Scientific Program Committee


  • Dr. Gerrit van der Veer, Department of Information Management and Software Engineering, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (program chair). Gerrit van der Veer holds a MSc in Cognitive Psychology and a PhD in Computer Science. For 5 years he was Head of the Cognitive Ergonomics Department at Twente University of Technology. Currently he is Reader in Interactive Systems at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. He is chair of the new curriculum in Applied Computer Science entitled "Multimedia and Culture". His research focuses on design methods for interactive systems, on the application of ethnographic techniques, and on the concept of mental models of information systems.

  • Prof. Dr. Manfred Gahr, Department of Developmental Neurobiology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Manfred Gahr obtained his doctoral degree in Zoology at the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany. As a postdoc he worked in the department of Reproductive Biology at the University of Texas at Austin and in the department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. Afterwards he was appointed junior fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Seewiesen, Germany. Since 1998, Prof. Gahr is head of the department of Developmental Neurobiology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His current research focuses on the development of neuronal circuits in the brain associated with the expression of acquired behavior, using the sexual differentiation of song systems in birds as a model.

  • Dr. Eco de Geus, Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The main research interests of Dr. de Geus are the effects of stress and lifestyle (e.g. exercise) on cardiovascular health and psychological well-being. His future research will emphasize the genetic perspective, e.g. looking explicitly at gene-stress and gene-lifestyle interactions in twin families. Through active participation in the identification of actual genes for (or against) health and well-being it is hoped to ultimately achieve the "ideal" studies of genotype by stress/lifestyle interaction.

  • Dr. Ir. Jaap Harlaar, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Jaap Harlaar works on methods and applications of human movement analysis in a clinical context. His work focuses on the visualization of information (video and physiological signals) into a clinical meaningful format. At the laboratory the integration of mechanical based movement analysis and electromyography has the special interest of the researchers. New developments of his group are in modeling and simulation.

  • Prof. Peter Jorna, Flight Division, National Aerospace Laboratory, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Peter Jorna is an experimental psychologist with a keen research interest in human performance under demanding and stressful conditions. Since 1999, he heads the Flight division of the National Aerospace Laboratory, comprising departments of military flight operations, helicopters, flight mechanics, man-machine integration & human factors and flight simulation. In his present work he actively promotes the development and application of objective measurement technologies for human behavior in real and simulated working conditions. Besides his work at the NLR, he holds a professorship in Aviation Psychology at the University of Cranfield (UK).

  • Prof. Dr. Peter Molenaar, Department of Psychological Methods, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Peter Molenaar's areas of expertise include dynamic factor analysis, applied nonlinear dynamics, adaptive filtering techniques, spectrum analysis, psychophysiological signal analysis, artificial neural network modeling, covariance structure modeling and behavior genetical modeling. He published widely in the above mentioned areas, emphasizing applications to cognitive development (stochastic catastrophe analysis of stage transitions), brain-behavior relationships (real-time artificial neural network simulation of cognitive information processing), brain-maturation and cognition (equivalent dipole modeling of longitudinal registrations of electrocortical fields), genetical influences on EEG during the life span, and optimal control of psychotherapeutic processes.

  • Dr. Peter Roessingh, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Peter Roessingh works on the chemical ecology of insect-plant relationships. He is particularly interested in the role of ecological specialization in host race formation and speciation in phytophagous Lepidoptera. Measurements of sensory responses to chemical stimuli and detailed observations of the associated feeding, mating and oviposition behavior are important elements of this type of research. In addition Dr. Roessingh is currently involved in a project exploring the olfactory basis of orientation behavior of predatory mites, using a fully automated small-scale locomotion compensator.

  • Dr. DirkJan Veeger, Department of Kinesiology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The research of Dr. Veeger focuses on the stress-strain relationship in the human shoulder and arm, especially related to orthopedic intervention and wheelchair propulsion. His technical expertise includes threedimensional kinematic analysis and musculoskeletal modeling. Specific projects are the quantification of load on the shoulder in wheelchair propulsion, Activities of Daily Living related to wheelchair use or shoulder endoprosthesis placement, and the relationship between mechanical and metabolic load on the human musculoskeletal system.

  • Dr. Lucas Noldus, Noldus Information Technology bv, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Lucas Noldus is the founder and managing director of Noldus Information Technology, developers of software and instrumentation for research on human or animal behavior. His technical expertise includes observational data collection and analysis, video coding and annotation, movement tracking and path analysis, and measurement of human-computer interaction.


Last updated: 22 August 2002