Rajesh P.N. Rao

rao@cs.washington.edu
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering

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The goal of my research is to discover the computational principles underlying the brain's remarkable ability to learn, process and store information, and to apply this knowledge to the task of building adaptive robotic systems and intelligent machines. Some of the questions that motivate my research include: How does the brain learn efficient representations of novel objects and events occurring in the natural environment? What are the algorithms that allow useful sensorimotor routines and behaviors to be learned? What mechanisms allow the brain to adapt to changing circumstances and remain fault-tolerant and robust? By investigating these questions within a computational and probabilistic framework, one can derive algorithms that provide functional interpretations of neurobiological properties and at the same time, suggest solutions to difficult problems in computer vision, robotics and artificial intelligence. Some illustrative examples of my research efforts in these directions, along with selected on-line publications, can be found on my UW Home Page (see link above).