Four APS Fellows Elected to NAS

Five psychological scientists, including four APS Fellows, are among the 84 new members and 21 foreign associates elected to the National Academy of Sciences, in recognition of their contributions and achievements in original research.

Among the newly elected members, announced April 30, are Richard Aslin, professor of brain and cognitive sciences , University of Rochester; Susan Fiske, professor of psychology at Princeton University; Joseph LeDoux, professor of neuroscience and psychology, New York University (NYU); and Daniel Schacter, professor of psychology at Harvard University. All are APS Fellows.

Also among the new NAS members is David Heeger, professor of psychology and neural science at the Center for Neural Science, NYU.

Aslin’s research focuses on statistical learning, visual perception, speech perception, and language development. Much of his work focuses on understanding how higher-level cognitive representations and structures are constructed from lower-level sensory input statistics, including how acoustic variation in speech to infants yields phonologically distinct speech sound categories in adults.

Fiske is widely known for her work on the interplay between social cognition, stereotypes, and prejudice. Her lab has also used social neuroscience to search for neural signatures of particular prejudices and to examine power relations. Fiske is a Past President of APS.

LeDoux’s research interests are mainly focused on the biological underpinnings of memory and emotion, especially fear mechanisms. He also serves as director of the Center for the Neuroscience of Fear and Anxiety, a multi-university center in New York City devoted to using animal research to understand pathological fear and anxiety in humans.

Schacter’s research has focused on psychological and biological aspects of human memory and amnesia, as well as brain mechanisms of memory distortion. He has investigated Alzheimer’s Disease, age-related memory effects, and aspects of false memory.

Heeger is a neuroscientist who researches biological and artificial vision. He has been at the forefront of the fields of functional magnetic resonance imaging and computational neuroscience. He has also contributed to research on autism.

NAS members serve as advisers to the nation on science, engineering and medicine, and elect new members on an annual basis.

Aslin, R.N. (2012). Questioning the questions that have been asked about the infant brain using near-infrared spectroscopy. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 29 (1-2), 7-33 PMID: 22329690