Nora Newcombe, Laura H. Carnell Professor of Psychology at Temple, has been inducted into the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of her contributions to the study of cognitive development and spatial cognition.
The NAS, established by an Act of Congress in 1863, is tasked with advising our nation’s leaders on matters related to science and technology. To become a member, one must be nominated and elected by existing Academy members. Currently, there are around 2,400 NAS members, as well as 500 international members. Among them, approximately 190 have received Nobel prizes. Membership in the NAS is widely considered one of the most prestigious honors a scientist can receive.
After completing her undergrad studies as a psychology major at Antioch College in 1972, Newcombe received her PhD in Psychology and Social Relations from Harvard University in 1976. She began teaching at Temple in 1981, and in 2014, the Temple University Board of Trustees named her a Laura H. Carnell Professor. Carnell Professorships are awarded in recognition of faculty who have distinguished themselves in research, scholarship, the creative arts and teaching.
Newcombe’s research primarily focuses on understanding how people perceive, interpret and retain spatial information. Key areas of her research have included spatial development in children; the relationship between spatial skills and STEM learning; how spatial memory is encoded, stored and retrieved; and differences in spatial abilities between sexes. Her work has contributed significantly to the understanding of how spatial abilities develop and function and continues to carry important implications for education and cognitive science.
Until 2018, Newcombe served as PI of the Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center (SILC). Initially housed at Temple, SILC was established as one of six Science of Learning Centers funded by the National Science Foundation in 2006. She currently serves as Past President of the International Mind Brain Education Society (IMBES), Editor of Psychological Science in the Public Interest and a member of the editorial board of Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. She is a fellow of four divisions of the American Psychological Association (General, Experimental, Developmental, and Psychology of Women), of the Association for Psychological Science and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Over the course of Newcombe’s decorated career, she’s been the recipient of many notable awards, including: the American Psychological Association (APA) Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award (2014), William James Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science (APS, 2014), APA Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science (2002), Howard Crosby Warren Medal from the Society of Experimental Psychologists, the George Miller Award, the APA Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science, the Women in Cognitive Science Mentor Award and the Ernest R. Hilgard Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society for General Psychology.
“I’m excited by my election for many reasons,” said Newcombe about the honor, “but in part because Temple deserves the recognition it gets from having members, and active ones, as I plan to be.”
You can learn more about this year’s class of NAS inductees on the National Academy of Sciences website.
Temple University and the College of Liberal Arts congratulate Dr. Newcombe for this most significant achievement.