Third Year Projects

I am happy to supervise research projects in the broad area of visual information processing, 
which can be based on a variety of experimental and theoretical approaches, including:

• computational modelling
• psychophysics
• comparative behaviour

• perceptual learning
• effects of ageing
• functional aspects of cortical architecture
• visual cognition
• visuomotor coordination
• perceptual illusions in nature, science and arts
• adaptations of sensory systems to real world requirements.

For some initial thoughts about possible research projects,
a small and arbitrary sample of  feasible (and cutting edge) questions,
which can be dealt with in a self-contained project,
can be found by clicking on one of the following links
(this webpage is continually updated with new ideas) :

• the Tony Blair Illusion
• the ambiguous Barbers Pole
• the Kremlin Wall effect
• what makes a Mondrian
• reconstructing objects from restricted views
• motion illusions in Op Art paintings

Main Research Interests J. M. Zanker

psychophysics and computational modelling of the human visual system; focused on the mechanisms of motion perception, but complemented by broad interest in other perceptual modalities, such as colour, orientation, shape; functional aspects of sensory systems, including development and perceptual learning; comparative aspects of neuronal information processing and visual ecology.

for more details, click here.

Some relevant publications (copies available from J. M. Zanker)

• Zanker, J. M. and T. Quenzer: How to Tell Circles from Ellipses: Perceiving the Regularity of Simple Shapes. Naturwiss. 86, 492-495 (1999)
• Ryan, J. and J.M. Zanker: What determines the perceived speed of dots moving within apertures ? Exp. Brain Res. 141, 79-87 (2001)
• Fisher, N. and J.M. Zanker: The Directional Tuning of the Barber Pole Illusion. Perception 30, 1321-1336 (2001)
• Zanker, J.M. and N.R. Burns: The interaction of first- and second-order direction in motion-defined motion. J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 18, 2321-2330 (2001)
• Zanker, J.M. and J. Zeil: An analysis of the motion signal distributions emerging from locomotion through a natural environment. In: Biologically Motivated Computer Vision 2002, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 2525, Eds. H.H. Bülthoff, S-W. Lee, T.A. Poggio and C.Wallraven, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2002, pp. 146-156
• Zanker, J.M., M. Doyle and R. Walker: Gaze stability of observers watching Op Art pictures. Perception 32, 1037-1049 (2003)
• Zanker, J.M.: Looking at Op Art from a Computational Viewpoint. Spatial Vision 17, 75-94 (2004)
• Zanker, J.M. and A.-al-J. Kane Abdullah: Are size illusions in simple line drawings affected by shading ? Perception 33, 1475 - 1482 (2004)
• Zanker, J.M. and R. Walker: A new look at Op art : towards a simple explanation of illusory motion. Naturwissenschaften 91, 149 - 156 (2004)