Profile
Biography
Mike has held positions at universities across the UK. His research interests include cognitive science, and particularly face recognition.
- BSc, Joint Hons. Mathematics and Psychology, University of Nottingham 1980
- PhD Psychology, University of Nottingham, 1983
Career
- 2015-present, Professor of Psychology, University of York
- Head of Psychology, University of York 2017-2020
- 2011-2015, Professor of Psychology, University of Aberdeen
- 1994-2011, Professor of Psychology, University of Glasgow
- Head of Psychology, University of Glasgow 1996-1999
- Head of Psychology, University of Glasgow 2008-2011
- 1992-1994, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Stirling
- 1984-1992, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Nottingham
Research
Overview
My research focuses on face perception. I am particularly interested in identification – we encounter faces over a huge range of visual conditions, and yet we can recognise the people we know quickly and easily. The research aims to provide insights into fundamental aspects of human perception. It also has application in computer-based face recognition, and in forensic settings.
Projects
My current projects concern the role of variability in face recognition: how does our perceptual system use different images of the same person to derive stable representations? Together with my group and my collaborators, I use experimental and computational modelling aproaches to address this problem. We also collaborate with security agencies in the UK and internationally on issues related to personal identificiation.
Grants
- ESRC Professorial Fellowship: 2012 – 2016
- ERC Advanced Grant: 2013 – 2018
- ESRC Grant 'Putting the individual into face recognition: Bridging theory and application', with Holger Wiese, Durham University: 2023-2026
- ESRC Grant 'High-fidelity avatars for behaviour and cognition research', with Markus Bindemann, Univeristy of Kent, 2023-2026
Collaborators
- York University: Rob Jenkins, Andy Young, Tim Andrews, Cade McCall
- Kent University: Markus Bindemann
- Durham University: Holger Wiese
- University of Jena: Stefan Schweinberger, Gyula Kovács
- University of New South Wales: David White, Richard Kemp
