Topological Perspectives on the Connectome by Prof Kathryn Hess Bellwald (EPFL)

12 Feb 2025 03.30 PM - 05.00 PM SPMS LT 4 Alumni, Current Students, Industry/Academic Partners, Prospective Students, Public

Join us in the IAS STEM Graduate Colloquium by our distinguished speaker, Prof Prof Kathryn Hess Bellwald from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.

About the talk

Over the past decade or so, tools from algebraic topology have been shown to be very useful for the analysis and characterisation of networks, in particular for exploring the relation of structure to function. I will describe some of these tools and illustrate their utility in neuroscience, primarily in the framework of a collaboration with the Blue Brain Project. 

Our Distinguished Speaker

Kathryn Hess earned her PhD in algebraic topology from MIT and held positions at universities in Stockholm, Nice, and Toronto before becoming a professor at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. Her research applies algebraic topology to life and materials sciences, developing methods for tasks like screening nanoporous materials, classifying neuron morphologies, and advancing network theory.

She was elected to the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences in 2016, became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society in 2017, and was a distinguished speaker for the European Mathematical Society that year. She delivered a Public Lecture at the European Congress of Mathematicians in 2021, received the Chaire de la Vallée Poussin in 2023, and became a fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics in 2024.

Co-Organisers

Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) 
School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (SPMS)
Graduate Students’ Club of SPMS

 

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