In Memory Of… Janellen Huttenlocher
Honoring scientists who have made important and lasting contributions to the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior.
Janellen Huttenlocher, PhD (1932-2016)
William S. Gray Professor of Psychology
University of Chicago
Professor Janellen Huttenlocher received her B.A. at the University of Buffalo, and her M. A. and Ph.D. at Harvard University. She taught at the University of Chicago since 1974.
Professor Huttenlocher’s career was remarkable. One of the first cognitive psychologists, she completed her doctoral and postdoctoral training at the epicenter of the cognitive revolution-Harvard University in the 1960s. While this movement was transforming the field of psychology, Professor Huttenlocher rose to prominence as one of its leading figures. And as a woman in science, she blazed the trail for legions of female psychologists who followed.
Author of two books and over 100 research articles, Professor Huttenlocher published on a range of research topics, including language, spatial coding in adults and children, quantitative development, and memory. She was a major figure, both within these subfields and in psychology at large. Her work appeared in the most prestigious journals in the field, including seven articles in Psychological Review. She was widely cited by both developmental and cognitive psychologists.
Professor Huttenlocher received recognition at every level, from local to international. Her work was funded by an NICHD Research Career Development Award from 1969 to 1974. She was named William S. Gray professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago. In 2002, she received the APA Division 7’s G. Stanley Hall Award for Distinguished Contributions to Developmental Psychology. And in 2004, she was invited to spend the year as a Fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin, Germany. She was routinely invited to present talks at university colloquia around the world, as well as national and international conferences. She served on numerous grant panels and editorial boards.
Professor Huttenlocher was a member of the American Psychological Association, the Cognitive Development Society, Psychonomic Society, and the Society for Research in Child Development. She served on editorial boards of the Journal of Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, as well as Psychological Review. She also served on the Behavioral Development Study Section of the National Institute of Child Health and Development and on the National Science Foundation Panel on Memory and Cognition.
In addition to her considerable accomplishments as a researcher, Professor Huttenlocher also influenced generations of young psychologists through her mentorship and teaching.
She served as a doctoral or postdoctoral advisor to dozens of budding psychologists. She also supported and inspired numerous junior faculty members through a variety of collaborative activities. As a faculty member at the University of Chicago, she led topical seminars with graduate students as well as teaching large undergraduate lecture courses, often volunteering to teach more than the usual load. She also served as chairperson of the Developmental Psychology area and participated in many thesis committees.
Her contribution to the future of psychology was far-reaching and profound.
Individuals Honoring Janellen Huttenlocher:
Roberta Corrigan, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
L. Elizabeth Crawford
* Susan Fiske, Princeton University
Judith Goodman, University of Missouri, Columbia
Larry Hedges, Northwestern University
E. Tory Higgins, Columbia University
Nancy Jordan, University of Delaware
Yaakov Kareev, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
* Susan Levine, University of Chicago
* Nora Newcombe, Temple University
Mary Potter, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Terry Regier, University of Chicago
John Rieser, Vanderbilt University
Patricia Smiley, The Pomona College
Marina Vasilyeva, Boston College
Jack Vevea, University of California, Santa Cruz
* Amanda Woodward, University of Maryland, College Park
* The FABBS Foundation would like to thank Dr. Susan Fiske, Dr. Susan Levine, Dr. Nora Newcombe, and Dr. Amanda Woodward for nominating Dr. Huttenlocher for this honor and for leading the effort to spread the word about her nomination.
