Undergraduate Studies in Cognitive Science

Fall 2014

News

• We had 9 graduating cognitive science majors last spring:– 3 straight COGS– 1 COGS/CSCI dual– 4 COGS/GSAS duals– 1 COGS/PHIL dual

• We have 7 incoming COGS freshmen– Largest incoming cohort so far

Latest Numbers

• 46 COGS majors (27 male, 19 female)• By year:

– 16 seniors– 15 juniors– 8 sophomores– 7 freshmen

• By major:– COGS: 19– COGS/CSCI: 19– COGS/GSAS: 3– Other duals: 5 (PSYC,BMED,BIOL,ISCI)

Curriculum

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: Wayne Gray (grayw@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: Monday, 9/8)

Study Abroad

• RPI has a Study Abroad agreement with the University of Sussex, that has an excellent Cognitive Science Program

• Other students have gone to University of Groningen and University of Nijmegen, both in the Netherlands

• Study Abroad Informational Sessions:– Thursday, September 4 at 12:15 in the Union, room 3202– Wednesday, September 10 at 12:15 in the Union, room 3202– Thursday, September 11 at 8:00pm in the Union, room 3602– Wednesday, September 17 at 12:15 in the Union, room 3510

Advising

Advising

• There are several people that can help you:– Faculty Advisor/Mentor

• Helps with general direction of your studies– Keeps you on track; Suggests courses based on your interests

• Mandatory Student-Advisor Meeting (SAM)

– Staff Advisor: Betty Osganian, Sage 4301• Helps with ‘day-to-day’ issues

– Helps get you into courses; get forms signed; can tell you what courses you still need to graduate

– Undergraduate Program Director: Bram van Heuveln• All of the above

Talks

High Price: A Neuroscientist’s Perspective on Drugs and Society

• Dr. Carl Hart, Associate Professor of Clinical Neurobiology, Columbia University

• Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 4:00 - 6:00 PM

• EMPAC - Concert Hall • In the first HASS Inquiry Lecture of the

semester, Dr. Carl Hart will discuss his groundbreaking work that sheds new light on common ideas of race, poverty, addiction, and drugs.

EMPAC Talk

• Why Does Consciousness Dissolve in Chloroform? The Story of an Enduring Mystery

• Wednesday, November 5, 7pm• EMPAC Theater

Biophysicist Luca Turin investigates the difference between sleep and the use of anesthesia in our conscious perception of time.

EMPAC Event: Time Squared

EMPAC Concert HallFriday, August 29 7pm

Part of Ken Jacobs’ Nervous Magic Lantern series of performances, Time Squared uses projected light, the most basic ingredient of cinema, to create hallucinatory optical effects. Colored slides, a lens, and a spinning shutter are hand manipulated by the artist to animate the patterns reflected onto the screen, creating stereoscopic effects without celluloid or video.

Ask me forcomplimentarytickets!!

EMPAC Talk – The Spread Mind

• Dr. Riccardo Manzotti, PhD Robotics,

• Thursday, December 4, 7pm• EMPAC Theater• In this talk, Dr. Riccardo Manzotti,

a philosopher, psychologist, and artificial intelligence scholar, will make the case for the view that consciousness spreads beyond the brain, out into the world.

Minds and Machines Thursday Night Lectures

• All lectures 7-8:20pm in Sage 3303• Open to the Public! Full schedule of lectures• October 9: Animal Cognition

– Post-Doctoral Student Oliver Layton shows examples of animal cognition

• October 23: RPI Watson Research– Graduate student Simon Ellis will talk about Watson, RPI’s

involvement with Watson, and ‘Cognitive Computing’

• October 30: Moral Robots– Dr. Selmer Bringsjord will have a philosophical discussion on

how to ensure that robots behave morally

• November 6: Unintended Consequences– John Milanese tries to find ways to deal with unintended

consequences … before they happen.

Issues in Cognitive Science• September 3, Michael Lynch, Media and Communications, RPI

– Mockingbird: An Interactive Musical Agent• September 17, Sergei Nirenburg, Cognitive Science, RPI

– Intelligent Linguistic Agents• September 24, Edward Deci, Psychology, University of Rochester

– Effective Performance and Psychological Well-being• October 8, Edward Gibson, Cognitive Science, MIT

– Language as Rational Inference• October 15, Marjorie McShane, Cognitive Science, RPI

– Computational Cognitive Modeling of Reference Resolution • October 22, Walter Boot, Psychology, Florida State

– Video Games to Improve Perceptual and Cognitive Abilities• October 29, Jonas Braasch, Center for Cognition, Comm. & Culture, RPI• November 5, Jeff Huang, Computer Science, Brown University

– human-computer interaction and information retrieval• For a complete schedule of speakers go to Speaker Series off of Cognitive

Science department home page

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 COGS “Issues in Cognitive

Science” at 200 (for freshmen) or 400 level– Restricted to COGS majors or dual majors

with PHIL or PSYC

Research

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: 9/8)

– Also fill out an Independent Study/URP Registration form• for $ (deadline: 9/12)

• Research can be used for Senior Thesis

Overview Research Labs

• Wayne Gray + grad students, CogWorks Lab• Michael Lynch, PyClarion and Mockingbird• Dean McDaniel, Social Interaction (SI) Lab• Marjorie McShane and Sergei Nirenburg,

Computational Linguistics• John Licato,

Rensselaer Artificial Intelligence and Reasoning (RAIR) Lab

Paperwork• Declare or add Cognitive Science Major

– Fill out Change of Major form– Advisor: ???– Curriculum Coordinator: Betty Osganian (Sage 4301)

• 1 credit for lectures– Fill out Independent Study form

• 200/400 COGS “Issues in Cognitive Science”• 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, 9/8

– For $:• Find faculty member with $!• Deadline: Friday, 9/12