Robert Wurtz was born in Saint Louis, Missouri as an only child of Robert Wurtz. His father (the name Robert was inherited from his grandfather) was a factory worker, a superintendent at the Mavrakos Candy Company. His mother Alice also worked at the same company as a bookkeeper.
In 1954 he joined Oberlin and graduated in 1958 with a major in chemistry.
He is recognised for developing methods for studying the visual system in "awake-behaving" primates (as opposed to those under anesthesia), a technique now widely used for the study of higher brain functions. He pioneered the study of the neuronal basis of vision and its relation with cognitive functions. He was very weak in spelling since childhood, as his high school English teacher reminded him, "Young man, if your livelihood depends on spelling, you will starve." When it was time for college, he wanted to join liberal arts college.
Most of his school-mates opted for Swarthmore.
However, his father persuaded him to apply for Oberlin College as it was the nearest reputable institution from home. But the periodic table soon discouraged him to pursue chemistry further because of his poor memory.
Then he found an interest in experimental psychology and physiology of nervous system. At Michigan University he initially failed in seven out ten areas in the proficiency test in psychology.
He passed in physiological, sensory, and developmental.
So he took up neurophysiology and neuroanatomy under James Olds. He submitted his Doctor of Philosophy thesis in 1962, even though Olds was hesitant about the title Self-Stimulation and Escape in Response to Stimulation of the Rat Amygdala. He went on for a post-doctoral research in the Physiology Department of Washington University in Saint Louis.
In 1966 Wurtz joined the Laboratory of Neurobiology, National Institute of Mental Health, in Bethesda, Maryland.
He began studies on the visual system of awake in monkeys and made groundbreaking works on neurobiology of vision and eye movements. During this time he spent a year (1975-1976) as a Visiting Scientist at the Physiological Laboratory at Cambridge University in England.
He became the founding Chief of the Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute in 1978. In 2002, he stepped down as chief of the laboratory, but has remained as a senior investigator.
His 1969 publications became classic papers on this technique of studying the physiology of the visual system, and now used by cognitive neuroscientists around the world.
President, Society for Neuroscience (1991)
1991 Golden Brain Award from Minerva Foundation
Karl Spencer Lashley Award, American Philosophical Society (1995)
Friedenwald Award, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (1996)
Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, American Psychological Association (1997)
Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (1997)
Dan David Prize for the Future Time Dimension: “Brain Sciences” (2004)
Ralph West. Gerard Prize of the Society for Neuroscience (2006)
Honorary Doctor of Science, Oberlin College (2009)
Grass Lecture, Society for Neuroscience (2009)
Gruber Prize in Neuroscience (2010).
National Academy of Sciences]
Elected member of the National Academy of Sciences (1988).
