Rigmor Baraas

ORCID Researcher unique identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3259-7617

Cristin-person-ID: 323642 

Rigmor C. Baraas is a Professor of Optometry and Visual Science at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences and Director of Research for the National Centre for Optics, Vision and Eye Care at the University of South-Eastern Norway, Kongsberg, Norway. She heads the Colour Vision and Retinal Imaging laboratory and the I-merse Research Group.

Rigmor studied Optometry and Vision Science at University of Manchester, England. She graduated in 1994, and was subsequently appointed Lecturer in the Department of Optometry at Buskerud University College, Kongsberg, Norway. She received a PhD fellowship in 1998, and returned to Manchester to undertake postgraduate research in the Vision Science Laboratory with Prof. J. J. Kulikowski. She obtained her PhD from the University of Manchester in 2002. She then moved to the Visual and Computational Neuroscience Laboratory and undertook 3-years of postdoctoral research with Professor D. H. Foster funded by a prestigious Wellcome Trust Fellowship. She returned to Norway and what has become the University of South-Eastern Norway in spring 2005 as Associate Professor of Optometry and Visual Sciences. She was promoted to full professor in autumn 2011. Baraas was featured as Visionary of the Quarter on the European Gateway for Vision Research for the first quarter of 2013. She is a member of NOF, OSA, XR4All, ICVS and ARVO. She was the organizer of the 21st Symposium of the International Colour Vision Society and an elected director of the ICVS Board for eight consecutive years. Baraas was an elected member of the Visual Psychophysics (VI) section of the ARVO Annual Meeting Program Committee and chair of the section for 2015-2016. She was a board member of Forum Farge Norway for several years. She is currently Editor-in-chief for Scandinavian Journal of Optometry and Visual Sciences and is on the OSA Technical Group Color (VC) Executive Commitee. She organizes the annual Kongsberg Vision Meeting. 

She is the partner in two Horizon 2020 project, ROSiE Fostering responsible open science in Europe and AI-D Artificial Intelligence for Diagnosing Retinal Diseases. She is also the co-coordinator of the Horizon Europe project The Equitable, Inclusive, and Human-Centered XR (XR4Human).

EDUCATION

2016–2017          Developing Doctoral Supervision Diploma, University of South-Eastern Norway.

2016–2017          Research Management Diploma, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark

2008–2009          Practical-Pedagical Diploma in Higher Education, University College of Østfold.

2002–2005          Post Doctor, Computational Neruoscience Laboratory, University of Manchester, UK.

1998–2002      Doctor of Philosophy: Disputation date: 09.12.2002

Supervisor: Janus J. Kulikowski, The Visual Science Laboratory, University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology (UMIST), Manchester, UK

1994–1995      Contact Lens Diploma. Buskerud University College, Department of Optometry, Kongsberg, Norway

1992–1994      Bachelor of Science (Hons), Optometry and Visual Science, University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology (UMIST), Manchester, UK

CURRENT AND PREVIOUS POSITIONS

2011–present   Professor

Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Optometry and Visual Science, University College of Southeast Norway.

2019–Present  Director of research

National Centre for Optics, Vision and Eye Care, University College of Southeast Norway.

2013–2019  Centre Director

National Centre for Optics, Vision and Eye Care, University College of Southeast Norway.

2014–2017  Prodean for Research

Faculty of Health Sciences, University College of Southeast Norway.

2005–2011      Associate Professor

Department of Optometry and Visual Science, Buskerud University College. Norway

2005–2008      Honorary Visiting Research Associate

Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, UK

2002–2005      Post-Doctoral Research Associate (Wellcome Trust Grant)

Supervisor: David H. Foster, Computational Neruoscience Laboratory, University of Manchester, UK.

FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS 

2013                Awarded the Norwegian Association of Optometrist Honorary Gold Medal 

2013                Awarded the title Visionary of the Quarter by the European Gateway for Vision Research for the first quarter of 2013.

2010                Recipient of the Buskerud University College Research Award 2010

2010                Recipient of the Norwegian Optometric Association Innovation Award 2010

MEMBERSHIPS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES

2014–present   Member of the Norwegian Neuroscience Society (NNS) and Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS)

2005–present   Member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)

2000–present   Member of the Optical Society of America (OSA)

1999–present   Member of the International Colour Vision Society (ICVS)

1994–present   Member of the Norwegian Association of Optometrists (NOF)

COLLABORATIONS

Maureen Neitz, PhD, Genetics of eye diseases, University of Washington, Department of Ophthalmology, Seattle WA, USA

Joseph Carroll, PhD, Vision research, Department of Ophthalmology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee WI, USA

Alfredo Dubra, PhD, Adaptive optics retinal imaging, Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University, Stanford CA, USA

Christine F. Wildsoet, Myopia, University of California Berkeley School og Optometry, Berkeley, CA, USA

Michael Larsen, PhD, Eye disease, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Tor P. Utheim, PhD, Eye disease, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Norway

Jan Kremers, PhD, Retinal physiology, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg

Mark Mon-Williams, PhD, Cognitive psychology,  Immersive technologies, University of Leeds, UK