Professor Hayes (UNSW) is the founding Director of the Sydney Thinking and Reasoning (STAR) Laboratory, which he has led for over 15 years.  In that time the laboratory has attracted over $4M in competitive research funding.  Professor Hayes is an internationally recognised expert in reasoning, concept learning and memory, and in developmental change in these processes.  His work in these areas involves both experimental investigation and the application of computational models.  He also has a long-standing interest in the application of fundamental cognitive research to solving problems in areas such as forensic and clinical decision-making, early childhood education, and science communication in relation to climate change. He has previously served as the Head of the School of Psychology and as a member of the Australian Research Council (ARC) College of Experts.