{"686402":{"#nid":"686402","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by Mirabel Reid","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETitle\u003C\/strong\u003E: On k-Winners-Take-All as a Model of Neuron Communication\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDate\u003C\/strong\u003E: Monday, November 24, 2025\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETime\u003C\/strong\u003E: 9:00AM- 11:00 AM ET\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELocation\u003C\/strong\u003E: Hybrid, Klaus Advanced Computing Building 1120A\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EZoom: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/92075978467\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/92075978467\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMirabel Reid\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPh.D. Candidate\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Computer Science\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Computing\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee\u003C\/strong\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Santosh Vempala (advisor) - \u0026nbsp;School of Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Debankur Mukherjee - School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Will Perkins - School of Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Dana Randall, School of Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Angela Yu, Department of Human Sciences, Technische Universit\u00e4t Darmstadt\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbstract\u003C\/strong\u003E: Understanding how local interactions between neurons give rise to high-level structures in the brain is one of the key open questions in neuroscience. This thesis investigates discrete-time, weighted digraph models of the connectome, which not only provide insight into biological neural networks, but also form the backbone of modern artificial neural networks. The primary model of interest is the k-cap process, a recurrent neural network employing k-winners-take-all (k-WTA) as a nonlinear gating function; this mechanism models firing rate regulation via global lateral inhibition. By exploring the computational properties arising from this model, this work aims to offer insights into the emergence of structures in the connectome.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn k-Winners-Take-All as a Model of Neuron Communication\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"On k-Winners-Take-All as a Model of Neuron Communication"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2025-11-12 20:01:33","changed_gmt":"2025-11-12 20:28:10","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2025-11-24T09:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2025-11-24T11:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2025-11-24T11:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2025-11-24 14:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2025-11-24 16:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2025-11-24 16:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Hybrid, Klaus Advanced Computing Building 1120A","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"185896","name":"PhD Defen"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}