Nancy Kanwisher at Kavli Carnegie Capitol Evening
Face Value: How the Brain Shapes Human Connection
The 90-minute discussion dives into Dr. Kanwisher’s research about the nature of the human mind. Using brain imaging to look for regions of the brain associated with aspects of the mind, she has identified cortical regions that are selectively engaged in the perception of faces, places, and bodies, and other regions specialized for uniquely human functions including music and language.
Moderated by Frank Sesno, Executive Director of the George Washington University Alliance for a Sustainable Future, the conversation also explores Dr. Kanwisher’s personal journey in science and her hopes for the future of research and the scientific enterprise.
Speaker Bio
Nancy Kanwisher is the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and a founding member of the McGovern Institute at MIT. She joined the MIT faculty in 1997, and prior to that, served on the faculty at UCLA and Harvard University. She is well-known for her role as a mentor to young neuroscientists, and cites her own mentor, MIT professor and cognitive psychologist Molly Potter, as the reason for her successful career in neuroscience. She hosts a website with short lectures for lay audiences about human cognitive neuroscience and her undergraduate course, “The Human Brain”, is freely available to the public through MIT OpenCourseWare.
To learn more about Nancy Kanwisher, read her biography here
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