DoD, Devom C5ISR RTI, United States
Dr. Jasmine Sierra Dang is a human‑factors expert with over a decade of applied research experience spanning defense, cognitive science, and ergonomics. She earned her Ph.D. in Human Factors and Applied Cognition from George Mason University in 2020, with advanced degrees in psychology and neuroscience. Currently serving both as Executive Officer to the RTI Director and as an engineering psychologist at the C5ISR Modeling and Simulation Division, she bridges technical leadership and strategic liaison roles. Her published portfolio spans peer‑reviewed journals and prominent conference proceedings in domains such as sustained attention, vigilance decrement, and human‑automation trust. Dr. Dang has held top‑secret/SCI clearance and served on selection boards for DARPA’s Intrinsic Cognitive Security program. Highly multilingual and cross‑disciplinary, she mentors students, leads teams, and applies rigorous scientific methods to real‑world defense and autonomy systems. Her contributions have earned recognition across military, NATO, and government research communities.
Professinal Profile
Google scholar
Education
Dr. Dang holds a Ph.D. in Human Factors and Applied Cognition from George Mason University (2020), with earlier degrees from the same institution: an M.S. earned in 2019 and a B.S. in Psychology (with Neuroscience minor and Human Factors concentration) in 2017. Her doctoral and master’s research focused on vigilance decrement, sustained attention, and mind‑wandering—core concepts in understanding operator performance in prolonged tasks. During her undergraduate studies, she received the Undergraduate Research Scholars Award twice, demonstrating early excellence in scholarly inquiry. Her education combined rigorous theoretical underpinnings with applied experimental methods on tasks such as the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). She’s also experienced in statistical techniques (e.g., SPSS, R) and in designing cognitive experiments, giving her both quantitative and qualitative methodological fluency.
Professional Experience
Dr. Dang currently holds dual roles at Fort Belvoir, Virginia: as Executive Officer and Technical Aide to the RTI Director since January 2025, and as Engineering Psychologist for the C5ISR Modeling & Simulation Division (RTI MSD) since September 2022. In the former, she manages mission‑critical deliverables, coordinates strategic engagements, crafts executive communications, and supports senior leadership decisions. In the latter, she serves as a government technical lead, occasionally acting Branch Chief, and evaluates high‑value DARPA proposals. Previously, she was Senior Engineering Psychologist at Planned Systems International (2020–2022), leading research projects, conducting user evaluations, and liaising between contractors and military stakeholders. Earlier internships include work at the Naval Research Laboratory (2019) analyzing vigilance and eye‑tracking data and at AFRL’s Airmen Interacting with Robotics lab (2018), building Unreal Engine simulations. She also taught research methods and statistics at George Mason University (2018–2020) and conducted multiple R‑based and simulated driving studies.
Research Focus
Dr. Dang specializes in vigilance decrement, sustained attention, and mind‑wandering, particularly as they affect operators managing autonomous systems and cognitive workloads. Her work employs tasks like the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) to investigate attentional lapses, decision speed vs. inattention, and warning cue efficacy. She also explores human‑automation trust, cognitive security, and how interface transparency influences trust calibration in simulated scenarios. Her studies often use behavioral, eye‑tracking, survey, and focus‑group methodologies to deliver insights into real‑world performance. Recent projects include soldier-in-the-loop evaluations (e.g. AR waypoint navigation, bifocal prototypes, snow‑terrain detection), and multi‑domain virtual prototypes. She has co‑authored journal articles in Human Factors, Experimental Brain Research, and Psychological Research, focusing on cognitive feedback, performance emphasis, and attentional dynamics under real-time feedback.
Publication Top Notes
Dang, J. S., Figueroa, I. J., & Helton, W. S. (2018). You are measuring the decision to be fast, not inattention: The Sustained Attention to Response Task does not measure sustained attention. Experimental Brain Research, 236(6).
Demonstrated that SART primarily captures response style (speed) rather than lapses in sustained attention, challenging widely held assumptions.
Dang, J. S., Shaw, T. H., McKnight, P. E., & Helton, W. S. (2022). A closer look at warning cues on the sustained attention to response task performance. Human Factors.
Explored how auditory warning cues impact SART performance; found cues can improve detection but may introduce trade‑offs in response style.
Mensen, J. M., Dang, J. S., Stets, A. J., & Helton, W. S. (2021). The effects of real‑time performance feedback and performance emphasis on SART. Psychological Research.
Showed that live feedback and emphasizing performance goals enhance sustained attention and task accuracy.
Graybeal, J., Dang, J., et al. (2021–22). ATLAS and NVD‑Next User Evaluations & MDUSA Virtual Prototype.
Multi-year soldier user evaluations of augmented reality/navigation prototypes, assessing usability, situational awareness, and detection performance across conditions.
Conclusion
Dr. Jasmine S. Dang presents as an exceptionally well-qualified, multidisciplinary researcher with a rare combination of deep cognitive science expertise, applied human factors knowledge, and strategic leadership within the U.S. defense research ecosystem. Her record of publications, awards, and leadership roles—especially within high-security, mission-critical contexts—makes her an ideal candidate for a Best Researcher Award.