About the Centre for Cognitive Science

At the Centre of Cognitive Science we work towards a computational-representational understanding of human perception, cognition, and action through a tight integration of artificial intelligence and cognitive science. TU Darmstadt is one of the preeminent research universities in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and robotics in Germany and Europe. We develop computational and algorithmic solutions to challenging AI- and ML-problems and we also employ insight from AI and ML to psychology, movement science, and neuroscience. Furthermore, we believe that cognitive science can help to drastically improve our future interaction with and explainability of artificial intelligence.

July 10, 2025 – As part of the international conference AMAM/LokoAssist 2025, WhiteBox presented results of its work in the workshop “WhiteBox – Whitebox Modeling of Human Movement” on July 10. Learn more

May 25, 2025 – The ProLOEWE simulation game “Knowledge vs. Opinion: Artificial Intelligence” („Wissen vs. Meinung: Künstliche Intelligenz“) was honored at the Open Campus Day as part of the xchange Prize 2025 awarded by TU Darmstadt in the Knowledge Transfer & Science Communication category. Learn more

May 22, 2025 – A major success for Technical University of Darmstadt and the Centre for Cognitive Science: The Excellence Commission in the competition for the prestigious Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments selected the proposals ‘The Adaptive Mind’ (TAM) and ‘Reasonable Artificial Intelligence’ (RAI) from the fields of cognitive science and artificial intelligence for funding. Learn more

May 2025 – The Excellence Strategy is in final sprint. The decision on the funding of the Clusters of Excellence will be made in May 2025; the actual funding of the selected projects will then start on January 1, 2026 for a period of seven years. The preparation of the Hessian excellence applications has benefited greatly from the funding provided by the state of Hesse. Learn more

April 25, 2025 – A huge success for CogSci @ TU Darmstadt: CCS is part of the 10-year research program SCENE (Simons Foundation Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience) investigating how the brain is encoding affordances. Constantin Rothkopf represents TU Darmstadt as the only German institution in the international consortium and will head the “Human Team” within SCENE. The collaboration, which will officially begin July 1, will provide over 8 Mio USD per year across six teams of researchers. Learn more

April 14, 2025 – Congratulations! Mathias Schultheis successfully defended his dissertation “Inverse Reinforcement Learning for Human Decision-Making Under Uncertainty”. The thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr. Heinz Koeppl and Prof. Constantin A. Rothkopf, Ph.D. Learn more

April 11, 2025 – CCS took part in the Computer Science Easter Camp, where we engaged 30 fifth- and sixth-grade girls over two afternoons. Through interactive sessions on visual illusions, throwing experiments in virtual reality, and critical discussions on artificial intelligence, we encouraged curiosity and empowered them to think like scientists. Learn more

March 06, 2025 – Congratulations! Dominik Straub successfully defended his dissertation “Inverse normative modeling of continuous perception and action”. The thesis was supervised by Prof. Constantin A. Rothkopf, Ph.D., and Prof. Dr. Joan López-Moliner. Learn more

February 28, 2025 – Congratulations! Lisa Kempf (born Scherf) successfully defended her dissertation “Interactive Machine Learning”. The thesis was supervised by Dr.-Ing. Dorothea Koert, Prof. Iolanda Leite, Ph.D., and Prof. Dr. Georgia Chalvatzaki. Learn more

December 31, 2024 – The BMBF-funded project IKIDA has been successfully completed.

December 13, 2024 – The BMBF-funded project IKIDA has successfully completed its 5th and final milestone meeting under evaluation by the DLR Projektträger (Project Management Agency).

December 9, 2024 – Congratulations! Vildan Salikutluk successfully defended her dissertation “Human Problem-Solving with Interactive Artificial Intelligence”.
The thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr. Frank Jäkel and Prof. Dr. Lewis Chuang. Learn more

November 29, 2024 – Cognitive Science @ TU Darmstadt, supported by the Centre for Cognitive Science, hosted a Mentoring Event on career prospects for cognitive science students. With around 110 attendees in total, the event was a big success. Learn more

July 15, 2024 – WhiteBox is engaged in the science simulation game “Knowledge versus Opinion” at schools in the federal state of Hesse. The simulation game introduces pupils to the importance of science and democracy. Learn more

June 2024 – From 13-14 June 2024 the 4th Movement Academy took place in Bensheim with over 50 participants, which was mainly organized by the DFG RTG LokoAssist. The aim of the Movement Academy is to create a unique learning space for movement experts and people interested in movements, national and international, that come from a variety of backgrounds including arts, sports, medicine, therapy and science. The conference was also supported by the Centre for Cognitive Science and due to the involved topics by the LOEWE research cluster WhiteBox , among others. Learn more

April 26, 2024 – Congratulations! Susanne Trick successfully defended her dissertation “Bayesian Fusion of Probabilistic Forecasts”.
The thesis was supervised by Prof. Constantin Rothkopf, Ph.D. and Prof. Dr. Dominik Endres. Learn more

April 25, 2024 – The Centre for Cognitive Science welcomed young pupils to its research facilities as part of Girls' Day, aimed at fostering curiosity and interest in cognitive science. The participants engaged in immersive sessions exploring various topics within the field. Learn more

April 18, 2024 – Congratulations! Thea Behrens successfully defended her dissertation “Improving Research Methods for Problem Solving: The Example of Sudoku”.
The thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr. Frank Jäkel and Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Kühnberger. Learn more

April 16, 2024 – IKIDA successfully convened its 4th milestone meeting. With guests from research and industry in attendance, the meeting served as a platform to discuss advancements, challenges, and future prospects. Learn more

April 2024 – WhiteBox supports the awareness event: “Uncovered Biases: The Power of Awareness in Dealing with Unconscious Bias” on 24th of April 2024. (The event is held in German only.) Learn more

February 2, 2024 – Successful next step in the Excellence Strategy. TU Darmstadt has the opportunity to establish three Clusters of Excellence: “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence” (RAI) , “The Adaptive Mind” (TAM) and CoM2Life. Members of the Centre for Cognitive Science are involved in all three initiatives. The principal investigators of the Centre for Cognitive Science are particularly involved in RAI and TAM with main topics along Artificial Intelligence and cognitive science. Learn more

January 26, 2024 – Cognitive Science @ TU Darmstadt, supported by the Centre for Cognitive Science, hosted a Mentoring Event on career prospects for cognitive science students. With around 120 attendees, the event was a big success. Learn more

January 23, 2024 – Congratulations! Florian Kadner successfully defended his dissertation “Active vision as sequential decision-making under uncertainty”.
The thesis was supervised by Prof. Constantin Rothkopf, Ph.D. and Prof. Mary M. Hayhoe, Ph.D. Learn more

January 2024 – In a publication in the renowned journal “Nature Human Behaviour”, WhiteBox researchers investigate the properties of behavioral economic theories automatically learned by artificial intelligence. The study highlights that cognitive science still cannot be easily automated by artificial intelligence and that a careful combination of theoretical reasoning, machine learning and data analysis is needed to understand and explain why human decisions are the way they are and deviate from the mathematical optimum. Read more (in German)

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