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April 29, 2026
Location: SB 156
Time: 12:00 pm
Presenter: François Léonard
Artificial Intelligence with Minimal Electronics
Abstract:
Existing implementations of AI rely heavily on electronic components for computation and sensing. This reliance on digital electronics comes at steep energetic, temporal, and economic costs. In this presentation I will discuss alternative approaches to realize AI functionality where the physics of physical fields and their interactions with materials are harnessed as much as possible before involving any electronics. I will use optical systems as concrete examples to illustrate how materials can be designed/trained to perform AI functionality with high performance and how these systems have parallels and key differences with electronic neural networks. Finally, some key challenges and research opportunities for physical AI will be discussed.
Dr. François Léonard is Distinguished Member of Technical Staff in the Materials Physics Department at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, CA, where his research focuses on experimental and theoretical Nanoelectronics and Nanophotonics. He holds B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics, and was a postdoctoral fellow at IBM Research before joining Sandia. He is the author of the book “The Physics of Carbon Nanotube Devices” and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
Light Lunch will be served.
