Silsden student David Holmes is off to study the workings of computerised vision thanks to a scholarship to Aston University. David, 23, of Aireville Crescent, has been awarded a one-year scholarship worth £28,640 to carry out biotechnology and biological sciences research for his PhD. The scholarship includes the cost of the equipment and facilities David will be using to conduct his research as well as payment for his work.

His thesis, a maximum of 100,000 words, will focus on a performance based approach to spatial filter combination - how the brain perceives vision in relation to size and space. His subject area is visual psychophysics and computational vision - how the brain sees and makes sense of what it sees through our eyes.

David says: "I will be looking at orientation and size in relation to different objects to try and work out how our brain understands vision. I hope to build computers which can see how we see. If I can, the uses will be great, such as for quality testing in industry, missile guidance systems and brain surgery. So I will be doing lots of computer programming to find out how information is processed in relation to vision.

Before his research on vision, David taught A-level psychology at Keighley College as part of his PGCE training, after gaining a first class honours degree in psychology from Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, Egham, Surrey, which is part of London University.

He is a former South Craven School student.

The university, situated in the heart of Birmingham, hands out 220 awards each year for further research in different areas. It is the home of one of the few research facilities in the UK aimed specifically at understanding human vision from a psychophysical viewpoint. David starts at Aston University on October 1.

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