Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
Chemical Informatics: We combine computational chemistry and machine learning to mine chemical space for fragrant molecules and predict their smell.
Neuromorphic computing: We develop event-based algorithms for neuromorphic olfaction, with the aim to achieve low-latency detection and identification of odorants and other chemical signals.
Gas-based robotic navigation: We apply neuromorphic principles to improve robot navigation on odor cues.
Overview
Dr Schmuker's research aims at translating algorithms and processes from biology and the brain into solutions for data science and machine learning. He is a pioneer in neuromorphic computing, an emerging technology that takes inspiration from the brain to achieve low-power and low-latency AI. He and his team develop event-based algorithms for neuromorphic olfaction, that is, low-latency detection and identification of chemical signals.
Dr Schmuker has a degree in Biology, a PhD in Chemical Informatics, as well as postdoctoral experience in developing and applying data science methods in Neuroscience, Chemistry, and Computer Science, solving problems in a wide area of fields ranging from drug discovery and brain imaging to gas sensing in turbulent environments. Before joining the University of Hertfordshire in 2016, he held a Marie Curie Fellowship at the University of Sussex.
Dr Schmuker is a member of the European research flagship "Human Brain Project”, where he led the work package “Neuromorphic Applications and Benchmarks”. He is also a founding member of the NEUROTECH consortium to coordinate and support the advancement of neuromorphic technology in Europe. Since August 2020 he is a member of the NeuroNex "Odor to Action" consortium, which investigates how sensory information guides behavior in animals.
Education/Academic qualification
Chemistry, Dr. phil. nat., Analysis of Coding Principles in the Olfactory System and their Application in Cheminformatics, HEI: Goethe University Frankfurt
Award Date: 21 Jun 2007
Biology, Diploma (equiv. MSc) , Modeling Homogeneity Detection in Primate Visual Cortex with Spiking Neurons, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg
Award Date: 2 Oct 2003
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 9 Finished
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Model-based decision support for farmers
Schmuker, M. (PI) & Sun, Y. (CoI)
1/10/20 → 31/03/21
Project: Research
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NeuroNex: From Odor to Action: Discovering Principles of Olfactory-Guided Natural Behavior
Schmuker, M. (PI)
14/08/20 → 13/08/23
Project: Research
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NeuroNex: From Odor to Action - Discovering Principles of Olfactory-Guided Natural Behavior
Steuber, V. (PI) & Schmuker, M. (PI)
14/08/20 → 31/03/25
Project: Research
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HBP SGA3: Human Brain Project Specific Grant Agreement 3
Schmuker, M. (PI)
1/04/20 → 31/03/23
Project: Research
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DEEPFRAGRANCE: DeepFragrance: Artificial Intelligence Methods for designing fragrant molecules
Schmuker, M. (PI) & Kumar, R. (PI)
1/06/19 → 31/05/21
Project: Other
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Mammalian odour-guided navigation behaviour and neural processing in relation to the odour environment
Gumaste, A., Oumov, M. M., Sutton, S., Schmuker, M., Steuber, V. & Verhagen, J. V., 1 Jun 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Biological Reviews. 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Efficient slope detection with regular spiking and bursting point neuron models
Miko, R., Scheunemann, M., Steuber, V. & Schmuker, M., 15 Jan 2026, In: Journal of Computational Neuroscience. p. P199Research output: Contribution to journal › Meeting abstract › peer-review
Open Access -
ConfDENSE: A conformer aware electron density based machine learning paradigm for navigating the odorant landscape
Saha, P., Balaji, S., Sharma, M., Barsainyan, A. A., Kumar, R., Steuber, V. & Schmuker, M., 7 Jan 2026, ChemRxiv, 29 p.Research output: Working paper
Open AccessFile -
DENSE SENSE: A novel approach utilizing an electron density augmented machine learning paradigm to understand a complex odour landscape
Saha, P., Sharma, M., Balaji, S., Barsainyan, A. A., Kumar, R., Steuber, V. & Schmuker, M., 8 Oct 2025, In: Digital Discovery. 4, 11, p. 3339-3350 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)5 Downloads (Pure) -
Computational modelling of olfactory receptors
Odoemelam, C., Steuber, V. & Schmuker, M., 30 Jul 2025, In: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects. 1869, 8, 16 p., 130825.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Citations (Scopus)10 Downloads (Pure)