{"id":16,"date":"2013-06-22T13:45:12","date_gmt":"2013-06-22T17:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/psychology.cos.ucf.edu\/acat\/?page_id=16"},"modified":"2026-10-13T09:21:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T13:21:07","slug":"people","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/people\/","title":{"rendered":"People"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Faculty<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Dr. Valerie Sims<\/strong><\/p>\n

Research interests: <\/em>Individual differences in spatial ability, human interactions with non human entities including robots and animals, natural disasters, beach safety, role of cognition in naturalistic settings<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

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\"Dr.<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Matthew Chin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Research interests:\u00a0intergroup discrimination, social identity, human-animal interaction, and human-robot interaction<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Graduate Students<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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 <\/p>\n

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Elizabeth (Lizzie) Codick<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lizzie is a doctoral candidate in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD program at the University of Central Florida. She received her Associate’s degree in Applied Computer Technology (2018), Bachelor\u2019s in Human-Centered Computing (2020), and Master\u2019s degree in Human-Computer Interaction (2022) at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Her research interests include UI and UX design,\u00a0humans\u2019 behavior with technology as individuals within their many and varied social contexts, and accessibility\/inclusive designs. Lizzie has a background in front-end development and has worked on research projects as both a researcher and developer.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn:\u00a0https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elizabeth-codick10298\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

\"Photo
Sahara Brodsky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sahara Brodsky is a doctoral candidate in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD program at the University of Central Florida.\u00a0 She received her Master’s degree in Religious Studies from the University of South Florida in 2024, her Master’s degree in Experimental Psychology from The Catholic University of America in 2020, and her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 2017. Her research interests include how individual differences affect how people interact with technology.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn: https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/sahara-brodsky-8b96291aa<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"A
Olivia Young<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Olivia is a first-year student in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD program at University of Central Florida. She received her Bachelor’s in 2026 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Cognitive Science at UCF. Her research interests include anthropomorphism, Human-Robot interaction, and Human-Drone interaction.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com\/in\/olivia-young-ucf20261b2b0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Affiliated Members\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"A
Cai Li Franckewich<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Cai Li is continuing her undergraduate research in the ACAT lab with Dr. Sims. Currently, she is a first-year student in the Clinical Psychology Master’s program on the Applied Pre-Licensure\/Non-Thesis Track at the University of Central Florida. She received her Bachelor\u2019s in 2026 with a major in Psychology and plans to pursue a Clinical Psychology PhD in the future. Her research interests include adoption, Asian Americans, and implicit racial perceptions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Undergraduate Lab Manager<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n
\"A
Bianca Jaramillo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Bianca acts as the undergraduate lab manager for the ACAT lab. She is senior and is pursing a double major in Clinical Psychology and Sport and Exercise Psychology. Her interests include visio-cognitive aspects of sports, perceived performance quality, and cognitive aspects of motor behavior.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn: https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/biancajaramillo1\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n

Undergraduate Members<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n<\/div>\n

Nathanael Atchison<\/span><\/p>\n

John Anderson<\/span><\/p>\n

Eytan Bierman<\/span><\/p>\n

Haleigh Daniels<\/span><\/p>\n

William Dietz<\/span><\/p>\n

Lina Fitzhugh<\/span><\/p>\n

Zoe Fjeseth<\/span><\/p>\n

Kate Fracker<\/span><\/p>\n

Rowan Greelish<\/span><\/p>\n

Zackery Hilton<\/span><\/p>\n

Avital Horowitz<\/p>\n

Daniel Hubner<\/span><\/p>\n

Isa Iannello<\/span><\/p>\n

Bianca Jaramillo<\/span><\/p>\n

Gabriela Jimenez<\/span><\/p>\n

Logan Mattingly<\/span><\/p>\n

Isabella Miller<\/span><\/p>\n

Samantha Molina Arrias<\/span><\/p>\n

Nafisaba Nazmul<\/span><\/p>\n

Victoria Rocha<\/span><\/p>\n

Ava Rex<\/span><\/p>\n

Gianna Schultz<\/span><\/p>\n

Bree Stockton<\/span><\/p>\n

Zane Zolnowski<\/span><\/p>\n

*Last updated October 2026*<\/p>\n

Click here to meet our alumni!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faculty Dr. Valerie Sims Research interests: Individual differences in spatial ability, human interactions with non human entities including robots and animals, natural disasters, beach safety, role of cognition in naturalistic settings           Dr. Matthew Chin Research interests:\u00a0intergroup discrimination, social identity, human-animal interaction, and human-robot interaction Graduate Students   Lizzie is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-16","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nPeople - Applied Cognition and Technology Lab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/acat\/people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"People - 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