Gil Rivlis

Gil Rivlis, Ph.D. holds faculty appointments as Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Joint Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD). His research focuses on neural mechanisms underlying precise motor control, particularly in skilled finger movements and cortical control of hand functions. He has contributed to understanding how motor cortex neurons encode complex movements and how neural signals can be decoded to reconstruct muscle activity.

Education includes a B.S. in Physics from Hebrew College (1986), M.S. (1987) and Ph.D. in Physics from California Institute of Technology (1991). Postdoctoral training at The Ohio State University (1993-1996) and University of California, Berkeley (1991-1993) included research in string theory and quantum gravity, alongside self-study in object-oriented programming.

Key research areas include:

• Neural coding in motor cortex
• Decoding of motor intentions from neural activity
• Brain-computer interface applications
• Historical work in theoretical physics (quantum gravity)

His publications span neurophysiology and astrophysics, reflecting early contributions to string theory alongside later work on neural control mechanisms. Awards include the Golda Meir Fellowship (1985) and multiple Dean's List recognitions during undergraduate studies.

Current affiliations include the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience and collaborations across disciplines including Biomedical Engineering and Brain & Cognitive Sciences.