Research Director at CNRS ,France
Dr. Birgitta Dresp-Langley is a distinguished cognitive and computational neuroscientist and Research Director at the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), France, affiliated with the ICube Laboratory at the University of Strasbourg. She earned her Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Paris Descartes University in 1991 and completed her Habilitation in Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at Strasbourg University in 1998. Dr. Dresp-Langley has significantly contributed to the fields of perception, human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, and data quality. With an extensive list of published works and ongoing international collaborations, she has played an influential role in advancing knowledge in visual perception, decision-making, and AI applications. Throughout her career, Dr. Dresp-Langley has mentored several doctoral and post-doctoral researchers, fostering the next generation of cognitive scientists.
Profile:
Strengths for the Award:
- Extensive Research Experience: Dr. Dresp-Langley has over three decades of experience in cognitive science and computational neuroscience, holding a tenured position as Research Director at CNRS since 1993. Her research contributions, particularly in perception, human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, and decision-making, are highly impactful.
- Prolific Publishing Record: She has authored numerous influential research papers, with many highly cited works across fields such as visual perception, illusory forms, and digital addiction. Her most cited papers highlight her leadership in foundational research areas, including her collaboration with other top scholars.
- International Collaboration: Dr. Dresp-Langley is involved in a broad range of international collaborations, spanning the US, Europe, Asia, and Africa. This global reach underscores her ability to integrate cross-disciplinary expertise into her research.
- Supervision and Mentorship: She has successfully mentored doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers, many of whom have secured prestigious academic positions worldwide. This reflects her commitment to nurturing the next generation of researchers.
- Editorial and Reviewing Contributions: Dr. Dresp-Langley holds senior editorial positions in various renowned journals such as Frontiers in Psychology and Frontiers in Neuroscience. This demonstrates her influence in shaping academic discourse.
- Scientific Leadership and Recognition: She has been a member of several high-level scientific expert committees, including the European Commission’s expert group on artificial intelligence and robotics safety. Such roles affirm her leadership in the scientific community.
- Multidisciplinary Focus: Her work spans several fields, including neuroscience, robotics, AI, and public health. This versatility makes her contributions relevant across diverse domains.
Areas for Improvement:
- Increased Outreach and Public Engagement: While Dr. Dresp-Langley’s academic contributions are significant, expanding her public engagement through popular science communication could amplify her impact beyond the academic sphere. Increasing outreach to policymakers, industries, and public forums would enhance the societal relevance of her work.
- Focus on Emerging Technologies: As artificial intelligence and deep learning evolve, increasing her direct contributions to these rapidly developing fields through more experimental AI and robotics studies could strengthen her influence in applied technological research.
- Visibility in Applied Fields: While her work on perception and cognition is foundational, pushing more into applied fields, such as digital health or AI ethics, would ensure that her research remains cutting-edge in both academic and practical contexts.
Education:
Dr. Birgitta Dresp-Langley earned her Ph.D. in Cognitive Science in 1991 from Paris Descartes University, where she focused on visual perception, particularly illusory form phenomena and their neural correlates. In 1998, she completed her Habilitation in Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at Strasbourg University. Her habilitation expanded on her previous work and explored computational models of perception and neural networks. Dr. Dresp-Langley’s educational background is deeply rooted in experimental psychology, neurophysiology, and computational modeling, which provided her with a strong interdisciplinary approach to cognitive science. She has received international recognition for her pioneering research in visual perception, depth perception, and human-computer interaction. Her educational background established her as a leader in both cognitive science and neuroscience research.
Experience:
Since 1993, Dr. Birgitta Dresp-Langley has held a tenured position as a Research Director at the CNRS, where she has led groundbreaking research in cognitive and computational neuroscience. She is affiliated with the ICube Laboratory at the University of Strasbourg, focusing on perception, human-computer interaction, and AI. Dr. Dresp-Langley has supervised numerous doctoral and post-doctoral researchers and collaborated with scientists worldwide, including from the U.S., Kenya, and Japan. She is also a Senior Associate Editor for several prestigious journals, such as Frontiers in Psychology and Frontiers in Neuroscience. Beyond her academic career, she has served as a member of European expert committees on artificial intelligence, robotics, and virtual reality safety. Over the years, her work has garnered significant financial support through CNRS, IDEX, and European Commission-funded projects, contributing to the understanding of visual and cognitive processes.
Research Focus:
Dr. Birgitta Dresp-Langley’s research focuses on the interdisciplinary fields of cognitive and computational neuroscience. Her work investigates human perception, particularly how the brain processes visual information, such as depth perception, illusory contours, and form perception. She also explores how artificial intelligence can model and simulate these cognitive processes, creating applications for human-computer interaction and robotics. Dr. Dresp-Langley has made significant contributions to understanding how the brain interprets visual stimuli, filling gaps between local contrast detection and global grouping. Her research also covers decision-making mechanisms and data quality in complex information systems. A leading voice in visual perception, she has published extensively on the interplay between color, contrast, and spatial awareness in both humans and artificial systems. Additionally, her research includes examining the impacts of digital addiction on cognitive health and behavior, further showcasing her multidisciplinary expertise.
Publication Top Notes:
- Deep reinforcement learning for the control of robotic manipulation: a focused mini-review 🤖
- Bright lines and edges facilitate the detection of small light targets 🔦
- Phenomena of illusory form: Can we bridge the gap between levels of explanation? 🤔
- Contour integration across polarities and spatial gaps: from local contrast filtering to global grouping 👁️
- Beyond the classical receptive field: The effect of contextual stimuli 🧠
- Psychophysical evidence for low-level processing of illusory contours and surfaces in the Kanizsa square 🔳
- Digital addiction and sleep 🌙
- Subthreshold summation with illusory contours 🧩
- Children’s health in the digital age 💻
- Interaction of color and geometric cues in depth perception: When does “red” mean “near”? 🟥
- Detection facilitation by collinear stimuli in humans 🧍♂️
- Contrast detection facilitation by spatially separated targets and inducers 🎯
- Psychophysical measures of illusory form perception 🔮
- Effects of saturation and contrast polarity on the figure-ground organization of color on gray 🎨
- A neural network model for long-range contour diffusion in vision 🧑💻
- The quantization error in a Self-Organizing Map as a contrast and color-specific indicator 🖥️
- Depth perception from pairs of overlapping cues in pictorial displays 🖼️
- Seeing virtual while acting real: Visual display and strategy effects on the time and precision of eye-hand coordination 🖲️
- On illusory contours and their functional significance 🧐
- Ultraviolet reflecting photonic microstructures in the King Penguin beak 🐧
Conclusion:
Dr. Birgitta Dresp-Langley’s contributions to cognitive science, computational neuroscience, and related fields make her a highly suitable candidate for a Best Researcher Award. Her long-standing impact through publications, international collaborations, mentorship, and scientific leadership positions demonstrate excellence in research. While increasing public engagement and continuing to advance her work in emerging technologies could enhance her influence further, her overall profile is exemplary for this accolade.