Péter Érdi (born December 12, 1946) is a Hungarian-born
computational neuroscientist who now lives in
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, United States where he is a
Henry R. Luce Professor at
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by American Baptist Churches USA, Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, K ...
. In his career he wrote several books and published (co-published) many scholarly articles in the fields of
chemical kinetics
Chemical kinetics, also known as reaction kinetics, is the branch of physical chemistry that is concerned with understanding the rates of chemical reactions. It is different from chemical thermodynamics, which deals with the direction in which a ...
,
computational neuroscience
Computational neuroscience (also known as theoretical neuroscience or mathematical neuroscience) is a branch of neuroscience which employs mathematics, computer science, theoretical analysis and abstractions of the brain to understand th ...
and
complex systems
A complex system is a system composed of many components that may interact with one another. Examples of complex systems are Earth's global climate, organisms, the human brain, infrastructure such as power grid, transportation or communication s ...
.
Background
Érdi was born in 1946 in Budapest, Hungary. He was the only son of Pál Érdi, a chief engineer at the tannery factory and Magdolna Friedmann, an office manager at the journal Nagyvilág. He has two children and two grandchildren. His mentors were Pál Benedek and
János Szentágothai
After graduating in 1965 at
János Bolyai High School,
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, he went on to study
Chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
at
Eötvös Loránd University
Eötvös Loránd University (, ELTE, also known as ''University of Budapest'') is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in ...
and Chemical Cybernetics at
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is a public research university located in Budapest, Hungary. It is the most significant university of technology in the country and is considered ...
where he completed
Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
s in both disciplines. Eventually, in 1991 he received
Doctor of Science
A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world.
Africa
Algeria and Morocco
In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...
(DSc) for his paper on "Kinetics of Chemical and Biological Networks".
In 2002, he and his family moved to Michigan, USA where he holds the Henry R. Luce professorship at Kalamazoo College while he kept his position in his home institution in Budapest.
Career
In 1992, Érdi began working as a scientific advisor of the KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( , MTA) is Hungary’s foremost and most prestigious learned society. Its headquarters are located along the banks of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. The Academy's primar ...
. He filled the role of the leading scientist on the project Big Data. Érdi's team was working on a method of predicting future technologies by analysing historical data of (mainly) US held patents.
In 1995 he began to hold a position as a
University Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...
at
University of Debrecen
The University of Debrecen ( ) is a university located in Debrecen, Hungary. It is the oldest continuously operating institution of higher education in Hungary ever since its establishment in 1538. The university has a well established progra ...
and later, also at
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is a public research university located in Budapest, Hungary. It is the most significant university of technology in the country and is considered ...
. In between 1999 and 2002, he served as Széchenyi Professor at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science,
Eötvös Loránd University
Eötvös Loránd University (, ELTE, also known as ''University of Budapest'') is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in ...
,
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. After leaving Hungary and moving to the United States in 2002, he began his career as the
Henry R. Luce Professor of Complex Systems Studies at
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by American Baptist Churches USA, Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, K ...
. He has been awarded by the 2018 Florence J. Lucasse Fellowship for Excellence in Scholarship.
Érdi also prides himself as the co-founder and co-director of BSCS (Budapest Semester in Cognitive Sciences), which is a Hungarian study program for undergraduate students, mainly from USA, that are interested in
Cognitive Science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...
and its disciplines.
ELMOHA
In 1990, Érdi established with János Tóth the informal organization ELMOHA (Hungarian acronym of the three words:
Theory
A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...
,
Model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided in ...
,
Tradition
A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...
) with the primary goal of the group to establish a proper discussion between humanities and natural sciences. A group of intellectuals from various fields of sciences and humanities met up regularly and discussed science and the interpretations of science.
Early members of the group were Péter Balassa, János László Farkas, Péter Hraskó, György Kampis, József Lázár, János Malina, László Ropolyi, Róbert Schiller, Péter Marton. Also psychologist and linguist
Csaba Pléh
Csaba Pléh (born 29 November 1945) is a Hungarian psychologist and linguist, professor at the Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
Academic career
He graduated from the Eötvös Loránd Universit ...
and
Gábor Hraskó who is the president of
Hungarian Skeptics Society, have also attended on several ELMOHA meetings.
These meetings are often the subject of newspaper articles, books and university courses.
Memberships
* Editorial and Programme Advisory Board of the
Springer
Springer or springers may refer to:
Publishers
* Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag.
** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...
Complexity publishing program
*Executive Committee of the
European Neural Network Society (2005-2007)
*Member of the Board of Governors of the International Neural Network Society (2012-2020)
*Vice President of Membership of the (2017-2018)
*Co-Director of BSCS - Budapest Semester in Cognitive Science
*Associate Editor of
BioSystems,
Elsevier
Elsevier ( ) is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The Lancet'', ''Cell (journal), Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, ...
*Editor-in-Chief (2015-2019) of
Cognitive Systems Research,
Elsevier
Elsevier ( ) is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The Lancet'', ''Cell (journal), Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, ...
*College of Fellow Member, International Neural Network Society
Books
*P. Érdi
Feedback: How to Destroy or Save the World, Springer 2024*P. Érdi, Zs. Szvetelszky
Repair: When and How to Improve Broken Objects, Ourselves, and Our Society, Springer 2002*P. Érdi
Ranking: The Unwritten Rules of the Social Game We All Play, Oxford University Press, 2020Translations: German: Redline Verlag, Münchner Verlagsgruppe GmbH
Japanese: Nippon Hyoron Sha Co
Korean: Writing House
Taiwanese: Babelbook
Hungarian: Typotex
Chinese with simple characters: Shanghai Educational Publ, House (in preparation)
* P. Érdi, Bhattacharya BS and Cochran AL: {Editors): Computational Neurology and Psychiatry (Springer Series in Bio-/Neuroinformatics Book
*P. Érdi
Complexity Explained, Springer 2008
*P. Érdi
Teremtett valóságTypotex Budapest, 2000
*
Michael A. Arbib, P. Érdi and
János SzentágothaiNeural Organization: Structure, Function Dynamics MIT Press
The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...
, A Bradford Book, 1997
*P. Érdi, J. Tóth
Mathematical Models of Chemical Reactions Manchester Univ. Press., 1989.
Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...
, 1989
*P. Érdi: Racionális kémiai termodinamika, ELTE TTK Kémiai Kibernetikai Laboratórium, Budapest, 1978
*J. Tóth, P. Érdi: A formális reakciókinetika modelljei, Akadémiai kiadó, Budapest, 1978
*P. Érdi, J. Tóth
A kémiai reakció termodinamikájának sztochasztikus formulázásáról Akadémiai kiadó, Budapest, 1976
*P. Érdi, G. Lente
Stochastic Chemical Kinetics
References
External links
Homepage at Kalamazoo CollegeDepartment of History and Philosophy of ScienceThe CSCNS Research Group's homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erdi, Peter
Hungarian scientists
Hungarian neuroscientists
Hungarian systems scientists
Kalamazoo College faculty
People from Pest, Hungary
1946 births
Living people