Nancy Nersessian

Dr. Nancy Nersessian is Professor of Cognitive Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is appointed jointly in the School of Public Policy and the College of Computing, and holds an adjunct appointment in the School of Architecture.

Dr. Nersessian has an A.B. in Physics and Philosophy from Boston University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Case Western Reserve University in Philosophy. Her research focuses on human creativity in science. A major theme of this research is conceptual innovation and change in science and engineering research and learning, specifically the role of analogical and visual modeling and thought experimenting (simulative modeling). Her current research includes investigating reasoning and representational procedures in interdisciplinary research laboratories. This research examines the nature and role of physical and computational models researchers construct to simulate biological phenomena in problem solving and in learning (PI, Wendy Newstetter, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Co - PI: "Laboratory Learning: Model-Based Reasoning in Research and Instructional Laboratories," 2004 - 2007 REC0411825, "Biomedical Engineering Thinking and Learning: The Challenge of Integrating Systems and Analytical Thinking," 2001 - 2004 REC0106773, and "Becoming a 21st Century Scientist: Cognitive Practices, Identity Formation, and Learning in Integrative Systems Biology," 2009-2012 DRL097394084).