Westminster College Professor Presented Paper at International Conference

Dr. Terri L. Lenox, assistant professor of computer science, recently presented a paper at the International Ergonomics Association/Human Factors and Ergonomics Society in San Diego.

Lenox's paper, "MokSAF: Agent-based for Individual and Team Planning Tasks," evolved from her dissertation work, which was part of a multi-university research project that evaluated what types of software agents were suited to assist groups of people with planning tasks.

In the study, human subjects played the roles of military commanders; each utilized a communication/planning tool to co-operatively select tanks and other vehicles for a military platoon and determine routes to a predefined, shared rendezvous point. Although one of the agents helps people quickly create routes, they had trouble refining their routes and got frustrated with the agent. Working with a second agent was slower, but people were happier with their final routes and with the agent.

Lenox, who joined the Westminster College faculty in 1999, earned her undergraduate degree from Grove City College, and her master's and Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.