Stella Donker

Dr. Stella Donker is an Associate Professor in Experimental Psychology at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Universiteit Utrecht. Her research focuses on postural control, human factors in automated driving, and motion perception. She holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering and has held academic positions since 2001, including Post-Doc roles at VU Amsterdam and Twente University.

Her work explores how visual stimuli and cognitive load affect human balance and driving behavior. Notable projects include studying postural sway in clinical populations and analyzing driver response to in-car alerts during autonomous driving. She has supervised research on smartphone interaction for cyclists and digital coaching systems for low-literacy users.

Publications span topics like auditory susceptibility in automated vehicles and optic flow effects on balance. Awards include recognition for motion perception research (2009). Teaching involves courses in Applied Cognitive Psychology and Artificial Intelligence, contributing to Utrecht's interdisciplinary programs.