Evan F. Risko is a Professor and Associate Chair (Graduate Affairs) at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on Distributed Cognition, Effort Perception, and applying cognitive psychology principles to improve education and training. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Embodied and Embedded Cognition and has received multiple awards including Early Career Awards from the Psychonomic Society, Canadian Society for Brain, and Outstanding Performance Awards from the Province of Ontario. His work is funded by NSERC, SSHRC, and other major grants. He leads the Cognition and Natural Behaviour Laboratory, exploring how humans integrate body and environment to enhance thinking. Recent studies examine lecture design, cognitive offloading effects, and metacognition in digital contexts. Education: B.A., M.A., Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo in Cognitive Psychology. His research bridges theoretical and applied domains, with a focus on optimizing learning through lecture video design, understanding effort perception, and mitigating cognitive biases. Scientific Awards: Canada Research Chair in Embodied and Embedded Cognition Early Career Award (Psychonomic Society) Early Career Award (Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Science) 2014 & 2018 Outstanding Performance Awards (Province of Ontario) Advising & Grants: Supervises graduate students in cognitive science and education research. Major grants include NSERC Discovery Grants, SSHRC Insight Development Grants, and Canada Foundation for Innovation funds. His work on video lectures and cognitive offloading has implications for educational technology and workplace training. Labs & Teams: Director of the Cognition and Natural Behaviour Lab, collaborating on projects like 'Distributed Metacognition' and 'Effort Perception in Technology Use'. Current initiatives explore how external tools (e.g., smartphones) shape cognitive processes and learning efficacy.











