Blake Shaw Wilson[1] is an American research scientist best known for his role in developing signal processing strategies for the cochlear implant.
[3] His initial research projects investigated sound source localization in humans and bats and the effects of microwave radiation on the auditory system.
In 1983, Wilson received the first of seven contracts (1983–2005) from the Neural Prosthesis Branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate sound coding strategies for cochlear implants.
In collaboration with Cochlear Americas, Duke University and the NIH, Wilson's group also developed and evaluated a high pulse rate, channel-picking strategy.
In 2013, Wilson (with Graeme Clark and Ingeborg Hochmair) was awarded the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award[6] “for the development of the modern cochlear implant.” In 2015, with G. Clark, E. Hochmair, I. Hochmair, and M. Merzenich, he was awarded the Russ Prize “for engineering cochlear implants that allow the deaf to hear.” In 2017, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE)[7] and he received the Helmholtz-Rayleigh Interdisciplinary Silver Medal[8] from the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) "for contributions to the development and adoption of cochlear implants."