Timothy Verstynen 
Associate Professor | Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA, UNITED STATES
Biography
Timothy Verstynen's research focuses on how our brains allow us to explore our environments and learn from experience, with the goal of translating these findings from neuroscience to artificial intelligence. He is an expert in multiple neuroimaging methods, psychophysics, computational modeling, and experimental design. He has experience running startups (co-founder of NeuroScouting LLC), writing popular science books (Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep?), press appearances (featured in the Fastball documentary), as well as building and running neuroimaging centers (as co-director of the CMU-Pitt Brain Imaging Data Generation & Education (BRIDGE) Center).
Areas of Expertise (1)
Neuroscience
Education (2)
University of California at Berkeley: Ph.D., Cognition, Brain & Behavior
University of New Mexico: B.A., Psychology
Media Appearances (4)
The Real Face of Cancel Culture
Inside Higher Ed online
2022-03-10
Criticism is not canceling, and the victim narrative is particularly pernicious in light of attacks on academics and teachers at home and abroad, Timothy Verstynen writes.
Documentary Film Clip: 'Fastball'
The Wall Street Journal online
2016-03-24
Watch a clip from the documentary "Fastball," directed by Jonathan Hock and narrated by Kevin Costner.
Diagnosing a zombie: brain and behavior (Part two) - Tim Verstynen & Bradley Voytek
TED-Ed online
2012-10-24
How are different brain stimulations involved with human behaviors--and how can observing a zombie help us understand the brain? In the second part of the Diagnosing Zombies series, two scientists continue to ponder the erratic behaviors of a zombie to explore the relationship between the brain and behavior.
Diagnosing a zombie: Brain and body (Part one) - Tim Verstynen & Bradley Voytek
TED-Ed online
2012-10-22
Zombies eat brains. They are also, like all of us, driven by brain functions. What is happening in their brains to make them act as they do? In this intriguing dialogue, Tim Verstynen & Brad Voytek apply the various human medical possibilities that make zombies...zombies.
