Keynotes
Our keynotes consist of multidisciplinary duo presenters who will highlight a specific topic from two different viewpoints. We have chosen to highlight a variety of topics and invited speakers from five different faculties.
Keynote 1 – Emotional face processing
In the first keynote, dr. Carlijn van den Boomen and dr. Itir Önal Ertuğrul will talk about emotional face processing.
Dr. Carlijn van den Boomen is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology (Social and Behavioral Sciences). Her research focuses on the factors that influence the development of emotional face processing in children from infancy to adulthood. Dr. van den Boomen recently published an article about the influence of COVID-19 on emotional face processing (click here to read more).
Dr. Itir Önal Ertuğrul is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Information and Computing Sciences (Science). In her research, she focuses on the automated analysis and synthesis of facial actions to understand human behavior, emotion, pain, and psychopathology. Dr. Önal Ertuğrul recently acquired an NSWO SSH XS grant on automated assessment of ADHD (click here to read more).
Keynote 2 – Sounds and computation
In the second keynote, prof. Anja Volk and dr. Frans Adriaans will talk about sounds and computation.
Prof. Anja Volk is Professor of Music Information Computing (Science). In her research, she focuses on the way humans process music information and the role music can play in advancing health and well-being. In her research she primarily uses computer science techniques, including computational analysis. Last year, prof. Volk delivered her inaugural lecture with a musical twist (click here to read and and hear more).
Dr. Frans Adriaans is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Languages, Literature and Communication and the Institute for Language Sciences (Humanities). In his research, he investigates how infants learn sound categories and combinations, primarily using computational models. Over the past years, dr. Adriaans has received various grants for his multidisciplinary research (click here to read more).
Keynote 3 – Play
In the third keynote, dr. Heidi Lesscher and dr. Kirsten Visser will talk about play. You can read their joint interview on the Utrecht University website (click here).
Dr. Heidi Lesscher is an Associate Professor at the Department of Population Health Sciences (Veterinary sciences) and co-chair of the Dynamics of Youth community Thriving and Healthy Youth. In her research, she focuses on the early development of cognitive control in general, and the role of play in the development of brain and behavior.
Dr. Kirsten Visser is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning (Geosciences). In her research, she focuses on the situation and development of children, young people, and families from a geographical perspective, and primarily on outdoor play.
