Salman Nazir

Salman Nazir is Professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN), Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences, Department of Maritime Operations. He heads the Training and Assessment Research Group (TARG) and is Scientific Leader of the national Centre of Excellence in Maritime Simulator Training and Assessment (COAST). Since 2019 he has held the rank of Professor, after serving as Associate Professor from 2015 and earlier post-doctoral and lecturer roles in Norway, Italy, South Korea and Pakistan.

Education

• PhD in Industrial Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (cum laude), Politecnico di Milano, Italy, 2011–2013
• MSc in Chemical Engineering (Process System Engineering), Hanyang University, South Korea, 2007–2009
• BSc in Chemical Engineering, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Pakistan, 2002–2006

Research Interests

Prof. Nazir’s work sits at the intersection of Human Factors, Safety and Simulation Technology. He investigates how immersive virtual- and augmented-reality simulators, novel training syllabi and evidence-based performance indices can enhance operator competence and safety in complex maritime and process-industry systems. Concepts such as Distributed Situation Awareness, multi-criteria decision making, accident analysis and learning process optimisation are central to his multidisciplinary agenda, which actively involves cognitive scientists, computer scientists, maritime practitioners and industrial stakeholders.

Research Trends & Article Overview

Across more than 80 peer-reviewed outputs, a clear trajectory emerges: early focus on process-industry training simulators and KPI development evolved into maritime-centric studies on simulator fidelity, VR-based education, and human-automation interaction in autonomous shipping. Recent work (2019–2021) emphasises systematic reviews and comparative European studies, validating VR-headset efficacy, performance-assessment frameworks, and sociotechnical implications of increased automation.

Honours & Awards

• COAST designated one of 12 national Centres of Excellence in Education (SFU) by DIKU, Norway
• Coordinator/Leader, EU Horizon 2020 project ENHANCE (multi-million NOK)
• 400 000 NOK MARKOM 2020 Workshop grant
• PhD cum laude, Politecnico di Milano
• Young-researcher grants, Politecnico di Milano (2011 & 2013)
• Merit scholarships, Hanyang University & Korean Government

Advising & Grant Portfolio

Prof. Nazir currently supervises 6 master students and 1 PhD candidate in “Automated Performance Assessment in Maritime Operations”, while co-supervising additional PhD students at Liverpool John Moores University. He has successfully graduated 3 master and 6 bachelor students. External funding includes EU Horizon 2020, Norwegian SFU scheme, MARKOM 2020, Maritime Technology and Innovation (MTDI) and multiple Italian national grants.

Labs & Collaborative Networks

He leads TARG at USN, acts as Scientific Leader of COAST, and collaborates with leading international scholars such as Prof. Zaili Yang (Liverpool John Moores), Prof. Annette Kluge (University of Duisburg-Essen), Prof. Davide Manca (Politecnico di Milano) and Prof. Paulo Carvalho (UFRJ, Brazil). These partnerships span computer science, cognitive psychology, maritime logistics and safety engineering, ensuring a truly interdisciplinary research ecosystem.