About my current job
I hold an academic faculty position at McGill University, doing research and teaching. My research is in human vision using imaging methods (fMRI) and behavioural testing
Something important I learned during my time at EP
I was 19 years old when I started on my first research project, and I had no expeirience and no skills. After two years of collecting and analysing the data, the upshot of my effort was nothing. Somehow, at the time, I didn't find this outcome discouraging. It seemed like science working the way it is supposed to - the real world falsifies bad hypotheses, pushing the scentists to try again.
How did my education influence my career path?
Profoundly. Prof Alan Cowey gave fascinating lectures on the visual system and motivated me to go into this area of research when I moved to Cambridge as a graduate student. Also, Anne Treisman (in my first year) and Donald Broadbent were very active in the department at the time and human vision was a cutting edge topic of research.
Fond memories of my time at EP
Coffee/tea time on the first floor when students and faculty mixed. Also, on the communal notice board on same floor, when Profs Pat Rabbit and Dorothy Bishop put up a notice for a double bed for sale, and just below was an ad for "Baby rabbits for sale." What are the chances? Maybe things were more relaxed then...
Did you have a favourite tutor/lecturer/prof, and how did they inspire you?
Prof Alan Cowey gave great lectures and was a very kind man to students.
Do you have a lesson or advice that you'd give to current students/researchers at EP?
Don't do research unless you're really motived - it's become much more of a money game and is very stressful for younger people trying to coming up the ranks.
With the benefit of hindsight, do you have any advice you'd give your younger self?
Do more work in the second year even though (then) there were no exams that year.
