Speaker Series | Workshops | Events
Stay connected with the Cognitive Science Program through our events, including colloquia featuring leading researchers, workshops, tutorials, and special events. These gatherings foster interdisciplinary exchange, showcase emerging research, and provide opportunities for learning, collaboration, and community engagement.
Summer 2026
NNCI Summer Speaker Series, Co-Sponsored by Cognitive Science Program and Department of Linguistics
Join us for an in-person Summer Speaker Series event featuring Joseph "Yossi" Keshet, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Technion.
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 | 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM CT
Chambers Hall, Ruan Conference Room, 600 Foster St, Evanston, IL 60208 map it
Webcast Link (Hybrid)
A light lunch will be provided at the talk. Registration is REQUIRED.
Title: Key Advances in Speech Technology in the Last Five Years
Abstract:
This talk will provide an overview of the major advances in speech technology over the past five years, focusing on three main areas. First, I will discuss automatic speech recognition (ASR), describing the architectures underlying modern systems, their current performance, and the key challenges that remain. Second, I will cover recent developments in speech synthesis, introducing diffusion-based generative models for text-to-speech synthesis, explaining their underlying principles, and discussing their capabilities, limitations, and open research questions. Finally, I will explore the interplay between speech AI and speech science, examining how modern AI models can contribute to our understanding of speech production and perception, and how insights from speech science can, in turn, improve the interpretability and development of these models.
The presentation is intended to be accessible and interactive rather than highly technical. Questions and discussion are encouraged throughout the talk.
Required registration, click here.
fall 2026
COGSCI KICK OFF
Date : TBD
Cognitive Science Speaker Series
Anna Papafragou, Professor of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania
Date : October 13, 2026
Time : 4:00pm - 5:00pm (light reception to follow)
Location : Jacobs 1205
Cognitive Science Speaker Series
Karen Emmorey,
Date : November 10, 2026
Time : 4:00pm - 5:00pm (light reception to follow)
Location : Jacobs 1205
Winter 2027
COGSCI SOCIAL
Date : TBD
ERP BOOTCAMP
Date : March 9-10
Spring 2027
Cognitive Science Speaker Series
Judith Fan,
Date : April 13, 2027
Time : 4:00pm - 5:00pm (light reception to follow)
Location : TBA
COGSCI Fest
Date : TBD