bio

Hi, I'm Ben. I'm from New Hope, Pennsylvania. I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009, a master's degree from the University of Oregon in 2017, and my PhD in 2023 in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science at the University of Maryland.

I am interested in understanding the neural basis of successful and less-successful communication.
In addition to language processing, this naturally leads to questions of how neuroscience can be used to quantify our subjective experiences of imagining, remembering, and knowing.
As part of this interest I am also looking for new ways to measure mental representations as they occur using neurophysiological methods.

My current research uses electroencephalography (EEG) to probe the biological mechanisms underlying narrative comprehension. My other research interests include the psychological phenomena surrounding word learning from context.

This work lends itself to understanding the limitations and possibilities of EEG and neurotech applications. My hope is to apply my knowledge to improve neurotech in the healthcare and education industry, or to increase conceptual knowledge about human communication.

My hobbies include cooking elaborate meals and riding bikes with my amazing partner, watching movies, and tinkering with electronics.

For consulting, hiring, or copies of publications, please contact me at benjaminrickles [at] gmail [dot] com. Also just feel free to ask me anything.