PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Pedro Maldonado

Also known as Pedro E. Maldonado, Pedro Maldonado Arbogast

Pedro Maldonado is a neuroscientist at the Universidad de Chile who studies how brains learn and how that knowledge can inspire better artificial intelligence. He earned a PhD in physiology at the University of Pennsylvania in 1993 under George Gerstein, did a postdoctoral fellowship with Charles Gray at the University of California, Davis, and joined the Universidad de Chile's Faculty of Medicine in 1997. He wrote ¿Por qué tenemos el cerebro en la cabeza? in 2019 and El humano futuro in 2024, which covers the rise of artificial intelligence and neurotechnology. In June 2025, he coauthored a PLOS Computational Biology paper showing that energy constraints can lead to distinct stable states in spiking neural network models. As of October 2026, he is a full professor of neuroscience, leads the Neurosystems Laboratory, and is a principal investigator at CENIA, where he directs a project on a brain-inspired approach to more sustainable artificial intelligence.

Now at
University of Chile, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile and National Center for Artificial Intelligence
Badges

Timeline

  1. 1986

    Biology degrees in Santiago

    He earns a degree in biology and a master's in biological sciences at the Universidad de Chile in 1986. In the Faculty of Sciences he studies with Francisco Varela and Humberto Maturana.

  2. 1993

    A physiology PhD at Pennsylvania

    After working with Werner Loewenstein at the University of Miami, he earns a PhD in physiology at the University of Pennsylvania in 1993 under George Gerstein. His joint work with Gerstein shows plasticity in receptive fields, neuronal interactions and network dynamics in the rat auditory cortex under electrical intracortical microstimulation.

  3. 1997

    Joining the Faculty of Medicine

    After a postdoctoral fellowship with Charles Gray at the Center for Neuroscience of the University of California, Davis, he joins the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad de Chile in 1997.

  4. 2019

    A first book on the brain

    He publishes ¿Por qué tenemos el cerebro en la cabeza? with Debate in 2019. The book explores the brain, dispels common beliefs and stresses its impact on human diversity.

  5. 2020

    Directing the Neuroscience Department

    As full professor and director of the Department of Neuroscience at the Universidad de Chile, he joins a Ministry of Science webinar in July 2020 called "Inteligencia Artificial y neurociencia: algoritmos basados en procesos biológicos". He speaks on the opportunities in the symbiosis between artificial intelligence and neuroscience.

  6. 2024

    The book El humano futuro

    In 2024, he publishes El humano futuro with Debate, which examines how the evolution of the cerebral cortex shaped human cognitive abilities and covers the rise of artificial intelligence and neurotechnology. He is a principal investigator at the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA), where he studies how the brain can inspire better design of AI algorithms.

  7. June 2025

    Energy limits in spiking networks

    In June 2025, he coauthors a PLOS Computational Biology paper with Ismael Jaras, Marcos Orchard and Rodrigo Vergara on spiking neural networks. It combines an energy-dependent leaky integrate-and-fire neuron with a three-factor learning rule that uses postsynaptic available energy as the third factor, and finds that energy constraints can lead to distinct stable states in the networks.

  8. As of October 2026

    Brain-inspired AI at CENIA

    He is a full professor in the Department of Neuroscience of the Universidad de Chile's Faculty of Medicine, where he leads the Neurosystems Laboratory, and a principal investigator at CENIA. He directs the CENIA project "Intelligence cost energy: a brain-inspired approach to a more sustainable artificial intelligence". In September 2026, he describes how his lab grows small neural networks from brain cells and connects them to a small car that can learn, seeking the neural basis of learning to build better AI algorithms.

Career

  1. Since 1997University of ChileFaculty Member
  2. NowFaculty of Medicine, University of ChileDirector
  3. NowDepartment of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of ChileLead
  4. NowNational Center for Artificial IntelligencePrincipal Investigator
  5. University of California, DavisPostdoctoral Fellow

Education

  1. 1993University of PennsylvaniaPhD
  2. 1986University of ChileDegree in biology

From the biography.

  1. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes National Center for Artificial Intelligence. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Chile. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Chile. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  4. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of California, Davis. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Pedro Maldonado yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Pedro E. Maldonado · Laboratorio de Neurosistemas neurosistemas.cl. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. Congreso Sonepsyn: PhD Prof. Dr. Pedro Maldonado dará clase magistral sobre Neuroderechos sonepsyn.cl. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. Perfiles - CENIA cenia.cl. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. Neurocientífico Pedro Maldonado: “No hay razón para temer a la inteligencia artificial” elmostrador.cl. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. Ministerio de Ciencia dictará webinar sobre cómo el cerebro y el sistema nervioso inspiran algoritmos de inteligencia artificial eldinamo.cl. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. Pedro Maldonado, neurocientífico: “Teóricamente, podríamos esperar una reducción de nuestras competencias cognitivas si delegamos funciones en la inteligencia artificial” - La Tercera latercera.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. Unveiling the role of local metabolic constraints on the structure and activity of spiking neural networks journals.plos.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  8. ¿Neurociencias versus IA? - Universidad de Chile uchile.cl. Checked 22 October 2026.
  9. Nobel de Medicina 2026 bajo la mirada de un neurocientífico: “La optogenética mejoró nuestra manera de entender el cerebro” - Diario y Radio Universidad Chile radio.uchile.cl. Checked 22 October 2026.