The Psychonomic Society Governing Board has elected Duane Watson, Vanderbilt University, USA, as the 2021 Chair.

"It is an honor and a privilege to serve in this role for the Psychonomic Society, a society that has long played a central role in my work as a scientist," Watson said. "I look forward to working with the Governing Board in continuing the Psychonomic Society’s mission of advancing the science of cognition and the communication of psychological research. I am excited to have the opportunity to further the Psychonomic Society’s goals of being an inclusive and welcoming organization for all of its members."

Watson currently chairs the Society's Program Committee and is a member of its Fellows Committee. He has served on the Governing Board since January 1, 2018.

In September, Stephen Lewandowsky, University of Bristol, UK, and Caren Rotello, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA, were elected by the Society’s membership and will join the Governing Board in January for a six-year term.

In January 2020, James Pomerantz, Rice University, USA, becomes Governing Board Chair, and Laura Carlson, University of Notre Dame, USA, will be Past Chair. Governing Board Members who conclude their terms in 2019 are John Dunlosky, Kent State University, USA; Marc Brysbaert, Ghent University, Belgium; Patricia Reuter-Lorenz, University of Michigan, USA; and Valerie Reyna, Cornell University, USA.

A complete list of the 2019 Governing Board members and Psychonomic Society Committees is here.

Biography
Duane Watson's primary interest is in understanding the cognitive mechanisms that underlie human communication.  He studies how speakers use prosodic features such as speech rate, rhythm, pausing, and intonation in communication.  Duane is also deeply interested in how individual differences in language experience and cognitive abilities contribute to language production, comprehension, and reading.

Duane Watson received his doctorate from M.I.T.  After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Rochester, he became a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Duane joined Vanderbilt University in 2016 as an Associate Professor of Psychology and Human Development.  Duane is an Associate Editor at the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, and has served on the Psychonomic Society Governing Board since 2018.  He is also a founder and advisory board member of the SPARK Society, an organization with the goal of increasing the number of underrepresented groups in the cognitive science. 

Contact
Duane Watson
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology and Human Development
PMB 407817
2301 Vanderbilt Place
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN 37240-7817

Email: duane.g.watson@vanderbilt.edu
Office: +1 (615) 875-8083
Web: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/psychological_sciences/bio/duane-watson