jordan jordan jordan

@jordan.matelsky.com

making computers better using brains and making brains better using computers. computational neuro and dumb little web apps sticking a steam wand directly into my brain and frothing it like a cappuccino at @kordinglab. senior research scientist at JHU/APL

Can neural networks think like geomorphologists? @gregtucker.bsky.social and I trained a neural network to invert the streampower-diffusion model, and then opened the black box. It learned how valley spacing and drainage density connect to process. Out now in GRL: doi.org/10.1029/2026...

Can Neural Networks Think Like Geomorphologists?

A simple neural network can infer parameters from synthetic topography generated by a process-based numerical model of landscape evolution The network can be queried to identify a sensible relati...

doi.org

UAI 2026 paper: A genetic perturbation can change the connectome, a new policy can rewire economic links between firms. In each case, interventions change the graph itself which standard SCMs treat as fixed. We tackle this in Partially Observed Structural Causal Models (POSCMs).

Expanded DAG for a 3-node POSCM under ordered generation. An exogenous ordering τ feeds context variables β₁, β₂, β₃; each βᵢ generates adjacency variables A_ji, which gate the value channels between endogenous variables V₁, V₂, V₃ and also feed the mechanism variables f₁, f₂, f₃. Phase I covers structure and context generation; Phase II covers mechanism assignment and value generation.

Here is an aerial before / after I-76 of Lansdowne Dr. The highway ramps forced the removal of all the park trails, which served as crucial connectors for park visitors. In many ways the reasonable thing to do would be to turn Lansdowne over to people walking / biking to restore park connectivity.

Lansdown Dr. before I-76 showing many trails adjacent to the road.Lansdown Dr. after I-76. None of the trails remain.