Where is the Program located?
The Cognitive Science Program offices are at RCB 8115 and 8116, which are located in the Robert C. Brown building (formerly the Classroom Complex) just off the northwest corner of the AQ, at the entrance of RCB near the main entrance of the Images Theatre. You'll see our signs.
Where does cognitive science take place on campus?
Cognitive Science is taking place in a variety of Faculties and Departments at SFU and includes a wide range of research.
The iVizLab, directed by Steve DiPaola, is an interdisciplinary research lab that strives to make computational systems bend more to the human experience by incorporating biological, cognitive and behavioural knowledge models.
The Cognitive Science Lab at SFU specializes in the study of human attention, learning, and concept formation. It is equipped with a state-of-the-art eye tracker - a device that tracks eye movements - which Mark Blair uses to study the early flow of information from the attentional system to higher-order knowledge and psychological abilities.
The Neurophilosophy Research Group with Kathleen Akins attempts to understand how various traditional, long-standing problems about the nature of the mind and the world can be resolved by current findings within the neurosciences. Dr. Akins also heads the McDonnell Project in the Neurosciences, an unprecedented $1 million line of research into the nature of colour vision. She and a group of philosophers and scientists around the world started a research program in 1999 asking what it means to see the world 'in colour'.
The Phonology & Cognition Lab (fonokag) studies theoretical phonology and its intersections with theories of cognitive processes. fonokag is directed by John Alderete of SFU Linguistics and includes research associate Paul Tupper from Mathematics, and other academic instutitons including Douglas College, the University of Victoria, the Univeristy of Alberta, and the University of Toronto.
The Computational Logic Laboratory includes James P. Delgrande and Cognitive Science affiliate members David Mitchell, Oliver Schulte, and Eugenia Ternovska. This group of researchers are interested in the study of logics which are useful for expressing or solving computational problems, and the computational properties of those logics.
The Social Cognition and Interactive Expertise in Natural and Computational Environments (SCIENCE) Lab, directed by Brian Fisher, conducts field studies and laboratory experiments to understand how humans can use information and communication technologies to achieve cognitive goals: understanding and knowledge-building, collaboration and coordination of activities. Much of this work falls under the label of visual analytics: the science of analytical reasoning facilitated by interactive visual interfaces.
The Experimental Syntax (XSyn) Lab focuses on the study of natural language syntax and its interface to semantics, using data obtained through controlled experimentation from both adults and children, and statistical patterns found in naturally occurring corpora. Directed by Chung-hye Han, the lab also does research on computational applications of linguistic theories, using mathematically well-defined grammar formalisms such as Tree Adjoining Grammars.
The Human Motor Systems Laboratory investigates the planning and control of human movements, as well as motor learning and skilled human performance. Here, co-director Christine MacKenzie examines goal-directed human behaviour in natural, and computer-augmented environments.
The Natural Language Laboratory brings together students and professors in computing science and linguistics under the direction of Anoop Sarkar and past Director of Cognitive Science Fred Popowich. The lab conducts research in both the theory and applications of natural language processing, including information extraction, machine translation, semi-supervised learning of language and language processing tasks, and statistical syntactic and semantic parsing.
The Language and Brain Lab focuses on the study of language and speech, including its perception, production, and acquisition, as well as cognitive and neural processing. Yue Wang conducts behavioral and neuro-imaging research with both adults and children, across a variety of languages.