User:Madelinebriere

About me

I am a First Year at Duke University (Class of 2019, AB Duke Scholar) studying Biomedical Engineering. I am looking to get involved in Club Volleyball, Girls Engineering Change, and Duke Student Government. In my free time, I enjoy reading (especially dystopian novels such as ''The Giver'' by Lois Lowry, and scientific texts like the one mentioned below in Grand Challenges), cooking/ baking and independent research (e.g., www.astro-omics.com).

About my family

My mother, Holly Fitch, is a Professor of Neuroscience at University of Connecticut. My father, Daniel Briere, is an entrepreneur and the author of several of the For Dummies books. My twin brother, Chris Briere, is a First Year at MIT (Class of 2019), and my older brother, Nick Briere, and sister, Emily Briere, are graduates of the Duke University Class of 2015.

Name Pronunciation

My first name is pronounced: MAD-dee. My last name is pronounced: Bree-AIR.

Grand Challenges

I see the brain to be one of the biggest enigmas for scientists today. Hence, I see reverse engineering the brain as one of the biggest challenges for engineers today.

Reverse Engineering the Brain: This article delves into the problems associated with reverse engineering the brain, brought into the spotlight after the release of the book How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed by Ray Kurzweil: [1], Gary Marcus, The New Yorker, Created November 15, 2012, Accessed August 27, 2015 (Grand Challenge)