Dr. S. C. Pont (Sylvia)

Assistant Professor 
Industrial design, HICD, Perceptual Intelligence lab

Biography

Since September 2008 Sylvia Pont works at the Department of Industrial Design Engineering of Delft University of Technology, as an assistant professor. In her photometry and psychophysics labs, which are part of the p -lab (Perceptual Intelligence lab) facilities, she studies perceptual material-shape-illumination interactions, the physical structure and perception of light fields, and how light fields can be described, visualized and measured semi-quantitatively. She collaborates in the p -Lab (Perceptual Intelligence Lab), a collaboration of IDE and the Department of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science. She also collaborates with the Department of Architecture, e.g. for teaching a masters elective "Lighting Architecture".

From September 1999 to 2008 Sylvia worked in thePhysics of Man group of theDepartment of Physics and Astronomy ofUtrecht University. This program is part of theHelmholtz Institute. Her postdoctoral research into "ecological optics" included studies into reflectance, texture, and light fields. January 2004 she got an appointment as an assistant professor and started her project entitled "Ecological Plenoptics of Natural Scenes", for which she was granted a "VIDI Vernieuwingsimpuls" by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). This project concerned studies into the description of the appearance of natural materials and natural light fields. Furthermore, she participated in the EuropeanVISIONTRAIN project with studies into illuminance flow from 3D texture and shape from illuminance flow. In these projects, she succesfully supervised two PhD students and a postdoc.

Her PhD project (1993-97) concerned haptic curvature perception and she worked for two years at an institute for visually disabled people (1997-99).

Education

• PhD: 27-10-1997, Utrecht University, Supervisors: Prof. Dr. J.J. Koenderink and Dr. A.M.L. Kappers, title of thesis: Haptic Curvature Comparison.
• Doctorate: 26-4-1993, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Experimental Physics.

Experience

• Assistant Professor (0.8 fte, permanent appointment), Delft University of Technology, Perceptual Intelligence lab, Department of Industrial Design Engineering, commenced 1-9-2008.
• Assistant Professor (1 fte, permanent appointment), Utrecht University, Helmholtz Institute, Department of Physics and Astronomy, program Physics of Man, 1-1-2004 to 30-11-2008.
• Post-doctoral researcher (1 fte, 3 fixed-terms), Utrecht University, Helmholtz Institute, Department of Physics and Astronomy, program Physics of Man, 1-9-1999 to 31-12-2003.
• Co-worker Technical Research Centre for the Visually Disabled (1 fte, permanent appointment), Visio, 1-9-1997 to 1-9-1999.

Specialisation / field of research

The optical structure and perception of natural materials and light fields (multidisciplinary research combining physics, mathematics, computer vision and graphics, experimental psychology)

Lectures and/or coaches students on:

• Lighting Architecture (coordination, lecturing, practical training, coaching, examination)
• PUUE (lecturing + assignment)
• Interaction and Electronics (coaching)
• Research and Design (coaching)
• Graduation (mentor, chair)
• PhD (supervision, co-promotor)

Publications

Click here for an overview of my publications.