Good Disruption: Inside Brain-Computer Interfaces

The human brain is the most powerful network ever built: 86 billion neurons connected by more than 100 trillion synapses, enabling us to think, learn, and adapt. What happens when those connections break?

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) use sensors to translate brain signals into action, helping restore movement, communication, and independence by bypassing damaged neural pathways. Once the realm of science fiction, BCIs are now one of neurotechnology's most promising emerging fields.

UVA Professor of Psychology and Quantitative Foundation Distinguished Professor of Data Science Jack Van Horn joins Yael and Mike to discuss how the brain works, the promise and caution around BCIs, and the hurdles ahead for this emerging tech.

Look for new episodes of Good Disruption on the first Monday of each month.

Send the Good Disruption team your ideas at duffr@darden.virginia.edu. And for more episodes, visit: https://gooddisruption.podbean.com/

About the Expert

Yael Grushka-Cockayne

David M. LaCross Dean & Charles A. Abbott Professor of Business Administration

Grushka-Cockayne’s research and teaching activities focus on decision analysis, forecasting, project management and behavioral decision-making.

As an expert in the area of project management, she has served as a consultant to international firms in the aerospace and transportation industries. She is the secretary/treasurer of INFORMS Decision Analysis Society, a U.Va. Excellence in Diversity fellow and member the Project Management Institute.

B.Sc., Ben-Gurion University; M.Sc., London School of Economics; M.Res., Ph.D., London Business School

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About the Expert

Michael Lenox

University Professor Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration

Lenox’s expertise is in the domain of technology strategy and policy. He studies the role of innovation in helping a business succeed. In particular, he explores the sourcing of external knowledge by firms and this practice’s impact on a company’s innovation strategy. Lenox has a longstanding interest in the interface between business strategy and public policy as it relates to the natural environment; his work explores firm strategies and nontraditional public policies that have the potential to drive green innovation and entrepreneurship.

In 2013, Lenox co-authored The Strategist’s Toolkit with Darden Professor Jared Harris. His latest book,

Lenox is a prolific author; his most recent book, Strategy in the Digital Age: Mastering Digital Transformation, examines how digital technologies and services enable the creation of innovative products and services, as well as identifying new competitive positions.

B.S., M.S., University of Virginia; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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