Anna Abraham, PhDE. Paul Torrance Professor, Department of Educational Psychology Director, Torrance Center for Creativity Mary Frances Early College of Education University of Georgia (UGA) Athens, GA, USA |
|
Email: annaabr[@]gmail.com | University Webpage: UGA | Profile: Google Scholar | Group: Creativity & Imagination Lab | ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4954-8205
Research Expertise: Creativity, Imagination, Reality-Fiction Distinction, Mental Time Travel, Theory of Mind, Self-Referential Thought
Domains/Disciplines: Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, Neuropsychology, Clinical Neuroscience, Social Neuroscience
|
-- CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS -- As Editor of the Cambridge Elements in Creativity & Imagination, I seek contributions for this innovative short book publication series by Cambridge University Press from all corners of the academic and practitioner community.
|
A newsletter (via SUBSTACK) from the Torrance Center for Creativity featuring interviews & discussions (text + audio) with experts from across field of study who share their reflections on human creativity.
|
WHAT'S NEW?
Apr 2026 (upcoming): Chair & Organizer of the 2026 Torrance Festival of Ideas (Theme: CREATIVITY & AI) [festival website]
Mar 2026: Panel Discussant -- Neuroaesthetics and the Power of Designing for the Edges -- Spaces for Possibility Symposium organized by Mannington Commercial + International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Atlanta.
Mar 2026: Public Lecture -- Understanding the Human Imagination: A Neurophilosophical Approach -- for the IMPULSE-Focus Event Series 2026/27 on Imagination/Memory at the Impulse House of Intellectual Innovation and Creativity, University of Bonn, Germany. [program pdf]
Mar 2026: Workshop Instructor -- A Palette of Possibilities to Nurture the Imagination -- for the IMPULSE-Focus Event Series 2026/27 on Imagination/Memory at the Impulse House of Intellectual Innovation and Creativity, University of Bonn, Germany. [program pdf]
Mar 2026: Speaker -- How Educational Systems are Designed to Erode the Imaginative, the Experiential, and the Agentic -- for the Neuroscience-informed educational policy and practice symposium at the Scientia/De Lange Conference XIV in Houston, TX.
Mar 2026: Interviewed Chris Holmes ("The Cogito Teaching Process: The Long Game in Planting the Seeds of Self-Awareness in Children") for the In Pursuit of Creativity Substack.
Feb 2026: Research Grant awarded -- Targeting the Creativity Brain Network Using Behavioral and Neural Intervention Methods to Improve Rehabilitative Outcomes in Diverse Neurological Populations -- UGA Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grant program.
Jan 2026: Conducted a comprehensive 3-year review of the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (MPIEA) (Frankfurt, Germany) for the Max Planck Society as a member of the MPIEA Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).
Dec 2025: Book chapter -- Creative Neurocognition -- published Designing Design Education, Volume 2: 75 Impulses.
Dec 2025: Paper -- Uniqueness in Creative Expertise -- published in the Journal of Expertise.
Dec 2025: Interviewed Thalia Goldstein ("Cultivating "Brave Spaces" through Playful Learning Frameworks") for the In Pursuit of Creativity Substack.
Dec 2025: Interviewed Cyndi Burnett & Matthew Worwood, hosts of the Fueling Creativity in Education podcast ("Celebrating the Creativity that is Inherent to the Teaching Profession") for the In Pursuit of Creativity Substack.
Nov 2025: Speaker -- Building Confidence in Creativity & Innovation -- National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Emerging Leaders Program in Philadelphia, PA. [program pdf]
Nov 2025: Paper -- Because You Watched: How Do Streaming Services’ Recommender Systems Influence Aesthetic Choice? -- now published in Behavioral Sciences.
Nov 2025: Speaker -- Not just Glitter & Glue for the Gifted: Teaching for Creativity is a Necessity for All -- Clarke County School District (CCSD) Professional Learning Day session in Athens, GA.
Oct 2025: Featured Faculty Speaker -- Myths & Truths of the Creative Brain -- UGA Annual Neuroscience Research Symposium in Athens, GA.
Oct 2025: Interviewed Ron Beghetto and Maciej Karwowski ("Going from creative potential to actually doing something impactful in the world") for the In Pursuit of Creativity Substack.
Oct 2025: Interviewee -- The Creative Brain: Busting Myths About Creativity with Dr. Anna Abraham -- for the SuperCreativity Podcast with James Taylor.