Brain Energetics Initiative Gets $80 Million Boost
An international 10-year collaboration led by Stanford's Thomas Clandinin will study how the brain's energy use shapes information processing.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Mathematics
Tim Vogels of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria is receiving $3 million as part of the $80 million Simons Collaboration on Brain Energetics. The 10-year effort, launched by the New York-based Simons Foundation, is led by Thomas Clandinin at Stanford University.
Why it matters
The collaboration aims to answer fundamental questions about how the brain processes information and about the origins of developmental brain disorders and aging. Its focus on energy use reflects how much the brain depends on a supply of roughly 20 watts.
The collaboration's $80 million budget is spread across 26 investigators working over 10 years on a brain that runs on about 20 watts. Specific research outputs and timelines for individual research areas have not been disclosed.
The players
Tim Vogels
Vogels is a researcher at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria who was born in Munich and co-developed early theories of brain inhibition.
Thomas Clandinin
Clandinin is a neuroscientist at Stanford University who leads the Simons Collaboration on Brain Energetics.
Simons Foundation
The Simons Foundation is a New York-based philanthropic organization that launched the Simons Collaboration on Brain Energetics.
The details
Vogels's group will develop computational models linking mitochondrial energy metabolism with neuronal activity, serving as test beds for experiments by other collaborators. Vogels, who co-developed one of the first theories of how the brain's inhibitory connections learn, proposed that neurons burn off surplus energy by raising their own activity.
Timeline
• The Simons Collaboration on Brain Energetics runs for a 10-year term.
Big Picture
The Simons Collaboration on Brain Energetics extends research into brain energy budgets by linking mitochondrial metabolism to neuronal activity across four defined research areas. Vogels's computational models will support experimental work by other members of the collaboration.
The collaboration's computational models are designed as test beds that other researchers can use to study how energy supply and demand affect brain responses. Its work on learning and energy use may eventually inform understanding of developmental brain disorders and aging.
The takeaway
Understanding how much energy the brain consumes, roughly 20 watts, may help explain how neurons learn and why energy supply matters for brain health. The collaboration's computational approach could make these links testable.
Further reading
Explore more Mathematics coverage for related computational modeling research.
