People

The Chicago B3 Lab is an inclusive, collaborative environment where curiosity about brains, biodiversity, and bees is the only prerequisite. We welcome researchers from neuroscience, ecology, entomology, computer science, and engineering.

Principal Investigator

MAS

Matthew A.-Y. Smith

Assistant Professor · Illinois Institute of Technology

Department of Biology

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Matthew studies how environmental stressors — chemical pollutants, pesticides, and habitat loss — alter the neural circuits that govern pollinator cognition and behavior. His research spans from individual neurons to ecological networks, combining electrophysiology, imaging, computational modeling, and field ecology.

Background

  • PhD — Harvard University Center for Brain Science, with Benjamin de Bivort. Studied how individual variation in early sensory circuits shapes behavior.

  • Industry — Google-X, applying deep learning to quantify population-level responses to ecological stressors.

  • Postdoc — University of Wisconsin–Madison, with James Crall. Developed field-deployable AI sensing platforms and studied anthropogenic stress impacts on bumblebee cognition and foraging.

Research Interests

Environmental neurotoxicology · Sensory processing & cognition · Serotonergic modulation · Plant–pollinator networks · Open-source hardware · Community science

Graduate Students

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Open Position

PhD Student

We are actively recruiting PhD students for Fall 2026 and Fall 2027. See Join Us for details.

Undergraduate Researchers

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Open Positions

Research Assistant

IIT undergraduates interested in bee behavior, neuroscience, or field ecology are encouraged to reach out. See Join Us.

Collaborators

James Crall

University of Wisconsin–Madison · Pollinator ecology, behavioral tracking, and the AutoPollS platform.

Benjamin de Bivort

Harvard University · Individual variation in neural circuits and its behavioral consequences.

RMBL Network

Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory · Multi-level selection in ecological networks (marmot and plant–pollinator systems).

IIT Landscape Architecture

Illinois Institute of Technology · Bronzeville urban ecology and green infrastructure planning.

Simons Collaboration

Multi-level selection in multi-species ecological networks — theory, sensing, and empirical validation.

BeeMachine / Spiesman Lab

Pollinator detection and classification models powering the AutoPollS camera platform.