Academic profile
I am Professor of Cognitive Science in the Department of Psychology at the University of Huddersfield and lead the Cognition, Communication, and Behaviour research group. My academic background is in philosophy, artificial intelligence, psychology, and cognitive science. My research has principally concerned computational accounts of human cognition, particularly using cognitive architectures, together with applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning to health.
Current position and academic leadership
- 2020–present
- Professor of Cognitive Science, University of Huddersfield.
- Current
- Lead, Cognition, Communication, and Behaviour research group, University of Huddersfield.
- REF 2021
- Lead coordinator for Unit of Assessment 4 (Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience), University of Huddersfield.
Career
- 2012–2020
- Reader in Cognitive Science, University of Huddersfield.
- 2002–2012
- Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Psychology, University of Huddersfield.
- 1999–2002
- Postdoctoral Associate, ESRC Centre for Research in Development, Instruction and Training (CREDIT), School of Psychology, University of Nottingham.
- 1997–1999
- Postdoctoral Associate, Diagrammatic Reasoning and Knowledge Acquisition project, Artificial Intelligence Group, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham.
- 1996–1997
- School Instructor, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham.
Education
- 1993–1997
- PhD Cognitive Science, University of Birmingham. Thesis: The effect of stimulus frequency on classification accuracy and response time.
- 1992–1993
- MSc Cognitive Science, University of Birmingham. Thesis: Representing hierarchical information with self-organising maps for the modelling of schema acquisition.
- 1989–1992
- BA (Hons) Philosophy & Artificial Intelligence, Middlesex University. First Class.
Current research programmes
Computational modelling of memory
My current cognitive modelling research uses the ACT-R cognitive architecture to investigate working-memory prioritisation and maintenance, retrieval and reactivation, and the relationship between working-memory processing and subsequent long-term memory.
Dementia prediction and progression
I am a co-investigator on a Dubai Future Foundation research project investigating prodromal and preclinical markers for predicting diagnosis and progression in dementia. This extends a longer programme of collaborative work applying machine-learning methods to cognitive and functional measures used in dementia assessment.
Equity in mental health
I am part of the Centre for Equity in Mental Health, funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research Mental Health Research Group programme. My work is principally within Work Package 3: equitable big data, artificial intelligence and digital solutions for the future of mental health.
Selected previous funded research
Previous funded projects have included research for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory on cognitive modelling, human performance, learning and retention, autonomous systems, and trust in complex socio-technical systems; an Ordnance Survey project on map-based orientation; Higher Education Academy research on graph comprehension; and collaborative projects applying AI and immersive technologies in healthcare and other applied settings.
Professional roles and service
I am a founding member of the International Computational Cognitive Modeling Society and have served on its executive committee. I have also served on the steering committee of the International Conference on Cognitive Modeling and the programme committee of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society.
I co-chaired the 34th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society in Sapporo in 2013 and the 9th International Conference on Cognitive Modeling in Manchester in 2009. Editorial roles have included Associate Editor and Review Editor for the Cognitive Science section of Frontiers in Psychology, editorial board membership of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, and editorship of special issues of Topics in Cognitive Science and Cognitive Systems Research.
Teaching and postgraduate supervision
My teaching has covered cognitive psychology, cognitive science, judgement and decision making, research methods, and cognitive modelling. At the University of Nottingham I led the Programming for Cognitive Modelling module and introduced ACT-R as its principal cognitive architecture. At Huddersfield I have taught cognitive modelling and cognitive science at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and currently teach the Psychology of Judgement and Decision Making.
I have supervised and co-supervised doctoral and master's research in cognitive psychology, cognitive modelling, applied artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and related areas, and have examined postgraduate research degrees at Huddersfield and other UK universities.
Award
In 2004 I received the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society's Jerome H. Ely Human Factors Article Award for the outstanding article published in the 2003 volume of Human Factors, for work with Peter Cheng on modelling graph comprehension using ACT-R/PM and eye tracking.