Visual Cognition and Human Performance Division
Program Description
Members of the Visual Cognition and Human Performance division (VCHP) have interests in attention, perception, spatial cognition, skill learning, and action, with emphases on both basic and applied research in perception and cognition. Research in the division adopts a variety of approaches and methodologies to explore both basic mechanisms of visual cognition as well as real-world applications of cognitive and perceptual principles. The VCHP division interacts closely with other divisions in Psychology (particularly Cognitive and Brain and Cognition) - students and faculty in these divisions share broad interests in cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience, and they collaborate extensively both with each other and with members of other divisions within the psychology department.
Curriculum
The program is designed to train students to become contributing scientists in academic or applied settings and to become teachers at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Over the course of the program, students and advisor work together to design a program of study fitted to the student's particular needs and interests. The program places a heavy emphasis on original research from the beginning of graduate studies, and all students complete a first-year research project which they then present in the division seminar.
Facilities and Resources
Students, postdocs, and faculty in the division have access to state-of-the-art research facilities and tools including multi-modality brain imaging (fMRI, optical imaging, high-density EEG/ERP), exceptional eye tracking equipment, flight and driving simulators, and virtual reality environments (both 4- and 6-sided caves). They also have access to diverse subject populations (e.g., children, elderly, neuropsychological patients).
Affiliated Departments, Programs, and Institutes
The VCHP division participates in the interdisciplinary Engineering Psychology & Human Factors program and also maintains close ties with the Institute of Aviation as well as other departments in the university (e.g., Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Kinesiology, Education). All of the members are also affiliated with the interdisciplinary Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.
Visual Cognition and Human Performance Division Faculty
David E. Irwin, Professor & Department Head
Visual perception, visual cognition, memory, and language.
Office: Room 315 | (217) 333-0632 | irwin@illinois.edu
Arthur F. Kramer, Professor & Beckman Institute director
Cognitive neuroscience, cognition & aging, selective attention, skill acquisition and training, human factors.
Office: Room 515 | (217) 333-9532 | akramer@cyrus.psych.uiuc.edu
Alejandro Lleras, Associate Professor
Interplay between visual awareness, attention and memory systems; between perception and action; and embodied cognition.
Office: Room 523 | (217) 265-6709 | AlejandroLleras@gmail.com
Daniel J. Simons, Professor
Visual cognition, perception, attention, and memory. Much of my research focuses on successes and failures of visual awareness, including change blindness and inattentional blindness.
Office: Room 807 | (217) 333-7628 | dsimons@illinois.edu
Ranxiao Frances Wang, Associate Professor
Principles used by humans and other animals to solve various perceptual and spatial problems and how to implement these principles in artificial systems; and the reference systems and processes underlying human navigation, space perception, object and scene recognition, and visual perception of self-motion.
Office: Room 533 | (217) 244-3664 | francesw@cyrus.psych.uiuc.edu
Associated Faculty
Christopher Wickens, Professor Emeritus
Applied cognitive psychology, specifically how humans interact with complex systems, particularly airplanes (pilots and controllers) and ground vehicles.
Office: Room 511 | (217) 333-6195 | cwickens@illinois.edu
Affiliates from Other Departments
Alex Kirlik, Human Factors Division, Beckman Institute
and Departments of Psychology, Computer Science, Mechanical Science & Engineering, and Industrial & Enterprise Systems Engineering
(217) 244-8972 | Website | kirlik@illinois.edu