Biography
Dr. Smither is Professor of Psychology and Associate Director of the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology doctoral program at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Dr. Smither received her PhD (1985) and M.A. (1980) degrees in Experimental Psychology from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Before joining the faculty at UCF in 1990, she was a senior research scientist at Computer Sciences Corporation in Silver Spring, Maryland where she served as the lead human factors psychologist on the Multi-Satellite Operations Control Center Operations Interface Analysis project for NASA. In 1998, Dr. Smither established an assistive technology information and referral center at UCF that served the elderly and disabled community in Orlando and the surrounding four counties. Dr. Smither served as director of the FAAST center for five years.
Currently, Dr. Smither is the director of the Technology and Aging Lab at UCF. Dr. Smither has over 25 years of experience in the teaching, practice, research and development of complex human-machine systems. Her research interests include human-computer interaction, simulation technologies, training systems; technology and aging; technology and functional independence; and aging and driving. Dr. Smither has over 110 journal articles, book chapters, proceedings, technical reports and scientific presentations, and her research has been funded by a variety of agencies including NSF, NASA, the National Highway Transportation Agency, the Department of Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Transportation, and the National Institute on Aging.
