David Marr
Also known as David Courtenay Marr
David Marr was a neuroscientist who used computational ideas to study brain function and vision. After studying mathematics at Cambridge, he proposed computational theories for the cerebellum, neocortex, and hippocampus before joining MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. There, he worked with Tomaso Poggio on binocular stereopsis and received IJCAI's 1979 Computers and Thought Award. He died in 1980, and his book Vision appeared posthumously in 1982.
- Works
- 60
- Citations
- 29,187
- h-index
- 31
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026.
Timeline
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1963–1966
Mathematics at Cambridge
At Cambridge, he enters Trinity College in 1963 and earns BS and MS degrees in mathematics in 1966.
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1969–1971
Theories of three brain systems
Before his visual work, he publishes computational theories of the cerebellum (1969), neocortex (1970), and hippocampus (1971).
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1973–1977
Joining MIT's AI Laboratory
He joins MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory as a visiting scientist in 1973 and takes a faculty appointment in psychology in 1977.
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1976–1979
A theory of binocular stereo
With Tomaso Poggio, he develops a theory of binocular stereopsis presented in papers in 1976 and 1979.
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1979
A Computers and Thought Award
IJCAI awards Marr the Computers and Thought Award in 1979.
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1980–1982
Vision after his death
He dies in 1980. His book Vision appears posthumously in 1982.
Sources and credits
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