Lab Members
Principal Investigator
Timothy Rickard, PhD
trickard@ucsd.eduPersonal Page
Faculty Page
My research interests include human learning and knowledge representation, memory retrieval processes, acquisition and transfer of skills, and mathematical cognition. This work emphasizes both theory development and potential application. Ongoing projects explore the role of sleep in learning and memory, optimization of children's learning in arithmetic and other domains, and the cognitive processes underlying recall from long-term memory.
Graduate Students
Alejandro Carranza
a3carranza@ucsd.eduPersonal Website
Alejandro is a fourth-year graduate student who is co-advised by Dr. Rickard and Dr. Geller. He received his B.A. in psychology from UCLA before beginning graduate school at UCSD. His current research investigates the theoretical convergence of cognitive load theory and the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CLT & CTML, respectivley). With a special interest in how each theory conceptualizes cogntitive load. His dissertation work focuses on how to measure cognitive load in multimedia materials using objective measures of load.
Siyuan Liu
sil242@ucsd.eduSiyuan is a cognitive psychology researcher interested in episodic memory, long-term memory, and the processes involved in learning. His current research examines how the semantic meaning of learning materials interacts with the effectiveness of retrieval practice(i.e the testing effect). He is also interested in mental health, well-being, self-care, and meditation. He plays the keyboard and hopes to become a drummer someday 🤘.
Inez Zung
izung@ucsd.eduInez is a sixth year graduate student in the Geller and Rickard Labs. She received her B.S. in cognitive science from UCLA where she studied applications of desirable difficulties and self-regulated learning under the Drs. Bjork. Inez is interested in mechanisms of effective metacognitive monitoring and control of learning for long-term retention and understanding. She is also interested in how digital tools can aid (or hinder) these processes.
Lab Alumni
Mohan W. Gupta, PhD
Personal Website
Mohan is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University in the Intelligent Performance and Adaptation Laboratory. He is supervised by Professors Jordan A. Taylor and Jonathan D. Cohen. Mohan received his PhD in 2024.
Steven Pan, PhD
scp@nus.edu.sgPersonal Website
Steven's research program focuses on evidence-based learning techniques. This work encompasses multiple strategies and subject domains, including: (1) retrieval practice; (2) interleaved practice; (3) spelling instruction with children and adults; and (4) sleep and procedural skills. Dr. Pan was a graduate student in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, where he completed his PhD in 2018. He is now an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Affiliated Researchers
Daniel Bajic, PhD
dbajic@ucsd.eduPersonal Website
Research interests: learning and memory, with a focus on skill acquisition and knowledge representations. Dr. Bajic was a graduate student in the Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, where he completed his PhD in 2009. He is now affiliated with the Rickard and Wixted Labs.
Tilo Strobach, PhD
tilo.strobach@medicalschool-hamburg.dePersonal Page
Dr. Strobach focuses his research on the analysis of cognitive plasticity as a result of training (for example: video-game, dual-task, working memory, and task switching training) and cognitive aging. Furthermore, he aims at specifying the cognitive processing architecture in situations that demand executive functions as well as the perception of complex objects.
Franziska Orscheschek, MSc
franziska.orscheschek@medicalschool-hamburg.dePersonal Page
Franziska has conducted research on the cognitive factors that are relevant to treatment success in posttraumatic stress disorder, forensic psychology, and treatment of adolescent offenders. She is also investigating the processing architecture of dual memory recall after exercise.
Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Fall 2023
From left to right: Alejandro Carranza, Mohan Gupta, Jarrett Lovelett, Timothy Rickard, Siyuan Liu, Yasmeen Asad, James Ashby, and Inez Zung.
Current Honors Students and Undergraduate Researchers
| Name | Position | Links / Department Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Alicia Assang | Research Assistant | Psychology |
| Chao-Jung (Shalom) Chen | Research Assistant | Psychology |
| Therese Casem | Research Assistant | Psychology |
| Jonathan Thio | Research Assistant | Psychology/Education Studies |
| Aditya Ashar | Research Assistant | Psychology/Cognitive Science |
Recent Undergraduate Alumni and Key Personnel
| Name | Position | Year/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Nguyen | Lab Coordinator | graduated in 2019 |
| Gayathri Sridhar | Assistant Lab Coordinator | graduated in 2019 |
| Charles Dupont | Sr. Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2019 |
| Max Bishop | Sr. Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2019 |
| Riley Greene | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2019 |
| Ryan Vandyke | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2019 |
| Hanning Li | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2019 |
| Yancheng "Sherry" Ma | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2019 |
| Jagruti Thankey | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2019 |
| Juan Diaz-Delgado | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2019 |
| Vivian Fitch | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2019 |
| Ben Zywicki | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2019 |
| John Barry | Lab Coordinator | graduated in 2015 / Cornell |
| Daanish Unwalla | Lab Coordinator | graduated in 2016 / now in medical school |
| Dominic D'Andrea | Lab Coordinator | graduated in 2017 / now at Sanford Consortium |
| Jessica Osuna | Assistant Lab Coordinator | graduated in 2016 / now at VA |
| Ikjot Thind | Assistant Lab Coordinator | graduated in 2017 |
| Sarah Hutter | Honors Student | graduated in 2016 / Princeton |
| Carol Wong | Honors Student | graduated in 2016 / GMU |
| Ben Rubin | Honors Student | graduated in 2013 / Teacher |
| Kaiqi Guo | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2018 |
| Arpita Gopal | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2015 / UCSF |
| Kellie King | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2018 / Senior Thesis |
| McLean Taggard | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2018 / Senior Thesis |
| Muzi Chen | Undergraduate Researcher | completed 199 in 2018 |
| Natalia Cameroni-Adams | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2018 |
| Jon Clausen | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2017 / Senior Thesis |
| Jahan Tajran | Undergraduate Researcher | graduated in 2017 / now in medical school |
For an extended list of lab alumni, please visit this page.