With all the different projects Professor Chi-Ren Shyu has on his proverbial plate, it's hard to imagine he has any time to sleep. Yet with easy finesse and exuberance, Shyu describes just a few of his ongoing "joyful and rewarding" research initiatives, ranging from biomedical and geospatial informatics to computer imaging of medical images. Not surprisingly, Shyu has gained a well-earned reputation for his collaborative work. Although diverse, what these research interests share is the effort to create large-scale, fast, and multidimensional databases.

A rainbow of feathers floats upward like a psychedelic butterfly. Fingers of color, violet and lime green, seem to flow outward from the tips of the wings. If you didn’t know better, you might assume it is a work of art. Beyond their beauty, for Shawn Christ these images taken at MU’s new Brain Imaging Center reveal the brain’s activity and connections. In his role as Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of MU’s Clinical Neuropsychology Laboratory, Christ studies how the relationship between the brain and behavior changes as we develop. Christ chose a career in psychology because it would combine two passions— working with kids and solving puzzles.

GeoIris: a project supported by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

Demonstration by doctoral student Matt Klaric of how the GeoIris system works.

Demonstration by doctoral student Matt Klaric of how the GeoI system works.

Kerns discusses activity in various brain regions as a result of different cognitive process.

Kerns discusses the use of FMRI in his research.

Kerns discusses the process a person goes through to have the cognitive activities imaged.

Kerns discusses how brain activity is viewed during an FMRI scan.

Kerns discusses how FMRI technologies started to be used in psychology research.