Susan Farnand Headshot

Susan Farnand

Assistant Professor
Color Science Program
College of Science
spfpci@rit.edu
585-475-4567
Office Location
COL-1067

Susan Farnand

Assistant Professor
Color Science Program
College of Science

Education

BS, Cornell University; MS, Ph.D., Rochester Institute of Technology

spfpci@rit.edu
585-475-4567
Areas of Expertise
Color Science
Color Vision
Perception
Psychophysics
Cognitive Neuroscience
Science of Art
Printing

Currently Teaching

IMGS-891
Continuation of Thesis
0 Credits
Continuation of Thesis
IMGS-890
Research & Thesis
1 - 6 Credits
Doctoral-level research by the candidate on an appropriate topic as arranged between the candidate and the research advisor.
CLRS-890
Research & Thesis
1 - 6 Credits
Masters-level research by the candidate on an appropriate topic as arranged between the candidate and the research advisor.
CLRS-600
Fundamentals of Color Science
3 Credits
This asynchronous online course provides a technical introduction to color science and the CIE system of colorimetry. Topics covered include color perception, color measurement, color spaces, and applications. The course is intended for students with a technical background who are interested in adding an elective course in color science to their graduate program and for practitioners in the color field interested in a more thorough understanding of the science behind colorimetry. Cannot be taken for program credit by Color Science MS and PhD students.
CLRS-201
Color Science for the Visual Arts
3 Credits
Color has been a topic of intense interest and inquiry for thousands of years. Knowledge of color science can be an aid to visual artists and those who study the visual arts such as art historians and conservators. Topics include the building blocks of color, seeing color, producing color, displaying color, reproducing color, and conserving color.
CLRS-602
Color Physics and Applications
3 Credits
This course explores the relationship between a material’s color and its constituent raw materials such as colorants, binding media, substrates, and overcoats. These can be determined using a variety of physical models based on absorption, scattering, luminescence, and interference phenomena. These models enable the production of paints, plastics, colored paper, printing, and others to have specific colors. Accompanying laboratories will implement and optimize these models using filters, artist opaque and translucent paints and varnishes including metallic and pearlescent colorants, and inkjet printing. Statistical techniques include principal component analysis and linear and nonlinear optimization.
CLRS-790
Research & Thesis
1 - 6 Credits
Masters-level research by the candidate on an appropriate topic as arranged between the candidate and the research advisor.
CLRS-750
Historical Research Perspectives
1 Credits
Historical Research Perspectives is a weekly forum in which students will learn about historical and classic topics in color science. The course focuses on journal club discussions of papers selected by the students and faculty. It also includes oral presentations from students, laboratory staff, and faculty as well as visiting speakers from within and external to RIT. Students will prepare their own oral presentations and written assignments based on the course readings and independent research. Students will develop professional skills required for formal scientific presentations and writing.
CGNS-222
Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
3 Credits
Cognition refers to mental action or processes of acquiring knowledge through the senses and through experience or thought. Neuroscience encompasses any or all of the sciences that deal with the structure and function of the nervous system and brain. This course provides the scientific foundation for the understanding of cognitive neuroscience, including neuroanatomy, neural signaling, motor control systems, the visual pathway, and research and experimental methods. Emphasis will be on Visual Neuroscience.

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Featured Work

close-up of emerald ash borer

Emerald Ash Borer

Matt Ronnenberg and Susan Farnand

Matt Ronnenberg, color science Ph.D. student, and Assistant Professor Susan Farnand worked with 3D printing technology that now permits an object to be fabricated with multiple colors and...

View More about Emerald Ash Borer

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Journal Paper
Anku, and Susan P. Farnand. "The Effect of Texture on Perceived Memory Color Quality." Jounral of Imaging Science and Technology 64. 5 (2020): 50407-1-50407-16. Web.
Farnand, Susan P., Rajeev Ramchandran, and Mark Fairchild. "Color Vision Differences Following Retinal Detachment and Subsequent Cataract Surgery." Journal of Imaging Science and Technology 63. 4 (2019): NA. Web.
Ronnenberg, Matthew and Susan P. Farnand. "The Effect of Sub-surface Structure on the Color Appearance of 3D Printed Objects." Journal of Imaging Science and Technology 63. 4 (2019): NA. Web.
Farnand, Susan, Vaidyanathan, Preethi, and Jeff B. Pelz. "Recurrence Metrics for Assessing Eye Movements in Perceptual Experiments." Journal of Eye Movement Research 9. 4 (2016): 1-9. Web.
Farnand, Susan and Mark Fairchild. "Designing Pictorial Stimuli for Perceptual Experiments." Applied Optics 53. 13 (2014): C72-C82. Web.
Farnand, Susan and Christye P. Sisson, Mark Fairchild and Bill Fischer. "Analysis of Color Consistency in Retinal Fundus Photography: Application of Color Management and Development of an Eye Model Standard." Analytical Cellular Pathology 2014. (2014): Article No. 398462. Web.
Farnand, Susan P. "Effect of Scene Content on the Perceptibility of Differential Gloss." Journal of Imaging Science & Technology 54. 3 (2011): 30505-1-- 30505-13. Print.
Published Conference Proceedings
Carpenter, Katherine and Susan P. Farnand. "Assessing the Use of Smartphones to Determine Crop Ripeness." Proceedings of the Electronic Imaging: Food and Agricultural Imaging Systems 2020. Ed. Society for Imaging Science and Technology. Burlingame, CA: Society for Imaging Science and Technology, Web.
Xie, Hao, et al. "Color Mismatches across Commercial Displays: Modeling the Effect of Observer Metamerism." Proceedings of the Society for Information Display Technical Symposium, May 2019, San Jose, CA. Ed. SID. San Jose, CA: n.p., 2019. Print.
Farnand, Susan P., et al. "Bringing the Humanities and Engineering Together through Multi-disciplinary Senior Design team projects." Proceedings of the IS&T's Archiving, Lisbon, May 2019. Ed. Society for Imaging Science and Technology. Springfield, VA: n.p., 2019. Web.
Farnand, Susan and Ken Parulski. "Color Calibration of Unmanned Aerial System Digital Still Cameras." Proceedings of the Electronic Imaging - Image Quality and Systems Performance. Ed. Elaine Jin & Stuart Perry. San Francisco, CA: IS&T, 2018. Web.
Wang, Mingming, et al. "Auto-simulator Preparation for Research into Assessing the Correlation Between Human Driving Behaviors and Fixation Patterns." Proceedings of the Electronic Imaging - Autonomous Vehicles and Machines. Ed. Buyue Zhang, Patrick Denny, Darnell Moore. San Francisco, CA: IS&T, 2018. Web.
Carpenter, Katherine and Susan Farnand. "Can Pop-Tart® Wrappers be Used to Make Safe Eclipse Glasses?" Proceedings of the Electronic Imaging - Color Imaging XXIII: Displaying, Processing, Hardcopy, and Applications. Ed. Reiner Eschbach, Gabriel Marcu, Alessandro Rizzi. San Francisco, CA: IS&T, 2018. Web.
Carpenter, Katherine, Anthony Vodacek, and Susan Farnand. "Smartphone Calibration for Crowd-Sourced Determination of the Presence of Cyanobacteria in Water Samples." Proceedings of the Electronic Imaging - Color Imaging XXIII: Displaying, Processing, Hardcopy, and Applications. Ed. Reiner Eschbach, Gabriel Marcu, Alessandro Rizzi. San Francisco, CA: IS&T, 2018. Web.
Anku, and Susan Farnand. "Color Quality and Memory Color Assessment." Proceedings of the Color and Imaging Conference. Ed. Marius Pedersen. Vancouver, Canada: IS&T, 2018. Web.
Ronnenberg, Matthew and Susan Farnand. "The Effect of Surface Texture on Color Appearance of 3D Printed Objects." Proceedings of the Color and Imaging Conference. Ed. Marius Pedersen. Vancouver, Canada: IS&T, 2018. Web.
Farnand, Susan, et al. "A Methodology for Perceptual Image Quality Assessment of Smartphone Cameras — Color Quality." Proceedings of the IS&T’s Electronic Imaging Symposium: Image Quality and Systems Performance XIV, February 2017, San Francisco. Ed. IS&T. San Francisco, CA: IS&T, 2017. Web.
Hassani, Nargess and Susan Farnand. "Color Discrimination Threshold for Medical Test Devices." Proceedings of the Electronic Imaging Symposium: Color Imaging XXII conference February 2017, San Francisco. Ed. IS&T. San Francisco, CA: IS&T, 2017. Web.
Farnand, Susan. "Evaluating Perceived Capture Quality for the Digitization of Cultural Heritage Objects." Proceedings of the Archiving Conference, Riga, Latvia. Ed. IS&T. Washington, DC: IS&T, 2017. Web.
Sheth, Gaurav, Katherine Carpenter, and Susan Farnand. "Image Quality Assessment of Displayed and Printed Smartphone Images." Proceedings of the Color and Imaging Conference, Lillehammer, Norway. Ed. IS&T. Washington, DC: IS&T, 2017. Web.
Farnand, Susan, et al. "A Methodology For Perceptual Image Quality Assessment Of Smartphone Cameras." Proceedings of the IS&T's Electronic Imaging: Image Quality and Systems Performance, February 2016, San Francisco. Ed. Chaker Larabi, Robin Jenkin. Springfield, Virginia: n.p., Web.
Jiang, Jun, Franziska S. Frey, and Susan P. Farnand. "Evaluating the Perceived Quality of Soft-copy Reproductions of Fine Art Images With and Without the Original Present." Proceedings of the Nineteeth Color Imaging Conference: Color Science and Engineering Systems, Technologies, and Applications. San Jose, California: n.p., 2011. Print.
Farnand, Susan P., Jun Jiang, and Franziska S. Frey. "Comparing Hardcopy and Softcopy Results in the Study of the Impact of Workflow on Perceived Reproduction Quality of Fine Art Images." Proceedings of the Image Quality and System Performance VIII. San Francisco, CA: n.p., 2011. Print.
Invited Paper
Farnand, Susan P. "Evaluating Colour Quality of Smartphone Images." Transactions Imaging/Art/Science: Image Quality, Content and Aesthetics. (2019). Print.
Book Chapter
Farnand, Susan P. "Adaptation." Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Ed. Renzo Shamey. NA, NA: Springer Publishing Company, Incorporated, 2019. NA. Web.
Farnand, Susan P. and Rolf G. Kuehni. "Colors: Where are they?" Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Ed. Renzo Shamey. NA, NA: Springer Publishing Company, Incorporated, 2020. NA. Web.
Peer Reviewed/Juried Poster Presentation
Farnand, Susan and Mingming Wang. "Building a Database of Gaze Information for Automotive Simulator Operators Making Critical Driving Decisions." Proceedings of the Understanding Images in Biological and Computer Vision. Ed. Andrew Schofield. London, England: Royal Society.
Carpenter, Katherine, Anthony Vodacek, and Susan Farnand. "Smartphone Calibration for Crowd-Sourced Determination of the Presence of Cyanobacteria in Water Samples." Proceedings of the Munsell Centennial Color Symposium. Ed. Paula Alessi, Maggie Maggio. Boston, MA: n.p..
Murdoch, Michael and Susan Farnand. "Tools for Online Color Science Education: Color Order, Color Vision, & Color Measurement." Proceedings of the Munsell Centennial Color Symposium. Ed. Paula Alessi, Maggie Maggio. Boston, MA: n.p..
Invited Keynote/Presentation
Williams, Don and Susan Farnand. "Modern Tools for Color Reproduction." Munsell Centennial Color Symposium. ISCC/AIC. Boston, MA. 11 Jun. 2018. Conference Presentation.
Invited Article/Publication
Carpenter, Katherine and Susan Farnand. "A Validation Study of a Perceptually-Based Metric of Smartphone Image Quality." IEEE Standards Education. (2017). Web.