After studying theoretical physics at Sussex and Cambridge Universites, Kevin O’Regan moved to Paris in 1975 to work in experimental psychology at the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique. Following his Ph. D. on eye movements in reading he showed the existence of an optimal position for the eye to fixate in words. His interest in the problem of the perceived stability of the visual world led him to question established notions of the nature of visual perception, and to discover, with collaborators, the phenomenon of “change blindness”. His current work involves exploring the empirical consequences of a new “sensorimotor” approach to vision and sensation in general. He is particularly interested in the problem of the nature of phenomenal consciousness, which he addresses experimentally in relation to sensory substitution and pain, and theoretically in relation to space and color perception. He is interested in applying this work to robotics. Kevin O’Regan has been director of the Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception at CNRS/Université Paris Descartes for 10 years.
His current work, described in his book Why Red Doesn’t Sound Like a Bell: Explaining the Feel of Consciousness (2011), involves exploring the empirical consequences of a newsensorimotor approach to vision and sensation in general. He is particularly interested in the problem of the nature of phenomenal consciousness, which he addresses experimentally in relation to sensory substitution, and theoretically in relation to color perception. He is interested in applying this work to robotics.
The ERC Advanced Grant “FEEL” tends to achieve a breakthrough in the research on consciousness and feel by providing a scientifically productive solution to this most vexed problem.
Further links:
Personal Page: http://nivea.psycho.univ-paris5.fr/#CB
Publications: http://lpp.psycho.univ-paris5.fr/person.php?name=KevinO