Candidate for chair of the Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences, Susan Amato-Henderson, currently associate professor of psychology and graduate director, will present a synopsis of her research, teaching, and research accomplishments, lay out her vision for the Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences, and field questions from interested parties, from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, in the Meese Center 110.
From Tech Today.
Community Foundation looking for grant ideas
The Keweenaw Community Foundation is beginning its latest funding cycle for grants to help children in sixth through 12th grades. For this period, there is $13,170 available, with as much as $3,000 per applicant.
The KCF received a $500,000 endowment from the Kellogg Foundation in the mid-1990s specifically for youth needs, said Joan Chadde, co-coordinator of the KCF’s Youth Advisory Council. The interest on the endowment has been used for grants.
The KCF is always looking for more middle- and high-school students to join, Chadde said.
Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Garrett Neese.
Kelly Steelman (CLS) has published the following article: Great expectations: Top-down attention modulates the costs of clutter and eccentricity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied®, 19(4), 403-419 (2013).
From Tech Today.
On the 100th birthday of the crossword puzzle, NPR interviewed Assistant Professor Shane Mueller (CLS) about the skills required to be a puzzle master. Mueller also weighed in on the issue of whether doing crosswords staves off dementia. (Hint: Don’t neglect those holiday parties and long walks.)
From Tech Today.
Do Crossword Puzzles Really Stave Off Dementia?
COLE: And the winners were quietly invited to join Britain’s code-breaking department. The mental prowess of crossword solvers has also attracted the attention of scientists. A few years ago, cognitive psychologist Shane Mueller watched a movie about crossword puzzles.
SHANE MUELLER: And I thought: I could learn to play the crossword.
COLE: Mueller is a professor of psychology at Michigan Tech, so naturally, he approached his new hobby in a very scientific way.
Read more or listen to the story at NPR, by Adam Cole.
Associate Professor Christopher Plummer (VPA) has had two works accepted for publication. One of them is co-authored by Assistant Professor Myounghoon Jeon (CLS). Plummer’s book review of Phillip Giddings’ text titled “Audio Systems Design and Installation” will be published in the January issue of the journal Theatre Design & Technology. A collaborative paper with Jeon and Jason Sterkenburg titled “Auditory Emoticons: Iterative Design and Acoustic Characteristics of Emotional Auditory Icons and Earcons” has been accepted for presentation at HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) International 2014 and for publication in the conference proceedings.
From Tech Today.
Cognitive and Learning Science Seminar
Coordination and Control of Muscle Force
Xiaogang Hu
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
2:00 pm, Meese 110
Abstract: The interactions between the environment and our perception and action are dynamic. Thus, flexible coordination and control of our skeletal muscles are essential when we interact with our environments. In this talk, I will discuss the adaptability of muscle force coordination under the influence of task settings, uncertainty of visual information, and aging constraints. Based on the constraint-to-action framework, we have examined the force adaptability features using both experimental and modeling approaches. I will also share with you the innovative techniques that can provide valuable information regarding the neuromuscular mechanisms of muscle force control in healthy and pathological conditions. Taken together, these approaches allow us to investigate the behavioral and neuromechanical interactions between human and their environments.
Shane Mueller (CLS) has received $15,000 from Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers for a three-month long research project titled “Behavioral and Computational Metrics for Evaluating Visual Similarity and Confusability of Candidate International Domain Names (IDNs).”
From Tech Today.
Cognitive and Learning Science Seminar December 12, 2013
Ashley Bangert from the University of Texas-El Paso, will present “How Timing, Attention and Event Structure Impact Cognition and Action Across the Lifespan,” today at 2 p.m., in Meese 110.
From Tech Today.
Philosophical Psychology has published CLS Assistant Professor Adam Feltz’s paper “An error theory for compatibilist intuitions.” It argues that some people have notions of freedom and moral responsibility that are resilient to a number of powerful traditional threats like fate. For questions regarding the paper, contact Adam Feltz, adfeltz@mtu.edu or 7-1132.
From Tech Today.
C2E2 Endowed Equipment Awards Announced
Vice President for Research David Reed has announced the following Century II Campaign Endowed Equipment Fund (C2E2) awards at the recommendation of the C2E2 Committee.
In the Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences, Kelly Steelman was awarded $4,000 for Portable Eye Tracking System.
Read more at Tech Today.