Mayur Mudigonda

Personal Website

Reveal Contact Info

PhD Student

Vision Science

DeWeese Lab

Current Research

The problem of perception is intrinsically coupled with acting in a 3D world. Consequently, studying perception and actions as one problem could lead to more progress in understanding behavior. My research largely focuses on learning sensorimotor representations in the brain and in machines.

In neuroscience, I am interested in the problem of sensorimotor integration in the barrel (S1) and motor cortex (M1). Towards this, we are building computational models of populations of neurons from both these regions to explain whisking.

In machines, I am interested in robust behavior from noisy sensors (multi-modal) and actuators. We are exploring the role of haptics as a feature space that can help tie together disparate features such as vision, proprioception, etc.

Background

In my previous life, I was a computer scientist. I got my bachelors in India from Anna University. I then got my Masters degree in Computer Science with a specialization in Cognitive Science from Michigan State University. I focused on computer vision during this time. I worked at a startup called Blindsight for two years building computer vision solutions for people with low-vision. I joined the Redwood center right after and it has (and will continue to be) home to me ever since. The opportunities afforded here at the Redwood center are unique and unparalleled. My formal program is the Vision Science program.

When I am not performing research related activities, I am usually volunteering for Isha yoga and meditation programs. This has also greatly influenced my own research with side projects on the effects on neurotransmitters through yoga and meditation. Personally, I value this very greatly. Given the pace of life and competition, the tools that yoga and meditation provide are invaluable.

Since 2017, I have been biking for charity. The major event for 2017 was the AIDS life cycle ride. I biked from SF to LA in 7 days and raised ~4k for charity. This year, I hope to ride Zambia. Here too, we hope to raise money for helping prevent HIV and empowering women and (girl) children. Please consider making a contribution 🙂 https://goo.gl/yLRRfj