School principal and McCaughey Chair in Psychology, Professor Frans Verstraten, is best known for his work on perceptual adaptation: the processes underlying the calibration of an observer’s perceptual systems in environments rapidly changing. For example, drivers usually underestimate their speed when they have been traveling on a freeway for a while and returning to a residential area with a speed limit of 50 km / h. However, they adapt to the new conditions relatively quickly. Known as “gain control,” these types of brain adjustments help to function optimally under a wide range of conditions.

An ambassador of multidisciplinary approaches to studying the brain and behavior, Prof. Verstraten was instrumental in integrating the University’s School of Psychology with its Institute for Brain and Mind Research. I am happy and proud that my advocacy for multidisciplinary research has been recognized by this prestigious grant, ”he said. He also places great importance on audience engagement, having appeared on a science program for seven seasons on national television and even released CDs containing his lectures.