I currently work as a research associate at the Virginia Tech Transporation Institute in Blacksburg, VA, where I conduct psychological human factors research to try to improve road safety. I live in nearby Christiansburg, VA with my wife and son.
I received my Ph.D. in Cognitive Science in 2008 from Brown University, where I studied the perceptual bases of human locomotion in a virtual reality lab. My dissertation studied under what situations people use visuospatial attention to guide anticipatory locomotion.
Before going to Brown, I received my M.S. in Applied Psychology/Human Factors from Clemson University in 2003. There, I worked on augmented cognition systems, uncoupled motion in aviation human factors, and safety aspects of pedestrian behavior.
For my undergraduate studies I attended Franklin & Marshall College, where I received my B.A. in Psychology in 2001. There I learned the fundamentals of experimental psychology and statistics, and I conducted my undergraduate honors thesis on the contributing roles of visual and cognitive distraction on driving safety in a simulator that I constructed. I was also fortunate enough during my college years to travel to the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, where I assisted in collecting and analyzing night driving data on a test track tucked in the woods. This opened my eyes to the idea that research could be important, rigorous, and fun, and served as impetus to direct my career toward human performance and human factors research.
During my free time, I enjoy photography, working on mechanical projects (usually involving one car or another), mountain biking, and the occasional video game.