Chris Assad

Senior Member of the Technical Staff

Phone:(818) 354-5756

Email: Christopher.Assad@jpl.nasa.gov

CV , Publications

Chris Assad is a Senior Member of the Technical Staff in the Bio-Inspired Technologies and Systems group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He leads a Bio-Computing task sponsored by NASA's CICT/ITSR Revolutionary Computing program area. The task involves modeling sensory-motor control algorithms in vertebrate nervous systems, with the goal to apply biocomputing principles for more intelligent, autonomous spacecraft and planetary explorers. Specific projects include functional modeling of cerebellum to perform dynamic state estimation and computational models of animal sensory systems for biomorphic smart skins. His thesis research, conducted in a cerebellum neurobiology lab at Caltech, focused on electrolocation in weakly electric fish. Research interests include neuroethology, neural networks, computational neuroscience, biomorphic robotics, and neuromorphic VLSI design.

Recent Publications

Paulin MG, Hoffman LF, Assad C (in press) Dynamics and the Single Spike.
IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, Special Issue on Temporal Coding
for Neural Information Processing

Hartmann MJ, Johnson NJ, Towal RB, Assad C (2003) Mechanical
Characteristics of Rat Vibrissae Resonant Frequencies and Damping in
Isolated Whiskers and in the Awake Behaving Animal. J Neuroscience 23(16)6510-6519

Assad C, Hartmann M, Paulin MG (2002) Control of a simulated arm using a
novel combination of cerebellar learning mechanisms. Neurocomputing 44-46C273-281

Assad C (2001) An hypothesis for a novel learning mechanism in
cerebellar cortex. Autonomous Robots 11285-290

Paulin MG, Hoffman LR, Assad C (2001) A model of cerebellar computations
for dynamical state estimation. Autonomous Robots 11279-284

Assad C, Kewley D (2001) Novel aVLSI weight storage and Hebbian synapse
for spiking neuron circuits. Novel Technology Report / NASA Tech Brief
NPO-20965

Assad C, Rasnow B, Stoddard PK (1999) Electric organ discharges and
electric images during electrolocation. J Experimental Biology 202(10)1185-1193

Stoddard PK, Rasnow B, Assad C (1999) The electric organ discharges of
the gymnotiform fishes III. Brachyhypopomus.” J Comparative Physiology
A 184(6)609-630

Assad C (1998) The next level of motor control Inspiration from the
Cerebellum. (abs). First NASA/JPL workshop on Biomorphic Explorers for
Future Missions. Aug 19-20, JPL

Assad C, Rasnow B, Stoddard PK, Bower JM (1998) The electric organ
discharges of the gymnotiform fishes II. Eigenmannia. J Comparative
Physiology A 183(4)419-432