Career
He is a pioneer in researching and bringing to market large scale, deep learning neural models that allow robots to interact and learn real-time in complex environments. He has authored approximately forty among journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers, holds several patents, and has been an invited speaker at dozens of academic and business meetings, research and national labs, and companies, including National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, The_Pentagon,Los Alamos National Laboratory, Air Force Research Labs, Hewlett-Packard, iRobot, Qualcomm, Ericsson, British Aerospace Systems, Mitsubishi, and Accenture, among others His work has been featured in over thirty articles, news programs, and documentaries, including Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Spectrum, New Scientist, Geek Magazine, Cable News Network, Microsoft and National Broadcasting Company and others
Massimiliano is a Fulbright scholar and holds two Ph.Ds: Experimental Psychology, University of Trieste, Italy.
Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University, United States of America. He obtained his Bachelor of Science from University of Trieste, Italy. Versace grew up in Monfalcone, Italy and came to the United States in 2001 as a Fulbright scholar.
Massimiliano holds a masters in psychology from the University of Trieste and a two Doctors of Philosophy (Experimental Psychology, University of Trieste, Italy -- Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University, United States of America). He is a Research Assistant Professor at Boston University, where he founded and directs the Neuromorphics Laboratory
In 2009-2011, he was Company-Principal Investigator of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency SyNAPSE effort in collaboration with Hewlett-Packard, where he led the Boston University neural modeling team
In December 2010, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Spectrum published a cover page featured article authored by him regarding the roadmap to develop a large scale brain model making use of memristor based technologies. The Modular Neural Exploring Traveling Agent (MoNETA) was the first large-scale neural network model to implement whole-brain circuits to power a virtual and robotic agent compatibly with memristor-based hardware computations. A cover page featured article in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer features the software platform and modeling implemented by the joint Himachal Pradesh and Boston University teams, and the March 2012 edition of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Pulse features his lab work on brain modeling.
His work has also been featured on the Italian national daily business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, on the magazine Geek Magazine and on the documentary series Future Tense.
In 2006, with two colleagues from Boston University, he co-founded Neurala Incorporated. to bring this technology to market. He successfully led the company through the TechStars program in 2013, round of financing, and product launches.
Massimiliano Versace"s research interests are focused on neural networks – also called Deep Learning, in particular applied to cortical models of learning and memory, and how to build intelligent machines equipped with low-power, high density neural chips that implement large-scale brain circuits of increasing complexity. His Synchronous Matching Adaptive Resonance Theory (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) model shows spiking laminar cortical circuits self-organize and stably learn relevant information, and how these circuits be embedded in low-power, memristor based hybrid Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor chip and used to solve challenging pattern recognition problems.