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Computation, Representation, and Inference in Signal Processing Group

@ Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

We develop novel methodology and theory for reverse-engineering intelligence using tools from machine learning, high-dimensional statistics, and optimization.

Group research
Our research lies at the intersection of high-dimensional statistics, optimization, and time-series analysis, with applications to neuroscience and AI. A central focus of our work is mechanistic interpretability—reverse-engineering how both biological and artificial neural systems process information, form representations, and generate novel outputs. We develop theoretical frameworks and computational tools to decode the inner workings of neural networks and brains, from uncovering sparse conceptual representations in vision and language models to revealing the geometric principles underlying creative generation in diffusion models. This research aims to explain artificial neural networks as inference algorithms in biologically-plausible, generative, statistical models, enabling the principled design of model-based, explainable AI systems and offering novel insights into biological cognition. Our approach bridges neuroscience, machine learning, and optimization theory to build interpretable models that not only explain how intelligence emerges from computation, but also enable us to design more transparent and trustworthy AI systems. Finally, the design of architectures tailored to generative models lets us leverage GPUs and modern computational infrastructure to solve inference and parameter estimation problems in neuroscience and beyond.

You can find sample projects related to three areas of research we've been focused on in recent years here:

Our group is proud to be affiliated with Harvard's Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence, Center for Brain Science (CBS), Data Science Initiave (HDSI), and National Science Foundation's (NSF) Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI).