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See the following links for PDFs of my:
EDUCATION
PhD in Cognition & Perception
New York University | GPA: 3.9/4.0 | May 2028
Advisor: Dr. Denis Pelli
Research areas: Visual and auditory perception and aesthetics; emotion
Research applications: Evaluation of generative AI systems, UX/UI design insights
MA in Experimental Humanities & Social Engagement
New York University | GPA: 4.0/4.0 | May 2023
Advisors: Dr. Lori Cole and Dr. Denis Pelli
Relevant coursework: Machine Learning, Computational Cognitive Modeling, Affective Neuroscience, Psychology of Music, Intro to Art Therapy, Digital Humanities, Philosophy of Aesthetics, UX Design
BA in Applied Mathematics – Statistics, Minor in Spanish
University of California, Berkeley | GPA: 3.9/4.0 | May 2018
Relevant coursework: Perception, Neuroscience, Probability, Computer Science in Python, Physics, Modern Philosophy
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Graduate Researcher, Pelli Lab, New York University
Supervisor: Dr. Denis Pelli | Jan 2022 – Present
Conduct end-to-end psychophysical experiments testing how perceptual features and individual differences shape aesthetic judgments of images, videos, and sounds; corresponding to 8 manuscripts, 14 conference presentations.
Analyze experimental data in Python and R to support causal inference, using hierarchical models to disentangle stimulus properties from individual differences and other structured sources of variance.
Supervise four undergraduate research assistants, guiding them through the full research process.
Product Researcher, Tonic, New York City | Dec 2022 – Mar 2024
Partnered with Tonic CEO and Heretic Ventures in launching an online marketplace integrating generative art, accompanying physical artworks, and interior design.
Conducted customer and market research to guide product decisions, contributing to the launch of well-reviewed physical artworks, a high-engagement website, and multiple gallery openings.
Associate Merchandising Manager, Art, Minted, San Francisco | May 2019 – Aug 2021
Conducted user research and business analysis to define art business initiatives and product roadmap, then led weekly prioritization meetings with product managers and engineers to maintain cross-functional alignment.
Used consumer preference and sales data to curate art collections within Minted’s crowdsourcing e-commerce model.
Project Lead, Restoration Hardware Corporate Office, Marin, CA | June 2018 – May 2019
Managed marketing operations and performance tracking across campaigns.
Research Assistant, History of Art Department, UC Berkeley
Supervisor: Dr. Sugata Ray | Sept 2017 – May 2018
Conducted archival research in English and Spanish supporting Sugata Ray’s 2019 book Climate Change and the Art of Devotion.
Research Assistant, Concepts & Cognition Lab, UC Berkeley
Supervisors: Dr. Ny Vasil, Dr. Tania Lombrozo, and Dr. Alison Gopnik | Jan 2016 – Dec 2016
Recruited and conducted tests with 4- to 7-year-old participants to study the development of causal reasoning.
Designed an experiment to test the relationship between the simplicity and the efficacy of mathematical explanation.
AWARDS
Seed Grant. (2025). Music and Audio Research Laboratory (MARL) funding for new projects that bring together scholars working at the intersection of music, sound, science, and technology.
Travel Grant. (2024). Empirical Visual Aesthetics Lab Summer School, University of Vienna, Austria.
Poster Award. (2023). The effect of emotion on beauty depends on accompanying text. European Conference for Visual Perception, Paphos, Cyprus. (Awarded to four posters at the conference.)
Travel Grant. (2023). Vision Science Society meeting, St. Pete Beach, FL.
PUBLICATIONS & MANUSCRIPTS IN PREPARATION
Bruns, A., Pombo, M., Ripollés, P., & Pelli, D. G. (2023). Emotions of subject and object affect beauty differently for images and music. Journal of Vision, 23(13), 6–6.
Bruns, A. (2018). Perception and Presence: Minimalist Grids, Dutch Interiors, and Physical-Temporal Space. Boston Art Review, 1.
Bruns, A., & Pelli, D. G. (2025). Empathy strengthens beauty. (Preprint)
Bruns, A., Farbood, M., & Pelli, D. G. (in prep). The beauty of tension in visuals and sounds.
*Bruns, A., *Hu, F., Kim, M., Winawer, J., & Pelli, D. G. (in prep). When to correct correlations for attenuation: A toolbox and tutorial.
Bruns, A., Igdalova, A., & Pelli, D. G. (in prep). Image engagement depends on the caption.
Luo, Y., Bruns, A., Cheung, O. S., & Pelli, D. (in prep). Beauty boosts willingness to pay.
*Bruns, A., & *Agrawal, T. (in prep). Feeling moved mediates the enjoyment of emotional art.
*Pombo, M., *Majaj, N., *Bruns, A., Kim, M., & Pelli, D. G. (in prep). Crowding distinguishes Text from Display and Script fonts: Evidence from 24 fonts.
*Majaj, N., *Pombo, M., *Bruns, A., Kim, M., & Pelli, D. G. (in prep). Crowding explains reading speed and comfort.
*These authors have contributed equally to this work and share first authorship.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Agrawal, T., & Bruns, A. (2025). The effect of emotion on art preference depends on feelings of being moved. Talk at the International Conference on Beauty and Change, Turin, Italy.
Bruns, A., Hu, F., Kim, M., Winawer, J., & Pelli, D. G. (2025). Measuring correlations in vision. Poster at the Vision Science Society meeting, St. Pete Beach, FL.
Bruns, A., & Pelli, D. G. (2025). Empathy strengthens beauty. Poster at the Society for Affective Science meeting and its Positive Emotions Pre-Conference, Portland, OR.
Bruns, A., & Agrawal, T. (2025). The effect of emotion on art preference depends on feelings of being moved. Talk at the Division 10 of the American Psychological Association (Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, & the Arts) meeting, New Haven, CT.
Bruns, A., & Pelli, D. G. (2024). Empathy strengthens the effect of emotion on beauty. Poster at the 2024 Psychonomic Society meeting, New York City.
Pelli, D. G., & Bruns, A. (2024). Empathy strengthens the effect of emotion on beauty. Talk at the 2024 International Conference on Beauty and Change, Turin, Italy.
Bruns, A., Igdalova, A., & Pelli, D. G. (2024). Curator-written captions boost aesthetic engagement. Poster at the 2024 International Association of Empirical Aesthetics meeting, Palma, Spain.
Bruns, A., Chamberlain, R., Drake, J. E., & Sherman, A. (2024). Emotion in art experience. Symposium at the 2024 Division 10 of the American Psychological Association (Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, & the Arts) meeting, Denton, TX.
Bruns, A., & Pelli, D. G. (2023). The effect of emotion on beauty depends on accompanying text. Poster at the 2023 European Conference for Visual Perception, Paphos, Cyprus. Poster Award winner.
Bruns, A., Gao, M., Dendukuri, A., & Eubank, J. (2023). Deep Network Representation of Art Style Similarity Judgments. Poster at the 2023 Vision Science Society meeting, St. Pete Beach, FL.
Bruns, A., Pombo, M., Ripollés, P., & Pelli, D. G. (2022). Beauty and emotion of music and images: Emotions make more emotional objects more beautiful. Talk at the 2022 International Association for Empirical Aesthetics meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
TEACHING
Instructor, Psychology Department, New York University
Course: “Intro to Psychology” | Summer 2025
Teaching Assistant, Psychology Department, New York University
Course: “Intro to Psychology” | Instructor: Dr. Jay Van Bavel | Spring 2025
Teaching Assistant, Psychology Department, New York University
Course: “Intro to Psychology” | Instructor: Kareena del Rosario | Summer 2024
Teaching Assistant, Psychology Department, New York University
Course: “Experiments in Beauty” | Instructor: Dr. Denis Pelli | Fall 2022
Teaching Assistant, Anthropology Department, New York University
Course: “The Social Lives of Museums” | Instructor: Dr. Urmila Mohan | Fall 2021
METHODS & SKILLS
Experimental methods: Survey and behavioral experiment design; psychophysics; A/B testing; eye-tracking
Statistical & computational modeling: Causal and hierarchical modeling; measurement reliability; simulation-based analysis; data visualization; machine learning for preference prediction
Programming: Python (Pandas, PyTorch, Scikit-learn), R, MATLAB
Research & product tools: Qualtrics, PsychoPy, Prolific, LaTeX; Looker, Contentsquare, Jira, Airtable
Languages: English (native), Spanish (limited working proficiency)