Ricardo with Concorde at Boeing Field

L. Ricardo Prada, M.A. Doctoral Student Chair, SIG:CHI Student Chapter Human Factors and Applied Cognitive Program Address: 4400 University Dr MS3F5 Fairfax, VA 22030 Office: 1-703-993-1714 Fax: 1-703-993-1359 Email: LPrada at GMU.edu Resume: View as HTML or PDF

Education

Luis Ricardo Prada received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from San Francisco State University in 2002. He entered GMU’s doctoral program under the advisement of Dr. Deborah Boehm-Davis, and briefly, Dr. Robert Holt (now emeritus faculty). Ricardo received his Master's degree in Human Factors/Applied Cognitive Psychology in 2005, and is currently completing his PhD.

Research interests

Ricardo’s interests include Human Computer Interaction, design methodologies, predictive models of task performance, the application of cognitive task analysis, user testing, and system evaluation.

Current work

Automated Cockpit Training

Most of Ricardo's current projects deal with aviation interfaces and training. One of these involves understanding how to prevent altitude busts that occur when pilots fail to use autopilots effectively. This work is done under a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration, in cooperation with a national airline.

Evaluating Boeing's Flight Deck of the Future

Ricardo's main project right now involves the evaluation of a prototype autopilot interface developed by The Boeing Company. This work is done as part of a relatively large scale cooperation between researchers at George Mason University, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Boeing Phantom Works, NASA, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Colorado.

For this project, Ricardo implemented combination of analytical techniques, such as GOMS and RAFIV, to yield predictions about performance that could then subjected to user testing. With help from the team, an experiment involving software simulators and a transfer-of-training paradigm was designed and carried out in Virginia and the state of Washington. The results of this study are now being analyzed.

Ultimately, this study will provide information that can be used by Boeing designers to improve the safety of their next generation airliners. Just as importantly, it will improve our understanding of the psychological factors that affect the usability of cockpit computers, while providing the FAA with an indication of the effects newer automation displays will have on pilot training. Some of these data will also be used to test the validity of new automated cognitive task analysis techniques.