I'm a human factors scientist and UX researcher with 15+ years studying how people understand, learn, and safely use AI, automation, and other emerging technologies in regulated, high-stakes environments, spanning consumer finance, healthcare, and transportation. My work pairs rigorous mixed-methods research with usability evaluation and human-centered design.

I specialize in inclusive, accessible research approaches that support diverse user populations. I bring that research depth to product, operational, and safety-critical systems, translating evidence into practical guidance for technology design, decision support, and training.

Human–AI interactionMixed-methods research Usability evaluationStatistical analysis (R · Python) Eye-trackingParticipatory design AI-augmented research (LLM tools)Figma · Qualtrics · REDCap

Experience

  1. Mixed-methods UX research on enterprise, colleague-facing software, using interviews, field studies, expert knowledge elicitation, surveys, and knowledge harvests. Synthesized findings into actionable design implications and fed evidence-based inputs into design-thinking sessions; integrated AI tools into research workflows for data collection, presentation, and analysis.

    • UX Research
    • Enterprise Software
    • Qual + Quant
    • Knowledge Elicitation

  2. Led an interdisciplinary human factors research program across transportation, healthcare, and consumer decision-making, directing driving-simulator, eye-tracking, and on-road studies and translating findings into guidance for design, policy, and consumer education. (Affiliated Faculty, Sept 2025–present.)

    • Group Lead, Human Factors Group, UF Transportation Institute (2021–2025)
    • Co-investigator on ~$1M in competitive research funding (U.S. DOT, NIDILRR, NIST)
    • Developed two human-factors courses; taught cohorts up to 114 students
    • Graduated 3 PhD students; mentored 20+ undergraduate researchers
    • Associate Chair, ACM Automotive UI conference (2019–2023)
    • Research Leadership
    • Study Design
    • Eye-tracking
    • Grant Funding
    • Mentorship

  3. Instructor for a graduate course in statistics and experimental design for human factors researchers, and an undergraduate psychology course for engineers.

Selected Research

Choose a theme to show related publications below.

Human–AI interaction & AI adoption

How people learn to understand, trust, and adopt AI and automation, from in-vehicle automation to students' use of ChatGPT and large language models. Simulator and eye-tracking studies of training strategies produced consumer-education and training guidance, developed with industry, academic, and policy stakeholders.

Health-insurance decision-making

Mixed-methods research on consumer comprehension during enrollment: how decision-aid type, information structure, and framing shape choices in regulated consumer contexts, producing design implications for improving consumer decision aids.

Uncertainty & decision support

Contextual research plus controlled and online experiments on how people interpret uncertainty in time-critical decision support, from medical dispatch to uncertainty visualization. Outcomes informed technology transfer of a decision-support tool to a computer-aided dispatch vendor.

Inclusive design for vulnerable drivers

Participatory design with older adults and people with mild cognitive impairment, and on-road clinical studies of driver-assistance for people with Parkinson's disease, producing accessible interface concepts and inclusive-design recommendations.

DOT Inclusive Design Challenge ↗ Open dataset (ICPSR) ↗

Distraction, attention & wearables

How smartphones and wearables reshape attention and safety: distracted walking, notification engagement while driving, and risk perception across environments, with findings shared through publications and public outreach.

Featured in The New York Times ↗

Research Leadership & Mentorship

Doctoral students I advised to completion and where they are now, alongside broader undergraduate and capstone supervision.

  • Mahtab Eskandar Lecturer, Warrington College of Business, University of Florida (2024–present)
  • Haolan Zheng Human factors researcher, driver behavior & distraction research (PhD 2025)
  • Albraa Rajkhan Incoming Assistant Professor, Industrial Engineering, King Abdulaziz University (Fall 2026)

Also supervised 20+ undergraduate researchers and a dozen-plus industry- and health-partnered senior design capstone teams, including consumer decision-support tools for the Florida Department of Management Services and clinical workflow improvements at UF Health Shands.

Selected Publications

Supervised student authors in bold. Full list on Google Scholar.

  1. Pilot study: Effect of roles and responsibility training on drivers' use of adaptive cruise control between younger and older adults Zheng, H., Mason, J.R., Classen, S., Giang, W.C.W. · Transportation Research Part F, 2023
  2. Improving driving automation training through scaffolding of roles and responsibilities Zheng, H., Mason, J.R., Classen, S., Giang, W.C.W. · Transportation Research Part F, 2025
  3. Automated driving training: a scoping review of instructional design and learning principles in current training research Rajkhan, A., Giang, W.C.W. · Transportation Research Part F, 2025
  4. Informed decision-making for health insurance enrollment: Survey study Colón-Morales, C., Giang, W.C.W., Alvarado, M. · JMIR Formative Research, 2021
  5. User interactions with health insurance decision aids: A user study with retrospective think-aloud interviews Giang, W.C.W., Bland, E., Chen, J., Colón-Morales, C., Alvarado, M. · JMIR Human Factors, 2021
  6. Designing a Reminders System in Highly Automated Vehicles' Interfaces for Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment Eskandar, M., Giang, W.C.W., Motamedi, S., Devos, H., Koon, L., et al. · Frontiers in Future Transportation, 2022
  7. A Randomized Controlled Trial on Automated Vehicle Technologies for Drivers with Parkinson's Disease Classen, S., Giang, W.C.W., Rajkhan, A., Zheng, H., et al. · OTJR: Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 2025
  8. Risk perception and distraction engagement with smart devices in different types of walking environments Zheng, H., Giang, W.C.W. · Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2021
  9. Smartwatches vs. Smartphones: Notification Engagement while Driving Giang, W.C.W., Chen, H-Y.W., Donmez, B. · International Journal of Mobile HCI, 2017
  10. Supporting air versus ground vehicle decisions for interfacility medical transport using historical data Giang, W.C.W., Donmez, B., Fatahi, A., Ahghari, M., MacDonald, R.D. · IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems, 2014
  11. A preliminary classification of different tasks that make use of uncertainty visualizations Eskandar, M., Giang, W.C.W. · HFES Annual Meeting, 2021

Education

  1. Dissertation: Supporting Medical Dispatchers' Understanding of Uncertainty in Short-term Dispatch Decisions. Advisors: Birsen Donmez, Russell D. MacDonald.

  2. Thesis: Applications of Crossmodal Relationships in Interfaces for Complex Systems: A Study of Temporal Synchrony. Advisor: Catherine Burns.

  3. Honours Distinction.