Biology inspires complex computer solutions

Dr Frank Neumann
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Friday, 8 June 2012

How biology is inspiring computer scientists in solving complex problems will be the subject of a free public lecture at the University of Adelaide on Tuesday 12 June.

'The Algorithm of Life' is the topic of the Research Tuesdays lecture being presented by Senior Lecturer in the School of Computer Science, Dr Frank Neumann.

Dr Neumann's research focuses on biological computation methods with specific applications in solving large-scale problems arising in renewable energy and sports.

"Computer Science deals with the problem of finding good or optimal solutions for a given task, for example computing the shortest path from A to B in a navigation system," Dr Neumann said.

"We develop algorithms which provide a set of instructions to solve the given problem. However, particularly difficult problems can throw up roadblocks, and it's in these cases that biology can hold the answer."

Dr Neumann said biology provided some fascinating mechanisms and methods for complex computations.

"Biology provides the inspiration for a wide class of algorithms that are used to solve problems," he said. "Examples are evolutionary algorithms which imitate the natural evolution process and ant colony optimisation which takes its inspiration from the collective behaviour of ants to find shortest paths from the nest to a food source."

WHAT: Research Tuesdays: The algorithm of life

WHERE: Napier 102 Lecture Theatre, North Terrace Campus, University of Adelaide

WHEN: 5:30pm to 6:30pm Tuesday 12 June

COST: Free - but registration is essential.

See details of the event online: http://blogs.adelaide.edu.au/researchtuesdays/

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