Animals must constantly make the choice between using energy to gather information about their environment or to carry out goal-driven tasks. Animals use sensory input, including humans’ five senses and other senses like electromagnetics and echolocation, to make those decisions. 

A new study published in Nature Machine Intelligencefinds that all 11 species the research team investigated—ranging from amoebas to humans—demonstrate similar patterns of movement. These results have implications for robotics, because robots must be programmed to make the same kinds of decisions animals do to move safely and efficiently through unpredictable environments.

The research team ran experiments with glass knifefish, and then analyzed data available in the scientific literature on 10 other species: humans, mice, bats, moles, three butterflies, cockroaches, and two amoebas. Every single species demonstrated the same pattern of decision making, which involved turning the information-gathering mode, called “explore,” on and off depending on how uncertain the animals were about their environment.

The mathematical strategy that best represented the animals’ behavior “is the trace of a covariance matrix—which I don’t think the fish is actually computing,” jokes Kathleen Hoffman, professor of mathematics and statistics and an author on the new paper.  

Robots, too, must constantly interpret the sensory input they’re receiving and use that information to make decisions. Understanding how real animals tackle that process, even if they don’t know themselves, is useful for robotics, Hoffman explains, “because the robot actually can compute the trace of a covariance matrix.”

Interdisciplinary innovation advances robotics

Specifically, the paper’s results showed that an animal explores until its certainty about its environment decreases below a given threshold. Then it switches to using that information for tasks, which is called “exploit” mode. When uncertainty rises again, it goes back to exploring. This kind of mode-switching is called “triggered excitation.” It differs from a model called “persistent excitation,” which involves constant exploring.

Applications involving sensory processing, like robots, often use the persistent excitation model, so the team was surprised to discover that persistent excitation is not consistent with their observations and analysis. The team’s findings could have a significant impact in the field of sensory modeling.

The work for this paper required many areas of expertise, and the team included researchers in mathematics, engineering, and biology. Debojyoti Biswas, a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University, is the first author on the new paper, and the other authors include Hoffman and researchers at University of Minnesota, Cornell University, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The project grew out of a conversation between Hoffman and John Guckenheimer, an emeritus professor of mathematics at Cornell. They invited the rest of the team members on board as their expertise was needed. From figuring out how to track the position of the knifefish in the experiments with extreme precision, to analyzing the data on other species, to interpreting the math in a way that made sense in a biological context, everyone had a role to play.

“This was one of the coolest interdisciplinary groups I’ve worked in,” Hoffman says. “I really don’t think that any one of us could have done it on our own.”

The remaining “head-scratcher”

The new paper has generated new questions as well as answers. “Here’s the head-scratcher,” Hoffman says: “What’s the mechanism that leads to this?” The team observed the same pattern in species as different as butterflies and moles, which use completely different senses. And they were able to deduce the pattern from published research that was originally undertaken to answer completely different questions. 

Moving forward, some of the same team members, including Hoffman, plan to dig deeper into the mechanism behind this surprising pattern—and whether the mechanism is the same or different across species. “To me,” Hoffman says, “this is fundamental and really important.”

Hoffman is grateful to have been a part of the team. She took the opportunity to grow as a mathematician by contributing primarily to the project’s data analysis, when her focus is usually in mathematical modeling.

“I wanted to really push the limits of what I could do and make it broader. I wanted to develop skills that I didn’t have before,” she says. Overall, “I had fun. You never know what you’re going to be working on as an applied mathematician.”

Emily Bolt,
'24 Chemical Engineering - traditional track, Minor: Entrepreneurship and Innovation

When did you do your Internship?

June 2023

Where was your Internship?

Clene Nanomedicine in North East, Maryland

What is the focus of your Internship?

I evaluated the amount of the edible gold nanoparticle medication in samples. The medication is intended to reduce the symptoms of Parkinson's, ALS, and MS.

What are you looking forward to the most about your Internship? 

I had prior experience as a Federal Employee for a Federal Contractor. Working at Celene allowed me to expand my experience. I was inspired to work at Celene, a small pharmaceutical company, because they focus on developing medications for diseases that are frequently underfunded and aim to treat conditions like Parkinson's, ALS, MS, and many more. 

What was the best part of your Internship OR What was the biggest learning moment of your Internship ?

The highlight of my internship was when a drug trial participant found out they were likely to be examined by the FDA and they sent a heartfelt email promising to do anything they could to support Clene Nanomedicine. The treatment they received as a drug trial participant was life changing for them. 

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved in research or an internship?

My advice would be to diversify the applications to help find what is best for you, even if you think you might not be eligible for some jobs. As a chemical engineering major I even applied to roles for electrical engineering at NASA and got an interview. I got interviews for positions I applied to mechanical engineering roles, process control roles, safety roles. Applying to various positions allowed me to explore all the options and select the position that was the best fit for me.

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

UMBC Crafters: Founder and President

What are your goals after graduation?

I plan to work in the industry after graduation. I am still deciding if I want to pursue a graduate degree.

Join JNF on Campus from November 30th to December 3rd for the largest gathering of Zionist students in the country to learn about JNF-USA’s visionary work for the land and people of Israel. An incredible opportunity to connect with students who are paving the way to ensure a secure Jewish homeland. Don’t miss this chance to hear from JNF-USA staff and partner professionals and learn how to bring Positively Israel content to life on campus.

Also, exciting news regarding our college summit in Denver, we have received a generous donation to sponsor 100 students for the summit! Register at jnf.org/collegesummit, and use the code is AMISRAELCHAI. The code will expire after the 100th use.

Now more than ever do our student leaders need an experience like this. Students are grieving what is happening in Israel and exhausted having to defend themselves and their community on college campuses. It will be a weekend of solidarity and an opportunity to support and learn from one another.

 What can students expect?

• Learning from top Israel experts such as ambassador Michael Oren

• Networking with hundreds of students and young professionals and JNF-USA donors

• Walking away with more knowledge to answer tough questions about Israel, innovative program ideas and more

• Being in a supportive environment with the opportunity to make new friends and connections while strengthening existing ones 

Registration closes October 27th.

Questions? Email Stephanie Aseraph at SAseraph@jnf.org

Sam is a sophomore Biochemistry major and a transfer student from Howard Community College. He is currently working on two research projects.

Title of your research projects:

Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a Model for KRAS G12C Cancers (HCC research)

 Nicotine-Induced Associative Learning in Caenorhabditis elegans (Build a Bridge to STEM (BBS) internship research)

Describe your work:

Our project at Howard Community College uses a species of yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae to model a type of cancer in humans that occurs from mutations in one of our genes involved with growth, KRAS. Our model could visualize a live cell to see pathways and tumor growth in real-time, which relates our model to live human cells.

Our project at UMBC in the BBS internship uses a roundworm called Caenorhabditis elegans to model human nicotine addiction. We saw if the worm could make an association between their food and the presence of nicotine to see what effect food/hunger has on nicotine addiction.

Who are your mentors for your projects?

At Howard Community College (HCC), my mentor is Professor Joseph Sparenberg. I met Professor Sparenberg through the research program at HCC. Our initial talk was riveting, and I found a lot of qualities Professor Sparenberg had as a researcher relatable. His dedication to his research and students despite his very limited time is a quality that I will always respect about him.

At UMBC, my mentor is Dr. Maria Cambraia from the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences department. I met Dr. Cambraia through the Build a Bridge to STEM (BBS) internship program over the summer. Dr. Cambraia is a selfless and wonderful mentor. Her selfless behavior helped me to establish myself at UMBC and attend the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minortized Scientists (ABRCMS).

How did you become interested in these projects?

I had and still have an extremely positive outlook on the success of the project. Professor Sparenberg’s thoughts on the application of our model were very interesting to me, and I knew that his project would be something I would love to dive into. His ideas on how we literally use a live cell to visualize cancer are crazy to me because I knew that traditional research starts within cells that are dead or in a frozen state. Over time, the project has evolved to be a collaborative effort from Professor Sparenberg, myself, and my lab members to determine the future of the project.

At the BBS internship, we were given freedom over our entire project and were allowed to come up with our own research topic, but we had to center it around the C. elegans roundworm. My group, including a current UMBC student, Supriya Jones, were interested in psychology and how people/organisms learn. Our topic on associations between food and nicotine hadn’t been investigated extensively, so we thought it would be quite a novel idea to simulate the learning process in C. elegans.

What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher? 

The hardest part about being a researcher is time commitment. You can only commit so much time to certain tasks and your brain can only take so many rigorous tasks before you either burn out or become tapped out from working for the day. There are definitely ways to circumvent this problem (mainly by finding a balance), but it is quite intimidating at first.

What has been the most rewarding part?

The most rewarding part of my research is the ability to talk about research. From conferences to regular scientific conversations, I have a platform to talk about my research and hear about other's research. I love feeling involved in a community where I can get to know a diverse collective of research projects to learn a variety of different information.

How will you disseminate your research?

My plan is to present my summer research at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS), present my HCC research at URCAD, the Maryland Collegiate STEM Conference, and possibly at the Frontiers at the Chemistry-Biology Interface Symposium conference (FCBIS), and publish my HCC research in the Journal of Research in Progress (JRIP) at HCC or possibly, the UMBC review. Other options for publication or presentation still remain up for discussion.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?  

My advice to students trying to get involved in research (especially transfers) is to not feel afraid to reach out, gain information, and be willing to put yourself out there. However, do not overextend yourself and take on a lot of responsibilities in the pursuit of getting yourself established because it is quite possible that you will burn yourself out or lose sense of your priorities.

What are your career goals?

My current career goals are to work toward a Ph.D. in a molecular biology-related field like microbiology, virology, or cancer biology. After obtaining my Ph.D., I plan on doing my post-doc in either public health or academia and working toward becoming a principal investigator in public health or a professor in academia. My end goal is to become involved in administrative work (i.e. a director, a dean, etc.), or possibly pursue scientific entrepreneurship.