Avis Hope Cohen, born on Nov. 29, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois, to Harry and Ethel Schulner, died on June 6. 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’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1964 and a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1977. From 1977-1979, she was a postdoctoral scholar at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. She served as a research associate at Cornell University from 1980-1990, 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. Avis was the founding director of the UMD’s Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science from 1996-1998. 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 Scholar-Teacher for 2011-2012. She retired as professor emerita in 2014. She embarked on many years of laboratory research at Cornell and UMD. 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; her children, Mellennesse Blackbird (Heather) and Philip N. Cohen (Judy); her grandchildren, Moriah, Rae, Saul, Mingo, Charlotte and Ruby; and great-grandson, Damian. She was preceded in death by her brother, Larry Schulner.