Nancy Cooke
Arizona State University (retired)
Professor Emerita
Ph.D., Cognitive Psychology, 1987, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
M.A., Experimental Psychology, 1983, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
B.A., Psychology, 1981, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Nancy Cooke is a Professor Emerita in Human Systems Engineering at the Polytechnic School, one of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Cooke held prior faculty positions at Rice University and New Mexico State University. Her research interests include the study of individual and team cognition and its application to remotely piloted aircraft systems, human-robot teaming and emergency response systems. She specializes in the development, application and evaluation of methodologies to elicit and assess individual and team cognition. Cooke’s recent research is on human-AI teaming.
- Cooke has been a member of HFES since 1989 and a Fellow since 2000.
- 2014-present Associate Editor, Human Factors
- 2014-present Chair, William C. Howell Young Investigator Award for HFES
- 2024-2025 Accreditation Task Force, Chair
- 2015-2018 President Elect, President, Past President, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (President in 2016-2017)
- 2013-2015 Member, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Blue Ribbon Task Force
- 2011-2015 Human Factors Prize Board of Referees (chair 2011-2013)
- 2007-2013 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Executive Council Member-at-Large (Accreditation Taskforce chair and Federal Spending Taskforce chair)
- 2005-2009 Editor, Human Factors
Campaign Statement
HFES has been my professional home for 37 years. Through HFES I have made many friends and have enjoyed learning from so many of our members. I have experienced the enthusiasm of students as they present their research and network with some of the leaders in the field. I have experienced changes in the Society as it went from what we called “Ma and Pop” management of Lynn Strothers and company to Smith Bucklin management. I have heard many concepts for reshaping the society from Bill Howell’s wish for the society to be a “Big Tent for all rather than an exclusive club” and Bill Marras and others proposing the need for the society to “adapt or die.” I also experienced changes that arose due to the pandemic. Like other professional societies, we have experienced drops in membership and meeting attendance. As always, we need to keep evolving and adapting. In my Presidential address in 2017 I talked about how the city of Medellin, Columbia underwent a social transformation from the killing capitol of the world to a city that better integrated the poor and wealthy through the development of a transportation infrastructure. This came about through a systems approach that included stakeholders — even gang members. I think our society might benefit from bringing stakeholders together (diverse members from academia and industry and from early to late career) to understand the society as a system and to see what levers may be pulled to affect transformation that meets the current needs of our members. If I have the honor of being elected president-elect, I would like to work with you to give this a try!