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Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of California
230 Physical Sciences Bldg.
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Phone: (831) 459-4002
Fax: (831) 459-2935
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Eugene Switkes Professor of Chemistry B.A., Oberlin College Ph.D., Harvard University Office: 156 PSB Phone: (831) 459-2000 Fax: (831) 459-2935 gene@chemistry.ucsc.edu

Department of Chemistry University of California 1156 High Street Santa Cruz, CA 95064 Office Hours Class Times & Locations Labs: 157 PSB, 9-2000

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Physical Chemistry, Theoretical Chemistry, Vision Sciences

Eugene Switkes is a theoretical chemist working in two diverse research areas: applications of basic quantum mechanical theory to problems in organic chemistry and biochemistry, and information processing by the visual system.

His current work in chemistry includes theoretical calculations of the electronic structure of large molecules and formal characterization of nonlinear systems. Problems under investigation include a local excitation analysis of the excited states of polyenes and diphenylpolyenes, semiempirical calculations of the geometry of transition metal complexes, and the application of Wiener-Kernels to the characterization of nonlinear chemical processes. Several graduate students in chemistry have found a basis for combined experimental-theoretical thesis problems in the interests shared by Switkes and experimental chemists at UCSC.

Switkes is a member of the Psychobiology Committee at UCSC and the Vision Sciences group at UC Berkeley. He received UCSC's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1986 and the Excellence in Teaching Award from Phi Beta Kappa's Northern California Association in 1983.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

J. A. Wilson and E. Switkes. "Integration of differing chromaticities in early and midlevel spatial vision", J. Opt. Soc. Am. A, 22, 2161-2181, 2005.

J.A. Wilson, E. Switkes, and R. L. DeValois, "Glass pattern studies of local and global processing of contrast variations", Vision Res 44, 2629-2641, 2004.

E. Switkes and M. A. Crognale, "Comparison of Color and Luminance Contrast, Apples vs. Oranges?" Vision Res 39, 1823-1831, 1999.

M. E. Schneck, B. Fortune, E. Switkes, M. Crognale, and H.J. Adams, "Acute Effects of Blood Glucose on Chromatic Visually Evoked Potentials in Persons with Diabetes and in Normal Persons," Invest. Ophthalmol. and Vis. Science 38, 800-810, 1997.

M. A. Crognale, E. Switkes, and A. J. Adams, "Temporal Response Characteristics of the Spatiochromatic Visually Evoked Potentials: Non-Linearities and Departures from Psychophysics," J. Opt. Soc. Am. 10, 1-13, 1997.

R. L. De Valois, K. K. De Valois, E. Switkes, and L. Mahon, "Hue Scaling of Isoluminant and Cone-specific Lights," Vision Res. 37 885-897, 1997.

J. Rabin, E. Switkes, M. A. Crognale, M. E. Schneck, and A. J. Adams, "Visual Evoked Potentials in Three-Dimensional Color Space: Correlates of Spatio-Chromatic Processing," Vis. Res. 34, 2657, 1994.

M. A. Crognale, E. Switkes, J. Rabin, M. E. Schneck, G. Haegerstršm-Portnoy, and A. J. Adams, "Application of the Spatiochromatic Visual Evoked Potential to Detection of Congenital and Acquired Color-Vision Deficiencies," J. Opt. Soc. Am. A10, 1818, 1993.

M. A. Crognale, J. Rabin, E. Switkes, and A. J. Adams, "Selective Loss of S-pathway Sensitivity in Central Serous Choroidopathy Revealed by Spatio-chromatic Evoked Cortical Potentials (VECP)," in Colour Vision Deficiencies XI: Proceedings of the Eleventh Symposium of the International Research Group on Colour Vision Deficiencies, ed. by B. Drum (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 1993), p. 229.

B. E. Schefrin, J. S. Werner, M. Plach, N. Utlaut, and E. Switkes, "Sites of Age-Related Sensitivity Loss in a Short-Wave Cone Pathway," J. Opt. Soc. Am. A9, 355, 1992.

M. A. Webster, K. K. De Valois, and E. Switkes, "Orientation and Spatial-Frequency Discrimination for Luminance and Chromatic Gratings," J. Opt. Soc. Am. A7, 1034, 1990.

E. Switkes, A. Bradley, and C. Schor, "Readily Visible Changes in Color Contrast Are Insufficient to Stimulate Accommodation," Vis. Res. 30, 1367, 1990.

R. B. H. Tootell, M. S. Silverman, S. L. Hamilton, E. Switkes, and R. L. De Valois, "Functional Anatomy of Macaque Striate Cortex. V. Spatial frequency," J. Neurosci. 8, 1610, 1988.

T. Carney, M. Shadlen, and E. Switkes, "Parallel Processing of Motion and Colour Information," Nature 328, 647, 1987.

R. A. Goldbeck and E. Switkes, "Localized Excitation Analysis of the Singlet Excited States of Polyenes and Diphenylpolyenes," J. Phys. Chem. 89, 2585, 1985.