Hey!

My name is John R. Starr.¹ I’m a computational psycholinguist. Most of my work focuses on how people dynamically update their processing strategies according to the information that they’ve already received, though I’m broadly interested in representational and behavioral analyses of both humans and language models (large or not). My interests often intersect the interfaces, but I am especially drawn to questions that explore what phonologically-involved phenomena can tell us about cognition. You can read more about my work by clicking the Publications and Presentations tabs above.

I’m currently a PhD Candidate in the Department of Linguistics at Cornell University, where I am advised by Dr. Marten van Schijndel. I’m affiliated with the Computational Psycholinguistics Discussion Group (C.Psyd), Cornell NLP, the Cornell Phonetics Lab (PLab), and the Linguistic Meaning Lab (LiMe). Additionally, I am currently one of two Student Representatives on the Executive Committee for the Linguistic Society of America. Before coming to Cornell, I completed two BAs, one in English Writing (Poetry) and one in Linguistics, from the University of Pittsburgh.

When I’m not doing linguistics, I’m probably doing one of the following: skipping stones in local creeks or on Lake Cayuga, setting routes at the local climbing gym in Ithaca, or napping with my cat Magnolia.

I’m originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, meaning \(John \in \{ \,x\, \mid \, x\, is\, a\, jaded\, and\, delusional\, Philly\, sports\, fan \} \).