Bevil Conway
Encyclopedia
Bevil Conway neuroscientist and artist. Conway specializes in visual perception in his scientific work, and he often explores the limitations of the visual system in his artwork. He is currently Knafel Assistant Professor at Wellesley College.
Conway was educated at McGill University
and Harvard University
. On finishing his Ph.D.
, Conway was elected a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows
, and spent a year as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Bremen
, Germany. Since 2006 he has been Knafel Assistant Professor in the program of Neuroscience at Wellesley College. Conway also helped establish the Kathmandu University Medical School in Nepal, where he taught as Assistant Professor in 2002-03
in the primate visual system, showing (in 2001 and 2006) that color cells in the first stage of cortical processing (V1) compute local ratios of cone activity, making them both color-opponent (red-green and blue-yellow) and spatially-opponent, pinning them down as the likely basis for color constancy and the building blocks for specific hues.
Subsequent work has focused on the representation of color in extrastriate areas of the brain that receive input from V1. In collaboration with Doris Tsao, he used fMRI to identify such functionally defined regions and coined the term "globs
" to describe them. In 2007 he used targeted single-unit recording techniques to characterize the behavior of cells in these color areas, showing that individual neurons in these areas respond selectively to specific hues. The behavior of these cells and the networks they are involved in are the current focus of his work.
As an artist Conway is active in visual media, predominantly watercolors, oils, and prints. A larger, ongoing project is a series of sculptures in the shape glass boxes. His interest is driven by fundamental questions of art making: How do brain and visual apparatus co-operate in making an art object? What is the role of muscle memory in making marks on paper and, more broadly, in the creative process? How do artists challenge the constraints and limitations of our visual system? His works are in the collection of the Fogg Art Museum, private collections in Europe, North America and Africa, and have been featured in books and commercials.
Conway was educated at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. On finishing his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
, Conway was elected a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows
Harvard Society of Fellows
The Harvard Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginning of their careers by Harvard University for extraordinary scholarly potential, upon whom distinctive academic and intellectual opportunities are bestowed in order to foster their individual growth and intellectual...
, and spent a year as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Bremen
University of Bremen
The University of Bremen is a university of approximately 23,500 people from 126 countries that are studying, teaching, researching, and working in Bremen, Germany...
, Germany. Since 2006 he has been Knafel Assistant Professor in the program of Neuroscience at Wellesley College. Conway also helped establish the Kathmandu University Medical School in Nepal, where he taught as Assistant Professor in 2002-03
Science
Conway's research originally set out to explore the principle of double opponencyColor vision
Color vision is the capacity of an organism or machine to distinguish objects based on the wavelengths of the light they reflect, emit, or transmit...
in the primate visual system, showing (in 2001 and 2006) that color cells in the first stage of cortical processing (V1) compute local ratios of cone activity, making them both color-opponent (red-green and blue-yellow) and spatially-opponent, pinning them down as the likely basis for color constancy and the building blocks for specific hues.
Subsequent work has focused on the representation of color in extrastriate areas of the brain that receive input from V1. In collaboration with Doris Tsao, he used fMRI to identify such functionally defined regions and coined the term "globs
Glob (visual system)
Globs are millimeter-sized color modules found beyond the visual area V2 in the brain's color processing ventral pathway. They are scattered throughout the posterior inferior temporal cortex in an area called the V4 complex. They are clustered by color preference, and organized as color columns...
" to describe them. In 2007 he used targeted single-unit recording techniques to characterize the behavior of cells in these color areas, showing that individual neurons in these areas respond selectively to specific hues. The behavior of these cells and the networks they are involved in are the current focus of his work.
Art
Much of Conway's research is guided by the underlying thought that visual art can be used to reveal insights about how visual information is processed. An ongoing research project examines the idea that poor stereopsis may be an asset to artists (the startling finding that Rembrandt may have lacked stereopsis was widely discussed in the media). His interest in the dove-tailing of science and art has also spawned an interdisciplinary upper level course at Wellesley, Vision and Art: Physics, Physiology, Perception, and Practice.As an artist Conway is active in visual media, predominantly watercolors, oils, and prints. A larger, ongoing project is a series of sculptures in the shape glass boxes. His interest is driven by fundamental questions of art making: How do brain and visual apparatus co-operate in making an art object? What is the role of muscle memory in making marks on paper and, more broadly, in the creative process? How do artists challenge the constraints and limitations of our visual system? His works are in the collection of the Fogg Art Museum, private collections in Europe, North America and Africa, and have been featured in books and commercials.