Dr Harry Orbach

Reader

ROOM: A016
T: +44 141 331 3007
F: +44 (0)141 331 3387
E: h.orbach@gcal.ac.uk

Qualifications

1981 Ph.D., Stanford University; Physics
1973 M.S., Stanford University; Physics
1971 B.A., University of Chicago; Physics (with honors)

Profile

My background includes a doctorate in physics (thesis title: "Frozen and broken color: A matrix Schroedinger equation in the semiclassical limit") and postdocs in neurobiology and psychophysics. My research focus is to use the models and quantitative techniques used in research on "front-end" vision to probe successively higher order sensory and cognitive processes. Immediate general areas of interest include investigating pattern vision, motion vision, and visual memory. I've been particularly interested in phenomena which illuminate the nature of the visual percept (including peripheral pattern perception, change blindness and inattentional blindness) and more general visual tasks, posing fundamental theoretical questions, depending on non-local computations involving more than one feature.

Teaching

Physiological Optics (Neurobiology of the Visual System)
Geometrical Optics
Visual Optics
Applied Optics

Publications

Henderson, R.M., & Orbach, H.S. (2006). Is there a mismatch negativity during change blindness? Neuroreport, 17 (10), 1011-1015.

Kennedy, G.J., Orbach, H.S., & Loffler, G. (2006). Effects of global shape on angle discrimination. Vision Res, 46 (8-9), 1530-1539.

Orbach, H.S. , Jackson, M. R., Henderson, R.M. and O. Kehemetswe (2004) Inattentional blindness for psychophysicists: Orientation discrimination thresholds for miscued heterogeneous patterns. Journal of Vision (in press).

Loffler, G., & Orbach, H.S. (2003). Modeling the integration of motion signals across space. J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis, 20 (8), 1472-1489.

Loffler, G., & Orbach, H.S. (2003). Factors affecting motion integration. J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis, 20 (8), 1461-1471.

Loffler, G. and H.S. Orbach (2003) Modelling the integration of motion signals across space. J. Opt. Soc. America, A, 20: 1472-1489.

Loffler, G. and H.S. Orbach (2003) Factors affecting motion integration. J. Opt. Soc. America, A, 20: 1461-1471.

Orbach, H.S. and R.M. Henderson (2003) Are there event-related potential (ERP) correlates of implicit change detection? A miscuing paradigm. Journal of Vision (3:588a).

Henderson, R.M., Baker, M.R., Manahilov, V., McLachlan, R.C., Grant, N.S.K., Findlay, K., Day, M.McL., Grimstone, L., McCulloch, D.L., and H.S. Orbach, (2002) Are there event-related potentials (ERPs) to change during 'change blindness'? Perception (31:77-78).

Loffler, G, Kennedy, G, Orbach, H.S. and G.G. Gordon, (2003) Properties of static and dynamic angle discrimination are different. Journal of Vision (3:795a)

Orbach, H.S., Henderson, R.M. and M.R. Baker (2002) Signal detection theory and implict representation. Journal of Vision, 2:18a

Loffler, G., & Orbach, H.S. (2001). Anisotropy in judging the absolute direction of motion. Vision Res, 41 (27), 3677-3692.

Scott-Brown, K.C., Baker, M.R., and H.S. Orbach (2000) Comparison blindness. Visual Cognition, 7: 254-267.

McCulloch, D.L., Orbach, H. and B. Skarf (1999) Maturation of the pattern reversal VEP in human infants: a theoretical framework. Vision Research, 39: 3673-3680.

Orbach, H.S. and H.R. Wilson (1999). Factors limiting peripheral pattern discrimination. Spatial Vision, 12:83-106.

Loffler, G. and H.S. Orbach (1999) Computing feature motion without feature detectors: A model for terminator motion without end-stopped cells Vision Research, 39:859-871.

Scott-Brown, K.C. and H.S. Orbach (1998) Contrast discrimination, non-uniform patterns and change blindness. Proceedings of the Royal Society, B, 265:2159-2166.

Grant Awards

EPSRC Research Grant

Glasgow Caledonian University £60,000

Glasgow Caledonian Univ. Sustaining Current Initiatives Award

Glasgow Caledonian University £40,000

Wellcome Trust Undergraduate Vacation Fellowship Grants

Glasgow Caledonian University £6,000

Nuffield Foundation Undergraduate Research Bursary

Glasgow Caledonian University £1,000

Carnegie Trust Undergraduate Vacation Fellowship Grant

Glasgow Caledonian University £400

Royal Society Conference Grant

Glasgow Caledonian University £800

Caltech/JPL President's Fund (co-investigator)

California Institute of Technology £35,000

Markey Internal Grant in Developmental Biology (co-investigator)

California Institute of Technology £55,000

Individual National Research Service Award

Yale University and Caltech £15,000

Professional Memberships

Vision Sciences Society
Society for Neuroscience
Scottish Vision Group