Adam Lowet, a recent PhD graduate from Harvard’s Program in Neuroscience, has been awarded the prestigious Bowdoin Prize for Graduate Essay in the Natural Sciences with his composition Risky Business: How the Brain Learns from Uncertainty.
The Bowdoin Prizes for Graduate Students, among Harvard’s oldest and most esteemed awards, were established in 1791 and funded through a bequest by Governor James Bowdoin (A.B. 1745). These prizes recognize exceptional essays in literature, philosophy, and the natural sciences and aim to celebrate graduate students’ ability to communicate complex ideas to a broader audience.
For Lowet, the award caps off an already impressive academic journey. He defended his doctoral dissertation on October 1, 2024, completing his research in the lab of MCB’s Naoshige Uchida. His work explored how animals and humans make decisions under risk and uncertainty, drawing parallels between brain processes and computational methods used in artificial intelligence.
“At its core, my research looks at how the brain learns from rewards,” Lowet explained. “We know the brain has circuits that evaluate outcomes, and my work examined how these circuits resemble a modern AI algorithm called distributional reinforcement learning, which looks at the full range of possible outcomes rather than just averages.”
In his essay, Lowet distilled these technical insights into an engaging narrative for a general audience. He likened decision-making under uncertainty to everyday scenarios, such as choosing between a reliable but predictable activity and one that has the potential to be more exciting but carries greater downside risk as well. “Humans and animals frequently have to make decisions with incomplete information,” he noted. “Writing this essay was a chance to reframe my research in terms that resonate beyond the lab.”
MCB’s Naoshige Uchida, in whose lab Lowet pursued his PhD, was understandably impressed by his essay. “Adam used sophisticated computational theories and data analysis methods to demonstrate that the brain represents not only the average future rewards but the entire distribution of possible future rewards,” he says. “His essay effectively conveys these key concepts in a clear and accessible manner.”
The Bowdoin Prizes encourage graduate students to hone their skills in public writing—an aspect Lowet found both rewarding and practical. “I’d told the story of my PhD many times at conferences and in journals, but less often for a general audience,” he said. “The essay was a fun challenge, and it even helped me prepare for my public defense.”
Lowet is currently pursuing postdoctoral opportunities.
Reflecting on the award, for which he received a $3,500 monetary prize, he expressed gratitude for the recognition and the essay’s broader impact. “This prize underscores the value of making scientific research accessible,” he said. “I’m honored to be part of a tradition that bridges academia and the public.”
