DONALD E. PARKER, PHD

Senior Instructor
Affiliate Professor
Professor Emeritus (Miami University)

Department
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery

Research Affiliations
Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center
Human Interface Technology Laboratory, College of Engineering

Specialties
Vestibular research, Cognitive Psychology

Area of Expertise
Spatial Orientation
Visual Perception
Motion Sickness

Graduate Education
PHD-Princeton University, 1961

Postgraduate Education
Fellowship--Auditory Research Laboratory, National Institutes of Mental Health, Princeton University, 1961-1962
Senior Fellowship--Max Planck Institut fur Verhaltensphysiologie, National Institutes of Mental Health, Germany 1965-1966
Visiting Scientist--Space Biomedical Research Institute, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, 1983; 1985-1987

Primary Research Support
Siemens Corporate Research

Special Honors, Academic and Non-Academic
Silver Team Award Immersive Experience Project, Eastman Kodak Co., USA 2001.
Space Act Award, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1993.
Certificate of Appreciation, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1988.
Certificate of Recognition. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1984.\
Effective Educator Awards, Miami University Alumni Association: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990.
Sigma Xi Researcher of the Year, Miami University Chapter, 1981.
Sigma Xi Regional Lecturer, Miami University Chapter, 1981-1988.
Selected Alternate Payload Specialist, Spacelab I Space Shuttle Mission, 1977.

Most Significant Recent Articles

• Unobtrusive turns prediction cues reduced simulator sickness during passive motion in a driving simulator.
• Duh HBL, Parker DE, Furness TA. An independent visual background reduced simulator sickness in a driving simulator. Presence, 2004,13,578-588.
• "Conflicting" motion cues at the frequency of crossover between the visual and vestibular self-motion systems evoke simulator sickness.
• Spatial perception changes associated with space flight: implications for adaptation to altered inertial environments.
• Self-motion perception: assessment by real-time computer-generated animations.

Research Activities
Facilitation Of Target Detection: Image Enhancement Based On Oculomotor Behavior During Visual Search. Visual search is important in numerous situations ranging from airport luggage screening to examination of mammograms for cancer. This project seeks to develop procedures to improve visual search performance. Specific aims include:

1. Examine relationships between oculomotor behavior during visual search and target detection performance.
2. Develop and evaluate image enhancement procedures to facilitate target detection.
3. Enhance images to facilitate target detection based oculomotor behavior during visual search.
4. Initial studies will examine planar displays; subsequent research will examine depth-of-gaze using a volumetric display.

Practice Priorities
On Research: "I seek to understand how human beings acquire and maintain spatial orientation." "My colleagues and I seek to employ basic visual processes to facilitate search for threats."

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