On Wednesday, July 9, 2025, we had the pleasure of welcoming Professor Steve Blair from the University of Utah to the University of Victoria for a guest seminar. Professor Blair, a leading researcher in the fields of optical neural interfaces, plasmonic devices, and silicon photonics, delivered a fascinating talk titled “The Utah Optrode Array for Large Volume Optogenetic Manipulation in the Non-Human Primate Brain.”
The talk focused on recent advancements in optogenetic tools designed to manipulate and monitor neural activity across large volumes of the primate brain. Professor Blair presented the design and capabilities of the Utah optrode array—an innovative device that combines dense optical stimulation with precise neural targeting, opening new doors for systems neuroscience and brain-machine interface research.
Professor Blair has been a faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Utah since 1998 and currently serves as Director of the Engineering Clinic Program, which connects students with industry through hands-on capstone projects. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder and earlier degrees in Applied Optics from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
You can learn more about his work and publications here.