Matthew Tompkins graduated from the Questar III BOCES’ New Visions: Scientific Research & World Health program in 2007. Today, he is a researcher in the Cognitive Science Department at Lund University in Sweden, where he designs “fake mind control machines” used to study beliefs about free will and how individuals perceive and misperceive technology.
“The New Visions program provided me with my first experiences interacting with academic research and researchers,” Tompkins said. “One of my favorite parts of the course structure is that it gives such a great overview of the diversity of approaches to scientific research. It also gave me some of my first experiences engaging with academic literature and public speaking – two key elements of my current work.
“During my time at New Visions, I even conducted an independent research project reviewing literature on the interplay between performance magic and science,” he added. “Looking back, that assignment served as something of a blueprint for my career trajectory as an experimental psychologist, and many of the authors I read then are now my colleagues and friends.”
While in the New Visions program, Tompkins traveled to Guatemala with the Glens Falls Medical Foundation as part of its public health curriculum. He graduated from Greenville High School as its valedictorian.
After completing the New Visions program, Tompkins earned his Bachelor of Arts at SUNY Geneseo, where he interned in a visual cognition lab and spent a term studying abroad at the University of Oxford. In 2012, he returned to Oxford to complete a Master of Science in Psychological Research, followed by a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology.
Following his doctorate in 2018, Tompkins began working as a freelance science communicator where he did writing, speaking, and consulting for international audiences. His work has been featured across television, radio, print, and online outlets around the world. In 2019, he published “The Spectacle of Illusion” – a science book exploring the historical relationship between science and the study of illusions.
Tompkins has many fond memories of the New Visions program and offered advice to current students, saying, “stay curious and flexible for as long as you can. I remember when I was in high school it could feel like there was a lot of pressure to have a clear career roadmap, but one of the best parts of university is discovering new paths that you didn’t necessarily even know about while in High School. Experiment with new things, in and out of labs. Getting any kind of firsthand research/laboratory experience is one of the most valuable things you can do early in your educational experience. And don’t hesitate to pursue weird avenues of research that you are personally passionate about.”
