Academic Overview
I am a psycholinguist, which is someone who studies how we learn and use language. I have specialized in studying how people talk, understand language, and use their memory in producing and understanding language.
I had a long career as a professor, where I taught students and conducted research. Now I’m focusing on writing and giving talks for general audiences.
My book about how we talk and how it changes us will be available June 3, 2025, and available for preorder before that.
Personal Life
I was born in Staten Island, NY and grew up in Beaumont and Nederland TX, near the Louisiana border.
Some of my interest in language definitely came from moving early in life to a new set of accents, and I continued to move around after childhood.
Reading to my own kids in about 2001. I wish I knew what the book was. Let me know if you can identify it from its cover!
I’ve lived in Austin, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Boston, Aix-en-Provence, France, and I now live in Madison, WI.
I enjoy writing, reading, and traveling. I’m slowly learning some Spanish, getting a boost from my mediocre French. When I’m home in Madison, I enjoy walking, bike riding and kayaking on the lakes.
Education
University of Texas at Austin
BA, 1978-1981
University of California, Los Angeles
PhD in Psychology with a Minor in Linguistics, 1981-1986
Carnegie Mellon University
Postdoctoral Research, Department of Psychology, 1986-1988
Sitting at my work desk (aka dining table) in our sabbatical apartment in Aix-en-Provence, 2008. Note that my laptop is joined by both wine and coffee. I’m probably speaking French on the phone, which always filled me with terror, because my French was never up to the task of a phone call.
Employment
Northeastern University
Faculty in the Department of Psychology, 1988-89
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Faculty in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, 1989-1992
University of Southern California
Faculty in the Departments of Psychology, Linguistics, and Program in Neuroscience, 1992-2001
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Faculty in the Department of Psychology and Program in Language Sciences, 2001-2023
Emerit Faculty, Department of Psychology and Program in Language Sciences, 2023-present