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Sowmya Ravikumar, BS Optometry

Graduate Student

School of Optometry

Indiana University

PhD thesis advisors: Dr. Arthur Bradley & Dr. Larry Thibos

Visit the Visual Optics and Psychophysics Research Group at Indiana University

My research interests: My PhD work is in the area of Vision Science. I am a part of a lab that deals specifically with the optics of the eye. If you are unfamiliar with the anatomy of the eye you can think of the retina as a photo film that sits behind a series of complicated lenses inside a camera system. The quality of the image falling on the retina is limited by the optics of the eye, amongst other reasons. The imperfections of an optical system are generally called aberrations. In the eye, not only can optical aberrations reduce contrast but also the perceived structure of an object. Adding to this complication is the prism-like behavior of the eye that results in chromatic aberration. I am interested in exploring the nature of optical degradation of the retinal image, especially under natural viewing conditions. My doctoral thesis work focuses on understanding how polychromatic aberrations and their interactions affect image quality in the human eye and assessing the effectiveness of existent corrective measures as well as newer technology.

For more about my academic activities you may peek into my resume.