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'''Victor Quintanar-Zilinskas''' is a graduate student at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Irvine University of California, Irvine].  With [http://www.ucidevcell.org/faculty/edwin-monuki/ Ed Monuki], he studies the systems biology of transcription factor gradient maintenance over long distances and the developmental effects of mechanical forces.  His research focus, advised by [http://cbmspc.eng.uci.edu/ Zoran Nenadic] and linked with the interesting experimental results of his collaborators [http://jn.physiology.org/content/103/4/2301.abstract Xiangmin Xu], [http://frostiglab.bio.uci.edu/ Ron Frostig], and [http://cahill.bio.uci.edu/ Larry Cahill], is the emergence of system-level information processing properties of many-neuron (on the order of 1000s) networks.  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_Institute SFI] faculty member [http://lander-office.bio.uci.edu/landerfacts.html Arthur Lander] is, in one way or another, involved with all of Victor's projects.
'''Victor Quintanar-Zilinskas''' is a graduate student at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Irvine University of California, Irvine].  His current research focus, linked with the experimental results of his collaborators [http://jn.physiology.org/content/103/4/2301.abstract Xiangmin Xu], [http://frostiglab.bio.uci.edu/ Ron Frostig], and [http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=3220 Raju Metherate], is system-level dynamics and information processing in many-neuron (on the order of 1000s) networks.  His advisors are [http://cbmspc.eng.uci.edu/ Zoran Nenadic] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_Institute SFI] faculty member [http://lander-office.bio.uci.edu/landerfacts.html Arthur Lander].


Victor intends for his research focus to, in the near future, evolve into the study of the following two phenomena (the second requiring understanding of the first).  One, the working brain frequently witnesses brief episodes of self-organized synchrony between groups of neurons.  Two, complex dynamics generate information (Turing patterns are an illustration of this idea); this is difficult to study in the brain, but there are [http://www.ics.uci.edu/~welling/publications/papers/herding_icml09_final.pdf modeling] (and [http://www.jneurosci.org/content/30/27/9017.abstract EEG analysis]) results to suggest that probability inferences (and and information that is fundamentally an interpretation of, rather than intrinsic to, sensory input, e.g. instinctive evaluation of odorant toxicity) are among the types of cognitively useful information that the brain's dynamics can produce.
Over the next five years, Victor intends to turn the focus of his network modeling to the study of 1) the information-processing consequences of the brain's frequent brief episodes of self-organized synchrony between groups of neurons 2) the potential for cognitive utilization of information generated by complex dynamics (Turing patterns are an illustration of such generation); what he will learn this summer at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_Institute SFI] (from both modules and peers) will be highly applicable to the pursuit of these topics.  The latter topic is particularly difficult to study, but information-generative [http://www.ics.uci.edu/~welling/publications/papers/herding_icml09_final.pdf modeling] and [http://www.jneurosci.org/content/30/27/9017.abstract olfactory computation] results are likely starting points of reference.


Victor was raised in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Alto,_California Palo Alto, CA] and his interests and outlooks are heavily influenced by his upbringing in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Valley Silicon Valley's] technoculture.  He double-majored in math and biology at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_University Santa Clara University] (class of 2009), where he did his first computational neuroscience research, sparking his current interests.  He also worked with [http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~gbowker/ Geoffrey Bowker] (who was, at the time, at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_University Santa Clara University]) to characterize the work practices of scholar communities that study complex systems (e.g. networks of ecologists that study various facets of the same ecosystem) and explain them in the context of the historical trajectory of scientific understanding of the systems under study.  The study's conclusion, which will be appreciated by but unsurprising to this page's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_Institute SFI]-affiliated readers, was that the increasing temporal resolution of data is encouraging a shift from the study of system processes to the study of salient events (e.g. shifts between stable states of the composition of an ocean bacteria population; large storms).  Victor's current "applied philosophy" interest is the connections between [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism Constructivism], creativity theory, and interdisciplinarity--and in these ideas informing educational practice.
Victor was raised in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Alto,_California Palo Alto, CA] and his interests and outlooks are heavily influenced by his upbringing in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Valley Silicon Valley's] technoculture.  He double-majored in math and biology at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_University Santa Clara University] (class of 2009), where he did his first computational neuroscience research, sparking his current interests.  He also worked with [http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~gbowker/ Geoffrey Bowker] (who was, at the time, at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_University Santa Clara University]) to characterize the work practices of scholar communities that study complex systems (e.g. networks of ecologists that study various facets of the same ecosystem); it was while on this project that he developed his appreciation for the study of black swan emergence events (e.g. shifts between stable states of the composition of an ocean bacteria population; large storms).  Victor's current "applied philosophy" interest is the connections between [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism Constructivism], creativity theory, and interdisciplinarity.

Latest revision as of 07:53, 27 April 2011

Victor

Victor Quintanar-Zilinskas is a graduate student at the University of California, Irvine. His current research focus, linked with the experimental results of his collaborators Xiangmin Xu, Ron Frostig, and Raju Metherate, is system-level dynamics and information processing in many-neuron (on the order of 1000s) networks. His advisors are Zoran Nenadic and SFI faculty member Arthur Lander.

Over the next five years, Victor intends to turn the focus of his network modeling to the study of 1) the information-processing consequences of the brain's frequent brief episodes of self-organized synchrony between groups of neurons 2) the potential for cognitive utilization of information generated by complex dynamics (Turing patterns are an illustration of such generation); what he will learn this summer at SFI (from both modules and peers) will be highly applicable to the pursuit of these topics. The latter topic is particularly difficult to study, but information-generative modeling and olfactory computation results are likely starting points of reference.

Victor was raised in Palo Alto, CA and his interests and outlooks are heavily influenced by his upbringing in Silicon Valley's technoculture. He double-majored in math and biology at Santa Clara University (class of 2009), where he did his first computational neuroscience research, sparking his current interests. He also worked with Geoffrey Bowker (who was, at the time, at Santa Clara University) to characterize the work practices of scholar communities that study complex systems (e.g. networks of ecologists that study various facets of the same ecosystem); it was while on this project that he developed his appreciation for the study of black swan emergence events (e.g. shifts between stable states of the composition of an ocean bacteria population; large storms). Victor's current "applied philosophy" interest is the connections between Constructivism, creativity theory, and interdisciplinarity.