Spatial Reference Frames Professors and Supervisors

Ranxiao WangView profile

Professor

University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignUnited States

**Roles & Affiliations**: Professor of Psychology and Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Holds dual appointments in Psychology and interdisciplinary research through the Beckman Institute. **Education**: PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). **Research Interests**: Focuses on the neurobiological basis of emotion regulation, cognitive-emotional interactions in psychopathology (anxiety/depression), and spatial cognition. Explores brain lateralization, spatial memory distortions, and higher-dimensional spatial reasoning. Recent work includes human safety perception with UAVs, mind-wandering dynamics, and non-Euclidean spatial learning in virtual environments. Uses virtual reality, behavioral experiments, and computational models to study spatial navigation, attention, and human-computer interaction. **Article Trends**: Research spans spatial cognition (e.g., curved/non-Euclidean spaces), safety perception with drones, cognitive fluctuations in mind-wandering, and cross-modal effects (auditory-visual interactions). Integrates neuroscience and robotics to advance human-robot collaboration models. **Advising & Collaborations**: Supervised over 20 graduate students. Collaborates with experts in robotics (Naira Hovakimyan), vision science (Paul Kwiat), and cognitive neuroscience (Diane Beck, Sepideh Sadaghiani). Projects include Beckman Institute initiatives on spatial cognition and interdisciplinary AI-human interaction. **Labs & Teams**: Leads research at Beckman Institute’s Spatial Cognition and Human-Computer Interaction labs. Active in UIUC’s interdisciplinary programs on robotics, perception, and computational neuroscience.

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Andy AlexanderView profile

Assistant Professor

University of California , Santa Barbara (UCSB)United States

Andy Alexander is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at UC Santa Barbara. He holds a B.S. and Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from UC San Diego and completed postdoctoral training at Boston University. His research focuses on neural mechanisms underlying spatial cognition, memory, and corticothalamic circuit interactions. Current projects investigate how large-scale neural ensembles coordinate to mediate spatial navigation and mnemonic processes in rodents, using advanced techniques like in vivo electrophysiology and neuroimaging. Education: B.S. in Cognitive Science, UC San Diego Ph.D. in Cognitive Science, UC San Diego Postdoctoral Fellow, Boston University (Hasselmo Lab) Research Interests: Neural coding of spatial and temporal information Cortico-cortical and cortico-thalamic interactions Computational models of spatial navigation Neural ensemble dynamics during behavior Lab Environment: Housed in UCSB's Neuroscience Research Institute Recruiting graduate students (PB&S or Dynamical Neuroscience programs) and postdoctoral fellows Focus on interdisciplinary approaches combining experimental and computational neuroscience

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Roberto BottiniView profile

Professor

University of TrentoItaly

Roberto Bottini is a Full Professor at the Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento. His research spans cognitive neuroscience, focusing on conceptual processing, memory, spatial cognition, and the neural mechanisms of blindness. PhD in Anthropology and Epistemology of Complexity, University of Bergamo Postdoctoral positions: Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, New School for Social Research, University of Milano Bicocca, CIMeC Trento His work explores how spatial navigation systems are repurposed for conceptual organization, using fMRI, MEG, and behavioral methods. Key projects include studying grid-cell coding in abstract thought and plasticity in blind individuals. Recent publications highlight neural entrainment in reading, altered spatial coding in blindness, and eye movement patterns in conceptual search. His research has been funded by prestigious grants including ERC Starting and Consolidator awards. 2024: BIAL Foundation Grant 2023: ERC Consolidator Grant 2018: ERC Starting Grant Institutional roles include Delegate for Neuroimaging Facilities (2024–Present) and leadership in academic committees at CIMeC.

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Aleksi NummelinView profile

Researcher

Western Norway University of Applied SciencesNorway

Aleksi Nummelin serves as Senior Researcher at NORCE Norwegian Research Centre in Bergen, Norway, within the Division of Climate & Environment and Earth Systems Research Group. He is a principal contributor to the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM) development team, applying this framework to investigate climate dynamics across geological timescales. His institutional affiliation includes multiple funded projects examining polar ocean processes, Arctic climate transformation, and deep-time paleoclimate systems. Nummelin's research centers on Earth system modeling with specialization in Arctic climate dynamics, ocean circulation mechanics, and paleoclimate transitions. He investigates critical phenomena including Arctic amplification feedbacks, Southern Ocean convection shutdown mechanisms, and bathymetric influences on climate evolution. His methodological expertise spans high-resolution coupled modeling, mesoscale eddy parameterization development, and model-data integration for paleoclimate validation. Recent publication trends (2023-2025) reveal concentrated focus on Arctic system transformation, with significant contributions to understanding Atlantification divergence across models, winter amplification sensitivity, and sea-level rise impacts on global circulation. His paleoclimate work examines Eocene-Oligocene transitions and Dansgaard-Oeschger events through the lens of ocean gateway evolution and deep-ocean temperature reconstruction, demonstrating consistent integration of geological insights with modern modeling frameworks. Nummelin leads or contributes to multiple funded initiatives including MAPARC (Mechanism and prediction of the new Arctic climate system) and DOTpaleo (Deep Ocean Temperatures in the Paleogene Greenhouse), which support international collaborations and advanced model development. While student supervision details aren't specified, his projects provide substantial research opportunities in climate modeling and polar oceanography. As core member of NORCE's Earth Systems Research Group, Nummelin operates within the NorESM development team that contributes to international modeling efforts including CMIP6. This group maintains leadership in polar climate modeling, with particular expertise in Arctic ocean-sea ice interactions, paleoclimate applications, and high-resolution process studies that inform both contemporary climate understanding and future projections.

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Mark C. PriceView profile

Professor

University of BergenNorway

Professor Mark C. Price is a faculty member in the Department of Social Psychology at the University of Bergen, Norway. He is affiliated with several research groups including the Research Group for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and the Research Group on Decision Making, Intuition, Consciousness and Emotions (DICE Group). His research focuses on: Synesthesia (particularly "tickertape experience" and "sequence-space synesthesia") Visual imagery Intuition and awareness in implicit learning Consciousness research and "The Hard Problem of consciousness" (explaining subjective experiences scientifically) Professor Price teaches various subjects within perception, attention and consciousness, and serves as course leader for the cognitive psychology module PROPSY305, an international course taught in English. His research spans multiple disciplines within cognitive psychology and consciousness studies, with a particular emphasis on understanding how subjective experiences can be scientifically investigated through empirical methods. His publication record shows consistent output from 2000 to 2021, with recent work focusing on synesthesia frameworks, visual imagery measurement, and the relationship between strategic control and conscious knowledge. The research demonstrates interdisciplinary connections between cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind, particularly in addressing how subjective experiences can be measured and understood within scientific frameworks. Professor Price is affiliated with the Bergen Laboratory for the Study of Decision, Intuition, Consciousness, and Emotion (DICE), where he conducts empirical research on consciousness phenomena. His work contributes significantly to our understanding of the boundaries between conscious and unconscious cognitive processes, with implications for both theoretical understanding and potential clinical applications.

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Ewa Balicka-WitakowskaView profile

Researcher

Uppsala UniversitySweden

Ewa Balicka-Witakowska serves as an Affiliated Researcher in Art History at Uppsala University's Department of Linguistics and Philology, maintaining active scholarly engagement through publications from 1974 to 2023. Her work bridges Ethiopian Christian art, Syriac manuscript studies, and Byzantine iconography, establishing her as a specialist in Eastern Christian visual traditions across Africa and the Near East. Her academic credentials include a PhD in Art History, though specific institutional details of her education remain unlisted in available materials. This foundation supports her extensive research output spanning five decades. Dr. Balicka-Witakowska's scholarship centers on Ethiopian Art (particularly rock-hewn church paintings and manuscript illumination), Syriac Manuscripts (with emphasis on codicological analysis), Byzantine Iconography (including spatial placement in liturgical contexts), and Liturgical Art (such as ceremonial fans and sun feathers). Her research reveals nuanced connections between textual traditions and visual representations across cultural boundaries, exemplified by studies of Saint Ephrem's influence in Ethiopia and the Holy Face of Edessa narrative. Publication analysis shows consistent thematic evolution: early work (1970s-1980s) focused on Ethiopian illuminated psalters and magic scrolls; the 1990s-2000s expanded into Syriac gospel books and Byzantine icon placement; recent scholarship (2015-2023) returns to Ethiopian contexts with detailed studies of specific painted panels and literary narratives, emphasizing patronage and regional variations in Tigray. While no scientific awards appear in the record, her co-editorship of the 2012 Rosenqvist Festschrift demonstrates academic recognition. Collaborative work with scholars like Witold Witakowski (on triptych analysis) and Michael Gervers (on silk curtains) indicates interdisciplinary engagement, though no formal advising or grant activities are documented. The absence of laboratory references suggests traditional humanities scholarship methods, with research conducted through archival study, field documentation of religious sites, and comparative analysis of artistic traditions within institutional frameworks.

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Georgi MarinovView profile

Assistant Professor

University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and GeodesyBulgaria

Georgi Marinov serves as Assistant Professor at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy (UACEG) in Sofia, Bulgaria, within the Faculty of Geodesy's Department of Higher Geodesy. His current responsibilities include teaching exercises on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Basic Geodetic Measurements and Networks. Education: Doctor of Science in General, Higher and Applied Geodesy (2009, Sofia) Master of Engineering in Geodesy (2003, UACEG-Sofia) Marinov's research focuses on engineering geodesy applications, particularly coordinate transformations and GNSS network analysis. His work bridges theoretical geodesy with practical construction projects, including Sofia metro expansions and anti-erosion infrastructure. The 2008 publications reveal deep expertise in seven-parameter Helmert transformations, addressing computational challenges in datum conversions and deformation analysis. His methodologies support precision requirements in large-scale civil engineering where millimeter-level accuracy is critical. Marinov actively participates in the BALkan GEodetic Observing System (BALGEOS), contributing to regional geodetic infrastructure. His project portfolio includes: Comprehensive geodynamics study in Krupnik-Kresna region Sofia metro expansion (multiple sections) Tunnel construction under Cherni Vrah Boulevard Varna slope anti-erosion reinforcement He holds legal certification for cadastre activities and maintains proficiency in English and Russian for international collaboration.

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