PU to develop cognitive science lab

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 15

Panjab University is planning to set up a cognitive science lab on its campus.

“The ambitious project of the university Vice Chancellor, Prof Raj Kumar, will focus on interdisciplinary research involving physics, philosophy, psychology, communication studies, neuroscience, linguistics, anthropology, mathematics and artificial intelligence,” PU spokesperson said.

“The state-of-the-art lab will act as a catalyst to ensure intellectual cohesion and cooperation across disciplines that have traditionally been researched independently,” the spokesperson said.

Prof Raj Kumar shared his vision about the lab while releasing the 2018 volume of the Indian Journal of Psychology, one of the oldest and most reputed journals in India, published since 1926.

Earlier, Prof Rajat Sandhir, Associate Director, Research Promotion Cell, had prepared a course for MS-PhD programme in cognitive science as part of Institution of Eminence proposal. But PU did not get the funding.

Prof Jitendra Mohan exhorted faculty to assume leadership mantle in delivering solutions to the corporate and the governmental sector in the domains of human relations and developing intellectual capital.

Registrar Prof Karamjeet Singh, Controller of Examinations Prof Parvinder Singh and chairperson of School of Communication Studies Prof Archana R Singh were also present on the occasion.

Prof Shankarji Jha, Dean of University Instruction, highlighted the role and relevance of ancient wisdom in the present times and need for integrating value systems with industrialisation.

Prof Jitendra Mohan expressed gratitude to the Vice Chancellor for providing visionary leadership and motivating faculty towards excellence. He said the next issue of the journal would be devoted exclusively towards disseminating knowledge on excellence, in its multivaried forms.

Study of human mind, brain

Cognitive science is the study of human mind and brain, focusing on how mind represents and manipulates knowledge and how mental representations and processes are realised in the brain. The field is interdisciplinary in nature, combining ideas, principles and methods of psychology, computer science, linguistics, philosophy, computer science and neuroscience.

Equipment needed

Remote eye-tracking system, electroencephalogram (EEG) with 128 electrodes, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) system with localizer, high-end workstations for psychophysics experiment and data analysis.