Minds & Machines Program and BS in Cognitive Science Director: Bram van Heuveln

Minds & Machines Program Objective The Minds & Machines program brings together students and faculty with interests in cognitive science and technology. Cognitive Science: The science of all aspects (reasoning, perception, decision- making, etc) of any mind (human, animal, machine) through philosophy, psychology, computer science, neuroscience, linguistics, and other disciplines.

Minds & Machines Program Dual Major M&M students are encouraged to have a dual major: –1 aimed at ‘Minds’ (e.g. PSYC or PHIL) –1 aimed at ‘Machines’ (e.g. CSCI, ECSE, ME, EE) –popular combinations are: Computer Science/Psychology Computer Science/Philosophy Engineering/Psychology Note: Dual major is appealing to employers

Minds & Machines Program Concentrations Cognitive Modeling Perception and Action Gaming (the Games And Simulation Program BS has a Cognitive Science Concentration) AI Robotics

Minds & Machines Program Laboratories CogWorks Lab Perception and Action (PandA) Lab Rensselaer Artificial Intelligence and Reasoning Laboratory (RAIR Lab) Human-Level Intelligence Lab

Minds & Machines Program Example Research: Puzzle Solving AI’s

Minds & Machines Program Example Research: Cognitive Robotics PERI passes one section of the WAIS-R IQ test!

Minds & Machines Program Example Research: Cogbot for UT

Minds & Machines Program What Do I Get Out of the Program? Discussion of ideas in cognitive science and technology with other students and faculty Biweekly luncheons (free lunch) during which faculty and students share latest research findings Get actively involved in any of our research labs Do science as well as engineering, investigate as well as design, think critically as well as creatively Be prepared for ‘cognitive revolution’ Develop professional connections to find internship and job opportunities (and letters of recommendation)

Minds & Machines Program How Do I Enroll? Contact the Director: –Bram van Heuveln Orientation meeting: –sept. 6 (next wed.), noon, Sage 4101

BS in Cognitive Science Coming Soon: A BS in Cognitive Science! We are planning to offer a BS in Cognitive Science If all goes right, this starts in the fall of 2008 If interested, you can transfer into this BS by that time.

BS in Cognitive Science Core Curriculum Minds & Machines Introduction to Cognitive Science Introduction to Logic Cognitive Psychology Behavioral Neuroscience Introduction to Artificial Intelligence Cognitive Modeling Sensation and Perception Experimental Methods and Statistics Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence Undergraduate Thesis

BS in Cognitive Science What Can I do With a Cognitive Science BS? Rich Skill Set: –Programming/Modeling –Empirical Data Collection and Evaluation –Complex Systems Analysis –Critical Thinking –Communication Careers (industry, academics) in Computer Science (AI, robotics), Psychology (HCI, Neuroscience), Philosophy, Decision Sciences, IT, Economics, Anthropology, Education, Law, etc.

BS in Cognitive Science If You Are Interested Contact the Director-Of-Undergraduate- Studies-In-Cognitive-Science-To-Be: –Bram van Heuveln