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Recently, Cognitive Neuroscience PhD candidate, Brady Roberts, aimed to investigate how well symbols are remembered compared to words with the same meaning. “Symbols might be more easily remembered because they give concrete visuals to abstract ideas,” said Roberts, "When we think about abstract concepts, like love, it can be difficult to visualize clearly. But with symbols, we can use a sort of image that represents the concept – like a heart for love – which makes the abstract idea more concrete and therefore easier to remember."

UWaterloo Cognitive Neuroscience Prof. Dr. James Danckert, recently delivered a fascinating TEDx Talk on his groundbreaking research into adaptive approaches to boredom, and how his research can help us avoid boredoms troubling effects.

Check it out here: 

Congratulations goes out to Jessica Trickey, who was awarded the 2023 Mark Zanna Graduate Scholarship! This Scholarship is awarded to graduate students registered full-time in the Social Area who exhibit academic excellence and a demonstrated interest in conducting basic research relevant to pressing social issues. This fund is made possible by many generous donations from Mark’s family, friends, and colleagues in honour of Mark’s memory and to continue to foster the type of basic research with real-world implications and impact that animated his extraordinary career. 

Congratulations goes out to Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Dr. Colin MacLeod, who was named a recipient of the 2023 Clifford T. Morgan Distinguished Leadership Award from the Psychonomic Society. This award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of cognitive psychology and who have demonstrated sustained leadership and service to the discipline.

Colin- we, as a Department, are fortunate to have benefited from your insightful and forward-thinking approach to academic leadership over the years!

Congratulations goes out to grad student Amy Barron from the I/O area, who won 1^st prize for the best poster in the I-O section at the CPA meeting this past weekend! The poster citation is:

Please join us in congratulating Evan Risko, who has been named the recipient of the Women in Cognitive Science – Canada 2023 Mentorship Award.

Congratulations to Prof. Ori Friedman, who has been named a recipient of the 2023 Arts Award for Excellence in Research. This award recognizes the quantity, quality, and impact of faculty members’ research programs as well as their leadership in the field. As noted in his nomination letter, Ori’s interdisciplinary perspective enriches his students’ training and fosters a culture of cross-area collaboration in the Department and cross-department collaboration in Faculty.   

Congratulations, Ori, on a very well-deserved recognition!

Congratulations to Michelle Korlacka, Amie Durston, and Sarah Towers who are the recipients of the 2022-2023 TA Award from the Council of Canadian Departments of Psychology! This award recognizes their dedication to providing exceptional learning experiences for undergraduate students through their TA’ships this past year.

On behalf of all the faculty and staff in the Department, thank you and congratulations to Michelle, Amie, and Sarah!

Congratulations, Dr. Hilary Bergsieker on being named the recipient of the 2023 Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW) Equity and Inclusivity Award. This award was inaugurated in 2012 and is meant to “support individuals or groups who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to improving equity, inclusivity, and/or diversity at the University of Waterloo.”

Thank you, Hilary, for all of your efforts to foster equity and inclusivity within the Department, the Faculty, and the broader UW community.

"There's been increasing awareness of the fact that greenspaces are not just for esthetic purposes — that they're fundamentally important to human health." Prof. Colin Ellard, tells CBC KW's The Morning Edition why so many of us are 'blooming-obsessed'.

For the full article, along with a link to the interview, please click here