Dr. Steve Fadden is the Director of the Landmark College Institute for Research and Training (LCIRT) and Director of Research for Landmark College in Putney, VT. He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and has over 14 years of research and development experience related to investigating the interaction between human attention, cognition, and the design of complex systems to support training and performance. His research interests include eye movement studies to investigate the role of perception and attention in reading and comprehension, conducting experiments to evaluate professional development and tools to enhance decision making, and investigating how design influences the accessibility, usability, and effectiveness of instruction and understanding.
Dr. Fadden's teaching experience includes working with undergraduates with learning disabilities and attention disorders at Landmark College as an Associate Professor, teaching as an instructor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as an adjunct faculty member at Brigham-Young University (Provo, Utah), as an adjunct and affiliate faculty member at George Mason University (Fairfax, Virginia), and an adjunct faculty member with the Marlboro College Graduate Center (Brattleboro, Vermont). Dr. Fadden has developed and delivered courses and mentorship experiences in Introductory Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Learning Disabilities, Human-Computer Interaction, User-Centered Design, Usability Testing, Task Analysis, System Design, and the Use of Eye Movement Measures in Research and Design.
Prior to joining Landmark College, Dr. Fadden worked as a cognitive psychologist and human factors engineer for Booz Allen Hamilton, PeopleSoft, Intel, and Lockheed Martin. In these roles, he participated and led projects to evaluate the performance of operators in complex, high-risk systems. Dr. Fadden has developed software tools and training systems for air traffic controllers and pilots, and created computer decision-support systems for intelligence specialists, air traffic controllers, network administrators, finance personnel, and consumers. He maintains his connection with industry through developing partnerships to improve the design of systems for people with learning disabilities, and serving on industry committees dedicated to developing standards to support the effective design of systems for people with disabilities.