Bio:
Nick received his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's in 2007. He joined the Psychology Department in January, 2007 as a Research Scientist in support of the Driver Education, Evaluation and Research Center.
Research Interest:
Dr. Cassavaugh's research interests focus on human factors in driving; the human element in human-machine interaction. He is chiefly interested in the cognitive effects of normal aging and the impact these changes have on driving ability. Developing ways to identify and counteract the effects of aging and prolong the ability of the older driver to drive safely is an important part of his work. He is further interested in discovering the ways in which the older driver "uses, misuses, disuses or abuses" in-vehicle technologies. Other interests include the cognitive effects of sleep disorders (e.g. obstructive sleep apnea) and neurological disorders (e.g. Alzheimer's disease) and their effect on driving ability and performance. Recent Research:
Cassavaugh, N. D., & Kramer, A. F. (in press). Transfer of computer-based cognitive training to simulated driving in older adults. Applied Ergonomics.
Kramer, A. F., Cassavaugh, N. D., Becic, E., & Horrey, W. J. (2007). Influence of Age and Proximity Warning Devices on Collision Avoidance in Simulated Driving. Human Factors, 59(5), 935-949 .
Cassavaugh, N. D., Kramer, A. F., & Peterson, M. S. (2004). Aging and the Strategic Control of the Fixation Offset Effect. Psychology and Aging , 19(2), 357-361 .
Cassavaugh, N. D., Kramer, A. F., & Irwin, D. E. (2003). Influence of Task-Irrelevant Onset Distractors on the Visual Search Performance of Young and Old Adults. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 10(1), 44-60 .
Kramer, A. F., Kurokawa, K., Cassavaugh, N. D., Joncich, A., Becic, E., Mayhugh, J., & Watson, K. (2002). Efficacy of a Collision Avoidance Warning System in a Simulated Driving Environment. Technical report to General Motors Corporation .