Researchers in the virtual reality lab conduct visual perception studies using a virtual reality driving simulator. In the firearm simulator lab, investigators are studying the development of good judgment in simulated shoot-don't shoot situations. The multimedia lab is developing a driverse training and testing program. Finally, in the computerized battlefield lab, investigators develop behavior algorithms for the control of virtual entities in battlefield simulations. The U.S. Army is at the forefront of attempts to increase the participation of minorities in professional and scientific careers.
Minorities are egregiously underrepresented in the human factors and cognitive science communities.
Recent gains in the numbers of minority individuals pursuing advanced degrees have not extended to scientific psychology. Lack of knowledge of the work of scientific psychologists and of career opportunities in applied and basic cognitive research probably accounts for the sparse interest in these fields evident among the more promising minority students who are planning to pursue graduate studies in science. By establishing the Center on the campus of a historically black college, the U.S. Army sought to increase the likelihood that outstanding minority undergraduates would become interested in this area of research and that they could be identified, encouraged, and helped to pursue advanced degrees in cognitive science and human factors. Every academic year, CERT employs 12 to 15 undergraduates selected from Morris Brown College, and from three other historically black colleges in the Atlanta University Center, to work as research assistants in the various laboratories. These students are usually psychology, computer science, engineering, or mathematics majors.