Browsing by Author "Gao, Lei"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5

Are we educating traditional heroes or team players for the future? Reflections on landscape architecture education in Finland
(2019-09) Hautamäki, Ranja; Mannerla-Magnusson, Meri; Weckman, Emilia
A4 Artikkeli konferenssijulkaisussa
Educational landscapes of the digital age: Challenging the frontiers of digital landscape education: a discussion on future-oriented computational design thinking
(2019) Fricker, Pia
A4 Artikkeli konferenssijulkaisussa
In the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, oversaturated with the diversity and arbitrariness of digital and social media and rapidly evolving technological possibilities, it is time for serious reflection on the future of digital tools and methods in the area of landscape architecture. Already in 2016, Klaus Schwab1 described our current time as being at the beginning of a revolution that is fundamentally changing the way we live, work and relate to one another. A time characterized by new technologies fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds (Schwab, 2016). What significance and what kinds of possibilities are open to this much discussed area for curriculum design at the university level? This debate, which has already taken off in the area of architectural education since the 1990s and anchored through the establishment of a number of innovative Chairs and Institutes in the curriculum, has only just begun in the field of landscape architecture. Fostered by pressure from professional practice, but mostly demanded for by students, we are currently standing at the threshold of developing entirely new concepts for teaching in the area of computational design thinking that go well-beyond mainstream application oriented topics such as GIS , CAD, BIM/LIM and the mere teaching of tools and software. It requires a fundamental rethinking and openness for a new area of knowledge, in order to recognize the potentials for teaching and research without losing the direct reference to landscape architecture (Girot, 2012). The main focus of the paper is to introduce and reflect on an integrative computational design thinking approach, which requires the melding of computation, design and theory as an answer to the complex challenges facing the profession of landscape architecture. At this juncture, exemplary concepts will be highlighted, which have been developed and implemented at ETH Zurich and Aalto University. An essential part of the new approach lies in the fact that systems thinking provides the theoretical basis connecting the individual components. Furthermore, focus is placed on the passing on of interdisciplinary knowledge and skill building. How can we teach students to be capable of quickly and flexibly navigating their way among digital media, as well as have access to key expertise in the area of machine learning in order to be able to link data with relevant information and broader concepts? The goal must be to inspire students for professional practice with a positive attitude towards Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, in order to strengthen them to use the technological possibilities at our disposal in innovative and creative ways and ultimately develop critical, bold, future-oriented approaches that will stand the test of time.
Flexible Micropillar Electrode Arrays for In Vivo Neural Activity Recordings
(2019-05-17) Du, Mingde; Guan, Shouliang; Gao, Lei; Lv, Suye; Yang, Siting; Shi, Jidong; Wang, Jinfen; Li, Hongbian; Fang, Ying
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
Flexible electronics that can form tight interfaces with neural tissues hold great promise for improving the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders and advancing brain/machine interfaces. Here, the facile fabrication of a novel flexible micropillar electrode array (µPEA) is described based on a biotemplate method. The flexible and compliant µPEA can readily integrate with the soft surface of a rat cerebral cortex. Moreover, the recording sites of the µPEA consist of protruding micropillars with nanoscale surface roughness that ensure tight interfacing and efficient electrical coupling with the nervous system. As a result, the flexible µPEA allows for in vivo multichannel recordings of epileptiform activity with a high signal-to-noise ratio of 252 ± 35. The ease of preparation, high flexibility, and biocompatibility make the µPEA an attractive tool for in vivo spatiotemporal mapping of neural activity.
Magnetic actuation of flexible microelectrode arrays for neural activity recordings
(2019-10-03) Gao, Lei; Wang, Jinfen; Guan, Shouliang; Du, Mingde; Wu, Kun; Xu, Ke; Zou, Liang; Tian, Huihui; Fang, Ying
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
Implantable microelectrodes that can be remotely actuated via external fields are promising tools to interface with biological systems at a high degree of precision. Here, we report the development of flexible magnetic microelectrodes (FMμEs) that can be remotely actuated by magnetic fields. The FMμEs consist of flexible microelectrodes integrated with dielectrically encapsulated FeNi (iron-nickel) alloy microactuators. Both magnetic torque- and force-driven actuation of the FMμEs have been demonstrated. Nano-platinum coated FMµEs have been applied for in vivo recordings of neural activities from peripheral nerves and cerebral cortex of mice. Moreover, owing to their ultra-small sizes and mechanical compliance with neural tissues, chronically implanted FMµEs elicited greatly reduced neuronal cell loss in mouse brain compared to conventional stiff probes. The FMµEs open up a variety of new opportunities for electrically interfacing with biological systems in a controlled and minimally-invasive manner.
New paradigms and concepts for urban nature: an integrative model practical applications in landscape planning education at Aalto university
(2019-09-08) Galan Vivas, Juanjo
A4 Artikkeli konferenssijulkaisussa
Despite the numerous definitions of some of the new basic concepts supporting the use of urban nature in landscape and urban planning (e.g. urban green infrastructures (UGI), ecosystem services (ESS), nature based solutions (NBS), Urban Sustainability and Resilience, etc.), the establishment of durable terms, grammars and frameworks remains elusive and escapes the limits of the many involved academic disciplines. This situation affects specially the application of those concepts in urban areas governed by a complex system of drivers and interests, as well as their use in the academic arena, in which systems thinking and multi, inter, trans-disciplinary approaches, challenge the canonical academic and professional boundaries. In fact, a systematic review of the use of those concepts reveals that quite often they are understood and operated differently by different groups. Urban nature, with its multiple meanings and dimensions, has historically been linked to landscape architecture practice and education, which in fact has acted as an amalgamating platform bringing together the formal, functional, ecological, perceptual, social, cultural and economic facets of nature and giving them a common purpose through landscape planning and design. Thus, and in contrast to other disciplines, the contribution of landscape architecture is located precisely in the intersection and integration of different types of knowledge, in the generation of potential synergies and in the definition of spatial and functional schemes that are often embodied with a high level of multifunctionality. This strategic situation imposes some obvious challenges in landscape architecture education which become more critical when the conceptual and methodological foundations of highly related disciplines undergo substantial changes or when new scientific, planning and design paradigms emerge. If knowledge is a highly interconnected web, landscape architecture, by its very nature, is located in a highly connected node and, therefore, is especially sensitive to peripheral changes. Following these preliminary remarks: the emergence of new urban-nature related concepts, their unclear interconnections and their relevance in landscape architecture education, this paper elaborates on three Research Questions: 1) Can the new set of urban-nature concepts be integrated in a more coherent and synthetic model? 2) How can this synthetic model be adopted in landscape architecture education?, Which kind of courses or activities could facilitate its practical use by landscape architecture students? 3) How does the synthetic model and its academic application respond to the expectations and needs of decision makers and experts from other disciplines?