Georgia Institute of Technology, 1994-present.
Ph.D. program, Engineering Psychology. (M.S. defended June, 1998).
Advisor: Dr. Richard Catrambone

Rice University, 1992.
B.A. in Behavioral Science and Managerial Studies.

Georgia Institute of Technology, October, 1996 - May, 1997, September, 1997 - present. Graduate Research Assistant, Graphics, Visualization, and Usability Center. Redesigned multimedia program for teaching college chemistry students how to solve molecular shape problems. Converted program from HyperCard to HTML and JavaScript. Conducted two experiments with program at Emory University to test the influence of media type and task orientation on learning. Assisted in development of multimedia database program for teaching users how to solve procedurally-based home repair problems.

Eastman Kodak Company, June, 1997 - August, 1997. Human-Computer Interaction Intern, Human Factors department. Designed multiple prototypes using Visual Basic and Photoshop of software for downloading, altering, and storing digital images. First author of report integrating results of a heuristic evaluation and a pugh session comparing several digital camera systems. Designed and ran usability evaluation of Kodak professional film packaging. Participated in heuristic evaluation of Kodak web site. Assisted in design and prototyping of digital printer with television-based GUI.

BellSouth Telecommunications, May, 1995 - September, 1996. Human Factors Intern, Science and Technology Department. Maintained Visual Basic prototype of large service management software program. First author on system specifications document (SSD) for character-based user interface for SMS. Second author on SSD for GUI SMS. Assisted in initial design of intranet web site and document style guide for department. Built Java animation applet for use on site home page. May, 1995 - September, 1996.

Georgia Institute of Technology, September, 1994 - April, 1995. Graduate Research Assistant for Professor Elizabeth Davis. Helped design and run experiment testing the influence of pattern orientation and degree of retinal disparity on binocular visual depth perception.

Student representative for Georgia Tech at the 1996 Human-Computer Interaction Consortium (HCIC) workshop, Fraser, CO.

ARVO/National Eye Institute Travel Fellowship Grant. 1996 annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Visual Basic 5.0, JavaScript, HyperTalk, SuperTalk, Java, Lingo, Photoshop, Pascal, Unix shell, SPSS, SAS.

1 year statistics sequence (experimental design, analysis of variance, regression), 1 year engineering psychology sequence (methodology, displays and controls, environmental stressors), cognitive psychology, human decision making, cognitive engineering, individual differences, conditioning and learning, educational technology, human-computer interaction.

Human-computer interface design, educational technology and multimedia, product design and development, low and high fidelity prototyping, experimental design and statistical analysis, visual perception, ethnography.

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), student member, 1994 - present.

American Psychological Association (APA), student member,1994 - present.

Available on request.

Davis, E. T., Akers, J. W., & King, R. T. (1996). Is there a stereo aperture problem? Some predictions and implications for stereoscopic vision. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Refereed conference proceedings

Akers, J. W., Davis, E. T., & King, R. T. (1996). Stereoscopic depth perception in simulated displays: what helps and what hurts? Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 40th Annual Meeting.

Conference poster presentations

Akers, J. W., Davis, E. T., & King, R. T. (1996, April). Is There a Stereo Aperture Problem In Human Stereopsis? Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Industry publications

Akers, J. W., Romano, N., & Venturino, M. (1997). An Interdisciplinary Evaluation of the "Out of Box Experience" with Several Digital Cameras. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak.

Akers, J. W., & Carter, S. E. (1996). SMS Character-Based User Interface. Atlanta, GA: BellSouth Telecommunications.

Carter, S. E., & Akers, J. W. (1996). SMS Graphical User Interface. Atlanta, GA: BellSouth Telecommunications.