Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Alejandro Lleras receives National Science Foundation CAREER Award

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Alejandro Lleras, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois and an affiliate of the Beckman Institute, is a recipient of an Early Faculty CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. The $400,000 award will be distributed over five years, beginning in 2008.

The award supports the early career development of teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education in line with the mission of their institutions.

In his research, Lleras explores fundamental questions of perception, such as how we become aware of visual information and what factors affect what visual information we attend to and which we ignore. His work illustrates the interplay between awareness, attention and prior experiences and how these systems constantly influence each other.

As an instructor at the graduate and undergraduate level, Lleras receives high marks in student evaluations for his teaching effectiveness, clarity, course quality and relevance.

When evaluating Lleras for the award, the NSF reviewers cited his impressive list of publications in leading journals and the high quality and creativity of his research. His commitment to training others in the field was also noted.

“The applicant’s department is able and willing to provide the support necessary to further develop the career of the applicant such that he will become one of the leading figures in experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience,” a reviewer wrote.

Editor’s note: To reach Alejandro Lleras, e-mail alleras@illinois.edu.

Read Next

Life sciences Photo of Michael Ward standing in tall grass on a riverbank.

How are migrating wild birds affected by H5N1 infection in the U.S.?

Each spring, roughly 3.5 billion wild birds migrate from their warm winter havens to their breeding grounds across North America, eating insects, distributing plant seeds and providing a variety of other ecosystem services to stopping sites along the way. Some also carry diseases like avian influenza, a worry for agricultural, environmental and public health authorities. […]

Announcements Marcelo Garcia, professor of civil and environmental engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering.

Illinois faculty member elected to National Academy of Engineering

Champaign, Ill. — Marcelo Garcia, a professor of civil and environmental engineering in The Grainger College of Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Social sciences Male and female student embracing on the quad with flowering redbud tree and the ACES library in the background. Photo by Michelle Hassel

Dating is not broken, but the trajectories of relationships have changed

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — According to some popular culture writers and online posts by discouraged singles lamenting their inability to find romantic partners, dating is “broken,” fractured by the social isolation created by technology, pandemic lockdowns and potential partners’ unrealistic expectations. Yet two studies of college students conducted a decade apart found that their ideas about […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010