Salk scientist Terrence Sejnowski elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

April 24, 2013

Salk scientist Terrence Sejnowski elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

April 24, 2013

LA JOLLA, CA—Salk researcher 特伦斯·J·塞吉诺斯基,
professor and head of the Computational Neurobiology Laboratory, has been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a distinction awarded annually to global leaders in business, government, public affairs, the arts and popular culture as well as biomedical research.

Sejnowski is world renowned as a pioneer in the field of computational neuroscience and his work on neural networks helped spark the neural networks revolution in computing in the 1980s. His research has made important contributions to artificial and real neural network algorithms and applying signal processing models to neuroscience.

One of the key architects of the White House’s new 脑计划, Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, Sejnowski recently attended President Obama’s announcement of the bold new initiative. A 10-year research effort that will enlist the country’s top neuroscientists to map activity in the human brain, the goal is to invent and refine new technologies to understand the human brain in an effort to find better ways to treat such conditions as Alzheimer’s, autism, stroke and traumatic brain injuries.

“Terry is a remarkable scientist whose groundbreaking work has bridged computer science and neuroscience,” says Salk President William R. Brody. “Not only has his research initiated significant advances in neuroscience, it has inspired the research of generations of scientists. We congratulate Terry and commend the American Academy for honoring him with this award.”

Sejnowski is the 12th scientist from Salk to be inducted into the Academy and will share the honor with 198 new members of the 2013 class that include Nobel Prize winner Bruce A. Beutler, philanthropist David M. Rubenstein, astronaut John Glenn, actor Robert De Niro and singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen.

The Academy selected Sejnowski and the other new Fellows as a result of their preeminent contributions to their disciplines and society at large. The honorees will be formally inducted into the Academy on October 12, 2013 at its headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“Election to the Academy honors individual accomplishment and calls upon members to serve the public good,” said Academy President Leslie C. Berlowitz. “We look forward to drawing on the knowledge and expertise of these distinguished men and women to advance solutions to the pressing policy challenges of the day.”

One of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies, the Academy is also a leading center for independent policy research. Members contribute to Academy publications and studies of science and technology policy, energy and global security, social policy and American institutions, and the humanities, arts, and education.

Since its founding in 1780, the Academy has elected leading “thinkers and doers” from each generation, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin in the eighteenth century, Daniel Webster and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the nineteenth, and Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill in the twentieth. The current membership includes more than 250 Nobel laureates and more than 60 Pulitzer Prize winners.

关于索尔克生物研究所：
索尔克生物研究所是世界顶尖的基础研究机构之一，其国际知名的教职人员在一个独特、协作和富有创造性的环境中，深入探究生命科学的基本问题。索尔克科学家们致力于发现和指导未来几代研究人员，通过研究神经科学、遗传学、细胞和植物生物学以及相关学科，在癌症、衰老、阿尔茨海默氏症、糖尿病和传染病的认识方面做出了开创性的贡献。.

学院取得了许多成就，获得了包括诺贝尔奖和美国国家科学院院士在内的无数荣誉。该研究所由脊髓灰质炎疫苗先驱 Jonas Salk 博士于 1960 年创立，是一家独立的非营利组织和建筑地标。.