Charan Ranganath, Ph.D.
Professor at the University of California, Davis, Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, and director of the Dynamic Memory Lab
Gloria Mark, Ph.D.
Chancellor's Professor Emerita at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Irvine
Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to What Matters
BONUS AFTER-HOURS EVENT: Attendees who purchase a copy of Why We Remember from FAN’s partner bookseller The Book Stall are invited to attend an AFTER-HOURS event hosted by Prof. Ranganath and Prof. Mark that will start immediately after the webinar. Details on the webinar registration page.
A new understanding of memory is emerging from the latest scientific research. In Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to What Matters, pioneering neuroscientist and psychologist Charan Ranganath, Ph.D. radically reframes the way we think about the everyday act of remembering. Combining accessible language with cutting-edge research, he reveals the surprising ways our brains record the past and how we use that information to understand who we are in the present, and to imagine and plan for the future.
As Prof. Ranganath shows, memory is a highly transformative force that shapes how we experience the world in often invisible and sometimes destructive ways. Knowing this can help us with daily remembering tasks, like finding our keys, and with the challenge of memory loss as we age. What’s more, when we work with the brain’s ability to learn and reinterpret past events, we can heal trauma, shed our biases, learn faster, and grow in self-awareness.
Ranganath is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California at Davis. For over 25 years, he has studied the mechanisms in the brain that allow us to remember past events, using brain imaging techniques, computational modeling, and studies of patients with memory disorders.
Prof. Ranganath will be in conversation with Gloria Mark, Ph.D. (FAN ’24), Chancellor’s Professor Emerita at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. Prof. Mark has been a visiting senior researcher at Microsoft Research since 2012. Her recent book is Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, named by The Globe and Mail as the #1 Best Business and Management book of 2023, and chosen as the Season 20 selection of the Next Big Idea Book Club.
This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded and available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.
Event Sponsors
- The Avery Coonley School
- Avoca/Marie Murphy PTC
- Baker Demonstration School
- Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School
- Brickton Montessori School
- British International School of Chicago, Lincoln Park
- Chicago Jewish Day School
- Compass Health Center
- Countryside Day School
- The Cove School
- Evanston Township High School D202
- The Family Institute at Northwestern University
- Family Service Center
- The Frances Xavier Warde School
- Francis W. Parker School
- Glencoe D35
- Gorton Center
- Grayslake Community High School D127
- Haven Youth and Family Services
- Hyde Park Day School
- Illinois Student Assistance Commission
- Kenilworth D38
- Lake Bluff D65
- Lake Forest Academy
- Lake Forest Community High School D115
- Lake Forest Country Day School
- Lake Michigan Association of Independent Schools
- Latin School of Chicago
- Lycée Français de Chicago
- Magnetar Capital
- Mindful Psychology Associates PC
- Morgan Park Academy
- New Trier High School D203
- New Trier Parents’ Association
- North Shore Country Day
- Northwestern University Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations
- Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
- Rebel Human
- Regina Dominican College Preparatory High School
- Resurrection College Prep High School
- Roycemore School
- Sacred Heart Schools
- St. Bernard’s School
- Santa Clara University School of Law
- Science & Arts Academy
- Stevenson High School D125
- University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
- Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District
- Wolcott College Prep
- Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart
- Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.)
Upcoming Events
The Miraculous from the Material: Understanding the Wonders of Nature
Alan Lightman, Ph.D.
Professor of the practice of the humanities at MIT and author of seven novels
Dacher Keltner, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, Faculty Director of the Greater Good Science Center, and bestselling author
ON ZOOM
The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions
Michael Norton, Ph.D.
Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Sam Sommers, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair in the Department of Psychology and Director of the Racial Equity and Diversity Lab at Tufts University
ON ZOOM
