Dr. Daniel M. Ennis
is the President of The Institute for Perception. Danny has more than 30 years of experience working on product testing theory and applications for consumer products. He has doctorates in both Food Science and Mathematical Psychology and has published extensively on mathematical models for sensory discrimination, preferential choice, identification, similarity, and multidimensional scaling. Danny has also published molecular models for taste and smell with applications to sweet taste. Danny consults widely with US and international consumer products companies.

Dr. Benoît Rousseau is Vice President of Technical Operations at The Institute for Perception. He has a Ph.D. in Food Science with an emphasis in Sensory Science and Psychophysics and has conducted extensive experimental research on probabilistic models. Benoît has published numerous research articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as several book chapters. At The Institute for Perception, Benoît is primarily involved with managing and directing product testing for consumer products companies. He is also actively involved in planning and teaching our semiannual courses where his effective and user-friendly skills to introducing new ideas are appreciated.

Dr. Michael Casale is a Research Consultant at The Institute for Perception. Mike received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in Psychology with an emphasis in Cognitive Neuroscience. Areas of research include human decision-making and categorization, neuro-computational modeling, human working memory and cognitive neuroscience. Mike is an accomplished speaker and has published several articles in his areas of interest.

Dr. John Ennis is a Research Consultant at The Institute for Perception. John has training in both mathematics and psychology. He received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and conducted his post-doctoral studies in the UCSB psychology department. The winner of the 2003-2004 UCSB outstanding educator award, John has published in prominent journals in market research, statistics, mathematics and psychology and has co-authored a book chapter on neuroanatomy.

Invited Lecturers

David Mallen, Esq. is the National Advertising Divisons’ Associate Director for Legal Affairs, where he reviews advertising and claim substantiation for a variety of products. Before joining the NAD, David practiced law at Kensington & Ressler L.L.C., specializing in litigation and representation of a wide range of businesses, including manufacturers of food and consumer products. David graduated from Cornell University and received his JD degree from Albany Law School of Union University.

Dr. Jean-Marc Dessirier is Lead Scientist at Unilever, where he manages the Consumer Science Insight group for Unilever Global Skin R&D. He holds a Ph.D. in Food Science and has performed experimental work in psychophysics and neuroscience. He has presented at numerous scientific conferences and published in peer-refereed journals and books. During his tenure at Unilever, Jean-Marc has championed the development and application of probabilistic models to the understanding of consumer needs and motivations, leading to the development of many successful global products.