SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - December 3, 2013 -
The Mind Science Foundation ("MSF") announced the appointment of Dr. David Eagleman as the MSF's Chief Science Advisor. Eagleman will guide the MSF on its scientific agenda and help to build the Foundation's International Scientific Advisory Board.
David Eagleman directs the Laboratory for Perception and Action at the Baylor College of Medicine, where he also directs the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law. His research spans several areas of neuroscience, including time perception, synesthesia, sensory substitution, concussion detection and neurolaw.
"I'm pleased to strengthen my ties with the Mind Science Foundation, an organization I've admired for many years," Eagleman said. "The MSF fills a unique niche in the public funding of science. It takes seriously the difficult questions about the relationship between the physical material of the brain and the subjective experience of the mind. The two are inseparably linked, but the relationship between them is still far from transparent. I consider this one of the central unsolved questions of modern neuroscience."
Catherine Nixon Cooke, Chair of the MSF Board of Trustees, comments that "Not only is Dr. Eagleman an outstanding researcher, he is very much in the mold of our founder, Tom Slick - an explorer, mystery hunter, and visionary thinker, and a consummate communicator of science for a lay audience. We are excited to support his neuroscience research and deeply indebted to him for the role he will play in laying the foundation for our future growth." MSF recently bestowed upon Eagleman its "Salute to Science" award recognizing the excellence and innovation of his scientific endeavors.
Beyond the laboratory, Dr. Eagleman is a prolific communicator of science. He has written several books for general audiences, including the international bestseller Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain. He writes for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Discover, Slate, and dozens of other publications. He was named Science Educator of the Year by the Society for Neuroscience, and was just announced the winner of the 2014 John P. McGovern Award for Excellence in Biomedical Communication.
Dr. Eagleman writes on a range of topics. His work of fiction, SUM, is an international bestseller published in 27 languages. His book on the internet and civilization, Why the Net Matters, was described by the New York Times as a "superbook". Wednesday is Indigo Blue explores the neurological condition of synesthesia, in which the senses are blended.
Eagleman is a Guggenheim Fellow, a Next Generation Texas Fellow, a council member on the World Economic Forum, a research fellow in the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, and a board member of The Long Now Foundation. He is an academic editor for several scientific journals, and was named one of the Brightest Idea Guys by Italy's Style magazine. He is the scientific advisor for the TNT television drama Perception, and has been profiled on the Colbert Report, NOVA Science Now, the New Yorker, CNN's Next List, and many other venues.
