The son of Shirl and Jacqueline H. Caldwell, Barrett S. Caldwell, PhD has parlayed more than 30 years of experience into his current positions as a professor at Purdue University and director of the NASA Indiana Space Grant Consortium. His career as an engineering educator has propelled him to positions at various universities including the University of California, Davis from 1985 to 1990 and the University of Wisconsin- Madison from 1990 to 1997. In addition to his ventures in education, Dr. Caldwell has been a member of several National Academies of Science, as well as multiple engineering and medicine panels.
In order to adequately prepare for his career in engineering, Dr. Caldwell obtained two Bachelors of Science, one in aeronautical and astronautics and another in humanities, both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then went on to earn a Master of Arts in psychology from the University of California, Davis in 1987. Dr. Caldwell completed his education in 1990, receiving Doctor of Philosophy in social psychology from the University of California, Davis. He is also a certified human factors professional. Dr. Caldwell continues to have a hand in the advancement of his field as a contributor to chapters, books, and professional journals, and as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments. In his spare time outside of work, he enjoys writing poetry and fiction, studying the history of technology, and listening to music.
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