The people behind the work

Current Members

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  Curtis Rogers

  4th year graduate student

  Curtis Rogers is a PhD student interested in a deceptively simple question: Can we intentionally forget? His research examines the cognitive mechanisms that allow people to let go of unwanted information, particularly associations between pieces of information, and how intentional forgetting unfolds over time. Using eye movements and other behavioral measures, he investigates how we can tell when forgetting has actually occurred and whether people can selectively weaken a memory’s context or specific details. He earned a B.S. in Neuroscience and an M.A. in General Psychology from William & Mary.

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  Jia Gu

  2nd year graduate student

  Jia Gu is a PhD student whose research bridges visual perception and memory. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto. With a background in visual perception and computational methods, she brings a unique perspective to the study of memory. Her research investigates how and why visual information can be intentionally forgotten, asking whether particular properties of scenes and images make them more or less susceptible to forgetting. Her work explores how the characteristics of visual information shape our ability to let go of unwanted visual memories.

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  Laurel Walther

  2nd year graduate student

  Laurel Walther is a PhD student whose research explores musical memory. As a professional violinist, she brings a lifelong engagement with music to her research. Using eye-tracking and behavioral methods, she investigates how people control the retrieval of music and music-associated memories, with a particular interest in whether unwanted musical memories (i.e., earworms) can be intentionally forgotten. She completed her BS in Psychology at Louisiana State University, with minors in biological sciences and music.

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  Incoming Graduate Student

  Arriving Fall 2027

  This space is reserved for the lab’s next PhD student. We will be reviewing applications for graduate admission in the Fall of 2027 — if the questions we study excite you, get in touch.