Thomas K. Ferris

Research Interests

Thomas K. Ferris is assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University and director of the Human Factors & Cognitive Systems (HF&CS) Laboratory. Ferris’ research interests are in the fields of human factors and cognitive systems Engineering and can be summarized as the study of, and design to support, human cognition in sociotechnical engineered systems. His primary focus involves human information processing and ways to support attention and task management to maximize multitasking performance in cognitively-challenging contexts, such as when operators are under heavy cognitive workload, stress, and/or time pressure. He has interest and experience in applying his research to the domains of medicine (anesthesiology, patient monitoring, neonatal intensive care), military operations (command and control, UV control and operations), aviation (cockpit automation, air traffic control), and ground transportation. Ferris has published 10 articles in top journals including Human Factors, IEEE Transactions, and The Journal of Perinatology, along with more than 30 refereed conference proceedings and book chapters in Human Factors in Aviation (Elsevier) and Design for Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care (Routledge). His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Mayo Clinic, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America as well as private industry. He is an active member in the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and serves on the editorial board for its journal Human Factors. He also is active in the Institute for Industrial Engineers (IIE) and served as the human factors and ergonomics track chair for the 2014 IIE Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference. In addition to his affiliation with the Center for Remote Health Technologies and Systems, he is a Faculty Fellow in the Ergonomics Center, the Center for Health Systems & Design, and the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing at Texas A&M.

Education

• Ph.D., Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• M.S., Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• B.S., Industrial Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City