Friday April 8th, 2022 in Hand 1144

Abstract: The long-term goal of this line of research is to develop a polymer technology through a structure-property approach that can be employed in 2- & 3-terminal memristors with applications in stochastic computing, Boolean & elementary algebra, and spiking neural networks. The central hypothesis is that derivatized conjugated & non-conjugated polymers can exhibit inherent path-dependent conductive (PDC) characteristics. Specifically, the effect of chemical structure on the conformationally induced switching properties of a range of polymers with pendant carbazoles was investigated with a specific goal to create a polymer that exhibits a tailorable multi-state conductance appropriate for being employed as a synaptic substitute. A main focus of our work is emulating spike-timing-dependent-plasticity (STDP) in an electronic circuit. STDP is one of the fundamental characteristics of synaptic plasticity in biological neural networks and its replication in a synthetic model is critical for emulating biological systems.

Bio: Stephen received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California at Santa Barbara and his Ph.D. degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Materials Science working for Gregory Rutledge on the atomistic simulation of liquid crystalline polymers. Stephen was then a research scientist in the RD&E labs of Pirelli for 3 years, splitting his time between Milan, Italy and Lexington SC, where he worked on polymer developments for the telecom industry.  He began his academic career at Clemson University in 1999 and is now the Gregg-Graniteville Endowed Chair of Engineering.

Please join us for a reception with Dr. Foulger at 3:00 P.M. in Hand 1134.
Hosted by: Dr. Colleen Scott