Nancy Cooke
Interview Posted By: Ashley Smith
1. Can you tell us a little about your background? i.e. Where you grew up, what education do you have, a summary of your resume, did you always want to do what you are doing now, when did you start to become interested in STEM, what internships/ volunteering
I was born in San Antonio, Texas but spent most of my childhood through undergraduate college years in Springfield, VA. I went to George Mason University as an undergraduate and started as a foreign language major. I was good at foreign languages, but was worried about job prospects and at the same time was enjoying my psychology class. I switched to a psychology major with the initial idea (as many have) of being a counselor or clinical psychologist. I wanted to help people with their problems. I did a bit of volunteering as a peer study skills counselor and with autistic children and soon decided that this was not for me either. I liked school and especially my computer programming class. I wasn't sure what to do and ended up at career counseling where I found a job index that informed me I could put computer science together with psychology and get human factors. I had no idea what that was, but I wrote to people in the Human Factors Society and took a one credit course on it and loved it. I could help people by improving technology so that it could be safer and easier for people to use. I finally found what I was meant to do and have been doing human factors ever since.
I went on to get a MS and PhD in the field (applied cognitive psychology) at New Mexico State University. I thought I wanted to work in industry and do what is now called user experience design. I fell in love with academia and research and the longer I was in graduate school, the less I wanted to leave it. I ended up getting my first job as an assistant professor at Rice University and five years later returned to the faculty at New Mexico State University. In 2002 I moved to Arizona State University where i have been ever since.
I have had many rich experiences in my career working on many different and interesting problems (remotely piloted vehicles, robotics, cyber security, intelligence analysis, sports, professional cooking, chess expertise, record breaking gas ballooning) just to name a few. I have served on numerous advisory boards and have participated in studies for the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine and am active in my professional society, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society- the society I wrote to as an undergraduate to find out what this field was all about. In fact I am President-Elect of that society. I would not change a thing about my career.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
I am a professor. I teach, do research, and service (review work and my advisory roles, etc.). I am a program chair as well which means I oversee the curriculum in our Human Systems Engineering programs. I work approximately 70 hours a week including many weekends.
3. How does STEM relate to your job?How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
My research in human systems engineering involves understanding and drawing from the science of psychology and applying it to problems in human-technology interaction by using engineering methods. Thus I use science, technology, and engineering. I also use math when it comes to analyzing and modeling the data I collect. Although I am able to apply much of what I have learned to my current job I am also in a constant learning mode as I find it more and more common to collaborate with those in other disciplines and I need to learn enough about these other disciplines so that we can collaborate.
4. Have you faced any discrimination/ challenges being a woman in a stem field? If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice for up and coming women in STEM?
There are challenges being a woman, especially being one of a few women in a male-dominated profession. Women have different ways of interacting (for instance think it is impolite to interrupt) and as a result may have difficulty getting equal time in meetings. Some of this is very subtle. Some is less subtle, like salary differences. For the most part I have worked hard and expected equal treatment and feel that I have received it. I was the first female ever to edit the journal Human Factors and the first female to chair the National Academies Board on Human Systems Integration. It can be done with determination and persistence.
5. What is the best and worst part of your job? What do you look forward to in your job on a day to day basis? What do you wish you could change?
The best part of my job is working with students. We have a constant influx of young, bright, and energetic minds that keep me on my toes. I look forward to teaching students and meeting with them about their research. On the other hand, I spend way too much time at my job, partly because I like it and get involved in way too many projects. However, this can take a toll on work-life balance which I am constantly striving to achieve.
6. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
Again, I do not do too well on this front. I do work quite a bit from home when I can and when I do I can intersperse working with some family time when my daughters are around.
7. What do you define success as?
Being able to make a difference in the world such that when you are gone someone can point to something that you did and say this made the world a better place.
8. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
Perseverance
9. Who was a mentor to you throughout your career? (can be more than one!) What did they teach you? How did they impact your life?
I am lucky to have had 3 mentors: 1) my graduate advisor, Roger Schvaneveldt who guided me through my graduate career (MS thesis and dissertation) and who hired me at ASU. I continue to do research with him to this day. 2) A colleague who visited my advisor while in graduate school, Frank Durso who convinced me to stay in academia – a great choice. 3) Bill Howell, hired me at Rice University and had a career path that paralleled much of mine. He was one of the wisest persons I have known and I learned about inclusiveness from him.
10. What do you think is the best advice you've ever received ? What advice would you give your younger self if you had the chance? What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to us?
This is tough because I have received lots of good advice from just be yourself when giving a presentation to stay in academia. But the advice I tell my daughters and will tell you is to follow your passion and be open-minded to opportunities to pursue your passion and to changes within your own heart.
Please do not feel like you need to answer all of these questions. Only the ones you are comfortable with. Thank you again for doing this.
I was born in San Antonio, Texas but spent most of my childhood through undergraduate college years in Springfield, VA. I went to George Mason University as an undergraduate and started as a foreign language major. I was good at foreign languages, but was worried about job prospects and at the same time was enjoying my psychology class. I switched to a psychology major with the initial idea (as many have) of being a counselor or clinical psychologist. I wanted to help people with their problems. I did a bit of volunteering as a peer study skills counselor and with autistic children and soon decided that this was not for me either. I liked school and especially my computer programming class. I wasn't sure what to do and ended up at career counseling where I found a job index that informed me I could put computer science together with psychology and get human factors. I had no idea what that was, but I wrote to people in the Human Factors Society and took a one credit course on it and loved it. I could help people by improving technology so that it could be safer and easier for people to use. I finally found what I was meant to do and have been doing human factors ever since.
I went on to get a MS and PhD in the field (applied cognitive psychology) at New Mexico State University. I thought I wanted to work in industry and do what is now called user experience design. I fell in love with academia and research and the longer I was in graduate school, the less I wanted to leave it. I ended up getting my first job as an assistant professor at Rice University and five years later returned to the faculty at New Mexico State University. In 2002 I moved to Arizona State University where i have been ever since.
I have had many rich experiences in my career working on many different and interesting problems (remotely piloted vehicles, robotics, cyber security, intelligence analysis, sports, professional cooking, chess expertise, record breaking gas ballooning) just to name a few. I have served on numerous advisory boards and have participated in studies for the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine and am active in my professional society, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society- the society I wrote to as an undergraduate to find out what this field was all about. In fact I am President-Elect of that society. I would not change a thing about my career.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
I am a professor. I teach, do research, and service (review work and my advisory roles, etc.). I am a program chair as well which means I oversee the curriculum in our Human Systems Engineering programs. I work approximately 70 hours a week including many weekends.
3. How does STEM relate to your job?How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
My research in human systems engineering involves understanding and drawing from the science of psychology and applying it to problems in human-technology interaction by using engineering methods. Thus I use science, technology, and engineering. I also use math when it comes to analyzing and modeling the data I collect. Although I am able to apply much of what I have learned to my current job I am also in a constant learning mode as I find it more and more common to collaborate with those in other disciplines and I need to learn enough about these other disciplines so that we can collaborate.
4. Have you faced any discrimination/ challenges being a woman in a stem field? If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice for up and coming women in STEM?
There are challenges being a woman, especially being one of a few women in a male-dominated profession. Women have different ways of interacting (for instance think it is impolite to interrupt) and as a result may have difficulty getting equal time in meetings. Some of this is very subtle. Some is less subtle, like salary differences. For the most part I have worked hard and expected equal treatment and feel that I have received it. I was the first female ever to edit the journal Human Factors and the first female to chair the National Academies Board on Human Systems Integration. It can be done with determination and persistence.
5. What is the best and worst part of your job? What do you look forward to in your job on a day to day basis? What do you wish you could change?
The best part of my job is working with students. We have a constant influx of young, bright, and energetic minds that keep me on my toes. I look forward to teaching students and meeting with them about their research. On the other hand, I spend way too much time at my job, partly because I like it and get involved in way too many projects. However, this can take a toll on work-life balance which I am constantly striving to achieve.
6. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
Again, I do not do too well on this front. I do work quite a bit from home when I can and when I do I can intersperse working with some family time when my daughters are around.
7. What do you define success as?
Being able to make a difference in the world such that when you are gone someone can point to something that you did and say this made the world a better place.
8. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
Perseverance
9. Who was a mentor to you throughout your career? (can be more than one!) What did they teach you? How did they impact your life?
I am lucky to have had 3 mentors: 1) my graduate advisor, Roger Schvaneveldt who guided me through my graduate career (MS thesis and dissertation) and who hired me at ASU. I continue to do research with him to this day. 2) A colleague who visited my advisor while in graduate school, Frank Durso who convinced me to stay in academia – a great choice. 3) Bill Howell, hired me at Rice University and had a career path that paralleled much of mine. He was one of the wisest persons I have known and I learned about inclusiveness from him.
10. What do you think is the best advice you've ever received ? What advice would you give your younger self if you had the chance? What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to us?
This is tough because I have received lots of good advice from just be yourself when giving a presentation to stay in academia. But the advice I tell my daughters and will tell you is to follow your passion and be open-minded to opportunities to pursue your passion and to changes within your own heart.
Please do not feel like you need to answer all of these questions. Only the ones you are comfortable with. Thank you again for doing this.