Massimo Vergassola Explained

Massimo Vergassola
Nationality:Italian
Fields:Physics
Workplaces:University of California, San Diego

Massimo Vergassola is an Italian physicist, who worked at the University of California, San Diego from 2013-2019. He is now a Professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris and Directeur de Recherche at CNRS. He is Director of the ENS-PSL QBio initiative on Quantitative Biology, an initiative at the PariSanté Val-de-Grâce Campus.[1]

Vergassola uses physics to study the sense of smell and olfactory navigation in turbulent environments.[2] For example, he has shown the importance of a zig-zag search pattern to deal with odor plumes that have been broken into fragments due to turbulence.[3] In 2007, Vergassola proposed a strategy called infotaxis for use by odor-sensing robots. Infotaxis involves the creation of a mental model of where an odor source is likely to be, based on previously collected information. The robot moves in a direction that will maximize information to find the smell. Early versions of the model involved a mathematical quantity called Shannon entropy, which calculates unpredictability (high in unexplored directions and low in explored directions).[4] Another area of interest in the physics of living systems, is the physics of embryonic development.[1]

Vergassola is an Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society.[5] [6] [7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Massimo Vergassola . QBio . 13 March 2023 . en.
  2. Reddy . Gautam . Murthy . Venkatesh N. . Vergassola . Massimo . Olfactory Sensing and Navigation in Turbulent Environments . Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics . 10 March 2022 . 13 . 1 . 191–213 . 10.1146/annurev-conmatphys-031720-032754 . 243966350 . 13 March 2023 . en . 1947-5454.
  3. Book: Barwich . A. S. . Smellosophy: What the Nose Tells the Mind . 14 July 2020 . Harvard University Press . 978-0-674-24540-2 . en.
  4. Mackenzie . Dana . How animals follow their nose . Knowable Magazine . Annual Reviews . 6 March 2023 . 10.1146/knowable-030623-4 . free . 13 March 2023 . en.
  5. Web site: Fellows . aps.org . April 22, 2017.
  6. Web site: Massimo Vergassola . ucsd.edu . April 22, 2017.
  7. Di Talia . Stefano . Vergassola . Massimo . Waves in Embryonic Development . Annual Review of Biophysics . 9 May 2022 . 51 . 1 . 327–353 . 10.1146/annurev-biophys-111521-102500 . 35119944 . 246556845 . en . 1936-122X. 10122827 .