Robert Morrison seeks to live and work at the crossroads of the arts and sciences. As an undergraduate Morrison studied chemistry and molecular biology at Wheaton College and later studied art at the Cleveland Institute of Art. He received an MA in experimental psychology from Cleveland State University and a PhD in cognitive neuroscience from UCLA while he was a National Research Service Award fellow.

During the last two decades Morrison's work in the sciences has spread across several disciplines. He has worked in molecular biology and chemistry research labs and managed a chemistry research program where his team of researchers was responsible for developing a new polymer technology resulting in several US patents.

Morrison was first attracted to the study of psychology through his work as a conceptual artist where he developed visual analogies involving identity development and sharing and explored the ways that observers influence the creative process. In psychology, his work has concentrated on human higher cognition including work on mental imagery and analogical reasoning. He developed an experimental and computational program of research to investigate how the brain constrains human reasoning. This has involved work with several different populations including college students, children, older adults and patients suffering from dementia. His work as a cognitive scientist has been supported by the Natiional Institute of Mental Health the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.  He has published numerous scientific papers and is the co-editor of the recently published Cambridge Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning (Cambridge University Press), the first comprehensive handbook on higher human thought.

Simultaneous with his science career, he has actively pursued the arts. His paintings, photographs and sculpture have been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States and he has designed sets and media for the stage while producing for both the stage and cinema. To learn more about Morrison's art visit Studio Theia.