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Chris Adami, Ph.D. Esalen CTR Conference Affiliation(s): volution Chris Adami is Director, Digital Life Laboratory, Caltech Principal Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he studies fundamental processes in evolution, in particular the molecular mechanisms responsible for the emergence and rise of complexity. This branch of science is a synthesis of theoretical and experimental studies of Darwinian evolution. Instead of biochemical experimental organisms, however, Adami’s group uses a form of life that does not share any ancestry with life on earth, and was developed expressly for experimental evolution. These organisms are computer programs that live in, and adapt to, a world created for them in standard computer architectures. This world represents this particular organism’s niche.. Research on these digital organisms has many directions, including the search for novel biosignatures for extraterrestrial life detection, the development of quantitative theories of molecular and viral evolution, and studies of the evolvability of complex and robust software. The topological, as well as geometric, properties of genetic space are crucial for determining whether complexity can evolve or not. Besides the mechanisms enabling the growth of complexity, the Digital Life Group plans to study how adapting systems shape their own landscape (via co-evolution), to make it evolvable. Dr. Adami also engages in research concerning quantum information theory, quantum computation, as well as the foundations of quantum theory. He is working on the application of information-theoretic methods to molecular evolution and sequence data, to improve the design of anti-viral drugs. He is the author of the textbook "Introduction to Artificial Life," and serves on the editorial board of the "Artificial Life" journal. He has taught Artificial Life at Caltech for the last seven years. His background is in theoretical nuclear, high-energy, and computational physics.
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File last updated: 01-Aug-02 | ||
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