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Students research human interaction with automation, training systems and complex technologies. The lab prepares students for careers in human factors and aviation safety.

The Applied Cognition & Training Science Lab investigates human and machine system issues related to automation, expertise and the science and practice of training.

The lab's area of research includes how pilots interact with automation, human-in-the-loop, simulation-based system evaluation, display interpretability, evidence-based training programs and instructor tools and strategies. They have tackled a variety of challenges in domains such as general aviation, military tasks, health care and process control.

Prior research includes aviation weather display interpretability and the implications for general aviation pilot training.

Equipment

PC-based flight simulator with three high-resolution displays, yoke, rudders, throttle, prop mixture with capability to display latent NEXRAD images.

Recent Publications/Grants/Presentations

*Woods, S. & Blickensderfer, B. (2024). On Enhancing General Aviation Safety: The Integration of generative AI in preflight weather planning. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. Sage Publishing.

*Simonson, R. J., Keebler, J. R., Blickensderfer, E. L.; Besuijen, R. (2022). Impact of Alarm Management and Automation on Abnormal Operations: A human-in-the-loop simulation study. Applied Ergonomics, Vol.100, 2022-04; Article 103670.

Blickensderfer, B., *McSorely, J., *Defillipis, N., *King, J. M., *Ortiz, Y., Guinn, T.A., & Thomas, R. (2021). General Aviation Pilots’ Capability to Interpret Aviation Weather Displays. Journal of Air Transportation, 1-7.

Blickensderfer, E.A., Lanicci, J., *Vincent, M., *Thomas, R., & Smith, M.J., & *Cruit, J. (2015). Training General Aviation Pilots for Convective Weather Situations. Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, 86(10), 881-888.

*Potter, B.A., Blickensderfer, E.L., Boquet, A.J. (2014). Training Monitoring Skills in Helicopter Pilots. Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine, 85, 543-549. 

(*indicates student author)