News
Professor Yang Xu will serve as acting director of the Cognitive Science program for the 2026-27 year, while current director Professor Dirk Bernhardt-Walther will embark on a one-year research and study leave, effective July 1, 2026.
Psychologists at the University of Toronto, including UC Cognitive Science Program Director Dirk Bernhardt-Walther,
have discovered a link between our aesthetic preferences and the amount of energy used by our brains to process what we see.
“Usually, people think we like specific images because of their cultural meanings, or specific signals we receive from them,” says Yikai Tang, “in this research, we look at the more objective measure of energy consumption to really quantify the processing cost of what we see and find pleasurable.”
have discovered a link between our aesthetic preferences and the amount of energy used by our brains to process what we see.
“Usually, people think we like specific images because of their cultural meanings, or specific signals we receive from them,” says Yikai Tang, “in this research, we look at the more objective measure of energy consumption to really quantify the processing cost of what we see and find pleasurable.”
UC Cognitive Science program student Alice Ferguson-O'Brien and Temerty Medicine student Adham Elsherbini will begin fully funded graduate studies at the University of Oxford in 2026
Last week, the Cognitive Science Research Community (CoRC) held its first “speed dating” networking event open to the entire CoRC community, which includes undergraduate Cognitive Science students in addition to graduates, postdocs, and faculty members in related fields.
Nobel Prize-winner Geoffrey Hinton and fellow AI luminary Fei-Fei Li were among the speakers at a U of T event that explored how artificial intelligence is poised to change our lives
With a keynote by “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton, two-day conference bridges computer science, arts and the humanities.
For many students, an academic suspension can feel like the end of the road. But a new pilot program by University College and Victoria College at Victoria University in the University of Toronto is showing it can instead be a turning point.
The Skills Towards Academic Recovery (STAR) program launched in summer 2025 at University College and Victoria College designed specifically for suspended students.
Students, staff, faculty and family rejoiced at the annual UC Student Leadership Awards earlier this term. Friends and family of award recipients gathered at the college with their nominators to celebrate our community's young leaders over delicious food and beverages.
