"Brain Physics" to be presented at LTCC in a free lecture

The Lake Tahoe Community College Foundation’s Speaker Spotlight Series continues on Monday, October 27 with visiting speaker Jesse Livezey, a U.C. Berkeley doctoral student. He’ll present a talk about brain physics from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in LTCC’s Board/Aspen Room, inside the library building.

Livezey’s presentation, "Brain Physics: Using Mathematical Models to Understand the Brain," will explore what we know about how the brain processes sensory inputs ranging from vision to auditory to touch. He’ll also look at how the brain influences current algorithms that are in use at companies like Google and Facebook.

This is a free event, and interested middle, high school and college students and their parents are encouraged to attend.

Livezey graduated from Cornell University in 2010 with a B.A. in Physics and Mathematics. While there, he studied how diffuse clouds of electrons can disrupt particle accelerator beams, like protons do in the Large Hadron Collider. After teaching physics in Doha, Qatar for a year, Livezey came to U.C. Berkeley as a graduate student. He is now at the Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience where he studies topics ranging from the coding of sound in the auditory pathway to learning probabilistic models of images.

Outside of research, Livezey is involved in the Berkeley Compass Project, a group of graduate and undergraduate students interested in improving science education and building community within the Physics, Astronomy, and EPS departments at UC Berkeley.

The Foundation’s Speaker Spotlight Series brings LTCC faculty and academic experts from other colleges and universities to our campus to share their knowledge and experiences with local students, and to encourage local youth to pursue careers in the sciences and mathematics fields. The Speaker Series is made possible by a generous donation from community members Bob and Cathy Cliff.