Dr Cehao YU’s research focuses on the intersection of visual perception and circadian rhythm, guided by a central question: how and why do we see what we see, and how does biological time shape cognitive performance? He investigates how people perceive colour, how colour interacts with other object attributes (e.g., shape and texture) to support object recognition and meaning, and how visual features—including colour—can elicit affective responses. A unifying theme of his work is that vision and biological timing are tightly coupled: light is both the input that structures visual experience and the primary environmental signal that sets the circadian clock via non-visual retinal pathways. He studies how the light environment influences perception, sleep–wake regulation, and downstream cognition (e.g., attention, alertness, decision-making, and performance), and how circadian phase and sleep pressure in turn shape how we perceive and respond to the world across the day.

• Doctor of Philosophy, Delft University of Technology
• Master of Science, University College London
• Bachelor of Science, University of London

• Member, Vision Science Society