August 2012: Yoky Matsuoka, MacArthur Foundation 'genius grant' recipient and former head of Google innovation, speaks at UAA

by Kathleen McCoy  |   

Friday, Aug. 24, 7-8 p.m. Fine Art Bldg, Room 150

Yoky Matsuoka will give a free talk open to the public on Friday, Aug. 24, 7-8 pm in Arts 150Yoky Matsuoka, Ph.D., is vice president of technology for Nest Labs-the company that created "The Learning Thermostat"-and president of YokyWorks Foundation, a nonprofit that builds devices for people with disabilities.

Yoky is the former Head of Innovation at Google, a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" recipient, a White House Presidential Early Career Award-winner for Scientists and Engineers, and the Robotics and Automation Society Early Academic Career Award-winner from IEEE. Yoky focuses much of her work on neurobiotics--bio- and neural-inspired robotic systems--that can help rehabilitate or assist in human movement.

About her talk, 'Robots & Thermostats: More in common than you think'

The first industrial robots were created as a tool for assembling cars, but in recent years, they've evolved to take on ever more important roles--including replacing parts of the human body--and capabilities, such as the ability to be controlled by the human brain. Similarly, the traditional thermostat started out as a simple switch on the wall. Using the similar approaches to creativity and intelligence that's been applied to the field of robotics, Nest has transformed the thermostat into a sexy, energy-saving device that gives us a glimpse into the home of the future.

Read more about Yoky Matsuoka at PBS Nova.

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