Harrison Ritz

Department: Princeton Neuroscience Institute
Faculty Adviser: Jonathan Cohen & Nathaniel Daw
Year of Study:
Undergraduate School: Queen's University
Undergraduate Major: Psychology

Personal Bio

I did my BSc and MSc in Canada before coming to the US for my PhD (Brown) and postdoc. I really like Trenton tomato pie. website: harrisonritz.github.io

Fun Fact

I played in indie rock bands during high school and undergrad.

Research Pitch

Pursuing our everyday goals requires us to overcome a hundred little challenges, from ignoring a noisy neighbor during lunch to reinterpreting a friend’s offhand comment. Our ability to stay on track is called cognitive control, the neurocognitive mechanisms that enable goal pursuit by optimizing task processing (e.g., by adjusting attention or decision strategies).

I study cognitive control at three different levels. First, I run laboratory and online experiments studying the behavior of people switching their focus between different tasks (called 'task-switching'; eg between texting and driving). For example, last summer an intern studied what happens if we get distracted mid-switch. Second, I use neuroimaging (like EEG, MEG, or fMRI) to study the dynamics of how the brain switches between different tasks. Third, I develop computational models of how the brain switches between tasks, using an area of applied mathematics called 'optimal control theory'. In general, my research uses well-controlled experiments to understand task-switching.

I have several project ideas in this area, or interested if students have related ideas!