Hi! I’m Surya, and I’m a Lab Manager in the Psychology Department at Yale University, working with Dr. Julia Leonard. Before joining Yale, I received my BS in Cognitive Science and BA in Psychology in 2025 from UC Santa Cruz, where I worked with Dr. Maureen Callanan. I also worked in Dr. Hyowon Gweon’s lab at Stanford as an undergraduate summer intern.

Research Interests

Human learning is remarkably powerful. From understanding the origins of the universe to building cultural institutions, our ability to learn underlies humanity’s countless achievements. Yet learning itself presents a fundamental problem: in a world filled with more information than we could ever acquire, how do learners determine what and how to learn? This problem is especially consequential for children who enter the world surrounded with an abundance of information but have relatively little knowledge about what is worth learning and how much effort to invest. Drawing from approaches in cognitive and developmental science, I aim to uncover the cognitive mechanisms and social factors that shape how children navigate this puzzle.

Outside of Research

In my free time, you can find me playing and watching soccer, basketball (Go Dubs), and football. I love rewatching some of my favorite TV shows like The Wire, Parks and Rec, The Sopranos, and Avatar the Last Airbender. I also enjoy cooking South Indian food for my friends and watching them suffer as they experience real spice for the first time.