Known from press, radio & television

About Boris Konrad

Neuroscientist, multiple world memory record holder, SPIEGEL bestselling (e.g. "Germany’s most prestigious bestseller list“) and one of the most sought-after speakers and keynote speakers in the German-speaking world. Dr. Boris Nikolai Konrad makes brain research understandable, brings artificial intelligence to life and proves that a good memory can be learned!

Book Boris

About Boris

Dr. Boris Nikolai Konrad: Guiness World Record Holder in memory sports, neuroscientist and author

Born in Bochum in 1984 and raised in Hattingen an der Ruhr, Dr. Boris Nikolai Konrad discovered the world of memory techniques while still at school. After graduating from high school in 2003, he successfully studied physics and computer science at TU Dortmund University and the University of Reading in England, with minors in business administration and mathematics.

In 2014, he completed his doctorate magna cum laude at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich with a thesis on the neuronal basis of extraordinary memory performance. Since then, he has been conducting research at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior at Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands), specializing in memory training and the interaction between the brain and modern technology. He has long been particularly interested in artificial intelligence and how we can use it to learn from it.

For years, Dr. Konrad was one of the most successful memory athletes in the world. He is an eight-time world team champion, has set four Guinness World Records - including in remembering names (201 in 15 minutes) - and was the winner of the ZDF show “Germany's Superbrain”. He still occasionally takes part in memory competitions today. In more than 100 television appearances worldwide, he has shown what a trained memory is capable of, three times on “Wetten, dass...?” alone.

His ability to present complex scientific content in an understandable way and 20 years of experience make him one of the best speakers in the industry, for which he was awarded the “5 Star Speaker Award” in the Best Performer Speaker category in 2017. As early as 2016, he was one of the youngest speakers of all time to be certified as a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) by the American National Speakers Association (NSA).

In addition to speaking on stage, he also shares his knowledge in his books. “Mehr Platz im Gehirn” (Ariston) was on the German SPIEGEL bestseller list (non-fiction paperback) for several weeks in 2022. Dr. Konrad's extraordinary career reflects his unique ability to convey theoretical knowledge in a practical way and make his findings accessible to a wide audience.

Awards

Guinness book of records

The well-known memory athlete has broken four Guinness World Records in the course of his career and is therefore listed in the 2014 and 2016 Guinness Books worldwide. For example, in name memorization (201 in 15 minutes) and fast number memorization (45 digits in 15 seconds, each of which only flashed briefly). He has also appeared repeatedly on Guinness TV shows, for example in Italy, China and Germany.

Star speaker award

For his outstanding success as a speaker, memory training and artificial intelligence expert Dr. Boris Nikolai Konrad has already received several 5-star speaker awards, including in the categories “Best Performer” (Speaker) and “Best Book”. Konrad has also received the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) certificate from the American Speakers Association (NSA).

Privat

Dr. Boris Nikolai Konrad is married and has four children. He lives with his family in the German town Kranenburg near Nijmegen (Netherlands). Besides memory sports, he is also an enthusiastic sport stacker and a fan of soccer team VfL Bochum. For years he was also on the soccer field several times a week, refereeing up to the highest regional divisions in Westphalia and Bavaria.

Scientific work

RadboudUMC

At the RadboudUMC University Hospital, Dr. Konrad represents several thousand employees as a docentambassadeur (lecturer ambassador) at the local Teaching and Learning Center and teaches in various courses, including Cognitive Neuroscience (Master) and Medicine.

Donders Institute

Since 2014, Dr. Konrad has been conducting research at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, on the neuronal basis of exceptionally good memory performance and applications of memory techniques.

Scientific publications

President of MemoryXL E.V.

From 2006 to 2020, Dr. Boris Nikolai Konrad was the elected president of MemoryXL e.V., the European Association for Memory Enhancement. Still engaged in various roles at MemoryXL, he is committed to the spread of memory sports and memory training. See www.memoryxl.de