Dr. Missie Smith is an Assistant Professor in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Auburn University and director of the Cognitive Engineering and Context Lab. Her research investigates how emerging technologies, particularly augmented reality, affect human information processing, with the goal of informing safer and more effective system design. Before joining Auburn, she was a researcher at Meta’s Reality Labs, where she focused on AR/VR product safety, human perception, and cognitive performance 

Topics:

• Balancing service responsibilities/pressures with research and career goals

• Transitioning international backgrounds or international career pursuits

• Managing invisible labor and the lack of recognition that often comes with it

• Balancing personal relationships with academic demands

Available at the 2025 Luncheon

Dr. Leia Stirling is an Associate Professor in Industrial and Operations Engineering and Robotics at the University of Michigan, the Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies in Robotics, a Core Faculty in the Center for Ergonomics, an Affiliate Faculty in the Space Institute, and the University of Michigan Center for Occupational Health and Safety Engineering (COHSE) Director of Occupational Safety Engineering and Ergonomics. She received her B.S. (2003) and M.S. (2005) in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and her Ph.D. (2008) in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT.  Stirling’s research blends human factors, biomechanics, and robotics to characterize human physical and cognitive interactions in the presence of technology for goal-oriented manual task performance to design technology and operational decision-making aids.

Topics:

• Balancing service responsibilities/pressures with research and career goals

• Navigating parenthood and academic life

• Balancing personal relationships with academic demands

Available at the 2025 Luncheon

Dr. Colleen Patton is an Assistant Professor in the Human Factors and Applied Cognition program at North Carolina State University, where she directs the Cognition and Human-Automation Teaming (CHAT) Lab. Prior to becoming an assistant professor, she earned her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Colorado State University under the mentorship of Dr. Ben Clegg and Dr. Chris Wickens. During her undergraduate and graduate schooling, she gained extensive experience working for the Department of Defense, first as a research intern through AEOP with the Army Research Laboratory, then as a research assistant through NREIP with the Naval Research Lab, and finally as a researcher funded on a grant from the Office of Naval Research under the Command Decision Making program. Her current research focuses on optimizing the performance of human-automation teams in complex decision making contexts, emphasizing attentional limitations and the subjective experiences of human operators. 

Topics:

• Graduate school admissions

• Academic careers

• US Department of Defense internships/careers

• 'Soft skills' (i.e., presenting, networking, etc.) 

   Available at the 2025 Luncheon

Dr. Shannon Bailey is a Sr. Human Factors Scientist at the University of South Florida’s (USF) Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, as well as an Assistant Professor in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine and Department of Medical Education.  She specializes in human factors and extended reality technologies, leading research efforts to investigate educational best practices and cutting-edge simulation technologies for clinical training. For her research on simulation-based training, she received the 2016 RADM Lewis Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) award. She serves as an Editorial Board member on the Healthcare in Human Factors journal and is the current Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Extended Reality Technical Group Program Chair. In 2024, she was awarded Tampa Bay Tech Educator of the Year. Dr. Bailey received her Ph.D. in Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology from the University of Central Florida.

Topics:

• I've worked in government, industry, and now tenure-track academia, so I'm happy to share my experiences in these sectors.

      Available at the 2025 Luncheon

Dr. Eileen Roesler is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Human Factors and Applied Cognition Program at George Mason University. She earned her Ph.D. at TU Berlin in Germany, where she also worked prior to joining Mason. She is a passionate researcher, an advocate for open science, and is committed to reducing disproportionate service loads for her non-male students and colleagues. She cares deeply about mentoring students—especially those who tend to take on too much—as well as international scholars, helping them find balance and thrive in academia.

Topics

• Managing disproportionate service loads

• Advocating for yourself in difficult environments

• Managing high self-expectations and publication pressure

• Networking and building (international!) collaborations

• Leadership skills and taking on new roles

Available at the 2025 Luncheon

Dr. B. Kris Jaeger-Helton is a long-time HFES member and currently serves as Director of the Undergraduate Industrial Engineering Program and Director of Senior Capstone Design at Northeastern University (NU). She is also the founding director of NU’s Engineering Business Program and teaches the Human Factors course “Human-Machine Systems.” Dr. Jaeger-Helton runs two consulting businesses: CPU Engineering (Computer Productivity & Usability) and a forensic engineering practice through which she conducts investigations and provides expert testimony.

Topics:

• Balancing personal relationships with academic demands

• Managing invisible labor and the lack of recognition that often comes with it

• Balancing service responsibilities/pressures with research and career goals

Not available at the 2025 Luncheon

Dr. Erin Chiou is an Associate Professor of human systems engineering at The Polytechnic School, which is part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. 

Available at the 2025 Luncheon