Human Perception and Performance Laboratory
Mission Statement
The Human Perception & Performance Lab (HPPL) advances NASA’s understanding of how human perceptual and physiological responses adapt to varying task demands and human-system interactions. Understanding these underlying changes is critical to optimizing human performance in complex environments.
Research Areas/Projects
Applied Human Performance: Spaceflight & Aeronautics
Spaceflight and aeronautics provide a natural laboratory for understanding how perception, physiology, cognition, and behavior adapt in extreme environments. Our lab contributes expertise in human performance, with a focus on how environmental stressors like altered gravity, technological shifts like automation, and operational challenges like communication delays influence crew performance.
Current work:
- Developing simulations and human-in-the-loop studies to evaluate perception and performance in spaceflight and aeronautics operations
- Developing computational models to improve our understanding of human performance in spaceflight
Human-Computer Interaction and Human-Automation Systems
As aerospace systems become more autonomous and operationally complex, effective human-system interaction is critical to safe and successful performance. Our lab studies how people interact with software tools, automation, robotic systems, and decision-support technologies in mission-critical environments. This work informs the design of interfaces, operational concepts, and training approaches that help humans manage complex systems safely and effectively.
Current work:
- Evaluating human-automation interaction, trust, workload, and situational awareness in complex operation systems
- Translating human factors research into software prototypes and deployable operational tools
Personnel
Dr. Alisa Braun, Co-Lab Lead
Ph.D., Vision Science, University of California, Berkeley (2024)
B.S., Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Denver (2018)
Dr. John Karasinski, Co-Lab Lead
Ph.D., Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis (2020)
M.S., Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis (2016)
B.S., Physics, University of California, Davis (2012)
Collaborators
Computational Vision Laboratory, NASA Ames Research Center
Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory, NASA Ames Research Center
Human-Computer Interaction Branch, NASA Ames Research Center
Recent Highlights
July 2026: Vision Group Welcomes Center Leadership
HPPL welcomed NASA Ames Center Director Eugene Tu and Deputy Center Director Dr. David Korsmeyer to the lab. Vision Group summer interns presented their final projects, which included showcasing our ongoing human-in-the-loop lunar lander simulation study – a collaboration between the Computational Vision Lab, the Human Perception and Performance Lab, and the Human Computer Interaction Group.
August 2026: Farewell to Vision Group Summer Interns
We want to send a huge thank you and farewell to all Vision Group summer interns, including HPPL’s Amir Khabaza, who joined us through the Berkeley Summer Scholars program. Amir made valuable contributions to our research this summer and is now heading off to Georgia Tech. We wish him the best of luck in his next chapter!
Publications
Dr. Alisa Braun- https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LWaQbg8AAAAJ&hl=en
Dr. John Karasinski- https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=06yynpAAAAAJ&hl=en
Contact Us
Alisa Braun, alisa.m.braun@nasa.gov