About Me

Hello! I’m Riley

• I am currently a 6th year Graduate Research Assistant and PhD Candidate in the Psychology Department at the University of Cincinnati -I started my post-secondary school education at the University of Evansville in Evansville, IN receiving a B.S. in Cognitive Science (Computer Science Focus) and Philosophy with minors in Psychology and Neuroscience
• After Evansville, Dr. Tamara Lorenz accepted me to be her first graduate student at the University of Cincinnati
• Together, our wide array of interests have led to work exploring many different topics all having something to do with how people act and navigate in their environment
• My research interests dabble into a little bit of everything, but the bulk of it investigates human movement through a Human Factors focus
  • I’ve conducted research in the past looking into…
    • Human Robot Interaction in both reality and virtual reality using a digital twin
    • Human Ropot Interaction utilizing behavioral dynamics models to control robot behavior
    • Creating an easier environment for novices with no programming experience to build Unity projects for research purposes
    • Alternative feedback methods to improve prostheses
    • How Virtual Reality can be used in rehabilitation
    • Coordinated dyadic movement
    • Dyadic Energy Expenditure in coupled action
  • My Dissertation is currently investigating…
    • How modulating information presentation in a virtual environment can lead to faster and better skilled action acquisition
  • Through these projects (and helping many others in my reserach lab), I have come to learn many different equipment systems, softwares, and skills
    • Lots of Virtual Reality work in Unity, mainly with the wireless HTC Vive Pro
    • Robotics programming and control via ROS (KUKA iiwa, Kinova Mico)
    • Motion Capture with Cortex from MotionAnalysis
    • Integrating our wireless VR systems with Motion Capture to embody and track research participants
    • Building and programming sensing apparatuses with microcontrollers
    • Setting up and collecting physiological data using the BIOPAC system
    • Fusion360 to build and 3D print prototypes for my projects and others in my lab
    • Network communications and system setup
    • Scene world based Eyetracking headsets
  • Analysis Tools and Programming languages I’d consider myself dangerous enough to get in trouble with
    • Unity with C#
    • MATLAB (Nonlinear Analytical Methods)
    • R (Traditional Linear Analytical Methods)
    • Fusion360 (Parametric Modelling)
    • Arduino Uno
    • ROS (Python and C++)
• Outside of school, I have a few too many hobbies. Some notable ones are…
  • Turning wrenches in the garage on whatever is on jacks or on my workbench
  • Building furniture and shop equipment
  • Repairing and reselling previously broken tools and equipment on Craigslist
  • Helping my friends at Keystone Contracting and Remodelling if they have any big projects on the weekends
  • Dabbling in game development in Unity using the skills I’ve picked up from my research projects
  • Managing my home server and figuring out what else I can use it for
  • Designing and rapid prototyping tool and product ideas using Fusion360 and my 3D printer
  • Hiking, Backpacking, and Mountain Biking

I will be graduating with my PhD in Experimental Psychology with a focus in Human Factors by the end of Summer 2022 and am definitely looking for a job! Please feel free to reach me via my UC email address