Email: jbender@caltech.edu Phone: 626-395-4387

Research:
I am interested in the neural mechanisms controlling behavior. In order to survive and thrive, animals must extract relevant information from a complex environment using noisy sensors, and then must "decide" (or calculate) an appropriate course of action. This action plan is effected using imprecise actuators interacting with a marginally predictable substrate. All of these problems, difficult from an engineering perspective, are solved using energy-efficient, analog computation by a network of neurons. The main aim of my research is to uncover abstract principles of nervous system function which give rise to these amazing properties.

Education:
B.S. Biochemistry, Montana State, 2001
Ph.D. Biology, Caltech, 2007