Thomas Stoffregen
Director
612-626-1056
tas@umn.edu
As a student, I came to believe that the Ecological Approach to Perception and Action provides insight into fundamental aspects of animate behavior. I have attempted to understand and develop these insights in a variety of contexts, from laboratory research on infants to applied research on flight simulation, from narrowly focused studies of body sway to general theories of the nature of perceptual information. I believe that the essential truth of the Ecological Approach can best be tested by pushing the theory as far as possible, by attempting to apply it to the broadest possible range of situations and phenomena, from infancy to the elderly, from insects to humans, and from virtual environments to space flight.
At the University of Minnesota, I serve in several capacities. I teach an undergraduate course in Motor Learning and Motor Development (KIN 3133), and graduate courses including Perception and Action (KIN 8211), and Human Factors Psychology (HumF 5722). I am the Director of the undergraduate Honors Program in the School of Kinesiology. From 2001-2006, I was the Director of Graduate Studies for the All University Graduate Minor in Human Factors/Ergonomics. I am a member of the Center for Cognitive Sciences, and serve as a member of MA and PhD committees for CCS trainees, as well as providing lab space and facilities for CCS-related research. I am a member of the graduate faculty in five disciplines: Kinesiology, Industrial Engineering, Human Factors/Ergonomics, Neuroscience, and Psychology. I also serve on the Steering Committee of the University of Minnesota's Games Research and Virtual Environments Lab (GRAVEL).