Faculty Profile: Robert Alexander
Keeping an Eye on Things
“When I draw, I mostly draw eyes,” says Assistant Professor of Psychology and Counseling Robert Alexander, Ph.D. A visual artist in his spare time, it is not surprising that Alexander thinks of the human eye when approaching his artwork. His professional work has long focused on vision, eye tracking, and the advancements we can make when approaching eyesight from a different perspective.
“Many people don’t realize this, but eye movements are critical for vision,” Alexander says. If you never moved your eyes, everything would quickly fade from sight. Understanding precisely why we make those movements and how the neural circuits involved in eye movements, perception, and cognition are linked to each other might give us a better grasp of human psychology in general.”
This simple idea has led to an entire world of research and discovery with Alexander at the forefront. Much of his research is centered on increasing safety and reducing deaths resulting from “attentional or perceptual failures.” “I track the eye movements of working professionals such as radiologists or computer programmers to determine how their attentional targeting choices are made and how these choices change with perceptual learning and expertise,” he says. The resulting data can be used to improve training for these positions and to identify signs of fatigue, which can result in expensive and dangerous mistakes.
“When teaching, I sometimes mention recent news stories about human error and the problems it can cause, such as plane or automobile crashes, medical errors, and mistakes with infrastructure,” he explains. “Human error is a big problem, and if we can improve training and reduce those errors, we can save a lot of lives.”
Alexander also uses these tools and analyses to improve the diagnosis of visual impairments and clinical conditions to reduce disparities in healthcare access. “Racial and ethnic minorities are at high risk for many kinds of different ocular diseases that can lead to blindness and vision impairment. Vision loss is more common in women, people with lower incomes, and people with less education. In fact, disparities in visual impairments exist along nearly every dimension of diversity,” he says. “In many cases, even just reducing the costs of assessments could help reduce the disparities by lowering the barriers preventing access to vision care. By considering these issues while designing my studies, I take concrete steps toward improving health equity.”
Alexander serves as vice president for the Americas chapter of The International Society for Clinical Eye Tracking (ISCET), an organization created to provide a voice for existing clinicians working with eye trackers, as well as guidance for new clinicians seeking to enter the field. “Outside of teaching and research, I have been involved in promoting the use of eye tracking in education and in clinical settings,” he says. “My role as vice president for ISCET is part of that effort and is aligned with New York Tech’s status as a leader in the applications of technology that benefit the larger world.”
Faculty Profile: Robert Alexander
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Psychology & Counseling
Joined New York Tech: 2023
Campus: New York City
More Profiles
Guiliano Global Fellows: Glacier Saviors, Exoplanets, and More
Under the Edward Guiliano Global Fellowship Program, seven students traveled the globe, broadening their perspectives and working on transformational research projects.
New Academic Year Brings New Faculty
New York Tech welcomes new and recently hired faculty to the university for the new academic year.
From Shy to Fearless
Looking at computer science and data science student Michael Aryeetey’s many extracurricular leadership roles, you would never guess that he was once the shy guy. He’s even been awarded multiple times.
Recognizing Our Shared Human Frailty
For Disability Pride Month, Nicole Calma-Roddin, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology and counseling, talks about her experience as a disabled person and what that means to her.
School of Management Welcomes New Dean
On July 1, Jaishankar Ganesh, Ph.D., joined New York Tech as dean of the School of Management.
Highlighting Faculty Tenures, Promotions for 2024-2025
As New York Tech prepares for the 2024-2025 academic year, several faculty are recognized for outstanding teaching, scholarship, and service.