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Arthur Shapiro (vision scientist)

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Arthur G. Shapiro
Born (1964-10-18) October 18, 1964 (age 60)
Riverside, California, United States
OccupationVision Scientist
Years active1995 - present
EmployerAmerican University
Websiteshapirolab.net

Arthur "Art" Shapiro is an American vision scientist and creator of visual illusions. He is the co-editor of the Oxford Compendium of Visual Illusions.[1] He is currently a professor of psychology and computer science with the American University in Washington, D.C., and Director of the Collaborative for Applied Perceptual Research and Innovation (CAPRI).[2]

Research and recognition

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Shapiro completed his undergraduate work in mathematics and psychology at U.C. San Diego. He received his PhD in psychology from Columbia University and completed post-doctoral research at the University of Chicago, working with Joel Pokorny and Vivianne C. Smith in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.[3] His research focuses on color, motion, vision in low-light environments, and visual phenomena.[4]

Shapiro's work on motion perception has been featured in news articles, television programming, and viral videos. CuriosityStream (an on-demand streaming service) produced a five-part series on visual illusions of which Shapiro was the narrator and presenter.[5] The New York Times[6] and NPR[7] have each written pieces examining Shapiro's contributions to vision science and motion illusions (e.g. an analysis of the curve ball illusion). The National Geographic program Brain Games utilized Shapiro as a "Motion Expert" to explore human vision and the neuroscience behind several popular motion illusions.[8] Similarly, both USA Today[9] and NBC Washington[10] have featured Shapiro's scientific analysis of #thedress. Shapiro has also been featured on the YouTube channel "Illusions and Science", exhibiting his "Tusi or Not Tusi" motion illusion[11] Shapiro was also featured on several episodes of New England Sport's Network (NESN)'s Baseball Lab.[12]

In 2014, Shapiro was selected to be a member of "The Nifty Fifty",[13] a group of international professionals organized by the USA Science and Engineering Festival to promote the STEM fields to secondary school students across the United States. Other members of the "Nifty Fifty" include Elon Musk (of Tesla Motors and SpaceX), Michael Shermer (of Skeptic), and Sylvester James Gates.

Shapiro was selected as a top-ten finalist to the Best Illusion of the Year Contest twelve times. He has received the first place prize twice. Each of the selected entries are listed and referenced below.

Year Place Title & Link
2005 1st Title: Motion-Illusion Building Blocks[14]
2007 3rd Title: Where Has All the Motion Gone?[15]
2007 Top-Ten Title: "Weaves" and the Hermann Grid[16]
2007 Top-Ten Title: Swimmers, Eels, and other Gradient Illusions[17]
2008 Top-Ten Title: Dramatically Different Percepts between Foveal and Peripheral Vision[18]
2008 Top-Ten Title: Perpetual Collisions[19]
2009 1st Title: The Break of the Curveball[20]
2011 2nd Title: Grouping by Contrast[21]
2011 Top-Ten Title: The Exchange of Features, Textures and Faces[22]
2012 3rd Title: Color Wagon Wheel[23]
2013 2nd Title: Tusi or Not Tusi[24]
2014 Top-Ten Title: Hybrid Motion and the Integration of Motion Elements[25]
2015 Top-Ten Title: Star Wars Scroll Illusion[26]
2016 Top-Ten Title: Remote Controls[27]

References

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  1. ^ The Oxford Compendium of Visual Illusions.
  2. ^ "CAPRI Home Page". American.edu. Retrieved 2014-11-24.
  3. ^ "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). American.edu. Retrieved 2014-11-24.
  4. ^ "American University Biography". American.edu. Retrieved 2014-11-24.
  5. ^ CuriosityStream (2015-11-17), Illusions, retrieved 2016-08-14
  6. ^ "New York Times Article". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  7. ^ "NPR Article". Npr.org. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  8. ^ "National Geographic Brain Games Blog". Tvblogs.mationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-31. Retrieved 2014-11-24.
  9. ^ "USA Today "The science behind 'the dress'"". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  10. ^ "NBC Washington "The Science Behind #TheDress"". Nbcwashington.com. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  11. ^ "Illusions and Science Video". Youtube.com. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  12. ^ "The Baseball Lab: What Is The Hitter's Eye?". 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
  13. ^ "Nifty Fifty Profile". Usasciencefestival.org. Archived from the original on 2014-11-24. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  14. ^ "Motion-Illusion Building Blocks". Illusionoftheyear.com. 23 August 2005. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  15. ^ "Where Has All the Motion Gone?". Illusionoftheyear.com. 12 May 2007. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  16. ^ ""Weaves" and the Hermann Grid". Illusionoftheyear.com. 12 May 2007. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  17. ^ "Swimmers, Eels, and other Gradient Illusions". Illusionoftheyear.com. 12 May 2007. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  18. ^ "Dramatically Different Percepts between Foveal and Peripheral Vision". Illusionoftheyear.com. 11 May 2008. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  19. ^ "Perpetual Collisions". Illusionoftheyear.com. 11 May 2008. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  20. ^ "The Break of the Curveball". Illusionoftheyear.com. 10 May 2009. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  21. ^ "Grouping by Contrast". Illusionoftheyear.com. 9 May 2011. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  22. ^ "The Exchange of Features, Textures and Faces". Illusionoftheyear.com. 9 May 2011. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  23. ^ "Color Wagon Wheel". Illusionoftheyear.com. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  24. ^ "Tusi or Not Tusi". Illusionoftheyear.com. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  25. ^ "Hybrid Motion". Illusionoftheyear.com. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  26. ^ "Star Wars Scroll Illusion". Illusionoftheyear.com. June 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  27. ^ "Remote Controls". Illusionoftheyear.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
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