PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Haim Sompolinsky

Haim Sompolinsky is a theoretical neuroscientist whose work connects statistical mechanics, neural-network theory, and artificial intelligence. He earned a physics PhD at Bar-Ilan in 1980, worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard with Bertrand Halperin, and joined Bar-Ilan's faculty in 1982 before becoming a Hebrew University professor in 1986. During the 1980s, his papers with Daniel Amit and Hannoch Gutfreund laid the basis for attractor-network analysis; he helped found Hebrew University's neural-computation center in 1992 and its Safra Center for Brain Sciences in 2009. With Jonathan Kadmon, he coauthored a 2015 study of chaos in random neuronal networks, and he shared the 2022 Gruber Neuroscience Prize, the 2024 Brain Prize, and the 2026 ICTP Dirac Medal. Since 2022, he has been a professor in residence at Harvard and directs the Swartz Program, with current research on theoretical neuroscience, deep learning, and natural and artificial intelligence.

Works
278
Citations
27,912
h-index
77
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 27 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1980–1982

    Physics PhD and Harvard postdoc

    He earns a PhD in physics at Bar-Ilan University in 1980. He undertakes postdoctoral research at Harvard with theoretical physicist Bertrand Halperin before joining Bar-Ilan's faculty in 1982.

  2. 1982–1989

    Professor and attractor networks

    He joins Bar-Ilan University as an associate professor in 1982 and becomes Professor of Physics at Hebrew University in 1986. During the 1980s, his collaborations with Daniel Amit and Hannoch Gutfreund produce papers that lay the basis for attractor-network analysis of neural activity.

  3. 1992–2009

    Neural computation centers

    He helps found Hebrew University's Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation in 1992 and the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences in 2009.

  4. 2015

    Transition to chaos

    With Jonathan Kadmon, he publishes Transition to Chaos in Random Neuronal Networks in 2015. Their analysis shows that dilute excitatory-inhibitory architectures exhibit the same onset to chaos as a single population with Gaussian connectivity.

  5. 2022

    A Gruber neuroscience prize

    He shares the 2022 Gruber Neuroscience Prize with three other computational neuroscientists.

  6. 2024

    The Brain Prize

    He shares the 2024 Brain Prize with Larry Abbott and Terrence Sejnowski for contributions to computational and theoretical neuroscience.

  7. 2026

    A Dirac Medal

    In 2026, he shares the ICTP Dirac Medal with Bernard Derrida, Deepak Dhar, and Marc Mézard for work spanning statistical mechanics, theoretical neuroscience, and artificial intelligence.

  8. Since 2022

    Professor at Harvard

    Since 2022, he has been Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and of Physics in Residence at Harvard and directs the Swartz Program for Theoretical Neuroscience. In 2025, he is also Professor Emeritus of Physics and Neuroscience at Hebrew University. His current research focuses on theoretical neuroscience, deep learning, and natural and artificial intelligence.

Career

  1. Since 2022Harvard UniversityProfessor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and of Physics in Residence, Director, Swartz Program for Theoretical Neuroscience
  2. From 1986Hebrew University of JerusalemProfessor of Physics, Co-founder, Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation
  3. 1982–1986Bar-Ilan UniversityAssociate Professor

Education

  1. 1980Bar-Ilan UniversityPhD in physics

From the biography.

Checked career sources: gruber.yale.edu, kempnerinstitute.harvard.edu, current.fas.harvard.edu, ean.org.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Haim Sompolinsky | Gruber Foundation gruber.yale.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  2. Haim Sompolinsky - Kempner Institute kempnerinstitute.harvard.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  3. Transition to Chaos in Random Neuronal Networks | Phys. Rev. X journals.aps.org. Checked 27 October 2026.
  4. MCB Visiting Professor Haim Sompolinsky Awarded 2022 Gruber Neuroscience Prize mcb.harvard.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  5. March 5 | Prestigious 2024 Brain Prize Awarded to Prof. Haim Sompolinsky international.huji.ac.il. Checked 27 October 2026.
  6. ICTP Announces 2026 Dirac Medal Recipients dp11.ictp.it. Checked 27 October 2026.
  7. Haim Sompolinsky wins top physics prize | Harvard FAS current.fas.harvard.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  8. Brain Prize Lecture - Awardees - EAN ean.org. Checked 27 October 2026.