Benjamin Baird, PhD
About
​
Dr. Benjamin Baird is a cognitive neuroscientist whose research investigates the nature of human consciousness, sleep, and cognition. He received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of California, Santa Barbara, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.
​
His background spans cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and sleep research. Dr. Baird employs diverse behavioral and neuroimaging methods, including experience-sampling, computational modeling, MRI, EEG, and sleep polysomnography.
A central focus of his research is understanding sleep and its role in mental health. His recent projects leverage large-scale cohort studies at UT Austin, using wearables and mobile technologies to examine how sleep, physical activity, and cognition interact to influence health outcomes in children and adults.
​
Dr. Baird’s work aims to advance fundamental understanding of the mind while informing applications in mental health, sleep medicine, and cognitive enhancement. He has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, and he has published widely on topics within cognitive psychology and neuroscience. He is deeply committed to training the next generation of scientists and fostering curiosity-driven research.
Dr. Baird's research interests also extend to broad scientific questions, including: how the capacity for explicit self-awareness arises in the human brain, the significance of symbolic representation in defining human cognition, as well as fundamental issues pertaining to emergence, information, and semiotic processes in biological systems.​​
​
An Austin native, Dr. Baird received his B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin and enjoys exploring the city’s trails and neighborhoods on foot.
CV, Bibliometrics
My work has led to numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and talks at international conferences (please see CV and Google Scholar page).