Brief Biography
GEORGE R. MANGUN is a leading neuroscientist whose work is internationally recognized for its creativity and impact on scientific thinking about the human brain. He is currently a Professor of Neurology and Psychology at the University of California, Davis, and founding Director of the Center for Mind and Brain, a major new multimillion dollar initiative of the University. From 1998-2002 he was the founding Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Neurobiology at Duke University. There he established one of the nation’s most prominent programs in investigations of the human brain and mind, recruiting award-winning scholars and developing a strong training program in cognitive neuroscience. Dr. Mangun has published more than 100 scientific papers, chapters, books, edited volumes and special journal issues on the neuroscience of attention, including his celebrated co-authored textbook dedicated to the cognitive neurosciences, Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind, published by W.W. Norton -- the third edition will be published in 2008. Dr. Mangun is one of the leaders of the cognitive neuroscience revolution that has so captivated the minds of a generation of neuroscientists and psychologists. In 1992 he chaired the founding committee of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, and is presently its Treasurer and an ex officio member of the society`s Governing Board. Since 1996, Dr. Mangun has served as a Senior Editor and Associate Editor for the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (MIT Press), and from 2002-2006 served as the Editor of Cognitive Brain Research (Elsevier). In 2006 he was appointed a Senior Editor for Brain Research (Elsevier), editing the section on Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. He serves on numerous editorial boards and advisory committees nationally and internationally. Dr. Mangun`s most influential research has been on the neural mechanisms of selective attention, including the description of neuronal filters in sensory cortex, and the identification of widespread brain networks that control the focus of our attention and hence momentary awareness of the world around us. For this work, among other awards, he received the Distinguished Early Career Contributions Award from the Society for Psychophysiological Research in 1993, a Distinguished Scientist Lecturer Award from the American Psychological Association in 1999, a Senior Scientist Award from the National Institute of Mental Health in 2001, was elected a member of the International Neuropsychological Symposium in 2006, and in the same year received a James McKeen Cattell Fellowship from the Association for Psychological Science.