Cassandra Jacobs Email and Phone Number

I run the Computational Linguistics and Cognition Lab (CaLiCo) and teach undergraduate and graduate level natural language processing and cognitive science courses.

I was supported on NSF Grant 1849236 (Awarded to Dr. Maryellen MacDonald) where I supported grant projects that aim to use language production as an intervention to improve language processing fluency. In this role, I designed and administered several experiments ranging from tasks such as teaching participants a novel language using a language production-based intervention, as well as studies aimed directly at improving reading comprehension speed and understanding. I also heavily leveraged statistical natural language processing tools to identify linguistic regularities relevant for our laboratory work, and to model linguistic decision-making. My work supports data acquisition and analysis using javascript (jsPsych), Python (PsychoPy), and R for statistical analysis.

I wrote blog posts on recent research coming out of Psychonomic Society journals for a general cognitive science audience.

I researched learning and memory and human language processing using behavioral experiments and natural language processing. I also developed Python packages for easier analysis of different types of language data sets, including speech processing, corpus linguistics, and neural network models of word meaning and sequence production.Tools: R: Bayesian mixed effects models, regularized logistic regression, non-parametric techniques (e.g. bootstrapping) using R. Python: NLTK, allennlp, pytorch, pandas, scipy, and scikit-learn.

I worked on the AI Instruments team, where my role was to facilitate the use of our massive text datasets in solving business problems. In collaboration with other data scientists, I designed natural language processing algorithms that created useful features for data scientists who would like to incorporate text-based information in their models. I used a wide variety of tools and techniques, especially unsupervised learning of word and entity representations and for relation extraction. I developed a knowledge base that situated entities in a linguistic space, allowing for seamless word and entity search.Tools used: nltk, scikit-learn, AWS services, Hive, Spark, Presto, R (tidyverse)

I use methods from natural language processing, machine learning techniques from pattern recognition and signal processing, as well as experimental techniques in psycholinguistics and memory research to better understand human language processing.

Creation of stimuli for artificial grammar learning tasks. Programming of experiments (lexical decision tasks, decision making tasks, eyetracking using Tobii hardware) in MATLAB. Submitting and editing IRB proposals. Data collection and corpus analysis.

Creation and updating of lab manual and lab wiki. Instruction for and management of research assistants employed in the lab. The proper execution of language production and experiments related to language-cognition interface, from design to publication. Maintenance of all technical equipment in lab space. Purchase orders. Responsibilities include running subjects, creating and editing IRB proposals, coding and analyzing data, corpora processing, and maintenance of the lab. Script writing for the implementation of experiments using PsychToolBox in MATLAB, eye7, Experiment Builder. Organization and maintenance of large databases of subject data and experimental templates. Independently conducting research on the effects of labeling on recognition memory.

Tutored high school mathematics (geometry, algebra I and II, precalculus and differential calculus), foreign languages (French), test prep (SAT, PSAT, AP).

Recruitment and orientation of new team members for various stores in the area. Responsible for the organization of team activities, the successful processing of funds transfers for team members, implementation of compliance procedures, appropriate escalation of conflict resolution process to higher levels when necessary.

Caretaking of French-English bilingual children from ages 2;10 to 10 years.