Professor Eleni Vasilaki

DPhil, CEng, MIET

School of Computer Science

Chair of Bioinspired Machine Learning

Head of the Machine Learning research group

Member of Complex Systems Modelling research group

Eleni Vasilaki profile photo
Profile picture of Eleni Vasilaki profile photo
e.vasilaki@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 1822

Full contact details

Professor Eleni Vasilaki
School of Computer Science
Regent Court (DCS)
211 Portobello
Sheffield
S1 4DP
Profile

Eleni graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Informatics and Telecommunications and a Master’s degree in Microelectronics from the University of Athens, before taking her DPhil (PhD) at Sussex, in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence.

From 2004 to 2006 she worked at the University of Bern and from 2007 to 2009 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). In 2009 she joined the University of Sheffield as Lecturer, where she is Professor since 2016.

Research interests

Bioinspired Machine Learning, Neuromorphic Computing, Computational Neuroscience   

Eleni and her team take inspiration from biological principles to design novel, machine learning techniques, and in particular reinforcement learning and reservoir computing methods. They also work closely with material scientists and engineers to design hardware that computes in a brain-like manner. 

Publications

Journal articles

Conference proceedings papers

  • De Souza MM, Song X, Gaurav A, Manhas SK, Pillai PB, Sikdar S, Kumar A, Gilra A & Vasilaki E (2023) A delay system reservoir based on a nano-ionic Solid Electrolyte FET*. 2023 IEEE Nanotechnology Materials and Devices Conference (NMDC), 22 October 2023 - 25 October 2023. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Song X, Gaurav A, Pillai PB, Kumar A, Manhas S, Gilra A, Vasilaki E & de Souza MM (2023) Reservoir Computing Based on a Solid Electrolyte ZnO TFT: An Attractive Platform for Flexible Edge Computing. 2023 IEEE International Flexible Electronics Technology Conference (IFETC), 13 August 2023 - 16 August 2023. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Hayward TJ, Vidamour IT, Ellis MO, Welbourne A, Dawidek RW, Broomhall TJ, Chambard M, Drouhin M, Keogh AM, Mullen A , Kyle SJ et al (2021) From stochasticity to functionality: harnessing magnetic domain walls for probabilistic and neuromorphic computing. Spintronics XIV, 1 August 2021 - 5 August 2021. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Whelan MT, Prescott TJ & Vasilaki E (2020) Fast reverse replays of recent spatiotemporal trajectories in a robotic hippocampal model. Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems : 9th International Conference, Living Machines 2020, Freiburg, Germany, July 28–30, 2020, Proceedings (pp 390-401). Freiburg, Germany, 28 July 2020 - 30 July 2020. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Whelan MT, Vasilaki E & Prescott TJ (2019) Robots that imagine – can hippocampal replay be utilized for robotic mnemonics?. Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems (pp 277-286). Nara, Japan, 9 July 2019 - 12 July 2019. View this article in WRRO RIS download Bibtex download
  • Sabo C, Yavuz E, Cope A, Gurney K, Vasilaki E, Nowotny T & Marshall J (2017) An Inexpensive Flying Robot Design for Embodied Robotics Research,. 2017 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN) (pp 4171-4178), 15 May 2017 - 19 May 2017. View this article in WRRO RIS download Bibtex download
  • Sabo CM, Cope A, Gurney K, Vasilaki E & Marshall J (2016) Bio-Inspired Visual Navigation for a Quadcopter using Optic Flow. AIAA Infotech @ Aerospace View this article in WRRO RIS download Bibtex download
  • Gehring TV, Vasilaki E & Giugliano M (2015) Highly scalable parallel processing of extracellular recordings of Multielectrode Arrays. 2015 37th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), 25 August 2015 - 29 August 2015. View this article in WRRO RIS download Bibtex download
  • Cope A, Sabo C, Vasilaki E, Gurney K & Marshall JAR (2015) A neural model of the optomotor system accounts for ordered responses to decreasing stimulus spatial frequencies. BMC Neuroscience, Vol. 16(S1) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Mahmud M, Pulizzi R, Vasilaki E & Giugliano M (2014) QSpikeTools: An open source toolbox for parallel batch processing of extracellular neuronal signals recorded by substrate microelectrode arrays. 2014 International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Information & Communication Technology, 10 April 2014 - 12 April 2014. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Mahmud M, Pulizzi R & Vasilaki E (2014) A Web-Based Framework for Semi-Online Parallel Processing of Extracellular Neuronal Signals Recorded by Microelectrode Arrays. MEA Meeting 2014, 9th International Meeting on Substrate-Integrated Microelectrode Arrays, 1 July 2014 - 4 July 2014. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Serb A, Berdan R, Khiat A, Li SLW, Vasilaki E, Papavasiliou C & Prodromakis T (2014) Memristors as synapse emulators in the context of event-based computation. IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Mahmud M, Pulizzi R, Vasilaki E, Giugliano M & IEEE (2014) QSpikeTools: An Open Source Toolbox for Parallel Batch Processing of Extracellular Neuronal Signals Recorded. 2014 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICEEICT 2014) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Cope A, Sabo C, Yavuz E, Gurney K, Marshall J, Nowotny T & Vasilaki E (2013) The green brain project - Developing a neuromimetic robotic honeybee. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), Vol. 8064 LNAI (pp 362-363) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Beste C, Tomkins A, Vasilaki E, Saft C, Gurney K & Humphries M (2012) INCREASED COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN MANIFEST HD-EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE AND COMPUTATIONAL MODELLING. JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY NEUROSURGERY AND PSYCHIATRY, Vol. 83 (pp A37-A38) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tomkins A, Humphries MD, Beste C, Vasilaki E & Gurney KN (2012) How Degrading Networks Can Increase Cognitive Functions. ICANN (1), Vol. 7552 (pp 185-192) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vasilaki E & Giugliano M (2012) Emergence of Connectivity Patterns from Long-Term and Short-Term Plasticities. ICANN (1), Vol. 7552 (pp 193-200) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tomkins A, Humphries M, Vasilaki E, Gurney K & Beste C (2011) How degrading networks can increase select cognitive functions. Computational Neuroscience and Neurotechnology Bernstein Conference 2011. Freiburg, Germany, 4 October 2011. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Clopath C, Buesing L, Vasilaki E & Gerstner W (2010) Why is connectivity in barrel cortex different from that in visual cortex? - A plasticity model. COSYNE Computational and Systems Neuroscience. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA., 25 February 2010. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vladimirskiy BB, Vasilaki E, Urbanczik R & Senn W (2007) Pattern sampling-based reinforcement learning via homeostatic plasticity and Hebbian tagging. Society for Neuroscience. San Diego, USA. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vladimirski B, Vasilaki E & Senn W (2006) Hebbian reinforcement learning with stochastic binary synapses follows the reward gradient. The Fifteenth Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting, Edinbourgh, UK. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Berdan R, Prodromakis T, Khiat A, Salaoru I, Toumazou C, Perez-Diaz F & Vasilaki E () Temporal Processing with Volatile Memristors. IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) 2013. Beijing, China, 19 May 2013 - 23 May 2013. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vasilaki E & Giugliano M () Do synaptic dynamics and STDP govern connectivity motifs?. Computational Neuroscience and Neurotechnology Bernstein Conference 2011. Freiburg, Germany, 4 October 2011. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vasilaki E, Urbanczik R, Senn W & Gerstner W () Spike-based reinforcement in continuous state and action space. Multidisciplinary Symposium on Reinforcement Learning. Montreal, Quebec, Canada., 18 June 2009. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vasilaki E, Urbanczik R, Senn W & Gerstner W () Spike-based reinforcement learning of navigation. The Seventeenth Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting. Portland, Oregon, USA, 19 July 2008. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vasilaki E, Urbanczik R, Senn W & Gerstner W () Spike-based reinforcement learning of navigation. The Seventeenth Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting. Portland, Oregon, USA, 19 July 2008. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Clopath C, Buesing L, Vasilaki E & Gerstner W () A unified voltage-based model for STDP, LTP and LTD. COSYNE Computational and Systems Neuroscience. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA., 22 February 2007. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vasilaki E, Fusi S, Wang XJ & Senn W () Learning and forgetting visuo-motor associations with a multi-layer neural network. Brain Inspired Cognitive systems. Molyvos, Island of Lesvos, Greece, 12 October 2006. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Schaefer R, Vasilaki E & Senn W () Perceptual learning by modifying top-down connections to V1. The Fifteenth Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting. Edinbourgh, UK RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vasilaki E, Fusi S, Wang XJ & Senn W () A Hebbian reinforcement learning algorithm reproducing monkey performances in visuo-motor learning task. COSYNE Computational and Systems Neuroscience. Salt Lake City, Utah. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vasilaki E, Feng JF & Buxton H () Processing Static Visual Information with IF-networks. Proceedings of the 12th Danish Conference on Pattern Recognition and Image Analysis, 1 August 2003. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vassilakis H, Howel AJ & Buxton H () Comparison of Feedforward (TDRBF) and Generative (TDRGBN) Network for Gesture Based Control. Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, Vol 2298 RIS download Bibtex download
  • Gaiseanu F, Tsoukalas D, Tsamis C, Stoemenos J, Dimitriadis CA & Vasilaki E () Analysis Of Phosphorus Diffusion In the Polysilicon/Oxide/Silicon System Under Oxidizing Conditions For Profile Simulation. 194th Meeting, Electrochemical Society. Boston, MA. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vasilaki E () Is Epicurus the father of Reinforcement Learning?. Sheffield Machine Learning Retreat 2017 View this article in WRRO RIS download Bibtex download

Software / Code

Preprints

Grants

Current grants

Previous grants

Professional activities and memberships

Inge Strauch Visiting Professor by the University of Zurich (1 September 2021-28 February 2022). 

One of the Academic editors of Scientific Reports, Nature Publishing Group, PLOS ONE and PeerJ.

Advisory Board Member for the research Centre For Emergent Algorithmic Intelligence at the University of Mainz, Germany, since 2019.

More than 50 invited talks, including international leading Institutions, e.g. IIT Roorkee, India (2020), Nature Conference for Neuromorphic Computing, Beijing, China (2019), European Institute for Theoretical Neuroscience (EITN), Paris (2018), Beijing Institute of Technology, China (2017), University of Oxford, UK (2016), Imperial College, UK (2015), University La Sapienza of Rome, Italy (2014), ETH Zurich & University of Zurich, Switzerland (2013), Columbia University, USA (2013) and keynote talks (e.g. International Multi-Conference on Artificial Intelligence Technology (M-CAIT2021).