Instructors:
- Prof. Cheng Zhai (czhai@illinois.edu)
- Prof. Rhanor Gillette (rhanor@illinois.edu)
- Prof. Rainer Engelken (engelken@illinois.edu)
- Ke Yang (key4@illinois.edu)
- Katya Gribkova (gribkov2@illinois.edu)
- Yuji Zhang (yujiz@illinois.edu)
- Xiaocong Yang (xy51@illinois.edu)
Format:
- Seminar course (S/U grading), with weekly lectures, reviews, and discussions.
- Time: Mondays 4:30 – 5:30pm. Location: 0216 Siebel Center for Computer Science.
- This semester we are offering two sections:
- CS 591 BA1 (CRN 31655) – 1 credit hour, cross-listed with MCB 529 BA1 (CRN 78465). Includes attendance and participation in the seminars, selecting a paper of interest, and creating a recorded presentation.
- CS 591 BA2 (CRN 78443) – 2 credit hours, cross-listed with MCB 529 BA2 (CRN 78493). In addition to the requirements of the 1-credit section, this option gives students the opportunity to gain research experience through a hands-on mini-project, translating an idea into code and a short report. (Please do not register for any of our other sections/CRNs if you choose this one.)
Lecture Schedule and Assignments for Spring 2026 (some minor changes possible):
- ATTENDANCE Requirement: at least 10 out of 14 class sessions (participation surveys).
- 1/26 – Course Overview.
- 2/02 – Intro to Biological Intelligence, Artificial vs. biological neurons (Katya).
- 2/09 – Intro to Biological Intelligence, Decision-making in biological systems (Katya).
- 2/16 – Intro to Biological Intelligence, Evolution of memory (Katya).
- 2/23 – Intro to AI and Large Language Models (Prof. Zhai).
- ASSIGNMENT DUE: Add paper to the Reading List by 2/23.
- 3/02 – Neuroethology & Evolution of Consciousness (Prof. Gillette).
- ASSIGNMENT DUE: Sign up for Student Groups by 3/02.
- 3/09 – Spiking Neural Dynamics (Prof. Engelken).
- 3/16 – SPRING BREAK
- 3/23 – AI Agent Learning and Applications (Ke).
- 3/30 – AI Interpretability and Spiking Transformers (Xiaocong).
- 4/06 – AI Interpretability and Spiking Transformers (Xiaocong).
- 4/13 – The Knowledge Lifecycle of Large Language Models (Yuji).
- ASSIGNMENT DUE: Upload recorded (~30 min) presentation for each Student Group by 4/13.
- 4/20 – ASSIGNMENT: In-class Student Presentations, session 1.
- 4/27 – ASSIGNMENT: In-class Student Presentations, session 2.
- 5/04 – Final Discussion
All Seminar Recordings will be uploaded and made available.
For anyone interested in receiving updates on our weekly seminars, please subscribe to our mailing list: https://lists.illinois.edu/lists/info/bai (Subscribe button will be located on the left).