spotlight on honors

A DAY IN THE LIFE...

STUDY ABROAD

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

HONORS FACULTY

NEWS

PHOTOS

honors faculty

professor eric anderson

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

M.A., University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, 1985
B.S., Colorado State University, 1977

RESEARCH INTERESTS

“My training is in neuroscience but I am currently involved with a couple of lines of research, both related to the development of artificial intelligence. I also teach developmental psychology and a course on the psychology of gender and have a separate line of collaborative research underway on gender issues.”

Professor Anderson’s additional research interests include: Artificial Intelligence, Complex Systems, Cognition and Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology, and Psychology of Gender.

HONORS BEGINNINGS

Dr. Anderson was involved with honors course during his undergraduate years. He writes, “I was a member of the psi chi the psychology honorary society as an undergraduate and took a number of honors classes mostly in philosophy. The honors class that had the most influence on my later development was a course called “The Origin of the Conscious Mind”. In that class we were introduced to aspects of neuroscience, evolutionary theory, artificial intelligence and game theory that I continue to find intriguing to this day.”

Honors programs offer great opportunities, and Professor Anderson appreciates the experiences being an honors student offered him. He is now entering a new phase of involvement with the Indiana State University Honors Program. He explains, “I began teaching honors classes at the beginning of this term [SP09] although the course I am now teaching is an extension of other inter-institutional collaborative work that started around 1999.”

TYPICAL CLASSES TAUGHT

Professor Anderson has taught Dreaming Large - Sustainable Development in the 21st Century, which allows students to explore emerging ideas about sustainability and apply them to local service projects.

Though he has taught for a short time with Honors, Professor Anderson enjoys his experiences so far. He writes, “Because I have just started, I suspect that the best is yet to come but I enjoy helping bright students develop their interest and creative commitment to larger issues.”

ADVICE TO HONORS STUDENTS

“Enjoy it! The engaging approach to education that is available through the honors program should be but is not yet a fundamental aspect of all university classes.” - Professor Anderson