We are delighted to welcome Professor Beatriz Noheda to the school as part of our 2024-25 Sir Harrie Massey Colloquia Series.

Professor Noheda will deliver a lecture titled 'The Matter of Future Computers'. An abstract and biography can be found below.

Abstract:

Although neuromorphic computing concepts have been put forward half a century ago, the urgency for low power solutions that can process big data efficiently is a recent development. So far, neuromorphic (or brain-inspired) computing is the only paradigm that can offer energy savings of several orders of magnitude. However, getting there requires a huge multidisciplinary effort and a holistic approach that starts with the use of devices with intrinsic plasticity. Here I will highlight how recent progress in materials science is opening the way for future cognitive devices, giving examples from the research of my own group. In particular, I will present work on memristive devices with transition metal oxides, such as nickelates and manganites, as well as with novel nanoscale ferroelectrics based on hafnium oxide.

Biography:

Noheda received her PhD in Physics in 1996 from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid. After various stays and positions at the University of Saarlandes, Clarendon Laboratory in Oxford, Brookhaven National Lab in New York and the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, in 2003 she was awarded a Rosalind Franklin Fellowship by the University of Groningen, where she is now Full Professor. Noheda is a Fellow of the American Physical Society since 2011 and has received the IEEE-Robert E. Newnham Ferroelectrics award for her research on ferroelectric and multiferroic materials. She has served in numerous committees and several editorial boards. Currently Noheda is the founding director of the Groningen Center for Cognitive Systems and Materials (CogniGron). Noheda’s research focuses on understanding the relationship between structure and functionality of thin films of ferroelectric, piezoelectric, multiferroic, and lately also memristive materials, the control of nano-domains that self-assemble by strain engineering, as well as the characterization of the distinct properties of domain walls. Although her research is fundamental in nature, it is inspired by two main application areas that she believes will enable the next technological revolution: piezoelectric energy harvesting for low power electronics and the development of novel materials for neuromorphic computing.