Thomas K. Ferris is an Associate Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University-College Station with a courtesy appointment in Environmental and Occupational Health at Texas A&M Health Science Center. He is the Director of the NSF I/UCRC Center for Health Organization Transformation (https://chotnsf.org), and additionally directs TAMU’s Human Factors & Cognitive Systems (HF&CS) Laboratory. He received his PhD in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2010.

Dr. 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 ensure safe operations and support multitasking performance. Recent work includes investigating novel interface design techniques, employing alternative display modalities such as the sense of touch. Other research interests include modeling humans in complex systems, human error, human-automation interaction, and the effects of stress and time pressure on cognitive functions such as attention and decision making. He has interest and experience in applying his research to the domains of medicine (anesthesiology, neonatal intensive care, patient flow modeling), military operations (ground vehicle interfaces, UV control and operations), aviation (human-automation interaction, cockpit displays), and ground transportation (driver distraction, in-vehicle information systems). His research is funded by the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Defense, and industry.