Lab Director
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HeeSun Choi, PhD
Dr. Choi is an assistant professor in the Human Factors Program in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Texas Tech University. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Human Factors and Applied Cognition at North Carolina State University. Prior to joining Texas Tech, she worked in the Division of Safety Research and the Center for Robotics Research at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Her research primarily focuses on safety related to attentional impairments and cognitive declines, with particular interests in the older adults and industry worker populations.
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Graduate Students
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Daniel Leibman
Daniel joined the Applied Cognition and Safety lab in 2020, received his MA in 2022, and is currently pursuing his PhD in the Human Factors Experimental Psychology. Prior to joining Texas Tech, he received his BA in Psychology from New Mexico State University and worked in both the PACMANe lab with Dr. Igor Dolgov and the Visual Sciences and Memory lab with Dr. Michael Hout. His current research focus is exploring the cognitive effects of human augmentation technologies and their impacts on user safety and performance in industrial workplaces.
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Thi D. Le
Thi joined the Applied Cognition and Safety lab in 2023 and is currently pursuing her PhD in the Human Factors Experimental Psychology. Prior to joining Texas Tech, she received her BS degree in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and a MS in Human Factors from the University of Idaho. Thi aims to apply research to solve real-world problems, especially those related to human performance, decision-making, and safety issues.
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Killian Parker
Killian joined the Applied Cognition and Safety Lab in summer 2024, initially as an undergraduate student. He received his Bachelor of Science in Psychological Sciences from Texas Tech in August 2025 and is now pursuing a PhD in Human Factors Psychology. Killian's current research primarily focuses virtual, augmented, and extended reality. In addition, he is interested in aging research, including exoskeletons and augmented and extended reality.
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Falon Costigan
Falon joined the Applied Cognition and Safety lab in 2025 and is currently pursuing her PhD in the Human Factors Experimental Psychology. Before attending Texas tech University, Falon graduated with her BA in Psychology, with a minor in Criminal Justice, from the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina. Additionally, she received her MA in Psychology from Stephen F. Austin State University, where she worked in both the Brain and Behavior Research Laboratory with Dr. Nathan Sparkman, and the SACK Laboratory with Dr. Steven Estrada. Her research interests focus on Artificial Intelligence, Human Augmentation, Prosthetics, and Exoskeletons.
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Aven TweedAven joined the lab in Fall 2025 as an Accelerated Master's student. He will be working on research projects that aim to develop and validate engaging, ecologically-valid XR-based attention assessment and training tools. Upon successful completion, he will receive a B.A. in Psychology in 2026, followed by a M.A. in Experimental Psychology with concentration in Human Factors in 2027.
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Betty Chia-Jung KangBetty joined the lab in 2026 and is currently a first-year PhD student in Human Factors Experimental Psychology at Texas Tech University. Before joining TTU, she worked as a Human Factors Engineer in the medical device industry in both the United Kingdom and Taiwan. Betty earned her BA in Psychology from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan and her MSc in Human Factors and Ergonomics from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Her research interests focus on prosthetics, exoskeletons, and medical devices, with a particular interest in applying human factors and experimental psychology to improve the safety, usability, and effectiveness of these technologies. She also hopes to contribute to human factors research involving Asian populations and promote greater representation of Asian populations in human factors research.
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Undergraduate Students
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Derick Huynh since 2025 Fall |
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Mariangel Lopez Salas since 2026 Fall
Mariangel is an undergraduate student in the Department of Psychological Sciences pursuing a pre-medical track. She joined the Applied Cognition and Safety Lab in Fall 2026 and is interested in applying psychological research to improve health and safety outcomes. She is expected to graduate in May 2027 and aspires to continue her education in medicine.
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Staff
Alumni
Graduate Students
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Yves Valentin, Ph.D.Yves graduated with his Ph.D. in human factors psychology in 2026 and currently works at X-Energy as an Human Factors Engineer. Yves' dissertation research developed and validated the Human Augmentation Technology Acceptance Model (HA-TAM).
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Daxton Mitchell, M.A.
Daxton is an Associate UX Researcher at PlayStation. He was a graduate student member of the lab from 2019 - 2022 and received his MA in the Human Factors Experimental Psychology program in 2022.
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Kat Moffis, M.A.
Kat is an Associate Research at Daito Design. She was a graduate student member of the lab from 2020 - 2024 and earned her MA in the Human Factors Experimental Psychology program in 2022.
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Sahar Khanpour, M.A.
Sahar graduated from Texas Tech with her MA in Human Factors Experimental Psychology in 2025. She received their Bachelors of Science in Family Social Science, Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and minor in Child Development at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
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Undergraduate Students
David Price (August 2024 - May 2026)
Kendal Hampton-Hogue (January 2023 - May 2025)
Christian Hernandez (August 2023 - May 2025)
Hannah Winter (August - December 2024)
John Hannah (August 2023 - May 2024)
Connor Martinez (August 2023 - May 2024)
Farjaad Azam (August 2021 - May 2023)
Alejandra Fernandez-Reyes (August 2022 - May 2023)
Joseph Martinez (January 2021 - May 2022)
Jessa Bulman (February 2022 - May 2022)
Neiddy Rodriguez (August 2021 - May 2022)
Gabriel Warren (Summer 2021)
Julieanne Cherukara (August 2020 - April 2021)
Giang Nguyen (August 2020 - December 2020)
Hannah Agner (January 2020 - August 2020)
Andrew Chu (January 2020 - May 2020)
Kendal Hampton-Hogue (January 2023 - May 2025)
Christian Hernandez (August 2023 - May 2025)
Hannah Winter (August - December 2024)
John Hannah (August 2023 - May 2024)
Connor Martinez (August 2023 - May 2024)
Farjaad Azam (August 2021 - May 2023)
Alejandra Fernandez-Reyes (August 2022 - May 2023)
Joseph Martinez (January 2021 - May 2022)
Jessa Bulman (February 2022 - May 2022)
Neiddy Rodriguez (August 2021 - May 2022)
Gabriel Warren (Summer 2021)
Julieanne Cherukara (August 2020 - April 2021)
Giang Nguyen (August 2020 - December 2020)
Hannah Agner (January 2020 - August 2020)
Andrew Chu (January 2020 - May 2020)
Prior Lab Engineers / Technical Staff
Mark T. Dannemiller (2023 - 2025)
Gabriel Simiyu (Aug 2022 - Dec 2023)
Brian Crane (Intern; Spring - Summer, 2023)
Barbara Sopngwi (Aug 2021 - Jan 2022)
Bharath Poreddy (Apr - May 2021)
Gabriel Simiyu (Aug 2022 - Dec 2023)
Brian Crane (Intern; Spring - Summer, 2023)
Barbara Sopngwi (Aug 2021 - Jan 2022)
Bharath Poreddy (Apr - May 2021)