Meet the Team.

Dr Ruairidh Battleday

Dr Ruairidh Battleday is a cognitive scientist, AI researcher and founder working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, neuroscience and mathematics.

He completed his PhD in Computer Science at Princeton University under the supervision of Tom Griffiths and continued his research with Sam Gershman on computational models of scientific reasoning.

His work focuses on generalization, the ability of a learning system to use past experience to make inferences in new situations. In particular, he studies relational generalization, exploring how both humans and machines can move beyond surface similarity to recognise deeper structural patterns.

This line of research contributes to a broader effort to better understand human cognition and to improve the flexibility, efficiency and robustness of modern machine learning systems.

As founder and President of Thinking About Thinking, he leads a growing international community of researchers and practitioners. Through initiatives including neuroMONSTER and the AE Global Summit, as well as the newly established Thinking About Thinking Fellowship, the organisation convenes work at the foundations of intelligence across disciplines.

Dr James Whittington

Dr James Whittington is a computational neuroscientist and AI researcher working at the intersection of neuroscience, artificial intelligence and mathematics.

He studied physics, medicine and neuroscience at the University of Oxford, where he completed a DPhil in Neuroscience. He later held a Sir Henry Wellcome Fellowship at Stanford University.

His research focuses on the neural mechanisms underlying flexible behaviour, particularly how structured knowledge is learned and generalised. By combining computational modelling, theory and neuroscience, his work examines how hierarchical and compositional representations support reasoning, inference and decision-making.

A central theme of his research is understanding the role of the hippocampal formation and prefrontal cortex in organising knowledge. His work studies how cognitive maps and structured representations support flexible behaviour across both spatial and non-spatial domains.

Alongside this, he develops and analyses neural network models trained on structured tasks, using these systems to investigate when and why different representations and algorithms emerge. This work contributes to research connecting neuroscience and artificial intelligence.

Dr James Whittington is a Principal Investigator in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford. His work includes publications in journals and conferences such as Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, ICLR and NeurIPS.

As co-founder of Thinking About Thinking, he contributes to shaping the organisation's scientific agenda and programmes across AI, neuroscience and the mathematics of intelligence.

Dr Giovanni Pezzulo

Dr Giovanni Pezzulo is a cognitive scientist based in Rome, where he serves as Research Director at the Italian National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies.

His research investigates the computational and neural foundations of cognition, with a focus on prediction, planning, decision-making and active inference. He combines theoretical and computational modelling with experimental work in cognitive neuroscience.

As Conference Chair for NM2026, he helps shape the scientific programme and hosts the conference in his home city of Rome.