Alexander L. Francis
FrancisA@purdue.edu

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EMPLOYMENT

I am currently an associate professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

I am also a Program Faculty member in Linguistics and a Faculty Associate in the Center on Aging and the Life Course, and hold a courtesy appointment in Psychological Sciences.

EDUCATION

Before coming to Purdue, I was a Post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Hong Kong, working primarily with Valter Ciocca.

Before that I received my PhD from the University of Chicago in Psychology and Linguistics under the supervision of Howard Nusbaum in Psychology and Karen Landahl in Linguistics. I also worked with Terry Regier, Steve Shevell, David McNeil, and Janellen Huttenlocher.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My research explores the effects of limited processing capacity on speech perception, with the goal of understanding how cognitive processing contributes to understanding speech in difficult listening situations such as in the presence of competing speech (the “cocktail party problem.”)  I am interested both in the effects of cognitive decline on speech perception (i.e. due to aging, dementia and brain injury) and in the effects that various kinds of interventions have on such decline (i.e. cognitive training, auditory rehabilitation). I approach these topics from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience, exploring relationships among psychoacoustic, psychological and neuroimaging variables in human participants, including both younger and older adults with and without cognitive deficits or hearing impairment.  Another line of research explores the effects of linguistic experience and perceptual training on listeners’ attention to different acoustic properties of speech sounds. I have also studied the production, perception and learning of Cantonese lexical tones, and factors contributing to the intelligibility of synthetic speech. I teach courses in aging and communication, acoustics, and experimental phonetics, and I am developing courses in attention and speech perception.

After many years of sloth I joined the Wabash River Runners' Club. I particularly enjoy multi-sport events (triathlons and duathlons). Here are some of the races I have done. Life has taken its toll on my training and racing, but I hope to get back to it soon...

CONTACT ME

francisa@purdue.edu
(765) 494-3815
Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Heavilon Hall
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907
USA

last updated November 20, 2009.