Alumnus Saket Navlakha (Ph.D, '10) receives NSF CAREER Award

Alumnus Saket Navlakha (Ph.D, '10) has received a CAREER Award from NSF for his proposed study, "Algorithms in nature: uncovering principles of plant structure, growth, and adaptation.” Navlaka is an assistant professor in the Integrative Biology Laboratory and a Pioneer Fund Developmental Chair of the Salk Institute.  His project will "elucidate the naturally occurring algorithms in biological systems, such as the branching of a tree in search for light, and compare the network design strategies and optimization principles to that of developing neurons in the brain and human engineered transportation structures. The results of his study will help reveal the basic patterns that evolution has used to design these systems and will offer an improved understanding of how these natural networks process information and function in both health and disease." 

Navlaka was advised by Associate Professor Carl Kingsford (now of Carnegie Melon Unviersity). 

Salk Institute Press Release: https://www.salk.edu/news-release/salk-scientist-saket-navlakha-receives-career-award-from-nsf/