Prof Charles Spence - Gastrophysics: The new science of eating

Описание: Cambridge BioSoc are proud to announce our first talk of Lent by Prof Charles Spence, the head of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at the Dept of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University. He is interested in how our brains manage to process the information from each of our different senses (such as smell, taste, sight, hearing, and touch) to form the extraordinarily rich multisensory experiences that fill our daily lives. His research focuses on how a better understanding of the human mind will lead to the better design of multisensory foods, products, interfaces, and environments in the future. He has consulted for a number of multinational companies advising on various aspects of multisensory design, packaging, and branding, and also conducted research on human-computer interaction issues on the Crew Work Station on the European Space Shuttle.

Here's the talk abstract from Prof Spence:
"Gastrophysics, the new science of eating (Spence, 2017), focuses attention on ‘the everything else’ apart from the food that influences the tasting experience, be it in the high-end restaurant or the home: Everything from the colour of the plate on which the food is served (and the gastroporn thereon), through the weight of the cutlery that is used to consume it (assuming that there is any, which can’t always be guaranteed these days), not to mention the music that happens to be playing in the background (sonic seasoning). Gastrophysics aims to bring the scientific approach, inspired by the latest insights from multisensory perception research concerning the roles of taste, smell, touch, sight and sound, together with the best in gastronomy, in order to help design more engaging, more enjoyable, and more memorable experiences for diners in the future by hacking their senses (Spence, 2021). I will also illustrate how gastrophysics insights are now also being used to nudge people toward healthier food choices, and can also provide actionable insights to help enhance the nutrition amongst the elderly and those in care/hospital."