Rice psychologist recognized for distinguished scientific contributions

Eduardo Salas, the Allyn R. & Gladys M. Cline Chair & Professor of Psychology, is the recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award presented annually by the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). Salas received the award at a ceremony April 14 during the organization’s annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif.

Eduardo Salas

This award is presented to the individual who has made the most distinguished empirical or theoretical scientific contributions to the field of industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology. The individual must be nominated by at least one member of SIOP to be considered for the award. Salas received a plaque and a cash prize of $1,500 and was also invited to give an address that relates his contributions to the I-O field of psychology at the next SIOP meeting.

“It is always an honor when your peers recognize one’s contributions to our science — a very rewarding feeling!” Salas said. “But more importantly, this award is an exemplar of the caliber of faculty we have in our department. We are Rice’s ambassadors to the world in industrial-organizational, human factors and neuroscience psychology.”

For more information on the award, visit www.siop.org/siopawards/scientific.aspx.

A member of Rice’s faculty since 2015, Salas’ research interests are in uncovering what facilitates teamwork and team effectiveness in organizations; how and why team training works; how to optimize simulation-based training; how to design, implement and evaluate training and development systems; and generating evidence-based guidance for those in practice. He has received more than $50 million in grant funding from the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Department of Defense, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Office of Naval Research. A former president of SIOP, he has been a co-recipient of four M. Scott Myers awards, SIOP’s highest recognition for applied research. He has also received SIOP’s Distinguished Contributions Award as well as SHRM’s Michael Losey Human Resources Life Achievement Award.

SIOP, the premier professional association dedicated to advancing the field of I-O psychology. The organization boasts more than 8,000 academic and professional members.