Biographies

Dr. Raja Parasuraman
Professor of Psychology at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
Director of the Graduate Program in Human Factors and Applied Cognition

Dr. Raja Parasuraman has been Professor of Psychology at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia since 2004. In 2007 he was appointed to the position of University Professor at George Mason. He is also Director of the Graduate Program in Human Factors and Applied Cognition. Previously he held appointments as Professor and Associate Professor of Psychology at The Catholic University of America, Washington DC from 1982 to 2004. He received a B.Sc. (1st Class Honors) in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College, University of London, UK (1972) and an M.Sc. in Applied Psychology (1973) and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Aston, Birmingham, UK (1976).

Raja Parasuraman has long-standing research programs in two areas, human factors and cognitive neuroscience. The first concerns human performance in human-machine systems, particularly the role of human attention, memory and vigilance in automated and robotic systems. His second area of research is the cognitive neuroscience of attention, where he has conducted studies using information-processing paradigms, event-related brain potentials and functional brain imaging (PET, fMRI), both in normal populations and in relation to aging and Alzheimer’s disease. He also has a research thrust in the molecular genetics of cognition, specifically attention and working memory. Finally, he has recently combined his interests in human factors (ergonomics) and cognitive neuroscience by developing the field of neuroergonomics, which he defines as the study of brain and behavior at work.

Raja Parasuraman was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1994), the American Psychological Association (1991), the American Psychological Society (1991), the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (1994), a National Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (2001), and a Fellow of the International Ergonomics Association. He was also the recipient in 1997 and again in 2001 of the Jerome H. Ely Award for best paper in the journal Human Factors by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. In 2004 he received the Franklin V. Taylor Award for Lifetime Achievement in Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology from the American Psychological Association (Division 21). In 2006 he received the Paul M. Fitts Education Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Finally, on a personal note, Raja Parasuraman has two teenage daughters, is an accomplished cook, plays guitar, and enjoys hiking and travel to distant lands.