Education

• PhD in Experimental/Mathematical Psychology, New York University
• MS in Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
• BS in Electrical Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn

Biography

Professor Pavel holds a joint faculty appointment in Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences and Bouvé College of Health Sciences. His background comprises electrical engineering, computer science and experimental psychology, and his research is focused on multiscale computational modeling of behaviors and their control, with applications ranging from elder care to augmentation of human performance. Professor Pavel uses these model-based approaches to develop algorithms transforming unobtrusive monitoring from smart homes and mobile devices to useful and actionable knowledge for diagnosis and intervention. Under the auspices of the Northeastern-based Consortium on Technology for Proactive Care, Professor Pavel and his colleagues target technological innovations to support the development of economically feasible, proactive, distributed, and individual-centered healthcare. In addition, Professor Pavel is investigating approaches to inferring and augmenting human intelligence using computer games, EEG and transcranial electrical stimulation. Previously, Professor Pavel was the director of the Smart and Connected Health Program at the National Science Foundation, a program co-sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Earlier, he served as the chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Oregon Health & Science University, a Technology Leader at AT&T Laboratories, a member of the technical staff at Bell Laboratories, and faculty member at Stanford University and New York University. He is a senior life member of IEEE.

Field of research/teaching

Behavioral Informatics

What is your educational background?

I received my PhD from New York University in Experimental/Mathematical Psychology. I earned my MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and my BS in Electrical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.

What is your research focus in a bit more detail? Is your current research path what you always had in mind for yourself, or has it evolved somewhat? If so, how/why?

My research is in the area of behavioral informatics. My work comprises the intersection of unobtrusive monitoring and multiscale computational modeling of behaviors and behavioral change, including the underlying cognitive and related neuropsychological processes. In this line of research, I have developed a number of computational models of perceptual and cognitive processes including eye movement control and a theoretical framework for knowledge representation; as such, the resulting models have been applied in a variety of areas, including computer-assisted instruction systems, enhanced vision systems for aviation, and augmented cognition systems.