Omar Chishti in a graduation gown and college stole, holding his diploma beside a stone colonnade
Omar Chishti smiling beside wisteria that hangs from a window box

Omar Chishti

عمر چشتی

Occupation
Researcher
Designer
Fields
Machine learning
Computational neuroscience
Born
10 December 1999 Delhi, India
Education
Imperial College London 2025–2026 MSc in Artificial Intelligence
Yale University 2018–2022 BS in Biomedical Engineering
The Doon School 2012–2018 Kashmir House

Work

Positions
Max Planck Society 2023–2025 Computational neuroscientist at Charité
Yale School of Medicine 2022–2023 Research associate, Department of Neurosurgery
Publications
Neurology (external site) 2025 Mapping the language cortex
Nature Communications (external site) 2024 Structure and function across the human brain
Scientific Reports (external site) 2022 Novel brain atlas
All publications
Awards
Grass Foundation Young Investigator Award 2023 American Epilepsy Society
Wu Tsai Institute MINDScholar Fellowship
Mike Dodge Prize Directed Studies, for an essay on hylomorphism
Software
Aion (external site) A digital memory interface for macOS
Writing
The White Swan 2025
A (Re)View of Light In progress

Life

Places
London, Fulham 2025–
Paris, 16e 2024–2025
Berlin, Mitte, Friedrichshain 2023–2024
New Haven 2018–2023
Dehradun, boarding school 2012–2018
Dubai, school holidays 2012–2018
Indian Air Force stations 1999–2012
Delhi, birth 1999
Pastimes
Modular origami
Calligraphy
Puzzles Solving Madrigal
Walking Memory’s Arches
Influences
Leonardo da Vinci
Omar Khayyam
Vladimir Nabokov Nabokov’s Alphabet
Cats
Zafran 2022–2023 A Bengal
Smokey 2010–2015 A grey Persian

Recommendations

What Is Life? Erwin Schrödinger
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind Julian Jaynes
The Elements of Typographic Style Robert Bringhurst
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information Edward Tufte
Chess Stefan Zweig
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller Italo Calvino
Ficciones Jorge Luis Borges
House of Leaves Mark Z. Danielewski
Listening
Minimal electronic music for deep work (external site) A playlist on Spotify with over 150 listeners
Things
KAMI notebook Linen cover, eucalyptus-fibre paper
Merz b. Schwanen Loopwheeled sweatshirts
Pilot FriXion Ball pen