Michael Posner, 77, is the professor emeritus for psychology at the University of Oregon. He has done extensive research on cognitive science, mainly in the area of attention, and has received multiple honors as a result of his findings.
Last week, Posner was named a corresponding fellow by the British Academy. He sat down with The Emerald to discuss this honor and several past awards, as well as his use of technology in his professional and personal life.
Note: The following Q&A has been edited for accuracy and brevity.
You were named one of the 15 corresponding fellows from universities around the world by the British Academy. What does that entail for you?
“I’ll mainly be asked to write letters of evaluation for some of the British candidates who come up. I know a lot of people there. I probably won’t be doing much else. It’s mostly just an honor for people outside the country who have some relationship to British science.”
How honored are you to get this fellowship?
“I’m happy to get it. It was very nice. I know a lot of people in the organization from the UK who were in the psychology group. I’ve written for a lot of them over the years, so it was very nice that they also did this for me.”
You’ve received numerous other awards. What would you say is the best one you’ve received?
“No question that would be the National Medal of Science because I got it from President Obama, a man who I admire. That was great. That was nice to shake his hand.”
Describe that moment when you shook Obama’s hand.
“It was very exciting and he gave a very nice talk to us, in which he recognized working cognition and cognitive science as being important.”
You went to a conference in Vatican City, correct?
“I went twice, actually. Once was the 400th anniversary of what they called the Foundation of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. That was several years ago (in 2003). They had a symposium on brain and education and I gave a paper there. And then, about a year or two ago, they had another meeting on that topic and I also gave a paper there. The first time, we met Pope John Paul (II). The last time, it was Pope Benedict (XVI).”
What occurred at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences conference?
“There was this meeting on brain and education, to which I went, but I also went to a meeting on stem cell research. I stayed for that. I didn’t give a paper, of course, because I was an outsider. But it was very exciting to listen to the scientists attempt to make their case. The Vatican isn’t very excited about stem cell research. So, the scientists made their case, and there were objections, there was debate. It was interesting to see scientific effort there clashing a little bit with religion.”
You received the John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science in 2012. You said at the time that honor was “the first time that cognitive science has been explicitly recognized for inclusion in this award.” How meaningful was that award to you?
“I was very excited by it because it’s an award in all of science. They started off giving it to people who made the greatest contribution in all of science. That’s pretty hard to do and they’re probably going to give most of the awards to the physical sciences. In recent years, they’ve begun each year to pick a field so they can maybe broadly the award winners. Two years ago, it was cognitive science and I was excited they gave it there, and, of course, I was excited to be the winner, too. I don’t know how that happened (laughs).”
What key accomplishment(s) do you hope to make in future studies?
“Right now, the focus of my thinking is our finding that by mental training, undergraduates were able to show changes in white matter connections — that is, in the axons that connect different parts of the brain and mainly in the self-regulatory system. So, now I want to know how that occurs, and I’m hoping to do some animal work that might test models of exactly how that mental training changes white matter in the human brain. That’s my goal right now.”
You and I talked months ago about technology usage. Can you discuss how you use technology?
“I have used a lot of technology in the pursuit of my research. For example, brain imaging technology, which is complex. But in my personal life, I wouldn’t say I’ve been a big follower of technology. I don’t own a cell phone, but, of course, I do have a computer.”
Has there ever been a point where you seriously considered getting a cell phone?
“For emergencies it’s clearly a good idea, but I’ve never liked talking on the phone very much. I suppose it’s because you can’t see the reactions of people. Sometimes, you can get it from their voice, but often you don’t really know what the reaction is.”
Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415