Can an artificial intelligence be created that can learn, reason, and formulate original ideas? Science is moving us closer to making that idea a reality. One promising avenue of exploration is called Swarm Intelligence. Swarm intelligence (SI) is the collective behavior of decentralized and self-organized systems. Examples of SI that are widely observed in nature include flocks of birds, schools of fish and ant colonies. SI and the underlying cooperative control law have also been applied to artificial systems such as unmanned vehicle networks. It may also lead to the realization of artificial intelligence. Dr. Chengyu Cao of UConn’s Mechanical Engineering department, whose groundbreaking research on unmanned systems is funded by NASA and Pratt& Whitney, will explain how experiments in SI are making it possible for smart machines to communicate and work together at the Essex Town Hall, on Thursday March 21st at 7 PM. This talk is part of the Essex Library’s exciting new Science For Everyone lecture series, funded by a grant from BrandTech, Inc. and Vacuubrand, Inc., and is free and open to all. Please call the Essex Library to register or for further information, at 860-767-1560. Essex Town Hall is at 29 West Avenue, across the street from the Essex Library.