Rachel Sarah Herz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rachel Herz
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| Notable works | The Scent of Desire, That's Disgusting, and Why You Eat What You Eat |
Rachel Sarah Herz is a scientist from Canada and the U.S. She is a psychologist and a cognitive neuroscientist. This means she studies how our brains work and how we think. She is famous for her research on the psychology of smell – how our sense of smell affects our minds and feelings.
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Early Life and Education
Rachel Herz studied psychology and biology at Queen's University in Canada. She then earned her master's degree and a PhD in psychology from the University of Toronto. After finishing her PhD in 1992, she received a special award. This award helped her continue her research at the University of British Columbia. In 1994, she won another award for promising young scientists. She then joined the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.
Her Work at Universities
In 2000, Dr. Herz started teaching at Brown University. She worked in the Psychology Department. Later, she became a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University Medical School. From 2013 to 2022, she also taught part-time at Boston College.
Dr. Herz has given many talks, including several TED-X speeches. Since the mid-1990s, she has also worked as a consultant. She advises many big companies that make fragrances and flavors. She also gives lectures to people all over the world.
In 2004, Dr. Herz decided to focus more on other creative projects. This is when she started writing her book, The Scent of Desire. She also worked on new ways to teach people about our chemical senses, like smell and taste. Her father was a famous mathematician named Carl S. Herz.
Understanding the Psychology of Smell
Dr. Herz's work explores how words and feelings can change what we smell. Her research has shown that our minds can create "smell illusions" just from words. For example, if you read a word like "lemon," you might almost smell it.
She also studies how we sense food. She looks at how our feelings about food influence us. Dr. Herz uses different scientific methods in her research. These include studying how our senses work, asking people about their experiences, and looking at brain activity. She uses tools like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to see how the brain reacts to smells and tastes.
Books by Rachel Herz
Dr. Herz has written several books that help explain her research to everyone.
- The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell is about how our sense of smell works and how it affects our lives.
- That's Disgusting: Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion explores why we find certain things disgusting.
- Why You Eat What You Eat: The Science Behind our Relationship with Food looks at the science behind our food choices and habits.
Public Engagement and Media
Dr. Herz is part of several important groups. These include the UK charity for smell loss, Fifth Sense. She also serves on advisory boards for the Smell and Taste Association of North America and the Association for Chemoreception Sciences.
Her research on how memory is linked to our senses was featured in a Smithsonian Institution exhibit. This exhibit, called "Brain: The world inside your head," traveled around from 2001 to 2006.
Dr. Herz has been interviewed by many news outlets. These include CBC, The Discovery Channel, ABC News, The BBC, National Geographic, and National Public Radio. She also appeared in the documentary Mystify: Michael Hutchence.
