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°Õ³ó±ðÌýHuman and Sociotechnical Systems Research (HSSR) Program at NSI advances the scientific study and engineering of people interacting with technology. We design and evaluate systems that are effective, resilient, safe, and mission-ready—ensuring that human capabilities remain central as technologies grow more autonomous and complex.

Drawing on expertise in human factors, human-centered design, sociology, artificial intelligence, data science, psychology, systems engineering, and bioastronautics, HSSR integrates behavioral science and advanced engineering to enhance operational effectiveness, behavioral health, and human performance in high-consequence environments.

Situated at the University of Colorado Boulder, NSI leverages deep interdisciplinary strengths across STEM, the social sciences, and the humanities to address research and development challenges critical to national security.

Core Research Areas

Human–Autonomy Teaming

We study how humans collaborate with intelligent systems—including AI-enabled and embodied autonomous platforms—to optimize performance in real-world missions. This includes investigating emergent team states, trust calibration, workload management, and adaptive coordination dynamics in human–AI teams.

Behavioral Health & Countermeasure Development

We examine how operational environments influence psychological and social health, and we develop data-driven countermeasures to mitigate behavioral health risks, sustain readiness, and improve long-term resilience.

Human & Team Resilience

Our research advances understanding of how individuals and teams maintain performance under stress, uncertainty, and isolation. We focus on collective resilience, adaptive decision-making, and sustained effectiveness in extreme environments.

Human Performance in Extreme Environments

We address the cognitive, physiological, and sociotechnical challenges of deploying humans and AI systems in high-consequence domains—including contested, remote, and space environments.

Human Systems Integration (HSI)

Using systems engineering and Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), we integrate human capabilities and limitations throughout the system lifecycle to ensure safe, efficient, and mission-effective human–system performance.

Emerging Topics in Human Factors

We explore next-generation approaches including:

• Wearable technologies for operational monitoring
• Education and training innovation
• Extended reality (XR) applications
• Trust, workload, and situation awareness modeling
• User interface and user experience (UI/UX) design
• Human Digital Twins (HDT)
• Operational medicine and human augmentation

Mission Alignment

HSSR supports critical defense missions, including:

• Command and Control (C2)
• Operations in the Information Environment
• Education & Training
• Air Dominance
• Human–Systems Integration

National Security Challenges We Address

• Human–AI collaboration and autonomy integration
• Trust calibration in intelligent systems
• Critical thinking in information-rich environments
• Decision-making under uncertainty
• Interface and interaction design for high-tempo operations

The ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ Advantage

NSI’s location at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ enables:

• Deep interdisciplinary integration across engineering, social sciences, and bioastronautics
• Ecologically valid laboratory environments that replicate operational realities
• Advanced modeling, simulation, and human performance experimentation
• Close collaboration with federal mission partners

Federal Partners

HSSR collaborates with a broad range of federal mission partners, including:

• Space Systems Command (SSC/S6)
• United States Air Force Academy (USAFA)
• Space Warfighting Analysis Center (SWAC)

These partnerships ensure that our research remains tightly aligned with operational priorities and emerging national security needs.