Scotty Craig

Scotty D. Craig is an Associate Professor in Human Systems Engineering at The Polytechnic School, Arizona State University. He serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives at ASU's Learning Engineering Institute and co-directs the ASU Advanced Distributed Learning Lab in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense. His research spans cognitive science, educational technology, and immersive learning environments with applications in virtual humans, mixed reality training systems, and intelligent tutoring technologies.

• Ph.D. Experimental Psychology (Cognitive Learning), University of Memphis (2005)
• M.S. Psychology, University of Memphis (2001)
• B.A. Psychology with minors in Anthropology and History, University of Memphis (1998)

Dr. Craig's research focuses on the intersection of human cognition, technology, and learning sciences. His work includes virtual humans for training, cognitive load optimization in medical websites, and mixed reality systems for medical education. He leads multiple DOD-funded projects totaling $8.5M, including the $5M Virtual Insomnia Patients system and $2M WaterSim America sustainability game.

Recent publications emphasize immersive learning technologies, with 2025 work on collaborative AR learning companions and 2024 studies on voice quality impacts in pedagogical agents. His research has produced over 150 publications, including three edited books on educational technology.

Scientific Honors:

• Pacific Southwest Best Paper Award (ASEE 2016)
• Best Poster Award (AIED 2017)
• Innovation in Scholarship Award (ASU 2017)
• Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (ASU 2018)
• Top 5% Teaching Recognition (Fulton Engineering 2024)

Dr. Craig serves on editorial boards for International Journal of STEM Education and Computers & Education. He has organized five journal special issues and conducted extensive research evaluations for the U.S. DoD.