Susanne M Furman

Susanne M Furman is an Instructor in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University (GMU), concurrently serving as a cognitive scientist in the Visualization and Usability Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Her roles span academic and federal agency work, focusing on usability engineering and cybersecurity. She holds a PhD in Applied Experimental Psychology (Human Factors) from GMU, with prior experience at IBM, GE, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Education:

• B.A. in Psychology, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania (1988)
• M.A. in Applied Experimental Psychology, George Mason University (1990)
• Ph.D. in Applied Experimental Psychology (Human Factors), George Mason University (1997)

Research focuses on usability of cybersecurity tools, biometric systems, and smart home technologies. Key themes include privacy preservation, user mental models of security, and cross-agency collaboration (e.g., with DHS and FBI). Recent work examines consumer trust in smart home ecosystems and lifecycle management of IoT devices.

Publications (selected): Her work bridges usability research with federal cybersecurity needs, including foundational studies on contactless fingerprint devices and smart home privacy challenges. Over 25 years of industry and academic collaboration has produced impactful contributions to human-centered cybersecurity standards.

Affiliations: Active in NIST’s Human-Centered Cybersecurity projects and GMU’s Psychology department. She contributes to federal usability programs and collaborates with researchers like Julie Haney and Brian Stanton.