PATRON OF THE MONTH. Andrejs Eglīte, a patriot of his nation, will strengthen excellence in cognitive sciences

Thanks to generous support, UL researchers are provided with the opportunity to continue world-class research in cognitive sciences. “With this support, we carry out innovative and interdisciplinary research in memory of the outstanding Latvian and UL patriot Jānis Eglīte (1906–1988), whose wide range of interests and selfless nature is an example of a real Latvian patriot,” says the Head of Laboratory of Perceptual and Cognitive Systems of the UL Faculty of Computing, Prof. Jurģis Šķilters. The participants of the projects emphasize that with the support of Mr Eglīte, the non-profit Foundation “Friends of the University of Latvia”, Roberts Blumbergs and the UL Foundation will succeed in continuing to implement the criteria of uncompromising excellence in research.

With intellectual roots in Latvia

Patron Andrejs Eglīte (1938) was born in Riga, as was his sister Dace (1942), but they spent most of their life and career in the United States, where he arrived with his parents in 1949. The family was dedicated to intellectual values and invested great effort in education. Dace graduated a pharmacy programme at the University of Nebraska, while Andrejs studied engineering there.

Both parents – Anna Marija (1907–2001) and Jānis (1906–1988) Eglīte –had a special talent in working with kids; in Latvia and a refugee camp in Germany they were teachers. Settling in the United States, from generation to generation, Eglītes were actively involved in the public life of exiled Latvians, worked in many compatriot organizations and their boards, were lifelong members of many organisations, including in the American Latvian Association, Daugavas Vanagi (the “Daugava Hawks”) American Lincoln Association, student corporations and local Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church. Originally the family began their new life abroad in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Before leaving as a refugee, teacher Jānis Eglīte had started geography studies at the University of Latvia, and had become a member of the student corporation “Latvia”, a group which he also founded in Lincoln. J. Eglīte was also one of the three founders of Latvian Evangelical Lutheran congregation and its organizer. In addition to working in the congregation and school, Jānis Eglīte was an active member of the Latvian society in exile. He was an intellectual and a strong Christian trough and trough.

Aim to explore all human sensory interactions

The first cognitive interdisciplinary project in Latvia with the care of patron Andrejs Eglīte and the administrative support of the University of Latvia Foundation, is being implemented with a view to accomplish  high-precision experimental testing of various human senses. “There is a lot of research about sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell, but little has been done, firstly, in defining how the senses affect each other, such as how touch affects vision, and secondly, what evaluative reactions, namely, emotions, and with what intensity are attributed to the result of the connection of different senses,” explains the core specialists of the research group – Dr. geol. Līga Zariņa, Diāna Ritere, Prof. Dr. phil. Jurģis Šķilters. The international project is carried out in collaboration with the leading research centres in the UK and Italy. The research includes both experimental research of spatial, visual and sensory perception, as well as the analysis of mathematical principles and formalisms of spatial perception.

This study is essential for understanding and improvement of the daily lives of people with sensory impairments. It can help finding ways to compensate for the lack of different sensory content such as taste and colour. The project implementers also emphasize that the research is important to understand how to adapt the environment more effectively or how to purposefully manage human perception in certain tasks, such as medicine. Thus, the study will contribute to medicine, food perception, as well as virtual reality modelling and interface improvement. “We are the most important centre of perceptual and cognitive research in Latvia and the Baltic region. It took several years of hard work to achieve this. With the support of Andrejs Eglīte, the University of Latvia can now achieve excellence in this field of research,” explains the team of the Laboratory of Perceptual and Cognitive Systems of the University of Latvia.