People
The High Level Vision Lab is dedicated to the study of vision, combining the talented and varied experience of NDSU researchers, coordinators, and arctic wildlife.
Laboratory Director: Ben Balas, Ph.D.
Dr. Balas received his Ph.D. in 2007 from MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive
Science. Prior to joining the faculty at NDSU, he did post-doctoral research at
Children's Hospital Boston. Dr. Balas' research interests are primarily in face and
object recognition, with an emphasis on visual learning and development.
Lab Mascot: Norman P. Bear, MPBS
Norman received his MPBS (Master of Polar Bear Studies) from PBIT (Polar Bear
Institute of Technology) in 2009. He has extensive experience as a testing assistant
and his primary research interest is an ongoing study of how he can get Dr. Balas to
give him more snacks.
Lab Coordinator: Alyson Saville
Alyson will be joining the lab in October of 2011 as our lab coordinator. Prior to
joining the Balas Lab, Alyson spent several years working with Dr. Linda Langley in
the Cognitive Aging Lab at NDSU.
Co-conspirator: Erin Conwell, Ph.D.
Dr. Conwell received her Ph.D. in 2008 from Brown University's Department of
Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences. Prior to joining the faculty at NDSU, she carried
out post-doctoral research at Harvard University. Dr. Conwell's research interests
are in language acquisition, with particular emphasis on the role of the language
environment on children's language use.
Undergraduate Research Assistant: Kate Stevenson
Kate is an undergraduate student at
Concordia and will be working with Dr. Balas and Dr. Mike Mangini on
projects related to how children and adults recognize real human faces
compared to artificial faces or faces belonging to other-species
groups.
Undergraduate Research Assistant: Chelsea Peterson
Email: Chelsea.L.Peterson@ndsu.edu
Alumni
Graduate Research Assistant: Carol Huynh
Undergraduate Research Assistant: Chris Tonsager
Graduate Student: Chris Kuylen
Research Scientist: Hsin-Mei Sun, Ph.D.