Abstract

When we smell, we detect the complex mixtures of volatile molecules in the air around us. I will present our current understanding of the interaction between odorous molecules and their receptors in our nose and how this interaction results in smell perception. I will also discuss the many ways in which olfactory perception can be disturbed in different diseases. We recently developed a diagnostic test for olfactory dysfunction that addresses some of the short-comings of other tests but delivering olfactory stimuli with the precision required for a clinical diagnostic device remains challenging.

Short Bio

Andreas Keller, the author of The Philosophy of Olfactory Perception, has tested different aspects of olfactory perception in over 1,000 subjects in Leslie Vosshall's lab at the Rockefeller University. The results of his psychophysical studies have shed light on human olfactory capacities, on the relation between the structure and smell of odor molecules, and on the perceptual consequences of variability in odorant receptor genes. Together with Professor Vosshall and Julien Hsieh, Keller is working on diagnostic tools for the detection of olfactory dysfunction.

Abstract

Elizabeth Churchill, Director of UX at Google will share insights about how Google uses the Material Design system to effectively scale UX. Design systems reduce replicated work, improve designer / developer collaboration and are a critical part of creating consistent user experiences across a range of products. Elizabeth will introduce Material Design, Google’s design system and share with us how Google is evaluating the effectiveness of the Material Design System for designers, developers, and end users. You can find out more about Material Design at material.io

Short Bio

Dr Elizabeth Churchill is a Director of User Experience at Google. Her field of study is Human Computer Interaction and User Experience, with a current focus on the design of effective designer and developer tools and the creation of usable, useful, and delightful user experiences. Elizabeth has built research groups and led research in a number of well known companies, including as Director of Human Computer Interaction at eBay Research Labs in San Jose, CA, as a Principal Research Scientist and Research Manager at Yahoo! in Santa Clara, CA and as a Senior Scientist at PARC and before that at FXPAL, Fuji Xerox’s Research lab in Silicon Valley. Elizabeth gained a BSc and MSc at the University of Sussex before going onto complete a PhD in Cognitive Science at the Cambridge University. Elizabeth is a regular keynote speaker on topics related to design, UX research, human computer interaction and related topics at the intersection of computation, interactive technology, people, and society.

Abstract

Astronomy is usually thought of as a mostly visual science, but for the purposes of public engagement and widening participation it would be useful to be able to rely on more than just one sensorial modality of interaction. In my public engagement work, I have experimented with non-traditional channels to reach audiences that go beyond groups already interested in science and astronomy: art and science collaborations, a book about cosmology written using only the most common 1,000 words in English ("Universe" is not one of them!), and interactive workshops designed for the public to engage actively with ideas often perceived to be remote and challenging. In this talk, I will present the ongoing collaboration with chefs at Kitchen Theory, aimed at developing a multi-sensorial approach to talking about astronomical and astrophysical phenomena. Our "g-astronomy" programme is aimed at ultimately offering a multi-sensorial dining experience centered on astronomical ideas. Until now, we have worked with London's Science Museum and the Royal National Institute of Blind People to develop food-based metaphors for the multiverse, the early universe, dark matter and dark energy. Our primary objective is to talk about science in a way that speaks to the heart (and tongue!) of people, not just their mind. I will share challenges and successes, chart the way ahead and look for feedback and suggestions from the audience.

Short Bio

Roberto was born and grew up in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. After obtaining an MSc(hons) in Physics from ETH Zurich and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Geneva, he moved to Oxford where he was the Lockyer Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society at Oxford University, and a Junior Fellow of St Anne's, before being appointed as a Lecturer at Imperial in 2008. He's now a Reader in Astrophysics (equivalent to Associate Professor).

Abstract

In everyday life, humans perform various tasks that can be described in terms of the rules that specify how to perform the task. In simple situations, a single rule may suffice to achieve our goal; however, more difficult tasks require multiple rules organised in hierarchies. While an individual can perform some action plans alone, more complex tasks require interaction with other people. Task rules are not intrinsic to the human brain; people learn rules constantly, by discovering regularities in their environment and identifying the course of action that leads to outcomes matching their goals. In this talk, I will present some of my studies investigating how task rules are represented in the human brain. I considered task sets with a hierarchical structure to identify neural representations of rules from different levels. Then, I explored task encoding when people interacted to achieve a common goal, to pinpoint neural representations of tasks performed by either the subject or their partner. Results showed that task rules were encoded within the frontoparietal control network, with no difference between rules from distinct hierarchical levels. Regions within this network encoded also information about the task assigned to either the subject or their partner. However, task information was encoded in different brain networks depending on whom the task was assigned to. Finally, I will present results from my recent work on rule acquisition showing that the amount of information available in the environment affects learning and determines how outcome value is encoded in the brain.

Short Bio

Doris Pischedda is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, where she is currently investigating how humans represent the value of choice outcomes. Beyond decision making, her research interests include cognitive control, reasoning, and strategic as well as non-strategic behavior during social interaction. In 2014, she received a PhD in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Milano-Bicocca with a thesis on rule-guided behavior investigating where and how rules are represented and processed in the human brain. She carried out her postdoctoral research at the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin under the supervision of Prof. John-Dylan Haynes, investigating neural representations of collaborative tasks. Then, within a project funded by Prof. Aldo Rustichini from the Department of Economics, University of Minnesota, she explored how game variables are encoded by the brain during strategic interactions.