News Release
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The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
‫האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים‬
Hebrew University brain sciences researcher receives
Swartz Prize in US from Society for Neuroscience
Jerusalem, Dec. 4, 2011 — The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) has awarded the Swartz Prize for
Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience to Prof. Haim Sompolinsky of the Edmond and Lily
Safra Center for Brain Sciences.
Supported by The Swartz Foundation, the $25,000 prize recognizes an individual who has produced a
significant cumulative contribution to theoretical models or computational methods in neuroscience.
The award was presented during SfN’s annual meeting in the US. The Washington, D.C., based SfN
comprises more than 41,000 researchers and clinicians who study the brain and nervous system.
“The society is pleased to recognize the exceptional contributions of Dr. Sompolinsky to the field of
theoretical neuroscience,” said Dr. Susan G. Amara, president of SfN. “His work, blending physics
and neuroscience, has established innovative methods and set rigorous standards for advancing the
field.”
Sompolinsky has worked to develop the field of theoretical neuroscience throughout his career. His
research helped shape system-level brain theory using principles and methods of statistical physics and
dynamical systems. Sompolinsky’s “ring” model has served as a key paradigm for modeling neural
circuits and has been the basis of countless studies of short-term memory, decision-making, selectivity
and receptive fields.
Sompolinsky, who is the incumbent of the William N. Skirball Chair in Neurophysics, has won
previous awards, including the Landau Prize for Brain Science and the Hebrew University President’s
Award for Outstanding Research. He is a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences.
(Photo of Prof. Sompolinsky available via e-mail upon request)
For further information: Jerry Barach, Dept. of Media Relations, the Hebrew University,
Tel: 02-588-2904.
Orit Sulitzeanu, Hebrew University spokesperson, Tel: 054-8820016.