Event

ECE Special Seminar - Itzhak Tamo, Tel Aviv University

Friday, October 4, 2024
2:00 p.m.
2460 A.V. Williams
Darcy Long
301 405 3114
dlong123@umd.edu

Speaker: Zachi (Itzhak) Tamo, Tel Aviv University

Title: Unlocking the Future of Data: From Synthetic DNA to Living Organisms

Abstract: DNA has emerged as a promising medium for high-density, long-term data storage. This talk will be divided into two parts. In the first part, I will introduce the concept of in-vitro DNA storage, where data is encoded and stored in synthetic DNA molecules outside living organisms. I will discuss the motivation behind this approach, its potential to offer durable, high-capacity storage, and its key associated challenges.
The second part will focus on in-vivo DNA storage, where data is stored within the DNA of living organisms. Unlike in-vitro storage, primarily aimed at long-term data storage, in-vivo DNA storage opens up new possibilities by embedding information within biological systems, enabling various applications. I will also present our recent project, which provides a mathematical framework that addresses the intricacies of coding over living organisms.
No prior knowledge of biology or information theory will be required. 

Bio: Itzhak Tamo received his B.A. degree in Mathematics and his B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Ben-Gurion University, Israel, in 2008 and 2012, respectively. From 2012 to 2014, he was a Post-Doctoral Researcher with the Institute for Systems Research at the University of Maryland, College Park. Since 2015, he has been with the Electrical Engineering Department at Tel Aviv University, Israel, where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 2020. 
His research interests include storage systems and devices, coding, information theory, and combinatorics. He was a recipient of the IEEE Communication Society Data Storage Technical Committee 2013 Best Paper Award. He also received the 2015 IEEE Information Theory Society Paper Award and the Krill Prize in 2018.