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Research Laboratories

Simulation Usability Research Facility (SURF)
 
Led by Mark Scerbo, Ph.D., the SURF lab is currently working on several projects that examine cognitive workload in laparoscopic surgery, cognitive factors that impact standardized patients, human spatial abilities in ultrasonography, and the application of virtual reality for improving surgical judgment and decision making. 
 
 
 
 
Applied Cognitive Performance Lab
 
Led by Yusuke Yamani, Ph.D., the Applied Cognitive Performance lab is concerned with understanding the mechanisms of attention and their constraints on human performance in basic and real-world environments. To this end, the lab adopts a variety of methods including psychophysics, eye tracking, and simulation as well as behavioral techniques using analytic methodologies. Current research topics include visual selective/divided attention, human-automation interaction, drivers’ allocation of attention in driving simulators and trust in automated agents.
 
 
 
 
Psychology of Design Lab
 
Led by Jeremiah Still, Ph.D., the Psychology of Design (PoD) lab is currently developing models to predict eye movements within interfaces and improving/inventing usable authentication methods in order to make logging into a system easier and safer by designing interactions that exploit users' natural cognitive abilities.
 
 
 
 
Applied and Translational Psychophysiology Lab
 
Led by Xiao Yang, Ph.D., the Applied and Translational Psychophysiology (ATP) lab studies physiological processes underlying human performance. Their research focuses on identifying indictors of workload and stress, and developing training programs to reduce errors and improve safety in real-life settings. Multimodal electrophysiological and neuroimaging techniques in the laboratory are available for students’ research
 
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Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC)
 
At VMASC, faculty, researchers, and students conduct a wide range of funded research projects concerning modeling and simulation. Human factors specialists provide research, testing, training, and behavioral modeling support for the military, medical, and business applications. Customers include the U S Navy, Northrop Grumman Newport News, and the US Joint Forces Command.
 

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