👋 Hey, I’m Rodrigo

I’m Rodrigo Pereira Cruz, a cognitive scientist and AI researcher from 🇧🇷 Brazil, currently pursuing an MSc in Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the University of Essex.

🧠 My work lives at the intersection of AI, cognitive science, and computational neuroscience - where I explore how intelligence emerges, adapts, and self-organises.

While I started within traditional AI methods, my trajectory naturally led me toward neuro-inspired systems, probabilistic reasoning, and intrinsic learning mechanisms. I believe that building truly intelligent systems requires more than brute force - it demands understanding how learning itself unfolds.

• Cognitive modelling - using RL and probabilistic models to simulate cognitive processes.
• Intrinsic curiosity and meta-learning - exploring how agents self-motivate and adapt over time.
• Spiking neural networks and neuron models - bridging bio-realism and machine learning.
• Multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) - modelling distributed, emergent behaviours.
• Imitation and inverse RL - capturing expert-like behavior and learning from it.
• Gaussian processes and uncertainty-aware systems - making learning robust, explainable, and grounded.

🧬 Exploring embodied cognition and perceptual emergence through RL and neuro-inspired architectures.

🧠 Independent research projects (including my first preprint on Zenodo) focused on integrating RL into cognitive science frameworks.

🌍 Building bridges with European labs working in cognitive systems, neuro-symbolic AI, and adaptive learning.

📫 I'm open to research collaborations, academic exchanges, or just a good conversation about intelligence (natural or artificial).

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”
– Plutarch