Across the sciences, computational modeling is one the most widely-used methods for linking different levels of analysis, to show how processes at one level can interact to produce emergent system behavior at another level. Within the cognitive science, computational modeling has been used to link neural, mental, and behavioral levels of analysis, for instance. Computational modeling has also served as a common ground for drawing links across the various disciplines that comprise the cognitive sciences, such as cognitive neuroscience, linguistics, computer science, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and education. Computational modeling has clearly become a valuable and oftentimes needed skill in the cognitive sciences, yet there are barriers to acquiring and practicing this skill for students and junior investigators entering the field. To encourage the practice of computational modeling, the National Science Foundation will contribute to prizes and tutorials for computational modeling submissions to the 2006 Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. The prizes and tutorials will be aimed at getting students interested and involved in computational modeling, and to provide some initial training that might spur them to seek further training through their institutions and other resources.
