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. The Golden Brain is a trophy of a gold-plated model of the human brain attached to a bronze base.
Selection
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.
Trophy
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. 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.
Recipients
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 UniversityUS2019Michael GoldbergColumbia UniversityUS2020John MaunsellUniversity of ChicagoUS2021Tirin MooreStanford UniversityUS2022Margaret LivingstoneHarvard UniversityUS2023Stephen LisbergerDuke UniversityUS2024Sabine KastnerPrinceton University, New JerseyUS2025James DiCarloMassachusetts Institute of Technology, CambridgeUS
See also
List of neuroscience awards Kavli Prize The Brain Prize Gruber Prize in Neuroscience W. Alden Spencer Award Karl Spencer Lashley Award The Mind & Brain Prize Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience
References