Applications
There are many potential benefits of the research being carried out by the NSP group, and focussing on key applications will ensure rapid progress. The following models and applications highlight and motivate our research goals:
Signal processing electronics
Telecommunications and radar are key applications for the vast processing power of modern electronics. Even modest improvements in computational speed and accuracy will significantly contribute to these fields. By developing faster and more efficient algorithms, the NSP group will provide key applications with innovative solutions.
Neural signal processes and neural engineering
Within the human brain neurones communicate with each other using electrical impulses. To produce these signals requires highly nonlinear processes within the cell. And unlike modern computer electronics they do not yield to linear analysis. The area of neurophysiology, and especially the modelling of neurons and the communication networks they form, can greatly benefit from the analysis being developed by the NSP group.
Neural engineering will further benefit in terms of measurement, processing, diagnostics and modelling in neuroscience. The intricate measurements performed at a cellular level require a precise understanding of the nonlinear impulses as well as complex signal analysis to extract important information from the data. Research by the NSP group will strengthen and support the diagnostic tools used in neural engineering.
Quantum systems
The new area of quantum control involves the detection and control of microscopic systems. The current research of the NSP group into geometrical manifolds will expand its potential. Quantum control makes novel use of mathematics familiar to control theory, for example: the Lie group of finite-dimensional spaces that describe spin systems; filtering and control on infinite-dimensional spaces of moving atomic systems; and stochastic evolution of continuously monitored systems. These are key focus areas for the research group.