A Repository for the Curious and the Expert Alike
The Ad Astra Resources section is our contribution to the broader scientific community — a curated collection of research references, tools, frameworks, and educational materials for anyone working at the intersection of human science and aerospace.
Research Papers & PublicationsA curated library of key publications from our team and our field — including peer-reviewed articles, conference proceedings, technical reports, and white papers relevant to aerospace human factors, psychophysiology, and related domains.
Neuroergonomics & Cognitive Systems Engineering
• Bennett, K. B., & Flach, J. M. (2011). Display and interface design: Subtle science, exact art. CRC Press.
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• Borst, C., Flach, J. M., & Ellerbroek, J. (2015). Beyond ecological interface design: Lessons from concerns and misconceptions. IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems, 45(2), 164–175.
https://doi.org/10.1109/THMS.2014.2364984
• Fedota, J. R., & Parasuraman, R. (2010). Neuroergonomics and human error. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 11(5), 402–421.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14639220902853104
• Feltovich, P. J., Hoffman, R. R., & Roesler, A. (2004). Keeping it too simple: How the reductive tendency affects cognitive engineering. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 19(3), 90–94.
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• Flach, J. M., Dekker, S., & Stappers, P. J. (2008). Playing twenty questions with nature (the surprise version): Reflections on the dynamics of experience. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 9(2), 125–154.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14639220601095353
• Flach, J. M., Lintern, G., & Larish, J. F. (1990). Perceptual motor skill: A theoretical framework. In R. Warren & A. H. Wertheim (Eds.), The perception and control of self-motion (pp. 327–355). Psychology Press.
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• Parasuraman, R. (2003). Neuroergonomics: Research and practice. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 4(1–2), 5–20.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14639220210199753
• Parasuraman, R., & Rizzo, M. (Eds.). (2007). Neuroergonomics: The brain at work. Oxford University Press.
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• Parasuraman, R., & Wilson, G. F. (2008). Putting the brain to work: Neuroergonomics past, present, and future. Human Factors, 50(3), 468–474.
https://doi.org/10.1518/001872008X288349
• Roesler, A. (2009). Lessons from Three Mile Island: The design of interactions in a high-stakes environment. Visible Language, 43(2–3), 169.
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• Roesler, A. (2017). The commercial flight deck as a collaborative cognitive system. Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS 2017).
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• Roesler, A., Churng, S., Bader, S., & Park, H. (2016). Designing affordances for direct interactions. International Journal of Design, 10(2), 1–16.
PDF• Tittle, J. S., Woods, D. D., Roesler, A., Howard, M., & Phillips, F. (2001). The role of 2-D and 3-D task performance in the design and use of visual displays. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 45(4), 331–336.
https://doi.org/10.1177/154193120104500414
• Tittle, J. S., Roesler, A., & Woods, D. D. (2002). The remote perception problem. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 46(3), 260–264.
https://doi.org/10.1177/154193120204600309
• Woods, D., & Roesler, A. (2007). Connecting design with cognition at work. In H. Schifferstein & P. Hekkert (Eds.), Product Experience (pp. 199–213). Elsevier.
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-008045089-6.50010-1
Psychopathology
• Ardizzi, M., Martini, F., Umiltà, M. A., Sestito, M., Ravera, R., & Gallese, V. (2013). When early experiences build a wall to others' emotions: An electrophysiological and autonomic study. PLoS ONE, 8(4), e61004.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0061004• Ferroni, F., Ardizzi, M., Sestito, M., Lucarini, V., Daniel, B. D., Paraboschi, F., Tonna, M., Marchesi, C., & Gallese, V. (2019). Shared multisensory experience affects others' boundary: The enfacement illusion in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2018.11.018
PDF• Kapur, S. (2003). Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: A framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(1), 13–23.
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.160.1.13 • Nelson, B., & Sass, L. A. (2009). Medusa's stare: A case study of working with self-disturbance in the early phase of schizophrenia. Clinical Case Studies, 8(6), 489–504.
PDF • Nelson, B., Whitford, T. J., Lavoie, S., & Sass, L. A. (2014a). What are the neurocognitive correlates of basic self-disturbance in schizophrenia?: Integrating phenomenology and neurocognition. Part 1 (Source monitoring deficits). Schizophrenia Research, 152(1), 12–19.
PDF• Nelson, B., Whitford, T. J., Lavoie, S., & Sass, L. A. (2014b). What are the neurocognitive correlates of basic self-disturbance in schizophrenia?: Integrating phenomenology and neurocognition. Part 2 (Aberrant salience). Schizophrenia Research, 152(1), 20–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2013.06.033
PDF• Sestito, M., Umiltà, M. A., De Paola, G., Fortunati, R., Raballo, A., Leuci, E., Maffei, S., Tonna, M., Amore, M., Maggini, C., & Gallese, V. (2013). Facial reactions in response to dynamic emotional stimuli in different modalities in patients suffering from schizophrenia: A behavioral and EMG study. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 368.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00368 • Sestito, M., Raballo, A., Umiltà, M. A., Amore, M., Maggini, C., & Gallese, V. (2015). Anomalous echo: Exploring abnormal experience correlates of emotional motor resonance in schizophrenia spectrum. Psychiatry Research, 229(1–2), 559–664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2015.05.038
PDF• Sestito, M., Raballo, A., Umiltà, M. A., Leuci, E., Tonna, M., De Paola, G., Fortunati, R., Amore, M., Maggini, C., & Gallese, V. (2015). Mirroring the self: Testing neurophysiological correlates of disturbed self-experience in schizophrenia spectrum. Psychopathology, 48(3), 184–191. https://doi.org/10.1159/000380884
PDF• Sestito, M., Raballo, A., Stanghellini, G., & Gallese, V. (2017). Embodying the self: Neurophysiological perspectives on the psychopathology of anomalous bodily experiences. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11, 631.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00631• Sestito, M., Parnas, J., Maggini, C., & Gallese, V. (2017). Sensing the worst: Neurophenomenological perspectives on neutral stimuli misperception in schizophrenia. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11, 269.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00269Social Neuroscience & Psychophysiology• Ardizzi, M., Sestito, M., Martini, F., Umiltà, M. A., Ravera, R., & Gallese, V. (2014). When age matters: Differences in facial mimicry and autonomic responses to peers' emotions in teenagers and adults. PLoS ONE, 9(10), e110763
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110763• Innocenti, A., De Stefani, E., Sestito, M., & Gentilucci, M. (2014). Understanding of action-related and abstract verbs in comparison: A behavioral and TMS study. Cognitive Processing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-013-0583-z
PDF• Khalvati, K., Park, S. A., Mirbagheri, S., Philippe, R., Sestito, M., Dreher, J. C., & Rao, R. P. (2019). Modeling other minds: Bayesian inference explains human choices in group decision-making. Science Advances, 5(11), eaax8783.
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax8783• Khalvati, K., Park, S. A., Philippe, R., Sestito, M., Dreher, J. C., & Rao, R. P. (2018). Bayesian inference of other minds explains human decisions in a group decision-making task. bioRxiv, 419515.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/419515v1• Park, S. A., Sestito, M., Boorman, E. D., & Dreher, J. C. (2019). Neural computations underlying strategic social decision-making in groups. Nature Communications, 10(1), 1–12.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12937-5• Porges, S. W. (2009). The polyvagal theory: New insights into adaptive reactions of the autonomic nervous system. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 76(Suppl. 2), S86–S90.
https://doi.org/10.3949/ccjm.76.s2.17• Umiltà, M. A., Berchio, C., Sestito, M., Freedberg, D., & Gallese, V. (2012). Abstract art and cortical motor activation: An EEG study. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, 311.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00311
Aviation Safety Culture & Security
• Ogbozor, E. N., Yimga, J., DeGarmo, N., Lopez, K., Marz, H., Chrisman, M., Leon, C., Souza Dias Garcia, J., Debrah, H., Sestito, M., Obi, A., & Chidoka, C. (2026). Local values, global standards: Understanding aviation safety culture in the Middle East region. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.58940/2374-6793.2092
PDF• Ogbozor, E. N., Yimga, J., DeGarmo, N., Marz, H., Lopez, K., Chrisman, M., Leon, C., Souza Dias Garcia, J., Sestito, M., Debrah, H., Obi, A., & Chidoka, C. (2026). An exploration of aviation safety culture in Nigeria. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.58940/2374-6793.2091
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Neuroergonomics of Aviation & Flight Expertise• Sestito, M., Harel, A., Nador, J., & Flach, J. (2018). Investigating neural sensorimotor mechanisms underlying flight expertise in pilots: Preliminary data from an EEG study. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 489.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00489• Sestito, M., Flach, J., & Harel, A. (2018). Grasping the world from a cockpit: Perspectives on embodied neural mechanisms underlying human performance and ergonomics in aviation context. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 19(6), 692–711. https://doi.org/10.1080/1463922X.2018.1474504
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Mirror Neurons & Embodied Cognition• Blanke, O. (2012). Multisensory brain mechanisms of bodily self-consciousness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13(7), 556–571. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3292
PDF• Callan, D. E., Gamez, M., Cassel, D. B., Terzibas, C., Callan, A., Kawato, M., & Sato, M. A. (2012). Dynamic visuomotor transformation involved with remote flying of a plane utilizes the "mirror neuron" system. PLoS ONE, 7(4), e33873.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033873• Callan, D. E., Terzibas, C., Cassel, D. B., Callan, A., Kawato, M., & Sato, M. A. (2013). Differential activation of brain regions involved with error-feedback and imitation based motor simulation when observing self and an expert's actions in pilots and non-pilots on a complex glider landing task. NeuroImage, 72, 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.01.028
PDF• Gallese, V. (2005). Embodied simulation: From neurons to phenomenal experience. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 4(1), 23–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-005-4737-z
PDF• Gallese, V., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., & Rizzolatti, G. (1996). Action recognition in the premotor cortex. Brain, 119, 593–609.
https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/119.2.593• Gallese, V., Keysers, C., & Rizzolatti, G. (2004). A unifying view of the basis of social cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(9), 396–403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2004.07.002
PDF• Iacoboni, M., Molnar-Szakacs, I., Gallese, V., Buccino, G., Mazziotta, J. C., & Rizzolatti, G. (2005). Grasping the intentions of others with one's own mirror neuron system. PLoS Biology, 3(3), e79.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030079• Niedenthal, P. M. (2007). Embodying emotion. Science, 316(5827), 1002–1005. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1136930
PDF• Rizzolatti, G., & Craighero, L. (2004). The mirror-neuron system. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 27, 169–192. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.27.070203.144230
PDF• Rizzolatti, G., Fadiga, L., Gallese, V., & Fogassi, L. (1996). Premotor cortex and the recognition of motor actions. Cognitive Brain Research, 3(2), 131–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/0926-6410(95)00038-0
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Ecological Psychology & Gibson• Gibson, E. J. (1969). Principles of perceptual learning and development. Appleton-Century-Crofts.
• Gibson, J. J. (1950). The perception of the visual world. Houghton Mifflin.
PDF• Gibson, J. J. (1966). The senses considered as perceptual systems. Houghton Mifflin.
PDF• Gibson, J. J. (1977). The theory of affordances. In R. Shaw & J. Bransford (Eds.), Perceiving, acting, and knowing: Toward an ecological psychology (pp. 67–82). Erlbaum.
PDF• Gibson, J. J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception (Classic ed., reprinted 2015). Psychology Press / Routledge.
• Gibson, J. J., Olum, P., & Rosenblatt, F. (1955). Parallax and perspective during aircraft landings. American Journal of Psychology, 68(3), 372–385.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1418521Phenomenology• Merleau-Ponty, M. (1945). Phenomenology of perception (C. Smith, Trans., 2002). Routledge.
PDF• Fuchs, T. (2005). Corporealized and disembodied minds: A phenomenological view of the body in melancholia and schizophrenia. Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, 12(2), 95–107.
PDF• Parnas, J., & Handest, P. (2003). Phenomenology of anomalous self-experience in early schizophrenia. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 44(2), 121–134.
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Frameworks & MethodologiesDownloadable frameworks and methodological guides developed through our research and by other organizations — including approaches to aerospace safety, psychophysiological experiment design, human error analysis, and neuro-ergonomic assessment.
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Boeing Maintenance Event Decision Aid (MEDA) - Boeing's structured methodology for investigating human factors in aviation maintenance errors.
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Line Operations Safety Assessments (LOSA) - An observation-based audit tool for identifying safety threats and error management in line operations
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World Values Survey (WVS) - a longitudinal, cross-national database tracking human values, beliefs, and cultural change across 100+ countries.
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Presentations & Conference Papers• Hess, T., Cowings, P., Toscano, W., Ellis, G., Nimmer, M., Ludwig, A., Sestito, M., Espinosa, F., & Novak, K. (2024, May). The examination of individual factors and AFTE training outcomes. 94th AsMA-UHMS Annual Scientific Meeting, Chicago, IL.
• Ludwig, A., Cowings, P., Toscano, W., Ellis, G., Nimmer, M., Hess, T., Sestito, M., & Novak, K. (2024, May). Modified Autogenic Feedback Training produces effect on motion sickness. 94th AsMA-UHMS Annual Scientific Meeting, Chicago, IL.
• Merfeld, D., Clark, T., Voros, J., Folga, S., Pettijohn, K. A., Robinson, F. E., Sestito, M., & Sherwood, S. (2022). Head on neck tilt perception is modulated by body tilt. Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, 93(3). AsMA-UHMS Joint Annual Scientific Meeting, Reno, NV.
• Nimmer, M. G., Espinosa, F., Ellis, G., Cowings, P., Toscano, W., Ludwig, A., Hess, T., Sestito, M., & Novak, K. (2024, March). The effects of Autogenic Feedback Training Exercise on heart rate variability. Aerospace Medicine RAMS / NATO STO HFM-376. Free access:
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20240002716• Sestito, M., Benuzzi, F., Park, S., Wydoodt, P., Scoditti, U., Pavesi, G., Nichelli, P. F., & Dreher, J. (2017). The in-flight affective brain: Decision making under uncertainty and safety implications in aviation. Proceedings of the 19th International Symposium on Aviation Psychology (pp. 347–352).
PDF• Williams, H. P., Sestito, M., Pettijohn, K. A., McHail, D. G., & Horning, D. S. (2023). The impact of hypoxia and workload type on spatial disorientation in simulated flight. AsMA Annual Scientific Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
Technical Reports• Cowings, P. S., Toscano, W. B., Espinosa, F., Ellis, G., Ludwig, A., Nimmer, M., Hess, T., Sestito, M., & Novak, K. (2024). Transfer of NASA technology to the DoD: Mitigating motion sickness with Autogenic Feedback Training Exercise. NASA Technical Reports Server.
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20240005631
Key Recurring events in Aerospace Human Science
Upcoming conferences, symposia, and workshops relevant to aerospace human science — including events where Ad Astra team members are presenting or participating.
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Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) / Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) Annual Scientific Meeting. Next meeting: May 17–21, 2026, Denver, CO. The largest professional gathering in aerospace medicine and human performance.
https://asma-uhms-asm.org•
International Symposium on Aviation Psychology (ISAP). Biennial symposium on aviation psychology and human factors. Hosted by Auburn University in 2027.
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International Congress of Aviation and Space Medicine (ICASM). Annual meeting of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine.
https://www.iaasm.org•
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Annual Meeting. Premier human factors and ergonomics conference.
https://www.hfes.org/Events/Annual-Meeting•
NATO Science and Technology Organization — Human Factors and Medicine (STO HFM) Panel. Symposia and workshops on human factors in defense and security.
NATO STO EventsRecommended ReadingCurated reading lists across disciplines — from technical aerospace medicine texts to foundational works in neuroscience, clinical psychology, philosophy of mind, and yes, the literature of flight.
Aviation, Flight & Human Performance • Flach, J. M., & Voorhorst, F. A. (2019). A meaning processing approach to cognition: What matters? Routledge.
weblink• Flach, J. M., & Voorhorst, F. A. (2024). Exploring the strange dynamics of experience. Independently published.
PDF• Klein, G. (2003). Intuition at work: Why developing your gut instincts will make you better at what you do. Currency/Doubleday.
• Langewiesche, W. (1944). Stick and rudder: An explanation of the art of flying. McGraw-Hill.
• Norman, D. (2013). The design of everyday things (Revised and expanded ed.). Basic Books.
PDFAerospace Philosophy Deep Readings
• White, F. (1998). The overview effect: Space exploration and human evolution. AIAA.
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• Sagan, C. (1994). Pale blue dot: A vision of the human future in space. Random House.
PDFLiterature of Flight • McCullough, D. (2015). The Wright brothers. Simon & Schuster.
• Saint-Exupéry, A. de (1929). Southern mail (S. Gilbert, Trans., 1933). Harcourt.
• Saint-Exupéry, A. de (1931). Night flight (S. Gilbert, Trans., 1932). Harcourt.
• Saint-Exupéry, A. de (1939). Wind, sand and stars (L. Galantiere, Trans., 1939). Reynal & Hitchcock.
• Saint-Exupéry, A. de (1942). Flight to Arras (L. Galantiere, Trans., 1942). Reynal & Hitchcock.
• Saint-Exupéry, A. de (1955). Lettres à sa mère [Letters to his mother]. Gallimard. (Original letters written 1910–1944)
• Saint-Exupéry, A. de (1943b). The little prince (R. Howard, Trans., 2000). Harcourt.
Archetypal Psychology & The Soul • Estés, C. P. (1992). Women who run with the wolves: Myths and stories of the wild woman archetype.
PDF• Hillman, J. (1996). The soul's code: In search of character and calling. Random House.
PDF• Jung, C. G. (1912). Symbols of transformation (H. G. Baynes, Trans., revised R. F. C. Hull, 1956). Princeton University Press / Bollingen. [Collected Works, Vol. 5.]
PDF• Jung, C. G. (1934–1954). The archetypes and the collective unconscious (R. F. C. Hull, Trans., 2nd ed., 1968). Princeton University Press / Bollingen. [Collected Works, Vol. 9, Part I.]
PDF• Jung, C. G. (1961). Memories, dreams, reflections (A. Jaffé, Ed.; R. Winston & C. Winston, Trans.).
PDF• Jung, C. G. (2009). The red book: Liber novus (S. Shamdasani, Ed.; M. Kyburz, J. Peck, & S. Shamdasani, Trans.). W. W. Norton & Company. [Original ms. c. 1914–1930.]
IntroMilitary Strategy & Leadership• Colonel John Boyd Digital Archive
https://www.coljohnboyd.com/• von Clausewitz, C. (1832). On war (M. Howard & P. Paret, Trans. & Eds., 1976). Princeton University Press.
PDFHuman Science, Cognition & Cross-Cultural Psychology• Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.).
weblink• Kaminski, R. (2024). The gift of not belonging: How outsiders thrive in a world of joiners.
weblink• Keltner, D. (2023). Awe: The new science of everyday wonder and how it can transform your life.
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External Links & OrganizationsA vetted directory of key institutions, agencies, and organizations in the aviation & aerospace human factors ecosystem — including international bodies, research centers, regulatory authorities, and academic networks.
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ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan https://www.icao.int/GASP•
Nato Science & Technology Organization https://www.sto.nato.int/
Website & Blogs
Selected online resources offering ongoing commentary, research perspectives, and original writing relevant to our field.
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Perspicacity — John M. Flach, PhD. Independent blog and consulting platform by cognitive systems engineer and ecological psychologist John Flach. Covers neuroergonomics, cognitive systems engineering, ecological approaches to design and human performance, and reflections on the science of skilled action.
https://perspicacityll.wpengine.com•
Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés — Official Website. Personal site of the Jungian psychoanalyst, post-trauma specialist, and author of Women Who Run with the Wolves. Includes writings, spoken word releases, event information, and ongoing reflections on the life of the soul.
https://www.clarissapinkolaestes.com