MARGHETIS
Lab
Our lab celebrates curiosity, encourages collaboration, and cultivates both intellectual playfulness and rigor. And we work to create an environment that is inclusive and anti-racist. More info here.
Prof. Tyler Marghetis
I'm an Assistant Professor of Cognitive & Information Sciences at the University of California, Merced
​
​
I am also an Omidyar Complexity Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute.
After completing my PhD in cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego (with Rafael Núñez), I did postdoctoral research at Indiana University, Bloomington, mentored by Robert Goldstone and David Landy.
Before I found my calling as a scientist, I lived in Canada,
where I was a child detective, a professional magician,
and a national team wrestler and alternate for the 2008 Olympics.
(This image illustrates how, in sport as in science,
using your head can save the day.)
​
When I'm not tracing the limits of human imagination,
you'll find me biking around town,
cooking feasts for chosen family,
and working toward a more just society.
(Though perhaps not all at once.)
Postdoctoral Fellows
Graduate Students
Research Assistants
Sandra Chacon is a fifth-year student from the city of Stockton pursuing her Bachelors of Science in Bioengineering. At UC Merced, she's served as a Resident and Housing Association Representative and a public relations officer for the Biomedical Engineering Society. In the Marghetis Lab, she is a research assistant with the Abstract Thought & Language Across Space (ATLAS) project, where she is helping build a public database of research on global diversity in language and thought. Academically, Chacon is interested in furthering her knowledge on bioinformatics and eventually becoming a data analyst. In her spare time she enjoys listening to jazz music or playing her violin.