Our Mission

The Institute for Research in Cognitive Science at the University of Pennsylvania fosters the development of a science of the human mind through the interaction of investigators from the disciplines of Linguistics, Mathematical Logic, Philosophy, Computer Science, and Neuroscience. The Institute was founded in January 1990, strengthening a tradition of cross-disciplinary collaboration at Penn dating back to the early 1960s and building on a formal program in Cognitive Science initiated in 1978, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. In 1991, the National Science Foundation awarded a grant to the University of Pennsylvania under its Science and Technology Centers (STC) program to establish an NSF-STC Center for Research in Cognitive Science which was, until recently, sited at the Institute. The Institute continues to foster collaboration among the various departments and internationally through its colloquia series, workshops, and events.

Dr. John C. Trueswell, Director of IRCS