Terry Sejnowski
Encyclopedia
Terrence Joseph Sejnowski is an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
and is the Francis Crick
Professor
at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies where he directs the Computation
al Neurobiology Laboratory
. He is also Professor of Biological Sciences
and Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience
s, Psychology
, Cognitive Science
, and Computer Science
and Engineering
at the University of California, San Diego
, where he is Director of the Institute for Neural
Computation. In 2004 he was named the Francis Crick Professor and the Director of the Crick-Jacobs Center for Theoretical and Computational Biology at the Salk Institute. His research in neural network
s and computational neuroscience
has been pioneering.
in physics
from the Case Western Reserve University
, M.A.
in physics from Princeton University
, and a Ph.D.
in physics from Princeton University in 1978. His Thesis adviser was John Hopfield. From 1978-1979 Sejnowski was a postdoctoral fellow
in the Department of Biology at Princeton University and from 1979-1982 he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School
. In 1982 he joined the faculty of the Department of Biophysics
at the Johns Hopkins University
, where he achieved the rank of Professor before moving to San Diego, California
in 1988. He has had a long-standing affiliation with the California Institute of Technology
, as a Wiersma Visiting Professor of Neurobiology in 1987, as a Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar in 1993 and as a part-time Visiting Professor 1995-1998. In 2004 he was named the Francis Crick Professor at the Salk Institute and the Director of the Crick-Jacobs Center for Theoretical and Computational Biology.
. He received the Wright Prize from the Harvey Mudd College
for excellence in interdisciplinary
research in 1996 and the Hebb Prize
for his contributions to learning algorithms
by the International Neural Network Society in 1999. He became a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
in 2000 and received their Neural Network Pioneer Award in 2002. In 2003 he was elected to the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars. He is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council
. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in 2008. In 2010 he was elected as a member to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and elected to the National Academy of Engineers in 2011. This places him in a group of only ten living scientists to have been elected to all 3 of the national academies.
, the leading journal
in neural networks and computational neuroscience. He is also the President of the Neural Information Processing Systems Foundation, a non-profit organization
that oversees the annual NIPS Conference. This interdisciplinary meeting brings together research
ers from many disciplines, including biology, physics, mathematics
, and engineering
. He co-invented the Boltzmann machine
with Geoffrey Hinton
and pioneered the application of learning algorithms to difficult problems in speech (NETtalk
) and vision
.
The long-range goal of Sejnowski's research is to understand the computational resources of brain
s and to build linking principles from brain to behavior
using computational models
. This goal is being pursued with a combination of theoretical
and experiment
al approaches at several levels of investigation ranging from the biophysical level to the systems
level. Hippocampal
and cortical
slice preparations are being used to explore the properties of single neurons and synapse
s, including the precision of spike firing
and the influence of neuromodulators. Biophysical models of electrical
and chemical
signal
processing within neurons are used as an adjunct to physiological
experiments. New techniques have been developed for modeling
cell
signaling using Monte Carlo method
s (MCell). The central issues being addressed are how dendrite
s integrate synaptic signals in neurons, how networks of neurons generate dynamical patterns of activity, how sensory information
is represented in the cerebral cortex, how memory
representations are formed and consolidated
during sleep
, and how visuo-motor
transformations are adaptively organized. His laboratory has developed new methods for analyzing the sources for electrical and magnetic
signals recorded from the scalp
and hemodynamic
signals from functional neuroimaging
by blind separation
using independent component analysis
(ICA).
He has participated and spoken at the Beyond Belief
symposia in 2006 and 2007. He participated in the conference Waking up to sleep at the Salk Institute in February 2007 (online video available).
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a United States non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded by the American businessman Howard Hughes in 1953. It is one of the largest private funding organizations for biological and medical research in the United...
and is the Francis Crick
Francis Crick
Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies where he directs the Computation
Computation
Computation is defined as any type of calculation. Also defined as use of computer technology in Information processing.Computation is a process following a well-defined model understood and expressed in an algorithm, protocol, network topology, etc...
al Neurobiology Laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
. He is also Professor of Biological Sciences
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
s, Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, Cognitive Science
Cognitive science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
, and Computer Science
Cognitive science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
and Engineering
Computer engineering
Computer engineering, also called computer systems engineering, is a discipline that integrates several fields of electrical engineering and computer science required to develop computer systems. Computer engineers usually have training in electronic engineering, software design, and...
at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, where he is Director of the Institute for Neural
Neuron
A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...
Computation. In 2004 he was named the Francis Crick Professor and the Director of the Crick-Jacobs Center for Theoretical and Computational Biology at the Salk Institute. His research in neural network
Neural network
The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
s and computational neuroscience
Computational neuroscience
Computational neuroscience is the study of brain function in terms of the information processing properties of the structures that make up the nervous system...
has been pioneering.
Education
Sejnowski received his B.S.Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from the Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
, M.A.
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in physics from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in physics from Princeton University in 1978. His Thesis adviser was John Hopfield. From 1978-1979 Sejnowski was a postdoctoral fellow
Postdoctoral researcher
Postdoctoral research is scholarly research conducted by a person who has recently completed doctoral studies, normally within the previous five years. It is intended to further deepen expertise in a specialist subject, including acquiring novel skills and methods...
in the Department of Biology at Princeton University and from 1979-1982 he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
. In 1982 he joined the faculty of the Department of Biophysics
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
at the Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, where he achieved the rank of Professor before moving to San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
in 1988. He has had a long-standing affiliation with the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
, as a Wiersma Visiting Professor of Neurobiology in 1987, as a Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar in 1993 and as a part-time Visiting Professor 1995-1998. In 2004 he was named the Francis Crick Professor at the Salk Institute and the Director of the Crick-Jacobs Center for Theoretical and Computational Biology.
Awards
Sejnowski received a Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1984 from the National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
. He received the Wright Prize from the Harvey Mudd College
Harvey Mudd College
Harvey Mudd College is a private residential liberal arts college of science, engineering, and mathematics, located in Claremont, California. It is one of the institutions of the contiguous Claremont Colleges, which share adjoining campus grounds....
for excellence in interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinarity
Interdisciplinarity involves the combining of two or more academic fields into one single discipline. An interdisciplinary field crosses traditional boundaries between academic disciplines or schools of thought, as new needs and professions have emerged....
research in 1996 and the Hebb Prize
Donald Olding Hebb
Donald Olding Hebb FRS was a Canadian psychologist who was influential in the area of neuropsychology, where he sought to understand how the function of neurons contributed to psychological processes such as learning...
for his contributions to learning algorithms
Algorithmic learning theory
Algorithmic learning theory is a framework for machine learning.The framework was introduced in E. Mark Gold's seminal paper "Language identification in the limit"...
by the International Neural Network Society in 1999. He became a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
in 2000 and received their Neural Network Pioneer Award in 2002. In 2003 he was elected to the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars. He is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council
Design Futures Council
The Design Futures Council is an interdisciplinary network of design, product, and construction leaders exploring global trends, challenges, and opportunities to advance innovation and shape the future of the industry and environment...
. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in 2008. In 2010 he was elected as a member to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and elected to the National Academy of Engineers in 2011. This places him in a group of only ten living scientists to have been elected to all 3 of the national academies.
Professional
In 1989, Sejnowski founded Neural Computation, published by the MIT PressMIT Press
The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts .-History:...
, the leading journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
in neural networks and computational neuroscience. He is also the President of the Neural Information Processing Systems Foundation, a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that oversees the annual NIPS Conference. This interdisciplinary meeting brings together research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
ers from many disciplines, including biology, physics, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
. He co-invented the Boltzmann machine
Boltzmann machine
A Boltzmann machine is a type of stochastic recurrent neural network invented by Geoffrey Hinton and Terry Sejnowski. Boltzmann machines can be seen as the stochastic, generative counterpart of Hopfield nets...
with Geoffrey Hinton
Geoffrey Hinton
Geoffrey Hinton is a British born informatician most noted for his work on the mathematics and applications of neural networks, and their relationship to information theory.-Career:...
and pioneered the application of learning algorithms to difficult problems in speech (NETtalk
NETtalk (artificial neural network)
NETtalk is an artificial neural network. It is the result of research carried out in the mid 1980s by Terrence Sejnowski and Charles Rosenberg...
) and vision
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
.
The long-range goal of Sejnowski's research is to understand the computational resources of brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
s and to build linking principles from brain to behavior
Behavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
using computational models
Abstract machine
An abstract machine, also called an abstract computer, is a theoretical model of a computer hardware or software system used in automata theory...
. This goal is being pursued with a combination of theoretical
Theory
The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
and experiment
Experiment
An experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results...
al approaches at several levels of investigation ranging from the biophysical level to the systems
Systems neuroscience
Systems neuroscience is a subdiscipline of neuroscience and systems biology that studies the function of neural circuits and systems. It is an umbrella term, encompassing a number of areas of study concerned with how nerve cells behave when connected together to form neural networks...
level. Hippocampal
Hippocampus
The hippocampus is a major component of the brains of humans and other vertebrates. It belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory and spatial navigation. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in...
and cortical
Cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex is a sheet of neural tissue that is outermost to the cerebrum of the mammalian brain. It plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. It is constituted of up to six horizontal layers, each of which has a different...
slice preparations are being used to explore the properties of single neurons and synapse
Synapse
In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell...
s, including the precision of spike firing
Action potential
In physiology, an action potential is a short-lasting event in which the electrical membrane potential of a cell rapidly rises and falls, following a consistent trajectory. Action potentials occur in several types of animal cells, called excitable cells, which include neurons, muscle cells, and...
and the influence of neuromodulators. Biophysical models of electrical
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and chemical
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
signal
Signal transduction
Signal transduction occurs when an extracellular signaling molecule activates a cell surface receptor. In turn, this receptor alters intracellular molecules creating a response...
processing within neurons are used as an adjunct to physiological
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
experiments. New techniques have been developed for modeling
Scientific modelling
Scientific modelling is the process of generating abstract, conceptual, graphical and/or mathematical models. Science offers a growing collection of methods, techniques and theory about all kinds of specialized scientific modelling...
cell
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
signaling using Monte Carlo method
Monte Carlo method
Monte Carlo methods are a class of computational algorithms that rely on repeated random sampling to compute their results. Monte Carlo methods are often used in computer simulations of physical and mathematical systems...
s (MCell). The central issues being addressed are how dendrite
Dendrite
Dendrites are the branched projections of a neuron that act to conduct the electrochemical stimulation received from other neural cells to the cell body, or soma, of the neuron from which the dendrites project...
s integrate synaptic signals in neurons, how networks of neurons generate dynamical patterns of activity, how sensory information
Sensory system
A sensory system is a part of the nervous system responsible for processing sensory information. A sensory system consists of sensory receptors, neural pathways, and parts of the brain involved in sensory perception. Commonly recognized sensory systems are those for vision, hearing, somatic...
is represented in the cerebral cortex, how memory
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
representations are formed and consolidated
Memory consolidation
Memory consolidation is a category of processes that stabilize a memory trace after the initial acquisition. Consolidation is distinguished into two specific processes, synaptic consolidation, which occurs within the first few hours after learning, and system consolidation, where...
during sleep
Sleep
Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than...
, and how visuo-motor
Somatic nervous system
The somatic nervous system is the part of the peripheral nervous system associated with the voluntary control of body movements via skeletal muscles...
transformations are adaptively organized. His laboratory has developed new methods for analyzing the sources for electrical and magnetic
Magnetism
Magnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well...
signals recorded from the scalp
Scalp
The scalp is the anatomical area bordered by the face anteriorly and the neck to the sides and posteriorly.-Layers:It is usually described as having five layers, which can conveniently be remembered as a mnemonic:...
and hemodynamic
Hemodynamics
Hemodynamics, meaning literally "blood movement" is the study of blood flow or the circulation.All animal cells require oxygen for the conversion of carbohydrates, fats and proteins into carbon dioxide , water and energy in a process known as aerobic respiration...
signals from functional neuroimaging
Neuroimaging
Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure, function/pharmacology of the brain...
by blind separation
Blind signal separation
Blind signal separation, also known as blind source separation, is the separation of a set of signals from a set of mixed signals, without the aid of information about the source signals or the mixing process....
using independent component analysis
Independent component analysis
Independent component analysis is a computational method for separating a multivariate signal into additive subcomponents supposing the mutual statistical independence of the non-Gaussian source signals...
(ICA).
He has participated and spoken at the Beyond Belief
Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival
Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival, the first of The Science Network's annual Beyond Belief symposia, held from November 5 to November 7, 2006, was described by the New York Times, as "a free-for-all on science and religion," which seemed at times like "the founding convention...
symposia in 2006 and 2007. He participated in the conference Waking up to sleep at the Salk Institute in February 2007 (online video available).