Food Science & Environmental Health

Adjunct Lecturer

My research career began in 2012 as I was awarded a research collaboration scholarship on the topic of personality, evaluation and psychological treatment during my fifth year of undergraduate studies (Psychology). This opportunity sparked my interest in research. After my BSs was completed in 2013, I moved abroad to complete a Master in Cognitive Ergonomics in the University of Lisbon (Portugal) where I graduated top of my class. In 2015, I joined the Cognitive Ergonomics Research Group at the University of Granada (Spain), where I worked until 2022. Our research primarily focused on validating eye-tracking measures and voice parameters as reliable indicators of Mental Workload (MW) in Air Traffic Controllers (ATCos) and developing a predictive MW model based on the human cognitive system’s functional structure. During that period I was selected for an industry research project with the Spanish Air Traffic Management Research Center, “CRIDA A.I.E.”, in collaboration with the University of Granada’s Cognitive Ergonomics Group, where I began my international PhD, which I completed with a Cum Laude distinction. My PhD research focused on the convergences and divergences between mental workload and fatigue measures. In September 2019, I was invited as a visiting research student at Technological University Dublin to develop my last PhD study. My PhD work has resulted in four peer-reviewed papers presented at international conferences, as well as one journal publication. It was presented at the International Symposium on Mental Workload, where I won the Best Student Paper Award in 2019 and the Best Paper Award in 2020. I have co-organized the International Symposium on Security at Work and Human Factors "Safety-Granada 2016" and the Fourth International Symposium on Human Mental Workload. Additionally, I have served as a guest lecturer at Technological University Dublin for the CPD Module TFSM9002 on Human Factors and Ergonomics and at the University of Almeria for Ergonomics and Occupational Risk Prevention. 

In 2018, the ergonomic enterprise “ERGOTEC” commissioned the Cognitive Ergonomics Group of the University of Granada to conduct a study on the experimental Air Traffic Control position "I-Focus" using eye-tracking techniques. I was primarily responsible for this study. During this project, I relocated to Madrid to work at CRIDA’s facilities, where I collected eye-tracking data from real ATCos during simulations of the newly developed control position "I-Focus." The study aimed to identify potential drawbacks of this new control position by analyzing the visual behavior of ATCos during task performance. Through this experience, I enhanced my expertise in collecting and analyzing eye-tracking data for qualitative and quantitative assessments in real working environments. 

In 2022, the applicant was awarded the Irish Research Council (IRC) Enterprise Partnership Scheme Postdoctoral programme award for the project titled “Developing a Real-Time Mental Workload Assessment Method for Air Traffic Controllers Based on Behavioural Measures” (Project ID: EPSPD/2022/151). This project commenced on September 1, 2022, and since then, the applicant has been actively involved, collaborating with CRIDA. The study aims to develop a computational model of Air Traffic Controllers’ (ATCos) Mental Workload using behavioural data from the technological systems used in Air Traffic Management (ATM). The primary outcome will be a non-intrusive, real-time Mental Workload monitoring tool that enables ATCOs and ATM systems to adapt to task complexity variations over time, reducing the risk of performance declines. Previously, the applicant held another postdoctoral research position with the Human Factors in Safety and Sustainability (HFISS) research group at TU Dublin, contributing to the Horizon 2020 project “TEAMING.AI” (Grant Agreement No. 957402). Key responsibilities included research in Human Factors and Machine Learning techniques, interviewing industry operators, developing tools and protocols to enhance workers’ Situational Awareness, and writing research papers and project reports. 

The applicant believes that his expertise in psychology, human factors, and both qualitative and quantitative methods for assessing mental workload and fatigue, combined with teaching and research experience (more than 16 peer-reviewed publications), make him a strong candidate and valuable team member for TU Dublin and the HFISS research center.