January 22, 2008

UCSB Psychologist Wins National Academy Prize

Gail Gallessich

Today the National Academy of Sciences announced that a psychologist from UC Santa Barbara will be honored along with 12 other individuals for extraordinary achievements in several areas of research: biology, chemistry, solar physics, ecology, mathematics, oceanography, paleontology, social sciences, and psychology.

The awards will be presented on April 27 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Miguel P. Eckstein, a professor of psychology who is affiliated with UCSB's Vision and Image Understanding Laboratory, will receive one of two Troland Research Awards. These annual research awards of $50,000 are given to each of two recipients to recognize unusual achievement and to further their research within the broad spectrum of experimental psychology.

Eckstein will be honored "for sophisticated theoretical analysis and modeling that address fundamental issues in perception and cognition and their application to the practical problems of medical imaging." Isabel Gauthier, associate professor of psychology, Department of Psychology at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., is the other Troland Research award recipient

The Troland Research Awards were established by a bequest from Leonard T. Troland and have been presented since 1984.

Information about all of the award winners can be found at the following website: http://national-academies.org/.

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.