Paul Dassonville is an Associate Professor in Psychology and the Institute of Neuroscience. He received a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Texas A&M University, and a PhD in Neuroscience from UCLA. Paul’s research focuses on visual perception, in an attempt to understand the brain mechanisms that allow us to perceive the world around us, in order to reach out and grasp an object of interest, or form a conscious awareness of our surroundings. His studies often make use of visual illusions, as a way of understanding the assumptions that the brain makes about the world, and how those assumptions can sometimes break down. Teaching introductory psychology and neuroscience courses (Mind and Brain, Biopsychology) allows Paul to share his fascination of the brain and perception with students, and he enjoys leading the Speak Your Mind FIG as a way to introduce new students to the University of Oregon. 

Email: prd@uoregon.edu

Eric Pederson welcomes you to the "Speak Your Mind" FIG! He received his PhD from the Linguistics Department at UC Berkeley in 1991 and then worked for six years at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands before joining the University of Oregon. Throughout his career, he has focussed on the relationship between the languages we speak (or sign) and the ways we categorize the world. How, for example, do we learn what a "weed" is and what does calling something a weed imply? In these times of changing language use, it is critical to evaluate how we use language and what that use of language might reveal about our underlying thought processes. 

Email: epederso@uoregon.edu

Hi everyone! My name is Emily, and I am the FIG assistant for Speak Your Mind. I am from Salem, Oregon, and this is my third year as an FA.

This is my fourth year here at the University of Oregon, and I am majoring in Psychology and minoring in Anthropology. I absolutely love psychology, as I am a research assistant in the Cognitive Dynamics lab as well as the Perception and Action lab here on campus. I am also the co-president of a campus organization called Synapse, a group whose goal is to create a supportive environment in our community for individuals with brain injury.

A few years ago, I was actually a student in the Speak Your Mind FIG myself. I absolutely loved tying together Psychology and Linguistics to learn more about how much language affects you! I had so much fun in my FIG and enjoyed meeting people who had the same interests as me, they definitely became my close friends. I can’t wait for all of you to not only get to know your faculty and I, but each other as well as the city of Eugene.

I’m excited to meet you all in the fall! If you have any questions, feel free to email me – in fact, it’s encouraged. It would be nice to know you all a bit before you arrive, so we can get right into the fun stuff!

Email: estutz@uoregon.edu