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Name: Lorin Lachs
Title: Professor and Chair
Department: Psychology
Academic Degree(s):

• B.A. in Psychology and Neuroscience, Brandeis University
• Ph.D. in Cognitive Science and Psychology, Indiana University Bloomington

How long have you worked at Fresno State and which offices have you worked in?
20 years in the Psychology Department exclusively.

Are you a Valley native?
No, I am not a Valley native. I came here to start my job as an assistant professor.

Do you have a campus mentor or someone who has helped you in your career?
Connie Jones, interim associate dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, has shared her wisdom and sage advice throughout my career, starting when she picked me up at the airport for my interview.

Tell us about your department and what people may not know about it.
The Psychology Department is a thriving and active community of scholars and students who are passionate about teaching and research. Many people think of our department as being mainly concerned with the science of mental health, which is a critical part of our field and is what draws most students to our major. However, many people don't realize that there are other components to the study of psychology: we are interested in all aspects of human behavior, from neurobiology to memory and language to development to the ways groups of people behave when interacting with each other. It's a very broad discipline.

What is your most notable accomplishment in your field, and why was it important?
I am most proud of the research I conducted exploring the links between auditory and visual speech perception. It was the first attempt to explore relationships between physical patterns of acoustic and optical speech information. This work opened up a whole new way of looking at speech perception, and has led to a deeper understanding of the ways by which the brain encodes information about spoken language.

What are you most passionate about in your field and why?
I am passionate about research into the way our multiple perceptual systems interact to give us a sense of our presence in the world. This has applications in the realm of virtual reality — what about a virtual environment makes a user feel connected to that environment? What is necessary for a perceiver to transcend the feeling that their interaction with an environment is mediated by technology, for example, using a head mounted display, but is, rather, immersed within it?

What is a memorable moment you had at your job?
The most memorable moments for me have always come at graduation. The overwhelming sense of joy and accomplishment from students and their families at this special time never fails to inspire me.

What is a memorable moment you had in class?
I don't have one specific memorable moment from class to recount, but I can say that I always remember those special, ephemeral moments when I can tell that students finally "get it." The almost electric feeling in the air is so powerful; it is a moment of connection and understanding that I can fairly say I'm addicted to.

What is your teaching style?
I tend to use a storytelling framework to guide students through the intricacies of various experiments and models of sensory systems and perceptual processes.

What is the most interesting or unusual job you've ever had?
I had a job in a greasy spoon breakfast café where my only responsibility was to make toast.

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time?
I like to hang out with my three kids, play video games, and listen to music.

What is something interesting about you that most people don’t know?
I love food, cooking it and eating it.