OU Researcher's Work Garners International Attention

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Thirumalai “Venky” Venkatesan, an internationally renowned leader in advanced quantum technology innovation, is helping shape research through a molecular device that may be able to reprogram the human brain’s logic. His work is garnering global attention for a molecular device that shows exceptional computing prowess and may have the ability to modify or rewire the brain. 

Now recognized by science communities such as Nature and The Latest Science, the molecular device can be reconfigured quickly for different computational tasks by changing applied voltages, Venkatesan says. As nerve cells store memories, he adds that this same device also can retain information for future retrieval and processing.

“In the future, this novel molecular device may help design next-generation processing chips with enhanced computational power and speed, yet at the same time, it will consume significantly reduced energy,” said Venkatesan, director of the OU Center for Quantum Research and Technology.  

Venkatesan joined OU in July. He is a professor of electrical and computer engineering in the Gallogly College of Engineering and a professor of physics and astronomy in the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy. He is an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and an electrical and computer engineering adjunct professor at the National University of Singapore. 

The multidisciplinary research is supported by startup funds from the OU Center for Quantum Research and Technology; Singapore National Research Foundation under the Competitive Research Programs; Science and Engineering Research Board, India; X-Grants Program of the President’s Excellence Fund at Texas A&M University; Science, Technology, and Research, Singapore, under its Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Individual Research Grant; and Science Foundation, Ireland.

Read the article via Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03748-0


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