Past Events

Event Type

Semester

May 16 2026

RU Commencement

Information: Saturday, May 16, 2026; Event Type: Other Events; Event Short Description
TBD
Event Website

Apr 28 2026

RuCCS Postdoctoral Symposium

Information: Tuesday, April 28, 2026; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; Room 105, Psychology Bldg., Frelinghuysen Rd, Busch Campus; Event Type: Initial Other Event | Semester: Spring 2026

Apr 21 2026

HIVE MIND

Information: Tuesday, April 21, 2026; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; Room A139, Psych Annex Bldg., Frelinghuysen Rd, Busch Campus; Event Type: Hive Mind Series | Semester: Fall 2026; Event Short Description
.

Apr 14 2026

Cognitive Science UG Senior Honors Thesis Celebration

Information: Tuesday, April 14, 2026; 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Student Events; Event Short Description
Psych 105 Showcasing the CogSci Honors Students Presentations
Event Website

Apr 13 2026

CogSci Career Conversation (What Works and What Doesn’t: Things to Know to Land an Internship)

Information: Monday, April 13, 2026; Voorhees Hall, Room 104, College Ave Campus; Event Type: Student Events; Event Short Description
What Works and What Doesn’t: Things to Know to Land an Internship

Speaker: Elizabeth Langemak, Associate Director of Campus Programs, Verizon

Apr 10 2026

RuCCS Undergraduate Research Symposium

Information: Friday, April 10, 2026; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room A139; Event Type: Student Events; Event Short Description
Agenda TBD
Event Website

Apr 07 2026

Using Theory-based Computational Approaches to Understand Psychosis Pathophysiology - Dr. Albert Powers, Yale University

Information: Tuesday, April 7, 2026; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2026; Event Short Description
In this talk, we will discuss how insights into the computational underpinnings of psychotic symptoms can serve as a bridge across levels of description and across time as psychosis develops.

Mar 31 2026

Species Recognition in Brood Parasitic Birds and their Hosts - Dr. Mark E. Hauber, CUNY

Information: Tuesday, March 31, 2026; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2026; Event Short Description
Abstrac t : Brood parasitic birds represent several evolutionary and ontogenetic dilemmas for researchers: how do parasites recognize their own species when raised by a different one and why do
Event Website

Mar 24 2026

The Opposite of An Experiment in Developmental Science - Casey Lew-Williams, Princeton University

Information: Tuesday, March 24, 2026; 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2026; Event Short Description
Abstract: The best future for science on childrens learning will be one that embraces both descriptive research and great experiments. We can all look forward to the new hypotheses that

Mar 10 2026

POSTPONED -Executive Council Meeting, RuCCS

Information: Tuesday, March 10, 2026; 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM; Room A139, Psych Annex Bldg., Frelinghuysen Rd, Busch Campus; Event Type: Meetings | Semester: Fall 2026

Mar 10 2026

HIVE MIND

Information: Tuesday, March 10, 2026; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; Room A139, Psych Annex Bldg., Frelinghuysen Rd, Busch Campus; Event Type: Hive Mind Series; Event Short Description
.
Event Website

Mar 03 2026

The Mind Delusion: Why It Arises and How It Shapes the Conscious Self, Dr. Iris Berent, Northeastern University

Information: Tuesday, March 3, 2026; 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2026; Event Website

Mar 03 2026

How Children Learn - Dr. Elizabeth Spelke, Harvard University

Information: Tuesday, March 3, 2026; 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2026; Event Short Description
Abstract: Children are likely the most prodigious learners on earth: With little to no instruction, they master the commonsense concepts and skills that their culture requires, and then they go
Event Website

Feb 17 2026

Executive Council Meeting, RuCCS

Information: Tuesday, February 17, 2026; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Meetings | Semester: Fall 2026

Feb 10 2026

Sensitivity to False Beliefs in Language Models and Humans: What can (and can't) We Learn from the Comparison? - Dr. Sean Trott, Rutgers-Newark

Information: Tuesday, February 10, 2026; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2026; Event Short Description
Abstract: Humans regularly reason about the belief states of others. Where does this capacity originate? Competing hypotheses include biologically evolved endowments, social interaction, and exposure to language. Recent

Feb 03 2026

The Mind Delusion: Why It Arises and How It Shapes the Conscious Self, Dr. Iris Berent, Northeastern University

Information: Tuesday, February 3, 2026; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2026; Event Short Description
Abstrac t : Dualism has a terrible reputation in cognitive science, and for good reason: the tacit belief that the mind is distinct from the body wreaks havoc on reasoning
Event Website

Jan 27 2026

HIVE MIND

Information: Tuesday, January 27, 2026; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; Room A139, Psych Annex Bldg., Frelinghuysen Rd, Busch Campus; Event Type: Hive Mind Series; Event Short Description
.
Event Website

Dec 10 2025

Cognitive Science UG Student Showcase

Information: Wednesday, December 10, 2025; 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Student Events; Event Short Description
Electric Dreams: A Cog Sci Arts and Science Showcase. Mimi is holding a session for students to share research and experiences. May start later, at 6. Mimi will decide when
Event Website

Dec 09 2025

Focusing Attention on Sensory x Memory Contents to Guide Behavior - Dr. Kia Nobre, Yale University

Information: Tuesday, December 9, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract : The ability to anticipate, select, prioritize, and prepare the relevant contents is fundamental to flexible, proactive, and adaptive cognition. Traditionally, these attention functions have been investigated in relation
Event Website

Dec 02 2025

Consciousness Doesn't Do That - Dr. Matthias Michel, MIT

Information: Tuesday, December 2, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract: The question of which mental functions require consciousness has recently come to the forefront because of its relevance for investigating animal consciousness. Finding out that an animal can perform
Event Website

Nov 18 2025

Word-learning Challenges and Childrens Non-Adult Behaviours with Modal Force - Dr. Ailis Cournane, NYU

Information: Tuesday, November 18, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract: Do preschool-aged children understand the force of modals like can and have to that can expresses possibility and have to expresses necessity? We argue that preschool-aged childrens non-adult behaviours
Event Website

Nov 09 2025

Rutgers Symposium on Learning IV

Information: Sunday, November 9, 2025; 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM; College Avenue ABE, Room 4225; Event Type: Other Events; Event Short Description
Join us for an excellent lineup of invited speakers across disciplines and a celebration of Dr. Alan Leslie's influential career! Symposium Itinerary
Event Website

Nov 04 2025

Algorithmic Geometry of Memory and Reasoning in Brains and AI - Dr. Ida Momennejad, Microsoft Research NYC

Information: Tuesday, November 4, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract : How do brains and AI turn what they know into multi-step reasoning, planning, and collective problem-solving? I will present a series of empirical and computational studies on how
Event Website

Oct 29 2025

SAS Major/Minor Fair

Information: Wednesday, October 29, 2025; 12:15 PM - 4:00 PM; 84 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Livingston Student Center, Livingston Campus, Livingston Hall; Event Type: Student Events; Event Short Description
Please arrive on time as parking is very limited and students arrive promptly at 1:00 PM.

Oct 21 2025

General-purpose Modal Representations - Dr. Jonathan Phillips, Dartmouth College

Information: Tuesday, October 21, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract: Much of high-level cognition relies on a capacity to represent the relevant possibilities in a given situation. To judge that someone is morally responsible for a given action requires
Event Website

Oct 14 2025

Learning Through the Eyes and Ears of a Child - Dr. Brenden Lake, Princeton University

Information: Tuesday, October 14, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract: Young children have sophisticated representations of their visual and linguistic environment. Where do these representations come from? How much knowledge arises through generic learning mechanisms applied to sensory data,
Event Website

Sep 30 2025

Sequences, Affordances, & the Evolution of Complexity - Dr. Dennis Waters, Rutgers University

Information: Tuesday, September 30, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg., Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract: Sequences shape the foundations of life, culture, and technology. DNA sequences guide biological processes, sequences of speech and writing structure human culture, and sequences of code govern our technological
Event Website

Apr 22 2025

Emotional Dynamics (With Grief as a Case Study) - Dr. Grace Helton, University of Rochester

Information: Tuesday, April 22, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract: Grief after bereavement is sometimes thought to be a life-altering experience, of the kind one never truly recovers from. But recent results suggest that people who are bereaved typically
Event Website

Apr 08 2025

Bridging Vision and Language: Shared Representational Format and Content - Dr. Alon Hafri, University of Delaware

Information: Tuesday, April 8, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract: Few domains are as central to cognitive science as language and visual perception. While they are typically studied independently, at some level, they must connect. How? In my talk,
Event Website

Mar 11 2025

Three formats for abstract concepts - Dr. Susan Carey, Professor (Emeritus), Harvard University, Dept of Psychology

Information: Tuesday, March 11, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract: Considering the past 40 years of research on the mental representations of animals and infants has led many to conclude that non-linguistic thought contains abstract concepts such as logical
Event Website

Feb 18 2025

Not-Your-Mother's-Connectionism: LLMs as Cognitive Models - Dr. Ellie Pavlick, Brown University

Information: Tuesday, February 18, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract: Recent advances in AI have led to large neural network models which exhibit human-like behavior across a range of language and reasoning tasks. This (re-)opens important theoretical questions about
Event Website

Feb 11 2025

Beyond Child-Directed Speech: Active Learning in Early Language Development. Dr. Ruthe Foushee, New School for Social Research

Information: Tuesday, February 11, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract: Arguably as a consequence of conducting research in primarily Western, child-centered settings, studies in language development have overwhelmingly focused on child-directed language in face-to-face, child-centered interactions as the primary
Event Website

Feb 04 2025

Learning and memory in human and artificial brains - Dr. Zoran Tiganj, Dept of Computer Science; Dept of Psychological and Brain Science - Indiana University Bloomington

Information: Tuesday, February 4, 2025; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2025; Event Short Description
Abstract: Converging evidence from cognitive science and neuroscience suggests that the brain encodes physical and abstract variablessuch as distance, time, and numerositywithin structured mental or cognitive maps. These maps are
Event Website

Dec 10 2024

Fairness and Randomness in Predictive Systems - Dr. Katie Creel, Northeastern University

Information: Tuesday, December 10, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2024; Event Website

Dec 03 2024

"What Shapes the Space of Possibilities that Children Consider?" - Dr. Caren Walker, University of California San Diego

Information: Tuesday, December 3, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2024; Event Website

Nov 12 2024

Computing the location(s) of sound(s) in the visual scene - Dr. Jennifer Groh, Duke University

Information: Tuesday, November 12, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2024; Event Short Description
Abstract: Sounds and visual stimuli are localized and represented differently by the brain. In this talk, Ill cover two topics: how eye movement signals are incorporated into auditory processing, and
Event Website

Oct 29 2024

Seeing Whats Not There - Jorge Morales, Northeastern University, Dept. of Psychology and Dept. of Philosophy (Assistant Professor and Director of the Subjectivity Lab)

Information: Tuesday, October 29, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, (Hybrid; Room 105)Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2024; Event Short Description
Abstract: This talk is not about ghosts or the occult. It is also not about hallucinations or illusions. Rather, I discuss a series of otherwise normal visual experiences that are,
Event Website

Oct 22 2024

Logicality and exhaustification: Towards an explanatory account of meaning-based distributional constraints - Dr. Guillermo Del Pinal, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Information: Tuesday, October 22, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2024; Event Short Description
Abstract: Various classes of functional terms---quantifiers, exceptives, comparatives, auxiliaries, attitude verbs, etc.---are subject to distributional constraints that don't seem amenable to syntactic or complexity based characterizations, yet can be systematically
Event Website

Sep 24 2024

Events in Language and Mind Dr. Anna Papafragou, Professor, University of Pennsylvania

Information: Tuesday, September 24, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Fall 2024; Event Short Description
Abstract: Humans are surprisingly adept at interpreting what is happening around them, even from a single glance. Beginning at infancy, we are able to recognize dynamic events, the roles that
Event Website

Apr 30 2024

"Human-AI Collaboration" - Dr. Mark Steyvers, Dept. of Cognitive Science, University of California, Irvine

Information: Tuesday, April 30, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2024; Event Short Description
Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning models are increasingly deployed in real-world applications. In many of these applications, there is strong motivation to develop hybrid systems in which humans
Event Website

Apr 30 2024

"Human-AI Collaboration" - Dr. Mark Steyvers, Dept. of Cognitive Science, University of California, Irvine

Information: Tuesday, April 30, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2024; Event Short Description
Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning models are increasingly deployed in real-world applications. In many of these applications, there is strong motivation to develop hybrid systems in which humans
Event Website

Apr 23 2024

"The Development of Negation in Language and Thought" - Dr. Roman Feiman, Asst. Professor, Brown University

Information: Tuesday, April 23, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2024; Event Short Description
Abstract: You may have never heard the sentence, There are no pineapples on the moon, but you have no trouble understanding what it means, judging that its probably true, and
Event Website

Apr 16 2024

Notion of Representational Format - Dr. Jake Quilty-Dunn, Dept. of Philosophy, Center For Cognitive Science, Rutgers University

Information: Tuesday, April 16, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg. Busch Campus,Room A139; Event Type: Marquee Course Series; Event Short Description
RuCCS Marquee Course Series: Cognition in Sensory Cortex Abstract: Dr. Quilty-Dunn works primarily in philosophy of mind and cognitive science, but has broad research interests in the philosophy of language,
Event Website

Apr 11 2024

"Beliefs about belief" - Dr. Joseph Sommer, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate, Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science (RuCCS)

Information: Thursday, April 11, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg. Busch Campus, RuCCS, Room A139; Event Type: Hive Mind Series; Event Short Description
RuCCS HIVE MIND SERIES Abstract : In January, the World Economic Forum issued a report ranking misinformation and disinformation as the number 1 threat to democracy. The "post-truth" era of
Event Website

Apr 09 2024

"Auditory-motor integration" -- Dr. David Schneider, Center for Neural Science, New York University

Information: Tuesday, April 9, 2024; 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg. Busch Campus,Room A139; Event Type: Marquee Course Series; Event Short Description
RuCCS Marquee Course Series: Cognition in Sensory Cortex Abstract: Dr. Schneider studies the neurobiology of acoustic self-awareness defined as anticipating how our actions will influence ourselves, others, and the world
Event Website

Mar 21 2024

Understanding: What does it mean to understand? Do animals have understanding in the same sense as humans? What about LLMs? If not, what's missing?

Information: Thursday, March 21, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; RuCCS Playroom (PSY-A139); Event Type: Hive Mind Series; Event Short Description
RuCCS HIVE MIND SERIES Abstract: TBD Hive Mind is a new working group for the RuCCS community. The goal of the group is to offer a space for casual conversations
Event Website

Mar 19 2024

"Gustation" -- Dr. Paul Breslin, Dept of Nutritional Sciences, Rutgers University

Information: Tuesday, March 19, 2024; 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg. Busch Campus,RuCCS, Room A139; Event Type: Marquee Course Series; Event Short Description
RuCCS Marquee Course Series: Cognition in Sensory Cortex Flyer for Dr. Breslin Abstract: Dr. Breslin will discuss taste processing in the human and non-human animal brain. Topics under discussion might
Event Website

Mar 07 2024

"Attitudes Towards Consciousness in Cognitive Science" - James Preston Lennon, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate, Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science (RuCCS)

Information: Thursday, March 7, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg. Busch Campus, RuCCS, Room A139; Event Type: Hive Mind Series; Event Short Description
RuCCS HIVE MIND SERIES Abstract: Chomsky (1976): It may be expected that conscious beliefs will form a scattered and probably uninteresting subpart of the full cognitive structure. Sellars to Dennett
Event Website

Mar 05 2024

"Sensorimotor and multisensory integration" -- Dr Ella Striem-Amit, Dept of Neuroscience, Georgetown University

Information: Tuesday, March 5, 2024; 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg. Busch Campus,Room A139; Event Type: Marquee Course Series; Event Short Description
RuCCS Marquee Course Series: Cognition in Sensory Cortex Flyer for Dr. Striem-Amit Abstract: Dr Striem-Amit will discuss processes of functional recovery after sensory or motor deprivation in humans using techniques
Event Website

Feb 20 2024

"The Perception of Silence" - Chaz Firestone, Johns Hopkins University, Assistant Professor

Information: Tuesday, February 20, 2024; 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM; 152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg, Busch Campus, Room 105; Event Type: Talks: RuCCS Colloquia | Semester: Spring 2024; Event Short Description
Abstract: What do we hear? An intuitive and canonical answer is that we hear *sounds* a friends voice, a clap of thunder, a minor chord. But can we also
Event Website

Talks & Events

Past Events