Michael McBeath

Michael McBeath is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University (ASU), with additional roles as adjunct faculty in Kinesiology, Neuroscience, Life Sciences, Animal Behavior, Electrical Engineering, the School of Arts, Media, and Engineering, and ASU’s Global Sport Institute. His research focuses on computational modeling of perception-action systems in dynamic environments, blending psychology, engineering, and robotics. He holds a B.A. from Brown University (Psychology & Electrical Engineering), an M.S. from UC Santa Barbara (Electronic Instrumentation), and a Ph.D. from Stanford University (Psychology with Electrical Engineering minor).

His work explores interception strategies in sports, robotics, and animal behavior, alongside auditory perception and navigation. Notable projects include the linear optical trajectory theory for baseball catching, robotic ball-interception algorithms, and studies on human perception biases. McBeath has secured grants from NSF, ONR, and Interval Corporation. His research has been published widely, including in Science, and popularized through media like Saturday Night Live. Beyond academia, he plays harmonica and contributes to outreach initiatives like the ASU Brain Fair.

His teaching spans perception, human factors, and research methods. McBeath’s interdisciplinary collaborations span robotics, music, and neuroscience, reflecting his commitment to bridging theoretical and applied research.