Thanks for your interest in working in my laboratory:

• For my neuroscience projects I'm looking for students with excellent analytical reading and writing skills, an ability to design and to manage projects with a high degree of independence, working knowledge of statistical analysis, and interest in cognitive neuroscience. Computer programming also is a great asset, especially with working knowledge of MATLAB, C, C++, C#, or SAS or SPSS. During the fall 2008 term we're running two experiments using preliminary versions of our video game software. One of these is a behavioural study of normal undergraduates, examining the ways in which performance on the video game tasks may correlate with psychometric measures in a way that may show how normal cognitive variation shades into autism spectrum conditions. The other experiment comprises some preliminary electroencephalographic (EEG) studies with normal volunteers, to collect pilot data with which we can debug and hone our analytical methods for application to autism-spectrum children this coming spring. Tasks for students include recruiting and scheduling subjects, administering psychometric tests, entering data and running statistical analyses. During fall 2008 we will be running EEG recordings during video game play, and we'll be looking for more students who want to learn EEG techniques and analytical methods. It's easiest for me to accept neuroscience students at the beginning of the fall term, when they can enrol in my undergraduate seminar on autism, Human Development 474, which gives the necessary background. Students interested in working with me should pre-enrol for HD 474 on the first day during which they're eligible, since HD 474 fills very quickly.

• For my video game design projects I'm always looking for computer science students with academic or industrial experience in video game programming and/or design. Game designers and programmers work with me, my students, and my collaborators to design and to implement entertaining video games that incorporate psychological experiments; these games then serve as a vehicle for assessing people with autism. Our designers and programmers enjoy the challenge of designing around our experimental constraints (and, on many occasions, pointing out aspects in which those constraints can be weakened), and taking into account the unique attentional and cognitive characteristics of people with autism.

• For projects in science studies and cognitive literary studies I'm looking for students with excellent close reading and writing skills, an ability to select and to pursue readings and to design a thesis or term paper with a great degree of independence, and a focus on autism. I welcome students with interests in literature and criticism, science and society, history of neuroscience or medicine, and disability studies — though this list isn't meant to be exclusive.

For an overview of our current and past projects, see the Autism Collaborative page and my publications list, both linked from my top-level web page. Students interested in cognitive literary studies should read my essay ‘Human, but More So’ as background, students interested in neuroscience should read my review papers ‘Autism as a Disorder of Neural Information Processing’ and ‘Autism and Abnormal Development of Brain Connectivity’ (and any other papers whose topics seem of interest), and computer science students should read the game documentation on the Autism Collaborative web site.

After reading these documents, prospective students may contact me by email with a description of research interests, relevant course work and other experience, and a c.v. if available. Also say whether you're interested in credit or in pay, and mention if you have any external funding for your research and/or your hourly play (if applicable), such as a Cornell Presidential Research Scholarship or work-study aid. Include in the mail a range of dates and times and a telephone number or Skype name at which I can contact you. I do not always have time to respond by email, and depending on my schedule it may take me a week or two to respond at all. Thank you for your understanding.