Brice Ménard

Brice Ménard is a Professor of Physics & Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, with secondary appointments in Cognitive Science and Computer Science. He also holds an External Professor position at the Santa Fe Institute and is a member of its Science Board.

• Primary Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Department of Physics and Astronomy
• Secondary Appointments: Department of Cognitive Science, Department of Computer Science
• External Affiliation: Santa Fe Institute

Education:

• PhD, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris
• PhD, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics

His research spans astrophysics, cosmology, and the interdisciplinary Physics of Learning, focusing on neural networks in artificial and biological systems. This work bridges physics, statistics, and machine learning, with implications for both fundamental science and AI applications.

Scientific Awards & Honors:

• Johns Hopkins President Frontier Award (2019)
• Packard Fellowship (2014)
• Sloan Research Fellowship (2012)
• Outstanding Young Scientist of Maryland (2012)
• Henri Chrétien grant by the American Astronomical Society (2011)

Ménard has held visiting positions at the Kavli Institute (Tokyo University), École Normale Supérieure de Paris, Planet Labs, and OpenAI. He co-founded the Physics of Learning Collaboration and organized a 2025 workshop in this emerging field.