Tim Sainburg

Tim is a PhD student in the Gentner Lab at UCSD. His research interests touch on the evolution, computation, and development of communicative systems, both in humans and non-humans. Of particular interest is how these systems differ, both from each other and from other cognitive mechanisms. His PhD is currently focused on sequence learning in songbird species, and developing techniques for communication analysis that draw on approaches in computational neuroscience, machine learning, operant conditioning, electrophysiology, and field/behavioral analysis. At UCSD he has worked primarily with songbirds, but has also previously studied Cotton-Top Tamarins and Chimpanzee communication, and hopes to continue working with primates, and other vocal learners, such as dolphins, whales, bats, and humans.