Dr. Randal Koene is a computational neuroscientist whose professional efforts have focused on neural interfaces, neural prosthesis, and the functional reconstruction of neural tissue since at least 1994 (wikipedia). Koene introduced the multi-disciplinary field of whole brain emulation and is lead architect of the scientific roadmap with which its technological development is promoted. He is a principal member of the University of Oxford working group that convened in 2007, which produced the first roadmap toward whole brain emulation (a term Koene proposed in 2000). In the decade since then, Koene has striven to advocate for the importance of the technology and the science, and identified accelerators for the development of neural interfaces, neural prostheses, and brain emulation.
Randal Koene is the son of a Dutch particle physicist and a German artist. He studied physics and information theory in the Netherlands with a M.Sc. in electrical engineering at Delft University of Technology, then earned a Ph.D. studying human memory mechanisms systems at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Dr. Koene is Chairman and Founder of the science foundation Carboncopies.org, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Carboncopies operates as a hub for technology roadmapping, and project generation in both commercial and academic partnerships.
Recently (2014-17), Dr. Koene was instrumental in the preparation, launch and early-stage activities of neurotechnology start-up Kernel LLC. He is also founder of non-profit project Neuralink.org, and Massachusetts neural interfaces company Neural Engineering Corp. Dr. Koene is the consulting Science Director of the 2045 Initiative and presently advises several neurotechnology companies and organizations.
In previous roles, Dr. Koene was Director of Analysis at Silicon Valley nanotechnology company Halcyon Molecular and Director of the Department of Neuroengineering at Tecnalia, Spain. Dr. Koene was a research professor at Boston University's Center for Memory and Brain.
Working with the VU University Amsterdam, Dr. Koene led the creation of NETMORPH, a computational framework for the simulated morphological development of large-scale high-resolution neuroanatomically realistic neuronal circuitry.
Dr. Koene's professional expertise includes computational neuroscience, neural engineering, psychology, information theory, electrical engineering, physics, venture capital due diligence, and enterprise in early-stage technology startups.
Dr. Koene’s publications, presentations and interviews are available at http://randalkoene.com.