Gian F. Poggio, a Johns Hopkins neuroscientist and
physiologist who discovered how the brain
perceives three-dimensional nerve impulses that it receives
from the eyes, died Oct. 19 of Parkinson's
disease in his hometown of Genoa, Italy. He was 80.
In a series of classic scientific papers from the
1960s, '70s and '80s, Poggio described the brain
mechanisms that underlie visual perception of depth based
on image differences between the two
eyes. Due to the slightly different vantage points of the
two eyes, object images are shifted in a way
that depends on their relative distance. The brain takes
advantage of this cue to judge depth. This
kind of depth vision, known as stereopsis, is the basis for
3D movies and similar depth illusions.
Poggio's seminal work initiated an entire field of
research on computational mechanisms of
depth vision that is more active today than ever, and his
classic papers are cited as widely now as they
were 30 years ago. His work was recognized with the Lashley
Prize in Neurobiology in 1989 and the
Minerva Foundation's Golden Brain Award in 1996.
Charles Edward Connor, of the
Department of Neuroscience, also remembers his former
professor and longtime colleague for his wide-ranging
interests outside of science. "His apartment was
packed with books, and he was one of the best-read persons
I have ever known," Connor told The
Baltimore Sun. "He had a broad knowledge of history and
literature. He was also an incredibly witty
individual with a dry sense of humor. His medical school
lectures were remarkably entertaining as well
as informative." An aficionado of good wine and food, he
was a longtime patron of Mastellone's Deli and
Wine on Harford Road.
A 1951 graduate of the University of Genoa's medical
school, Poggio pursued postdoctoral
studies in neurosurgery and physiology at Johns Hopkins
from 1954 to 1960, when he was appointed an
assistant professor of physiology. He became a professor of
physiology in 1975 and of neuroscience in
1980. He was named professor emeritus in 1993 but remained
active in his laboratory for several more
years. He continued his association with the Neuroscience
Department until returning to Italy a few
years ago.
His survivors include his brother, Alberto; a sister,
Maria V.P. Rocca; four nephews; and one
niece.
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