Magnus Berggren: Artificial Nervous Systems and Electronic Plants

Organic electronics is explored as the signaling bridge between biological systems and electronics targeting new opportunities in diagnostics, therapy and biotechnology. Using the coupled charge accumulation and ion exchange of conjugated polymer-polyelectrolyte systems different sensor and actuator devices have been developed. Included in circuits, these can simultaneously record and regulate physiology and functions at high spatiotemporal resolution. As artificial nervous systems, such circuits have successfully been applied, in vivo, to combat e.g. pathological pain and epileptic seizures in tissue and animal models. Applied to, and manufactured inside the vascular systems of plants, e.g. rosa floribunda, analog and digital organic circuits have successfully been achieved, thus open up for new "green" energy technologies and electronic control over growth and production processes in living plants.

Magnus Berggren is the Önnesjö Professor in Organic Electronics at Linköping University and the director for the Advanced Functional Materials center and the Laboratory for Organic Electronics. In 2011 he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and in 2014 he received the Marcus Wallenberg Prize. He is the cofounder of several startup companies, such as ThinFilm, DP Patterning, Invisense and OBOE IPR.