Moran Cerf

Moran Cerf
Born1977 (age 46–47)
Paris, France
CitizenshipFrench, Israeli, American
Alma materTel Aviv University (BS, MA)
Caltech (PhD)
Occupation(s)Neuroscientist, white hat hacker
Known forResearch on applications of neuroscience in business; Studying humans with electrodes inside their brain during surgery; Science consulting in films; brains; Dream research; Free will; Consciousness; Neural correlates of engagement in the brain;
Websitemorancerf.com

Moran Cerf (Hebrew: מורן סרף; born 1977) is an American-French-Israeli neuroscientist, professor of business (at Columbia University), investor and former white hat hacker.[1][2]

He is the founder of Think-Alike and B-Cube and the host and curator of PopTech,[3][4] one of the top 5 leading conferences in the world.[5] Cerf is also the president and co-founder of the Human Single Neuron society.[6] As of 2013, he is a member of the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems.[7]

Cerf has received numerous awards including the Templeton Foundation "Extraordinary Minds" award, and the Chicagoan award. Recently,[when?] he was named one of the "40 Leading Professors Below 40".[8] He has won several national storytelling competitions, most notably The Moth GrandSLAM, multiple times.

Cerf is the Alfred P. Sloan screenwriting professor at the American Film Institute (AFI) where he teaches an annual workshop on science in films.[9] He is also a science consultant to Hollywood films and TV series (Limitless, Bull, Falling Water, etc.).[10]

He has spoken publicly on topics of neuroscience, business, decision making and hacking (TED, PopTech, Google, TEDx, TED-Ed)[11] and his views on the risks of hacking into humans' brains often appear in the media.[4][12][13][14][15][16]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference haaretz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference mbacrystalball was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Moran Cerf-PopTech".
  4. ^ a b Klein Leichman, Abigail (January 15, 2019). "How hacking the human brain can improve how we think and learn". ISRAEL21c.
  5. ^ "5 Of The Most Inspiring Conferences Of 2018". Forbes. December 13, 2018.
  6. ^ "Human Single Neuron Society".
  7. ^ "Moran Cerf – CDI". Ciudad de las Ideas. April 13, 2016.
  8. ^ Carter, Andrew. "2016 Best 40 Under 40 Professors: Moran Cerf, Kellogg School of Management". Poets and Quants.
  9. ^ "American Film Institute – Alfred P. Sloan Foundation". American Film Institute.
  10. ^ "Moran Cerf Faculty – Kellogg School of Management". Northwestern University.
  11. ^ "TED16 – Moran Cerf". TED (conference).
  12. ^ "Hacking the Brain to Find Ourselves". Chicago Council S&T. October 6, 2016.
  13. ^ "Commentary: There's Still Time to Stop the Tech Monopoly Takeover". Fortune. March 8, 2018.
  14. ^ "Embrace the wisdom of the machine". The Times. September 16, 2018.
  15. ^ "Moran Cerf and the Nature of Dream Recording". PLOS. August 28, 2012.
  16. ^ Segall, Laurie (January 17, 2019). "6 Tech Leaders on What They Fear the Most". Time.