Dr.
Roger W. Cholewiak is a Research Psychologist who has published and
presented extensively in national and international venues. His
expertise is in experimental design and tactile pattern perception,
particularly as related to the study of the ability of humans to use
the sense of touch as a communication system. He has worked in these
areas since receiving his doctorate at the University of Virginia,
for over 35 years. He is the retired director of research laboratories
at two institutions, the Cutaneous Communication Laboratory at
Princeton University and the Naval Aerospace Medical Research
Laboratory (NAMRL) in Pensacola, FL, and was a NASA summer research fellow at the Johnson Space Center.
At these institutions, he studied the appreciation of patterned
vibrotactile stimuli presented to numerous body sites of young and
older individuals for sensory substitution (e.g., for blind persons) as
well as for sensory augmentation, particularly by aircraft pilots and
astronauts. Factors explored in this research were the numbers and
locations of vibrotactile sites, the vibrotactile sensitivity and
acuity of these body sites, and the design of tactors and the optimal
modes of pattern presentation. These were focused on best taking
advantage of the capabilities of these loci so as to most appropriately
communicate the relevant information for the task. He has directed
international doctoral students at Utrecht and Mannheim,
and has served as a reviewer of manuscripts for numerous professional
journals as well as grants for NIH, ONR, NSF, NASA, and the Air Force.
Since his retirement, in addition to teaching Sensation and
Perception and Research Seminars as an adjunct Professor at the College of New Jersey,
Dr. Cholewiak has continued to write professionally, and to serve as a
consultant in tactile communication. He currently is consulting with
companies and organizations such as the US Army Research Labs,
Engineering Acoustics in Florida, Angel Medical in New Jersey, Barron Associates in Virginia, and SME in Massachusetts.
