• A photo of Thomas with fellow McNair Scholars
  • Thomas receiving his Bachelors degree from EKU's President David T. McFaddin McFaddin

About

I am a Ph.D. student in the Human Factors Psychology program at Old Dominion University. Prior to joining ODU, I received my B.S. in Computer Science and Psychology at Eastern Kentucky University.

My current research with Dr. Jeremiah Still focuses on investigating the human factors of cybersecurity, specifically the factors related to habitual cybersecurity behaviors (i.e., cyber hygiene). My past research with Dr. Michael Chen has examined the human factors of education technology as it relates to the use of machine synthesized voice in the classroom.

You can find more information or reach out to me via LinkedIn or Researchgate.

News

8/29/2022 The ODU HFES Student Chapter nominated Thomas to serve as co-President for the 2022-2023 term.

5/19/2022 Thomas presented the results from his senior thesis research project at Pedagogicon 2022. This research project, completed with Dr. Michael Chen, examined the impact of machine voice and student characteristics on learning outcomes. This was the final of three research projects that systematically examined the influence of machine synthesized voice on learning, which Thomas completed as an undergraduate student at EKU.

5/14/2022 As a head judge for the Psychology B division of the 2022 Virginia Junior Academy of Science Research Symposium, Thomas was tasked with moderating the paper presentations of 16 high school students from across the state of Virginia. He was also tasked with helping the judging panel come to a final consensus on the winners of the Psychology B division.

4/9/22 Thomas volunteered as a judge for the 2022 Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair. In this experience he interviewed and scored approximately 10 student-led science projects from various high schools in Virginia.

3/22/22 Thomas was selected as a reader and a judge for the 2022 VJAS Annual Research Symposium. In the reader role, he volunteered to screen, read, and score original research papers submitted by students in grades seven through twelve. As a judge, he will listen to oral presentations of selected research papers and completed scoring to determine the winning paper at the symposium on May 14, 2022.

1/20/22 Thomas published an opinion piece in both the print and online editions of the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press. In this, he argued that Virginia should amend the state data privacy law to better reflect the rights that consumers expect to have when sharing their personal data with companies. You can read the piece here.

10/6/21 Thomas presented research to the HFES 65th Annual Conference in Baltimore, MD. This was a study expanding on the research that we presented last year. You can read the conference proceedings paper written with Dr. Michael Chen.

08/15/21 Thomas was nominated to the position of Alumni Outreach Chairperson on the HFES Executive Board of the ODU Student Chapter.

05/8/21 Thomas graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.

05/7/21 Thomas was selected for the Eastern Kentucky University Psychology Department’s 2021 Outstanding Senior Award. He was also awarded the Psi Chi research award based on his senior thesis project research.

04/15/21 Thomas has chosen to study under the guidance of Dr. Jeremiah Still. He will work in the Psychology of Design Lab at Old Dominion University while completing a PhD in Human Factors Psychology.

04/12/2021 Thomas, winner of the student presentation award at the 2020 KAS conference, has also won the first place poster award at the annual Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference.

03/22/21 Thomas has been accepted into eight PhD programs for the Fall 2021 semester. The eight schools include: Old Dominion University, Arizona State University, Clemson University, University of Illinois – Chicago, Ohio State University, Virginia Tech University, University of Central Florida, and Wright State University.

11/12/20 Thomas has received the first place student presentation award at the 2020 Kentucky Academy of Science conference. You can check out his presentation on the usage of computer-generated voices.

10/5/20 Thomas presented research to the HFES 64th Annual Conference. You can read the conference proceedings paper written with Dr. Michael Chen.