Dr. Yaxin Liu - Postdoctoral Scientist

Yaxin joined the lab as a postdoctoral research scientist in the summer of 2024. She received her Ph.D. in Cognitive and Developmental Sciences from Emory University in 2023 and her B.Sc. in Psychology and Cognitive Science from the University of Toronto in 2017.  Yaxin’s research program broadly examines both low-level visuospatial perception and imagery, as well as high level spatial and creative cognition. She has investigated how children and adults represent geometrical and physical objects, the computational mechanisms underlying spatial thinking, and the emergence of gender differences in the spatial and STEM fields. A current focus of her research is modeling and fostering creative cognition in the context of human-AI hybrid intelligence and creativity among teenagers and young adults. She is particularly interested in understanding the nature of creativity and how to enhance it for societal benefit. Additionally, Yaxin is passionate about reducing gender disparity in STEM fields.

Outside of research, Yaxin loves cycling, experimenting new recipes, improvising music on the piano (with varing degrees of success). She also enjoys making VR video games. As self-proclaimed crazy cat person, Yaxin claims to speak fluent "catish" (thanks to her linguistics minor in undergrad) and has communicated with cats in China, Canada, and Germany, where she has previously lived.

email: yaxin.liu@georgetown.edu