{"691808":{"#nid":"691808","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Combining Computing and Psychology: A Q\u0026A with Elliot Huang","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDouble majoring in computer science (CS) and psychology offered Elliot Huang complementary perspectives on how people think, solve problems, and make decisions. The 2026 Georgia Tech graduate combined the two fields through his coursework and research in computational cognitive neuroscience.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs he prepares to continue that work as a postbaccalaureate researcher at Dartmouth College, Huang reflects on why he chose to double major and how the fields inform one another.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat drew you to study computing?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI could combine my everyday laptop and logic, with no additional material costs, to build something (an app, robot, algorithm, etc.) that solves a real human problem.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat inspired you to pursue psychology as a second major?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI\u0027ve always been fascinated with logic and how humans think. A few friends were facing mental health issues, which made me want to understand how the mind works so I could better support them.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat influenced you to double major?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI decided the summer after my sophomore year. There were several psychology courses I wanted to take, and I wanted a formal structure. I originally planned to complete two psychology certifications but found them too restrictive in course options. I realized that the second major required only one or two additional classes and would give me much greater flexibility to choose based on my specific interests.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do your two majors complement each other?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt first glance, they seem completely different, but they complement each other deeply. Computer science is essentially human logic executed very quickly, so understanding how the mind generates rational thought can improve CS theory and algorithm design. Conversely, CS thinking\u2013variables, functions, procedures\u2013can be used to represent much of what the mind does, both consciously and unconsciously.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECan you share a specific project, class, or experience where you\u2019ve combined both fields?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMy research with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/psychology.gatech.edu\/people\/robert-wilson\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EDr. Bob Wilson\u003C\/a\u003E sits at the intersection of both fields, in a domain called computational cognitive neuroscience. At a high level, I develop mathematical models that represent how humans use information to make decisions. My goal is to inform these models with real human behavioral data, implement them computationally, and evaluate their performance. Strong alignment suggests the model captures something genuine about how humans think.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat challenges have you faced balancing two majors?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe greater course load has not been too difficult. I took a psychology class one summer so I could still graduate in four years. Beyond that, I fulfilled a substantial portion of both degrees through research credit I was already pursuing, which made the overall load much more manageable.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do you plan on using your double major?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI will be working as a postbaccalaureate researcher with Dr. John Murray at Dartmouth College while applying to MD\/PhD programs. The work is a natural integration of both majors. Much of what I will be doing involves mediating between brain activity, human behavior, and artificial neural networks.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give to students considering a computing-related double major?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDon\u0027t double major just to boost your resume. A minor will likely get you most of the way there. Double major because you are genuinely interested in learning about another field.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIs there anything unexpected you\u2019ve gained from combining computing with another field?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere is a certain type of person and way of thinking that is drawn to CS, so the people I know in the major are not necessarily representative of the broader population at GT. Psychology students see the world very differently. Combining fields has exposed me to people with much more diverse perspectives than I would have encountered otherwise.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDouble majoring in computer science (CS) and psychology offered Elliot Huang complementary perspectives on how people think, solve problems, and make decisions. The 2026 Georgia Tech graduate combined the two fields through his coursework and research in computational cognitive neuroscience.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Double majoring in computer science (CS) and psychology offered Elliot Huang complementary perspectives on how people think, solve problems, and make decisions. The 2026 Georgia Tech graduate combined the two fields through his coursework and research in "}],"uid":"36613","created_gmt":"2026-08-19 15:56:37","changed_gmt":"2026-09-01 15:29:40","author":"Emily Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680918":{"id":"680918","type":"image","title":"elliot2.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787155012","gmt_created":"2026-08-19 15:56:52","changed":"1787155012","gmt_changed":"2026-08-19 15:56:52","alt":"Elliot Huang","file":{"fid":"265251","name":"elliot2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/elliot2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/elliot2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":24893,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/19\/elliot2.jpg?itok=F1ttGZTU"}},"680919":{"id":"680919","type":"image","title":"elliothuang1.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787155012","gmt_created":"2026-08-19 15:56:52","changed":"1787155012","gmt_changed":"2026-08-19 15:56:52","alt":"elliot huang","file":{"fid":"265252","name":"elliothuang1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/elliothuang1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/elliothuang1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":32383,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/19\/elliothuang1.jpg?itok=ifobarpE"}}},"media_ids":["680918","680919"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660374","name":"School of Computing Instruction"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"193157","name":"Student Honors and Achievements"}],"keywords":[{"id":"189662","name":"double major"},{"id":"193866","name":"school of computing instruction"},{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["emily.smith@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}