Robert H. Wurtz is an American

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...

working as a

NIH The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

Distinguished Scientist and Chief of the Section on Visuomotor Integration at the

National Eye Institute The National Eye Institute (NEI) is part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The mi ...

. He is a member of the

US National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Natio ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. He is recognised for developing methods for studying the

visual system The visual system is the physiological basis of visual perception (the ability to perception, detect and process light). The system detects, phototransduction, transduces and interprets information concerning light within the visible range to ...

in 'awake-behaving' primates (as opposed to those under anesthesia), a technique now widely used for the study of higher brain functions. He pioneered the study of the

neuronal A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is an excitable cell that fires electric signals called action potentials across a neural network in the nervous system. They are located in the nervous system and help to ...

basis of vision and its relation with

cognitive Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

functions.

Early life and education

Robert Wurtz was born in

Saint Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

as an only child of Robert Wurtz. His father was a factory worker, a superintendent at the Mavrakos Candy Company. His mother, Alice, was a bookkeeper at the same company. When it was time for college, he wanted to go to a

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

. His father persuaded him to apply to

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

and he graduated from Oberlin in 1958 with a major in chemistry. Then he found an interest in experimental psychology and physiology of

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its behavior, actions and sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its body. Th ...

. He went to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

to study psychology under James Olds. He submitted his PhD thesis in 1962, even though Olds was hesitant about the title ''Self-Stimulation and Escape in Response to Stimulation of the Rat Amygdala''. He went on for a post-doctoral research in the Physiology Department of

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

Professional career

In 1966, Wurtz joined the Laboratory of Neurobiology,

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primar ...

, in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

. He began studies on the visual system of awake in monkeys and made groundbreaking works on

neurobiology Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

of vision and eye movements. During this time he spent a year (1975-1976) as a visiting scientist at the Physiological Laboratory at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in England. He became the founding Chief of the Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute in 1978. In 2002, he stepped down as chief of the laboratory, but has remained as a senior investigator. His 1969 publications became classic papers on this technique of studying the physiology of the visual system, and now used by

cognitive neuroscientists Cognition is the "mental Action (philosophy), action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, att ...

around the world.

Personal life

Robert Wurtz married Sally Smith, a fellow student at Oberlin, c. 1955. They have a son William and a daughter Erica.

Award and recognition

W. Alden Spencer Award The W. Alden Spencer Award is awarded to an investigator in recognition of outstanding research contributions by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Department of Neuroscience, and The Kavli Institute for Brain Science at Columbia Univer ...

, Columbia University (1987) *Elected member of the National Academy of Sciences (1988) *Elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1990) *President,

Society for Neuroscience The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a professional society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., for basic scientists and physicians around the world whose research is focused on the study of the brain and nervous system. It is especially well k ...

(1991) *1991

Golden Brain Award 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 visio ...

from

Minerva Foundation The Minerva Foundation is a US-based non-profit, scientific and charitable foundation. It is headquartered in Berkeley, California. It was established in 1983 by Helen and Elwin Marg. Other than the founders, directors include Richard M. Buxbaum ...

Karl Spencer Lashley Award The Karl Spencer Lashley Award is awarded by The American Philosophical Society as a recognition of research on the integrative neuroscience of behavior. The award was established in 1957 by a gift from Dr. Karl Spencer Lashley. Recipients * 20 ...

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

(1995) *Friedenwald Award, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (1996) *Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award,

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

(1997) *Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (1997) *

Dan David Prize The Dan David Prize is an international group of awards that recognize and support outstanding contributions to the study of history and other disciplines that shed light on the human past. Nine prizes of $300,000 are awarded each year to outstand ...

for the Future Time Dimension: “Brain Sciences” (2004) *Ralph W. Gerard Prize of the Society for Neuroscience (2006) *Honorary Doctor of Science, Oberlin College (2009) *Grass Lecture, Society for Neuroscience (2009) *

Gruber Prize in Neuroscience The Gruber Prize in Neuroscience, established in 2004, is one of three international awards worth US$500,000 made by the Gruber Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. It is awarded annually to sc ...

(2010)

References

External links

Page at NIH NeuroscienceInformation at Dan David PrizeNeurotree
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wurtz, Robert 1936 births 21st-century American biologists American neuroscientists Oberlin College alumni University of Michigan alumni Living people American vision scientists Members of the National Academy of Medicine Presidents of the Society for Neuroscience Washington University in St. Louis fellows APA Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology recipients