Executive Director (Staff)

Room A135, Psychology Building Addition, Busch Campus

(848) 445-2973

spixley@ruccs.rutgers.edu 

How She Can Help

• Funding Opportunities: Identify grant opportunities that further Center initiatives, as well as facilitate writing and submitting them for review.
• Strategic Support: Evaluate and execute on ideas that further Center initiatives.
• Conference & Workshop Organization: Brainstorm and help execute on collaborative meetings and workshops.
• Professional Development: Support the professional development of students in Cognitive Science. For example, editing professional materials such as CVs and research statements.
• Rutgers Student Opportunities: Pair students with Cognitive Science related opportunities within the Rutgers community.

Bio

Dr. Sara Pixley has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Rice University with expertise in the areas of memory, learning, and neuroscience. Dr. Pixley has several publications on the topic of memory that have had a translational impact the field (e.g., being cited in a popular Coursera MOOCs, “Learning How to Learn”). In addition, she was involved in the design, implementation, and analysis of several research studies related to learning optimization that took place in a classroom setting (both higher education and K-12). She proudly serves as Executive Director of the Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science (RuCCS), where she both acts as an R&D professional and a program leader coordinating activities including: strategic and operational administration, development of institutional vision, and framing scientific research for external communication and fund raising to maintain RuCCS as one of the most prestigious centers for cognitive science in the nation. She was recently honored with the Arts & Sciences Distinguished Staff Excellence Award.

Click here to view Sara's CV.

Publications

• Chan, M. Y., Haber [Pixley], S., Drew, L. M., Park, D. C. (2016). Training Older Adults to Use Tablet Computers: Does It Enhance Cognitive Function? Gerontologist, 56 (3), 475-484.
• McDonough, I. M., Haber [Pixley], S., Bischof, G .N., Park, D. C. (2015). The Synapse Project: Engagement in mentally challenging activities enhances neural efficiency. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 33, 865-82.
• Park, D. C., Lodi-Smith, J., Drew, L. M., Haber [Pixley], S., Hebrank, A. C., Bischof, G. N., & Aamodt, W. The impact of sustained engagement on cognitive function in older adults: The Synapse Project. Psychological Sciences, 25, 103-112.
• Logan, J. M, & Castel, A. D.  Haber [Pixley], S., Vieham, E. J. (2012). Metacognition and the spacing effect: The role of repetition, feedback, and instruction on judgments of learning for massed and spaced rehearsal. Metacognition and Learning, 7, 175-195.
• Halcomb [Pixley], S. H., Taylor, J. P., DeSouza, K. D., & Wallace, W. P. (2008).  False recognition following study of semantically related lists presented in jumbled word form.  Memory, 16, 443-461.
• Webster, M. A., Yasuda, M., Haber [Pixley], S., Leonard, D., & Ballardini, N. (2007).  Adaptation and perceptual norms.  Human Vision and Electronic Imaging XII, 6492.

Press

• Industry - CEB (Now Gartner): Dr. Pixley was the primary author of The Real Impact of Removing Ratings, which has been cited by the Harvard Business Review and The Washington Post, and was CEB’s most downloaded resource in 2016.
• Academia - Center for Vital Longevity: While working on the SYNAPSE project, it was referenced over 100 times on TV, news stations, and other media outlets (e.g., NPR and KERA News).

Contact Info

Sara Pixley
Executive Staff Director
RuCCS, The Center for Cognitive Sciences 
152 Frelinghuysen Road, A135, Busch Campus
Piscataway, New Jersey 08854
Phone: (848) 445-2973 / Fax: (732) 445-6715
Email: spixley@ruccs.rutgers.edu