Computational and Mathematical Models in Vision (MODVIS)Wednesday, May 11 – Friday, May 13 Organizers: Jeff Mulligan, NASA Ames Research Center; Zyg Pizlo, Purdue University; Anne Sereno, U. Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Qasim Zaidi, SUNY College of Optometry The 5th VSS satellite workshop on Computational and Mathematical Models in Vision (MODVIS) will feature extended oral presentations on quantitative modeling of a variety of visual processes. A keynote address will be given by Prof. Steve Zucker (Yale) on Thursday afternoon. The registration fee is $100 for regular participants, $50 for students. WorldViz Virtual Reality WorkshopSaturday, May 14, 12:45 – 2:00 pm, Talk Room 2 Organizer: Matthias Pusch, WorldViz Virtual Reality gets a lot of press lately, and releases about new hardware and software are coming out pretty much daily. This session will give an overview of recent trends and new technologies and discuss their use cases and limitations for research applications. “Individual Differences in Vision” Brown Bag LunchSunday, May 15, 12:45 – 2:00 pm, Talk Room 2 Organizers: Hrag Pailian1 and Jeremy Wilmer2; 1Harvard University, 2Wellesley College Third biennial IDV Brown Bag: A whirlwind tour of the breadth of individual differences related work currently being conducted by VSS members. The event features a series of “micro-talks” where speakers give 2-minute presentations on cutting edge research that ranges across a wide variety of content areas. Bring your lunch, meet fellow researchers, and experience the power of the individual differences approach to vision! Are there donuts in vision? Neural computation of global image configuration by a circular receptive field.Monday, May 16, 2:00 – 4:00 pm, Sawgrass Organizers: Naoki Kogo1, Bart Machilsen1, Michele Cox2, Vicky Froyen1; 1 Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, 2Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, USA Discussants: The global visual context influences the processing of local image information in the visual system. Ample evidence for this claim comes from neurophysiological and psychophysical studies. This special interest/discussion meeting will explore plausible neural mechanisms that reflect the global configuration of an image, and the role of such a mechanism in Gestalt-like phenomena of figure-ground organization and shape representation. These phenomena demonstrate that long-range neuronal interactions modulate the coding of local image features in early visual areas. Border-ownership selective neurons, for instance, modulate their firing rate in response to the figural side of a boundary, which can only be derived from the global image context (1). To explain this mechanism, the existence of a “grouping cell” in a recurrent neural circuit has been suggested (2). From their functional role in the computation of border ownership some structural properties of these putative grouping cells have been proposed, such as a donut-shaped receptive field. The concept of a grouping cell has relevance for various lines of research: computational neuroscience, neurophysiology, and experimental psychology. This satellite event wants to facilitate cross-talk between these disciplines by approaching this putative grouping cell from different angles. For instance, the collective activities of grouping cells can result in a “medial axis” representation, similar to the skeleton-type of shape coding developed in computer vision science (3). Also, the pattern of oriented edges in natural images has revealed a co-circular organization of luminance boundaries (4), likely due to the presence of object boundaries (5). Neurophysiological data further hint at the existence of computational mechanisms to encode global configurations: Skeleton-like neural signals have been measured in V4 (6), an area where donut-shaped receptive fields have been found (7). Grouping-cell activity has also been reported for neurons aligned to the center of an illusory surface (8). This finding is in line with a recent computational model linking the coding of border-ownership to illusory surface perception (9). In this context, the neural representation of occluded shapes can help understand the neural coding of shape and depth order (10). Taken together, the integration of approximately iso-distant edge information appears sensible given the co-circular pattern of edges in natural images and given the neurophysiological measurements and models described above. It remains to be seen whether this integrative mechanism could indeed be embedded in grouping cells with a donut-shaped receptive field. In this satellite event, the discussants from multidisciplinary backgrounds will examine the biological plausibility of this idea and discuss possible alternatives for the neural computation of global configurations in images. References
Females of Vision et al. (FoVea) MeetingMonday May 16, 5:00 – 6:00 pm, Breck Deck North Organizers: Diane Beck, University of Illinois; Mary Peterson, University of Arizona; Karen Schloss, Brown University; Allison Sekuler, McMaster University. VSS women and men of all ages and stages are invited to join us for the founding gathering of Females of Vision et al. (FoVea). We’ll discuss how, collectively, we can address issues to enhance participation in and success of women in vision science. Beverages will be provided on a first-come first-served basis until our $ runs out. |
Satellite
2017 Satellite Events
Wednesday, May 17
Computational and Mathematical Models in Vision (MODVIS)
Wednesday, May 17 – Friday, May 19, Horizons
9:00 am – 6:00 pm, Wednesday
9:00 am – 6:00 pm, Thursday
9:00 am – 12:00 pm Friday
Organizers: Jeff Mulligan, NASA Ames Research Center; Zyg Pizlo, Purdue University; Anne Sereno, U. Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Qasim Zaidi, SUNY College of Optometry
The 6th VSS satellite workshop on Computational and Mathematical Models in Vision (MODVIS) will be held at the VSS conference venue (the Tradewinds Island Resorts in St. Pete Beach, FL) May 17 – May 19. A keynote address will be given by Aude Oliva (MIT).
The early registration fee is $80 for regular participants, $40 for students. More information can be found on the workshop’s website: http://www.conf.purdue.edu/modvis/
Thursday, May 18
Implicit Guidance of Attention: Developing theoretical models
Thursday, May 18, 9:00 am – 6:00 pm, Jasmine/Palm
Organizers: Rebecca Todd, University of British Columbia and Chelazzi Leonardo, University of Verona
Speakers: Leo Chelazzi, Jane Raymond, Rebecca Todd, Andreas Keil, Clayton Hickey, Sarah Shomstein, Ayelet Landau, Brian Anderson, Jan Theeuwes
Visual selective attention is the process by which we tune ourselves to the world so that, of the millions of bits per second transmitted by the retina, the information that is most important to us reaches awareness and guides action. Recently, new areas of attention research have emerged, making sharp divisions between top-down volitional attention and bottom-up automatic capture by visual features much less clear than previously believed. Challenges to this intuitively appealing dichotomy have arisen as researchers have identified factors that guide attention non-strategically and often implicitly (a quality of bottom-up processes) but also rely on prior knowledge or experience (a quality of top-down systems). As a result, a number of researchers have been developing new theoretical frameworks that move beyond the classic attentional dichotomy. This roundtable discussion will bring together researchers from often-siloized investigative tracks who have been investigating effects of reward, emotion, semantic associations, and statistical learning on attentional guidance, as well as underlying neurocognitive mechanisms. The goal of this roundtable is to discuss these emerging frameworks and outstanding questions that arise from considering a broader range of research findings.
Friday, May 19
In the Fondest Memory of Bosco Tjan (Memorial Symposium)
Friday, May 19, 9:00 – 11:30 am, Talk Room 1-2
Organizers: Zhong-lin Lu, The Ohio State University and Susana Chung, University of California, Berkeley
Speakers: Zhong-lin Lu, Gordon Legge, Irving Biederman, Anirvan Nandy, Rachel Millin, Zili Liu, and Susana Chung
Professor Bosco S. Tjan was murdered at the pinnacle of a flourishing academic career on December 2, 2016. The vision science and cognitive neuroscience community lost a brilliant scientist and incisive commentator. I will briefly introduce Bosco’s life and career, and his contributions to vision science and cognitive neuroscience.
Bruce Bridgeman Memorial Symposium
Friday, May 19, 9:00 – 11:30 am, Pavilion
Organizer: Susana Martinez-Conde, State University of New York
Speakers: Stephen L. Macknik, Stanley A. Klein, Susana Martinez-Conde, Paul Dassonville, Cathy Reed, and Laura Thomas
Professor Emeritus of Psychology Bruce Bridgeman was tragically killed on July 10, 2016, after being struck by a bus in Taipei, Taiwan. Those who knew Bruce will remember him for his sharp intellect, genuine sense of humor, intellectual curiosity, thoughtful mentorship, gentle personality, musical talent, and committed peace, social justice, and environmental activism. This symposium will highlight some of Bruce’s many important contributions to perception and cognition, which included spatial vision, perception/action interactions, and the functions and neural basis of consciousness.
Saturday, May 20
How Immersive Eye Tracking Tools and VR Analytics Will Impact Vision Science Research
Saturday, May 20, 12:30 – 2:00 pm, Jasmine/Palm
Organizers: Courtney Gray, SensoMotoric Instruments, Inc. and Annett Schilling, SensoMotoric Instruments GmbH
Speakers: Stephen Macknik, SUNY Downstate Medical Center; Gabriel Diaz, Rochester Institute of Tech; Mary Hayhoe, University of Texas
This event covers the implications of new immersive HMD technologies and dedicated VR analysis solutions for vision science research. Researchers share their experiences and discuss how they believe VR eye tracking headsets and the ability to analyze data from immersive scenarios will positively impact visual cognition and scene perception research.
FoVea (Females of Vision et al) Workshop and Lunch
Saturday, May 20, 12:30 – 2:30 pm, Horizons
Organizers: Diane Beck, University of Illinois; Mary A. Peterson, University of Arizona; Karen Schloss, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Allison Sekuler, McMaster University
Panelists: Marisa Carrasco, New York University and Allison Sekuler, McMaster University
FoVea is a group founded to advance the visibility, impact, and success of women in vision science. To that end, we plan to host a series of professional issues workshops during lunchtime at VSS. We encourage vision scientists of all genders to participate in the workshops.
The topic of the 2017 workshop is Negotiation: When To Do It and How To Do It Successfully. Two panelists will each give a presentation, and then will take questions and comments from the audience. The remainder of the workshop time will be spent networking with other attendees. The panelists are:
- Marisa Carrasco, Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University who served as the Chair of the Psychology Department for 6 years.
- Allison Sekuler, Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour and Strategic Advisor to the President and VPs on Academic Issues, McMaster University; past Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience (2001-2011), Associate VP & Dean, School of Graduate Studies (2008-2016), and interim VP Research (2015-2016).
A buffet lunch will be available. Registration is required so the appropriate amount of food can be on hand.
Sunday, May 21
Social Hour for Faculty at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs)
Sunday, May 21, 12:30 – 2:00 pm, Royal Tern
Organizers: Eriko Self, California State University, Fullerton; Cathy Reed, Claremont McKenna College; and Nestor Matthews, Denison University
Do you work at a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI)? Do you have to find precious time for research and mentoring students among heavy teaching load? If so, bring your lunch or just bring yourself to PUI social and get to know other faculty at PUIs! It will be a great opportunity to share your ideas and concerns.
Vanderbilt-Rochester Vision Centers Party
Sunday, May 21, 7:30 – 10:00 pm, Beachside Sun Decks
Organizers: Geoffrey Woodman, Vanderbilt University and Duje Tadin, Rochester University
This event brings back the Vanderbilt-Rochester Party that began at the first VSS meetings. This social event will feature free drinks and snacks for all VSS attendees. It will provide attendees with the opportunity to socialize with members of the Rochester Center for Vision Science and the Vanderbilt Vision Research Center in attendance at VSS. This is a good opportunity to talk to potential mentors for graduate or postdoctoral training in vision science.
Monday, May 22
Applicational needs reinvent scientific views
Monday, May 22, 2:00 – 3:00 pm, Jasmine/Palm
Organizers: Katharina Rifai, Iliya V. Ivanov, and Siegfried Wahl, Institute of Ophthalmic Research, University of Tuebingen
Speakers: Eli Peli, Schepens Eye Research Institute; Peter Bex, Northeastern University; Susana Chung, UC Berkeley; Markus Lappe, University of Münster; Michele Rucci, Boston University; Jeff Mulligan, NASA Ames Research Center; Arijit Chakraborty, School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo; Ian Erkelens, School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo; Kevin MacKenzie, York University and Oculus VR, LCC
Applicational needs have often reinvented views on scientific problems and thus triggered break-throughs in models and methods. A recent example is augmented/virtual reality which challenges the visual system with reduced or enriched content and thus triggers scientific questions on visual system’s robustness.
Nonetheless, the driving character of applications within VSS research has not received focal attention until now. Therefore, we intend to bring together bright minds in a satellite event promoting the scientific drive created by applicational needs within VSS 2017.
Tutorial in Bayesian modeling
Monday, May 22, 2:00 – 4:30 pm, Sabal/Sawgrass
Organizer: Wei Ji Ma, New York University
Bayesian models are widespread in vision science. However, their inner workings are often obscure or intimidating to those without a background in modeling. This tutorial, which does not assume any background knowledge, will start by motivating Bayesian models through visual illusions. Then, you as participants will collectively choose a concrete experimental design to build a model for. We will develop the math of the Bayesian model of that task, and implement it in Matlab. You will take home complete code for a Bayesian model. Please bring pen, paper, and if possible, a laptop with Matlab.
Tutorial is limited to the first 50 people (first come, first-served).
The Experiential Learning Laboratory
Monday, May 22, 2:15 – 3:15 pm, Citrus/Glades
Organizers: Ken Nakayama, Na Li, and Jeremy Wilmer; Harvard University and Wellesley College
Psychology is one of most popular subjects with some the highest enrollments and at the undergraduate level. Psychology is also a science. Yet, the exposure of the undergraduate population to the actual “hands-on” practice doing such science is limited. It is rare in an undergraduate curriculum to see the kind of undergraduate laboratories that have been a longstanding tradition in the natural sciences and engineering. It is our premise that well conceived laboratory experiences by Psychology students have the potential to bring some important STEM practices and values to Psychology. This could increase the number of students who will have the sophistication to understand science at a deeper level, who will have the ability to create new knowledge through empirical investigation and who will develop the critical skills to evaluate scientific studies and claims. Critically important here is to supply conditions to engage students more fully by encouraging student initiated projects and to use this opportunity for them to gain mastery. TELLab with its ease of use and its ability to allow students to create their own experiments is what distinguishes it from other currently available systems. We invite teachers to try our system for their classes.
Tuesday, May 23
WorldViz VR Workshop
Tuesday, May 23, 1:00 – 2:30 pm, Sabal/Sawgrass
Organizer: Matthias Pusch, WorldViz
Virtual Reality is getting a lot of attention and press lately, but ‘hands on’ experiences with real use cases for this new technology are rare. This session will show what WorldViz has found to work for collaborative VR, and we will set up and try out an interactive VR experience together with the audience.
Wednesday, May 24
Honoring Al Ahumada – Al-apalooza! Talks
Wednesday, May 24, 3:00 – 5:00 pm, Horizons
Organizers: Jeff Mulligan, NASA Ames Research Center and Beau Watson, Apple
A celebration of the life, work, and play of Albert Jil Ahumada, Jr., a whimsical exploration of network learning for spatial and color vision, noise methods, models of photoreceptor positioning, etc. An afternoon session of informal talks will be open to all free of charge, followed by an evening banquet (payment required).
Full details will be posted as they are available at http://visionscience.com/alapalooza/.
Honoring Al Ahumada – Al-apalooza! Dinner
Wednesday, May 24, 7:00 – 10:00 pm, Beachside Sun Decks
Organizers: Jeff Mulligan, NASA Ames Research Center and Beau Watson, Apple
Full details will be posted as they are available at http://visionscience.com/alapalooza/.
VSS Satellite and Social Event Request Form
Satellite Events
Planning a Satellite Event for VSS 2022 and V-VSS 2022
A satellite is any event that requires venue facilities, publicity in VSS media, or coordination with VSS staff, but that is not an official VSS event.
Examples include special interest groups, user groups, committee meetings, workshops, tutorials, social events, or scientific meetings. A Satellite Event can be for all attendees or by invitation only.
Events intended for all VSS attendees may not overlap with any official VSS event. Time slots for satellites are listed below. Please note that your preferred slot may not necessarily be available. Scheduling is at the discretion of the VSS Board of Directors.
| Day | Time slots available |
| Thursday | any time |
| Friday | before noon |
| Saturday | after 8:30 pm |
| Monday | 2:00 – 4:30 pm |
| Monday | 4:30 – 6:30 pm |
| Tuesday | 12:30 – 2:30 pm |
| Tuesday | 7:30 – 10:00 pm |
| Wednesday | after 1:00 pm |
| Other |
All satellites must be approved by VSS. An application form must be completed and submitted by March 1. Approved satellite events will be scheduled in March and organizers of accepted events will be notified thereafter. Listing of Satellite Events in VSS media is at the discretion of VSS.
Fees for satellite events are based on requirements and the status of the applicant. Fees are paid directly to VSS.
| Requirements | Commercial or Registration Fee | Satellite Fee |
| Room only | No | 0 |
| Room + Food or A/V | No | $200 |
| Room + Food or A/V | Yes | $500 |
VSS staff will assist with room assignment and promotion in VSS media (program, website, and signage). For events that include food, A/V, or other special arrangements, VSS staff will coordinate those arrangements with the hotel. All further planning and coordination is the responsibility of the event organizers. Any changes to the arrangements or late special requests may incur an additional fee.
Organizer Requirements
- Organizers must be members of VSS and registered for the meeting.
- Commercial companies interested in organizing a Satellite Event must be VSS 2022 sponsor.
Organizer Responsibilities
Organizers must:
- Work directly with the VSS executive director or designated staff regarding all event logistics, including food and A/V.
- State clearly in all communications about the event, including written materials and emails, that the Satellite Event is neither sponsored nor endorsed by VSS.
- Announce at the beginning of the event that the event is not sponsored or endorsed by VSS.
- Assume full financial responsibility for food/beverage services and equipment ordered (including setup and tear down labor, and reset fees, if applicable). A deposit to VSS may be required at least one week prior to the event.
- Obtain additional liability insurance and/or permits (if necessary).
- Order miscellaneous items, except those requested on the standard form (i.e., audiovisual, staging, etc.), from VSS vendors, unless given written permission by the VSS Executive Director.
- Use services only from VSS’s official vendors, unless given written permission by the VSS Executive Director.
- Supply the signage for the event. Signs may be placed only outside the entrance door to the event. Directional signage is prohibited.
- Remove all signage and meeting materials (e.g., handouts) from assigned rooms at the event’s conclusion and agree to pay any cleaning fee resulting from use of the space.
Prohibited Actions
- Demonstrations, displays, and/or marketing or distribution of commercial products is not permitted during Satellite Events. Event speakers may refer to a product as a reference tool during presentations.
- Promotional literature advertising the Satellite Event may not be distributed as door drops in hotels, unless given written permission by the VSS Executive Director. Satellite Event organizers may not conduct drawings or award gifts to meeting attendees, unless given written permission by the VSS Executive Director.
- Organizers cannot use the VSS acronym in website URLs or in e-mail subject lines, unless given written permission by the VSS Executive Director.
Schedule
Applications Accepted: February 1, 2022
Applications Deadline: March 1, 2022
Please use our online Satellite Event Request Form to submit the details of your satellite event.