Welcome to the
Spatial Cognition Laboratory
|
Welcome to the Spatial Cognition Laboratory |
|
|
Holly received her Bachelor's
degree in mathematics from Dartmouth College in 1987, her Ph.D. from Stanford
University in 1992, and has been a faculty member at Tufts since 1994.
In addition to her work, she enjoys running road races, hiking, and spending
time with her family.
Tad Brunye received his Ph.D.
in experimental cognition from Tufts University in May, 2007. He
presently is a Senior Cognitive Scientist for the U.S. Army Natick
Soldier Research,
Development, and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) in Natick, MA, and a
Research Professor and Lecturer here in the Department of Psychology. He studies spatial memory,
attention, working memory,
spatial language and discourse comprehension, multimedia learning,
educational system design, and spatial visualizations, with a particular
focus on embodied cognition and mental simulation. Methods employed in
his investigations include eye tracking, electromyography, functional
near-infrared spectroscopy, electroencephalography, and traditional
behavioral measures. In 2011, Dr. Brunye was awarded the Presidential
Early Career Award, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government
upon scientists and engineers in the early stages of their career; just
as importantly, he got to meet the president! Email: tbruny01 (at)
tufts.edu
Ruizhi graduated from Chongqing Technology and Business University,
China, with a bachelor's degree in applied physics. She worked as a
research assistant at Peking University after graduation, investigating
the effects of thinking styles on Chinese employee's creativity. Here in
our lab, she studies spatial cognition, visual spatial working memory
and map learning in both young and older adults. Ruizhi loves traveling,
taking photographs and reading in her spare time.
Marianna received her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology and Cognitive
Neuroscience from Tufts University in 2008, working with Professor
Holcomb on projects related to electrophysiological indices of object
perception and language comprehension. She also completed a NRSA
postdoctoral scholarship at MIT working with Professor Gabrieli on
projects related to visual word recognition, typical reading development
in children, and impaired reading development in dyslexia. Marianna is
presently a Cognitive Scientist at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development
and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) in Natick, MA, and an instructor and
visiting scholar in the Spatial Cognition Lab.
Aaron graduated from Tufts University
in 2009 with a bachelor's in psychology,
completing an honor's thesis in Professor Bharucha's laboratory,
examining the effects of several music characteristics on induced
affective states. Here in our lab, Aaron is investigating the effects of
shifting perspectives in spatial visualizations and high arousal states
on navigation through virtual environments. He is also co-managing the
daily activities of the laboratory along with Grace Giles.
Grace recently
graduated from Middlebury College with a bachelor's in neuroscience,
working in Professor Collaer's laboratory, examining stress-induced
impairments in hippocampal-dependent cognitive tasks. Here in our lab,
Grace is investigating the acute effects of caffeine and taurine on a
range of cognitive processes such as perception, working memory, complex
decision making, and
navigation. She is also co-managing the
daily activities of the laboratory along with Aaron Gardony.
Caroline received her Ph.D.
in experimental cognition from Tufts University. She
presently is a cognitive psychologist for the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research,
Development, and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) in Natick, MA, and a
Visiting Scholar here in our lab. Caroline studies dietary effects on
cognitive and physical performance, and spatial memory.
Joe received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Dartmouth College, and
completed post-doctoral fellowships at MIT and Harvard. He is presently a cognitive
scientist for the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research,
Development, and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) in Natick, MA, and a
Visiting Scholar here in our lab. Joe researches the neuroanatomical
organization of human social cognition as revealed by brain imaging (fMRI),
and the nature of age-related changes in this organization.
Sarah received her
Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of New
Hampshire in 2011, where she worked on studies examining mind wandering,
attention capture and visual priming. She also worked as a research
fellow at MIT, where she worked on research using eye tracking and fMRI.
Here in the lab, she is working on projects examining the embodied basis
of spatial cognition, using technologies such as hand movement and eye
tracking.
Qi received her
Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Zhejiang University in 2005 and a
Master's degree in cognitive psychology from Southwest University,
China, in 2008. Most recently, she successfully defended her
dissertation at Tufts University. Here at Tufts, she studies spatial cognition, social
influence on spatial memory, mental simulations in spatial
understanding, and the integration of spatial and
non-spatial information. Qi enjoys movies, various kinds of music,
readings, spending time with family and friends besides her work. Qi
recently accepted an academic faculty position in her homeland, China,
and is excited to begin her new career in the Fall!
Stephanie A. Gagnon (Stanford University) Recent Graduates Qi Wang,
Ph.D. (2013) Undergraduate Research Assistants:
|
Professor
Holly A. Taylor, Ph.D.
Tad Brunye,
Ph.D.
Ruizhi
Dai
Marianna
D. Eddy, Ph.D.
Aaron
Gardony
Grace
Giles
Caroline
R. Mahoney,
Ph.D.
Joe
M. Moran, Ph.D.
Sarah
Tower-Richardi
Qi Wang,
Ph.D.