Welcome to the Web Page of L. Andrew Coward
I am an Associate Professor in the College of Engineering and
Computer Science at the Australian National University.
My research objective is to understand the cognitive
behaviour of the human brain in terms of
neurophysiology, and to build electronic systems with similar
behaviour.
The starting point of my research into the brain is a set of
system theoretical considerations
I have developed on the basis of my extensive experience in the design
of extremely complex real time
control systems (bio). These theoretical
considerations indicate that the architecture of any system which must
perform a complex combination of control behaviours will be strongly
constrained into some specific forms by a number of practical
considerations. In the case of a system designed under external
intellectual control, these forms include the memory, processing
separation often called the von Neumann architecture. In the case of a
system which learns, these forms are called the recommendation
architecture. There is considerable evidence that natural selection
pressures deriving from practical considerations like the need to limit
information handling resources and the need to learn without
interference with prior learning have constrained the mammal brain into
this form.
The presence of this architectural form provides a route by which
higher cognitive phenomena up to and including human consciousness and
self awareness can be understood in terms of physiology.
The theoretical considerations and descriptions of how higher cognition
can be understood in terms of physiology are presented in my
published papers and also in my book
"A
System Architecture Approach to the Brain: from Neurons to
Consciousness" recently released in
paperback.
I teach a course
COMP 3650/6365
System Architectural Understanding and the Human Brain on approaches to
understanding very complex systems using the human brain as an example.
e-mail: andrew.coward@anu.edu.au
Mail: Department of Computer
Science
College of Engineering
and Computer
Australian National
University
Canberra, ACT 0200,
Australia
