Funeral Details

Avis Hope Cohen, age 84

Avis Hope Cohen, born on November 29, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois, to Harry and Ethel Schulner, died on June 6, 2026.

She was a beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, a dear friend to many, a groundbreaking neuroscientist, mentor, and a feminist committed to the causes of peace, equality, and the advancement of science.

Avis earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan in 1964 and a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1977. From 1977 to 1979, she was a postdoctoral scholar at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. She served as a research associate at Cornell University from 1980 to 1990, when she joined the University of Maryland faculty as a professor in the Department of Zoology (now Biology), and then as a professor in the Institute for Systems Research as well.

At the University of Maryland, Avis was the founding director of the University of Maryland's Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science from 1996 to 1998. She served as project director for the university's National Science Foundation ADVANCE Award. She participated in the Telluride Workshop on Neuromorphic Engineering for many years, beginning in 1994, and served on its advisory board. She was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2008 and was named a University of Maryland Distinguished Schol-Art-Teacher for 2011-2012. She retired as Professor Emerita in 2014.

Following a highly influential mathematical modeling study of lamprey locomotion, she embarked on many years of laboratory research at Cornell and the University of Maryland, focused on the neural control of locomotion in the lamprey, including the development of central pattern generators, regeneration after injury, and then application of central pattern generators to robotics. On her retirement, Avis was described as "one of the true pioneering women in academic STEM fields" by the A. James Clark School of Engineering.

She is survived by her husband, Marshall M. Cohen, whom she married in 1961; her children, Mellennesse Blackbird and wife Heather Blackbird, and Philip N. Cohen and wife, Judy Ruttenberg; her grandchildren, Morian Willow and his wife, Caltin Jones, Kae, Saul, and Mingo Blackbird, Ana Charlotte and Ruby Conen; and her great-grandson, Damian Willow. She was preceded in death by her brother, Larry Schulner, who is survived by his wife, Sharalynn Schulner.

Service Tuesday, 11 AM at Chicago Jewish Funerals, 8851 Skokie Blvd (at Niles Center Road), Skokie. Interment Shalom Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the charity of your choice. To attend the funeral livestream, please visit our website. Arrangements by Torchinsky Hebrew Funeral Home & Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com