PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Susan Goldin-Meadow

Also known as Susan J. Goldin-Meadow

Susan Goldin-Meadow is a psychologist at the University of Chicago who studies whether children can create a language with their hands. She earned a doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania in 1975. In 2015 the Association for Psychological Science named her a William James Fellow Award recipient, and she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2020. In 2021 she won the Rumelhart Prize for her work in cognitive science, and she described collaborations on computational models of language learning. As of October 2026, she is the Beardsley Ruml Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago.

Photo of Susan Goldin-Meadow

Timeline

  1. 1975

    A doctorate at Penn

    She completes her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in 1975. At Penn, with Lila Gleitman and Heidi Feldman, she starts asking whether children who lack a usable language model can still create a language with their hands.

  2. 2001

    Guggenheim and Cattell fellowships

    She wins a Guggenheim Fellowship and a James McKeen Cattell Fellowship in 2001. These fellowships lead to two books, Resilience of Language and Hearing Gesture.

  3. 2015

    A William James Fellow Award

    The Association for Psychological Science names her a 2015 William James Fellow Award recipient.

  4. 2020

    Election to the National Academy

    She is elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2020, one of 120 new members.

  5. 2021

    The David E. Rumelhart Prize

    She wins the 2021 David E. Rumelhart Prize for her work in cognitive science, particularly her research on linguistically isolated deaf children.

  6. 2021

    Computational models of language learning

    In 2021 she describes a move into cognitive science, collaborating with colleagues to develop computational models of language learning.

  7. March 2025

    Pinkel Endowed Lecture at Penn

    In March 2025 she gives the Pinkel Endowed Lecture at the University of Pennsylvania, on how gesture can substitute for speech.

  8. As of October 2026

    Distinguished Service Professor at Chicago

    She is the Beardsley Ruml Distinguished Service Professor in psychology at the University of Chicago.

Sources and credits

Photo: Belle Waring for the NIH Record, via Wikimedia Commons. License: Public domain. Source: commons.wikimedia.org. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. Susan Goldin-Meadow | Department of Psychology psychology.uchicago.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Goldin-Meadow Honored for Seminal Research on Gesture and Learning – Association for Psychological Science – APS psychologicalscience.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Giulia Galli, Susan Goldin-Meadow elected to National Academy of Sciences | University of Chicago News news.uchicago.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Six APS Fellows Elected to Membership in National Academy of Sciences – Association for Psychological Science – APS psychologicalscience.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Goldin-Meadow wins 2021 David E. Rumelhart Prize for her cognitive science research | The University of Chicago Division of the Social Sciences socialsciences.uchicago.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Susan Goldin-Meadow - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Susan Goldin-Meadow – 2025 – Pinkel Endowed Lecture Series web.sas.upenn.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.