Nanowire Network Research Boosted, Which Mimics Brain Functions

To continue potentially ground-breaking research into nanowire networks, the highest possible ERC research grant for an individual was awarded to Professor John Boland, Director of the CRANN nanoscience institute based at Trinity College Dublin. The professor in the School of Chemistry will receive the €2.5 million research grant by the European Research Council (ERC), which will allow his team to continue world-leading research into how nanowire networks can lead to a range of smart materials, sensors and digital memory applications.

Nanowires are tiny structures just a few atoms thick, and made of various materials such as copper or silicon. They can be readily engineered into tangled networks of nanowires -- which could be designed to function like computer networks that mimic the human brain. Researchers worldwide are investigating the possibility that nanowires hold the future of energy production (we just reported this week about the high efficiency solar cells) and could deliver the next generation of computers.

Professor Boland has discovered that exposing any random network of nanowires to different stimuli like electricity, light and chemicals, generates chemical reaction at the junctions where the nanowires cross. By adjusting and tuning the stimuli, it is possible to utilize these reactions to manipulate the connectivity within the network. This could eventually lead to computational networks that mimic the functions of the nerves in the human brain – particularly the development of associative memory functions which could lead to significant advances in areas such as facial recognition.

“The human brain is neurologically advanced and exploits connectivity that is controlled by electrical and chemical signals. My research will create nanowire networks that have the potential to mimic aspects of the neurological functions of the human brain, which may revolutionise the performance of current day computers. It could be truly ground-breaking,” Boland said.

European Research Council awards are awarded for projects that are highly ambitious and pioneering, and aim to allow exceptional research leaders to pursue ground-breaking, high-risk projects.