Skip to content

2009 Distinguished Cognitive Scientist

2009 Distinguished Cognitive Scientist

UC Merced cognitive science faculty members recently honored Linda B. Smith with the spring 2009 Distinguished Cognitive Scientist Award. This award is made possible by a generous gift from theGlushko-Samuelson Foundation which also funds the Mind, Technology and Society series on the campus.

Dr. Linda B. Smith is a Distinguished Professor and Chancellor’s Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University. Her research is aimed at understanding processes in perceptual learning, word learning, and categorization. She is well known for pioneering work on dynamic systems and cognitive development.

Smith discussed the body’s strong role in cognitive development at UC Merced on April 21 during her MTS presentation. She is the author of numerous publications including books titled “A Dynamic Systems Approach to Development” and “A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action”, both of which have had substantial impact on cognitive science.

Dr. Smith’s April 21st talk, which builds the case for the body’s strong role in cognitive development by considering how babies learn about objects (and object names), is available on video. [Prof. Smith’s presentation video]