Laura Schulz

Schulz received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in philosophy from the University of Michigan in 1992. She received a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy both in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002 and 2004, respectively.{{Cite web |date=2018-01-26 |title=Laura E. Schulz PhD – Curriculum Vitae |url=http://eccl.mit.edu/papers/LE%20Schulz%20CV%202018.pdf |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219211258/http://eccl.mit.edu/papers/LE%20Schulz%20CV%202018.pdf |archive-date=2018-02-19 |access-date=2018-07-06 |website=Massachusetts Institute of Technology Early Childhood Cognition Lab}}

While at Berkeley, she worked closely with Alison Gopnik, researching computational models of cognition.Laura E. Schulz: Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology. (2014). American Psychologist, 69(8), 749-751. In 2005, Schulz joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, alongside Pawan Sinha, she runs the post-baccalaureate Research Scholars Program in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, working to prepare disadvantaged students for graduate school.{{Cite news|url=https://news.mit.edu/2017/department-of-brain-and-cognitive-sciences-launches-post-baccalaureate-program-0131|title=Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences launches post-baccalaureate program|last=Traughber|first=Rachel|date=2017-01-31|work=MIT News|access-date=2019-08-26|archive-date=2019-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816142641/http://news.mit.edu/2017/department-of-brain-and-cognitive-sciences-launches-post-baccalaureate-program-0131|url-status=live}}

Schulz is the principal investigator of the Early Childhood Cognition Lab at MIT, studying learning in early childhood.{{Cite web|url=http://eccl.mit.edu/people.htm|title=The Early Childhood Cognition Lab ~ People|website=eccl.mit.edu|access-date=2015-04-17|archive-date=2015-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417194917/http://eccl.mit.edu/people.htm|url-status=live}}

Schulz's research focuses on children's cognition, specifically how children begin to form their world-views from the facets of information they obtain every day. Her work focuses on three main topics within children cognition. One of the topics is how children process the information they've gained in order to better infer, interact, and explain the world around them. Another topic is on the factors that allows children express curiosity and explore their environment, which also allows them to strengthen their cognition. Finally, how the information gained from the previous points will interact with one another to form their social cognition and ultimately build their sense of self and their interactions with others. Her data and observations come from two laboratories, one at the Boston Children's Museum and the other at the Discovery Center in the Museum of Science, Boston. At these laboratories she uses infant-looking time methods and free play paradigms, as well as other methods, to study babies and children. She chooses to observe these subjects in particular, because in order to understand the origins of knowledge and fundamental principles of learning in humans, one must start at the beginning when babies have limited prior knowledge.{{Cite web|title=Laura Schulz {{!}} The Center for Brains, Minds & Machines|url=https://cbmm.mit.edu/about/people/schulz|access-date=2020-12-04|website=cbmm.mit.edu|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117042020/https://cbmm.mit.edu/about/people/schulz|url-status=live}}

As of 2020, she has 95 publications including articles, data, and papers, 20 of which were completed during her time at The Center for Brains, Minds and Machines (CBMM) at MIT.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=Dec 2020|title=Laura Schulz|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura_Schulz7|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=ResearchGate}} In March 2015 she gave a TED talk called "The surprisingly logical minds of babies", which has since had almost 2 million views.{{Citation|last=Schulz|first=Laura|title=The surprisingly logical minds of babies|date=2 June 2015 |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/laura_schulz_the_surprisingly_logical_minds_of_babies|language=en|access-date=2020-12-04|archive-date=2020-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128215916/https://www.ted.com/talks/laura_schulz_the_surprisingly_logical_minds_of_babies|url-status=live}}

Schulz is the daughter of teacher Margot Schulz and lawyer Isaac Schulz.{{Cite web|url=http://obits.cleveland.com/obituaries/cleveland/obituary.aspx?n=isaac-schulz&pid=181478894&fhid=2098|title=ISAAC SCHULZ's Obituary|date=2016-09-20|website=The Plain Dealer|access-date=2018-04-03|archive-date=2017-08-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830004754/http://obits.cleveland.com/obituaries/cleveland/obituary.aspx?n=isaac-schulz&pid=181478894&fhid=2098|url-status=live}} Her sister, Kathryn Schulz, is a staff writer for The New Yorker. She is married to Sue Kaufman and has four children: Henry Philofsky, MJ Kaufman, Rachel Novick, and Adele Kaufman-Schulz.

• American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology, 2014{{Cite web|url=http://www.apa.org/about/awards/early-career-contribution.aspx?tab=4|title=APA Distinguished Scientific Awards for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology|website=www.apa.org|language=en|access-date=2017-08-21|archive-date=2018-12-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204101849/https://www.apa.org/about/awards/early-career-contribution.aspx?tab=4|url-status=live}}
• MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellow, 2013{{Cite news|url=https://news.mit.edu/2013/four-professors-named-macvicar-fellows|title=Four professors named 2013 MacVicar Fellows|date=2013-03-15|work=MIT News|access-date=2019-08-26|archive-date=2019-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730123434/http://news.mit.edu/2013/four-professors-named-macvicar-fellows|url-status=live}}
• National Academy of Sciences, Troland Research Award, 2012{{cite web |url=http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/awards/troland-research-awards.html |title=Troland Research Awards |accessdate=2013-03-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126003831/http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/awards/troland-research-awards.html |archivedate=2013-01-26 }}, Troland Research Awards Recipients.
• Society for Research in Child Development, Award for Early Career Research Contributions, 2011{{Cite news|url=https://www.srcd.org/advancing-field/srcd-awards-research-grants/srcd-early-career-research-contributions-awards|title=SRCD Early Career Research Contributions Awards|work=Society for Research in Child Development|language=en|access-date=2018-04-03|archive-date=2018-04-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404072927/https://www.srcd.org/advancing-field/srcd-awards-research-grants/srcd-early-career-research-contributions-awards|url-status=live}}
• National Academy of Sciences, [https://kavlifoundation.org/news/nas-2011-kavli-frontiers-science-symposia-announcement Kavli Fellow], 2011{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/programs/kavli-frontiers-of-science/frontiers-alumni/alumni-directory/laura-schulz.html|title=Laura Schulz|last=Kavli Frontiers of Science Alumni|website=National Academy of Sciences|access-date=2017-08-21|archive-date=2017-08-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821173132/http://www.nasonline.org/programs/kavli-frontiers-of-science/frontiers-alumni/alumni-directory/laura-schulz.html|url-status=live}}
• MIT Brain and Cognitive Science Award Angus MacDonald Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 2011
• MIT Sigma Xi, Invited Speaker, 2011
• Marr Prize, Cognitive Science Society (student author: Hyowon Gweon), 2010{{Cite web|url=http://csjarchive.cogsci.rpi.edu/proceedings/2010/pdfs/section0005.pdf|title=CogSci 2010 Awards|website=csjarchive.cogsci.rpi.edu}}
• NSF Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, 2009{{Cite web|url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=117723&org=NSF|title=President Names Nation's Top Early Career Scientists and Engineers {{!}} NSF - National Science Foundation|date=2010-11-09|website=www.nsf.gov|language=en|access-date=2017-08-21|archive-date=2017-08-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821173859/https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=117723&org=NSF|url-status=live}}
• John Merck Scholars Foundation Award, 2009{{Cite news|url=https://www.jmfund.org/grant/massachusetts-institute-of-technologyschulz/|title=Massachusetts Institute of Technology - John Merck Fund|work=John Merck Fund|language=en-US|access-date=2017-08-21|archive-date=2017-08-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821171655/https://www.jmfund.org/grant/massachusetts-institute-of-technologyschulz/|url-status=live}}
• Class of 1943 MIT Career Development Professorship, 2009{{Cite web|url=https://bcs.mit.edu/users/lschulzmitedu|title=Brain and Cognitive Sciences|website=bcs.mit.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-08-21|archive-date=2017-07-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721054655/http://bcs.mit.edu/users/lschulzmitedu|url-status=live}}
• MIT Brain and Cognitive Science Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising, 2009{{Cite news|url=https://news.mit.edu/2009/awards-bcs-tt0603|title=Brain & Cognitive Sciences awards|date=2009-06-03|work=MIT News|access-date=2019-08-26|archive-date=2019-09-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911034826/http://news.mit.edu/2009/awards-bcs-tt0603|url-status=live}}
• NSF Faculty Early Career Development award, 2007
• MIT School of Science Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 2007
• Marr Prize, Cognitive Science Society (student author: Elizabeth Bonawitz), 2006{{Cite web|url=http://ccdlab.rutgers.edu/Papers/CV.pdf|title=Elizabeth Bonawitz CV|access-date=2017-08-21|archive-date=2017-08-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821170556/http://ccdlab.rutgers.edu/Papers/CV.pdf|url-status=live}}
• American Association of University Women, American Dissertation Fellowship, 2004{{Cite web|url=https://www.aauw.org/aauw_check/fellowships_directory/#rid745|title=AAUW Fellows|website=AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-03|archive-date=2017-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802102410/http://www.aauw.org/aauw_check/fellowships_directory/#rid745|url-status=dead}}
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Award, 2001{{Cite web|url=https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/AwardeeList.do|title=Awardee List|website=nsf.gov}}{{dead link|date=April 2018}}
• Hewlett Foundation Graduate Fellowship Award, 2000

• [https://archive.today/20150417000554/https://bcs.mit.edu/people/schulz.html Laura Schulz MIT Faculty Page]
• [http://eccl.mit.edu/index.html Early Childhood Cognition Lab Page]
• [http://eccl.mit.edu/people.htm People in the Early Childhood Cognition Lab : Laura Schulz]
• {{TED speaker}}
• [http://www.ted.com/talks/laura_schulz_the_surprisingly_logical_minds_of_babies "The surprisingly logical minds of babies" (TED2015)]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schulz, Laura}}

Category:American women psychologists

Category:Cognitive development researchers

Category:American cognitive scientists

Category:Living people

Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty

Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni

Category:University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni

Category:Women cognitive scientists

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:20th-century American psychologists

Category:21st-century American psychologists

Category:American women academics

Category:21st-century American women

Category:Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers