Alejandro Lleras

Alejandro Lleras is a Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. He serves as the Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence and is a member of the U.S. National Committee for Psychological Science.

• Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University (2002)
• Current co-director of the Vision Lab with Simona Buetti

His research focuses on visual attention, perception, and feature-based processing, with recent work exploring emotional memory modulation, color-shape interactions in search tasks, and peripheral vision limitations. Key themes include:

• Temporal attention and sustained concentration failures
• Feature guidance in complex visual environments
• Role of perceptual similarity in search efficiency
• Impact of emotional arousal on relational memory

His publications (2012–2025) demonstrate expertise in visual cognition, attentional theories, and cognitive modeling, with a strong emphasis on experimental validation of computational models. Awards include the NSF CAREER award and Psychonomic Society Mid-Career award.

As co-founder of the Spark Society, he actively promotes diversity in cognitive sciences. His lab investigates topics like contextual cueing, feature boosting theories, and online eye-tracking methodology, supported by NSF grants including the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program.