David Brainard

David Brainard is a member of the Department of Psychology and Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences. Brainard is an eminent cognitive neuroscientist whose research focuses on human vision, visual neuroscience, and computational modeling of visual processing. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society and the Association for Psychological Science, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. In 2013, he received the School’s highest teaching honor, the Ira H. Abrams Memorial Award. His Penn affiliations include the Graduate Groups in Neuroscience and Bioengineering and the undergraduate Cognitive Science and Visual Studies programs.

Brainard has served as Chair of the Department of Psychology and Director of the Institute for Research in Cognitive Science. He is a former Chair of the School of Arts & Sciences Personnel Committee and was a member of the 2008 faculty task force that recommended changes to the committee’s structure. He is currently Director of Penn’s Vision Research Center and President of the Vision Sciences Society.