Chris Pagano is a Professor at Clemson University's College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences, Department of Psychology. His research focuses on human experimental psychology, particularly haptic perception, virtual/augmented reality, and ecological psychology. He holds a Ph.D. and B.A. in Psychology from the University of Connecticut (1993 and 1987). Education: Ph.D. Ecological Psychology, University of Connecticut (1993); B.A. Psychology, University of Connecticut (1987). Research interests include haptic perception, visual perception, affordances, and the application of ecological psychology principles to design. His work explores perception-action systems in virtual environments, human factors in surgical robotics, and spatial perception in teleoperation. Publications span topics like AR/VR calibration, haptic interfaces for surgery, and perceptual judgment in dynamic environments. Notable awards include multiple Best Paper Awards at IEEE VR conferences (2023, 2018, 2016) and recognition for contributions to human-robot interaction (2011). His grants and advising focus on advancing VR/AR technologies and their perceptual foundations. He collaborates on projects involving self-avatar design, environmental perception in immersive systems, and affordance-based design principles for architecture and engineering. Labs/Teams: Active in the Human Factors Institute and the Institute for Engaged Aging at Clemson, contributing to research on perception-action systems and technology design.
