Tomer Ullman

Tomer Ullman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, where he leads the Computation, Cognition, and Development Lab. He is also a member of the Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines (CBMM) and an affiliate of the Kempner Institute for Natural and Artificial Intelligence.

• Education: B.Sc. in Cognitive Science and Physics (Hebrew University, 2008), Ph.D. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences (MIT, 2015)
• Postdoctoral Training: Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines (2015-2018)

Ullman's research focuses on computational models of high-level human cognition, particularly intuitive theories about physics and psychology, mental simulation in reasoning, and child development of social cognition. His work bridges cognitive science, AI development, and neuroscience through experimental and computational approaches.

Recent publications analyze language model limitations in Theory of Mind tasks, mental simulation constraints, and emergent hierarchical emotion representations. His lab explores how humans and machines learn through probabilistic inference, with applications in child education and AI alignment.

• Scientific Awards: ICDL Best Paper Award (2012, with Bonawitz et al.)

Ullman teaches courses on Decision-Making (PSY1322) and Imagination (PSY1340). His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and CBMM.