Carnegie Mellon University's Barbara Shinn-Cunningham received the George A. and Helen Dunham Cowan Professorship in Auditory Neuroscience at a ceremony Nov. 6. The event was part of CMU's first Neuro Week, a celebration of innovations in brain research.
"Barb is 'so CMU.' She's an interdisciplinary researcher who is doing ground-breaking work at the intersection of technology and humanity. Barb's approach to her research exemplifies the future of science," said Rebecca W. Doerge, Glen de Vries Dean of the Mellon College of Science. "She's also a visionary leader, whose ingenuity and enthusiasm will elevate neuroscience at the university during this transformational moment for science at CMU."
Shinn-Cunningham joined CMU in 2018 as the director of the Neuroscience Institute. She also holds courtesy appointments in the Psychology, Biomedical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering departments. Her research combines behavioral, neuroimaging and computational methods to understand how the brain processes sound.
"Barb is renowned scientist, a great leader and a generous mentor," said Richard Scheines, Bess Family Dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. "Her collaborative spirit, strategic thinking, interdisciplinary experience, and scientific acumen form a great combination of skills that make her an outstanding scholar and a perfect choice to lead the new Neuroscience Institute."
Alumnus George Cowan and his wife, Helen, established the chaired professorship. After Cowan earned a doctoral degree in chemistry at Carnegie Institute of Technology, he went to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory during World War II, where he served as the research director from 1949 to 1988. He received the Enrico Fermi Award for a lifetime of exceptional achievement in the development and use of energy and was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.