Faculty
Nora S. Newcombe
318 Weiss Hall
Telephone: 215-204-6944
newcombe@temple.edu
Nora S. Newcombe, Ph.D, is a Professor of Psychology at Temple University. Her research centers on cognition, development, spatial thinking, memory, and STEM education. Honors include the William James Fellow Award from APS and the George Miller Award and the G. Stanley Hall Awards from APA, the Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science, also from APA, and the Women in Cognitive Science Mentor Award. She is a fellow of four divisions of the American Psychological Association (General, Experimental, Developmental, and Psychology of Women), of the American Psychological Society, of the Cognitive Science Society, and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin.
Website: https://sites.temple.edu/newcombe/
Thomas F. Shipley
317 Weiss Hall
Telephone: 215-204-7890
tshipley@temple.edu
Thomas F. Shipley’s research focuses on spatial cognition and learning. He applies formal methods from previous research to understand the perceptual and cognitive processes subserving navigation and visualization. His recent work aims to support undergraduate geology education with a longer term goal of understanding the cognitive processes that are critical for spatial reasoning and thus support STEM education in general for both K-12 and undergraduate students.
Website: https://liberalarts.temple.edu/academics/faculty/shipleythomas
Ingrid Olson
337 Weiss Hall
Telephone: 215-204-1708
ingrid.olson@temple.edu
Ingrid Olson’s cognitive neuroscience laboratory studies memory, decision-making, social cognition, and the intersection of these processes. She is currently collaborating with Dr. Newcombe on several projects related to Memory Development, including the Temple Tour and Marvelous Moments studies.
Website: https://sites.temple.edu/cnltu/
Graduate Students
Kim Nguyen
kimvnguyen@temple.edu
Kim is a graduate student in the Cognition and Neuroscience department and is mentored by Dr. Nora Newcombe and Dr. Ingrid Olson. She received her B.S. in Neurobiology at the University of Texas at Austin in 2018. She is interested in the development and decline of episodic and spatial memory and using fMRI methods to link function with behavior.
Naoya Tani
naoya.tani@temple.edu
Naoya is a graduate student in the Developmental Psychology area and is mentored by Drs. Nora Newcombe and Ingrid Olson. He received his B.S. in Human Development and B.A. in Psychology, with a minor in Education, from University of California, Davis, in 2017. He is interested in episodic memory development with using both the behavioral and neuroimaging approach, such as fMRI.
Stephanie is a Cognition and Neuroscience graduate student mentored by Dr. Nora Newcombe and Dr. Ingrid Olson. She received her B.S. in Psychological Science from the University of Arizona in 2020. She is interested in investigating spatial navigation, cognition, episodic memory across development. She is interested in doing this by observing behavior in virtual environments, and linking this with cognition and memory by using fMRI techniques.
Post-Docs
Samantha Cohen
samantha.cohen0008@temple.edu
Website
Samantha S. Cohen, PhD, is a postdoctoral scholar working with Dr. Nora Newcombe and Dr. Ingrid Olson. She completed her PhD. in psychology at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York with Dr. Lucas Parra. During her PhD, she examined how engagement with videos is tied to memory, attention, and educational outcomes. Following her PhD, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University under the mentorship of Dr. Christopher Baldassano. During this postdoc she studied how brain responses to movies change during child development. At Temple, she is focusing on the development of episodic memory in early childhood.
Merve is a postdoctoral scholar working with Dr. Nora Newcombe. She received her B.A. in Psychology and Business from Koç University, Istanbul in 2018. As an undergraduate, she studied the relationship among individuals’ spatial language, gesture production, and cognitive abilities across various spatial tasks. She completed her PhD in Temple University’s Cognition and Neuroscience Department. Her current research interests include spatial thinking and the role of spatial thinking in STEM fields.
Visiting Scholars
There are no current visiting scholars.
Staff
Olivia Biggs
Research Assistant
Olivia graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and minors in Neuroscience and Business from Gettysburg College in 2024. Her undergraduate research included working under Dr. Kevin Wilson in the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, focusing on how tDCS stimulation affects behavioral and emotional responses. She is interested in how neurodegenerative diseases modulate behavior and memory consolidation.
Lily Steele
Research Assistant
Lily graduated with a B.A. in Applied Psychology and Human Development and a minor in Management for Social Impact from Boston College’s Lynch School of Education. Her undergrad research included working under Drs. Marina Vasilyeva and Elida Laski in the Math Learning Lab, as well as other work in STEM learning and predictors of achievement. She is interested in studying knowledge acquisition and factors that influence educational outcomes.
Courtney Sheckler
Research Assistant
Courtney graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Muhlenberg College in 2024. Her undergraduate research consisted of working with Dr. Kenneth Michniewicz to study social perceptions of underdog musicians as well as an honors senior thesis with Dr. Alexandra Frazer focusing on memory reconsolidation’s effect on eyewitness identifications in lineups. She is interested in memory as it connects to other aspects of cognition.
Jordan Denaver
Research Assistant
Jordan graduated with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience from Haverford College. Her undergraduate research included working under Dr. Ryan Lei in the Intersectionality of the Social Mind Lab, focusing on how children think and learn about the social world. She is interested in studying developmental disorders and adjustment outcomes.
Undergraduate Interns
Fall 2024
Eliana Kimmelmann
Sarah Depasquale
Harry Green
Sofia Offutt
Lucin Milestone
Leah Harvey
Cordelia Talbot
Samrin Akther
Anna Kilmar
Victoria Scott
Zoë Skibicki
Johanna Sabio
Diversity Statement:
The Research in Spatial Cognition lab is dedicated to creating a lab culture and research operations that welcome and celebrate diversity of all kinds. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and integrated environment for all students and participants, aiming to support those from marginalized and underrepresented backgrounds and identities, including race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identification, ability, socioeconomic status, immigration status, and more. We encourage applicants of all identities to apply for volunteer and graduate student positions, as we strive to uphold a welcoming and supportive community for all students.
To learn more about diversity at Temple, visit our institutional diversity website: https://diversity.temple.edu/
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