Troland Research Award

Two Troland Research Awards of $75,000 are given annually to recognize unusual achievement by early-career researchers (preferably 45 years of age or younger) and to further empirical research within the broad spectrum of experimental psychology.

Christopher Harvey, Harvard Medical School, and Jennifer Trueblood, Indiana University Bloomington, each received a 2024 Troland Research Award.

Harvey’s cutting-edge work has redefined our understanding of how the brain gives rise to cognition, breaking conceptual and technical boundaries in neuroscience.

Harvey’s research examines the emergent properties of populations of neurons that enable mammals to perform the complex computations needed for decision-making, spatial reasoning, and short-term memory. He has developed new and powerful approaches to circuit manipulation, computational modeling, and behavioral analysis to make mechanistic discoveries that advance our understanding of how cognitive processes occur in various regions of the brain.

Watch Harvey’s acceptance speech.

Trueblood’s pioneering research developing mathematical models of cognitive processing has reshaped our fundamental understanding of how humans make real-world decisions with complex choices.

Trueblood’s work in cognitive and mathematical psychology investigates human judgment, decision making, and reasoning. Her research demonstrates how decisions are made when there are many choices with multiple differing properties, and differing risks and rewards. Her empirical research and modeling have allowed her to predict and understand how humans make difficult choices in the real world in domains such as medical image interpretation, consumer behavior, and legal decision-making.

Watch Trueblood’s acceptance speech.