In 2018, VSS became a member of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences (FABBS).

FABBS is a coalition of scientific societies that share an interest in developing knowledge for the betterment of society by advancing the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior. FABBS represents the interests of its scientific societies by

• Educating federal representatives and Congress about the importance of research in the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior
• Advocating for legislation and policy that enhance training and research
• Providing sources of expertise and knowledge to federal agencies, Congress, and the media
• Encouraging the sound use of science in the creation of public policy
• Fostering effective interaction between agencies and organizations that fund research and the community of scientists and scientific societies
• Facilitating information exchange among constituent societies as well as other scientific organizations

For more information about FAABS, including important news and events, please visit the FABBS page on the VSS website.

With funding from the National Eye Institute, VSS is pleased to announce the availability of a limited number of travel grants for early career tenure or non-tenure track research faculty to attend the 2019 meeting. The grants are intended to cover most or all of the travel, lodging and registration costs. Grant recipients will be recognized at the VSS awards ceremony. The application deadline is March 22, 2019.

Eligibilty

The grants are available only to US citizens and permanent residents. To address historical disparities in our membership and the field, applications from females, under-represented minorities and individuals with disabilities are especially encouraged. Applicants need not be a co-author on an abstract at the 2019 meeting. Applicants may have no more than 10 years of active research experience since earning their terminal degree, allowing for the exclusion of times that typically “stop the clock” in academic tenure track positions. For the upcoming 2019 grant, if there was no break in active research/teaching, the degree must have been awarded in or after 2009.

Grant Selection

Applications will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the VSS Board of Directors. Grant recipients will be contacted by Friday, April 5, 2019.

Deadlines

First Day to Apply: February 19, 2019
Last Day to Apply: March 22, 2019
Recipients Notified: April 5, 2019

Submit an Application

This year’s Public Lecture will be delivered by Peter Thompson, a faculty member at the University of York, UK. The Lecture will be held at the St. Petersburg Main Library, on Sunday, May 19, 2019.

Peter’s talk, Visual Illusion in the Real World is free to the public. Although the lecture is intended for the public, VSS attendees are invited to attend.

Click here for more information about the VSS Public Lecture and how to get there.

Congratulations to Concetta Morrone, the fourth recipient of the Ken Nakayama Medal for Excellence in Vision Science. The Nakayama Medal was created to honor Professor Ken Nakayama’s contribution to the Vision Sciences Society, as well as his innovations and excellence to the domain of vision sciences. The winner of the Ken Nakayama Medal receives this honor for high-impact work that has made a lasting contribution in vision science in the broadest sense.

Dr. Morrone is a Professor of Physiology in the Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Pisa. In 2014, Concetta was elected a member of the Accademia dei Lincei and was awarded an ERC-IDEA advanced grant, a distinction of excellence in Europe.

For more information about Concetta Morrone and an overview of her career, please visit the Ken Nakayama Award page.

Concetta will be presented with the Ken Nakayama Medal and deliver a talk at the 2019 VSS Awards Session on Monday, May 20, at 12:30 pm.

VSS is pleased to announce that nominations for the 2017 Elsevier/VSS Young Investigator Award, sponsored by Vision Research, are now open. The prize, established in 2007, is awarded each year to an outstanding visual scientist who has received an advanced degree within the past 10 years.

To be eligible, the award applicant must have no more than 10 years of active research/teaching experience. (This allows the exclusion of times that typically “stop the clock” in academic tenure track positions.) If there was no break in active research/teaching, for the upcoming 2017 award, the degree must have been awarded in or after 2007.

Applicants must be active VSS members and have attended two of the last five VSS Meetings.

Nominations must be made by a VSS member and will be reviewed by the Young Investigator Award Committee, consisting of five established visual scientists selected from VSS membership. Members of the Award Committee and the VSS Board of Directors cannot serve as nominators.

The Award Committee will select the winner by March 21, and the prize, which includes an honorarium, will be presented at the 2017 VSS meeting in St. Pete Beach. The awardee will be asked to give a presentation of her/his work at the 2017 VSS meeting, and to prepare a featured review article related to his or her work for Vision Research.

The nominations should include:

• A letter of recommendation with a detailed description of the scientific contributions of the nominee.
• One additional letter of support.
• A curriculum vitae of the nominee.

Nominees from previous years can be re-nominated, assuming the nominee is still eligible. A new nomination letter is required in that case.

Nominations for the 2017 Young Investigator Award should be submitted by email to Shauney Wilson at .

Deadline for receipt of nominations: February 13, 2017