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We are pleased to announce that Bruno van Swinderen, Principal Research Fellow at the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI), The University of Queensland, and Head of the Drosophila Behaviour and Cognition Laboratory, has been elected an Academician of the World Academy for Artificial Consciousness (WAAC) in recognition of his systematic research on attention, sleep, and general anesthesia in the fruit-fly model and the inspiration his work has provided to consciousness science.
Van Swinderen’s team has long employed Drosophila as a model system, using quantifiable behavioral and neural phenotypes to build a cross-species, comparable framework of consciousness indicators and mechanisms. Representative contributions include establishing “attention–sleep–anesthesia” as three measurable endpoints for consciousness research; identifying a paradoxical/active sleep-like state in flies; demonstrating a direct coupling between sleep and selective attention; and linking computational consciousness metrics to fruit-fly anesthesia. These advances not only promote a unified understanding of arousal, attention, and sleep in neuroscience, but also lay the groundwork for cross-species, verifiable consciousness assessment systems and anesthetic targets, influencing methodological practice across fields such as brain–computer interfaces and neuromorphic intelligence.
- Global Collaboration and Academic Ecosystem
The Academicians of WAAC come from universities and research institutions such as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge, the University of California, the French Academy of Sciences, the University of Padua, the University of Queensland, Columbia University, and the University of Exeter, among others. Honorary Academicians represent multiple countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Spain, and China. Additionally, leading scientists from renowned research institutions and technology companies—such as Google, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and Zeekr—are also involved.
- About WAAC
The World Academy for Artificial Consciousness (https://www.waac.ac/) is a global academic institution established in Paris in 2025. Its mission is to advance frontier research and international collaboration in artificial consciousness through the integration of science, technology, and philosophy. The Academy publishes open research, policy recommendations, evaluation standards, and more. The current President is Academician Yucong Duan, and the Secretary-General is Dr. Yingbo Li. The Honorary Academician List: On May 3, 2025, WAAC released its first batch of Top 100 Honorary Academicians, recognizing scholars who have made foundational or leading contributions to the theory of artificial consciousness.