The goal of this project is to assemble and deploy the basic components of a well-equipped vision laboratory, to support teaching and undergraduate research in a broad range of visual processes. Major equipment items include a radiometer/photometer, an optical bench and accessories which can be configured as a two-channel Maxwellian view system, a grating monochrometer for studying wavelength effects on vision, and a versatile system for testing contrast sensitivity effects. Provision is made in the project for computer control of experimental procedures and data acquisition. The equipment has been selected primarily for laboratory projects and classroom demonstrations in a course on Sensory Processes, and for pursuit of independent research and honors projects by advanced students. In addition, the equipment will be used in such other teaching contexts as Introductory Psychology, Neuroscience and Perception, and the Psychology Department's program for Junior majors. Psychophysics is one of the most easily communicated areas of experimental psychology, offering startling perceptual phenomena, but it is rarely encountered in undergraduate teaching programs. Thus this project, while basic in its scope, is expected to have a substantial impact upon the curriculum.
