Undergraduate Studies in Cognitive Science

Fall 2013

News

• We had the first full cohort of undergraduate COGS majors graduating this spring:– 5 straight COGS– 5 CSCI/COGS duals– 1 GSAS/COGS dual– 1 COGS/PSYC dual

Latest Numbers

• 47 COGS majors (30 male, 17 female)• By year:

– 18 seniors– 13 juniors– 11 sophomores– 5 freshmen

• By major:– COGS: 15– COGS/CSCI: 17– COGS/GSAS: 7– Other duals: 8 (MATH,PHIL,PSYC,BMED,BIOL,ISCI)

Two New Faculty

• Marjorie McShane– Computational Linguistics, Knowledge

Engineering– Teaches “Introduction to Linguistics” this

semester• Sergei Nirenburg

– Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Modeling, Natural Language Processing

– Teaches “Language Endowed Intelligent Agents” this semester

Curriculum

Curriculum for BS in Cognitive Science (< 2013)

• Basic Math /Science– Calc. I + II, Discrete Structures or Diff. Eq.– Comp Sci I, Data Structures, Intro to Algorithms– Intro to Biology

• 10 core courses:– Minds & Machines / Philosophy of Science– Introduction to Cognitive Science– Introduction to Logic– Experimental Methods and Statistics– Cognitive Psychology– Behavioral Neuroscience– Introduction to Artificial Intelligence– Cognitive Modeling / Programming for AI and Cog Sci– Sensation and Perception / Structure of Language– Phil of AI / Knowledge and Rationality / Metaphysics & Consciousness

• 2 Electives– Cog Sci related courses from PHIL, PSYC, CSCI, and a few others

• Undergraduate Thesis

Curriculum for BS in Cognitive Science (2013)

• Basic Math /Science– Calc. I + II– Comp Sci I, Data Structures, Foundations of CSCI, Intro to Algorithms– Intro to Biology

• 10 core courses:– Minds & Machines / Philosophy of Science– Introduction to Cognitive Science– Introduction to Logic– Experimental Methods and Statistics– Cognitive Psychology– Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience– Introduction to Artificial Intelligence– Cognitive Modeling / Programming for AI and Cog Sci– Sensation and Perception– Knowledge and Rationality / Metaphysics & Consciousness

• 2 Electives– Cog Sci related courses from PHIL, PSYC, CSCI, and a few others

• Undergraduate Thesis

Possible Dual Majors

• COGS / CSCI• COGS / MATH• COGS / GSAS• COGS / PSYC• COGS / PHIL• COGS / ITWS• COGS / BIOL• COGS / BMED• COGS / CSYS (very tight, but can be done!)• COGS / PHYS?• COGS / COMM?

Minors

• Cognitive Science minor:– Introduction to Cognitive Science– Plus 3 more courses (Minds and Machines counts)

• Possible future minors:– Cognitive Technology (AI, Cognitive Robotics)– Cognitive Engineering (Cognitive Modeling)

• Remember we do have Cog Sci related minors:– PSYC: minor in Cognition – PHIL: minor in Logic, Computation, and Mind (takes

only 1 extra course in addition to COGS courses!)

Other Concentrations and Programs

• GSAS has Cognitive Science concentration– Contact: Ralph Noble (nobler@rpi.edu)

• ITWS has Cognitive Science track (as well as Psychology track)– Contact: Bram van Heuveln (heuveb@rpi.edu)

• MGMT: 5 year Masters in Management in Technology Commercialization and Entrepreneurship program (Cognitive Science track)– Contact: Jeff Durgee (durgej@rpi.edu)

• COGS: 5 year Co-Terminal (M.S. and B.S.) and 7 year Co-Terminal (PhD and S.B) degree programs– Contact: Mike Kalsher (kalshm@rpi.edu)

Online Courses

• Udacity (~50 courses, mostly CSCI, self-paced)– Introduction to AI– Artificial Intelligence for Robotics

• Coursera (400+ courses; wide variety)– Artificial Intelligence, Neural Networks, Computational

Neuroscience, Natural Language Processing, etc.

• EdX (~70 courses, various fields)• I can give 1-2 credits Independent Study for

successful completion of these courses (Add Deadline: next Monday, 9/9)

Advising

Changes in Advising

• Bram used to have all ~50 COGS majors as advisees

• Now all COGS majors have been distributed among tenure and tenure-stream faculty in Cog Sci department

• Bram may stay on as Undergraduate Program Director (UPD) for COGS

• There is also a Curriculum Coordinator (CC): Betty Osganian, Sage 4303

• Who does what (Advisor vs UPD vs CC) is not yet clear

Talks

This Afternoon: The Mathematics of Social Networks• Math Colloquium, 2-3pm, Amos Eaton• Mason Porter, Lecturer, Oxford• Abstract: In this talk, I'll give an

introduction to …social networks.  I will show how we have used Facebook data to give insights into the social organization of universities, examine a model for how ideas spread on networks, and explain a novel way to measure political polarization.

Codebreaker:Movie and Discussion

• Monday, September 16, 4-6pm, EMPAC Theatre

• Showing of Codebreaker: a drama-documentary on Alan Turing’s life and work.

• Q&A with filmmaker afterwards

Deconstructing Perception

• Wednesday, September 25, 6pm, EMPAC Theatre

• Skidmore College professor of psychology and neuroscience Flip Phillips tackles a series of questions about the nature of human perception: are the senses related, and how do they interact? What sort of “information” do we need to perceive our world? Can that information be decomposed into simpler, atomic parts? Does it need to be in order to be understood?

Adaptive Neurotechnologies: Principles and Promise

• Monday, November 25, 4-6pm, EMPAC Theatre• In this lecture, Wadsworth Center neuroscientist

Jonathan R. Wolpaw will describe the surprising adaptive capabilities of the nervous system and explain how these capabilities enable the creation of neurotechnologies that can replace, restore, enhance, supplement, or improve brain function for people with disabilities, and perhaps for other people as well. He will also discuss several ethical and societal issues raised by these technologies. His presentation will be followed by a live demonstration of the Wadsworth brain-computer interface (BCI) home system, which can restore communication to people who are totally paralyzed.

Minds and Machines Thursday Night Lectures

• All lectures 7-8:20pm in Sage 3303• October 24: RPI Watson Research Group

– Graduate student Simon Ellis and his team of undergraduate researchers and programmers will demonstrate ‘mini-Watson’, discuss applications of Watson, and the notion of ‘Cognitive Computing’

• October 31: AI, Watson, and God– Dr. Selmer Bringsjord will have a philosophical

discussion on Watson, and what it all means for AI, human cognition, and … God!

Issues in Cognitive Science• September 11, David Yun Dai, SUNY Albany

– Educational Psychology• September 25, John Hale, Cornell

– Computational Linguistics• October 9, Laura Weed, St. Rose

– Philosophy of Mind• October 23, Dietrich Stout, Emory

– Cognitive Anthropology• November 6, Kurt VanLehn, Arizona State

– Intelligent Tutoring Systems• November 13, Anders Ericsson, Florida State

– Expertise• All other talks by COGS graduate students• For a complete schedule of speakers go to Speaker Series off of Cognitive

Science department home page• If you think of a potential speaker, let me know!

1 Credit for Issues in Cognitive Science

• It is possible for undergraduates to receive 1 credit through the Issues in Cognitive Science Lecture Series:– Write 1 page response paper about talk for 6

talks of your choice– Register for “Issues in Cognitive Science” at

400 level– Restricted to COGS majors or dual majors

with PHIL or PSYC

Undergraduate Research

• Cog Sci students are strongly encouraged to do hands-on research

• Undergraduate Research Program (URP)– http://www.rpi.edu/dept/urp– Fill out URP form:

• You have to write a 500 word proposal!• for course credit (deadline: 9/9)

– Also fill out an Independent Study/URP Registration form• for $ (deadline: 9/13)

• Research can be used for Senior Thesis

Overview Research Labs

• RAIR Lab• PandA Lab• Web Science Lab• Si Lab• CogWorks Lab

Paperwork• Declare or add Cognitive Science Major

– Fill out Change of Major form– Advisor: ???– Curriculum Coordinator: Betty Osganian (Sage 4303)

• 1 credit for lectures– Fill out Independent Study form

• 200/400 PHIL/PSYC “Issues in Cognitive Science”• Senior Thesis/Capstone Project

– Find thesis advisor– Fill out Thesis Registration form

• URP– Fill out URP form– For credit:

• Fill out Independent Study form as well• Credits to be determined by project advisor• Deadline: course add deadline: Monday, 9/9

– For $:• Find faculty member with $!• Deadline: 9/13