Virtual Seminar: Challenges and Opportunities Working with Undergraduate Students on VR and Gaming Research Projects

Virtual seminar by Dr. Heather Lum

Associate Professor

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

In this talk, Dr. Lum will share the challenges and opportunities associated with working on virtual reality, gaming, and other technology-based human factors research projects. In particular, she will discuss the lessons she has learned while working in primarily undergraduate institutions and how she has leveraged the skillset and eagerness of the undergraduate students to move forward with new research topics from inception to dissemination. 

Heather C. Lum is an associate professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She earned her Ph.D. in applied experimental and human factors psychology from the University of Central Florida in 2011. Her primary research interests focus on perceptions of technology, specifically the ways in which technology is impacting the way we interact with each other as humans. Other areas of interest include the use of psychophysiological measures such as eye tracking and vocal analyses to better determine and study the critical applied cognitive and experimental topics of interest such as spatial cognition, human-human and human-robot team interactions. She has also turned her attention to the use of games for training and educational purposes. In addition to her research pursuits, Dr. Lum is a faculty advisor for the ERAU Prescott chapter of Psi Chi, is chair for the Cognitive Engineering & Decision Making Technical Group and also the Education Technical Group. She is also events chair for HF/E Women's Organization for Mentoring and Networking (HFE WOMAN) this year as well as Secretary Treasurer for APA Division 21-Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology.