illustrating their applicability.

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Tue 29 Apr 11:00: Axion dark matter - The Good, Bad and New ways to detect it

Mon, 28/04/2025 - 11:15
Axion dark matter - The Good, Bad and New ways to detect it

Axion dark matter is an interesting candidate for several reasons. Axions or axion-like particles appear in many theories beyond the standard model and there is a theoretical motivation for them to be light. They have many desirable properties, but also predict effects that are challenging for heavier, cold dark matter. I will discuss how there are observables connected to these effects that could be observed in the lab with a focus on quantum sensors, as well as novel approaches at colliders.

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Latest news

We are hiring!

4 January 2021

We are seeking to hire a research assistant to work on carbon nanotube based microdevices. More information is available here: www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/28202/

We are Hiring!

4 January 2021

We are seeking to hire a postdoc researcher to work on the structuring of Li-ion battery electrodes. More information is available here: www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/28197/