Thomas B. Sheridan (born December 23, 1929) is American professor of

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

and Applied Psychology Emeritus at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. He is a pioneer of

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrate ...

and

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such a ...

technology.

Early life and education

Sheridan was born Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1951, he received his

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in Mechanical Engineering from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

, a M.S. Eng. degree from

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

in 1954, and a

Sc.D. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

degree from the

(MIT) in 1959. He has also received an honorary doctorate from

Delft University of Technology Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

in the Netherlands.

Career

For most of his professional career he remained at MIT. He was assistant Professor of

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

from 1959 to 1964. Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering from 1964 to 1970. Professor of Mechanical Engineering from 1970 to 1984. Professor of Engineering and Applied Psychology since 1984, and Professor of Aeronautics and

Astronautics Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the theory and practice of travel beyond Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science its overarching field. The term ''astronautics'' (originally ''astron ...

since 1993. In 1995-96 he was Ford Professor. He is currently Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He has also served as a visiting professor at

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

, Berkeley, Stanford, Delft University, Kassel University, Germany, and Ben Gurion University, Israel. This part has been taken from his biography at the end of one of the best known papers of him at the SMC Journal of IEEE in 2000. See also http://www.wtec.org/loyola/hci/aa_bios.htm He was co-editor of the MIT Press journal ''Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments'' and served on several editorial boards; and was editor of ''IEEE Transactions on Man-Machine Systems''. Sheridan chaired the National Research Council’s Committee on Human Factors, and has served on numerous government and industrial advisory committees. He is principal of Thomas B. Sheridan and Associates, a consulting firm. He was also President of the

IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society The IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society (IEEE SMCS) is a professional society of the IEEE. It aims "to serve the interests of its members and the community at large by promoting the theory, practice, and interdisciplinary aspects of systems ...

. He was President of HFES, and is a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

. Sheridan received their Norbert Wiener and Joseph Wohl awards, the IEEE Centennial Medal (1984) and Third Millennium Medal. He is also a Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, recipient of their Paul M. Fitts Award, received the 1997 National Engineering Award of the American Association of Engineering Societies, and the 1997

Rufus Oldenburger Medal The Rufus Oldenburger Medal is an award given by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers recognizing significant contributions and outstanding achievements in the field of automatic control. It was established in 1968 in the honor of Rufus O ...

of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Work

His research interests are in experimentation, modeling, and design of human-machine systems in air, highway and rail transportation, space and undersea robotics, process control, arms control, telemedicine, and virtual reality. Working at MIT, Sheridan developed important concepts concerning

human–robot interaction Human–robot interaction is the study of interactions between humans and robots. It is often referred as HRI by researchers. Human–robot interaction is a multidisciplinary field with contributions from human–computer interaction, artificial i ...

, particularly regarding supervisory control and

telepresence Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance or effect of being present via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location. Telepresence requires that the use ...

Robotics

Robotics and telepresence is just one manifestation of his interest the boundary between human and automatic control. His book ''Humans and Automation'' is a concise summary of the history, issues, and progress in the role of the human and technology in

automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

Publications

He has published some books and over 200 technical papers. Books: * Sheridan, Thomas B. and William Ferrell. 1974, ''Man-Machine Systems'' (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1974, 1981; USSR, 1981) * Sheridan, Thomas B., and

Gunnar Johannsen Gunnar Johannsen (born 1940) is a German cyberneticist, and Emeritus Professor of Systems Engineering and Human-Machine Systems at the University of Kassel, known for his contributions in the field of human-machine systems. Biography Born and r ...

. 1976, (ed.) '' Monitoring Behavior and Supervisory Control'', New York: Plenum. * Sheridan, Thomas B. 1992, ''"Telerobotics, Automation, and Human Supervisory Control'', Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. * Sheridan, Thomas B., and Ton VonLunteren 1997, (ed.) ''Perspectives on the Human Controller'', Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. * Sheridan, Thomas B. 2002, ''Humans and Automation: System Design and Research Issues'', John Wiley and Sons, 2002. * Sheridan, Thomas B. 2014. ''What is God? Can Religion Be Modeled?'', Washington DC, New Academia Press, 2014 *

References

External links

Web page Thomas B. Sheridan
at MIT.
Other web page Thomas B. Sheridan
at MIT.
Google Scholar report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheridan, Thomas B. 1929 births Cyberneticists Living people Purdue University College of Engineering alumni American roboticists IEEE Centennial Medal laureates Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering American electrical engineers