Psychologist Dean Keith Simonton would have studied chemistry if not for an introductory textbook that would define his 50-year career studying greatness. Simonton will receive the 2024 Ernest R. Hilgard Lifetime Achievement Award for his work.

Funded by a three-year $900,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Distinguished Professor George R. Mangun, director of the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain, is launching a project to better understand the cognitive mechanisms behind realistic voluntary attention, or attention directed by an individual’s free will. The project will be conducted in collaboration with engineering colleagues at the University of Florida.

Distinguished Professor R. David Britt and Distinguished Professor Emeritus Phillip R. Shaver are among UC Davis’ newest members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Professor of Psychology Charan Ranganath and his colleagues are uncovering the science behind memory to develop biomarkers that can identify individuals with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. The hope is that early detection will allow for successful intervention.