In The News
Student groups at Rutgers connecting virtually during the pandemic lockdown
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During a time of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
student groups are getting creative in order to connect with others in a remote situation. For many groups and clubs at Rutgers, this has meant relying on social media, virtual events, and e-newsletters to stay busy
and keep connecting.
Read more on how student groups at Rutgers are staying connected through virtual environments in the SAS Access article here.
Cognitive Science student Hannah Varkey creates podcast series celebrating underrepresented minorities in science, medicine, and STEM
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The "Autism Thinks" podcast created by Hannah Varkey is produced by the New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence (NJACE). Episodes discuss connections between neuroscience, technology, and innovation and how they change our perspective on autism, our understanding of our mind, and the world around us. The series covers topics such as autism in minorities, agency, struggles minorities face in academics, the importance of diversity, and more. Interviews include appearances by other Rutgers students including honor students and neuroscience scholars.
Former Cognitive Science Club President, Cognitive Science and Computer Science Graduate, Yoni Friedman, found a major that stretched the boundaries and use of the human mind
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Yoni Friedman graduated last spring from the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers. Friedman has always been intrigued by consciousness of the mind. He states, "I’d look at pictures of the brain and think: how do
you go from this mass of fat and chemicals to the ability of people to have these very different but equally
rich experiences of the world?" In describing Friedman, RuCCS' Executive Director Sara Pixley says, "He made Rutgers a more cohesive place for many, including myself."
Read more on Friedman's experience, impact, and work in the SAS article: "He Found a Major that Stretched Boundaries—in the Classroom and in Life"
RuCCS EC Member and Distinguished Professor Mariapaola D'Imperio and Co-PIs win NSF Convergence Accelerator Phase I and II $960K Grant
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RuCCS Affiliate, Distinguished Professor, and project PI Mariapaola D'Imperio has won a $960,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Convergence Accelerator Program. The grant is for the project "Data & AI Methods for Modeling Facial Expressions in Language with Applications to Privacy for the Deaf, ASL Education & Linguistic Research" which began earlier this September and ends in May of 2021.
The grant is awarded to D'Imperio along her Co-PIs Dimitris Metaxas (Rutgers University, Computer Science), Carol Neidle (Boston University), and Matt Huenerfauth (Rochester Institute of Technology).
Cognitive Science student Jihye Ryu publishes "The Autonomic Nervous System Differentiates between Levels of Motor Intent and End Effector" and makes cover of The Journal of Precision Medicine
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In the published paper, Ryu describes how heart signals derived from the micro-movements in the inter-beat intervals timing can unambiguously tell us if actions are deliberately intended or spontaneously occurred. Spike in interest on the paper's results has granted for Ryu's work to make the cover of the journal. Read the paper here!