David Brainard Elected to National Academy of Sciences

David Brainard, RRL Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences in Penn Arts & Sciences, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). He joins 120 members and 23 international members elected by their peers this year to NAS. Recognized for “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research,” this new class brings the total number of active members to 2,565 and of international members to 526.

Brainard is director of the Vision Research Center. His research focuses on human vision, using both experiments and computer modeling of visual processing to understand how the visual system deciphers information about objects from light entering the eye. Specifically, he and his lab are interested in color vision, conducting psychophysical experiments to investigate how an object’s surface properties and ambient light affect the appearance of color, and how color perception aids in identifying objects.

Brainard has received many honors, including the Macbeth Award from the Inter-Society Color Council, Stein Innovation Award from Research to Prevent Blindness, and Edgard D. Tillyer Award from Optica. He is an elected member of the Society of Experimental Psychologists, a Silver Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, and a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science.

To see the full announcement, click here.