My project proposes to explore the translation layer between nature’s two most complex information processing systems: the centralized, well-connected network of neurons in the brain and the decentralized, distributed network of plant biology. In the academic world, Neuroscience and Agriculture are distinct universes. Neuroscience is associated with intelligence, data transmission, and the understanding of "self," while Agriculture is viewed through the lens of biomass, calories, and yield. However, at a fundamental level, both systems are solving the same problem: how to sense a changing environment, process noisy data, and execute a survival strategy to keep functioning and thriving.

The core of my project is to investigate the universal grammar of biological signaling. Can the algorithms we use to decode synaptic firing in the human cortex be applied to the electrical action potentials of a stressed root system? Conversely, can the decentralized decision-making of a plant swarm inform new architectures for microfluidics or offer novel solutions for treating neurodegenerative network failures? To answer these questions, I aim to compare the structural and functional parallels between plants and neurons. Specifically, I want to understand how these distinct systems encode distress, manage resource abundance, and execute distributed collective action.

This project breaks the binary view that intelligence is fast and centralized (brains) while nature is slow and passive (plants). By uncovering evidence that a shoot and root system follows the same signaling logic as a neuronal axon, dendrite, and cell body, we unlock two massive opportunities: proactive agriculture (listening to crops before they fail) and decentralized computing (using plant logic to fix fragile neural models). Building 21 provides the necessary interdisciplinary environment to de-risk this science before I translate it into a venture that tackles both food security and human health.