President: Kristen Schmidt
Kristen Schmidt is a third-year student in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD program at the University of Central Florida. She works with Dr. Valerie Sims in the Applied Cognition and Technology lab with research on topics focusing on human-animal and human-computer interaction, such as anthropomorphism and social responding to non-human agents. She received her Bachelor’s in 2019 with a dual major in Psychology and English at Binghamton University. In her spare time, she enjoys creative writing, yoga, playing tabletop games and video games, and hanging out with her cats, Mimi and Milo.
Vice President: Mira Gruber
Mira Gruber is a third-year Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD student. She is under the advisement of Dr. Peter Hancock and is a member of the MIT2 research laboratory. Previously, Mira attained her BA in Psychology with a second major in Philosophy at James Madison University. Her primary research interests are social dynamics during video-mediated communication and human-robot interaction.
Treasurer: Gabriela Flores-Cruz (Gabby)
Gabby is a second-year student in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD program. She is currently investigating the role of risk perception in air pollution with Dr. Nelson Roque in the Context Lab. When she is not in the lab, she is at home playing on her Nintendo Switch or scrolling too much into deep Tik Tok. Her son (cat), Pablito, likes to help her with her homework by stepping on her laptop. He also likes to meow outside her bedroom door at 4 am.
Secretary: Sean Hinkle
Sean Hinkle is a 2nd year student in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD program. He works with Dr. Corey Bohil in the Classification and Decision Lab, and is currently researching physiological and behavioral measures of spatial presence in virtual and real environments. His personal interests include, but are not limited to, golf, meditation, video games, tea, guitar, and saying “big yawn” to his cat (Daisy).
Social Chair: Jazmyn Donovan
Jazmyn Donovan is a 1st year student in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD program under the advisement of Dr. Szalma.
Outreach Chair: Enilda Velazquez
Enilda is a first-year student in the Human-Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD program. Currently, she is exploring how using ecologically relevant stimuli can enhance the effectiveness of the visual foraging paradigm under the advisement of Dr. Nelson Roque in the Context Lab. Her research interests also extend to exploring how people interact with communicative artificial intelligence, as well as utilizing reproducible scientific methods and techniques in her work. She graduated from UCF’s Burnett Honors College in 2020, completing an honors undergraduate thesis and receiving a B.S. in Psychology, minors in Cognitive Science and Intelligence and National Security. On her off time she likes to play RPG video games on PC or Switch, read crappy fiction, or cook new recipes that she finds on Insta Reels.
Historian: Fiona Duruaku
Fiona Duruaku is a second-year Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD student. She is under the advisement of Dr. Florian Jentsch and is a member of the Team Performance Research laboratory. Previously, Fiona attained her MS in Aeronautical Science from Middle Tennessee State University and a BA in Educational Psychology from University of Benin, Nigeria. Her primary research interests are in User Experience Research, Usability, Privacy & Security and Human-Computer Interaction.
Webmaster: Yazmin Diaz
Yazmin Diaz is a second-year Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD student under the advisement of Dr. Peter Hancock and is the lab manager of the MIT2 research laboratory. Her primary research interest is in gamification and sustained attention. Her personal interests include providing hot takes on pop culture and flossing regularly.