Beyond von-Neumann Computing:
Leveraging Novel Physics for the Future of Computation
Aspen Center for Physics
May 25 – June 15, 2025
Beyond von-Neumann Computing:
Leveraging Novel Physics for the Future of Computation
Aspen Center for Physics
May 25 – June 15, 2025
Program
Program
Week 1
| Monday, May 26, 3:00-3:30 PM, Lemonade and Cookies | |
| Tuesday, May 27, 2:00-7:00 PM, Patio | |
| 2:00 – 2:30 | Introduction of all program participants |
| 2:30 – 3:25 | Natalia Berloff, Cambridge, Gain-Based Computing with Coupled Light and Matter, slides |
| 3:25 – 3:35 | Break |
| 3:35 – 4:40 |
Logan Wright, Yale, Some Considerations (and some recent results) on Scaling Physical Computing
|
| 5:00 – 7:00 |
Aspen BBQ
|
| Wednesday, May 28, 2:00-4:30 PM, Patio | |
| 2:00 – 2:30 | Clara Wanjura, Max Planck Institute, Fully Nonlinear Neuromorphic computing with Linear Wave Scattering |
| 2:30 – 3:00 | Fatih Dinc, University of California – Santa Barbara, Latent Processing Units: A Theory of Distributed Dynamical Computation in Biological Neural Networks |
| 3:00 – 3:30 | Sam Dillavou, University of Pennsylvania, Self-Learning Networks in the Lab |
| 3:30 – 3:40 | Break |
| 3:40 – 4:30 |
Gavin Crooks, Normal Computing, Riemannian Geometry of Optimal Thermodynamic Control
|
| Thursday, May 29, 3:00-5:00 PM, Colloquium + Wine/Cheese Reception | |
| Friday, May 30 | |
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Informal discussion, Hideo Mabuchi, Alternative Questions in Optimization, Bardeen Alcove |
| 02:00 Р03:00 | Informal discussion, Cyrill B̦sch, Equilibrium Propagation and Physical Learning, Bardeen Alcove |
Week 2
| Monday, June 2 | |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Informal discussion, Yigit Subasi and Fatih Dinc, Koopman Operators, Bardeen Alcove |
| 3:00 – 3:30 | Lemonade and Cookies |
| 4:00 – 5:00 | Informal discussion, Hakan Türeci and Peter McMahon, Making Low-Energy PNNs Work: The Role of Sampling Noise and Dissipation, Bardeen Alcove |
| Tuesday, June 3, 2:00-7:00 PM, Patio | |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Informal discussion, Fatih Dinc, FORCE learning, Bardeen Alcove |
| 2:00 – 2:30 | Introduction of all program participants |
| 2:30 – 3:25 | David Wolpert, Santa Fe Institute, The Stochastic Thermodynamics of Computation |
| 3:25 – 3:35 | Break |
| 3:35 – 4:40 |
Sonia Buckley, NIST, Emergent Learning in Hardware Neural Networks
|
| 5:00 – 7:00 |
Aspen BBQ
|
| Wednesday, June 4 | |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Informal discussion, Fatih Dinc, Computation Through Population Dynamics, Bardeen Alcove |
| 2:00-4:30 PM, Patio | |
| 2:00 – 2:30 | Bingzhi Zhang, University of Southern California, Dynamical Transition in Training of Quantum Neural Network: from Optimization to Supervised Learning |
| 2:30 – 3:00 | Frank Barrows, Los Alamos National Lab, Network Theory for Comparing Physical and Artificial Neural Networks |
| 3:00 – 3:30 | Gerasimos Angelatos, Raytheon BBN, Signal in the Noise: Eigentasks for Learning in Physical Systems |
| 3:30 – 3:40 | Break |
| 3:40 – 4:30 |
Roberta Zambrini, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Erasing to Learn in Quantum Reservoir Computing
|
| Thursday, June 5 | |
| 10:00 – 11:30 | All Participants, Flash Talks, Bethe Seminar Room |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Informal discussion, Lincoln Carr, Perspective Paper, Bethe Seminar Room |
| 2:00 – 3:00 | Informal discussion, Andrea Liu, Dynamical Coupled Learning for Networks with Non-Reciprocal Weights, Bardeen Alcove |
| 3:00 – 5:00 | Colloquium + Wine/Cheese Reception |
| Friday, June 6 | |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Informal discussion, Meenakshi Singh, Quantum Calibration and Control, Bardeen Alcove |
| 1:30 – 2:30 | Informal discussion, Gerry Angelatos, Rethinking Learning in Quantum Systems, Bardeen Alcove |
Week 3
| Monday, June 9 | |
| 1:30 – 2:30 | Andrea Liu, Research Discussion, Flug Forum |
| 3:00 – 3:30 | Lemonade and Cookies |
| 4:00 – 5:00 | Fatih Dinc, Tutorial on the Physics of Computation with Physical, Biological, and Artificial Networks Discussion, Bardeen Alcove |
| Tuesday, June 10, 2:00-7:00 PM, Patio | |
| 2:00 – 2:30 | Introduction of all program participants |
| 2:30 – 3:25 | Marcus Benna, University of California – San Diego, Exploring the Computational Benefits of Nonlinear Synaptic Processing |
| 3:25 – 3:35 | Break |
| 3:35 – 4:30 | Doug Durian, University of Pennsylvania, Confronting and Overcoming Bias (in electronic learning circuits) |
| 5:00 – 7:00 |
Aspen BBQ
|
| Wednesday, June 11 | |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Fatih Dinc, Tutorial on the Physics of Computation with Physical, Biological, and Artificial Networks Discussion, Bardeen Alcove |
| 1:00-4:30 PM, Patio | |
| 2:00 Р2:30 | Cyrill B̦sch, Princeton University, Physical Generative Diffusion Models |
| 2:30 – 3:00 | Kyle Ray, University of California – Davis, Computing with Momentum |
| 3:00 – 3:30 | Vidysesh Rao Anisetti, University of Chicago, Training physical systems through Multi-Mechanism Learning |
| 3:30 – 3:40 | Break |
| 3:40 – 4:30 |
Wolfgang Losert, University of Maryland, Astrocyte Biocomputing – Experiments and Bioinspired Algorithms
|
| Thursday, June 12 | |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Informal discussion, Leo Zhou, Energy Landscapes of Open Quantum Systems, Gell-Mann Alcove |
| 2:00 – 3:00 | Informal discussion, Andrea Liu, Dynamical Coupled Learning for Networks with Non-Reciprocal Weights, Library |
| 3:00-5:00 | Colloquium + Wine/Cheese Reception |