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Golden Brain Award

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Golden Brain Award
Awarded forDiscoveries in vision and brain
LocationBerkeley, California
Presented byMinerva Foundation
First awarded1985
WebsiteHomepage

The Golden Brain Award is an international science award in the field of neuroscience. It is given by the Berkeley-based Minerva Foundation every year since 1985. The foundation specifically aims at fundamental contributions to research in vision and the brain.[1] The Golden Brain is a trophy of a gold-plated model of the human brain attached to a bronze base.

Selection[edit]

The Golden Brain Award is open to any person who has made innovative investigations and the resulting influence of those findings on the field of vision and the brain. Preference is given to studies involving higher brain function such as the aspects of behaviour, thought, attention, decision making and rational insight, and cognitive visual system. Special attributes are also considered such as a lack of deserved recognition, which is common in young scientists, and the potential for future important scientific revelations. Formal nominations are made by previous recipients, and final decision is made by the selection board.[2]

Trophy[edit]

The Golden Brain is a model of human brain, and the name is given as it is coloured with gold. It was originally designed and crafted by Tamia Marg.[3] The brain is a pedestal of ten inches high, held by a spinal cord-like stem that is fixed to a metal base. It is primarily made of bronze that is coated with a 23-carat gold plating at Monsen Plating in Berkeley. The flat base painted by spraying it with an acidic mixture to give it the bluish-green patina. The brain and base were fastened together, and a polished brass circle engraved with the awardee's name is mounted on the trophy. The wooden box for the trophy is made by a furniture maker, Lawrence Gandsey of Oakland. The box is of eastern maple grown (Acer saccharum) in the Appalachians and is held together with splines of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) from Honduras, and is finished with a mixture of linseed oil and turpentine.[4]

Recipients[edit]

Source: Minerva Foundation

Year Recipient Institute Country
1985 Semir Zeki University College London United Kingdom
1986 Gian F. Poggio The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore United States
1987 David Sparks Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas US
1988 Denis Baylor Stanford University, Stanford US
1989 Jeremy Nathans The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore US
1990 John M. Allman California Institute of Technology, Pasadena US
1991 Robert H. Wurtz National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland US
1992 William T. Newsome Stanford University, Stanford US
1993 Rudiger von der Heydt Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore US
1994 Robert Desimone National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland US
1995 Antonio R. Damasio University of Southern California US
1996 Anne Treisman Princeton University, New Jersey US
1997 Claudio Galletti University of Bologna Italy
1998 Heinz Wassle Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt Germany
1999 Nikos Logothetis Max-Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen Germany
2000 Frederick Miles National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland US
2001 David Perrett University of St. Andrews Scotland, UK
2002 Wolfram Schultz University of Cambridge UK
2003 Karl Friston University College London UK
2004 Atsushi Iriki Tokyo Medical and Dental University Japan
2005 Markus Meister Harvard University, Cambridge US
2006 Raymond Joseph Dolan University College, London UK
2007 Nancy Kanwisher Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge US
2008 Larry Young Emory University, Georgia US
2009 Karl Deisseroth Stanford University, Stanford US
2010 Daniel Wolpert Columbia University, New York City US
2011 Leslie Ungerleider National Institute of Mental Health US
2012 Michael Shadlen Columbia University, New York City US
2013 Joseph Anthony Movshon New York University US
2014 Doris Tsao California Institute of Technology US
2015 Okihide Hikosaka National Eye Institute US
2016 Eero Simoncelli New York University, New York, New York US
2017 Ken Nakayama Harvard University US
2018 Winrich Freiwald Rockefeller University US
2019 Michael Goldberg Columbia University US

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Golden Brain Award 2002". Cambridge Network. University of Cambridge. 2 December 2002. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  2. ^ "Golden Brain Nomination Criteria". Minerva Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  3. ^ "1987". Minerva Foundation. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  4. ^ "The Award Sculpture". Minerva Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
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