Christoph von der Malsburg
Christoph von der Malsburg wrote the correlation theory of brain function in 1981, a theory that enriches neural-network models with temporal correlations between neurons. He earned a PhD in elementary particle physics at CERN and the University of Heidelberg in 1970. A paper with Martin Lades described a program, built on the dynamic link architecture, that recognized human faces and other objects. In 1987 he became a professor at the University of Southern California, and in 1990 he co-founded the Institute of Neuroinformatics at Ruhr-University Bochum. He received the Pioneer Award of the Neural Network Council of the IEEE in 1994 and the Hebb Award in 2003, and he is now Fellow Emeritus at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies.
Timeline
-
1970
A physics doctorate at CERN
He earns a PhD in elementary particle physics at CERN and the University of Heidelberg in 1970.
-
1981
The correlation theory of brain function
He writes an internal report on the correlation theory of brain function in 1981. The theory enriches the classical neural-network paradigm with temporal correlations between neurons.
-
1987–1990
Professor in Los Angeles and Bochum
In 1987 he becomes a professor of computer science, neuroscience, physics and psychology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. In 1990 he co-founds the Institute of Neuroinformatics at Ruhr-University Bochum.
-
1993–1995
Face recognition by dynamic link matching
From 1993 to 1995 he works with Laurenz Wiskott on face recognition by dynamic link matching. His paper with Martin Lades describes a program, built on the dynamic link architecture, that recognizes human faces and other objects.
-
1994–1996
A Pioneer Award and a presidency
In 1994 he receives the Pioneer Award of the Neural Network Council of the IEEE. From 1995 to 1996 he serves as president of the European Neural Network Society.
-
2003
A Hebb Award
In 2003 he receives the Hebb Award of the International Neural Network Society.
-
2007
A senior fellowship in Frankfurt
In 2007 he joins the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies as a senior fellow.
-
As of October 2026
Fellow Emeritus in Frankfurt
He is now Fellow Emeritus at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies. He is affiliated with the Institute for Neuroinformatics at UZH/ETH Zurich and with the Center for AI of ZHAW in Winterthur.
Sources and credits
Photo: We have no published photo of Christoph von der Malsburg yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.
- Christoph von der Malsburg - Wikipedia
- Academy of Europe: CV
- Face recognition by dynamic link matching | Projects | Institut für Neuroinformatik
- von der Malsburg
- Face recognition by dynamic link matching
- Distortion invariant object recognition in the dynamic link architecture
- Prof. Dr. Christoph von der Malsburg – Rise of AI | Europe’s AI Ecosystem