Research Interests

Dr. Joachim Meyer divides his time between a position as an Associate Professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva, Israel, and Research Scientist at the MIT AgeLab, He specializes in cognitive engineering, and in particular, the modeling of decision processes in settings that involve complex systems and social interactions. He has published in scientific journals dealing with cognitive psychology, human-computer interaction, ergonomics, human factors engineering and management information systems.

Dr. Meyer studies older adults' use of technology and automation in vehicles, at home and in public services. The central tenet in his research is the view that technology must be designed based on an understanding of users' needs and characteristics. This requires the study of users and systems at numerous levels, including the cognitive processes involved in using the system, the social context in which it is used, the users' incentive structure, and the effects a system will have on the users' activities. These questions can only be studied through a combination of various research methodologies, such as field research, laboratory experiments, interviews, observations and the analysis of archival data.

Dr. Meyer holds an MA in psychology and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Ben Gurion University.