Gunnar Schmidtmann

Gunnar Schmidtmann is an Associate Professor of Optometry and Vision Science at the School of Health Professions, University of Plymouth, where he has been employed since 2017, first as a Lecturer and promoted to Associate Professor in 2021. He holds a PhD in Vision Science from Glasgow Caledonian University and completed postdoctoral research at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He is actively involved in teaching, research, and supervision, with a focus on visual perception and clinical vision science.

Education:

• PhD in Vision Science, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK (2008–2013)
• BSc in Optometry, University of Applied Sciences, Lübeck, Germany (2005–2008)
• Medical School, University of Lübeck, Germany (2001–2005)

Research Interests: His research spans visual neuroscience, shape perception, object recognition, visual psychophysics, and face perception. He investigates contour and curvature encoding, spatial and probability summation, peripheral vision, visual illusions, and the visual functions of patients with traumatic brain injury, stroke, and glaucoma. His work combines computational modeling with experimental psychophysics.

Publication Trends: His recent articles (2023–2025) focus on sensorimotor aging, tablet-based vision testing, letter identification biases, and visual illusions such as the 'Pint Glass Illusion'. These reflect a strong trend toward developing accessible, quantitative tools for clinical and research use, while maintaining a deep theoretical interest in visual perception mechanisms.

Scientific Engagement:

• Active member and elected committee member of the Applied Vision Association (AVA)
• Principal contributor to the McGill Face Database for complex mental state recognition
• Regular presenter at AVA and ECVP conferences

Supervision and Grants: He supervises PhD students and is a Co-Investigator on an active NHS-funded project Portable Low-Cost Haptic Interfaces for Motor Injury Assessment (2025–2026). His teaching includes module leadership in Visual Perception, Human Anatomy, and Applied Quantitative Research Methods at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Labs and Teams: He leads research within the Eye and Vision Research Group at the University of Plymouth and collaborates with the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience at Brunel University London. His lab focuses on psychophysical experiments and computational modeling of visual perception.