Richard Ivry Receives Andrew Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Sciences

Carnegie Mellon University has awarded the 11th annual Andrew Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Sciences to Richard Ivry, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley.

Ivry directs the Cognition and Action lab at UC Berkeley, using brain stimulation and behavioral analysis to explore the cognitive neuroscience of action and skilled movements in both healthy and neurologically impaired individuals. His lab primarily investigates aspects of the cerebellum, including how its structure affects internal speech and attention, and the role this “mini brain” plays in time-dependent movements and motor learning.

Ivry has received numerous awards and honors for his scientific contributions to the field of cognitive neuroscience, including the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences, the Williams James Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science. In 2022, he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

“Ivry’s work has consistently shown us that our preconceived notions about what different brain areas do, in terms of governing behavior, are often wrong or at best incomplete,” said Timothy Verstynen, professor of psychology and interim director of CMU’s Neuroscience Institute (NI) starting in January 2025. “Each new insight seems to cause the field of neuroscience to pause and reconsider our assumptions.”

For his pioneering research, Ivry was awarded the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Sciences.

L-R: Jonathan Tsay, Richard Ivry, Emefa Akwayena, and Tim Verstynen pose with Greg Dunn painting.

Sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the NI presented Ivry an original piece of artwork commissioned from artist Greg Dunn. During the Nov. 14 ceremony, Ivry presented a talk titled, “Probing the Role of the Cerebellum in Sensorimotor Learning and Cognition.”

Additionally, the NI has awarded the Carnegie Prize Student Fellowship to Emefa Akwayena, a Ph.D. student advised by Brad Mahon, associate professor of psychology and core NI faculty member. Akwayena utilizes behavioral and neuroimaging methods to investigate how visual cues constrain habitual actions with objects in both healthy and patient populations.

As part of the fellowship, Akwayena will have the opportunity to visit Ivry’s lab.

“Ivry’s research has been instrumental in further understanding the underlying mechanisms and brain regions involved in motor control,” Akwayena said. “Such opportunities for dialogue and collaboration are fundamental for the success of science, and I look forward to any new directions I may explore in my own research as a result of this visit.”