Meet Dr. Aaron Newman
Our Meet Your Professor series invites you to meet some of the faces behind the Minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. We’re pleased to introduce Dr. Aaron Newman of the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience.
- Professor and Chair of Department of Psychology & Neuroscience
- Director, SURGE Innovation Sandbox
- Cross-Appointed Professor in Departments of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Surgery
- Scientific Staff at IWK and QEII Health Centres
Tell us about yourself!
I am a scientist, educator and author working at Dalhousie University. My research examines relationships between brain activity and thought using a variety of neuroimaging tools. I direct the NeuroCognitive Imaging Lab (NCIL), where I train students in cognitive neuroscience research as we study how experience affects the brain in contexts such as learning, reading and stroke recovery. I am also the author of the textbook Research Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience (SAGE Publishing).
Another facet of my work is training scientists at all levels to be more creative and critical thinkers, to understand entrepreneurship, and to find and solve important problems within and beyond academia. I do this through the SURGE Innovation Sandbox at Dalhousie, where I develop and deliver classes, workshops, hackathons and other programming.
What courses do you teach?
- SCIE 4701/4702
- NESC 3505 Neural Data Science
I also created and previously taught:
- PSYO/NESC 3190 Psycholinguistics
- PSYO/NESC 3137 Research Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience
What is your favourite thing about teaching innovation and entrepreneurship courses?
It’s so fun! Teaching innovation and entrepreneurship to science students opens their eyes to new possibilities for themselves, their careers and how they can use their science training. The critical thinking, research skills and knowledge base you gain in a science degree are extremely valuable, and the processes of innovation and entrepreneurship can unlock a whole new level of potential to apply these skills.
Why are innovation and entrepreneurship important for students in your Faculty?
The world is facing big problems that require innovative solutions. At the same time, many jobs now and in the next 10 years are ones that didn’t exist even just a few years ago. Skills in innovation and entrepreneurship are superpowers that cut across disciplines and give you the mindsets and flexibility to succeed in an uncertain future.
When you’re not teaching, you’re...
Doing research in my lab, biking, running, hiking, doing yoga, playing music, brewing beer, cooking, spending time with my famil or sleeping.
What is an extra-curricular innovation and entrepreneurship activity or offering that you would recommend?
SURGE and the other sandboxes at Dal (“Dalboxes”) offer a ton of extra-curricular programming including workshops, weekend events, multi-week series and boot camps. These are a great way of getting new experiences with low commitment. As well, the Dalboxes work across six faculties at Dal (Science, Engineering, Health, Medicine, Agriculture, Computer Science) so it’s a great way to meet new people from different backgrounds. You can check out SURGE at surgeinnovation.ca.