Media Advisory: CMU To Present Panel Discussion on Understanding Brain and Behavior

Leading Scientists To Highlight CMU's Excellence in Brain Research

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Jan 18, 2011, 11:00 ET

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Event: The enigmatic human brain, central to our development, health and lives, is becoming less of a mystery. World-renowned Carnegie Mellon University scientists are making important discoveries that will help researchers to decipher and improve learning, perception and thinking; deal with aging or injured brains; and treat and understand disorders such as autism, dyslexia and Alzheimer's. Carnegie Mellon scientists also are using this information to build computers that model the mind and that can think on their own. To highlight CMU's dedication to excellence in brain research, a field that spans across its campus and disciplines, the university is presenting a panel discussion featuring:

Justine Cassell, director of the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, School of Computer Science;
Marcel Just, D.O. Hebb Professor of Psychology and director of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging and the Scientific Imaging and Brain Research Center;
Michael J. Tarr, George A. and Helen Dunham Cowan Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and co-director of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition;
Nathan Urban, Dr. Frederick A. Schwertz Distinguished Professor of Life Sciences and head of the Department of Biological Sciences.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20020422/CMULOGO )

CMU Provost and Executive Vice President Mark S. Kamlet will moderate the discussion to reveal how bringing together neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, psychologists, computer scientists and learning researchers will shape the future of brain research and its applications.

When: 5 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 20

Where: Rashid Auditorium, Room 4401, Hillman Center for Future-Generation Technologies, Carnegie Mellon University

Media: To attend this event, please contact Jocelyn Duffy at 412-268-9982 or [email protected] or Shilo Raube at 412-268-6094 or [email protected].

About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the fine arts. More than 11,000 students in the university's seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A global university, Carnegie Mellon's main campus in the United States is in Pittsburgh, Pa. It has campuses in California's Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia, Europe and Mexico. The university is in the midst of a $1 billion fundraising campaign, titled "Inspire Innovation: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University," which aims to build its endowment, support faculty, students and innovative research, and enhance the physical campus with equipment and facility improvements.