Ruth M.J. Byrne, FTCD, MRIA, (born 1962) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

cognitive scientist and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

of several books on human reasoning. She is the Professor of Cognitive Science, in the School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience,

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. She is the former Vice Provost of Trinity College Dublin.

Career

Byrne was awarded a BA in Psychology from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

(UCD) in 1983. She completed a PhD in Cognitive Psychology at

(TCD) in 1986. She worked as a research scientist at the Applied Psychology Unit,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, from 1986 to 1989, and as a lecturer in Psychology at Cardiff University from 1989 to 1991. She returned to Ireland in early 1991 as a college lecturer in the computer science department at

, and later that year she moved to a lectureship in the psychology department at

. She became an associate professor (now termed professor) in 1999, and full professor (personal chair), Professor of Cognitive Science, in 2005. Byrne was elected a Fellow of TCD in 1995, and became a Senior Fellow in 2021. She was the Vice Provost of TCD from 2005 to 2008, and has also served as head of TCD's Psychology department and deputy director of its Institute of neuroscience. Byrne was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy in 2007. She was awarded the Royal Irish Academy's 2021 Gold Medal in the Social Sciences.

Publication

Her writings include:
''The Rational Imagination: How People Create Alternatives to Reality''
(2005,

MIT Press The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States). It was established in 1962. History The MIT Press traces its origins back to 1926 when MIT publish ...

) * ''Deduction'' (1991, co-author Philip Johnson-Laird, Erlbaum) * ''Human Reasoning'' (1993, with Jonathan St B. T. Evans & Stephen Newstead, Erlbaum)

References

External links

''Reasoning and Imagination Lab''

Interview in "The Psychologist"
1962 births Irish psychologists Irish women psychologists Academics of Trinity College Dublin Members of the Royal Irish Academy Living people {{Ireland-scientist-stub