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The Bionics and Cognitive Science Centre

Research Personnel

(PDF Version )

Academic Staff

Acting Director: Dr Barry Richardson
Cognitive Science
School of Humanities Communications and Social Sciences
Monash University Gippsland Campus
Churchill Vic 3842
Email: barry.richardson@arts.monash.edu.au
Phone: 61(0)3 51 226432
Interests: Application of haptics to virtual environments, sensory
substitution, teleremote surgery, simulation, and robotics

Dr Dianne Wuillemin
Cognitive Science
School of Humanities Communications and Social Sciences
Monash University Gippsland Campus
Churchill Vic 3842
Email: dianne.wuillemin@arts.monash.edu.au
Phone: 61(0)3 51 226753
Interests: Neuroscience, haptic illusions

Dr Catherine Haigh
Cognitive Science
School of Humanities Communications and Social Sciences
Monash University Gippsland Campus
Churchill Vic 3842
Email: cathy.haigh@arts.monash.edu.au
Phone: 61 (0)3 51 226746
Interest: Computer games and their effects on early development

Dr Mark Symmons
Cognitive Science
School of Humanities Communications and Social Sciences
Monash University Gippsland Campus
Churchill Vic 3842
Email: mark.symmons@general.monash.edu.au
Phone: 61(0)3 51226747
Interests: Active and passive touch, kinaesthetic and cutaneous processes

Collaborating Colleagues at Monash

Assoc Prof Yousef Ibrahim
School of Applied Sciences and Engineering
Monash University Gippsland Campus
Churchill Vic 3842
Email: yousef.ibrahim@sci.monash.edu.au
Phone: 61(0)3 51226482
Interests: Robotics and artificial intelligence

Professor Laurence Dooley
Gippsland School of Computing and Information Technology
Monash University Gippsland Campus
Churchill Vic 3842
Email: laurence.dooley@infotech.monash.edu.au
Phone: 61(0)3 51 226628
Interest: Multimedia programming, medical applications

Dr Madhu Chetty
Gippsland School of Computing and Information Technology
Monash University Gippsland Campus
Churchill Vic 3842
Email: mahdu.chetty@infotech.monash.edu.au
Phone: 61(0)3 51227148
Interests: Programming and artificial intelligence

Overseas Associates

Professor John Kennedy, Toronto University, Canada
Interests: Drawings by the blind; haptics

Professor Ken Johnson, Johns Hopkins University, US
Interests: Sensory processes (especially touch)

A/Professor Gunnar Jansson, Uppsala University, Sweden
Interests: Mobility aids

Programmer

Mr Jonathan Wells,
Bionics and Cognitive Science Centre
School of Humanities, Communications and Social Sciences
Monash University Gippsland Campus
Churchill Vic 3842
Email: jonathan.wells@arts.monash.edu.au
Phone: 61 (0)3 51226

Students

PhD Student: George Van Doorn
Cognitive Science
School of Humanities Communications and Social Sciences
Monash University Gippsland Campus
Churchill Vic 3842
Email: george.vandoorn@arts.moansh.edu.au
Phone: 61(0)3 51226749
Interests: Cross-modal perception
When a subject is required to match the sizes of two separate cubes (i.e., looking at one and feeling the other), they may select a match that more closely relates to the cube presented to vision. In this situation, the subject has over-relied on visual information. In the past, this has been referred to as visual dominance. George's research is designed to show that perception is a process of integration rather than domination.

Honours Student: Robyn Bodinnar
Cognitive Science
School of Humanities Communications and Social Sciences
Monash University Gippsland Campus
Churchill Vic 3842
Email: robyn.bodinnar@arts.monash.edu.au
Phone: 61(0)3 51 226749
Interest: Exploring human behaviour within a non-violent, simulated computer game.
Within a virtual game such as 'The Sims' (EA Games, 2000), individuals are not generally restrained by the legal and social conduct prescribed to, and expected by, civilians within the 'real' or physical world. Players wishing to contravene social and legal processes in a virtual world can do so with few 'real' negative outcomes. Robyn's study examines how individuals behave in an environment where the ramifications for deviation and antisocial conduct remain limited. Using 'The Sims' as a simulated environment, the research is designed to explore whether game players are more inclined to violate social norms, or maintain an acceptable level of conduct. An additional aim is to examine how the presence of another person in the form of an avatar (perceived or actual), influences participant behaviour within the game environment.

Industry Consultants

Robert Accardi, Priority 1 Design Ltd., Melbourne
Haptic exoskeleton design

Goran Filipovic GFE Systems, Melbourne
Exoskeleton programming

Ivor Bryan STEM Partnership, Melbourne
Technology evaluation

Stephen Furner, British Telecom, UK
Multimodal communications

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